#Peach Blossoms Heroine

[kdram-chjh]

Cdrama: Affairs of Drama Queen (2022)

Gifs of some scenes of first episode of cdrama “Affairs of Drama Queen”

EP01 | First kiss! The girl saved the Prince who fell into the water | [Affairs of Drama Queen]

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKzOtyWsOVE

[qserasera]

My dream svsss live action (cont)

Part 2

part 1 for my headcanon live action cast here

the last post didn’t have enough room to include all the characters, so here’s the rest of ‘who would i cast in a liveaction svsss drama’ thoughts and why

Shen Yuan - ?? or Bai Jingting

pic from my drama list here. i don’t have the Strongest opinion on the actor for shen yuan because he would only be in like. a few scenes at the beginning. i think bai jingting could do a reasonably good job, since he knows how to. hmm how to describe it...do comedic face journeys in a way that still feels true to a historical period drama?? like he knows how to be funny without coming off as too modern.  he’s also doing an Excellent job as a main role in Chang Feng Du, for anyone who’s asking. otherwise some other actor from a youth drama/college setting drama could probably be a nice candidate, if they know how to switch from serious/air of slightly disdainful cynicism to Peak Comedy and obliviousness at the drop of a hat (which i wouldn’t know bc i don’t watch a ton of modern cdramas ; w ; )

Yue Qingyuan - Tony Leung

no thoughts, head empty, who else can exude guilt and yearning like a sexy, sexy cologne??? for yqy it would be Nice to have an actor who can pull off the competent smiling look with an air of hidden melancholy and. like. yep.

Ning Yingying - Amy Sun

she did a good job in the eternal love series (totally different drama from the one about the peach blossoms and 3 lives). i honestly had mixed feelings about the show, but i did watch at least two season of it so. who knows. she was very good as jing xin with the scenes she was given, even tho i bounced off the actual heroine’s personality type completely

Liu Mingyan - Kira Shi

not much commentary here!! this was just on general looks and acting feel probably. haven’t seen her specifically in any fight-heavy/wuxia shows (but i did watch weaving a tale of love and story of minglan) so. i think for looks, she does contrast pretty distinctly from the above ning yingying casting, idk idk

Liu Qingge - Li Hongyi

if you need someone to play like. a seemingly more pretty but delicate look warrior while also being dangerous, he can do that! his acting skills would pretty much be up to task, etc etc

Sha Hualing - Tang Wei

confession time is that i haven’t actually. watched lust, caution which she starred in (which i heard was very good and also got her blocked out of a lot of other acting projects afterwards), but i do think her overall face profile has the right vibe

(Guest Role) Su Xiyan - Dilraba Dilmurat

i just liked how she played her main role in the long ballad, and dilraba also knows how to give off that no-nonsense competent aura as a heroine while also being emotive for romantic-type storylines and passionate feelings

(Guest Role) Tianlang-jun - Wallace Huo

you need an emperor-type actor with capriciousness, humor, danger and vulnerability??? it’s him.....he would be so so so good, i know this in my heart!!! (for a sample of his acting, there is a clip from the ruyi drama here u could check out)

[rockislandadultreads]

Historical Fiction: Best of 2022 releases

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor

On a sultry August day in 1922, Jay Gatsby is shot dead in his West Egg swimming pool. To the police, it appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder/suicide when the body of George Wilson, a local mechanic, is found in the woods nearby. Then a diamond hairpin is discovered in the bushes by the pool, and three women fall under suspicion. Each holds a key that can unlock the truth to the mysterious life and death of this enigmatic millionaire. Daisy Buchanan once thought she might marry Gatsby—before her family was torn apart by an unspeakable tragedy that sent her into the arms of the philandering Tom Buchanan. Jordan Baker, Daisy’s best friend, guards a secret that derailed her promising golf career and threatens to ruin her friendship with Daisy as well. Catherine McCoy, a suffragette, fights for women’s freedom and independence, and especially for her sister, Myrtle Wilson, who’s trapped in a terrible marriage. Their stories unfold in the years leading up to that fateful summer of 1922, when all three of their lives are on the brink of unraveling. Each woman is pulled deeper into Jay Gatsby’s romantic obsession, with devastating consequences for all of them.

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

"Within every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time." It is 1938 in China and, as a young wife, Meilin’s future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge. Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down? Yet how can Lily learn who she is if she can never know her family’s story? Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It’s about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the haunting question: What would it mean to finally be home?

Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been—including the ones she most wants to leave behind—in order to finally claim her own name and story. At once a literary tour de force and a groundbreaking work of historical fiction, Four Treasures of the Sky announces Jenny Tinghui Zhang as an indelible new voice. Steeped in untold history and Chinese folklore, this novel is a spellbinding feat.

Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

"There is one every generation--a seer who keeps the stories." Luz "Little Light" Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, is left to fend for herself after her older brother, Diego, a snake charmer and factory worker, is run out of town by a violent white mob. As Luz navigates 1930's Denver on her own, she begins to have visions that transport her to her Indigenous homeland in the nearby Lost Territory. Luz recollects her ancestors' origins, how her family flourished and how they were threatened. She bears witness to the sinister forces that have devastated her people and their homelands for generations. In the end, it is up to Luz to save her family stories from disappearing into oblivion. Written in Kali Fajardo-Anstine's singular voice, the wildly entertaining and complex lives of the Lopez family fill the pages of this multigenerational western saga. Woman of Light is a transfixing novel about survival, family secrets, and love, filled with an unforgettable cast of characters, all of whom are just as special, memorable, and complicated as our beloved heroine, Luz.

[harocat]

gizkasparadise definitely love and redemption! a lot of similar themes and 100% guaranteed happy ending

dangermousie Love and Redemption - great drama and sticks the landing (also some of the same themes like angsty hero and tough heroine but done better), 3 lives 3 worlds 10 miles of peach blossoms (was a huge hit, I love it, happy ending delish angst in between. Starts a little slow.) Love and Destiny - war god gets a happy ending :) Not a huge fan of starry love btw.

jupiter-86 Love and Redemption definitely

I'm watching Love and Redemption right now. I'm through episode four. It's QUITE long, so it might take some time.

And I will check out the other two when I get a chance as well.

dangermousie Also The Legends, with Bai Lu. It gets messy by the end but happy ending and the bulk of it is awesome

Ok if you need more recs I am back yet again because nobody recced Legend of Fuyao and it’s a crime - the ending is happy (tho last minute), all 3 OTP get resolution, heroine is an epic bamf who fights in battles and wins, hero is flexibly moral but devoted. It’s so good! It’s a little older (2018) so I think people don’t think of it much

Thank you! I also plan on watching Bai Lu's new Kunning Palace series (but it's not xianxia and also I have a feeling it will be heartbreaking).

dal-s-ta For a slight change in genre, I recommend Wuxia dramas such as Word of Honor and Douluo Continent.

I've watched Word of Honor! Can you sell me on Duoluo Continent? I heard it's not very good, so I hadn't looked into it.

But also, I might be gay, but I still have working eyes and Xiao Zhan 👀

[forkaround]

Classic BL Watch/List

List:

To borrow from @waitmyturtles, a list of shows I'll cover:

ThaiBL: 1) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 2) Make It Right + Make It Right 2 3) SOTUS + SOTUS S 4) Together With Me 5) Love By Chance 6) He’s Coming To Me 7) Dark Blue Kiss 8) TharnType 9) Puppy Honey 10) Theory of Love 11) Until We Meet Again 12) 2gether + Still 2gether 13) I Told Sunset About You + I Promised You the Moon 14) Manner of Death 15) A Tale of Thousand Stars 16) Lovely Writer I will group these into either productions i.e. all GMMTV or by writer i.e. all MAME, all Jittiran, all Sammon, etc

Korean BL: 1) Where Your Eyes Linger 2) Color Rush 3) To My Star 4) You Make Me Dance 5) Nobleman's Ryu's Wedding 6) Light On Me 7) Peach of Time 8) Kissable Lips 9) Long Time No See 10) Cherry Blossoms After Winter 11) Blueming 12) Our Dating Sim 13) The Eighth Sense Others like The Tasty Florida, Where Your Eyes Linger, Semantic Error, etc. I've already seen and don't include on this list.

Japanese BL: (from @absolutebl's recs) 1) Seven Days 2) My Love Mix-up 3) Restart after Come back Home 4) Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss! 5) Life: Love on the line 6) Man who defies the world of BL 7) Takumi kun 8) Boys Love 9) Cornered Mouse Dream of Cheese 10) Eternal Yesterday 11) Ossan's Love 12) Given Others like Cherry Magic, Old Fashion Cupcake, Minato Coin Laundry, etc. I've already seen and don't include on this list.

Taiwanese BL: 1 - 5) HIStory Series 6) Be Loved in this House: I Do 7) See you after Quarantine? 8) DNA says I love you 9) We are Gamily 10) Your Name Engraved Herein 11) Papa & Daddy 12) Plus Minus 13) Love is Science Others like We Best Love, About Youth I've already seen and don't include on this list.

Chinese BL: (If I can find them) 1) Addicted Heroin 2) The Untamed 3) Advance Bravely 4) My Esport Genius Brother 5) Like Love: I love you as a man 6) Mr. CEO is falling in Love with him 7) S.C.I 8) Irresistible Love 9) Mr. X and I Others like Guardian and Word of Honor I've already seen and don't include on this list

[16/06/2023]

[wedreamedlove]

Thoughts on Osborn recent bday card?

mexican vaqueros (charros?) don't hit any of my kinks so i'm neutral towards his birthday card, although the second evolution is the cutest thing ever. i love it whenever the heroine expresses her love for Osborn without any reservation and he soaks it up and smiles with such happiness (the redness at the corners of his peach blossom eyes!! my heart!!).

this confirms that the theme for their 2nd birthdays is visiting another culture in the world though (Charlie had egypt and Sariel had tibet), so i'm curious about the mexican stuff here. while i can't comment on light and night's accuracy, i think they do attempt to do their research.

Jesse's spain date and him learning flamenco from the romani still leaves an impression on me!

[libidomechanica]

Let rays from her Hand

A kimo sequence

               1

She dreamt, clothing would content? Oft till the new so through a mimic the sword! Let rays from her Hand?

               2

Till love neurosis a posy of nose: be my life’s iron chain’d to pray; who wear. Come to me.

               3

What I hope she hundred young Lochinvar. Or rather time where you could be quiet luxury.

               4

A well-known in uniform. Fair czarina’s autocratic create, thought. His Highness of wit.

               5

—Oh Shame in ten? And revels, reader! Throughout and she’d said, this; for it had return! Bulletin.

               6

If stars from all the voice come to save the tow’ry fence of Dudu, who fain outrun her. Her pause.

               7

Whoever hearts an hour before might fall, or proclaim, till what was a crimson shore! Fill the worse.

               8

And other of art—have buildings in the long woo’d them and round undistinguish. A belt a growth.

               9

If I have more. The integrity of better dear oration, could rather through joys are kind!

               10

He was he courts, was wrought me to threaten’d and veneration. Joy so pure golden butterflies.

               11

Continue. And in the smoke, felt close the old bygones by the wind’s eye and that’s favour this plea.

               12

They mean, thought by his job.—Tis but vow their age: for after than there’s a serpent’s genial vaine.

               13

Why so much better twenty-nine do out of the siren! They glide, their efforts should so mine eyes!

               14

But vulnerable verse like her, I’m with all that’s step, he called Rescue Inc. Ascribe, unless plan?

               15

Becomes at spring; and arm’d with all the silent than are borne? Would his garden in this—the bliss.

               16

Thoughtful things from Nubia brought to hiccup’d, Our old man’s space and her heart so gentler dress. Perceived.

               17

If single scorn to laugh at a flower, especially some no more the same. She was stronger?

               18

The heroines, and wonder endymion awoke, the starting-post. When the Night; o, for some back.

               19

But many a benison. There’—for who wish is quiver is committed too much as the pails.

               20

Yet incess and empty corridors which outweighs the pearl, and for that to my pure blood her years.

               21

Else men who servent. He does not all the best barouched so forth, when his anger of the same.

               22

The light, their tawny brushed than the sun and arrows, which to each! To Lady would shall with apple.

               23

Past his firmness—know your side outgush’d, in control. From a rugged rynde, and most trying, and will be.

               24

A vein had dreamed them—whose from room corner me again went noiseless virgin’s blossom to roam.

               25

Each under the morning’s eye. Hides, he hath been raised at the sang in a silver bounds, from his pall.

               26

For Fortune’s shadowing went to Germany, about themselves dead. Dream, we saw him spread with truth.

               27

Shine, command of time could he not answer. Could tell you, or ambition, which to myself converse.

               28

So they say so Bryant spirits as lilies’ shade, not the delicious. Were some the other’s hats.

               29

With every body marred. Some people of immortal in any way be sent, etc.

               30

For a mask. The night, but Turkish forc’d him a large black hair damp from purblind but vulnerable.

               31

Our friend Hortensius. As may service without superb to show the glistering in their broadside.

               32

Alone can scarce lose; yet as the meadow- land, than he, proscribe,—that is it? Away, the where his!

               33

I will no more, that I shall know the next swath and purblind and the tumult fell in vain the late.

               34

And so good companions of sight moon shiny blacker than young Lochinvar. Then didst thus of wit.

               35

Is nothing like asp with what higher. Hang: but when spray, a court, or sink, and Hoigh for, by my soul.

               36

I dreadful dawn wound her wrists like knots. For some gentle selves become in nets, dreading course of sway.

               37

You please: a life my life’s work they were was given here I could pipe of man. As one by one here!

               38

Which their luckiest sinner? From him: You wilt steal me a plague brig—Corpo di Caio Mario!

               39

She ships, touch thing here, excuse! I think exists in forests, i, that I may. No thou art forest!

               40

Heart. Tis time me peaches. Is as a fossile made a wild orders to be e’er was as mine?

               41

Of thine image in motion. Of the Sculptor’s face by hope to show a fair beseem’d with thou now.

               42

But the right. The commission the summit of strife arose in your conqueror William did reare.

               43

I coof cam in winding children. My hear the more adapted to display’d that forsaken die?

               44

There was power. And poesy. So kiss. By Swift, mad, and I am gone to the yards of ocean?

               45

And silence what we love no more or lees to where her to the monstrous god rimmed cloud: for ever?

               46

Rise and Lion—let none struggle, that gentle pair! The region; now tis pity love: too long wave?

               47

To the tide, so that lover! All pall they camel’s hump, beside and stony sleep so sore, hey ho!

               48

Like others black—o! He took it only bitches, which youth asleep: vainly ran my heart aflame.

               49

With accents hackney on her, nightlier moved and beauty stood the murmured Ida. In truth, O Love!

               50

Or, falling pain.—Cruel god, and wave: and made them, lay dormant alkali, although young Lochinvar.

               51

But, when the Laocoon’s above all open- mouthed, she progress of mind? To me more is not amiss.

               52

Bud-packed to reasonable, plate as warriors, unless than hath nypt my meed. Wilderness now, for thee.

               53

For catch the sky. I there; ascends the pleased what her hung up the Hall to tears re-sighing,—weaning.

               54

Human, with curse, and lang; she music: ’ and Boats, ’ and Boats, ’ and t is silver, form’d him, force me on.

               55

Last Love, I only which kept in a breach? Dearer to dance, chattels, mincers of the desert sky?

               56

The March of ages evening, we will exact, and Hortensius. Weep for dearest bands untwining?

               57

Her I lost bright, his the wife, he stones dead religion, Mrs. And harlotry maid, forgot em.

               58

When Nero perish intrude, and sadly? Though the unshapeliest, chaste of shame, who have delight?

               59

Comes our future came all enjoying hair when all while the tumults, but found her child to his sight?

               60

Ere tyrants in his halls the rock the way of getting auburn wave to like. Floats scumlike each sense.

               61

An epitaphs our gown. The heaven so that is leaguer’d by black eyes are drawest thankfully.

               62

But as their nuptial room, imprison,—but it was now, I there’s note! And twice a day they slept.

               63

So bereft, there for either statues. My sight clothed a squabble; but woman wed, and what Fame has.

               64

Even ashes of salt estarnging hand and rich the none, and guilt! Lucus a noble, flung it.

               65

We didn’t expenses. From North. The Don, Balgounie’s brows over. Last Love, I am sure victories.

               66

Not die.—How some to loves himself mighty ones who knew that all the same type of Terror was left.

               67

Slaughter—had no need of province or awe, who much, earthly goods are no more. The verge of this life?

               68

Of any sage’s crest, as he spot, and mode in which still the heaven. Holds my sweet with a Swan.

               69

Drinks themselves for ever feet; with no long. From off the canker to the braes o’ Ballochmyle.

               70

This canvas close besides what the ensuing sea. Do Well, the figurehead with the Harvest Home.

               71

Be one with feminine dominion: now delay, young Lochinvar? That he wage a roughness dole.

               72

And all the past, therewith Haidee’s know what sweet Arethusa. Hoping lies—This Story now.

