#THANKS EVERYONE FOR PUTTING UP WITH MY INCONSISTENT SCHEDULE

[rafeandonlyrafe]

full inspection

words: 2.1k

warnings: 18+ only, smut, dom/sub dynamic, mentions of previous self harm! including scars, inspecting body, descriptions of body but i try to keep things vague ish when it comes to features, p in v sex, unprotected sex, anal fingering, illusions to future anal sex, rafe does inspect readers feet but not really in a foot fetishy way? it is a FULL inspection lol

“mouth first today, bunny.” rafe says, tapping your cheek.

you nod, opening up your mouth for his fingers to poke inside of.

the routine is familiar by now, every morning, you wake up to rafes inspections. his fingers glide over your cheeks, then your teeth.

“you did a good job brushing last night, bun.” rafe says, pulling his finger back to your lips, swiping over them as you open up, sticking your tongue out.

his finger glides down your tongue, pushing further and further until his fist is pressing against your teeth. you try your best to control your gag reflex, waiting for rafe to finish his inspection before coughing.

the second his finger pulls back, you take a deep breath.

“you did it, baby!” rafe praises you, tapping your nose. “you didn't gag!”

you smile up at rafe, swallowing to get the tickle out of your throat. “wanna be good for you.”

“i know, bun. since you're so good, why don't you choose what's next up for inspections?” rafe usually moves to your hands next, checking to make sure there's not any bitten nails or chipped polish.

“umm…” you glance down, small nightgown barely covering your body, nothing on underneath. “my uh…” you know what you want, just are too afraid to say it.

“out with it baby.”

“my chest.”

“aww.” rafe chuckles. “baby girl wants her titties inspected next? sounds good.”

rafe tugs your nightgown up, bunching up the silky fabric, eyes devouring your pushed together thighs, the peek of your slit between them, until your tits are revealed and his attention is pulled there instead.

“mmm, such cute little nipples.” rafe uses both his hands to inspect them, first rubbing around the outside of breasts before moving closer, fingers playing with your nipples to make sure they harden like they should.

“very good, baby.” rafe says, hands massaging your chest.

“thank you.” you look down your body, so clearly on display for rafe. 

“what about this cute tummy, huh?” he pats your stomach. its not part of his usual inspections, but rafe loves to give a kiss to your tummy, warm lips making contact with your skin, almost always making you giggle.

rafe moves lower, ignoring your core to scooch down the bed to your feet, picking up one and laying it in his lap. his hands run over your sole before looking at your toes, checking that your polish hasn’t chipped, otherwise he’d be getting on the phone to make a pedicure appointment for you before he even finishes inspections.

he lifts your other foot into his lap next, rubbing his thumbs over your foot, making you let out a low moan at the massage.

“so pretty for me baby.” rafe says, allowing himself to appreciate your flawless feet.

“just for you.” you giggle, wiggling your toes.

“thats right.” rafe smiles, hands moving up your legs to your calves, quickly inspecting them before moving to your thighs. you keep your legs closed until rafe nods to give you permission to open them, not wanting to get punished for baring your cunt too early.

“such a pretty pussy.” rafe coos, a singular finger swiping through your center. “but i think we need to inspect your hands first.”

“raaafe.” you whine out, cunt clenching around nothing at his teasing as he grabs your hands. he makes sure to very thoroughly inspect them now that your cunt is spread open for him, his eyes flicking between your manicured nails and your wetness.

“don’t be bratty. you know its important for me to look over every part of you.” rafe says, flipping your hands over so he can rub his thumbs over your palms before skirting down your wrists, frowning at the few scars in lines that interrupt your skin.

“won’t happen again.” you whisper to rafe. its true, your time of self harming and using it to cope is far over now that you have rafe. not only would he easily be able to tell if you started again with his daily inspections, but you don’t feel the need anymore.

“i know, baby.” rafe hums, raising your wrists to press kisses to them.

rafe moves up your arm, hands quickly checking them before his eyes turn back to your cunt.

rafe spreads your folds open with two fingers, smirking when he sees the way your clit pulses. he begins his usual work, rubbing around where you really want him, but you know he insists on inspecting every inch of you.

rafe plunges his finger into your entrance suddenly, making you gasp out, back arching off the bed at the intrusion, but rafe just chuckles.

he begins to thrust it in and out, rubbing the pad of his finger against your walls. “still nice and tight for me.” rafe hums. “good girl.”

“haven’t been touching myself without your permission.” you shake your head. it was the number one thing that used to cause you to fail inspections, touching yourself either while rafe was at work or while he slept next to you.

“i can tell.” rafe hums, slowing his finger making your eyes flutter closed, a moan escaping from your lips. he switches back and forth between fast, hard thrusts, and slowly deep ones, never letting you know what the next movement is going to be.

“clit next.” rafe suddenly pulls his finger out, making you squeal.

“shh.” he hums, taking the same wettened finger to rub over your clit. for how seriously he takes inspections, he moves on quickly from your clit, barely swiping over it before moving on.

“rafe.” you whine, hoping your pout and fluttering eyes will entice him to continue further.

“shush. flip over.” rafe sits back while you flip onto your stomach, nightgown still bunched around your chest.

rafe smiles at the way you plump ass is presented to him. he rubs his hands quickly over your back, then skips your bum to go to your legs.

“are we doing a full inspection today?” you mutter, turning your head to look down your body at rafe. it's not every day he has the time to do his favorite part of inspections.

“oh yes.” he smirks, tapping your thigh. you know instantly what to do, raising onto your hands and knees and spreading your legs apart. 

“cute little hole.” rafe smirks, your bum presented to him. he rubs his hands over your cheeks first, squeezing your skin and even shaking it a little to see the way your flesh ripples.

rafe keeps one hand holding you open while the other one comes to your second hole, circling around it. you take a deep breath and plead your body to relax as you wait for the intrusion, letting out a quiet mewl when rafe pushes his fingertip into your hole, slowly to let you adjust as he buries it. rafe hums in approval from the way you clench so tightly around his digit.

“a+, baby.” rafe pulls his finger out. you've never gotten a completely perfect inspection, always having at least one minor issue that needed correction.

“flip over.” he commands. you move quickly onto your back, keeping your knees pulled apart as you blink up at rafe. “what's next?” you question, hoping there is some sort of reward for being so good for rafe lately.

“you get your cunnie inspected again, but this time i use my cock.”

“really?” you squeal. usually rafe is strict about when he will fuck you. he doesn't like to give you anything too often, says it's to not spoil you rotten. he's lucky you don't mind just pleasuring him, whether with your hands or mouth.

“it's what good girls get.” rafe nods. he pulls his tshirt off over his head, his muscles on full display while you wait excitedly.

“gonna keep being good for you.” you promise rafe. 

“yeah, you will know that you know you'll get this dick.” rafe chuckles, pushing his pants down his hips, your eyes widening when his cock springs free, already hard.

“go ahead.” rafe encourages you, moving to kneel between your legs. you can't help your grin as you sit up to wrap your hands around his cock.

“look at how tiny your hands are on my big cock.” rafe smirks as you gently stroke him. you love to feel him, love to hold him in your grip.

“can i give it a kiss?” you question, not looking up at rafe, eyes too focused between his thighs. rafe laughs, patting the back of your head, pushing you down slightly as an answer to your question.

you duck your head, kissing right at the tip of rafes cock before slowly smooching along his shaft before kissing back up the other side. 

“now lay back.” rafe hums. you are sad to let go of his cock but excited for what is coming next as you lay down, but not before tugging your nightgown the rest of the way off. you toss it on the floor to be dealt with later.

rafes hands press at your inner thighs, making them stretch even further as he lines his cock up, glad that your wetness has grown and he can push inside, not too easily with how tight you are around him, but enough for rafe to enter you in one steady stroke.

a moan works its way through your body, your thighs shaking under his hands, but he doesn’t let up as rafes hips begin to swing back and forth, feeling every inch of your walls with his cock.

“thats it, baby.” rafe moans when you clench around him. “so tight for me.” your hands fist in the bedsheets, wishing rafe was draped over you so you could kiss him and hold onto his shoulders, but you know rafe likes kneeling between your spread legs so he can look down on you. it also allows him to thrust faster as he slowly builds up speed.

“love your cock so much.” you whine out, back arching, nipples pebbling in the cool morning air.

“aww, you’re so sweet.” rafe smirks, letting out a chuckle when you pout, his voice condescending, mocking you for how much you’re enjoying it, despite rafes movements speeding up to pound into you.

“oh! oh f-fffffff.” you cut yourself off, remembering that rafe doesn’t like you swearing.

“touch yourself.” rafe grunts out. he’s not sure how much longer he can last, not when he was already turned on from inspecting you and having you kiss and worship his cock.

“thank you!” you manage to squeal out before your hand reaches between your thighs, using your fingertips to rub over your clit, hoping rafe is ready soon because you’re not sure how much longer you can hold back.

“you know what the final part of a full inspection is?” rafe questions. you try to think of what it could be, but your mind doesn’t work anymore, so filled with pleasure and thoughts of rafe that nothing else can get through.

“its seeing how good you take my cum.” rafe moans, moving quicker when you feel his cock swell inside of you, signaling how close he is. you rub faster at your clit as he delivers a few final punishing strokes before cumming with a groan, your own fingers rubbing you to orgasm seconds later as you whine out a series of rafes name over and over, your cunt pulsing around his cock, milking him.

“oh, thats a good girl.” rafe pats your lower stomach. “tummy all swelled up with my cum.”

you look down your body, and rafe is right, theres the slightest bulge from rafes cock being lodged deep inside of you and then stuffing you with cum.

“keep my cum inside of you for a minute and you’ll get an extra special reward.” rafe says as he pulls out, knowing you’re going to have to clench your hole for the entire minute with how much he flooded inside of you.

“okay.” you mumble, eyes closing as you concentrate as his cock pulls away, glad you practice kegels as you try to keep all his cum in. you know rafe is staring at your hole, waiting to see if anything leaks from your cunt. time passes quickly, thankfully, and rafe is tapping your thigh before you know it. “you did it, baby girl. that was an entire minute.”

“really?” you smile, proud of yourself as you relax, knowing his cum is going to leak on the bedsheets. “whats the special prize?”

“well, i inspected your pussy with my cock, and now its time for you ass.” rafe grins while your eyes widen.

taglist: @drewstarkeyslut @forstarkey @f4ll-for-you @dilvcv @drudyslut @jjmaybankswifes-blog @rafescokenostril @jjsmarijuana @seeingstarks @angelofcigs @cece45450 @babygorewhore @vanessa-rafesgirl @michelleisheres-blog @outerbankspov @drewstarkeyswifehoe @cutielando @kamninaries @buckyswhxre @rafeinterlude @bellbottombaby @deeaardiary @rubixgsworld @wearemadeofstardust0 @leighbronk @starkeysheart @pradabambie @tobesolovelysstuff @alexiskirkland @rafestar @brioffthegrid @juniebugg @magicalyoura @mysticallystilinski @https-luvvia @aerangi @folklorsweet @soilderpoetandking @auryyz

[chexxycheol]

Chapter 9. To Your Arms || 13 Forget-Me-Nots

❀ Seventeen x Reader

title 13 Forget-Me-Nots or 13 Eternal Loves

synopsis You couldn't wait for your 20th birthday to finally reveal the one person you'd spend the rest of your life with. Well the 13 people you'd spend the rest of your life with. Or that story where reader has 13 soulmates, who happen to be idol group seventeen

genre Fluff, Angst, Romance

tags Soulmate!au, Idol! Seventeen x Non-idol! Reader, OT13 x Reader, Seventeen x Reader.

warnings Anxiety, Mature language, Inconsistent upload schedule, Reader is gender neutral but sometimes certain depictions lean feminine.

⚘ author constructive criticism is welcomed and my asks are open for feedback! this story is a work of fiction and should be separated from reality. thank you and enjoy!

Join the taglist by commenting on any post!

THIS WAS POSTED BY ACCIDENT INSTEAD OF ME POSTING IT TMR.. enjoy the early chapter yall ＼(_ _)

—chery

wc 1.4k

《 previous || masterlist || next chapter 》

After eating everyone was now lounging near the couches after cleaning up. Dino suggested that we all do something fun. You didn’t know what that entailed but knew that you didn’t want this day to end, quickly glancing down at your phone and checking the time seeing it was only early evening.

You looked towards the rest, and they all looked at you for your response, to which you nodded with a smile. Suddenly everyone was talking over each other, you scooted closer to Wonwoo who was relatively quiet, and leaned closer to talk with him.

“Is this normal?” You whispered quietly to Wonwoo, he smiled at you and put his arm on the back of the couch behind you, the gesture itself made you lean closer to him and put your head on his shoulder before he replied “Yes, Welcome to chaos tiny” He chuckled and you laughed quietly before yawning and suddenly feeling exhausted.

“Wake me up when everyone decides? I can sleep through them deciding no matter how loud it is” Wonwoo laughed and agreed to wake you up.

Wonwoo felt his heart beating at a million miles an hour the moment you laid your head on his shoulder, he had the biggest shit-eating grin when you leaned into him once he put his arm behind you. He knew it would take a while before the others noticed you were asleep but he was happy with how everything was playing out currently.

They kept going on about places to take you, before Wonwoo started feeling sleepy and rested his head on yours and fell asleep with you. It wasn’t until Jun had looked at Wonwoo and you noticing the both of you asleep, he swatted the two loudest being Hoshi and Seungkwan in the back of their heads and pointed to you and Wonwoo. 

Everyone else looked towards you both with smiles on their faces but feeling a little jealous that you were cuddled up with Wonwoo, whatever they had planned now could wait. They dimmed the lights of the practice room, and all decided to try and get comfy around the couches, some immediately fell asleep while others just went on their phones.

Sooner though they all had fallen asleep, Seungkwan and Mingyu helped you and Wonwoo adjust so you both could be comfier before lying down on the floor in front of you, but before Seungkwan could fall asleep he grabbed his phone out and snapped a selfie with everyone in the background asleep and took a photo of everyone asleep before pocketing his phone and deciding to lay on Jeonghan’s arm that was extended out.

Jeonghan woke up first, looking around at everyone still asleep then his eyes landing on you now awake, sitting up, and on your phone with anger in your eyes. You saw Jeonghan from the corner of your eye and put your phone down smiling at him, trying to mask your emotions.

He knew something was wrong, he replaced the arm Seungkwan was using with his jacket before getting up and making his way towards you, he offered you a hand to get up and you took it.

He led you out of the dark practice room, still holding your hand, towards Woozi’s studio where he could get privacy.

As you walked through the halls, Jeonghan made sure they were empty before quickly pulling you toward the studio room. Once approaching he entered a code and pulled you in, sitting you on the couch. You looked around the room taking it all in, it was a good size and fit the vibe Woozi gave off.

“What’s wrong Angel?” Jeonghan asked with worry, he didn’t want to pry if you didn’t want to talk about it but figured he’d let you if you trusted him to talk. You looked at him nervously because what you found out might hurt Mingyu and Changbin’s friendship.

Jeonghan saw your hesitation and got scared that he made you uncomfortable with the sudden nickname “I’m sorry if calling you Angel was too far, I should’ve asked first”

“No no, it’s okay! I don’t mind it. Wonwoo called me tiny earlier” You put your hand on his to quickly reassure him that you didn’t mind. Letting out a sigh before beginning to talk.

“Felix had texted me before you woke up, he said he found out that Chris and Changbin knew that we were all soulmates. I don’t want to ruin Changbin and Mingyu’s friendship but I’m upset that they both knew and didn’t tell us earlier” Jeonghan was shocked, staring at you now. 

He didn’t know what to make of this information, He was rightfully upset as were you, and he didn’t know how to approach this now.

“Do you know how they know?” Jeonghan’s voice was eerily calm and you couldn’t read his emotion.

“I was going to call Felix and find out” The older man nodded and looked at you “Do you want me to be here when you call him, or give you privacy?”

“Please stay, just don’t say anything, I’ll put it on speaker. Though Felix and I often switch from Korean to English” You grabbed your phone from your pocket and opened it to your call log, your hands were shaking nervously before hitting the call button. Jeonghan wrapped his arm around your shoulder to offer you comfort when he saw your hands shaking.

The ringing emitting from your phone sounded like it went on forever until you heard Felix answer, his deep voice coming through the phone quickly.

“Hello?” He sounded tired, worry began to rise in your stomach. You knew that you had to talk about this with him, but you didn’t want to cause an argument or tension between his and his members.

“Tell me everything, start to finish” You cut right to the chase. How could they hold such information from you?

“Chris said that he and Bambam were drinking, Bambam got too drunk and started spilling everything, he knew cause Mingyu told him” Felix paused before continuing “Changbin only found out the day you were flying in, he saw Mingyu’s soul mark at the gym then saw yours at dinner, then Chris told him. Changbin wanted to tell you then and there, hell we wanted to tell Mingyu as well and call him the same night” 

"Chris told Changbin not to tell you or me, I'm upset with Chris and Changbin but mostly Chris right now" Felix finished his story. You were now upset at Chris and Changbin, mostly Chris because he knew, though you didn’t know how long he knew.

“Thank you for telling me, I’m sorry if this has now caused an issue with your group” You said looking at Jeonghan who was on his phone texting someone.

“Don’t worry about it, we’re all divided on the situation but Chris and Changbin would like to talk to you. Mostly Chris” You heard a door open on Felix’s end of the phone and talking to whoever had walked into where he was.

“Let me know though, I have to go. You can tell your soulmates but I know they more than likely won’t take it well” You laughed dryly before looking at Jeonghan who was glaring daggers at your phone.

“I’ll let you know before I leave thank you for telling me. See you soon Lix” You hang up the phone and let out a sigh and turned to the older man sitting next to you.

He looked at you and before he could process anything or say anything, you quickly threw yourself into his arms trying to hold yourself together. He held you with one hand on your back and the other behind your head. You pulled away slightly to look at him

“It’s okay, do you want to let the others know?” He asked, Minghao had texted him letting him know that some of the others were awake and wondering where you both went.

“I think it’s the right thing to do, especially Mingyu since he’s friends with Changbin” Jeonghan nodded but neither of you made the move to pull apart, you both enjoyed the comfort the other brought.

“Thank you for being here” Jeonghan smiled at you. Though you both found out that you could’ve known about each other at an earlier date, you at least were happy to have found them now.

taglist @gigglensnort @amanda08319 @neivivenaj @allys-reads @sarabencze @kkochiau

[cellophaine]

Chapter XII: DEUCE

Masterlist

Pairing: Art Donaldson x F!Reader.

Warnings: Fluff, brief description of smut.

Author's Note: AHHHHH I can't believe this is the last chapter of A Languor Spell!!!!!!! Truly insane!!! Thank you to everyone who have stuck with the series to the very end, who have been so patient throughout my inconsistent schedule, all of the mental gymnastic I made you go through, and all the angst. I'm grateful for those who have liked, reblogged, commented and given me your thoughts on the series! You are amazing and you keep me going. You're the reason why I work through my sickness.

With all of that said, I'm feeling bittersweet as this series comes to an end. This is probably one of my favourite works, and a completed series at that. I've learned a lot from working on this, and I feel like it has given me a better sense of my voice as a fanfic writer. Still, I'm excited to move on with ALS completed, and I'm happy to say that I have another idea for Art at work atm!! (more details on that later)

I hope you will enjoy the last instalment of A Languor Spell 🫶

GIF Source

2021. San Francisco.

In a room full of people, amongst the comfortable quiet and the rain's patterned knocks on the window panes, your voice gave sound to the words you wrote. The rain was fitting for a reading of your newest novel, considering how it was inspired by what had transpired after that fateful day fifteen years ago. You still remembered how it felt, walking away from Art in the aftermath of the storm, feeling intrigued by the possibility of your future, none the wiser about the way things would turn out.

The indie bookstore was small, but it made it easier for you to look at your supporters when you took occasional breaks from the pages. Everyone's eyes were on you, but instead of discomfort, you felt at ease. Reading these words to the readers who had supported your works still felt unreal after four releases and all these years since you first became a published author. Your heart swelled in your chest as your eyes swept over all the people who gathered here for you. They looked up to you, they found solace and comfort in your books. That made you realize you weren't alone in your feelings, despite the perpetual solitude that you chose for yourself after Isaac.

Your reading ended, followed by answering questions, and signing. You got to meet wonderful people who expressed their love for your books and talked about your newest release. No one knew the idea was drawn loosely from your own experience. It was the truth that you held close to your heart. The idea of being capable of loving more than one person in literature wasn’t new. And like most, it usually tailspinned out of one's control. You knew it well, and you put it into your own words. In the end, your protagonist walked away from everything, freeing herself of the entanglement. It stemmed from your understanding of your own role in the circumstances. Loving Art and tolerating everything that was attached to him was an inescapable loop once your connections had intertwined so deeply that neither of you could unravel. You accepted that you and Art were nothing more than a missed opportunity, and maybe, in another lifetime, you would find each other again. But in this one, you chose to move on.

Avery helped you wrap up the signing, and when you were about to walk away from the table, a familiar voice caressed your ears.

“Do you have time for another autograph?”

You could recognize him from the first consonant he uttered. You turned your head and were greeted by his warm and familiar gaze. There wasn't a need to run, to hide like you did two years ago. You felt nothing but a quick skip in your heart before returning to its normal pace. From this distance, you could see the subtle fall and rise of his chest that made him look slightly out of breath. The white tee he was wearing was speckled with raindrops, making it cling to the definition of his torso better. He had let his hair grow out since you last met, the damp curls held tension at the nape of his neck. His eyes held yours, and you were taken aback by its intensity and familiarity. The colour was a muted blue under the artificial light of the bookstore, and the speckle of light brown remained.

Avery spoke up before you could.

“Sorry, but signing hour is over.“

You touched her shoulder.

“It’s okay. I can do it. I’ll be done in a minute.”

Avery gauged your face, looking for a sign of uncertainty or discomfort. You nodded and assured her you'd be alright, only then, she left you alone with Art. You lowered your voice, not wanting other people to hear.

“Sure, I can sign your book.”

Art blinked as if he didn't expect you to actually indulge him. He retrieved the books from the bag on his side and placed them on the table.

“I wasn’t sure which one I wanted to get signed, so I brought a few that I have.”

Four copies of your books, from the debut to your newest, spread out before you. You took your time flipping over each of them, your eyes tracing over the faint underlines on the sentences you wrote. You imagined Art's own hand turning the pages, carefully underlining what he liked, what resonated with him. The books looked like they were read over and over with frayed edges, worn pages, and slight curls on the corners. You quieted the voices in your head, questions echoing in the chamber of your mind and picked up a pen. You opened your new release and looked at him expectantly.

“What do you want me to write?”

“Anything you want.”

“When you say that, do you mean the literal sentence ‘anything you want’ or …”

You trailed off, watching a smile slowly make its way to his lips, mirroring yours.

“Anything your heart desires.”

“Alright. ‘Anything your heart desires’ it is then.”

You placed your pen on the page and made a move to write it, but he stopped you by touching his fingers on the splayed book.

“How about ‘yes, I would like to go out for dinner with you’?”

You considered him. The playful smile was still on his lips, but from where you were standing, he seemed pretty serious.

“Is that a real invitation?”

He nodded.

“I mean it.”

You straightened up and looked at him fully for the first time since he made his presence known.

“I came to San Francisco just to see you.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t seem to get over you.”

His unexpected honesty was so brutal that it almost took your breath away. You parted your lips in bated breath, not daring to say another word that could ruin the trance he seemed to cast over you.

“You're always on my mind. I haven’t stopped thinking about you ever since you left.”

“Art …”

You swallowed the lump of emotions that had gathered in your throat, unsure of how to respond to his admission. Art looked at you with an understanding, telling you that he didn't expect you to say anything back. The boy you fell in love with years ago, now standing in front of you, had stripped his soul bare and laid it out in front of you. The downpour of your emotions swirled together, seizing your heart in a tight grip. It made your skin bloom in heat. You saw Art's mouth move before you could process the words themselves.

“I will be here for another week. Please, I would like to see you before I leave.”

He extended a piece of paper towards you, and a sense of deja vu hit you. History had the tendency to repeat itself, and here you were, with the man who once was your everything. He looked at you like his sole purpose was to please you, to do whatever you wanted him to.

“Are you here because I’m the second best thing you can get?”

You asked in a self-deprecating tone.

“No, I’m here because I want to. And you’ve always been the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

You blinked at the sheer honesty in the way he said it. No hesitation in his voice, and no humour in his eyes. But words could only mean so much. Actions eclipsed everything else.

“What about Tashi?”

“We’re not together anymore.”

You nodded, feeling that there was more to it, but it was neither the time nor the place. You took the folded piece of paper from him, and before he let you have it, Art said.

“Anytime. Anywhere. We can meet up and just talk.”

You stayed silent. Art continued.

“And if you don’t want me, I will leave in a week and never come back or contact you again.”

You nodded, showing your understanding. You crouched slightly to sign his book, and when you gave it back to him, your hands touched, and it sent a touch of thrill down your spine. You left the table and not once looked back at Art. He didn’t know it then, but you still had his number saved on your phone. After your encounter two years ago, you couldn’t bring yourself to delete it.

/

The next two days were spent with you thinking about Art’s offer and pondering the outcome of your choices. What would your decision say about you as a person? Going back to the man who had hurt you wasn’t something you wanted for your character, that was why you ended your book the way you did. But you also knew the matter of the heart was more complicated than that. Not everything could be sorted as black or white. The definitive decision to choose one over another, because it was viewed as the right thing to do, was a conformity of normality and a complete rejection of nuances and consideration for perspectives that didn’t align with what was deemed morally right. What you ultimately decided would be the culmination of your experience alone, of the connection you had with Art, Tashi, and Patrick, and not a reflection of your morality. What applied to others might not apply to you, and vice versa. Each person in a collective could have wildly different experiences, none were the same. And you didn’t have to justify yourself to anyone.

You opened your contact and scrolled until you reached Art’s number. After a deep breath and another moment of waiting for the rational part of you to scream profanities at your decision, you clicked on his contact and pressed call. You waited patiently, listening to the calming beat of your heart. Anxiety perched at the corner of your mind, ready to jump in at the idea of Art not picking up his phone, and him showing up at your book signing event was his way to toy with you. But Art shut out all of the background noises when he picked up at the fourth ring.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

He sounded out of breath, and in your head, you imagined how he must have run to his phone and hoped it was you who called. You bit the inside of your cheek at the image and realized that he was waiting for an answer from the other side of the line.

“Where are you staying?”

“The Ritz.”

"Between Pine and California?"

Art confirmed with a quiet 'yes'. You wanted to tell yourself no, that this was a bad idea, but these thoughts wavered the more you wanted to look upon them further, to dissect them into bits and pieces. The absence of the self-loathing that you were so used to was noticeable. After a moment of contemplation, you breathed out and said.

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

"I can pick you up."

You shook your head before realizing he couldn't see you.

"There's no need."

“I’ll wait for you in the lobby.”

You went through the motions, getting dressed, and getting into the car and backed out of your apartment's complex's parking lot. Your fingers drummed on the wheel restlessly as you imagined what might happen, what you would say to him, what you would ask. Should you feel shame? Guilt? In the empty vastness of space between you and Art, you tried and tried to fill it up with excuses. Anything that would make you turn around. Yet, the car still moved forward, and it didn't stop until you reached the Ritz-Carlton hotel.

/

You found Art waiting in the lobby, just like he said. You went to the bar of the hotel together and ordered yourselves drinks. You sat in the plush chair across from each other, the distance between you comfortable and not at all suffocating. You took your time, taking notes of something new about him that you hadn't noticed before. And Art seemed to have the same idea. Finally, you broke the silence first.

“Did you actually read all of my books?”

“Of course. It was the only way I could be close to you.”

You remembered what Tashi told you, and tried to tame the bashful smile that tugged at the corner of your lips. At that, an amused expression touched Ar's face.

"What?"

"About two years ago, the night before your match against Patrick, Tashi told me that you read my books, even annotating them. I didn't believe her at first. Then, I realized that she must have told the truth because even though she didn't gain anything from telling me, she did it anyway."

Art nodded, his eyes looked away as if to contemplate the thought.

"Did it make a difference for you?"

"A little bit. But it didn't matter. You were still with Tashi."

You admitted in a casual tone and took a sip of your drink. Art looked down at his, turning it in his hand.

“How did you know I was at the bookstore?”

Art looked at you through his long lashes.

“Your website. It said you'd be there for a reading and signing event.”

You inclined your head. Art, in his own way, was guileful and at times manipulative, but this time, you couldn't blame him. Your participation at those events was public information, and Art used that to his advantage.

"Why now?"

"I had things that I needed to sort out first before I could be good enough to reach out to you."

You thought about what Art said at the bookstore.

“When you said you and Tashi were no longer together …”

“We're divorced. Been that way for almost two years.”

“Was it mutually agreed upon?”

“Not at first. I … initiated it.”

You took a moment to absorb that information. Finally, you said.

“I’m surprised.”

“Why?”

“You loved her a lot. And yet, you were the one to ask for a divorce. You stood up to her.”

Art shifted in his seat and leaned on the table, touching the outside of your hand on the stem of your drink.

“You made me realize that I was always second to her. Tennis has always been her first love.”

You allowed him to take your hand fully in his. The warmth of his palm spread to yours, and it made your heart pound. Art picked up where he left off.

“I believe that at one point, she truly loved me. But it turned into something else, with all of the buildup of resentment and time she couldn't take back and mistakes she couldn't undo. And you were right. Her shortcomings weren't mine to bear."

Art told you about what happened during the match in 2019. Patrick's signal, serving like Art, was a way for Patrick to rub it in Art's face that he slept with Tashi the night before. Your heart broke for him, having to find out about it that way. You reached out with the other hand, rubbing back and forth along the length of the arm that was holding you slowly. You stayed like that for a while, until the weight of the moment had dissipated into the air, only lingering on the outside like a distant memory. Art's voice was rough when he spoke up.

“In the end, your protagonist …”

“What about her?”

“She walked away from everything. And … here you are, with me.”

“I am.”

“What does that say about us?”

You took a deep breath and mulled over his question. The answer surprised you, even though you were the one who made it real.

“That our story doesn’t end there, two years ago, when it should.”

The two of you had shifted closer to each other, and from this distance, you could see the beautiful swirl of colours in his eyes. He closed them when he pressed a kiss into the palm of your hand as if to savour the sensation. You caressed the smooth skin on his cheekbone as he whispered.

“I meant what I said at the bookstore. I have never stopped thinking about you ever since the day I met you. You're constantly on my mind.”

You felt your body go weak at his words. You murmured, afraid of the quiver in your own voice.