               73

Where were those which the chosen fountain might seem some vexation; for dear life! For thy smoothest Sleep!

               74

Upon these sodain rysing of them, as rotted, ere them. I long tresses it in things, all sung.

               75

Died the sounds in timely deemed pale as plains. Nor leave my winds, and lo, wonders by a familiar.

               76

Yet still we would I painters for nuts at last, with the Sultan has’t by kind. I trusts him, and rill.

               77

And breast. And that nought soft kind of break your flies, and round, and build to his necessity. We thing.

               78

This even lookin’ to meet heresy, such less resolved to pot. With eyes that inspired plains.

               79

The golden Apollonian elegance, with mealy sweet Highland Mary. Would Chloe knows!

               80

This is the Jews from being: now, the moor. So bold, along traveller, in song, a handsome like.

               81

To watch him here seen to a silent spring. Who was strangers in thy house nor me not with thee.

               82

With mews. Which, when there heo on me sigh d for fool and me for the pillow, the chaffe forms of light?

               83

In earth has got to be hove doth good old gentleman’s oppression, the bird their husband. The swan.

[willard-ratman-stiles]

Hey if you were a fruit what fruit would you be? What? You asked what I would be? Well, friend, If I were a fruit, I would be a blossoming peach from the East, ripe and crisp with flavor. A peach with skin so soft and so delicate, that a simple slight pressure of the teeth effortlessly reveals the splendor hidden within its it's soft shell. A peach with such delicious, milky sweet juices that just one peach alone could not satisfy the tastebuds, in the same way a heroin addict relies on his needle. And finally, a peach with a core so dense and sharp that it would crack your teeth into a million pieces if you blundered too far into the peachs lair.. my jolly companions, I would not merely be a peach, I would be a gift of the very gods themselves. A token of their generosity to mankind and a symbol of the ever lasting life giving potential of their grace. I would be.... The God Peach.

I am too tired to read that whole thing. I apologize.

[willard--stiles]

Hey if you were a fruit what fruit would you be? What? You asked what I would be? Well, friend, If I were a fruit, I would be a blossoming peach from the East, ripe and crisp with flavor. A peach with skin so soft and so delicate, that a simple slight pressure of the teeth effortlessly reveals the splendor hidden within its it's soft shell. A peach with such delicious, milky sweet juices that just one peach alone could not satisfy the tastebuds, in the same way a heroin addict relies on his needle. And finally, a peach with a core so dense and sharp that it would crack your teeth into a million pieces if you blundered too far into the peachs lair.. my jolly companions, I would not merely be a peach, I would be a gift of the very gods themselves. A token of their generosity to mankind and a symbol of the ever lasting life giving potential of their grace. I would be.... The God Peach.

What does that even mean?

The God Peach? What? What is a God Peach?

I hate this website. I want to leave already.

[kyoshi-lesbians]

More atla gen & sapphic fic recs

ft. water sibling centric fic, aang & zuko friendship, OCs, suki centric fic, mailee, yueki, and rangshi

Gen

morning, an interlude by idleoaths

“Sokka glanced at Katara with a quick smile, turning back to calmly watch the horizon above the gentle waves that faded along the Ember Island shore. They were seated under the shaded eaves on the veranda, sitting comfortably with the quiet fluttering of dragonfly hummingbird wings. Behind them, the soft oceanside wind made a low whistle that kept pushing the slatted bamboo blinds against the edges of the trim.

For a long, peaceful moment, the two of them simply sat side-by-side on the warped floorboards, watching the morning sun.”

in the loving memory by sokkaesque

“[(When Kya died, Katara asked for her necklace. “I am going to be the best waterbender in the world,” she told Sokka, whispering — like a secret, like a promise.)

Sokka sighs. He doesn’t know how to put it in words. Softer than before, he tells her, “You know, you don’t– you don’t need to be a hero all the time. Maybe someone else is already on their way to defeat the Fire Nation. There are many, many waterbenders, out there.”

Then Katara sighs.

She just says, “Not from the South.”]

Or, Kya’s, Sokka’s, and most importantly Katara’s understanding of her identity as the last southern waterbender.”

the three of us by sokkaesque

“[Appa looks at Zuko pointedly, as if knowing what he’s thinking.

Zuko sighs, and follows his own resolution.

“Does it ever get lonely?” he asks, and then kicks himself mentally over it. That was not an apology.

Aang yelps as the crab manages to grab one of his toes, clashing onto the sand and shaking his foot to get rid of the damn thing. He says, “Sometimes!”]

Or, Zuko apologises to Aang. Aang plays with a crab. Appa is there, for emotional support.”

Typical Evening Practice by flerkenkiddingme

“The newly realized Avatar Yangchen arrives to the Southern Water Tribe and stumbles upon a new friend willing to give her a crash course in waterbending and help her feel at home.”

suki centric (/+ sukka)

bruise belies the break by eleonorastay

"In which Suki learns the heroine and the healing can be one in the same."

a brutally soft woman by rolandtowen

“Suki knows this for certain. Being a woman feels like a beautiful kimono, one that she wants to hold out in front of her, but never put on. She's scared she'll fall down and get mud on the fabric that had been pristine her entire life.

That's fine, Suki thinks. She would rather wear armor instead.

-

a character study on the intersection of femininity and war; for day 2 of ATLA gen week, Kyoshi Warriors”

when the moon peach blossoms bloom by idleoaths

“Suki and her Warriors, growing up in the last years of the war.”

Mailee

The World Falls Away For You by ayyna

"A trip through (and before) canon from the switching perspectives of Mai and Ty Lee"

'Cause I could never set you free by aureshadow

“And suddenly Ty Lee was clinging to her and Mai held her as her sobs slowly subsisted. Mother wouldn’t like this, Mai thought. At least for this moment, Ty Lee has fallen out of favor. The smart thing would be to side with the Princess, to take advantage of my competitor’s misfortune and help the Princess against her.

(Mai was eight.)”

Yueki

i have this breath (and i hold it tight) by leoperidot

"“We’re using each other’s strength to hold ourselves up,” Suki explains. “Without you, I would fall, and vice versa.”

Then, all of a sudden, Suki tugs hard, and the two of them almost crash together.

Yue lets out a panicked yelp, but Suki just giggles, tossing an arm around Yue’s shoulders to steady her. “See? I told you I wasn’t gonna drop you.”

or, what happens when Yue outlives her destiny.”

The Courage of Stars by hella1975

“Chief Arnook had always coddled Yue since her precarious start to life. He tiptoed around her like she was a fragile children’s toy, and if Yue had found it insufferable during her teenage years then she had no idea how bad it would get after that night at the Spirit Oasis. Her father realised that Yue wasn’t as safe as he’d hoped here, that if a single teenage boy could swim into their ranks without conflict, then what was stopping Yue from being hurt again?

Changes were made, the Kyoshi Warriors were moved to the Northern Water Tribe, and she lost the last bit of freedom she had left.

Yue thought the Head of the Kyoshi Warriors was rude and invasive. Suki thought the princess was arrogant and stiff.

And then one day, Yue found a poem on her bed.”

Rangshi

addressed only for you and me by thecenterstaysthesame

“For when I visit your family back in the Fire Nation,” Kyoshi says. “You said you’d take me there one day. Teach me how to say hello.”

Rangi stays silent. Kyoshi doesn’t understand why she’s so hesitant to teach her one simple phrase, and for a moment, Kyoshi wonders if she’s done something wrong. If she’s crossed a boundary, that Hwajae is only for Rangi and her mother, for Rangi and the other Fire Islanders but certainly not Kyoshi, dirty worthless Kyoshi from the Southern Earth Kingdom. She props her arm up, lifts herself up and begins to twist to apologize and to backtrack, and then Rangi answers.

“Saranghae,” Rangi says, her tone weirdly detached and strangled, voice breaking on the last syllable. “Sa-saranghae.”

(Childhood AU. Rangi spends the night at Kyoshi's.)"

[kdram-chjh]

Full Version | I fell into an ancient drama and fell for the Prince | [A...

Cdrama: Affairs of a Drama Queen (2022)

Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjeoYiojOeY

[absolutebl]

BL Master Post - List

List of 415 BLs as of mid 2022

This is just a list by request pulled from the Spreadsheet of Doom which contains all 400+ BLs that I have watched, dnf'd, or am currently watching. Dated June 30, 2022. 

It is in order by country (alphabetized) then year (oldest at the top) then rating out of 10. It includes shorts, movies, series, and compilations. In cases where there are multiple country production houses, it will fall under the dominant language (e.g. Peach of Time is under Korea). Feel free to gank. The spreadsheet of doom does contain most of my original sources for these, so if you want help tracking some of the more obscure ones down just ask in a comment. 

I have added these lists by country to the bottom of my History of the Genre posts. 

Japanese BL

Chinese BL

Taiwanese BL

Korean BL

Thai BL

China

2014 Like Love 1: I Love You As A Man: Part 1 - 5 2015 Falling in Love with a Rival: Counterattack - 3 2015 Mr. X and I: Us Against the World - 3 2015 Like Love 2: Nobody Knows But Me - 2 2016 Addicted Heroin - 8 2016 Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet - 5 2016 Irresistible Love 2: Uncontrolled Love - 6 2016 Fanatic Love - 5 2016 Queer Beauty: Oppressive Love - 3 2016 Ghost Boyfriend 1 - 2 2016 The Male Queen: Han Zi Gao - 1 2016 Lost Love - 1 2016 A Round Trip to Love - 1 2017 Customized Companion - dnf 2017 Glass Heart - dnf 2017 Legend of Long Yang: Rebirth 6 2017 Mr. CEO is Falling in Love with Him - 5 2017 Till Death Tear Us Apart: In This Case A Pleasant Lifetime Alone: Love is in a Blaze - 5 2017 His Cat: His Cat Boyfriend - 5 2017 Advance Bravely - 5 2017 The Fairy Fox - 3 2017 Beloved Enemy - 3 2017 Ghost Boyfriend 2 - 2 2017 Love is Not Easy to Have: Rare Love - 2 2017 Swinging Blossom - 2 2017 Find You In The Crowd compilation - 1 2018 River Knows Fish Heart - 6 2018 Guardian - 6 2018 Past Youth - 2 2018 Ghost Boyfriend 3 - 2 2019 Mermaid's Jade - 4 2019 Broken Youth - 4 2020 The Untamed - 6 2020 Precise Shot - 4 2020 Capture Lover - 4 2020 Youth in the Breeze: People of the Skyy compilation - 3 2021 Word of Honor - 8 2021 My Esports Genius Brother - 7 2021 Every Moment that I Think of You - 5 2022 In Your Heart - 2

HONG KONG 

2012 From Here to There - 2 2014 For Love, We Can - 2 2015 I Go To School Not By Bus - 2 2018 S.C.I. - 4 2021 Ossan's Love Love or Dead - 5 2021 I'm a Fool for You 1 & 2 - 4

JAPAN 

2006 Boys Love compilation - 1 2007 Takumi-kun 1: And The Spring Breeze Whispers - 5 2007 Itsuka no Kimi e - 5 2007 Boys Love: The Movie Boys Love 2 AKA Schoolboy Crush - 2 2008 Ai no Kotodama - 5 2008 Gymnasium Baby Taiikukan Baby - 3 2008 Melody of Our Love: Bokura no Ai no Kanade - 3 2008 Forbidden Love - 2 2008 Asymmetry - 2 2009 Takumi-kun 2: Rainbow Colored Glass - 5 2010 Junjou Pure Heart - 6 2010 Ai no Kotodama 2: Sekai no Hate Made - 6 2010 Takumi-kun 3: The Beauty of Detail - 5 2010 Takumi-kun 4: Pure - 4 2011 Takumi-kun 1: DaiMao Version (fan made) - 6 2011 Takumi-kun 5: That, Sunny Blue Sky - 5 2012 Fujimi Orchestra - 3 2013 Love Place: Hakanaki Kata Omoi: Gaiya no Koi: Shape of Happiness 1 - 3 2013 Love Place: Shiawase no Katachi: Shape of Happiness 2 - 4 2014 Docchi Mo Docchi: Same Difference - 5 2014 No Touching At All:  Doushitemo Furetakunai - 5 2014 Coming Out: Kamingu Auto - 3 2015 Seven Days: Monday-Thursday: Friday-Sunday - 10 2015 Candy and Kiss - 7 2015 Wait For Me at Udagawachou: Udagawachou de Matteteyo - 5 2015 Forever Summer - 2 2017 Silhouette of Your Voice: Hidamari ga Kikoeru - 7 2017 Double Mints - 2 2018 Ossan's Love original - 6 2018 Does the Flower Bloom? - 5 2018 Pornographer: The Novelist - 3 2019 What Did You Eat Yesterday?: Kinou Nani Tabeta? - 6 2019 Athlete - 4 2019 His: I Didn't Think I Would Fall In Love - 3 2019 Mood Indigo: Pornographer series - 3 2019 The Shortest Distance is Round (Blanc): Saitankyori wa Mawari Kudokute - 2 2019 The Shortest Distance is Round (Noir): Saitankyori wa Mawari Kudokute - 1 2020 Cherry Magic: 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii - 9 2020 Restart After Come Back Home: Risutato wa tadaima no ato de - 8 2020 Life: Love on the Line Life: Senjou no Bokura - 8 2020 His the movie - 6 2020 Love Stage!! :Rabu Suteiji - 5 2020 Sei no Gekiyaku:  Dangerous Drugs of Sex - 4 2020 The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese: Kyuso wa Chizu no Yume wo Miru - 2 2020 The Shortest Distance 3: Fallen Flowers Saitankyori Wa Mawari Kudokute: Rakka Ryūsui Japan 1 2020 The Shortest Distance is Round 2 : Rain and Soda Saitankyori wa Mawari Kudokute: Ame to Soda Mizu Japan 1 2021 Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko: Absolute BL: A Man Who Defies The World of BL. - 10 2021 Utsukushii Kare: My Beautiful Man - 9 2021 Kieta Hatsukoi: Vanishing My First Love My Love Mix Up - 8 2021 Given: Givun - 8 2021 Pornographer Playback: Pornographer series - 5 2022 Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai VS Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko 2 Absolute BL 2 A Man Who Defies The World of BL 2 - 10 2022 Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! Mr Unlucky AKA Mr. Unlucky Can Only Kiss AKA Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss! - 8 2022 Old Fashion Cupcake: Old-Fashioned Cupcake - ?  2022 Minato Coin Laundry: Wash My Heart!: Minato's Laundromat: Minato Shouji Koin Randorii - ?

KOREA 

2006 No Regrets - 1 2008 Boy Meets Boy - 4 2008 A Frozen Flower - 1 2009 Just Friends?: Chingu Sai? - 8 2010 Love, 100℃ - 1 2011 Nabang Spark - 4 2012 Suddenly Last Summer - 5 2012 Two Weddings and a Funeral - 5 2012 Going South - 2 2013 Something, Crunchy Crunchy - dnf 2014 So Refreshed! - 2 2014 Diary of Heong Yeong Dang: Drama Festival 2014: The Diary of Heong Yeong Dang - 1 2014 I'm Horny Now! - 1 2014 Night Flight - 1 2014 Some - 1 2015 The Lover BL Cut - 5 2015 Open - 4 2015 Weird Housemates - 4 2015 A Naked Boy - 1 2016 My Eleventh Brother - 4 2016 Jealousy is My Guest - 2 2017 Long Time No See (Strongberry) - 7 2017 Free Bird - 4 2017 Secret Spectacles (Strongberry) - 4 2017 Tilted Summer - 2 2017 Tropical Night - 2 2017 Method - 2 2017 Mind - 2 2017 The Boy Next Door - 1 2018 Some More (Strongberry) - 8 2018 Step For You (Strongberry) - 7 2018 Being Me - 6 2018 My Pistachio (Strongberry) - 6 2018 Summerdaze: Stay Away From Me - 5 2018 Table Manner (Strongberry) - 4 2018 In Between Seasons - 1 2019 As if You Whisper (Strongberry) - 6 2019 Sonnet 18 - 6 2019 My Personal Trainer (Strongberry) - 5 2019 One Last Order - 5 2020 Wish You: Your Melody in My Heart - 9 2020 Where Your Eyes Linger - 8 2020 Mr. Heart: mr heart - 7 2020 Private Lessons (Strongberry) - 7 2020 Secret Roommate (Strongberry) - 5 2021 On His Turf:  On My Turf - dnf 2021 Color Rush - 10 2021 Light On Me - 10 2021 To My Star - 10 2021 A First Love Story (Strongberry) - 9 2021 Nobleman Ryu's Wedding - 9 2021 My Sweet Dear - 8 2021 The Tasty Florida - 8 2021 You Make Me Dance - 8 2021 Made in Rooftop - 7 2021 Peach of Time - 6 2021 Confidential Coffee Break (Strongberry) - 6 2021 Sweet Curse (Strongberry) - 6 2021 Hold Me - 6 2021 Fingers After (Strongberry) - 5 2021 My "S" Partner - 4 2022 Semantic Error - 10 2022 Blueming - 9 2022 Cherry Blossoms After Winter - 9 2022 Tinted With You - 8 2022 Oh! Boarding House - 8 2022 Behind Cut - 8 2022 Love Class - 8 2022 Ocean Likes Me - 8 2022 Color Rush 2 - 7 2022 First Love Again - 7 2022 Blue of Winter Judo Boys - 3 2022 Kissable Lips - 2 2022 Love in Spring: Spring of Crush - ? 2022 To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories - ?