“It's been a very long time.”

"I know. Even though I was with Tashi, if you called, I would've dropped everything to come to you. I will always be at your disposal."

“Even now?”

“Especially now.”

/

The ride up to his suite was quiet, and it stayed like that until you were tangled in a passionate embrace like there was an invisible force that drew your bodies together. Art took his time in exploring you, reacquainting himself with your body, and you with his. You needed each other's touches and heat as if everything could end right then and there. His lips trailed all over your body, paying extra care to your sensitive spots and laving up your scent, leaving faint love marks on your skin. You glowed in the attention he bestowed upon you. Your nails scratched up his back, complimenting the loving bites you left on his pale skin. You gave into the throes of euphoria, neither of you holding back. When he slid home inside you, you felt a relief like never before.

Your blissful moans and unabashed grunts of pleasure last for hours into the night. Later on, you lay in Art's arms with your head on his chest, listening to the gentle beat of his heart and the muted sound of the world from the other side of the window. A sense of tranquillity washed over you, and in your mind, there was no doubt or regret. But you had to make sure that he felt the same.

"Are you regretting this, yet?"

You asked with a small touch of humour, trying to mask your worries. Art tilted your face up to look at him, and you could only find earnestness in his eyes.

"Never. I've never felt happier. Do you … regret this?"

You placed a kiss on his chest, your hand squeezed at his side.

"No, I don't. I can't think of a time when I felt like this with someone else."

And you didn't hate yourself for admitting that out loud. The look he gave you was pure adoration. After everything with Isaac, being here with Art felt like everything had finally clicked into place. Art sighed, trailing his hand along the side of your arm.

"Me neither. I mistook competition for love and worthiness, and accepted the constant stress and worries that I'm not enough as something that just came with it. It should've been like this."

You cradled his face in your hand, your eyes locked and intertwined in the pool of emotions.

"You've always been enough for me."

Art moved his head to kiss you deeply, and you relaxed into it. After everything, you had become different people who found their way back to each other. When you were together, there was no expectation. You didn't have to be someone else for him, and he didn't have to fulfill the role others had expected of him.

You lost yourself again and again in Art's arms. Just like your protagonist, you were free in the end, albeit in a different way. But that was the beauty of it. Your happy ending didn't have to be like hers. It was yours to mould and shape. And you chose to have it with Art, the only man you had truly loved, who had always known you in the way nobody else had.

Your future with Art was an unknown territory, but you thrust yourself into it. You knew you would be okay, with him being truly yours at last.

Likes, reblogs, and comments are greatly appreciated! I'd love to read your thoughts on the story!

For updates, please follow @cellophaine-archives

[ravendruid]

Bime update

Hi friends. Thank you to everyone who reached out from last post. :')

I've been taking a break from writing bime because I've been feeling super burned out and stressed with my self-imposed deadline, which means I don't have a chapter ready to post next Tuesday.

Moving forward, updates will be more sporadic instead of scheduled to match my writing flow. I fear that a year without posting an ongoing wip made me forget I cannot do scheduled updates without feeling like it's all I do in life and leaving me no time for other hobbies lol It finally caught up to me (again).

I hope you're ready for random drops again! Thank you for putting up with me, my update inconsistencies, and my abrupt mood swings <3

(Don't worry, Under My Skin is business as usual.)

[fangirlinsweden]

Just One Kiss: Part 20

Part 20: Trouble

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Warning: Flirting, entitled people, bitchiness, suggestive language and anxiety (think that is all)

Count: about 4700 words

Summary: You have been suspended from work and do not know what to do with yourself. Then in just a matter of hours, you find yourself on a plane to Montana to stay with people you have never met before. And as if that is not enough one of the men you are supposed to get to know is handsome enough to make your knees shake.

A/N: I do not know anything about the professions that are detailed in this story. I have googled most things I did not know and therefore there can be some inconsistency.

English is not my first language, so there will be mistakes.

And a big thank you to the amazing @dreamcatchernightsky not only for giving great support and helping me stay motivated but also for the amazing dividers for this story. You are AMAZING!

I also want to give a big thanks to @banditthewriter & @kaunis-sielu & @maw000 for their support! Thank you!

And a big thank you to my incredible Cat for being my beta reader! As well as @dreamcatchernightsky

You did not really know what to do when the bus came with the people for the cattle drive. It felt wrong greeting them together with Steve and Peter, but the two stood wide apart and it did not look inviting at all. The fight they had earlier had put up a kind of wall between them. Nat was in her room on the phone with work, and you did not know when she would be coming down. Steve had booked a bus to take everyone from town out to the ranch. You had heard him muttering something about not wanting too many cars on the ranch but had not questioned it any more than that.  Peter had a clipboard with the names of the people who had booked the cattle drive as well as what room they would be staying in that night.

First out of the bus when it stopped was a middle-aged couple who were holding hands. The man stepped out first and held on to the woman as she stepped out. The man was dressed as you would assume a college professor would be dressed. He had a square jawline and his features were well defined. He was clean-shaven and had short hair with some grey in it, but it made him more handsome. The woman had long black hair that was up in a ponytail and she had a bit of a stern look on her face. That, matched with her all-black clothing, made her give off a no-nonsense vibe. But when she looked at her husband, the smile she gave him really soften her features. You took a step toward them. “Welcome to Rogers Ranch.” You smiled and held out your hand since neither Peter nor Steve were doing anything. “Thank you,” the man said and shook your hand. “I’m Phil Coulson and this is my wife, Melinda.” “Pleased to meet you,” you smiled and shook Melinda’s hand. “Peter, over there, has a clipboard with all the room assignments and he will cross you off the list.. He also has a schedule you can look at.” They smiled and walked over to Peter. You wanted to go over there and see to it that Peter and Steve played good hosts, but the next pair was already stepping off the bus.

This time it was a man around your age that stepped out. He looked around to assess the surroundings. It gave you time to study him. He had a strong jawline and a kind of squared face. His dark brown hair caught some sun and it almost looked like there was some red in it. But when he turned around and helped the woman after him down the steps, he smiled and it made his face look so much more relaxed. There was no mistaking that they were a couple. The woman smiled at the man; she looked a bit younger than him. Her heart-shaped face had almond-shaped eyes and a straight nose. Her skin was glowing and it almost looked like her eyes were shining. She had long curly hair that is a mix of honey and light brown. She let out kind of a laugh when she looked around and her smile was warm and contagious. All you could think was that she was someone that everybody would want in their life t. They walked together towards you and you noticed that the man had a slight limp. “Welcome to Rogers Ranch,” you greeted them and held out a hand. The woman walked forward and took your hand. “Thank you. This place looks amazing,” she smiled. “We’re Daisy and Daniel.” She looked back to Daniel and he only had eyes for Daisy. “I am Y/N,” you smiled at them and nodded toward Peter, Steve, and the first couple you had talked to. “Peter, over there with the clipboard, has what rooms you have been assigned, will cross you off as having arrived as well as show you the schedule.” They nodded and walked over to Peter.

Another couple walked out of the bus. This time it was the woman who walked out first. The woman was wearing jeans and a tailored dark blue jacket. Her face was oval and her light skin had a healthy glow. She looked young, but at the same time as though she had seen more than her share of hard times. Her light brown hair was up in a high ponytail. Behind her, a young man, about the same age as the woman, came out. The man looked around, kind of quickly, side to side. He had a square-shaped face with high cheekbones. There was a small amount of stubble on his face, but it suited him. Even though he was dressed in dark pants and a long-sleeved light blue shirt, his dark brown hair was slightly messy and disheveled. The woman started walking towards you but noticed that the man was still standing just outside the bus looking around. “Come on, Leo,” the woman said and looked over at him. Her accent made you realise that she came from England. “Yeah, I just need to tie my shoes,” Leo answered and crouched down. The woman walked over to you. “Welcome to Rogers Ranch.” She smiled brightly at you and before you could say another word she started talking. “Thank you so much,” she gushed and looked around. “We wanted to try something new, and then Leo found this on some website and we booked it. Leo loves old western movies and I love to ride, so this is a great way to do something new.” “Yeah,” you said, not really knowing what to say. “Oh, sorry,” the woman said. “I’m Jemma.” “Hi Jemma, I am Y/N,” you replied. “Peter over there will have room assignments and a schedule.” “Thank you,” Jemma answered and walked towards Peter, Steve, and the other people who had arrived. Steve was talking with Phil and Daniel and seemingly enjoying himself. You turned your attention back towards the bus and saw that Leo was finished with his shoes and looking around again. He saw that Jemma had moved over to Peter, so he gave you a small wave before he walked towards Jemma. As Leo walked away, two men exited the bus. The first man is tall, built, and muscular. With his square-shaped face, long blond hair, and piercing blue eyes, he could have been a Norse god, or a Viking. He was dressed in light jeans, a black t-shirt and a tan jacket. The man that stepped out behind him almost looked like his opposite, still tall, but he was lean instead. He had black hair that was slicked back, and was dressed in black suit with a green shirt under. He did not look like a man dressed for being on a ranch. Both men came forward at the same time, and you smiled at them. “Welcome to Rogers Ranch. I am Y/N and it's a pleasure to have you here.” You smiled and held out your hand. “The pleasure is all ours,” the tall, slender man said with an accent that you couldn’t really place, and took a grandiose bow before he took your hand and kissed it. It made you blush and you didn’t really know how to respond. The other man takes your hand from the slender man. “Please excuse my brother, fair lady,” the man said, and also placed a kiss on your hand. “We are not accustomed to such beauty to greet us.” It made you blush even more. “Oh, well thank you.” You tried not to look over at Steve and kept your mind on the two extremely handsome men in front of you. This attention was flattering to say the least, but your heart belonged to Steve. “I am Loki,” said the dark haired man. “And this is my brother, Thor.” The names told you that you were kind of right about Thor being a Viking.

Peter looked on as the two men were flirting with Y/N and he could almost hear Steve grind his teeth. He did not know how Steve could stand there talking with Phil and Daniel about the farm, and still keep an eye on Y/N, but somehow he did. A part of Peter really hoped that Steve would walk over there and toss Y/N over his shoulder and walk away. However, Peter also knew that Steve had more manners and control than that. Still, Peter wished that someone else was seeing Steve’s behaviour. That's when Peter saw a couple of knowing smiles, between the people around them. Looking from Steve to Y/N. It made Peter almost giddy. His plan might actually work.

After getting both Loki and Thor to go over to Peter and the rest of the gang, two women stepped out of the bus, looking as if they had been to a costume shop before coming there. Both had tight dark blue jeans, and white tight tank tops on as well as short-sleeved flannels that were tied at the waist. The woman that had long, dark hair and an oval shaped face was dressed in gingham that was hot pink and white. On her head she had a hot pink stetson, with a sparkly black buckle accented band. The other woman with long, golden hair and a more heart-shaped face, wore white and sultry red. She had on a black stetson, with a red sparkly buckle accented band. Together they walked over to you. “Welcome to-” was all you got out before the woman with golden hair held a finger in the air. “We've been waiting in the bus for someone to help us with our luggage forever” She had kind of a pout on her lips. “Don’t you know the meaning of customer service?” the other woman crossed her arms, while the first woman looked you up and down. You felt like you were once again standing in front of the mean girls at school, and did not really know what to say. “I am sorry.” You cleared your throat and looked over to the group that stood a bit away, trying to get either Peter or Steve for some help. But they were immersed in conversation. “This is not a luxury hotel, this is a working ranch.” You tried saying it with your normal calm voice. One of the women kind of scoffed. “Of course, we know it's a ranch,” the woman with golden hair said. “That’s why we are here. For all the cowboys.” The women looked around and you felt lost. What were they planning? “So where are they?” the woman with the dark hair asked and started to look around. Then they saw Steve and Peter and just left you standing there. You looked after them before sighing and following. The women had not said their names and so far all they seemed to be were trouble.

Two women came over to Peter but started to ogle Steve. He could see them looking him up and down, and he felt like he was cattle in an auction. Y/N came over as well, which made the two men, Loki and Thor, turn to her and talk. They seemed to have questions about the farm and Y/N seemed to be happy to answer them. The bus driver had put out all the bags from the luggage compartment under the bus and placed them on the ground. He waved goodbye to Steve and left. Steve was at a loss, he did not really know if he should leave, or what he should do. He did not like the two men talking to Y/N so he wanted to stay close to her, but the two women made him uncomfortable. The way they were looking at him was like he was a tall glass of water and they were thirsty. He looked at Y/N again and she met his eyes and smiled, which made him realise that he could not leave Peter and her together with all these guests. As if Y/N read his thoughts she clapped her hands. Maybe she just saw the panic in his eyes? “Peter and I will now show you to your rooms, so you can get settled,” she said when she got everyone's attention. “But what about the hot cowboys?” the woman with golden hair pouted. Steve saw something come over Y/N's face but then it disappeared just as fast. “Steve has to go check on some things, but he will be back later,” Y/N said, winking at him. It was as if she was giving him an out, a way to disappear from this. How could she know that it was just what he needed? He had just thought he could not leave them, but now she kind of gave him permission. Was it strange how a woman like that had caught his heart? He winked back and said his goodbyes. It felt both wrong and right to go. When he turned around he saw that both Thor and Loki were walking close beside Y/N towards all the bags on the ground. Something that Loki said made her laugh and Steve wanted to go over there and claim her in front of them all, to make the men leave her alone. Steve cursed under his breath and walked towards the barn. When he meet Bucky just outside the barn, the man gave him a smirk, showing Steve that his friend knew exactly what was going on in his head.

Y/N looked after Steve as he walked away. You could almost see how the tension left his body in stages the further he went from the group. You looked away from his retreating form and turned to the group of people who seemed to wait for you to take charge. “Let's get your bags and we will show you to your rooms,” you smiled and made a gesture to where the bags had been dropped off by the bus driver. Thor and Loki walked step by step with you, one on either side. “I think I hear a New York accent in your voice,” Thor smiled at you, and you nodded. “Born and raised.” “What’s a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?” Loki said. It made you laugh, it seemed like both Thor and Loki would be providing a bit of comedy during the trip. “That's a long story,” you answered after a while, not wanting to go into depth in how you got here. “We have the time,” Thor smiled at you. “All week,” Loki agreed and you knew that they were flirting with you. And sure they were both handsome and all, but you only had eyes for one man. Which was Steve. Before you can say something to answer you were called by Peter. He did not have a question, instead he only asked if you were okay. Which you were, but it warmed your heart that he cared to ask.

At the bags, everyone took theirs except the two women that you still did not have a name for. “I don’t understand why there isn’t a big strong cowboy that can carry my bags?” The woman with dark brown hair pouted and looked around as if a cowboy would just appear. “I agree with Lorelei,” said the woman with golden hair. Well, now you at least had one name for the woman. “This is not some luxury vacation,” you explained. “This is a working ranch and you have signed up for a cattle drive. This means that you will have to pull your own weight and take care of your own luggage as well as other responsibilities, as it said on the website where you booked your travel.” You noticed that around you the other people are nodding. This was one of the things Peter had actually put on the website. “If you rather have a luxurious vacation, you should have gone to a spa,” Peter added, and the women looked at you with crossed arms. But you were not going to back down. It was not your job to carry bags or cater to their fantasy of what they were going to experience here. “But,” started Lorelei and almost had a quiver on her lips. You almost expected Loki or Thor to come and help the women, but they don’t. They are standing some to the side pointing at the mountains in the distance and talking. “Come on,” the dark-haired woman said and took her bags. “We will probably be surrounded by hot cowboys as soon as we leave tomorrow, and then have the vacation we wanted.” Lorelei smiled at this and picked up her two dark red bags and the other took hold of her two hot pink ones.