THE PHILIPPINES

2014 Geography Lessons: Lisyun qng Geografia - 3  2016 4 Days - 5  2020 In Between: Sa Pagitan ng Kamusta at Paalam - dnf  2020 The Shore - dnf  2020 Amore - dnf  2020 Boyband Love - ? 4 2020 Happenstance - ?  2020 Gameboys the series - 9  2020 Like In The Movies: Gaya Sa Pelikula - 8  2020 My Day the series - 8  2020 The Boy Foretold by the Stars - 6  2020 Meet Me Outside - 5  2020 Win Jaime's Heart - 5  2021 Jack & Jill - dnf  2021 Love is the series - dnf  2021 Stuck on You - dnf  2022 Rainbow Prince - 6 

SINGAPORE

2022 Getaway: Get Away dnf

TAIWAN 

2006 Eternal Summer: Eternal Summers - 2 2012 Pair of Love - 3 2014 100 Apples - 4 2016 Friend or Lover - 6 2016 He's Out There Somewhere - 1 2017 HIStory: Obsessed - 8 2017 Red Balloon - 7 2017 HIStory: Stay Away From Me - 6 2017 HIStory: My Hero - 6 2017 Faded - 5 2017 We Are Gamily - 5 2017 Dark Blue and Moonlight - 3 2018 HIStory 2: Crossing the Line - 9 2018 HIStory 2: Right or Wrong - 8 2019 The Teacher - dnf 2019 HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count - 2 2019 HIStory 3: Trapped - 7 2019 Departure - 3 2019 Bro and Me Bro & Me - 3 2020 Because of You - 7 2020 Craving You - 5 2020 Our Memory - 3 2020 Your Name Engraved Herein - 2 2021 We Best Love No. 1 For You - 10 2021 We Best Love Fighting Mr. 2nd - 10 2021 Be Loved In House I Do - 9 2021 Love is Science? BL Cut - 9 2021 See You After Quarantine? - 8 2021 HIStory 4: Close to You - 8 2021 Papa & Daddy - 7 2021 My Type - 7 2021 Innocent - 5 2021 Light - 5 2021 Friend or Lover - 5 2021 The Immeasurable - 4 2021 The Immeasurable - 4 2022 Plus & Minus AKA Plus and Minus - 8 2022 DNA Says Love You - 8

THAILAND 

2007 Love of Siam - 2 2013 Timeline - 3 2013 Love Next Door 1 - 2 2014 Love Sick - 7 2014 Love Next Door 2 - 4 2014 My Bromance the movie - 2 2015 Love Sick 2 - 7 2015 Love Love You - 3 2015 Water Boyy the movie - 2 2015 Feel Good to Say Goodbye - 2 2015 Same Same Is Not The Same - 2 2015 Red Wine in the Dark Night - 1 2016 Puppy Honey BL Cut - 8 2016 SOTUS - 8 2016 Make it Right - 7 2016 The Right Man Because I Love You - 5 2016 Sweet Student Boy Sweet Boy - 2 2016 Gray - 2 2016 My Bromance the series - 1 2016 Grey Rainbow: Views of Love - 1 2017 SOTUS S - 8 2017 Puppy Honey2 BL Cut - 8 2017 Make it Right 2 - 7 2017 My Dear Loser Edge of 17 - 6 2017 2 Moons the series - 6 2017 Together with Me - 6 2017 I Am Your King 1 - 3 2017 Waterboyy the series - 3 2017 I Love You - 2 2017 Present Perfect - 2 2018 SOTUS Our Skyy - 8 2018 Kiss Me Again PeteKao - 8 2018 Love By Chance - 8 2018 My Tee: Cause You're My Boy - 6 2018 InnSun Our Skyy My Dear Loser - 5 2018 PeteKao Our Skyy Dark Blue Kiss - 5 2018 PickRome Our Skyy Puppy Honey - 5 2018 You Had Me At Hello - 5 2018 TeeMork Our Skyy My Tee - 5 2018 My Dream - 3 2018 Together with Me the next chapter - 3 2018 What the Duck - 2 2019 Until We Meet Again: The Red Thread - 10 2019 He's Coming to Me - 9 2019 Dark Blue Kiss - 8 2019 Theory of Love - 8 2019 TharnType - 8 2019 2 Moons 2 - 7 2019 3 Will Be Free - 7 2019 Great Men Academy - 6 2019 Good Loser 2 parts - 5 2019 With Love the series - 5 2019 I Am Your King 2 - 3 2019 Before I Love You 3 parts - 3 2019 2 Wish the series - 3 2019 Love Poison - 3 2019 Make it Live on the Beach: Make It Live: On The Beach - 3 2019 Reminders - 3 2019 The Best Twins - 2 2019 The Effect - 2 2019 Dew the Movie - 1 2020 Ghost Runner - dnf 2020 I Told The Sunset About You - dnf 2020 Oxygen the series - 9 2020 Still 2gether - 8 2020 2gether - 8 2020 Why R U? - 8 2020 En of Love Love Mechanics - 7 2020 My Engineer - 7 2020 Ingredients the series - 7 2020 Theory of Love special - 7 2020 Love By Chance 2: A Chance at Love - 6 2020 My Gear and Your Gown - 6 2020 Present Still Perfect - 6 2020 En of Love: This is Love Story - 6 2020 En of Love: Tossera - 6 2020 Location - 5 2020 YYY the series - 5 2020 Friend Forever - 5 2020 So Much In Love - 5 2020 TharnType 2: Seven Years of Love - 5 2020 Night of Love - 4 2020 YYY Special - 3 2020 The Moment - 3 2021 My Boy - dnf 2021 Call it What You Want - dnf 2021 Call it What You Want 2 - dnf 2021 I Promised You the Moon: I Told Sunset About You - dnf 2021 Love Poison 2 - dnf 2021 Hidden Love - dnf 2021 Country Boy - dnf 2021 1000 Stars A Tale of Thousand Stars - 9 2021 Lovely Writer - 9 2021 Golden Blood - 8 2021 Nitiman - 7 2021 Manner of Death - 7 2021 Second Chance - 7 2021 Y-Destiny - 6 2021 Gen Y the series - 6 2021 My Mate Match - 6 2021 The Yearbook - 6 2021 Bite Me - 6 2021 Once in Memory: Wish Me Luck - 6 2021 Once in Memory - 6 2021 Love Advisor - 6 2021 Tonhon Chonlatee - 6 2021 Top Secret Together - 5 2021 Love With Benefits - 5 2021 Siew Sum Noi - 5 2021 Love Area Part 1 - 5 2021 The Best Story YinWar - 5 2021 Don’t Say No LeoFiat Special - 5 2021 Evening Cafe - 5 2021 Brothers - 4 2021 Close Friend Season 1 - 4 2021 Loveless Society - 4 2021 7 Project BL Cut - 4 2021 Fish Upon the Sky - 4 2021 The Cupid Coach - 3 2021 My Bromance 2: 5 Years Later - 3 2021 The Couple - 3 2021 Hometown's Embrace - 3 2021 Love Machine - 1 2022 Saneha Stories 4: Thanon Sai Saneha - dnf 2022 Rak Diao Thai BL sitcom - dnf 2022 Restart(ed): Restarted - dnf 2022 7 Days 7 Boys - dnf 2022 Country Boy - dnf 2022 The Miracle of Teddy Bear - dnf 2022 My Ride Thai 9 2022 Bad Buddy Thai 9 2022 Not Me OffGun Thai 9 2022 Love Stage!! Love Stage - 8 2022 What Zabb Man! Star Hunter - 8 2022 Cutie Pie - 8 2022 Star in My Mind Star and Sky - 8 2022 Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Soul - 7 2022 Enchanté Enchante - 7 2022 Secret Crush On You - 7 2022 La Cuisine - 7 2022 Paint With Love - 6 2022 Close Friend 2 Season 2 - 6 2022 You're My Sky: Star and Sky - 6 2022 Cupid's Last Wish - 6 2022 Gen Y 2: Season 2 - 5 2022 The Love of Winter - 5 2022 Meow Ears Up - 4 2022 Our Days - 4 2022 Physical Therapy - 3 2022 The Tuxedo - 3 2022 Love Area Part 2 - 3 2022 That's My Candy KimCop - 3 2022 Something In My Room - 3 2022 Triage the series - ? 2022 KinnPorsche - ? 2022 Check Out - ? 2022 Sky in Your Heart: Star and Sky - ? 2022 My Secret Love: Secret Admirer - ? 2022 Love Mechanics YinWar Thai ?

VIETNAM 

2017 My Sky BẦU TRỜI CỦA KHÁNH - 2 2018 The Ring Goes Missing - 5 2019 Hey! First Love AKA My Sky Dam My hoc Doung - 5 2019 Goodbye Mother Thua Me Con D - 3 2020 Stage of Love - 6 2020 Sea Him TienTai universe - 5 2020 Tien Bromance EXTRA - 5 2020 Tien Bromance - 1 2021 My Lascivious Boss ÔNG CHỦ, ĐỪNG ĐẾN ĐÂY - 7 2021 You Are Ma Boy EM LÀ CHÀNG TRAI CỦA ANH - 7 2021 Nation's Brother - 7 2021 Hay Rival, I LOVE YOU! - 6 2021 Follow My Sunshine SAU VẠT NẮNG - 6 2021 Stupid Boys Stupid Love YÊU ĐI SỢ GÌ - 6 2021 Monster in Law Mẹ Chồn Dâu Cáo - 6 2021 Most Peaceful Place Is You - 6 2021 You Are My Sunshine - 4 2021 Fools - 4 2022 Next Door Crush - dnf 2022 Mr Cinderella Xem trọn bộ Mr Cinderella - 8 2022 The Promise - 5 2022 You Are My Stupid Boy - 5 2022 Want to See You - ?

(this was by request from @roices )

source 

[rockislandadultreads]

Goodreads Choice Awards 2022: Historical Fiction Opening Round Nominees

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

In the summer of 1995, ten-year-old Joan, her mother, and her younger sister flee her father's violence, seeking refuge at her mother's ancestral home in Memphis. Half a century ago, Joan's grandfather built this majestic house in the historic Black neighborhood of Douglass - only to be lynched days after becoming the first Black detective in Memphis. This wasn't the first time violence altered the course of Joan's family's trajectory, and she knows it won't be the last. Longing to become an artist, Joan pours her rage and grief into sketching portraits of the women of North Memphis - including their enigmatic neighbor Miss Dawn, who seems to know something about curses.

Unfolding over seventy years through a chorus of voices, Memphis weaves back and forth in time to show how the past and future are forever intertwined. It is only when Joan comes to see herself as a continuation of a long matrilineal tradition - and the women in her family as her guides to healing - that she understands that her life does not have to be defined by vengeance. That the sole weapon she needs is her paintbrush.

Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been - including the ones she most wants to leave behind - in order to finally claim her own name and story.

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

It is 1938 in China and, as a young wife, Meilin’s future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge.

Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down? Yet how can Lily learn who she is if she can never know her family’s story?

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

Growing up in a housing estate in Glasgow, Mungo and James are born under different stars - Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic - and they should be sworn enemies if they're to be seen as men at all. Yet against all odds, they become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the pigeon dovecote that James has built for his prize racing birds. As they fall in love, they dream of finding somewhere they belong, while Mungo works hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his big brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold. And when several months later Mungo's mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland with two strange men whose drunken banter belies murky pasts, he will need to summon all his inner strength and courage to try to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future.

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Montgomery, Alabama 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend has big plans to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she intends to help women make their own choices for their lives and bodies.

But when her first week on the job takes her down a dusty country road to a worn down one-room cabin, she’s shocked to learn that her new patients are children - just 11 and 13 years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black and for those handling the family’s welfare benefits that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her role, she takes India, Erica and their family into her heart. Until one day, she arrives at the door to learn the unthinkable has happened and nothing will ever be the same for any of them.

Decades later, with her daughter grown and a long career in her wake, Dr. Civil Townsend is ready to retire, to find her peace and to leave the past behind. But there are people and stories that refuse to be forgotten. That must not be forgotten. Because history repeats what we don’t remember.

[odoroussavourssweet]

Coty L'Origan

Nose: Francois Coty

Notes: coriander, orange, pepper, peach, bergamot; spices, nutmeg, orange blossom, violet, ylang-ylang, rose, jasmine; benzoin, coumarin, incense, sandalwood, vanilla, civet, cedar, musk

This is a totally new-to-me accord. Floral in a fresh, breezy way, with something like dried herbs. It feels "dusty" and "airy"; clean, dry, abstract. Fluffy-powdery, but not sweet.

A genuinely "innocent" scent, in pale blue and green and violet.

But with soft dry musks and woods on the bottom, so it seems to emerge naturally from the skin instead of rejecting it with the alien purity of a post-90's "fresh" scent. L'Origan is an ingenue who has an actual body.

An hour in there's a buttery-soft landing with orris and benzoin.

Some days I also get a totally different, deeper base, resinous and lightly spiced, and also very dry (woody? musky?).

A dry, soft, herb-floral-and-spice sachet for an old-fashioned heroine.

[furious-rogue-stuff]

Heat Chapter 11: Plans - Part 1

Another chapter that ran away from me and had to be broken up into parts 😅 Chalk-full of self-indulgent stuff I think we all wish we could experience with our roguish agent - at least as far as I’m concerned anyway.

 If you’d like to be added to the tag list, please let me know~!

Pairing: Javier Peña x OFC | Javi x Querida

Disclaimer: Written in 2nd person narrative, you can safely assume our heroine and love/lust interest is a Latina, written by a Latina. Here's my philosophy on my writing, for further context.

Rating: Mature/Explicit 🔞

Word Count: 17,000+

Summary: Everything between you and Javi is bliss, and now that you feel safe with him, you find yourself hoping and planning things you'd never entertained. Will you find the courage to let your guard down and tell Javi some of these pining plans?

Warnings: Javier Peña being the best boyfriend we all want, graphic descriptions of sex, including explicit depictions of masturbation, oral (m receiving) and unprotected sex 🤭 Use of provocative pet names, mentions of emotional trauma, violence, and adult situations. Some slightly Dom!Javi, Possessive!Javi, and Soft!Javi. In the vein of Narcos being a bilingual show, and Javier Peña being fluent, I felt it was apropos to include Spanglish and Spanish throughout.

Chapter 1: Nicknames | Chapter 2: Tempest | Chapter 3: Solterita | Chapter 4: Cagey | Chapter 5: Want - Part 1| Chapter 6: Want - Part 2 | Chapter 7: Insecurities - Part 1 | Chapter 8: Insecurities - Part 2 | Chapter 9: Passion | Chapter 10: Peach |  Read at AO3

Taglist: @redsilentwolf28​ @just-here-for-the-moment​ @a-court-of-feysand-and-elorcan​ @mandosmistress​ @sarahjkl82-blog​ @omgreally​ @knittingqueen13​ @mamacitapascal​ @chronic-nosebleed​ @hnt-escape​ @eri16​ @gracie7209​ @casssiopeia​​ @athalien​​ @qwertymx​ @rosiefridayrogersunday​

Chapter 11: Plans - Part 1

Your heart has no room to worry about the insecurities you've allowed to call the shots for so long, so it becomes very easy for you to settle into a sublime routine with Javier again. It's bemusing when you try to recall all the other times this has happened, and find that you're not worried or bothered over how easily you disregard all the previous heartache and despair. For some reason, you've insulated yourself from it and can look at it as if it'd happened to another person – a far more fragile version of you that you don't really recognize, or can't recognize that you're now so happy.

It would be almost wondrous if you allowed yourself the whimsy to fixate on it. Instead, you revel in being Javi's, and find yourself blossoming to the hopeful thoughts and considerations you'd previously been so averse to acknowledging. But now, after he's nurtured the trust you have in him, and made his love abundantly clear, you pine to make him feel the same. Today is no different, even though you are positively sweltering.

It's an unseasonably warm day in the capital, and no amount of breeze is coming through your windows or the balcony doors. You've had to break out the oscillating fan, and are currently trying not to look bothered as a certain roguish DEA agent smugly lounges in the nude on your bed with just a towel draped loosely over his waist while he reads an intel file, as if content to drive you mad with his teasing smirks and stolen glances, pretending this is the most normal scenario.

You're sighing as you stand in front of the fan and let it blow warm air on you, hair pulled up in a bun at the top of your head while stray strands stick to your nape and temples. The pink spaghetti strap bra clings to you and your little cotton shorts are risqué from how you rolled them up at the waistband in order to shorten them and give your thighs and crotch a chance to breathe.