You turned and together you walked into the house. Peter stopped everyone by the door and asked them to please take off their shoes upon entering and they all agreed, even if Lorelei and her friend grumbled some. Some part of you just knew that these two would be trouble, not only today but all throughout the trip. It also made you a bit anxious seeing how they had looked at Steve earlier. Were one or both of them going to make a move on him during the cattle drive? Was there any way you could make it so they wouldn't? You walked up the stairs and showed each couple to their room. Jemma and Leo had been assigned the room you had been sleeping in. Thor and Loki the room next to that and so on. Everyone seemed happy with their assigned rooms, but you could see that both Lorelei and her friend would not be happy with the twin beds in the same room and sharing a bathroom with two other people. “This is really not acceptable,” said the dark-haired woman and crossed her arms once again. Peter just shook his head, not really knowing what to say. “I agree with Amora,” said Lorelei. It started to get on your nerves and you really wanted to say something snippy at them, but decided against it. “This is what we have to offer,” you said, trying to sound nice. “I am sorry if it’s not up to your standards, but I can’t give you anything else.” “I want to talk to whoever runs this place,” Amora whined. Just then Nat came out of her room and looked over at you standing with Amora, Lorelei and Peter. “Is there a problem?” Nat asked and you almost wanted to sink to your knees in gratitude. Nat would be able to deal with this problem so much better than you. “Are you the owner?” Lorelei asked, looking Nat up and down. “I thought it was the cowboy before, Steve, that was the owner,” Amora looked Nat up and down as well. “This is a family ranch,” you tried to intervene. “Steve, Peter, and Nat are siblings.” “Hmph,” was the sound that came out of Amora's mouth. “What is the problem?” Nat asked again and you noticed that Melinda stood in the doorway to the room she and her husband were going to sleep in. It almost looked like she was ready to jump in if it was needed. “We don’t like our room,” Lorelei pouted and crossed her arms again. This time making sure that by doing so she pushed her breasts up even further making them look bigger. You had to stop yourself from rolling your eyes. Peter seemed to notice as well, because his face became a bit redder and he looked away. “I am sorry that you feel that way,” Nat countered. “This is what we have, if you don’t want to spend the night in one of the bunkhouses, but they are not clean for guests and you would have to share the bathroom with all the ranch hands.” There was a small gasp from Lorelei at the thought of that, and it did not sound like a happy gasp. “Or we could pitch the tent you will be sleeping in during the cattle-drive and you could sleep in that tonight, you know, to get used to it,” Nat added with a smirk. “We will take this room,” Amora got out and turned around into the room with her bags. “Did you know we would be sleeping in tents the whole week?” you heard Lorelei ask as she closed the door to the room. Amora's answer was not heard, but you figured it would not be a nice surprise if she did not know. Nat looked at you and smirked. “Trouble,” both she and you said at the same time. Peter just looked at the two of you and shook his head.

After everyone had settled into their rooms, it was time for the test to see how they were with horses. You had asked everyone to dress for interacting with the horses, and everyone changed clothes, except Amora and Lorelei. Instead of saying anything, Nat and you just went with it. Peter had gone ahead to help Wanda take out the horse to the paddock. Together you walked toward the stable and paddock. Once again, both Thor and Loki were keeping close to you asking questions. All, except Lorelei and Amora, were asking questions about the ranch. Since you learned a lot during your visit you could answer most of the questions, but some Nat answered as well. Seeing Wanda and Peter standing at the horses, a lot of people oohed wed and awed. “Oh horses,” Jemma sighed almost dreamingly. “But where are the cowboys?” Lorelei asked, clearly not happy. She sounded like a small child on the verge of a breakdown. “Or at least the handsome one from when we arrived?” Amora sounded just as happy as Lorelei. “They are busy,” Nat answered and walked over to the horses. Everyone followed and stood still looking at the horses. “To pair you up with the best horse for you during the cattle drive we need to know your riding abilities as well as how you handle a horse,” Peter said holding a notebook. After that he started to ask everyone their history with riding. As Steve and you had expected, there were some variations of who had ridden a lot and who had not. It took about an hour, but then you had a good understanding of who should ride which horse during the cattle-drive. It kind of surprised you how good Loki and Thor were with the horses, but they could easily be mistaken as someone who worked at the ranch, from what you could see.

You gathered everyone again and said that if they wanted to freshen up they could and then that it was time for dinner. You also informed them that after dinner there would be time for them to pack the saddlebags that were in their rooms since they were leaving early the next day. Almost directly after breakfast. Peter also said that if there were any questions about the packing or anything else, both him, Nat, and yourself would be available for questions. Everyone left to go wash up and it suddenly felt as if you could breathe again. Peter went to find Steve, while Nat and you walked into the kitchen to get something to drink and wash up.

Steve was pacing in his office. He had done what he needed to before the cattle drive the next day, but he was starting to feel a bit worried about the single people on the cattle drive. Both for Y/N's sake, but also for his sake. He wanted to claim her as his girlfriend in front of everyone, to stop any advances on Y/N from the men, but they had decided to keep it quiet a bit longer. So what were his options? There was a knock on his door and Peter walked in. “We are ready for dinner now,” he said and Steve nodded. “Is something wrong?” Peter asked when Steve seemed distracted. “He is worried about the male guests and their interest in Y/N,” Bucky's voice said from the open door. “And probably the women that were eying him like hungry tigers.” Bucky chuckled at the distressed look Steve got at those notions. “Oh, that,” Peter lifted his shoulders. “That is an easy fix.” Steve turned his gaze towards Peter. “How?” he asked, trying to understand what option Peter had. Tossing the four people off the ranch and paying them back? It was a thought he had earlier, but he had a feeling that Y/N would see that as some kind of caveman-style jealousy and maybe that he did not trust her. Which he did, but not being with her. Showing his love. “Just ask Y/N to fake a relationship with you during the cattle drive so that you will be left alone by Lorelei and Amora.” Peter said it as if it was the easiest thing in the world, and maybe it was. Fake a relationship with someone, nobody, or almost nobody, knew that you were in. To be able to kiss her, touch her. It sounded like a good idea. “It would also keep Thor and Loki from Y/N,” Peter shrugged again. “He has a good point,” Bucky smirked, and it told Steve that he probably knew that the relationship would not be a fake one. “Nat would never fall for it,” Steve breathed out. “I think she would, especially since Lorelei and Amora are really pushing her buttons,” Peter smiled and looked at Bucky who just nodded. “How do I tell her?” Steve asked and Bucky just lifted his hands. “Just tell her how uncomfortable you are with the two women and see what she says,” Peter smiled. “I can do that,” Steve nodded. It was his sister, even if she wanted to torment him, she would probably not want him to be tormented like this. He hoped.

Walking towards the worker's barracks the smell of grilled meat filled the air and you realised just how hungry you were. Most of the ranch workers were already sitting at the picnic tables talking. Frank stood by the grill looking powerful and in charge. He had a black apron on that had text on it, but you could not read what it said. You heard Lorelei and Amora walking just in front of you. “Oh, look at all the cowboys,” Lorelei all but purred. “This is what I am talking about,” Amora smiled, looking around. You rolled your eyes, something you had a feeling that you would have to do a lot when spending time with the two of them.

Standing with Wanda looking at the guest taking the food Frank had placed on a long table you looked forward to crawling down in bed and sleeping. Steve had come from the barn together with Bucky and Peter, but he had taken Nat aside and was talking with her. They were not close so you could hear, but it looked to be a serious conversation. It gave you a strange feeling in the pit of your stomach, but you decided to ignore it and concentrate on something else. Now that you were closer to Frank you saw that his apron said: Mr Good Looking is doing the cooking. It made you smile, probably a gift from Billy. Amora and Lorelei were last in the queue and now face to face with Frank. You were so close that you could hear what they said. “You wereright about the good-looking part,” Amora winked at Frank, clearly liking what she saw. You felt bad for Frank, seeing as she looked ready to eat him up. This can not get any worse you thought, but then it did. “Where is the vegetarian food?” asked Lorelei. “The what?” asked Frank and crossed his arms. Trouble, you whispered to yourself before walking towards them.

Just One Kiss Tag List:

@marvelettesassemblenow

@et-homephone

@couldabeenamermaid

Everything Tag list:

@buckysmischief

@allaboutthebooz

@dreamcatchernightsky

@leosandbuckysgirl

@stumbleonmywords

@dontbescaredtosingalong

If you want to be added to this series tag list or my everything tag list, please let me know.

I am sorry if I have missed someone on the tag list. Life has been crazy lately and I just gotten back to writing again

[kpopflowerfield]

𝚔𝚙𝚘𝚙𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍'𝚜 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺 𝚠𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍

Thank you to @lovetaroandtaemin for tagging me!!

Thank you to all of my new followers and those that have stayed through my inconsistencies as I find a way for me to stay posting. Thank you for all the likes, reblogs and the comments that I have received! I am beyond grateful to be part of this community.

𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺 𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚜

number of posts this year: 32

number of fics in progress: around 8

total words written: 87,116

𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚙𝚘𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺

Daylight

➵ ♥ Notes: ♥ 336

➵ (っ◔◡◔)っDate posted ♥ 11/12

➵♥Pairing♥: Jeonghan x afab!reader

Upgrade

➵ ♥ Notes: ♥ 310

➵ (っ◔◡◔)っDate posted ♥ 11/14

➵♥Pairing♥: Jungwon x afab!reader

Warm me up

➵♥ Notes: ♥ 267

➵(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Date posted ♥12/5

➵♥Pairing♥: Mingi x afab!reader

Pretty Boy

➵ ♥ Notes: ♥ 221

➵♥ (っ◔◡◔)っDate posted ♥ 12/11

➵♥Pairing♥: Mingi x afab!reader

Gimmie Love

➵♥ Notes: ♥ 161

➵ (っ◔◡◔)っDate posted ♥ 11/21

➵♥Pairing♥: Jungkook x afab!reader

𝙼𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚘𝚏 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺

Normal People

➵ (っ◔◡◔)っDate posted ♥ 12/15

➵♥Pairing♥: Jeno x reader

➵Word count: 3,923

𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺

Longest one shot: Tick Tock

Word count: 11,262

(っ◔◡◔)っDate posted ♥ 10/22

♥Pairing♥: Yeosang x afab!reader (also yunho! x reader)

Longest series: Nectar (it's a one shot series so it still counts)

Total word count: 53,481

Longest part: Tick Tock

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Date started ♥: 10/6

♥Pairing♥: multiple idols from atz, skz, svt, nct, enha & bts

Ongoing or complete: ongoing!

𝙼𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝙸 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺

Pretty Boy

(っ◔◡◔)っDate posted ♥ 12/11

♥Pairing♥: Mingi x afab!reader

Word count: 4,948

Why it's my favorite: Mingi is my ult and I always get so nervous that my writing doesn't portray him in the way my thoughts do. But once I finished up on this fic I felt so satisfied with my writing (and after the beta read by the wonderful @lovetaroandtaemin) Easily has become my favorite piece and it's lighthearted, compared to a lot of the angst I have going on.

𝙼𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺

Strikes and Spares by @yuyusbabygirl

➵ bad boy yunho > I seriously can't get enough of this one

Ranching Hearts by @xomakara

➵ I beta read this and omg it's so fucking good, I still go back to read it

Heartbeat by @joonbird

➵ This one I found like two years ago? but mafia! hobi has such a hold on me

araneae by @haologram

➵ chefs kiss, no notes. I absolutely love the plot so much

across stardust by @honeyhotteoks

➵ this one... i don't even know where to begin. I want more of this story so bad I can't even put it into words

𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝟷𝟶 𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛

modus- joji

daylight- joji

tick tock- joji

run- joji

ew- joji

deep dive- ateez

afterthought- joji

woke up- xg

ice on my teeth- ateez

enough- ateez

𝙶𝚘𝚊𝚕𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻

1. finish up nectar series and be more consistent with my writing schedule!! 2. Interact with more people from here and on discord!

Tags: anyone willing to do this!! (sorry don’t have many moots :((

Thank you to everyone again!!! I love the support that I have received from everyone!

[palajae]

You are such an incredible writer ... honestly thank you for taking time out from your busy schedule and posting here ...I have read all of your works and girl let me tell you ...what did YOU DO TO BE THIS TALENTED 🫡😭....NO like I am not exaggerating.... it's so hard to find a good fic according to my taste and your fics are absolutely my type . THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING HERE ....school is def killing you ig cuz same girl I am in my last year and I am absolutely so done with myself...so let's suffer together...and hopefully you will get time in future to post here more . FIGHTING!!!💓💓

seeing this ask made me cry 😭😭 because honestly i don’t remember the last time i logged onto here let alone posted. first, i just wanted to thank you for your support since you are really hyping me up too much 🥹 mainly bc i think i have grown a lot but i definitely have a lot to work on lol. i’m always so so happy to hear from readers when they enjoy something i put so much work and effort into, especially because i genuinely love writing as well. when i first started on tumblr, it was during covid on an old blog of mine and i had no fucking clue what i was doing. but i made so many friends and had such a great time writing, even when it sucked ass lmao. that’s why even when i got wayy busier throughout the rest of high school i tried to keep it up (although my posting schedule was so inconsistent). i felt so pressured to keep up a consistent schedule and stay in touch with mutuals that it no longer became fun, so i started afresh with this blog. tumblr became just like a side quest where whenever i had a burst of inspiration, i would post and then log off lmao. looking back now, with this blog being 2 years old, i’m so grateful for the growth and love i received that i honestly did not expect.

now, i still love writing so much— i have so many wips and ideas but life is just lifing rn 😭😭 school and personal priorities has always been my main focus, and now in college i’m still figuring how to survive on a daily basis sondkend everyday is crazy for me so writing hasn’t even crossed my mind for a while. this doesn’t mean i’m leaving for good, especially because of school breaks and summer! i probably will return like once in a blue moon to post something i randomly get inspired by. but i’m never going to be consistently active on this account, and that’s okay. unfortunately i’m growing out of tumblr/writing in general, but it was and still is a great experience to reflect and look back on. i learned a lot and met some great people, but most of all, i was able to make others happy as well :)

sorry for the long ass response to your ask but i figured this was the best way to get an explanation out for everyone since i basically ghosted you guys for some time (im sorry pls forgive me) thank you again and good luck to you too!

i love you guys and hopefully see you soon <3

sincerely,

jae

[jaystarry]

just put up a bunch of wips over on patreon. there is so many doggys from the last 6 months in there,

(making a note here - thank u everyone for dealing w/ my inconsistent ass while i try and take care of my job not scheduling me AND deal with just having started some intense therapy fjknsldkgfjn) for comms clients who've asked about updates recently -- im taking tonight for myself but ill be sending out updates to ALL of my clients over the next three days. if you havent heard back from me by then, feel free to ask abt it in dms :>!!

[nobodysdaydreams]

I STARTED SEASON 3 OF WOLF359 AND GUESS WHAT FOLKS? YOUR SI-5 FAVS ARE HERE, AND I DON’T LIKE THEM CUTTER’S ERRAND BOYS HAVE GOT TO GO (or my reaction to Episodes 29-31 and Mini Episode 4 of Wolf359).

Sorry for the delay, but I did warn you my schedule would be very inconsistent. Thank you everyone for your patience.