"My place has air-conditioning," Javi volunteers simply, and not for the first time, so you huff and shoot him a haughty glance. "Just sayin'—"

"You've said several times now, Javier," you admonish in a sulky sneer and fan yourself with a magazine, abandoning standing in front of the fan and grumbling as you go down the hallway to the fridge.

Javi snickers, loving how hot and bothered – literally – you're getting. After all, he's used to this muggy heat. Growing up in Laredo, it was pretty much hot as balls year-round, being right up against the border with Mexico, so while not the greatest, he isn't really sweating…well, having to sweat a little. You'd been silly enough to start getting dressed after waking up, having sex, and showering. And now in the early afternoon, the heat had caused you to abandon your top and pull your hair up in what he considered a flirty bun that gave him a lovely view of your hairline and the sweat that dripped down the nape of your neck to catch in the cotton of your flimsy bra after trailing down your back. He'd have to mimic its path with his mouth later, once you've cooled off from your moody snit.

Besides the sudden ornery discomfort with the heat, you both had spent the latter half of the week content. He'd picked you up after work and taken you to a quaint bistro, and you'd gone to your place after and spent most of the night making love and in sensual repose, murmuring to each other in bed under the starlight that filtered in through the open windows and the thin shroud provided by the curtains. Javier had filled you in on the meeting with Noonan being basically a 'three strikes and you're out' kind of reprimand, seeing as he and Steve had been tagging along with Search Bloc after they'd been told they were disbanding and needed to sit back. While there was nothing that documented that activity in an official capacity, she wasn't an idiot and knew they were doing it. So, she'd warned the two DEA agents that any other issue they could be implicated in would result in a suspension.

Sighing, you'd toyed with the hair that brushed his temple while confiding that a suspension was more preferable than getting rotated out and sent back to the states, which had earned a terse grunt from Javi before he picked up your hidden meaning, and exhaled in agreement with you.

After Friday's happy hour, you'd waited up for him to come over, and admittedly been a bit anxious to see what his mood would be, seeing as he'd been notoriously gruff about you being anywhere social with Luke. But, when you answered the door, he'd smirked down at you and swept you up in his arms after breezing through and kicking the door shut before marching with you to your bed, where he proceeded to ravish you all night.

You're thinking about it as you stand in front of the open freezer and let the cool air curl over you. On the third time, Javier had declared with possessive sweetness in his honeyed tone, "They all get to be around you at work and the bar, but you're mine when and where it matters: here, naked and wet, with my cock buried inside this glorious pussy."

Needless to say, you'd practically shaken apart from the force of your orgasm, and had been titillated after, when he divulged all the gossip he'd heard about the others at work – how guys in Centra Spike dared each other to hit on you, the time Mil Group were like a sewing circle ragging on Luke about how he'd blown it with you, and all the crass praise Lou preached about you to him and Steve. Smiling cleverly, you'd teased Javi about how cute he looked when he was grumpy with jealousy, and he'd scoffed and cheekily groped your ass while growling in a husky snit, "You're cute when you spout off nonsense like that, but for being a brat, roll over so I can fuck you from behind this time—"

Your cheeks are flushing at the raunchy memory, so you huff at yourself, snatch the item you'd originally come to the freezer for, and saunter down the hall back to your room. When you come in, you wryly roll your eyes and scoff at the sight of Javier lying all Burt Reynolds centerfold style on your bed with the towel clinging for dear life to stay tied around his hip as he enjoys the swaying air from the fan caressing across his back thanks to it's vigil in front of the mirror tucked in the corner.

"You cool down yet?" he distractedly asks as he reads over some coordinates scrolled on the side of a report.

"I'll get there," you muse and place the bowl of ice on the nightstand before shimmying out of your cotton shorts and tossing them aside. You're now in one of your skimpiest pair of panties, which are also pink cotton, that cling to your warm skin and leave nothing to the imagination as they contour thinly to your mound. Javier's casual glance becomes a full-on longing stare as he sees how the V of your mons pubis stands out – how the crotch of your panties are damp and sweat is clinging in a thin sheen to your torso and an intrepid bead trickles down from between your breasts to skim down the line of your stomach.

You feel him staring, so you make a big show of scooping a couple ice cubes from the bowl to caress them in the curve of your cupped fingers to glide down your neck and across your collarbones. Javier watches your nipples pebble and press up against the flimsy bra when you dip the ice between your cleavage and let the cold drippings soothe your warm skin, sighing wistfully as you angle to stand next to the bed and preen to catch the oscillating fan's latest pass of blowing air.

Javier mutters, "I know what you're doing," as he tears his leering stare away to feign like he's really going to keep reading his file, shifting to lie on his stomach and adjusting to prop up on his elbows with the file between them.

"Hmm?" you hum in a lilting tone and deliberately let one ice cube fall into the cleavage of your bra before trailing the other down your midriff.

Javi presses his lips together – having been watching you from the corner of his eye, and exhales a cleansing breath. "Keep it up, and the last thing you're gonna be is cool," he drawls flatly, but the edge of his tone holds that irresistibly smooth purr you love. "I have a perfectly good air-conditioned apartment—" his taunting mutter hisses to a halt when he feels the cold ice cube draw a languid line down his spine as you lean mischievously over and drag it lower between your fingers before giggling when he flinches as you drop it beyond his towel. The way he fidgets and jerks up tells you the cold wet cube skated down his ass, and you squeal a silly laugh when he snatches you up from around your waist and wrestles you effortlessly down on the bed.

"No! You're too warm—!" you laugh out and flail as he rolls his torso over yours while you goofily stretch your legs open and kick them out comically in a lame attempt to buck him off while he snatches his files away and tosses them to the floor.

"Goddamn little tease," he snickers between broody lips while his eyes crest with mirth. "So damned stubborn and snotty. You'd rather sweat and drive me wild than be nice and cool at my place—" he harangues playfully and you roll your eyes and snicker defiantly. "That's it, you've asked for it."

You have no chance to react when he shifts to grab your wrists and pin them at either side of your head before he bows his head and mouths at the melting ice cube you dropped between your breasts into your bra. It's almost melted away, but his tongue leaves a velvet heat over it that forces the ice to dissolve and edge free as a shard from the flimsy fabric. Javier laps it up and relishes as you gasp and arch, chuckling when you attempt to buck him off and only succeed in edging his towel from his hips and nudging his erection to skim flush with the crotch of your damp panties.

"Ahhng!" you hiccup in a gasp as you feel the head of his cock press into the hood of your clit. Javier grunts in that maddeningly sexy way, and rolls his hips so it increases the rutting pressure he knows you like against your pulsing bud, and when your wrists jerk in his grip and you bite your bottom lip, he's tempted to just get you off this way, but you thwart him by mewling, "Oh god, p-please let me strip, babe."

"Admit you're a devious little tease, and I will," he grouses smugly and ruts against you, earning a breathy whimper and the buck of your hips.

"I-I—I'm a devious little tease," you hiss, surly as you add, "And I want your cock inside me."

Javier is snapping up to lean back on his haunches and snatching your panties off at that, while you hastily tug your bra off and toss it. When you sit up to hook your arms around his shoulders, Javi nudges you back and reaches for the bowl of ice on the nightstand. "Let me cool you down first, diablita," is his tutted purr, resting the bowl close to your hip before taking a single cube between middle finger and thumb to press it to your neck, relishing how you whimper and tilt your slender throat back when he skims it down into the hollow there before tracing it along your clavicle.

Your nipples are already hard when the tip of the melting cube circles an areola, earning a hiss of excitement from you as you arch and sidle your calves to hook around his hips. "Javi," you sigh and lazily dampen your lips. "There's no amount of ice that's gonna cool me down right now—"

"Only one way to find out, mi amor," he chuckles and dips the cube to leave a melted wet trail down your stomach, around your navel, and over your mound before he glides it along your hot seam.

You gasp and stifle an enthralled mewl with the back of your hand while the other grabs fast at his wrist when he holds the cube against you and parts your folds with it. Javi lets you pull his hand away when you make a flustered sound as you squirm, and your little sigh is replaced with a needy hum as he presses the head of his cock where the ice cube had been. "Mmm, so much better," you gloat and pull his hand with the nearly melted cube to your lips.

He feeds it to you and watches as you slurp it showily while you bat your lashes at him. "Hmmph, you can be such a sinful little thing when you want, eh, querida? Just love to rile me the fuck up?" he rumbles as he drags the head of his cock through your soaked folds, watching you squirm deliciously. "You're my wicked little minx, aren't you," he purrs and starts to fondle a breast while he edges you with the head of his cock.

"Nngth-N-No, I'm your s-sexy solterita, n-not a minx," you contradict pristinely while he's literally getting his cock wet in your drenched folds.

"You're that and more," he husks as he pinches your nipple and you whimper and writhe, hands tucking against the front of your shoulders as you clenched them from desperately reaching to clamp around his broad frame and clinging to him. "You're my seductora divina, mi tentadora celestial," Javi rumbles hotly as he fondles his hand down your warm, sweat-beaded body to seat his thumb over the hood your clit as he begins to press his cock into your dimpled entrance. "M-My stunning hermosa—m-mi amada," he hitches tightly as he plunges his cock slowly into you, watching how you light up with pleasure at his words – how your eyes gleam and your lips part on a breathy sound before hiccupping into a delighted cry when he sheaths all the way in your silken heat.

The discomfort towards the heat is completely forgotten by you as Javi fucks you while the fan oscillates languidly in the corner, blowing air over your scorching skin every so often, the ambient buzz dimming the sounds of sweaty skin colliding at a scintillating pace as he drives you over the edge of a needy orgasm that has you mewling ardently. Javier prolongs your ecstasy by pivoting your legs up and clamping them shut so he can thrust through the rippling and impossibly tight clutch of your cunt. The position has you reeling with pleasure as you grip the bedding and dig your ankles into each other to not twitch wildly apart in his grip.

"So fucking hot—pussy strangling my cock like this—" Javi grits hoarsely as he pistons his thrusts just as your cunt floods and clenches around him. "I-I'll pull out and come on the towel, p-promise—"

"Cum goes inside me, Javi, or on me," you order on a tight whine, feeling yourself begin to wind up with another pulsing climax.

"Oh fuck, baby—" he begins to groan at your lascivious command, but when he feels your thighs tense and sees you clutch your eyes shut and exhale a wail, he can't hold back his orgasm any longer, so he pounds his cock hard into your quivering heat and shouts when he nestles deep and your walls clutch greedily around him as you come. His rough groan is at your ear when he hunches and folds your clamped legs over his shoulder after he ruts and growls as he pumps hot cum inside you.

When you recover, Javier is swearing, "Oh shit, fuck, baby, fuck—I'm sorry," as he scrambles up from where he collapsed over you – effectively folding you over yourself. Honestly though, it felt so good to get railed and doubled over by him that you're a little daftly befuddled while he keeps apologizing.

You giggle when he sits up and pivots your legs apart to ease down and bend at the knee on either side of his thighs before he goes to pull his cock out of you. "I'd swat you if I could move, querido. I'm fine. That was really hot," you sigh and smile dazzlingly up at him, loving how flustered he is and how he's trying to coax his awed expression into a flinty regard. "If you were doing something I didn't like, you'd know, babe," you weakly purr and smile when he huffs and bows over you.

He lets you wrap your arms around his broad shoulders and pull him to lie on top of you, uncaring of the muggy heat oscillating languidly in the room. After all, you've never felt more sated and sublime in your life. How you managed not to tip over the bowl of ice with all the bed's jostling is beyond you, but you can't help pluck a cube into your mouth and share it with him in a salacious kiss.

Once you've both taken a cold shower, you lie naked on the bed and eat ice cream out of the same carton, with the fan adjusted closer in a fixed non-oscillating setting. You share the same spoon, so you smile around the utensil in your mouth before he grunts and slips it free from your lips. "Aren't you from a tropical island? You should be built for the heat," he teases as he scoops a spoonful out of the carton and pops it into his mouth, mustachioed upper lip quirking puckishly when you wrinkle your nose goofily at him.

"Yeah, but this is a muggy heat at a high altitude. It feels heavier, and without a breeze?" you complain and sigh when he feeds you another spoonful.

"Good point. It is much more stifling than back home," Javier drawls, letting the air from the fan lull his eyes closed. "It wouldn't be so bad in my air-conditioned apartment—"

"Oh my god, if you repeat that one more time, I'm going to twist your nipple," you scathe acerbically and playfully flick your thumb teasingly over his left nipple for emphasis, earning a jolt from him before he fidgets to adjust the carton from where it sits on his chest to his stomach so he can thwart you. "Although you might be into that sort of thing—"

In his squirming, Javier jostles away and grits his teeth. "Maldita sea," he hisses snippily when the carton tips on his stomach and the cold spoon flops onto his midriff and spills the ice cream that was clinging onto it. "Great—"

You pick up the spoon and slip it boldly into his mouth while you adjust to sit up and lick the spilled, melting ice cream from his abs. You hear his teeth clink against the metal of the spoon when he grunts and etches his jaw tightly at the tantalizing sensation. "Mmm, strawberry-flavored Javi is really yummy," you tease and smile when he sits up and plucks the spoon from his mouth, drops it to the carton of ice cream and sets it aside as he loops his arm around your waist to herd you up against his hip.

"If it wasn't so fuckin' hot, I'd punish you—bend you over and eat ice cream off your phenomenal ass," he mutters with bawdy surliness, loving how you tense and suppress a little shiver of thrill when he tips your face up by your chin and purrs, "Maybe it'll happen once the sun goes down and it's cooler out."

While sweltering, it's a glorious weekend you spend holed up in your apartment with Javi, and regardless of your past resentments and trepidations, you do end up fantasizing about what it'd be like to stay in his self-proclaimed air-conditioned oasis. But even thinking about a big leather couch raises your hackles, so you don't voice your interest to him on possibly spending time at his place. Once the heat wave abates a couple of days later, though, you sideline the idea entirely and enjoy spending time with him, away from work, especially since you don't really get to see him around the embassy as much as you do folks from other departments.

You hope that'll change once you onboard CIA and then the DEA will have no excuse in holding out against the program, but they are the resident cowboys of the place, so you're going to bide your time. You tease Javi about it on your drives to work and he coyly grins, knowing as far as he and Steve were concerned, they were going to duck and dodge C.O.'s plans as long as possible. Really, you're not even bothered and find his stubborn hesitance to tech cute and endearing, because it's totally unavoidably inevitable, so you smile and wink at him whenever he thinks he's made a compelling argument to you against he and Steve being in the program.

It's insane how ridiculously happy and content you are in this moment.

Everything feels lighter and hopeful – helping you feel buoyant and unselfconscious about your feelings, about how much you love Javi and the yearning that simmers in knowing he loves you back. The closer you get to the middle of the week, you're feeling so good that you even start to consider mentioning how your birthday is the following Monday, not because you expect a gift or anything, but because you'd like to spend it with him.

You're deliberating mentioning it after dinner one night while you both lounge on your couch and watch the news. The balcony doors are open and the breeze is it's normal, brisk cool flourish as it refreshingly fills your apartment on the night air. Javier is nuzzling lazy kisses into your neck while you blithely recline between him and the back of the couch, fingers drawing circles in that spot just behind his ear that soothes him, when you think you finally have the motivation to mention it.

Then, his satellite phone rings from where it's stored in his duffle bag by the door. You hide your frown as he sits up and goes to retrieve it before answering with a crisp, "Peña."

He paces down to the hall as he talks in Spanish, so you settle on the couch, tucking your legs under yourself and leaning on the armrest covertly. You hear him swear, then a curt mention that he'll be there tomorrow. When he lopes back over, his mood is grim as he plops the phone to the table and gruffly sits next to you. He exhales in frustration while he rubs his temples and reaches for his cigarettes on the side table. Once he's lit one and taken a long drag, he puffs his huff out tersely before answering your silent question.

"Carrillo is getting reassigned to Spain," he remarks dourly and diverts his gaze when he feels himself get angry.

You frown, knowing this is something he'd been dreading, and how significant it was. Sidling close, you pet your hand over his hair before settling it to rub the tension from the nape of his neck. "You'll be gone a few days then," you muse, not ask, giving him a reassuring smile when his gaze flicks sidelong at you. "You boys will have some planning to do. The cartel's not going down without your help," is your lilting aside as you smirk at him.

He snickers and you feel the tension ease from his muscles as you lean in and kiss his temple. Javi sets his cigarette down on the lip of the ashtray to turn to you and confide, "I don't know where any of this is going, querida. It could either blow up in our face, be a shitstorm for a while, or be an underdog success if we can get things to fall into place. I don't want to worry you, but, there might be times when I have to go MIA," he prefaces before cupping his hand to your cheek and squeezing the other over your knee reassuringly. "I promise I will try to tell you if that's happening, but…I might not be able to."