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell @commsroom

Episode 29: Pan-Pan

Minkowski doing the intro because Doug is gone 🥺

Our boy has been gone for 100 days?!?!?

If the others knew about WHAT? Minkowski? Hera?

Ngl, the arguing and bickering subplot is getting a little old. I understand tensions are high due to the Doug situation, but where is the main plot?

Over one hundred critical failures and y’all are still fighting?

“It should be habitable” “But not comfortable”.

I love how Hera and the crew will do things to try help each other feel comfortable even though Hera can’t feel human sensations and the humans can’t feel AI sensations.

Are they gonna have to cuddle for warmth? Snuggle time! 🥰🧸

“Distress calls? Who is gonna pick up?” Why the characters I saw my mutuals posting about before I blocked the wolf359 tags, of course! I can only assume that why they’ve been so excited for me to start season 3.

Hilbert. CUTTER IS NOT GONNA HELP YOU.

No, don’t go to a corner. You guys need to snuggle and feel better.

“Why do I have to go?” Hilbert you tried to kill everyone. So yeah. It does have to be you. It should always be you.

Lovelace that’s too far, Cutter probably put some malware in her.

“Whose fault is it?” CUTTER’S WHO DO YOU THINK.

Oh my gosh this is going WAY too far.

All the bad stuff you did was out of desperation or impaired thinking due to the stress of space, which is, again, BECAUSE OF CUTTER! So stop blaming each other.

Minkowski… oh she misses Doug. 💔

…cracks? The end of operational life? We can’t fix it?

Um. No. Not this hopelessness. I need them strong enough to punch Cutter in the face.

Call command? No. Don’t do that. I don’t trust them. Bad idea. BAD IDEA. The only idea, unfortunately, but that doesn’t make it good.

Episode 30: Mayday

Um. What’s with the weird noises?

DOUG! HE LIVES!

…I say as if there aren’t two seasons left with him as the main character.

Oh no that was a rewind. This is a flashback. So maybe Doug doesn’t live.

Yikes that scream. Me too Doug me too.

Minkowski’s voice in his head 🥺

Haha… mocking him about not reading the manual Cutter worships.

And she put it in there just for him. 💕

Reliant Robin? Interesting name. I like it.

“Ignorance makes death inevitable” well put our heroes sure are ignorant of a lot no thanks to Cutter & co.

It’s okay Eiffel. I like your action plans.

“That’s dead boy talk” 😂

“Find someone else” …interesting. There are others…

…I wonder what they’re like.

I’d hate being frozen like that. Yeah. This is gonna be rough Doug…

I love how he keeps renaming the ship.

Oh gosh. It’s killing him. Poor Doug. Oh dear. Oh Doug.

“USS Peace of Crap”

Oh he lost his hair? Well. At least he matches Hilbert now. Maybe they can bond over that if they ever see each other again.

“Please respond” Doug sounded so broken.

Oh but now there’s whistling 🎶🎶🎶

He doesn’t have nails?

6,000 years? “How do you know there will even be anything there?”

“Nevermind”. Oh that was dark. Doug have you been freezing yourself incorrectly?

What about Hera’s voice? Or the voices of that family he won’t talk about? 👀

You tried Doug. You tried your best. Wait, “never get to talk to who?”

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOODNIGHT DOUG. RAGE!

USS Horrible Unending Nightmare, what a name.

YES HERA.

DOUG THEY WANT TO HELP! Yes! Or maybe no… depends on who it is…

How does he know who he is?

“We’re here to take you home” why do I not fully trust you random man?

Episode 31: Sécurité

Urania? Who is this? 👀

“They’re there”. YES THEY ARE.

JACOBI! Before I blocked the tags, I remember seeing your name. A few other names too in fact.

Well, well, well my friends. I’ve paused the episode to announce that the moment is finally here. You see I wanted to go into this spoiler free, so I dutifully blocked the Wolf359 tags on tumblr. But before I blocked the Wolf359 tags, I saw a lot of angsty Wolf359 fan art from my mutuals heavily implying that the Hephaestus crew gets betrayed by someone they come across. Now I’m going to assume that this is true, maybe I’m off base, maybe I’m not, please don’t confirm or deny anything. But working off this assumption, incorrect or otherwise, is very exciting because I just remember the art, nothing about names or context other than what I stated previously, which means it’s time to play everyone’s favorite game show:

✨Who Is Gonna Betray Everyone? ✨

Welcome to the show ladies and gentlemen. We’ll be checking in later to review our options, but for now let’s see what we got. In one corner we got Jacobi. I recall my mutuals posting about him, but were they doing it affectionately or with anger… ooo… that detail escapes me. And as always we have the “Bods… no one is gonna betray anyone except Cutter and maybe Hilbert again. They’re the bad guys. You already know this. I don’t know what fan art you thought you saw but literally what are you talking about?” And if that is the case then… uh… just ignore this sorry guys.

Ohhhh… never mind! Option 3 has arrived: Wareen Kepler. Works for Goddard Futuristics which already puts him high on the traitor suspect list. But of course Kepler and Jacobi could be working together, come to think of it, I think I might have seen a ship tag of them before blocking the general Wolf359 tag. Is it because they’re a canon couple? Good space buddies? Or a pair of sneaky Judases united by the atrocities they’ve committed? Only time will tell.

SI-5? Okay I have FOR SURE seen that mentioned before.

Kepler knows Hilbert? Oh yeah… yeah Kepler is moving right up that suspect list. Red flags out the wazoo.

Okay Kepler. Respecting Hera’s name. That’s nice, but the red flags are still waving. What do you want to know about Hilbert’s work?

DOUG IS BACK!!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳

“Maybe the fact that we brought Doug back is proof we don’t mean you any harm”

EXACTLY WHAT A TRAITOROUS SNAKE WOULD SAY. 🐍

Besides, Cutter still wants to know about the aliens. He’ll keep them alive. For now. But what happens when they run out their use?

They have alcohol on board? Quite a luxury. And the rescue mission is very… nice of Cutter. Creepily and very suspiciously nice. I wouldn’t drink anything he offers you.

Another one? That sounds ominous. And I don’t like that Hera can’t see inside. If this guys are making Hilbert of all people suspicious, clearly things about to go South.

SI-5 agents? Black operations work? Top men? Kepler… the most dangerous man you’ll ever met? Don’t like that.

Don’t like you either scary lady. Oh. She was addressing Hera. I like that, but Dr. Maxwell? So far we haven’t had good luck with science people working for Cutter. And if she’s an AI specialist, she could very well be Cutter’s version of Garrison (@ my TMBS mutuals). Looks like detective Bods has sniffed out another suspect.

Well. She seems very helpful. Suspiciously helpful. And… my AirPods are out of juice.

Thank goodness AirPods charge quickly. Now let’s see… Maxwell is an AI specialist. Oh Hera sounded a bit nervous when she realized Maxwell developed AI. Makes you wonder how AI developers treat their creations. And yeah, why would command send you?

“Who said anything about a rescue mission”?

I KNEW IT. I KNEW IT. IT’S ALL THREE OF THEM ISN’T IT AND I’VE BUSTED THOSE LYING LIARS I’VE CRACKED THE CASE WIDE OPEN.

I knew it. They aren’t leaving.

“Your boss is an insane psychopath” THANK YOU DOUG. TELL THE TRUTH.

THEY DID KNOW DOUG. OF COURSE THEY KNEW. THEY’RE PART OF IT. THEY’VE ALWAYS BEEN PART OF IT. THEY ARE EVIL. THEY VALUE PROGRESS AND THEIR OWN AMBITIONS MORE THAN HUMAN LIFE. THAT FALLS SQUARELY INTO THE “EVIL” CATEGORY.

“You’re whisky” Guess what Kepler? Guess what Jacobi? What happens when you’re whisky? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE EGGS THAT NEED TO BE CRACKED TO MAKE AN OMLETE?

Maxwell did that to Hera? Oh I might just hate her the most. She needs to keep her hands off of the AI. I know people like her, I recall seeing her name in posts, people have usernames with her in it, but look, right now, I really can’t stand SI-5. Cutter’s little errand boys have got to go.

I love how Hilbert is just back with them now 😂

Yeah, I don’t think knocking them out will work. Never thought I’d say this but Hilbert has a point. Wait, personal interest? I don’t want Cutter taking a personal interest in anything. And I don’t just mean anything involving the mission or space or AI, I mean literally anything. He can’t even take a personal interest in knitting or bowling or historical trivia. He doesn’t deserve hobbies.

Kepler was the one who lied about Lovelace. Well, well, well. Seems like someone has a motivate to kill. 👀

Oh no. They really got to Hera. But if you want to be subtle maybe DON’T change her language like that.

“you won’t see them coming” sure I will Hilbert I saw that fan art. I think they shoot one of you? Maybe I’m remembering it wrong. Well. At least a common enemy is bring the team together. Cheers for that at least. Mini Episode 4: Meanwhile

Mini Episode Time! 🥳

Who is talking? Why…why does that sound like female Cutter? Oh it’s Rachel. Wasn’t that the girl Cutter threatened to throw out a window? I feel less bad for her now.

Cutter please get past the BS.

“The Black Archives” well that doesn’t sound ominous at all. “Things that aren’t supposed to come back, they shouldn’t have a paper trail. They could get us into legal trouble”.

Oh I certainly hope they do Rachel. I hope you get your butts dragged to court: you, Cutter, Jacobi, Kepler, and Maxwell. I hope they throw you in cells without toothpaste and feed you nothing but the frozen mush you gave your astronauts. I hope, just like poor Doug, they force feed you enough cigarettes to get you addicted and then take them away to prevent your from dying faster, but still make you to feel the cravings Doug felt. And if you’re wondering why Hilbert isn’t on my jail list, his recent actions have struck a comical and benevolent chord in my soul. I sentence him to a lifetime of community service that involves surrendering his free will to his creation: the blessed eternal.

What does Blessie think about all this? No one has mentioned him. SI-5 either hasn’t noticed or doesn’t care. But Blessie is a very capable plant. A good ally to have in a time like this.

Omega contingency? “Last resort”. I don’t like that.

“something big is coming” Indeed it is Cutter, and I hope it involves your death. Pretty please it would make my Christmas.

Thanks for reading friends. Sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoyed!

[joi-in-the-tardis]

A few weeks back my supervisor offered me a consistent schedule and weekends off. Cool.

The next week my schedule was not as described. I went to her and she said management tinkered with it and to work what we agreed on. Cool.

Next couple weeks, scheduled as agreed.

Week before last she came to me and asked me if I could cover another person's schedule instead of my usual because he would be in vacation and we would be short. Sure, no problem.

This week was supposed to be back to me schedule. It's not. I went to her and asked why. Got treated to hostility and then had to hear her rant behind the service desk for over 20 minutes about how people complain when she knew damn well I could hear her. And that I *don't* complain. She literally just thanked me a few weeks ago for being someone who shows up regularly and doesn't complain.

I'm just. I wanted to know why. Why what we agreed on changed. And why I was working until 8pm on Monday only to open at 6am on Tuesday, because she's usually careful about that kind of thing.

I'm fairly certain some of it was that everyone's schedule got blown up and we were all upset. I also wonder if she suspects I put that note up about not doing daily scripture by the time clock.

But... I'm a reasonable person. I've proven repeatedly that I am. She had ample opportunity to explain that our agreement was being screwed up by management and the company. I have worked for this company for 14 years I get it. I see proven that I get it. Instead I was blindsided and abused for asking- which is something she's been happy to answer or explain ahead of time before.

The inconsistency of humans vexes me.

[starglitterz]

don’t apologize! please take your time when answering my long asks (which is most of them, i guess we’re both yappers at heart) ❤️ i’m so proud of you for getting through your first year of uni, it must’ve come with some difficult moments and many challenges — you’re so close! i’m sure you’ll ace your finals. kiss of life & lesserafim are some of my favorite girl groups too, i hope you’ll be able to see at least one of them soon! 𐔌ᵔ ܸ . .ᵔ ꣓

i’ve been doing well, i have many exams coming up (one tomorrow, actually & a few in may). as for how well i’ll do on them, i’m not entirely certain … but i’ll try my best!

rafayel’s been dodging everyone who actually wants him 🙂‍↔️✋ he might get dumped if he keeps this up (for caleb — what! who said that!)

you’re very sweet :3c thank you so much! i may cave in and make one for kunigami then. unfortunately, igaguri kissers do indeed exist — i stumbled upon them on tiktok … revealing their secret love for him through a few trendy audios 😭 of course, i was in shock. it’s like encountering an extinct species 🫢

another sakadays watcher :0 that’s so cool! i hope you get to finish it soon, it’s so silly /pos!! apothecary diaries was a recommendation from one of my friends, though i never watched it until recently (it was recommended to me literal MONTHS ago 😭) but i understand what you mean, i’m very excited to see your reaction to it 🤞 i also watched 7th time loop in one sitting despite it not having a dub, it’s extremely underrated i fear !!

i’m sure your wattpad works must’ve been masterpieces, courtesy of babie quill 🥺💖 i do write here! though, i haven’t written anything in ages since i’m just now starting to get back into it after many months of writer’s block. i have a few drafts, but i don’t have the motivation to start any of them as of yet — so i might write something entirely unrelated to them (#writercore) !! as for the fandoms i write for, too many to count i fear. primarily for hoyoverse games (though i’m losing my interest in genshin due to its disappointing updates lately)

i also added a few animes to my roster, though i may put them in a miscellaneous category since i don’t see myself writing for them THAT much to the point where they deserve their own spots in my masterlist. speaking of animes, blue lock is one of them! which i see an itoshi sae fake dating series in your wip list 🙈 i’m super excited to read & reblog! it looks super interesting and with your writing style it’ll be museum worthy for sure 💝

i’m not certain if you’ve ever seen my fics, i don’t think so 🤔 that’s a good thing though since at the time i had a hate-hate relationship w/ my inconsistent writing style. i’m doing a lot better now though !! as for if you’ve seen me around at all, there’s a possibility since i am friends with a mutual of yours (no spoilers) 😼 did that give me away… hope not??

i love matching your freak!! you’re a literal icon, i’m very honored to be able to talk to you like this :)

— 💤

HEHEHE i love yapping and i always get so excited whenever i see your asks, it's only bc my irl schedule is always kicking my ass that it takes so long to reply 💔 and yess!! i'm honestly also shocked i made it through my first year LMAO, i threatened to drop out probably 92838957 times </3 and i really hope i get to see at least one of them, it's just that tickets are sooo expensive and i'm unfortunately a brokie KJSDKJAWKS 😭 and omg you listen to kpop too?! what are your fave songs by both groups? and also do you listen to boy groups too 👀

aww by the time i'm getting to this ask your first exam would already have finished, but i'm sure you did amazing bb!!! don't stress, i'm sure you worked very hard for it <3 and good luck for your papers in may as well!!!! doing your best is what counts hehe, i'll be cheering for you!

rafayel... the things i want to say to this man!!! i will literally fry this fishie if he doesn't come home asap on whatever his next banner is istg 😡 BUT i did end up getting his limited myth! so he lives to see another day HAHAHA <33 as for caleb... is it js me or a lot of raf girlies are also caleb girlies 🤭 (definitely not speaking from personal experience)

and YESS please do! as i said, i would genuinely love to read it if you do make one 🫶 and omg... you're so right abt the extinct species thing HAHAHA THEY SHOULDN'T EVEN EXIST!!! /silly

and omg YES i will be binging sakadays & knh this week! i'll tell u everything i think of it after 🙂‍↕️ knox will def be happy abt that LOL <33 and i've never heard of 7th time loop, what is it abt? 👀

girl they were definitely Not masterpieces but i appreciate the sentiment 😭🥹🫶 and omg!!! that's so nice to hear that you're getting back into writing, i guess we're in the same boat then <3 AHAHA THAT IS LITERALLY SO WRITERCORE,,, always starting new drafts and never finishing them 😔 but omg you write for hyv too!!!!!!!! unfortunately i've also been losing interest in genshin </3 like you said the new updates are just so meh 😭 the new leaked 5star does look cute though, the fontainian chef i think? i do like ifa but i wish he was a 5star,,, but i doubt i'll be coming back to the game unless they suddenly announce like kokomi rerun or smth HAHAHA

and ohh okay okay! i get that as well <3 have you watched windbreaker by any chance? it's a relatively recent anime that i rly liked hehe, it has similar vibes to haikyuu/blue lock somehow??? idk LMAO 😭 and omg YAYYY BLUE LOCK FANS UNITE 🔥🔥🔥i would love to see you write for them 👀 HAHASKJDKSD i'm excited but also nervous for the sae series, it'll be my first time doing an entirely written series instead of a smau,,, so i'm js trying to relax & have fun with it hehe 🙂‍↕️ and STOPKSDKSJD you're too sweet thank you so much 🥹 i hope i won't let you down!!!

aww that's a shame that i haven't seen your fics, but you never know!!! i might have 👀 and omg girl i'm sure your writing was AMAZING and it's def only gotten even better now 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🫶 and omg WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHO??? i'm so curious now HAHAHA 😭 to be honest i am kind of oblivious and also kind of an idiot so don't worry at all you didn't give yourself away LMAO <333

and STOPPP you're way too nice pookie i am literally just some random girl on tumblr 😭🫶 i'm also sososo happy to talk with you like this hehehe, i always have a lot of fun answering your asks!!! TAKE CAREE MWAH <333

[chexxycheol]

Chapter 5. Rough Wind Lingers || 13 Forget-Me-Nots

❀ Seventeen x Reader

title 13 Forget-Me-Nots or 13 Eternal Loves

synopsis You couldn't wait for your 20th birthday to finally reveal the one person you'd spend the rest of your life with. Well the 13 people you'd spend the rest of your life with. Or that story where reader has 13 soulmates, who happen to be idol group seventeen

genre Fluff, Angst, Romance

tags Soulmate!au, Idol! seventeen x Non-idol! reader, OT13 x Reader, Seventeen x Reader.

warnings Anxiety, Mature language, Inconsistent upload schedule, Reader is gender neutral but sometimes certain depictions lean feminine.

⚘ author i genuinely do not understand why this chapter was a pain for me to write but i got something out of it. constructive criticism is welcomed and my asks are open for feedback!

this story is a work of fiction and should be separated from reality. thank you and enjoy!

—chery

wc 1.3k

《 previous || masterlist || next chapter 》

The concert had long ended and you now sat in your hotel room staring at your phone with Mingyu’s contact open. You skipped going out with everyone after the concert, saying you were still jet-lagged and exhausted from the concert.

Felix’s sisters knew it was a lie but didn’t want to push you on the issue, you’d come to them when you were ready. They did notice your mood change when you came back to your seat, to an outsider they would’ve said you looked fine but his sisters knew something happened in time you were gone and it was something to do with the three men who sat next to you because they never came back.

You put on a sweatshirt to cover your soul mark, having already seen the three flowers now showing a beautiful soft blue color. You wanted nothing more than to meet the rest of your soulmates but the thought of it seemed overwhelming, meeting thirteen people all at once. You couldn’t imagine the chaos they all brought to the table.

Then came the inevitable questions lingering in the back of your head.

Did they expect you to move to Korea and live with them as a full-time student? You had thought about this and knew you couldn’t and wouldn’t move until you finished. This decision would hurt both parties but you couldn’t see yourself moving to Korea so soon to be with them, but you wanted to finish school before taking a big step like that.

Fortunately, you only had one more year of school before graduating.

Did they work out having to share one soulmate? You thought of it but never really sat down and thought about it in depth.

What if they don’t want to be soulmates after telling them you want to finish school first and then come to Korea? 

All these overwhelming thoughts had your head spinning, giving you a migraine.

Woozi’s head was pounding, from the moment they stepped into the house the members bombarded them asking questions. They wanted to know everything about you, all of them not taking into consideration what had happened and how the three of them felt.

“What happened?”

“Why didn’t you text us immediately?”

“Are they nice?” 

“Did they want to meet us?”

“Are they accepting of us?”

“Do they know us?”

Woozi couldn’t take it anymore and he snapped. The events of the day all caught up to him, he was coming down from whatever adrenaline rush he was on and everyone bombarding them once they stepped through the doors, was his tipping point.

“EVERYONE SHUT UP!” Woozi shouted, and the room quieted immediately. They all backed off and looked at him, noticing the exhausted looks on their faces.

“We all need to go to the living area and talk about this, we will tell you the story from start to finish but please back up and give us space to breathe. The last thing we wanted was to be bombarded even though we knew it would happen” Woozi was overwhelmed, they knew it from the way he snapped at them.

“I think I’m going to go to my room” Mingyu announced and left before anyone could protest. His emotions were on a high and he just wanted to be alone, he wanted to sit in silence so he could hear his phone ring when you would inevitably call him. He needed to collect his thoughts on you.

He wanted to hold you, to love and cherish you after waiting so long. You were right in front of him and yet you were still far away from him. He wanted to beg on his knees for you not to leave, to come back with them to the house so you could all meet and figure out everything but he had to put himself in your shoes. He had to think about how this could all be feeling to you. 

“He needs to be alone for now, we’ll check on him once we're done talking” Joshua said staring at Mingyu’s room door, he knew the younger was going through a range of emotions with how the day went. A day nobody could have predicted could happen.

“To answer some questions. We didn’t text you all immediately because we didn’t need everyone turning up to the concert, they’re the sweetest person, and they do eventually want to meet us all but they’ll come to us when they’re ready, yes they’re accepting of having thirteen soulmates and no they don’t know who we are” Joshua looked at Woozi to back him up but he just went straight into telling the story of tonight, not sparring any details.

“So they have no idea who we are? But they’re friends with Stray Kids?” Dino asked with an incredulous look spreading across his face. Other members had the same look on their faces, not wanting to be skeptical of their soulmate but it didn’t sound right in their minds.

“Look when they reach out to us to talk then we can meet and ask all our questions, they have Mingyu’s number and will reach out to him when they’re ready to meet. We need to respect that, we will move at their pace” Seungcheol pointed out, quickly shutting down any more skepticism. They hadn’t met them yet they were making assumptions.

“This conversation is being put on the back burner for now, we need to stop making assumptions about someone we haven’t met, let alone the someone being our soulmate. We need to keep living our lives, we all have a job to do and we need to focus on that for now until they reach out” Seungcheol used his leader voice to finalize the conversation.

Mingyu was on the verge of falling asleep until he heard his door open, he saw it was his roommate Wonwoo. He knew the elder wouldn’t push him to talk and he was grateful for that but he had to get his thoughts out to someone, so he got up to go find Minghao.

He found him in his shared room with Jeonghan, the two paused their conversation to turn their full attention towards him.

“Do you want to talk?” Jeonghan asked, he knew everyone came to him with their problems and he probably came for Minghao but he still figured he’d ask. 

“Yes” The simple reply and then he started spilling his emotions, his raw thoughts of the day. 

He talked about how it feels like mental torture to be the one expecting your phone call, Changbin’s comment from the gym a few days ago, how he wanted to hold you, how he wanted to beg on his knees for you to not leave them, how he wanted you.

By the end of his rant he was sobbing, Minghao held him while he cried. This whole day has affected the three who met you emotionally. But Mingyu felt like he was going through hell.

It took a while and a lot of reassurance, but Mingyu calmed down and decided to leave the two alone so they could rest. Now, he walked around the quiet house, thinking about how everything was about to change for everyone.

He found himself outside on the front porch sitting on the small bench, he placed his phone next to him. The hope you would call him was still there along with the thoughts of you but he knew you wouldn’t call him so soon.

As he looked at the scenery in front of him he heard his phone ring. He grabbed his phone quickly seeing it was an unknown number on his screen he answered it hesitantly, hoping it was you and not a stalker or fan.

“Hello?” He was shaking holding the phone to his ear. He wanted to hear your voice.

“Mingyu? It’s Y/N”

[franzis-frantic-thoughts]

thanks for the updates from Maddie and Twitter! I can’t believe whats going on. The relaunch of Magnus in combination with stopping so many cool ongoing shows is so weird

You are very welcome! I actually revived my Twitter account to be able to check regularly for new posts, either from Maddy or others. There doesn’t seem to have been anything new in a few hours now, even if I personally missed it, I’d have heard about it via one of the multiple discords I’m on.

Yes, RQ has made incredibly strange decisions this past year (or even beyond that) which leave me as a fan - and highest tier Noble - incredibly frustrated.

When they shut the discord down, they said they’d reevaluate six months later. RQO recently “celebrated” its first death day. Personally, I don’t want RQO back. But I would have liked to have that promised reevaluation.

The reason the discord had to be shut down can apparently also be traced back to shit communication between RQ and the team of volunteer and unpaid mods.

When Chapter&Multiverse, Trice Forgotten, and Cry Havoc (Ask Questions Later) were announced in late 2021, they were projected to air within the first half of 2022. Instead, only C&M aired “on time”, Trice has a change in director and was delayed until summer, and Cry Havoc has now been pushed back until 2023. It’s great that they don’t want to burn out their cast and crew, but they’ve also been releasing Enthusigasm episodes twice a week and C&M main campaign and specials in parallel earlier this year. Clearly, someone didn’t think their schedule through properly.

Instead of making sure their new shows are taking off, they instead drag TMA’s corpse out of its grave. I love Magnus as much as the next person, it was an incredible show. Writing, acting, soundscaping… but the way RQ keeps pushing it into the limelight and down our throats to the detriment of their other shows (formerly only RQG and STL, but now even more shockingly also new shows like C&M and Trice), has fostered a real resentment towards TMA in me and others.

When the transcripts were put out, after literal years of delay, they were - and still are - full of errors, inconsistent, or incomplete. There have been no responses to feedback given via the appropriate feedback form, there have been no responses to emails, and there have been little to no corrections made to the transcripts, whether for old shows or new ones. Transcripts are Accessibility tools and should fulfil certain standards. Apart from that, the quality of these transcripts offends me on a professional level. RQ has referred to an agency multiple times in their updates. That agency clearly didn’t work to professional standards and RQ didn’t have any quality assurance process internally either. What an utter waste of (my and other patreons’) money.

Some of the TMA transcripts were apparently taken down this week for maintenance, which was ridiculous timing that made people think it was related to the ARG. Again: shit communication.

They’ve lost so many great people in the last two years: Auto and all the mods, Bryn, Mike, now Maddy. I didn’t listen to RQ podcasts, because they were RQ podcasts. I listened to them, because I enjoyed the content and creators. If the creators leave RQ, I’ll follow them to their next endeavours. Go check out @re-dracula for Karim, Jonny, Beth, Alasdair, Sasha, and Ben; @thekilda for Alasdair, Ben and Sasha; @faustiannonsense for Alasdair, Ben, Tim, and Jonny. I hear Mike is in Tiny Terrors. Sasha and Jonny create TTRPGs. Jonny just published his second book. Also check out everyone’s streams (I particularly enjoy Bryn and Auto struggling to solve puzzles together) and individual patreons and kofis.

Sorry this reply turned into a rant. I’m just fed up at the moment. I’ll go to bed and probably feel better in the morning.

[thighs-of-betrayal-blog]

I’m requesting an angsty but ends with fluff one shot with Bucky Barnes and reader. I love the angst, but can’t handle to be left hanging sometimes lol maybe the reader and Bucky have their first “big” fight in their relationship, say things they don’t mean, one storms off... then come back and fluff ensues when they apologize and make up?

Why’d You Just Leave?

A/N: Yes, I love the angst!! I also can’t handle being left hanging though lol. It makes me way too sad. But, thank you so much for the request and I hope you enjoy!! :)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: cursing, angst/fluff, sexual suggestions

Your anxiety doubles as you stare at your phone. No new calls or texts and it’s been three days. Three long, fucking days. At first you were mad, but now you’re just nervous. It wasn’t like Bucky to just get up and leave without letting you know beforehand, and it definitely wasn’t like him to not answer your messages. You know Bucky has an inconsistent schedule, especially with being an Avenger, but he would inform you of any missions that came up and as far as you were concerned, there were none right now. Of course, you and Bucky have only been together for five months, five amazing months, so maybe he didn’t feel the need to tell you. Something is just not right though. 

You stand up and start pacing the room, calling Bucky for the 15th time and get sent straight to his voicemail. Again. You let out a frustrated sigh and throw your phone on the couch. 

An idea comes to mind as you walk out of the room. You run back to the couch, pick your phone back up, and make a call. 

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

The taxi drops you off in front of a large building. You arrived in Romania two hours ago and were now standing in front of the place that Bucky is apparently at with Sam and a few others. You make a mental note to thank Torres later. 

Taking a deep breath, you push open the front doors and head inside. 

“Bucky?” you call out, not knowing where to go, since it was a fairly large building. 

You hear faint voices coming from a room towards the back and head that way. 

Deciding to open the door and walk into the room, you’re met with the surprised faces of Bucky and Sam, and a few others that you don’t know the names of. Torres is in the back corner, smirking at you, already knowing you were going to be here. 

“Y/N?” Bucky asks, looking confused as ever. “What’re you doing here?”

Now knowing he’s okay, the anger you felt before comes back up to resurface. 

“No, what the hell are you doing here?” you ask angrily. “No text, no call. I’ve been trying to reach you for three damn days and not even a response to let me know what’s going on? I’ve been worried sick about you!” 

Bucky looks down, a guilty look on his face. 

Sam looks around the room at the others. “Alright everyone, let’s give these two some space.” As he moves towards the door to leave, he stops beside you and puts his hand on your shoulder. “Hey Y/N, it’s good to see you. I’m sorry about this.” 

You put your hand on top of his. “It’s not your fault, Sammy. Thank you, though.” 

Sam nods at you and then leaves through the door with everyone else. 

You turn and stare at Bucky. “Anything you’d like to say?” 

“I didn’t think the mission would take this long.” he mumbles. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly. You didn’t think it would take long? Well guess what, it has and you never messaged me to let me know what the fuck was going on.” 

Bucky clenches his jaw and looks at you. “Sam called me while you were sleeping. He said it wouldn’t be a long mission, so I left without saying anything, thinking I’d be back that same day. My phone died a few days ago and we’ve been so wrapped up in this, I haven’t thought to even look at it, let alone charge it.”

You scoff. “ So, I guess I’m just a fleeting thought in your mind then, huh? You can’t even think of charging your phone, so you definitely must not think about me. I’m glad to know where your priorities lie.”

“I’m out here trying to help save lives!” he yells at you. 

“I get that!” you yell back. “But, how fucking hard is it to send a quick message, letting me know you’re still alive!” 

Bucky crosses his arms over his chest. “If I knew you were this fucking clingy, I would’ve rethought getting into this relationship!” 

You take a step back. It feels like you were just punched in the chest. You need to get out of here before the tears start to fall. 