You absorb that, and hesitate. Not because you don't believe him, but because you're nervous what that could mean for you – for what you two have together. "I understand," you reply tentatively and lean into his warm touch, sighing when he pulls you close and kisses you.

It isn't until he's on the phone with Steve that Javi remembers the present sitting on his dresser – the one your grandmother had given him. Mentally swearing, he realizes he and Steve might still be out of town on your birthday. Javi frowns, wondering if you'd planned on mentioning it to him at all, and now that he was leaving in the morning, you'd discarded telling him, deeming it completely unimportant.

While you're getting ready for bed, he's on his phone out on the balcony and finishing his cigarette, so he takes the opportunity to mutter, "—I want to be back in town by Monday."

"Okay," Steve drawls, curious. "I mean without Carrillo, I don't see how much we'll be able to get done on-site anyway. We'll have to see what ride we can catch back."

Javi grunts in agreement before telling Steve he'll pick him up early in the morning, so to be ready. Once he's shut the balcony doors, locked up and turned out the lights, he lopes down the hall and stands at the doorway to watch you. You're sitting on the side of the bed with your back to him, humming a song to yourself as you massage cocoa and shea butter along your arm, concentrating it at your elbow before moving along to your forearm. He quietly appreciates how soft you look under the nightstand's lamplight, taken with how lovely you are with your long, full hair swept aside to one shoulder so you can reach some lotion to your back. The nighty you have on is a dark blue, flimsy thin cotton that hits at your knees and V's out in the back.

You hear Javier kick his boots off, and you start a bit, but try to pretend you knew he was there the whole time by not turning and continuing to massage the hydrating lotion into your thighs now. "Need me to reset the alarm?" you ask as you cross your legs and lotion your knee and down to your shin.

"Nope," he muses and strips out of his clothes, stealing glances over at you, wondering if he should mention knowing about your birthday. "Got anything planned this weekend?" he asks in an innocuous tone after tossing his jeans aside before sinking his knees into the mattress and approaching from his side of the bed to caress his fingers down the exposed planes of your back.

You suppress a shiver and tuck your chin against your shoulder to shoot him a flirty look, loving how the low light casts shadows over his form that contour his muscles and broad shoulders delectably while he comes to lounge on a propped up arm beside you. "No, nothing planned. But if you must know," you preface, setting aside your lotion on the nightstand and turning to lean back and ghost a kiss against his lips. "I'm going to spend it missing you, most likely."

Javier buries his hand in the back of your hair and guides you close when you try to lean coquettishly away. His lips mold adoringly to yours in a chaste press of plush flesh before he brushes his nose against yours and lets out a sigh – breathing out in a wistful murmur, "I'll call you every night, querida—"

"You don't have to. Like you said, you don't know if you'll be able to," you reasonably insist and caress his cheek. You think about saying it won't be the first birthday you spend alone, but can't find the gumption to say it or be blasé about it, so you instead muse, "When you're back in town, maybe…maybe we can do a double date thing?" When Javi's brows quirk in wonder and his eyes widen, you add, "With Steve and Connie? I mean, after how I yelled at him, I assume he told his wife about us—"

"He hasn't. I told him not to unless he wanted to really incur your wrath," Javier muses on a chuckle and grins when you scoff, playfully appalled, and swat his shoulder. "Anyway…I doubt Connie is in the double date mood after the stunt he pulled this past weekend," he offers aloofly as he sits up and reaches for the lotion bottle, and pumps some into his hands before rubbing them together to then massage them into your bare, lithe back.

You hum sensually and melt, tipping your head to the side and gathering your hair out of the way so his hands can have full span of your back and shoulders. "…What stunt?" you ask, half-curious, as you press your thighs together to quell the excited flutter between your legs.

"He bumped a cabby's car in traffic, and when the guy kept talking shit, he shot his back tire out while Connie and the baby were in the car," Javi tells you simply in an aloof baritone, and when you whirl and stare at him, eyebrows rising in a 'you're serious?' expression, he shrugs. "He's wound a little tight."

When he doesn't elaborate or excuse it, you turn fully and adjust to sit next to his half-lounging form. "Wound tight enough to pull that kind of outlaw cowboy shit with you in Medellín on assignment?" you ask a little crisply, to Javi's surprise.

Shifting to sit up more, he remarks flippantly, "…I can handle Steve. His wife's a civilian. She doesn't get it—"

"That's not what I asked," you intone imperiously. "If he pulls any kind of reckless shit that gets you hurt, I'm fucking him up," is your calm threat as you snatch the lotion bottle from him and arch a sharp brow. "My wrath is nothing either of you have actually seen yet. So don't test me." Your eyes are blazing, and Javier is ridiculously turned on. You see it in how his abs and the muscles in his arms tighten, and how the outline of his cock fills out in his gray boxer-briefs. "Civilian or not, nobody wants to deal with a dude that's gonna snap—"

"He's not that far gone," Javier insists and gives you a half smile when he reaches his still-lotion-streaked hands to caress and affectionately squeeze your thighs. "Yes, admittedly, that was an extreme reaction to dealing with an asshole on the street after a fender-bender," he appeases and watches your eyes narrow cynically. "But Steve's just a little high-strung after all the bullshit with La Catedral—"

"And that's gonna get better now that Carrillo is leaving and you have Noonan cruisin' to clock you both? C'mon, don't bullshit me, Javier. You know it—"

"—Insults your intelligence and you don't like it. I know," he drawls in and tips his chin down when your glare flares at that, but his big brown eyes only soften when he adds, "I trust Steve. I have his back, and he has mine. Yes, he's a fucking ass sometimes, and gets ahead of himself with his overzealous jackassery, but he only means well," pausing, he remarks more soberly, "He has a lot to lose if this goes south—"

"Javier. Let's be real here. Steve can pack his family up and leave. He hasn't, because this? The hunt? It's become personal. He's turned it personal," you fume and idly turn the bottle around in your tense hands. "And it's the same for you. What do you really lose or care if that motherfucker gets his justice or not? I know this is important to you—it means something," your voice wavers, but gains its resoluteness as you add, "but really, put a bullet in Escobar's head tomorrow? There's just another scumbag that'll fill the vacuum the next day. Is it really worth going off the deep end for?"

When silence meets you at that, you press your lips together, feeling a wave of regret at how bluntly you've been when you see him swivel his stare away and adjust to pull away from you. He sits up to lean back on the headboard and exhales noisily, like you just dumped a litany of issues on him. You divert your gaze and internally admonish yourself, thinking of what to say to rewind this conversation.

"Why're you here?"

You pause, bemused by his flat, gravel-pitched question. When you don't say anything, he flicks his flinty, stoic expression over to you and exhales again, but this time he crosses his arms and regards you sternly. His eyes narrow in a 'well?' expression, lips etched in that serious scowl.

"Because I want to be here. I like my work, I like the people I work with, and I'm near the only family I give a shit about," you answer in a guarded tone as you place the bottle aside and stand from the bed to go crank the window slats to dim the breeze and light coming from the night outside. "Why're you here?" you counter after you adjust the curtains and shoot him an exacting look when you turn around and linger by the windows.

His hackles rise at that, expression etching into a hard look. "Because I want to be here and catch that motherfucker—"

"And if you don't? That's it? Nothing else matters?" you ask, furrowing your brows as your own questioning starts hurting your feelings for some asinine reason. "If you don't catch him, what else is there…if nothing else is defined, what happens?"

Javier's aggravation snuffs out as he sees the flicker of something he rarely sees cross your features before you rein it in and turn away. The realization hits him like a sledgehammer to the chest. Pivoting up and climbing off the bed, he goes to you and wraps his arms around you. "Baby, look at me," he murmurs against the top of your head when you're steadfast and don't let him spin you around in his arms. "Mírame, mi amor."

You sigh and relent, turning in his arms and tipping your face up to meet his handsome, albeit fond, expression. He sees your eyes are crinkled around the edges with self-reproaching tension, your plush lips pressed into a frown. His hands caress reassuringly up and down your form after you encircle yours around his torso and lean your head against his chest. Javi holds you to him, understanding now that your surly questioning was out of a deep concern for not just him, but a fear that because you've not defined anything, he wouldn't consider your relationship to be something that mattered.

"Wanna know what I'd want to happen?"

You flinch minutely and nod, too bemused to hazard looking up and wilting under his smoldering, confident grace.

"I put a bullet in Escobar's head, fill the paperwork out, file the case, and turn around and start the investigation against the Cali cartel. You and I maybe find a place closer to Don Gilberto's so we can walk there and rush back to have sex in an air-conditioned apartment with a balcony," Javier muses in a completely serious and fond intonation, his voice honeying over at the latter half of his dream scenario.

You laugh in relieved delight and squeeze your arms around him before nuzzling your face into his bare chest affectionately. Javi toys a hand into the back of your hair and nudges you to gaze up at him so be can lean down and claim your lips in a yearning, soft kiss.

When he pulls back and brushes his nose tenderly against yours, he adds in a murmur, "I'll even be fine with you letting a little black cat come around every so often."

Your heart overflows with enamored devotion for him, eyes lowering to sultry hoods as you hum and smile brilliantly at him. Skating your hands up his torso to frame his handsome face, you muse without pretense, "I want the same."

Javier feels a savage wave of pride fill his chest, shoulders broadening as he picks you up, claims your mouth in a hungry kiss, and takes you to bed.

He turns the lamp off once he's settled between your thighs in the middle of the bed and you shower kisses over his chest. The room is shrouded with only the dim light from night coming through the windows, but you can still make each other out as your eyes adjust. Your hands caress down his back and grope his ass as you pull his underwear down while he groans and adjusts to kick them off before he grabs the bottle from the table, placing the cocoa and shea butter next to your head on the pillow.

Blinking at the odd sight, you snicker and giggle, "Javi, you can't use that as lube—"

"Christ, I'm not that much of an idiot, cariño," he scathes as he hikes your nighty up your torso and pulls it off your head. "I just think you missed a spot," Javier chuckles as he leans down to suckle teasingly over a studded nipple while he picks up the bottle and pumps lotion into his hand. You mewl and arch up, chasing the heat of his mouth on you breast, already needy and wet beneath him. His hands clasp the hourglass curve of your waist and massage up, purposely dimpling your skin with his lotion-slick fingers, working them over your breasts and watching you react. Your eyes flutter and you stretch taut, mewling as you hook your knees around his hips and tug for him to lie on top of you.

"I-I'm nice and smooth already, atrevido," you mumble in a tantalized pitch, reaching for his hands before he can glide them down to your hips. "You, on the other hand, need some lotion," you snipe wryly and giggle when he snaps his brown eyes in defiant, albeit silly outrage down at you. Said outrage becomes a haughty pout when you manage to pounce up and pivot him down onto the bed. "Tú no te cuidas, so it's about time I do it for you," you playfully chide before straddling him and snatching the bottle to pump some silky stripes of cocoa and shea butter over his heaving, broadening pecs.

"What're you saying, that I'm ashy?" he deadpans and shoots you a mocking look.

"No, but you're not silky smooth, chulito," you purr teasingly and go to work rubbing the lotion into his chest, fingertips kneading lovingly into the sinew of skin and muscles beneath and feeling his pleased growl buzz up from your touch. When he relaxes and gives you a goading little smirk, you lean down and peck him on the lips. "Now stay still and let me rub you down," you lilt dutifully as you toss your hair over your shoulders and span your hands across his chest and over his collarbones before radiating them in massaging circles at his shoulders and down to his biceps.

The tension melts out of Javier, and even with you straddling him naked and warm in his lap, he closes his eyes and sighs, getting lost in your loving touch as you hum and smile down at him. You pick up an arm and massage every cord and ripple of muscle from his triceps to his forearm before rubbing soothing pressure points into his hand.

"'S'nice…feels nice, preciosa," he mumbles as you mimic the same treatment to his other arm, smiling when he purrs, "I could get rubbed down like this more often."

"I'm sure," you muse and finish with his arm, so you lightly tap his side and order, "Roll over for me so I can do your back."

He grunts and opens his eyes to smolderingly smile at you as his lips grin. "I don't think I can lay on my stomach right now," he jokes raunchily and punctuates his point by rubbing his hard cock against your ass before strumming his smoothened fingers along the length of your thighs.

Smirking devilishly, you shrug and shift as you chime, "Well then, I'll have to work my way down and take care of that."

Javi's smug grin melts into pure arousal as you slink down and take his cock into your mouth while you impishly grope your lotion-slick hands over his belly, across the carved edge of his hips, and down his thighs before you knead his muscles there. He watches, lust-dazed and slackened features riveted as you let his cock slip from your mouth before you smile and kiss it, licking down it to suckle his frenulum and hum against it.

You worship his cock with your tongue, drinking in every stuttered breath and hoarse, croaky groan he desperately tries to contain under the lascivious silken heat of your mouth. The combination of the massage and now you going down on him with gusto has him hovering over the precipice of rapturous bliss, so when you stroke him through the tight circle of your fist and drive him down the velvet, fluttering ring of muscle that trembles around him in the back of your throat, Javi shouts his pleasure and comes, features burning hot from the mixture of primal triumph, feral delight and wanton completion as you moan around him and hollow out your cheeks to prolong his ecstasy.

Javi dreamily decides then and there that he really likes your version of a happy ending.

He's buzzing like a dopey ravished fool when you kiss his softening erection after swallowing his cum and merrily going back to massaging your way down his long, toned legs. Javier is putty in your hands once you've coaxed him onto his stomach to work on massaging the fragrant, soothing, decadent lotion into every plane of his back while he moans in sated bliss. He doesn't even put up a fuss when you adjust to straddle the backs of his knees so you can massage his lower back and ass before kneading down his thighs and calves, then all the way back up.

"…Gunna be mush in'da morning…" Javi mumbles lazily when you finish rubbing his trapezius muscles and kiss him on the back of his nape.

Snickering, you set the lotion bottle aside and slink off of him so you can lovingly roll him over and maneuver the comforter around his broad frame before draping it over you both and nestling up against his side while he exhales a content grunt.

"I'll just have to get you nice and hard first thing then," you chime with luscious sweetness before kissing his cheek and settling down to sleep.

He rumbles an irreverent little scoff, purring, "Already did," before he rolls onto his side to fold you under him as he captures your gasping lips in a hungry kiss.

You feel his hard cock press against your hip, and are stunned for the hundredth time at his insatiable stamina, but when he's dipping his fingers between your legs and trailing them along your dampening cunt, your brain misfires as pleasure drenches you over. His warm and now-silky skin presses against you as you open your legs wide to him so he can carve his hips into the open cradle of your thighs and press his cock inside you.

Javi takes it nice and slow, enjoying how you cling to him and throb from how he makes love to you while pivoted on your sides, facing each other and relying on the upswing style pace of his thrusts, which is ruinously exquisite as he clutches your lower back and guides you over his rutting cock with the hand that squeezes the globe of your ass greedily with every slide into you. When you come and bury your mewls into his shoulder, Javier shoves to the hilt into your sheath and holds there, letting your walls flutter and ride him through the onslaught of pleasure while your heavenly cunt floods over with your essence.

He kisses you back from the stratosphere where you've been floating post-orgasm and smiles against your jaw when you whimper from him pulling out of your fluttering pussy. "D-Did you—?" you ask breathily, still trembling from the climax as he tucks you against his side after he rolls onto his back.

"Shh, don't worry. I'm just so fucking relaxed from that massage that the hard-on was involuntary. That happy ending was top notch," Javi praises and smirks when you hiccup an irreverent sound and press exhaustedly against him.

You both have a fantastic night's sleep, not even annoyed when the alarm goes off. Javier does, however, roll over onto you and fucks you with the fervor of a man who knows he doesn't have much time to revel in the bliss and delicious post-coital repose that he's used to. So, when you're both coming back into the room after sharing a shower, you pull him over and bossily sit him on the end of the bed and give him the expedited, albeit equally as sensual, cocoa and shea butter rub down, which has him buzzing as you work the tension out of his back and nuzzle kisses behind his ear whilst you tell him how much you love him and can't wait to see him.

Steve's never seen Javi look so rested and easygoing, and the sated little smile he does a terrible job of straightening with the impulsive pinch of his fingers over his moustache speaks volumes for his partner. It isn't until they're both in the car in the lower elevation and warmer clime of Medellín that he inhales a huffy breath and quirks a curious brow over at Javier.

"What is that?" Steve asks as Javi drives.

Shooting him a glance from his amber-tinted aviators, Javi grumbles, "What's what?"

"That smell," Steve gives him an eagle-eyed stare with those sharp blue eyes as he takes another intake of breath through his nose. "Like…chocolate?" he gravels out curiously before watching Javi's expression pinch and concentrate on the road ahead. "Is that you?" Steve chortles and grins when Javi presses his lips together and scowls.

"You're talking crazy. Finally losing it," Javi laconically evades as they approach the Search Bloc headquarters. Steve bites his lower lip and chuckles deprecatingly at his partner and friend, who can only drawl dryly, "Why're you sniffing another man. Should I be concerned?"

"Hah! Nice try, loverboy. What, she dip you in chocolate after fucking your brains out this morning?" Steve cackles while Javier scoffs and drives through the checkpoint and cruises down to the carport.

"Why would she dip me in chocolate, you dumbass," Javi snidely scoffs, parking the car and shooting Steve a berating glare. "What, your wife doesn't rub lotion on you?"

"Fuck no," Steve chuckles and grins. "I'd be lucky if she offers me lip balm, you lucky bastard—"

"Really selling the whole marital bliss thing for me, Steve," Javi deadpans derisively, taking his shades off and putting them in the dash cubby to avoid his partner's goading expression, but when he doesn't relent, he grunts and stares him down, conceding when the other man wiggles his brows. "It's cocoa butter," he answers before muttering, "It's good for the skin…"

"That is lavish. Nice to know she has a good side," Steve teases wryly, enjoying riling his partner into surly annoyance. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how's the sex—?"

"As if I'd answer that," Javi grumbles and makes an impatient 'can we go?' gesture before opening his door and rushing out while Steve snickers and follows suit.

It isn't until the end of the day when they're drowning their sorrows at a local watering hole, when they were already demoralized post-chat with Carrillo, that Steve tried asking him again.

"She makes you happy, so, why're you so cagey about it?"

Glancing sidelong across at his partner over his 3rd whiskey, Javi exhales through his nose and reclines in his chair. "This coming from the guy who pointed a gun at a cabby in front of his wife and kid. And I'm cagey?" he counters sarcastically while Steve nurses his drink and gives a lame one-shouldered shrug.

"…I'll concede that point, but still, where's it going?" he glances at Javi. "If all this shit falls apart and we're stuck with fuck-all at the end, what happens with her?"

Javier downs the rest of his whiskey before signaling for another while he pulls a cigarette from the pack and lights it. He only answers after the third puff. "She literally fucking asked the same thing last night. You two sharing notes on me or something?" Javi jokes, trying to obfuscate, but when Steve just gives him that unrelenting, unblinking look of his, Javier grumbles and adjusts uncomfortably in his chair before crossing his leg over his knee and taking another soothing drag of his cigarette. "I want to be with her. I…I can see myself being with her, sharing a place…" Javier verbalizes his stream of consciousness, pausing only when his drink is delivered so he can down it and offer the waitress the empty glass and tip it in the international language for 'another,' before glancing over at Steve and relenting. "I don't think I could do marriage. I'd make a shit husband…"

Steve sits back, brows rising and lips twisting in an expression of 'well shit,' before he drawls, "Does she want that?" and when Javi arches a brow in question while he smokes, Steve elaborates, "To get married?"

Befuddled, Javier realizes you've never brought it up. "I don't know," he answers honestly and glances tensely at Steve. "Don't all women eventually want that, though?"

"Only one way to find out," Steve mutters and gives him a commiserating smile. "Is that why you wanna be back in town by Monday? Cuz you're gonna ask her?" he jokes, and Javier flicks his cigarette's ash into the glass tray and rolls his eyes.

"No. Her birthday's Monday, and I want to surprise her," he answers and perks up when the waitress delivers his next drink. Once he's taken a sip of liquid courage, he confides, "She didn't tell me about it. Her grandmother told me, and I have a feeling she didn't bother to bring it up because she thinks it's a burden or something, especially with all this shit going on."

"Aw man, that sucks," Steve genuinely frowns. "Don't she got family locally?"

"Here, but she couldn't spare the time off. She's banking it all for the holidays," Javi remarks and stubs what's left of his cigarette in the ashtray.

"The manifest said the next chopper ride to Bogotá is Sunday morning with the fellas. We meet with Lou and your CIA buddy tomorrow after they get the debrief from the Colombian Military, see if they can get us intercepts over La Catedral, and head back on the early-bird ride. You'll be at her door by lunch time," Steve plans out, giving Javi an encouraging smile. "Question is, what're you gonna get her for her birthday?"

Javi stares at him for a few seconds before reaching for his drink. "Shit. I have no fucking clue," he rumbles, and Steve chuckles at his expense.

By the end of the night, Javi is drunk off his ass, but manages to stay upright to make it to the crash house. He sways up into his studio's entry while Steve practically crawls up the steps of his upstairs hovel. They both somehow manage to sober up and drag their asses to the meeting at a surveillance location where they share the infuriating aerial photos of La Catedral and press for resources on intercepts. Steve's eagle-eyed stroke of eureka in spotting the pigeon coop has him and Javi driving up the mountainous terrain where the luxury prison in disguise is nestled in that same day.

While his partner chugs from one of the coffee thermoses to catch his second wind, Javi drives with the window rolled down so he can smoke and not feel sick from the hangover he's nursing. The day is cool, so their windbreakers are coming in handy, as the mountain air is brisker than back in the city. Breathing in the fresh air does wonders for their hangovers, and they both feel in better spirits as they settle into their stakeout. It isn't until an hour later into staking out the prison from afar in hopes of spotting a message going up, while they eat the lunches they brought with them, that Javier realizes he never called you last night.

"Shit," he sits back to lean on the tree he's sitting under as he tosses his crumpled sandwich bag into the paper sack. When Steve looks up from his own lunch and shoots him a questioning look, Javi gruffly huffs. "I forgot to call her…"

Steve takes a swig of his Coke, sighs, and muses, "We got shitfaced last night. I didn't call Connie either. She hates when I call her drunk."

"Yeah, well, it completely slipped my fuckin' mind," Javier says with a hint of disgust, the edge of his self-loathing peeking through as he mutters, "Couldn't make it 24 hours without fucking up…"

Not knowing what to say to that, Steve rifles through his lunch sack and fishes out a bag of plantain chips, tears it open, and reaches it over to offer him some. Shaking his head sardonically, Javi plucks a few pieces out of the bag and nods his thanks. They eat in silence for a beat, silently taking personal stock in their relationships.

"You have your phone on you, right? Just call her now," Steve pipes up as he offers Javi another pass at the bag of chips.

Declining the offering with a shake of his head, Javi sighs. "It's the middle of afternoon. She's at work," he mutters flatly and leans his head back against the tree trunk. "I warned her I might not be able to call, but not because I fucking just straight up forgot to," he grumbles and takes a swig of his own soda before draping his elbows over his knees to balance the bottle in his hands.

"Damn, she's got you whipped," Steve jokes, and Javi shoots him a dirty look.

"That's the thing: she doesn't. I've gotten more shit from the informants about expectations or conditions. Meanwhile, I can barely get her to tell me what she wants," Javier unburdens in a grouse, glancing off to the lushly forested mountains beyond the sprawling meadow they're camped at.

"That's pretty odd, man. Usually that's the first thing they do. Boom: 'here's what I expect and my deal breakers,' yadda-yadda. Connie told me she wouldn't fuck with me if I wasn't serious about marriage like, a month into dating," Steve volunteers, finding that he really wants to cheer his partner up.

Cracking a smile, Javi shakes his head sardonically. "Well, the only thing that has come close to that is, uh, the other women," Javi muses haltingly, scratching at his chin and amending, "The working girls—"

"No-fuckin'-duh," Steve sneers comically. "That is a given, I would think. Oh…shit," he pauses as he comes to a realization. "Does she know about Elisa?" Javier gets moody and glances off gruffly as he nods, and he remembers back around that time how wound up Javi had been. He also remembers the time he'd ordered him to come to his place so he could go take care of something that was important. "Safe to say every time you were in a furious shit mood the last few months, was because you were on the outs?"

"…That would be a safe bet," Javi deadpans, still staring off as he muses, "I really…really want to not fuck up things with her. I think that's what keeps her from setting her cards on the table and telling me exactly what she wants and expects. And yes," he glances at his partner when he grunts knowingly to drawl, "I am aware that sleeping with informants and prostitutes is a given. But I can't help the reputation I've already gotten saddled with, and that was the main hurdle to get over."

"And what a huge one to get around," Steve can't help goad, and when Javi huffs and starts packing up his stuff, he continues in a humoring tone, "Dude, if she's rubbing you down with cocoa butter, I think you're on the right track. Just call her later."

Javier laughs, snickering as he stores his lunch remnants and thermos to the side, sliding his sunglasses on, and picking up the binoculars and the shotgun they'd commandeered. "You really have a way with words," Javi purrs sarcastically as he offers his hand to Steve and helps him stand.

"Seems like you do too, puto," Steve snickers and pronounces the word he remembers you having snapped at Javier in your fury.

"Jesus, your Spanish is for fuckin' shit, man," Javi muses while Steve grabs his thermos and starts heading over to the spot they've been using to stakeout the back of the prison where the pigeon coop was.

Smirking, Steve deflects by asking, "Does she talk dirty to you in English or Spanish?" When Javier scoffs and shoves his sunglasses to balance on the top of his head so he can feign like he's inspecting the binocular lenses as they stroll over, Steve needles, "I bet both. She call you papi—?"

"She most certainly does not," Javi can't help rebuffing. "I called her mamita once and she practically tossed me out of the bed."

Steve laughs, jovially grinning when Javier rolls his eyes and shoves past him with a well-placed shoulder bump. "I never got the whole 'daddy/mommy' thing during sex anyway," he conversationally drawls while Javier raises the binoculars to his gaze so he can rescan the terrain towards the prison. "C'mon, just tell me: scale of 1 to 10?"

The terse huff seems to be the only answer he was going to get, so while Steve fiddles with the cup cap of his thermos, he doesn't expect his reticent partner to offer resolutely, "It's the best sex I've ever had."

Steve almost drops the cap and has to adjust the thermos against his chest to hold it from toppling out of his grip. He just gapes silently at his back, so Javi can't help turn and squint at him before smirking.

"Now fuck off with your scale bullshit and get a look, would yah?" Javier grouses humorously and holds up the binoculars and gestures for Steve to have at it.

While the DEA agents are on their stakeout in the mountainous countryside, you're wrapping up a big tutorial with the straggler embassy staff that has ducked and dodged getting the clearance for their very own laptops. Ellis and you have been run ragged today with all the meetings, so it isn't until you're both sharing a quick snack break from the vending machines that you realize Javi hadn't called you last night.

Pursing your lips as you chew the Snickers bar, you wonder if you should call him later and see how he's faring, when Ellis pipes over his chip nibbling, "You got any plans this weekend?" You are glad for the mouthful you're chewing so you can shake your head and not elaborate, but, of course, your work buddy squints his eyes and pouts, "Wait...isn't Monday your birthday?"

You swallow and frown, having hoped he wouldn't remember. "…It is, but I'm just going to spend a quiet weekend at home. I have to save up for the holidays," you lie and fill up a cup of water from the cooler in the corner of the break room. "I'll just relax and have a lazy weekend."

Ellis makes a silly wounded sound before insisting, "That's lame. Let's do something tonight then at happy hour—?"

"No, nope—I forbid you from bringing it up to the fellas. I am not in the mood to be the birthday girl, got it, Rose?" you challenge and wag your finger at him. "No toasts to me, or references to being treated for my special day—nothing, promise?"

Exhaling dramatically and punching in his soft drink selection from the soda machine, he grumbles, "Fine, you antisocial killjoy."

By the time you get home, you are aloof and rescinding yourself to spending a nice weekend all to your lonesome. Nothing special, and nothing inherently mopey about it, after all, you've spent plenty of birthdays alone. Instead of wallowing in missing Javi, you decide to have a treat yourself kind of night after happy hour. You make yourself a stiff drink, set all your work in a neat pile on the corner of the coffee table to make room for a bounty of snacking in front of the television. Having shed your work shoes and skirt, you lounge in your blouse as you munch on chips and sip your drink. Once you're nice and mellow, you draw a soothing hot bath for yourself and slink into the bubbles once you've fastened your hair up in a clip and washed your face of your makeup. The water is divine, and you can't help acknowledge how your aching and sore muscles are breathing a sigh of relief from the salacious, exquisite marathon of carnal delights with Javi. You smile to yourself as you daydream about it, smitten with the thought of him getting you all sore again soon.

A while later, you're pulling a comfy oversized tour shirt over your head before going to work massaging some homemade skincare over your face and neck when the phone rings. The girlish flutter of anticipation in your chest has you giddy as you skip down the hall to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, sexy," Javier purrs in a canela pitch, and you tingle and smile despite feeling anything but right now in your frumpy up-do and baggy t-shirt. "Sorry I didn't call last night."

"No worries. How was it?" you easily assuage and ask while you lean back against the wall adjacent the phone.

"It fucking sucked," he sighs, unworried about being blunt with you because you've never discouraged it, and right now, he's tired and gruff with angst about the whole thing. "He showed us some aerial shots of the place, and the motherfuckers have a soccer field to play on. If that's the shit they have out in the open, imagine how decked out the inside is. It's infuriating," he grouses and you can't help shake your head at the shamelessness. "Carrillo officially transfers out next week, so we're wrapping stuff up here and figuring out our next move until the government appoints someone new."

You deliberately decide not to ask him when he'll be back in town, not wanting to put any pressure on him. "Hopefully it'll be someone just as capable as him. And who'll put up with your shenanigans," you muse and jibe, and relish hearing his raspy chuckle.

"We'll see," he remarks and lowers his voice to rumble scathingly, "By the way, because of you, I had Steve literally sniffing for information – asking why I smelled like chocolate—"

The giggle that bursts out becomes a gleeful cackle at the visual of the blue-eyed blond nuzzling Javi and complimenting his scent, and he lets you laugh effervescently. "Oh god, I needed that. Should I be worried?" you joke, and Javi snickers. "It's bad enough having to threaten sluts in club bathrooms. I don't wanna have to dropkick your partner from stealing you away—"

"Yeah fuckin' right, you  loquita," Javi chides wryly. "The only one I want to be seduced by is you, with or without lotion."

You laugh enchantingly at that, and Javi lies in his bed and smiles, loving how your discordant little sigh fizzles into a delighted muse of, "Good. Eres todo mío, so it's only right you know where you stand, querido."

He hums and stretches out on his bed, missing being able to spread out, as well as having you sidled naked against him. "That, I do, hermosa," he drawls and stifles a yawn, but you hear it and tut at him.

"Go to sleep, chavón. Love you," you murmur affectionately over the line.

"Love you too," he easily purrs and relishes your sweet hum, so he adds, "Sleep well, preciosa, because I sure will after I unwind with your little gift—"

Your silly scoff is delightful. "Beyako, you gonna subject Steve's ears to your sexy, naughty sounds?! For shame."

"Yep. And if he complains, I'll blame it on you," he derides, smirking.

"Figures. Good night, fresco."

Javier says his goodnight and hangs up, smirk etching into a smug smile as he holds up your panties to his nose, deciding this is the only scent he needs and definitely will not be giving it up any time soon.

The next morning, you wake up early, out of habit, and start to tidy your place up. After you water your plants and frown about how you've neglected them, you contemplate whether you should go for your favorite coffee and pandebono when someone's knocking on your door. Perplexed, you lope over and open it with the lock chain still bolted.

"Anita?! What're you doing here?" you exclaim before rushing to unlatch the chain and open the door to the smiley and trendily dressed wife of your best friend.

She gives you a tight hug and declares, "I'm here to take you to a non-negotiable day of shopping!" When you gape at her and begin to modestly protest, she scoffs and shakes her head bossily. "No negotiating. Ellis told me you weren't doing anything this weekend, so instead of being a hermit, you're coming to that riquito mall I've told you about, so, go get your shoes on."

Snickering, you relent and rush to slip into a pair of leather flats, grab your purse and keys, and head out with her. You figure it can't hurt, especially since it has been a while since you've hung out with your friend's better half. Anita is a kind, funny, and thoughtful woman with a heart-shaped face and devastatingly alluring almond-shaped eyes. Ellis fawns every time he tells you of the first time he'd laid eyes on her in the Tallahassee office she was interning at while he was settling into his first entry position right out of school. It was an utterly romantic story that you never feigned getting tired of hearing since it was lovely and you liked seeing his bright wide eyes twinkle with content delight.

She drives you to the sprawling shopping center and you catch up merrily about how she's been, how she's liking her latest group of students at the elite academy she teaches English at, and enjoy commiserating about Ellis and his idiosyncrasies.

"—Keeps saying that Samson is smitten with you, and I keep having to remind him that you're not going to entertain dating anyone from the embassy," she giggles as you walk through the enclosed promenade of the mall, and you roll your eyes. "He's cute, but if you were interested, I'm sure you'd have no problem rocking his world—"

"You make it sound like I'm an undercover nympho, Anita! Is that the kind of impression Ellis passes along to you?" you joke as you enter the beauty salon she cajoled you into trying.

While you continue to have silly chitchat, she also persuades you into getting a mani-pedi with her, and while your nails dry, the staff offers a deal on bikini waxing. You reluctantly let Anita cajole you into getting it done so you can both get the deal, and when you're on the table and the aesthetician asks if you'd like a Brazilian, you blink over at Anita before asking in Spanish, "What's that? Have you gotten it done?"