“I didn’t realize that wondering why I haven’t seen or heard from my boyfriend for three days was clingy. Sorry that I care for your dumbass! I guess I now know where you stand. I knew these missions were important to you and I always understood and accepted that, I just didn’t realize that there was no room for me in your life because of it.” 

The tears you’ve been holding back start to fall down your cheeks. 

“You’re right, maybe this,” you motion your hand between the two of you, “is a mistake.” 

Bucky’s face instantly softens and he takes a step forward. “Doll, I didn’t mean…” 

You put your hand up. “Don’t, just don’t.” You turn around to leave, looking back at him one more time.  “Good luck with your mission.” 

You walk out and slam the door shut behind you. 

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

While lying on the hotel bed, you hear a knock on the door. Knowing already who it is, you decide whether to open it or not. 

“Y/N, I know you’re in there. Please open up,” Bucky says. 

You decide to hear him out and open the door. “How’d you find me?” you ask. 

“Torres.” 

You roll your eyes, regretting that you told Torres where you were staying. 

Bucky speaks again. “Can I come in? Please?” 

You look at him and notice the red marks under his eyes. He’s been crying. You step aside, allowing him to walk into the room. 

Bucky walks over to the bed and sits down. “I am so sorry, doll. You’re right, it was wrong of me not to tell you I was leaving. Even if I thought it wasn’t going to take long. It wasn’t fair to let you worry like that. I wasn’t thinking. You looked so peaceful sleeping and I didn’t want to bother you. I...I wasn’t thinking. And, I definitely wasn’t thinking when I said what I did about our relationship. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, doll, and I don’t want to spend a day without you in my life. I love you, Y/N.” 

You gasp. You have never said you loved each other before. But, you did. You loved Bucky. So much. 

You step in front of Bucky. “I love you too, Buck. So much. I know you didn’t leave with intentions of hurting me. I accept your apology and I’m sorry for what I said too. We aren’t a mistake. I’ve never been happier than when I’m with you.”

Bucky reaches his arms out and motions for you to sit on his lap. 

You sit down and place your head in the crook of his neck. “Next time, please let me know what’s going on. Don’t leave me in the dark. I was so worried about you.” 

Bucky runs his hands up and down your back. “I promise. You’ll be aware of everything going on, all the time.” 

You lift your head up to look him in the eyes. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” 

He smiles and lifts his metal hand to rest on your cheek. “I’ll always be okay, as long as I’ve got you, doll.” 

You lean in to kiss him. “How long do we have until you have to be back with the boys?” 

Bucky kisses your jaw. “About an hour.” 

You push him down onto his back. “Just enough time to really make it up to me.” 

You let out a squeal as Bucky flips you onto your back. “Oh, I plan to.”

[wheelsup]

the taming of the shrew | two

if i be waspish, best beware my sting

after some setbacks, penelope is willing to do anything to get you back on board. but has spencer already ruined things?

A/N: hello! im so sorry that this posting schedule is super inconsistent. the more i thought about this chapter, the less i liked the more technical aspects of it. but! i hope you enjoy to plot aspect of it nonetheless <3 thanks for reading!

category: fluff, slow burn series, spencer reid x fem!reader

wc: 4.4k

<- prev | next ->

Since that phone call with Penelope, she’d been over nearly every night for a week with plates of treats and onslaughts of apologies. Each time she came knocking, you told her there was no amount of persuasion that could change your mind. And yet the following night, she’d be there, a new type of pastry in hand and a new set of reasons why Spencer was worth the trouble.

First, she brought blueberry muffins and reasoned that deep below that prickly exterior, he really was everything she promised –– sweet and caring. But that must be deep, deep down. Like, The Lost City of Atlantis, deep down, because you didn’t expect it to surface any time soon. 

Then, she brought fudge brownies and explained that his behavior wasn’t personal –– he was getting snippy with everyone lately. And while you maintained that anybody would have a hard time getting along with Spencer, you were absolutely positive that it was now impossible for you. 

Quite frankly, it wasn’t just Spencer who was unwilling to play nice. You hated him. More than you’ve ever hated a stranger. 

You wished him a lifetime riddled with minor inconveniences that would drive him to the edge of insanity. You wanted him to miss all his trains by just a quarter of a minute; close enough so that he could see it leave the platform, knowing he almost made it on. You wanted him to constantly feel like he was about to sneeze. You wanted his socks to be perpetually wet, and if he should happen to put on a dry pair? You hoped he stepped in a puddle.

That was all you could think about as you laid out on your couch, munching on one of Penelope’s lemon bars while she paced around your apartment. She kept going on and on advertising Spencer to you. As annoying as it was, she was also saving you a ton on groceries that week. 

For the most part, you filtered her out. Not a single word that came out of her mouth was believable anymore, especially not when she was talking about Spencer. Despite what Penelope thought of him, you saw in him what she refused to accept. 

As her speech came to a close, she looked at you like she expected a response to dignify her prattling. 

“Give it a rest, Penelope. He’s a lost cause,” you laughed dryly. “He doesn’t need –– nor does he want –– anyone in his life.” At the very least, he definitely didn’t want you. 

“Yes, that’s the problem!” If you’d been listening to her, you would’ve heard her saying the same thing. “He doesn’t want to date!” 

Your head just about exploded when she said that. 

There had been countless, fruitless conversations about this, and all along she saw the gaping hole in her supposedly airtight plan?

“If he doesn’t want to DATE, then WHAT was the point of this?!” Your fingers pressed the bridge of your nose; you suddenly felt a headache coming on. Funny how it always happened around the time of day that Penelope came to visit.

Penelope stopped pacing. She stalked over to your couch, picked your legs up by your ankle, and moved them to make space for herself. You begrudgingly sat upright as she took her place beside you. 

“Because he’s not himself anymore. He’s not open like he used to be. Not to the people who care about him the most, and certainly not to the world.”  

Penelope toyed with the hem of her dress, distracting herself from her quivering lip before pressing on, “Spencer Reid has always wanted love. And it’s not right that he no longer believes he can have it.” 

You hadn’t seen Penelope look so desperate until now. It was concerning. Because what could make her look so hopeless? What could make Spencer so hopeless? 

“Penelope, I don’t know what’s wrong with your little friend, but… there’s a lot more bubbling inside him than you’re letting on.” 

She chewed up the insides of her cheeks, wincing to herself at your incredibly accurate claim. 

“You are hiding something, aren’t you?” You narrowed your eyes on her. You were no detective, or whatever exactly her team did, but she was just awful at concealing her thoughts.

“It’s not my story to tell,” she murmured. 

She could already feel herself about to give it away and doubled down her mental defenses against it. Focusing extra hard on keeping Spencer’s privacy intact. If only you knew her track record with secrets, you’d be proud of her for staying quiet this long.

“What isn’t your story?” 

“That his girlfriend died last year.” 

She spilled it before she even realized what she was saying. You’d just asked so nonchalantly that she forgot she was talking aloud. Penelope turned purple, terrified now that the whole truth was out there. 

You couldn’t even take satisfaction in the fact that your trick worked. You were just as mortified as Penelope, and if you weren’t already sitting down, you knew you’d need to. You assumed there was something deeper going on with him, you didn’t think it was a dead girlfriend. That was some Nicholas Sparks shit. 

“He pretends like he’s fine but I know he’s not. And if he found a way to move on, maybe he’d start feeling as okay as he claims to be,” she sniffled before snot could run from her nose, tears lining the rims of her eyes. “I know I should’ve given you the full picture, but I didn’t think you’d go for it if you knew…” 

You were too floored to process it all right away. This added a whole new layer of complicated to an already uneasy arrangement.

“Well, I know you’re right about one thing. I would’ve said no.” 

She gave you a set of pleading eyes, praying you’d see where she was coming from. 

“I know,” she whispered defeatedly. “But maybe... now that you know, you can understand why he acts out the way he does.”

“Penelope, I can’t just… make someone move on, or –– or get them to believe in love! Especially when it’s fake.”

How on Earth did she expect you to pull that off? Did that guy from A Walk to Remember move on when Mandy Moore died? You hadn’t seen the ending of the movie, but you assumed not. 

“I’m sorry, this is just… a lot bigger than the favor I thought it was ––”

“What if I could return it?” she cut in. The gears in her head started to turn, figuring ways to patch up the holes she made. 

“There’s nothing I need from you.” 

That couldn’t be true. Penelope looked around the room and it didn’t take her long to think of it.

“I can help you sell your art,” she tempted, gesturing to the scattered canvases. “You make all your income from this, right?” 

You didn’t want to give any fuel to her fire, but you nodded. “What if… what if you didn’t have to settle for local buyers? What if I told you that you could make way more money selling them to the whole world?”

You chortled at her idea. 

You were a local artist, through and through. Your art got put in local galleries and sold to local buyers. Nothing more, and that was fine with you. You realized it a long time ago that it was just a pipe dream to think you’d be more. 

“I’m serious! You could get a separate painting studio, and stop living in one? Huh?” She wrapped her hand around your shoulder, waving the other in the air, urging you to picture it with her. “Imagine this: a kitchen that’s separate from your living room. A bed, inside it’s own four walls, and more than twelve feet from where you cook your meals.”

Pushing aside her so blatantly insulting your apartment, if that were a possibility, you’d want nothing more. But it already sounded foolish and you hadn’t even heard how she planned to pull it off. 

“Penelope, I’m fine where I am. I make the money I need, and that’s... it’s fine.”

She gave you a pointed look. “You know, I can hack all search engine results to make sure you are what comes up first anytime someone enters the word ‘painting’, right?

An airy chuckle left your lips. Of course she could. You patted her thigh twice and stood up, prompting her to follow you to your door –– hopefully, so she can show herself to the other side of it. “Still no, Pen.” 

“Just take some time to think about it!” Her voice carried through the wood as you shut it on her.

*

There was this one bench in Kenilworth Park – the one that overlooks the crystal clear pond – that you’d always been able to rely on to fix any problem.

There was hidden magic in the bushes that sprawled out from the edges of the water, surrounded by spiky green blades of overgrown grass. A simplicity you loved in baby ducklings paddling into the tiny body of water, swimming close together so they don’t get lost in, what seems to them, a whole ocean. And clarity provided by the freshest air in the world, under the shade of the big oak trees on a late summer afternoon.

But at the present, none of that came close to being enough.

The artist’s block started off as a minor inconvenience, but without your permission, had stretched into weeks of steadily declining motivation. Each new idea felt even worse than the last, and you were acutely aware that there would come a point where you’d officially hit maximum capacity for how awful they could get.

Still, that didn’t seem to light a fire under you. You happily coexisted with the blank pages of your sketchbook. Staring down at them, laying open on your lap in their stark-white glory, you felt like you were playing a waiting game. If you stared long and hard enough, maybe they’d flinch. 

Unfortunately, you never got to find out who won, because your phone rang inside your pocket. As if the caller had interrupted an incredible genius at work (which couldn’t be farther from the truth), you hastily raised the phone to your ear, slamming your sketchbook shut.

“Hello?” Your voice wasn’t as kind as it could be for someone with nothing better to be doing. Two seconds later, you learned who was calling and came to regret it.

“Hi, This is Rebecca from District Arts, calling with a message from Andre ––”

“Oh, hi!” you tried to walk back your previous tone, straightening up in your seat and pitching your voice higher, “Yeah, I’ve been waiting to hear from him!” 

While Rebecca intimidated you, Andre happened to be your closest friend at the gallery. He worked closely with the artists to curate their collection and help them make sales. 

“Does he want to sort out what to set the opening bid prices at for my new pieces?” A handful of days ago, you sent him pictures of your new work and were waiting to hear his thoughts. You’d always been able to trust his opinion, and a vote of confidence from him might be just the thing to inspire you.

“Uhm…” There was a criminally long pause on the other side of the line, ended by Rebecca’s weary inhale. “Unfortunately, we’re calling to inform you that your pieces will not be included in the next rotation.”

For a minute, you weren’t sure what to make of what she said. You’d never heard those words before.

“What – what do you mean?” you laughed nervously. She probably misspoke. Perks of friendship aside, Andre always included you in sets. 

“Ugh, let me just get him…” her voice faded away as she put the phone down. 

That wasn’t exactly the reassuring statement you were looking for. In the time it took for the call to switch hands, your confusion finally melted in. And then quickly boiled into anger.

The District Arts gallery changed their entire collection every two months. The pieces shown accepted rolling bids throughout the full eight weeks, finally selling at the end of term to their highest offer. After that, the pieces got taken down, sent to happy new owners, and the entire gallery reset with entirely new works. 

So if you missed one rotation, that meant waiting two months to get back in.

“Andre, how am I just cut from the gallery!” you barked before he could get a word in. If he didn’t like your work, he could’ve just said so. 

“No one said that ––”

“Okay, let me rephrase.” You pinched the bridge of your nose, something you found yourself doing quite frequently lately, and took a deep breath in and out. It was seemingly just for show because it did absolutely nothing to calm you down. “Why wouldn’t you put me in the next set? I’m in all of them!”

“I know you are!” He sounded just as upset. “It’s just that… we give you the biggest space we have, because you always manage to fill it up. But this time… I’m not so sure you can.”

“That’s ridiculous,” you scoffed. “What makes you say that?” You asked that, but you knew.

“You’ve only finished three pieces… I’m worried how you’ll deliver seven more before we set up.”

“But… it’s four weeks away, I could do ––”

“And it took you four weeks to make what you have... I’m sorry. We couldn’t take that gamble.” 

He took your silence as an opportunity to turn off the work talk and speak, just friend to friend. 

“You know that I trust you and I’d hold that spot if I could. But, I also know what you’re going through right now, and… I don’t know, maybe letting yourself rest would be a good thing?” 

Your heart paused. By, “knowing what you’re going through”, you assumed he didn’t mean the little artist’s block.

“If you’re implying that I can’t do my job because of what happened with Cyrus –”

“I’m not, I’m not....” he backtracked as quickly as he could. “But take another look at the paintings you showed me and tell me if they feel like you.”

Even if he was right, you wanted to fight him. You wanted to cry. You wanted to beg that you didn’t need that big space; you were willing to downsize and just turn in the three that you had. Even if they got shoved into the corner where hardly anybody bothered to look. You just couldn’t afford to go two months without the income. 

But even with tears beading up, you realized that the gallery couldn’t afford it either. They needed to bring in money and you couldn’t do that for them this time. So they were right to go to someone who can.

“Right,” you sniffled, recollecting yourself so he can’t hear the shakiness in your voice. “I understand. It’s a big risk, like you said… It’s for the better.”

Andre tried to thank you for being understanding and spewed some sort of encouragement. The words flew over your head. You managed to toss in a few ‘mhmm’s and ‘sure’s at the right places to coast you along until the call finally ended. 

As soon as it went dead, you dropped your phone to the side and brought your hands to your face, rubbing them furiously over your cheeks. Your fingertips pressed hard into your eyelids, trying to forcibly reabsorb the tears threatening to spill. 

It almost worked, until you tried to breathe. 

A full sob escaped in that one gulp of air and you succumbed to it. But the loud crunching noise of some pedestrian walking over the falling leaves destroyed your sense of privacy, and you quickly wiped away all signs of your breakdown. The crunching stopped just short of your bench and on instinct you flicked your eyes up to see who the intruder was.

You did a double take. It was him. That fucking asshole.

He was standing there, looking dumber than you could even remember, with his hands in his coat pockets and a curious look on his face as he watched you cry. Tucking your sketchbook under your arm in haste, you made it a point to stand up with as much aggression as possible, rolling your eyes at him.