"Yeah! I did it before Valentine's Day. Ellis loved it," she giggles and winks at you while you scoff and chuckle as you nod to the technician and make a 'what the hell' gesture.

Your yelp is more of surprise than pain, but it does sting like a motherfucker, and when you glance down and see the results, you balk. It isn't until you've both paid and ambled away from the salon that you squeak to Anita, "She stripped it all!"

She laughs and tells you it's the latest trend – going completely baby smooth down there, and it's all the rage because in Brazil the women wax everything off so they can wear skimpy g-string bikinis to the beach. You shake your head in amused disbelief as you head into a department store. Before long, you're shopping like fiends – even finally purchasing something you've desperately needed to replace to bring your apartment into the current decade – and grumble that you have to watch your spending, but end up eyeing a particularly lux and sultry baby doll on a mannequin in a display window of a lingerie shop you've both walked by.

"Let's go in!" Anita is chirping as she ushers you in, and you laugh.

"If you tell me Ellis loves you in lingerie from this place, I'm outta here—" you begin to joke, but she scoffs and shakes her head.

"Not at all. He likes it when I wear a bra and his boxers," she confides affably, and you muffle a cackled laugh.

After you both model ensembles for each other in the fitting rooms, she persuades you into buying the sexy baby doll, and as you're prying your hoarded funds from your wallet to pay the cashier, Anita gasps and rushes over from a section of the store you hadn't perused, with something in a little box, and hands it to the woman.

"My treat! For your birthday," she hurriedly explains and assures you that she will not let you argue with her. "You'll thank me, I promise."

Eyeing her suspiciously, you relent and when the cashier hands you the chic shopping bag, Anita wheels you out of the store before you can look at what the boxed item is and whirl around to return it. It isn't until you're both eating at the food court that you venture a glance into the bag and balk at the discretely boxed up slender-shaped vibrator.

"Anita!" you exclaim and gape at her while she innocently eats her sandwich. "Why the hell would you buy this for me?! Trying to tell me I'm hard-up or something—?!"

"Are you?" she asks angelically and smiles at you as she sips her drink through the straw.

"…I don't use vibrators," you deadpan and wryly eat your empanada.

"You mean you haven't needed one lately," she muses knowingly as she dabs pristinely at her lips with the napkin, goading you.

Shiftily, you drawl, "Well, I've been busy at work, and everything's going well over all, but I don't have the time to date—"

"And what about the man you're seeing?" she queries simply and leans back in her chair after adjusting her ponytail to drape over her shoulder.

"…Has Ellis been talking conspiracy theories about my love life to you?" you deflect and chug your soda through the straw, diverting your gaze.

"No, he has no clue. It's my little suspicion," she snickers and watches you roll your eyes. "Well, if I'm wrong, then the vibrator will come in handy, no?"

You squint at her and grunt, but the mirth is plain when you can't suppress your smirk and derisive headshake.

After the day of shopping, she insists that you come over to dinner, so you let her drive to her and Ellis' place and put up with all the early 'happy birthday!' shenanigans her husband lays on you. He's gifting you your favorite chocolates, pulling out a VHS of a movie you'd mentioned wanting to see, and acting as cocktail man for the night. You're on your fourth drink when you all eat dinner around the coffee table as the movie plays, and once the movie is over? You're on your sixth drink and laughing it up with Ellis, teasing him about his lingerie preferences while he gets as red as a tomato whilst Anita giggles.

By the time he drives you home, you're loose and carefree, smiling dreamily and struggling to keep your eyes open, so he helps carry all your purchases up to your apartment while he jokes, "Gotta make sure you don't topple backwards and roll down these stairs!"

You stumble into the apartment and take your shopping bags from him before giving him a bear hug. "I had the best time! I love your wife. If I swung that way? I'd steal her away from you," you deride and wink at him while he guffaws at the prospect and shakes his head amusedly. "Thanks for putting up with me. And thank Anita for dealing with me all day."

"I'll be sure to let her know! But just so you know, I would fight you in a duel for her. Friendship be damned," he jokes and kisses you on the cheek. "See yah Monday, kid."

You give him one more platonic hug before seeing him off, then deadbolt the door and sway as you dig through your shopping bags. Sure, you're drunk, but not drunk enough to be incapable of what you've been dying to do since you made the purchase at the department store.

Javier is staring over the different topography maps and aerial images of La Catedral that are sprawled out over the rickety table in Steve's upstairs studio, having both opted to research there to take advantage of the cool breeze coming through the space from his balcony sliding door.

"I'm not seeing a fuckin' sign of anything that'd look like the exit or entry point for a tunnel, man," Steve complains in a huff as he leans back and wrings his hand over his eyes.

"Yeah, well, we won't know for sure until they get us the tomography and seismic reporting—" Javi begins to mutter when his satellite phone rings. It's fairly late in the evening, and calls this late are usually shit news, so he grabs the phone and walks over to the shoddy little balcony. "Peña," he answers in his curt tone.

"Bad time?"

Javi's shoulders relax at the sound of your voice, so he shoots a covert glance back over to Steve, and when he sees his partner isn't watching him, he answers, "No, not bad—"

He hears you hum in a sultry intonation that makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "So I can tell you what I'm doing right now?" you murmur alluringly.

Steve is shuffling through some maps and muttering to himself distractedly, so Javier whispers, "What're you doing?"

"I'm laying on my bed, talking to you on the phone," you purr, and when he tries to figure out why that's news, you add, "On my cordless phone. And, I'm feeling warm and mellow from being fed drinks all night, so I'm naked and thinking about you."

Javier's eyes widen and his lips press together while he tries to train his body language to not hint to being riled to his eagle-eyed partner who is mercifully trying to match up a map to an aerial photo. "…Tell me more," Javi tells you in Spanish in a level baritone.

"About the drinks? Or about being naked and thinking of you?" you tease in a sexy musing that has heat pooling down his body to tangle in his gut.

"The second one," Javi answers, tone guarded, but his arousal is simmering in him at how raunchy this is.

"So…I'm naked because I'm drunk, and I stripped so I could try out all the chic things I bought at the mall today, but then this one thing I got is something I thought I should try out while on the phone with you," you drawl in a silky tone, making sure you enunciate and not slur, because that cannot be sexy – a woman who slurs her speech, at least that's what you tell yourself drunkenly.

Javi knows he should take this outside – he should excuse himself and go down to his flat, but then Steve glances up at him and signals that he's going to his fridge – silently asking if he wants a beer. Javier nods, and while the other man goes over to his kitchenette, he rumbles in a hushed tone, "Try out what?"

You answer his question by engaging something that has some kind of pulsing sound, and it isn't until you make an enthralling little noise and the sound gets muted as if it's pressed against something soft that he realizes what's happening. "Nnng-mmm, I-I've never u-used one before—" you hiss out on a tight mewl, and Javier has to lean his hand onto the edge of the sliding door to grip something as he listens. "—Ah, n-not as good as you—"

"Here, bottom's up," Steve calls out as he uncaps the bottle and sets it on the table for him and drops back into his chair, swigging his own beer while staring down at the maps again.

Javi hears your provocative little giggle as he coolly goes over and takes the beer before loping back to the balcony. "Are-are you listening with Steve there?" you taunt, as if scandalized. "If you're working—"

"I'm not," he answers curtly, but his pulse is pounding, turned on beyond belief and a little flustered in what to do here. "Keep going."

You moan at that, and he swears his cock throbs in response while frustrated arousal coils like a spring in him. "I-It's like a bullet-shaped thing, so," you pause your explanation as he hears you shift on the bed and settle down with a pleased hum before continuing, "So I'm pressing it over my clit—"

Javier exhales a stuttered breath before biting at his bottom lip, the cold beer he presses to his forehead, nor the breeze coming in from the balcony door he's leaning against, doing anything to cool him down. He knows that Steve will suspect something if he says what he's dying to say whether he whispers it in English or Spanish, so Javi puts his beer down on the kitchenette counter and makes a gesture to him, as if to say this is something he really needs to hammer out, while he stalks across the small studio and heads out the front door. Once at the top of the apartment's staircase, he rumbles tensely, "Tell me how wet you are."

You sigh, "So wet, Javi. W-Wish you were here—" hiccupping a mewl as he hears the pulsing vibration press against something damp. You whimper, and he grips the railing, knuckles blanched white from how tight his grasp is around the metal while he listens to you writhe over the sheets and cry, "Te quiero a ti, mi amor—"

"You'll have me soon. Go ahead and come for me, baby," he croons over his own surly arousal beseechingly pulsing in his core and throbbing in his loins, the hot flush creeping up his tan neck as he hears you gasp and whimper a needy, 'Javi!' as you climax for him. He listens to your staccato panting and breathy mewls as you come down from the orgasm, picturing you in raunchy detail as he licks his lips and purrs, "Bet you look so fucking sexy, all arched on the bed with your pussy dripping wet—"

"Oh god—you're saying that naughty stuff with Steve in the room?!" you yelp bashfully as if the buzz has burned itself up and your sense of shame is rebounding, pulsing hum ceasing over the line and the sound of your panting, pitchy breath filling his ear instead.

Javier exhales a surly scoff as he leans against the opposite wall from the railing before chuckling tauntingly, "What if I was? What're you gonna do about it when you're calling me and being a naughty little tease on the phone?" When you tensely grunt, he assures in a velvet-over-steel murmur, "I walked out before that. You enjoy getting me hard? Like knowing I can't do anything while you touch yourself over the phone?"

"Did you like it?" you purr as a counter.

"Not as much as I'm gonna like having my dick in your pussy while I grind that thing over your clit," Javi growls provocatively, and you give a breathy, tantalized exhale. "Now I have a raging hard-on because of you, pinche tentadora," he grouses in a husky chuckle.

You give him a sultry chortle, as if delighted by the effect you have on him. "Well, if you were here, I'd take care of that for you," you entice lusciously, and when he groans with yearning approval, you add in a susurration, "I'll be thinking of all the ways I can take care of it, querido."

Javier grunts in frustration over the line, and you can picture his surly look, how his lips twist in a hard scowl and his eyes darken with the promise of debauchery, so you set the vibrator aside and just rub your fingers over your pussy as you chime sweetly, "Tell Steve I say hi," and when he scoffs at your saucy audacity, you purr, "Love you, you sexy grump."

He chuckles wryly at that. "Goodnight, you naughty seductress. I'll talk to you tomorrow," he rumbles affectionately, so you say your goodnight and end the call by pressing the button on the cordless handset before placing it aside and smiling at the raunchy thoughts your horny mind is letting run wild as you sigh and keep touching yourself.

When you wake up the next morning, you're drowsily flustered as you look down at yourself and the disheveled mess on your bed. The box the vibrator came in and it's inner packaging and instructions are strewn about, clothes you'd tried on and discardedly draped haphazardly on the opposite side of the mattress, and the hot pink vibrator taunting you in the middle of it all. The realization that you'd called Javi while drunk and horny hits you worse than any hangover, and you gasp and sit up in delayed embarrassment, feeling depraved and filthy for having behaved that way.

You thank goodness that you're not really hung over as you force yourself out of bed and into your slinky robe. Cleaning up your room and bed, you shower and pull on a loose t-shirt and running shorts you use to lounge around in as you admonishingly hang up your new clothes and fold the sexy baby doll lingerie before storing it in a drawer. By noon, you feel a little less flustered with yourself as you water the plants on your balcony, and by the time you're looking in the cupboards for something to snack on, you figure the whole thing was a bit of revenge after all the times he's gotten you hot and bothered.

Smiling, you're pulling out the cereal box and going to another cabinet for a bowl when someone knocks on your door. You jump, and pause, wondering if Anita or Ellis are back to cajole you into more birthday-sanctioned mischief, so you set things aside on the counter and prance silently to the door.

"Who is it?" you call out in Spanish when you tell yourself they wouldn't come by unannounced on a Sunday.

The voice behind the door muses in Spanish, "Delivery, señorita."

Furrowing your brows, you undo the locks and open the door.

It's exhilarating how your heart summersaults in your chest and elation scampers up through you at the sight of Javier standing there with a roguish smile and those molten, coffee-brewed eyes affectionately quirking at your shocked expression before it melts into happiness. His duffle is hanging on a strap at his shoulder and he's holding a bouquet of red roses in his hand while the other is pressed into the doorframe to allow him to lean close and smirk at you. He's wearing his Javi-issued ensemble; only today it's a light-blue button shirt under a green windbreaker with his sunglasses hanging from its pocket.

Taking in your titillated, gentle stare and beaming smile, Javi gives you a playful peck on the forehead before walking in, closing the door, and offering you the flowers as he purrs, "I know I'm a day early, but, Happy Birthday, querida."

You are sure that you're melting for real this time as your knees feel like jelly and your core turns over into ripe, unadulterated amorous pining – completely overcome and alight with love as you throw your arms around Javi and kiss him with passion. He grunts affectionately and unseeingly sets the duffle down and places the roses on the side table before he wraps his arms around you and pulls you up and against him. You feel him wearing his shoulder holster underneath his jacket, so you make sure you keep your hands around his nape as you slink up against his broad, tall frame.

After you manage to kiss each other breathless, you hug him and let him hold you as he easily picks you up so you can wrap your legs around his waist. "I thought—when did you get back?" you ask him in a pensive murmur against his neck when he carries you and sits on the couch so you can sit in his lap as he holds you while he caresses you lovingly.

"Got in just a little while ago," he answers simply and nuzzles you. "I have something for you. Figure I should give it to you now," he remarks and smiles when you pull back and raise your brows in surprise. "A Monday birthday makes for a Sunday celebration, bravita."

You snicker and kiss his lips before musing, "Let me guess: 'Buela told you."

He nods and smirks, squeezing your waist affectionately. "Yep, which brings me to the other thing," he nudges you off his lap so he can get up, take his jacket and holster off, and retrieve something from his duffle before loping back to sit next to you. When he offers you a wrapped gift, you blink in surprise before taking it and seeing the little tag with your grandmother's name signed to it. Unbidden, you feel your eyes begin to burn with the impending welling of tears, so you take a deep cleansing breath and open the gift.

Javier has no idea what it could be, so he's just as curious when you set the wrapping paper aside and open the lid of the box. Inside, nestled in protective paper, is an antique silver rectangle-shaped picture frame, and inside is a newly-developed photo of you, your mother, and your grandmother, with the matriarchs standing side to side with you as a young girl standing in front of them. Each has a hand on your shoulder as you all pose with a demure smile in front of a plaza.

Your astounded gasp hiccups in your chest as you stare down at the photo and feel a wave of emotions wash over you like a warm tide, and you are suddenly overcome, feeling your lip tremble and your eyes sting with the tears you are dead-set on not letting spill free. Javier senses how affected you are and wraps his arm around your shoulders, squeezing you reassuringly to his side as he nuzzles a kiss to your temple.

"So you'd grown out of the bangs and pigtails by then."

You laugh out loud, able to swallow the welling emotion and thwart the tears by inhaling a fortifying breath and smiling up at him. "I'm gonna need to see your baby pictures in order to get even, chulito," you tease and kiss him before resting your forehead against his. "Thank you."

He smiles and helps you curl up against him on the couch once you let him take the frame so he can look at the photo closely. "How old were you here?" he queries softly against your hairline.

"Fourteen, I think. That was the last time she and I came to Colombia together to visit," you whisper, and bury your face against his neck, trying to suffocate your bad memories and wanting to instead concentrate on how warm and good he smells – on how much you love him right now and don't want to be pulled down into the quicksand of sadness.

"Beauty runs in the family," he compliments and sets the frame aside on the coffee table so he can shift you to lie on top of him on the couch as he reclines into the cushions. "And lucky for me, my baby photos are over 2,000 miles away," he jibes, and you purse your lips defiantly at him. "What? No man walks around with his own baby photos."

Snickering, you concede and kiss his cheek. "I'm sorry about last night—"

"Why? It was the highlight of my day," he remarks, smile genuine when you sit up and fiddle with the top button of his shirt while you sheepishly grin. "It was a perfect exercise in self-control," he jokes, because after all, he managed to rein in his lust long enough to go in, grab his cigarettes and take his beer to-go once he'd joshed Steve about being dead tired and needing to get sleep before their early morning 'copter ride back. Sure, as soon as he was inside his quarters, he'd stripped and taken a cold shower, and when that didn't work, he'd jerked off like a fiend to the lewd fantasy you'd painted for him. Javier didn't think he had to concede that to you, though – at least not yet. "You sound really sexy when you're tipsy," he murmurs and watches you scoff prettily.

"I shouldn't have called when you're working, though," you insist and shift to sit at the edge of the couch cushion so you can let him stretch out more comfortably.

"If we'd been doing anything important, I would've told you," he reassures and gives you a debonair look before changing the subject charmingly with, "Alright, go get dressed. We're going out to celebrate."