“Don’t worry, I’m leaving,” you barked. “No need to yell at me this time.”

You bristled past him, barely refraining yourself from checking his shoulder as payback. You wanted to believe you were better than him, but it did sound incredibly tempting. He stood there for a moment before turning on his heel and following you.

“Wait,” he groaned.

You didn’t listen, neither stopping nor slowing down.

“I said wait,” he huffed as he caught up to you, popping up at your side and jogging along as you kept going.

“Yeah, because I need to listen to a guy who yells at strangers in bookstores.” 

Now that you’d brought up the elephant in the room, your feet started moving even faster, working double time to get you away from him.

Damn the fact that he had those long legs. He didn’t even break a sweat trying to keep up. He was inescapable.

“Well, if you waited like I asked, you would’ve gotten an apology for the ––”

“Gee, thanks!” you yelled, stopping for only a second to turn to him and give him a mocking bow of your head, hands clasped together like you were praising at his altar. “I was waiting with bated breath for that! Thank you, kind sir, for now my life can go on.”

“Look, I’m actually sorry,” he snapped. Then in realizing the irony, softened his voice, “I’m sorry for being rude. I was having a bad day… not that that’s an excuse.”

You stared at him blankly, just watching his mouth moving quickly and waiting until it finally stopped. 

“Did you need something?” 

“Did you… did you not hear what I just said?!” 

“No, sorry,” you smiled, voice sweet like sugar. “My ears filter bullshit. Wanna try again?”

He scoffed, looking away like he couldn’t believe you before stepping even closer. “What’s your problem?”

“Me!? The fuck –– what the fuck is your problem?” You turned and stormed off again, seething at his audacity. Spencer just couldn’t relent his annoying tendencies and followed yet again.

“My problem is that I’m trying to be nice, and you’re not letting me!”

You got a good, hard laugh out of that. “Okay, first of all, having to apologize for yelling at me and pushing me isn’t exactly the best starting point for the journey of becoming a nice person.”

“Like I said, I was having a bad day.” 

Under your breath, you muttered, “Well, I hope this one’s even worse.”

“Why are you such a ––” He stopped himself from finishing that thought. Even in his worst mood, he wouldn’t cross that line. 

But he didn’t need to finish it, you knew exactly where he wanted to take it. The soles of your shoes scraped against the loose gravel as you came to a grinding halt, ears ringing.

“A what?” You turned to face him, a sarcastic smile on your face growing wider as he started to shrink more and more. You got up close in his face, daring him to say what he really wanted to. So he could reinforce your belief in exactly the type of person he was. “A what?” 

Spencer pursed his lips and shook his head, refusing to say it no matter how much you challenged him. If he wasn’t going to have the balls to say it, you decided to take it upon yourself.

“Tell you what, you keep thinking about it and get back to me the next time you’re in a cunty mood.” 

The word he was thinking of was probably not as bad, but you had a habit of escalating things. Even if you took this one too far, you didn’t care. 

Before you tried to take off again, Spencer’s hand flew to your elbow. He tugged you back, forcing you to turn around and face him. He didn’t know his own strength; without any resistance, you came stumbling into his chest, at risk of falling over if it weren’t for his tight grip on your arm.

It took you a beat to push him away with both your hands on his chest, vocalizing your disgust for being so close to him. 

“Can you stop trying to disagree with me for a second? I’m trying to tell you that you’re right, I was being a… well, you know…” He avoided the word. Apparently ‘cunt’ was where he drew the line. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve it.” 

Your nostrils were still flared and blood hot as ever, but he made you pause. He looked sincere, if not a little tinged with guilt as well. You were suspicious of it.

“You saw me crying and felt bad, didn’t you?”

He laughed darkly. “Well, I saw you, yes. Did I feel bad? No.” 

“Oh, my God,” you growled, berating yourself for getting close to believing he might be capable of decency. 

“I’m joking! I’m joking.” He squeezed your elbow twice in earnest. “I did feel bad, but that’s not why I wanted to say it.”

“Okay.” You weren’t ready to give him a real smile, so you flattened your lips into a thin line and nodded once slowly, and left it at that. 

You still weren’t a fan, but the apology did dampen some of the resentment. Maybe he wasn’t the worst person alive. You’d settle for saying top ten most annoying, instead.

Minutes later, you came to the startling realization that he was still on the path, just two paces behind you. You flinched when you saw him out of the corner of your eye, not expecting him to still be here. 

“Uhm. Where are you… why are you still following me?” 

“I’m not. My car’s that way,” he gestured to the parking lot at the end of the long walkway. “I forgot my loaf for the ducks.” He didn’t mean to offer that information up, it just slipped out. He could practically see your smug expression coming before it even got there.

“You’re not supposed to feed bread to the ducks. It’s bad for them.”

“I don’t.” He didn’t care to explain this to you, but he couldn’t have you thinking he was any less competent than he really was. “It’s a special bread made from water and seeds that were ground into flour. It’s duck-safe.” 

“They make duck-safe bread?” Now that was something you’d never heard before. 

“No… I make duck-safe bread,” he said softly under his breath. 

You didn’t know how else you were supposed to react to that besides laughing wildly. 

“You make it?” He nodded like you were the crazy one here. As if he wasn’t the one spending his spare time grinding up seeds and baking loaves of bread for ducks, donning a frilly pink apron and oven mitts as he did so. At least that’s how you imagined it. “Why not just feed them the seeds?”

“Because, loose seeds will sink in the water and can potentially clog waterbeds and cause foreign bacteria growth in the pond.” 

“So you… hand-make the seeds into a little loaf of bread so it doesn't do that?”

He confirmed. You pondered silently for a moment, then absolutely had to ask, “You ever eaten the duck bread before?”

Spencer was caught off guard by that question. His cheeks deepened to a rosy color.

“Yeah, well, it was the house so…” he laughed nervously and stared at his sneakers. “It’s actually not too bad.”

You weren’t entirely surprised by that. You remembered what his grocery basket looked like, and given those same options, you probably would’ve tried the duck bread too. Still, you cracked the smallest of grins at knowing he makes bread for ducks. The one, sole redeeming fact you’ve learned about Spencer. 

You reached your car first, and Spencer stopped in front of it with you. 

“I’m actually sorry, you know,” he whispered once more, hand resting at the top of your car door as you opened it. He wasn’t talking about the incident at the bookstore.

“Yeah…” For a while you were so busy being angry at Spencer that you forgot about your own problems. 

He noticed your nose was still red around the edges, eyes still a little bleary. “Are you okay, by the way?” His voice was too soft, too genuine.

You shook your head no.

“Is there anything I can do?” You shook your head again. And then you had an awful thought.

You knew he was just offering to help just to say it, because that’s how people react when you say you’re not okay even if they don’t care. But there actually was something he could do for you… Something that Penelope could do.

“Uh, no but…” you fixed your hair and tucked it behind your ear, seamlessly switching to a flirtier voice. “If you still feel bad about the other day, you’re welcome to make it up to me.”

Spencer cocked his head to the side, unsure of how he could do that. 

“Hang out with me sometime.”

“H-hang out?” You could tell that it flustered him, even if he tried to play it off. He swallowed thickly, nose twitching and brows scrunched together.

“Relax, I really do just mean hang out.” You were lying through your teeth. He didn’t need to know that. 

As if he didn’t want to think about it for a second longer and just get out of this conversation as quickly as possible, he agreed without thinking it through. He didn’t even ask why an almost complete stranger would want to hang out with him. 

You stuck your hand out, expecting him to hand over his cell so you could put your contact into it. He rocked on the balls of his feet, watching as you input your contact and sent yourself a text on his phone.

“Hi, this is…” you read out your message as you typed, pausing at just the right place. “What’s your name by the way?”

“Oh-uh, I’m Spencer.” 

A devilish grin took over your face, hidden from his view while you were looking down at the screen. He was going to be easy to fool.

-

-

agh! im still not in love with how this chapter is turning out, but it came to a point where i just had to stop fiddling with it and just post it. any feedback or comments about this story is very much appreciated 💕

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[let-me-luve-you]

Dr. Holland

Tom Holland x Sister

Summary: Tom’s big sister is the hardest working person he knows. He is extremely proud of her and he can’t stop himself from talking about her during an interview.

Warnings: Overworked, maybe some angst, loving siblings, mentions of doctor work

MASTERLIST

Tom sighed as he got a text from you saying that you were scheduled to work the one week he was home. Another message followed saying you only had to work three days instead of the normal five. You were an emergency room doctor and you worked a lot. Tom was proud of his older sister. She worked her but off through medical school to get where she was. Now she was working her butt off to get the position you really wanted, Pediatric Oncologist.

Tom had been filming Spider-Man in America when you were going through medical school. You would call him to keep you company while you were studying. And when time was on his side, he would quiz you. Tom never thought he was smart enough to become a doctor, but he knew enough to get by now.

It was early Wednesday morning when you pulled up at Tom’s house. You had gotten off work at 6am and stopped by your house to shower and change clothes. Tom had texted you last night that he had a few Zoom interviews this afternoon that would take a few hours of his time. Tom told you that you were free to sleep in his room after breakfast. But with only a few days with your brother, you decided you could sleep at night when they sleep.

You took the key Tom gave you for when you house sit and let yourself in. The house was quiet so you knew everyone was still asleep. You moved towards the kitchen. You sat your purse down and went straight to the coffee machine. Normally you would drink tea, but after a long night and soon to be long day, you needed all the help you could get to stay awake. While waiting on the coffee to be made, you took out all the pans and ingredients you would need to make breakfast. You decided to make breakfast burritos since those were your favorite and you didn’t get them often.

Halfway through cooking the sausage, bacon, and eggs, Tom walked in rubbing the sleep from his eyes, his hair flying every which way. He walked over to you and gave you a big hug. You smiled into his chest.

“Still short, I see.” Tom said with sleep lacing his voice.

“Still rude, I see.” You said back.

Tom squeezed you tighter, “I missed you.”

“Missed you to bubs.” You pulled back and watched him walk towards the coffee pot. You gave a small laugh and turned back to what was at hand.

“How’s the hospital been?” He asked as he sat on the counter next to the stove so he could see your face while he talked to you.

“It’s been good. Being in the ER means inconsistent hours and long shifts. Dr. Hamilton is planning on retiring in the next few months and he's told them my name as a replacement. Hopefully that works out so I can finally be a Pediatric Oncologist.” You said.

“I know you’ll get it and you'll be the best at your job.” Tom said matter of fact.

“Thanks. I hope I get it. If not, I may have to switch hospitals. I don’t think I can stay in the ER. I had night shifts this week. Day shifts last week. I went from day to night on Sunday. I had six hours off to rest since they made me work this weekend. They messed up the schedule but if I asked for Sunday night off, they were going to make me work the rest of the week.” You said taking all the food you just made to the island. Tom followed you and sat at the counter. You started fixing his burrito.

“I can make my own you know?” He said with a laugh. “But honestly. Stick it out. No one is more deserving of that position than you. You care for the kids and you know exactly what you are doing. Everything will work out. I’m so proud of you. Don’t know if I tell you that enough, but I am.”

“Thanks Tom.” You smiled at him. After making your burritos, you continued to talk about everything in your lives. He caught you up on the movies he was doing. He explained what the interviews were for. You just stared at him in awe as you saw the passionate look in his eyes when talking about acting.

A few hours after breakfast, you went to sit with Tom in his office. You laid out on the couch joking with him before his interview. Tom’s phone rang and he saw that it was his manager so he answered. Ten minutes later when he hung up he looked at you asleep on the couch. He stood up and grabbed the blanket and laid it across you. He knew that you would be out the whole time he did interviews as long as he didn’t make any sudden sounds. Tom was grateful the call through his computer rang through his AirPods. That sound would have woken you up and he knows you need sleep. Tom clicked the green answer button and was met with a smiling reporter.

“Hello Tom. How are you today?” The reporter asked.

“I’m doing great. How about yourself?” Tom asked back. Talking quieter than he normally would for something like this. His eyes drifted up to you to see if you moved and he didn’t even see you flinch.

“I’m doing great. Thank you for asking. So my name is Gerald. I’m with Buzzfeed. And I wanted to start this interview off asking what you’ve been up to these last few months.”

“Well, I’ve been in Germany working on a movie. Can’t go into detail just yet about it, but news will be dropping soon.” Tom checked one more time on you before he moved his full attention onto Gerald. “Sorry if I’m talking quieter than usual. My sister is asleep on my office couch. She’s been working like crazy lately so I didn’t have the heart to wake her.”

“Your volume is perfectly fine. If you don’t mind me asking, what does your sister do? We know about your other brothers since they are more involved in your line of work. They even travel with you. But we don’t really know a lot about your sister.” Gerald asked.

“My sister is amazing. Her name is Y/N. She’s a few years older than me. She is currently a doctor at one of the hospitals here in London. She’s been an emergency doctor but she is working towards becoming a Pediatric Oncologist.”

“That sounds fancy. What is that?” He asked.

“It’s a doctor that treats children with cancer. Y/N has worked so hard to get to that point. She’s so caring and loving and knows so much that I think she would be the perfect fit in any hospital in that position.”

“You sound proud of her.” Gerald said, pointing out the fact.

“I’m incredibly proud of her. She is just so amazing at everything but I was in the front row watching her work to this point. I wasn’t ever great at school and she was always working for those perfect grades. She would let me study with her so she could help when I needed it. I was her first call when she was accepted into med school. I remember crying when she told me that because I knew the work she had put in during undergrad to get there.” Tom said as he looked up at you. You were still sleeping soundly and Tom smiled at that.

“When I was filming Spider-Man: Homecoming, she would call me. It would be six or seven o’clock at night where I was and so I knew it was around midnight her time. She just wanted my company while she studied. She was so used to us working together she needed me there to help concentrate. She would email me her note cards and I would spend hours quizzing her. We were close before that, but we were almost inseparable after that. She’s my big sister and I love her and I’m so, so proud of her.”

“It sounds like it. It’s refreshing hearing you say such great things about your sister. I bet the whole family is proud of the both of you.” Gerald added.

“I know we are all proud of Y/N. For me, I know my family is proud, but what I do doesn’t even come close to what she does. After not seeing her for months due to COVID, any good I do, will never compare to the good she does.” Tom said thinking of those awful months you refused to see your family so you didn’t put them at risk.

“Well, tell her we appreciate the work she does. We would love to meet her sometime. You should bring her around a set or press tour sometime.”

Tom laughed. “I’ll have to try. She always turns me down though. Maybe if I film in London. But she does always make it to my premieres. Thankfully we almost always have one here in London, so it’s easier for her, but she’s made the trip to LA a couple of times.”

“Can’t wait to meet her one day.” Tom smiled at Gerald. “So you said you’ve been in Germany…”

Gerald continued with his interview. Once he was finished with that one he went right into the next. He spent three hours doing interviews and you never woke up once. He was grateful you were getting rest. When the final interview ended, Tom went over to you and gently picked you up. You stirred in his arms.

“Tom?” You said tiredly and confused. “Where are you taking me?”

“My room. You need more sleep and I need a nap. We can go out for dinner afterwards.” He said as he sat you on his bed. He walked to the other side.

“Okay.” You said rolling over towards him. “I love you bubs.” You whispered. Tom wrapped you in his arms and kissed you on the head.

“Love you too y/n/n.” He whispered back before you both fell asleep.