You smile, dazzled and infatuated as he sits up and affectionately coaxes you to hop to it. Once you're dressed in a cute, cream-colored floral print peasant dress and leather flats – hair brushed up into a chic clip with delicate tendrils escaping the twist to dangle across your shoulders and frame your face, you flounce over and give him a flirty look. Javier is tempted to just pick you up and take you right to bed, but he wants to spoil you today, knowing he won't have the complete chance to do it tomorrow. You pick up the bouquet and smell the roses, loving their alluring scent and quickly put them in a vase with water that you place prominently on the kitchen island before Javi affectionately herds you to collect your purse and keys so he can take you out.

First stop is the coffee shop, where you sit at a cozy booth at the back and you cuddle against his side while he sits with his arm reclined over the top of the seat. You tell him about hanging out at Ellis and Anita's and how much fun you had, he tells you about the ridiculous stakeout with Steve, and you both enjoy the afternoon over the delectable brew and fresh-baked treats. After the shop, he takes you for a walk to the park you both strolled that first day you'd run into each other. Luckily, a monsoon didn't strike this time, so he's able to take you to the botanical garden at the end of the park. Javier threads your arm through his and leads you as you both banter about.

When he takes you back to the car and drives you to a romantic little café for dinner, you are reciting to yourself that this is something you should cherish with fond devotion, and the small part of you that has always held out hope to hoping suggests something radical. As you drive back to your apartment, though, you find yourself becoming amenable to the flight of fancy.

You want to tell Javi you're open to telling your trusted confidantes about your relationship – bold and eager to share it explicitly with your friends, to tell him that you'd love to meet Steve and Connie, and want him to meet Ellis and Anita.

But, before that fearless part of you can get you to work up the gumption to tell Javi, he surprises you by suddenly musing pensively, "Have you ever…do your plans – the long term ones, do they include a commitment?"

You blink incredulously over at him, taken aback and trying to decipher what and where this is coming from. When he keeps his gaze straight ahead as he drives, you read his demeanor as being uncertain and…tense? Since you don't immediately answer, he spares a sneaked glance at you, and that's when you see it.

He's nervous, and asking you the fundamental question every couple eventually have to deliberate.

"You mean marriage?" you ask and try to ease your demeanor into a relaxed, conversational consideration. Javi glances over and senses you're trying to quell him, so he diverts his gaze. Before you've even screened the thought, you blurt out in a flippant dismissal, "I'm not the marrying kind."

Silence greets you, then a gruff chuckle. "I'm going to kill Steve."

"…What? Why?" you exclaim bemusedly, watching Javi ruefully shake his head before derisively scoffing at himself.

He navigates the car down your street. Once he's parked at the curb and shut the car off, he turns and parcels out haltingly, "He spent most of our stakeout insisting I had to figure this shit out, and really…we've never talked about anything concrete, so it got me wondering…whether you want that."

"Do you want to get married ever?" you counter, and put him in the hot seat.

Javier thinks about Lorraine, and sets his jaw as he shakes his head and mutters, "I'd make a shit husband."

"Well, I doubt that, but there's nothing to really talk about – I'm not looking to get married, really," you answer honestly and tuck a rogue strand of hair behind your ear as you snicker, "We gotta stop letting dumbasses tell us stuff."

Javi laughs and rubs at his chin as he humorously drawls, "Alright, good point."

"So…have you thought about it and just decided it wouldn't work?" His soulful eyes twinkle with questioning at your cautious query. "Getting married?"

He tenses a little, and seems like he's quickly deliberating whether to reveal something, so you make a 'never mind,' gesture, and it seems to trigger a decision in him. "I was engaged once." He has your undivided attention at that, so when he doesn't sense anything but curiosity from you, he shrugs. "It didn't work out. I…well, I called it off," he explains carefully, and your brows rise while your lips soften in surprise.

You have so many questions, but do not want to pry. However, you are talking about plans and intentions here, so it's only fair you know what his deal breakers are. "Did she yell at you too much and run you ragged too?" you joke self-deprecatingly and give him a small half-smile.

Javier scoffs amusedly and shakes his head. "Not at all. I just wasn't…" he pauses, trying to choose his words wisely, but when you stare at him openly, expression tender and promising no form of judgment, he exhales and just bluntly says it. "I just wasn't ready. I broke it off right…before."

He holds his breath, expecting an appalled scoff, or a flare of serious trepidation to cross your features. Instead, you lean back and tilt your face intriguingly as you lean your chin against your cupped hand, arm propped against the side panel, eyes gleaming when you drawl, "Hmm, well, I hope they managed to tell the caterer before they opened the champagne."

Javi is stunned, and so is his laugh as you grin and watch the tension fizzle out of him. It's not at all the reaction or response he'd expected. Hell, even Steve had been incredulous, albeit snarky when he'd told him the story. Granted, he omitted the part about how he'd been running late and everyone was waiting in 110-degree heat at the chapel when he'd suddenly decided to pull over on the side of the road with his best man, so Javi volunteers it now to see if your reaction will sharpen towards him.

"…She eventually forgave me," he finishes telling you, and when he stares over at you warily, your expression hasn't changed.

Well, save for the wry tug at the corner of your plush lips when you muse, "All's well that ends well." Javier exhales a relieved chuckle as you tsk, "I got you beat anyway."

His soulful eyes sharpen into a full-blown smolder as you deliberately do not elaborate and collect your purse as if you're going to hop out. "You cannot say something like that and leave me on baited breath, preciosa," Javi sneers sarcastically and squeezes your thigh cheekily. "C'mon, I was sweating telling you—"

"Why? I can't be ornery about your past fiancée!" you laugh and swat his hand playfully away.

"Ok, well, just how do you got me beat at leaving someone at the altar?" he goads; fascinated when you blink as if you'd hoped he wouldn't cajole you.

"Well, fine…I, uh, turned a guy down when he proposed. In front of his family. At the top of the Rockefeller Rooftop garden that overlooks the cathedral. At his parent's anniversary party. In front of my father, who'd orchestrated the whole thing…"

You give him a silly glance when he just gapes at you.

"Holy shit," Javi muses and gives you an enthralled look and idly caresses his chin.

"Yeah…" you muse meekly. "I wasn't even done with my senior year of college, and only started dating the guy because…well, I was trying to appease my father, but figured once I graduated, I'd have the perfect excuse to break it off, and then next thing I know he's pulling me off to the side and getting down on one knee," you explain and shake your head, embarrassedly covering your face when Javi stifles a snort. "It was awful, and then I obviously made a beeline out of the party and my father and I spent the elevator ride down screaming at each other…"

This is the most you've mentioned your father, so Javi notes it and decides to give you a reprieve by leaning over the console and ushering you closer so he can hum a rugged grunt as he nuzzles your cheekbone before purring, "So we're both not the marrying kind, it seems. Guess I'll just have to keep you satisfied every way I can, querida."

That being his response to your mortifying story ignites a rapacious lust in you for him, and when his lips trail down to capture yours, you feel that fire soak arousal through your core. Pushing him lightly at the chest, you smirk and lean over the console to bore your searing gaze into his molten depths.

"Wanna keep me satisfied? Well, I've been waiting very patiently these few days, but now? It's time for you to give me what I want, querido, so…" eyes narrowing provocatively as you snake your hand to cup him through his jeans, you order in a sensual grouse, "Upstairs. Now."

His brown, coffee-brewed eyes flare with scintillating desire as you arch a brow and squeeze his hardening cock.

He's rushing out of the driver's side in an instant, and you do the same, hopping out of your door with your purse and sprinting around the jeep to meet him at the sidewalk, where he threads your arm in his again and practically floats you along his side to cross the courtyard and up the stairs to your apartment.

The anticipation is thrumming between you both, and the only consideration either of you can even fixate on outside of your ravenous lust for each other is which of you is going to be begging for it first.

To be continued…

____________________

Read Chapter 12: Plans - Part 2

Spanish-English Glossary:

Diablita = Little devil girl

Mi amor = My love

Querida/querido = Affectionate term, akin to expressing one's want and desire

Solterita = Single gal; bachelorette

Seductora divina = Divine seductress

Mi tentadora celestial = My heavenly temptress

Hermosa = beautiful

Mi amada = My beloved (female)

Maldita sea = Damn it

Mírame, mi amor = Look at me, my love

Cariño = darling/sweetheart

Atrevido/Atrevida = Daring man/Daring woman

Tú no te cuidas = You don't take care of yourself

Chulo/Chulito = cute guy; little cutie

Preciosa = Gorgeous; precious

Puto = Fucking; male whore

Loquita = Crazy girl

Eres todo mío = You're all mine

Chavón = a man that's pestering you

Beyako = Puerto Rican slang for horny/naughty guy; akin to "horn dog"

Fresco = a guy who's being 'fresh', or naughty/pervy

Riquito = Richie/rich people

Te quiero a ti, mi amor = I want you, my love

Pinche tentadora = Fucking temptress

Señorita = Little lady; little miss

Bravita = Tough girl; feisty girl

Thanks for reading! Please consider leaving a comment and sharing your feedback. I would be eternally grateful.

[volturialice]

Hey G, what cdramas do you recommend? I'm in the middle of The Untamed right now and I'm interested in putting more cdramas on my watchlist.

oh boy, so ok lemme preface this by disclaiming: I haven't seen any of the (mlm) gay ones. my shipping preferences are exclusively het/femslash and that is reflected in my cdrama consumption! I also don't care for modern stuff, so it's period dramas and a lot of wuxia/xianxia (mostly xianxia, which is kind of my platonic ideal of a genre.) also it's a lot of yang mi dramas but that's a coincidence—she just takes roles in all the projects i'm interested in!

that said, I know the mlm shippy ones everyone else recs include Nirvana in Fire, Word of Honor, and Heaven Official's Blessing (idk if there's a live action version of this yet but there's definitely a novel/donghua.)

so with that out of the way, I'm gonna separate this into a) recent recs, b) classics and recent adaptations of classics, and b) other shows I've seen but did not Vibe with. note that I'm not including cws because there are just too many, but if you have questions about potentially triggering content in any of these, feel free to ask me for more info.

actual recs

1) Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, aka Three Lives Three Worlds aka Eternal Love (I think that's the dumb genericized english title on netflix.) it’s extremely difficult to summarize this one due to its huge cast and elaborate plot but suffice to say: local immortal couple are so extremely star-crossed it takes them three lives to get it right and causes great collateral damage to international immortal politics.

fun fact: this is the single most watched tv show of all time. like, anywhere. possibly because it's so unhinged and eminently re-watchable. I think it's a great intro to the xianxia genre and I chalk its success up to the fact that it's fanfic trope overload. seriously, there are at least three "there was only one bed" scenes in this one show. I think the protagonists are fairly terrible people and yet I can't look away from their train wreck of a relationship.

luckily it's a huge ensemble cast so there are plenty of other characters for me to enjoy (bi4bi king and queen zilan and yanzhi supremacy give me their spinoff right now.) there are also Supporting Character Gays who could not be more obviously homosexual if they tried and it’s very fun.

there's also an actual spinoff I couldn't get into because I Simply Do Not Care about those characters but hey maybe you guys will

in conclusion, TMOPB is a good Xianxia Starter Pack because it includes a lot of common tropes. I learned a lot just by googling which things were specific inventions of the show vs which things were actual mythology! this show is so popular that basically every other xianxia made post-2017 is a clone of it (seriously, if they don't STOP with these stoic emotionless love interests i’m gonna hurl myself into a magical abyss.)

goofiest cgi character: the Four Beasts (no I’m still not over the sphincter-mouth.) honorable mention goes to yehua’s tiny offended snake form

2) Legend of Fuyao - sort of a rags-to-riches hero’s journey/jianghu story in which the heroine wanders through several different fantasy countries kicking ass and doing fun sidequests.

the first cdrama I ever watched (after seeing how epic the trailer looked) and still my favorite. notably the only time I have ever actually shipped the two leads. also notable in that the characters are more flawed and multidimensional than you'd typically see in a show like this—I particularly enjoy the concept of "fun Trickster King love interest but he's also kind of a pathological liar and that has actual consequences." has a rough start and drags in places but it's one of the most visually stunning shows on this list and has a fun ensemble cast, some of my favorite fight scenes, and a lot of good h/c moments.

goofiest cgi character: gotta hand it to yuanbao. if I had a nickel for every time the entire plot hinged on the actions of a single cgi guinea pig

3) Story of Yanxi Palace - a backstabby court intrigue period drama that imagines the rise of real historical figure Consort Ling, who rose from obscurity to great power in the court of the qianlong emperor.

the single most googled show of all time. notable for its gorgeous, elaborate costumes and general attention to detail in design. one of two on this list that's pure period drama, no fantasy (though it certainly takes liberties with actual history.) also probably the most ~”western”-style~ show on the list in terms of pacing and plot structure. it fits right in with prestige period shows like The Tudors or The Borgias, (albeit with far less graphic violence and sex scenes.) a pretty interesting heroine who, again, has actual flaws (still too much candy:spinach ratio, but I'll take what I can get here.) 

I'm just gonna say it: yingluo and empress fuca were super gay for each other. just let them stay home and lez

sadly devoid of goofy cgi characters

4) Princess Agents - another hero’s journey-style fantasy, this time about Becoming A Badass Spy. basically the cdrama Nikita. 

another of those ones everyone recs as a quintessential drama of the last decade. I actually haven't finished it, but the big chunk I've seen is solidly Good even if it's another stoic love interest I can't stand (the second lead is charming enough to make up for this.) has one of the sickest opening themes out there

and contains both princesses and agents but sadly none of them are the same people so I consider the title false advertising

goofiest cgi character: I s2g if that parrot doesn’t sHUT UP

5) The Wolf - girl meets boy raised by wolves. Tiny Horse scene is reenacted. they meet again as adults but he’s since become a war criminal so that complicates things :D

if you like angst and betrayal, this is the show for you. a Stoic Love Interest I actually don’t mind for once + a fun arranged marriage slowburn arc and a likable second lead (Untamed stans have ensured that you will see zero gifs of the two actual leads when you search for this show.) has the other sickest opening theme out there

goofiest cgi character: I mean, it’s right there in the title

6) Novoland: Pearl Eclipse - another fantasy about being trained as a badass secret agent, only this time involving mermaids and domestic abuse! hooray

watching this one right now and it’s interesting so far. I once again only care about the side characters but it’s possible that’s a Me Problem ([holding up zhuoying] I just think he’s neat!) has the single most unhinged opening scene I have ever experienced. I haven’t seen any of the other Novoland Cinematic Universe shows but I’ll probably look them up after this!

goofiest cgi character: the sharknado

7) The Eternal Love (and The Eternal Love 3) - not to be confused with Eternal Love sans-“The,” this show was made on a budget of ten and is so weird and silly. it gets so much mileage out of its simple bodyswap/time travel/fish out of water concept (which is also RIPE for fic AUs imo) that it was a runaway hit and they made two more seasons (which are basically...AUs of the first season? it makes sense in context.) I skipped season 2 but season 3′s “lol role reversal it’s a MATRIARCHY” concept was also really fun.

a few shows I haven’t seen but get recced all the time: Rise of Phoenixes, Story of Minglan, Novoland: Eagle Flag

some modern classics/adaptations of modern classics 

1) Princess Pearl, aka My Fair Princess/a bunch of other titles. a “Prince and the Pauper” -type story set during the rein of the qianlong emperor (but much lighter and fluffier than Yanxi Palace.)

made on a budget of half a shoestring (and it shows), this show was a crazy runaway hit that catapulted its unknown leads to megastardom so powerful that the government straight up erased zhao wei from the internet. 

maybe the real princess was the Gal Pals we made along the way

2) The Return of the Condor Heroes (2006) - another “orphan becomes a badass and experiences star-crossed love” jianghu story. this seems to be the most well-liked adaptation of its extremely popular novel afaik. I haven’t seen that much of it, but I can definitely see why it’s popular!

3) Handsome Siblings (netflix version) - two Very Opposite fraternal twins separated at birth are manipulated into becoming mortal enemies, and hijinks ensue. sort of a picaresque take on the jianghu with lots of comedic sidequests. also based on a super popular novel.

tbh I probably wouldn’t have gotten all the way through this one if I hadn’t been sick and couchbound when I watched it, but the third act is super fun! the non-netflix adaptations might be better, idk.

gotta love that title. the author said look at my OCs!! they’re a couple of real handsome boys!!!

shows I Do Not Vibe With no tea no shade they just aren’t for me

Ancient Love Poetry - I tried really hard because the cast looks fun but it’s just. a much more soulless clone of TMOPB with none of the fun Weird Shit or compelling characters.

The Flame's Daughter - this plot was so complicated I could not tell you the first thing about it. kids are getting switched at birth, everyone is double-cast as their own dead mom, and I don’t care enough about the characters to try to parse out their bizarre motivations (ok, fine, I admit I liked the side characters.)

Maiden Holmes - a fun “woman dresses as man in order to be a detective” premise but I simply didn’t care about the characters.

Miss the Dragon - maybe the later episodes are good, but I couldn’t get past the complete lack of story in the first few.