#THIS HAS TO BE MORE THAN JUST NOT A GOOD BRUSHING ROUTINE OH MY GOd

[z00r0p4]

no girl im fine i just got hit with a plan for 1500$ worth of dental work because I don't brush close enough to my gums or something

[so-starz]

˗ˏˋ⭒ things that make their heart flutter ⭒´ˎ˗

genre ? fluff reactions/headcanons , cw ? mentions of insecurities

bf!riize x gn!reader

⋆ note: first post! check pinned :3 might do little drabbles on some of these

将太郎⭒SHOTARO

[initiating hugs]

☆ shotaro’s love language is definitely physical touch

☆ so when you hug him from behind to surprise him

☆ or pull him into your arms in bed

☆ or bury your face in his chest as you squeeze him

☆ he feels like his life is complete

☆ adores when you run and jump into his arms after a long day

☆ just the feeling of being in your hold is enough for him

☆ he always makes sure to hug you back 10x tighter too

☆ (and no, he is never letting you go now)

은석⭒EUNSEOK

[dressing up for him]

☆ he thinks you always look pretty, no matter what you wear

☆ but when you dress up really nicely for dates, or to show off some new clothes you bought

☆ oh my god he loves it

☆ makes sure to compliment you every 3 seconds

☆ “you look beautiful”

☆ “that sweater looks so nice on you”

☆ fixes your jacket for you, smooths out your skirt

☆ silently admiring you the entire time

☆ you are his angel and he can’t believe he was lucky enough to be chosen by you

성찬⭒SUNGCHAN

[public skinship]

☆ sungchan loves to make sure everyone knows that he is yours and you are his

☆ like Yes you are taken and Yes he will bark at anyone who dares to think otherwise

☆ he always has a hand on your back, an arm wrapped around your waist or over your shoulders, etc

☆ but when you do it to him? he literally does a happy dance on the inside

☆ when you grab his hand and lace your fingers together

☆ or link your arm with his

☆ or hug his middle while waiting in line

☆ you are his Baby okay

☆ he thinks its so cute when you show him off to others

☆ it always puts the biggest smile on his face

원빈⭒WONBIN

[praise/compliments]

☆ you always have a knack for telling when wonbin gets in his head

☆ when his smile doesn’t reach his eyes, or when he’s even quieter than usual

☆ so you make sure to shower him in compliments and praise whenever you can

☆ telling him how hard he’s working and how good he is at what he does

☆ commenting on how pretty his eyes are, or how you like his new shirt

☆ you can see the stress leave his body when you praise him

☆ sometimes your reassurance is all he needs

☆ especially when he’s feeling insecure, he immediately searches for comfort in you

☆ because you always know just what to say

승한⭒SEUNGHAN

[random kisses]

☆ there’s nothing seunghan loves more than when you kiss him

☆ he’ll just be scrolling on his phone and you stop to kiss him on the forehead before going about your day

☆ or you could be in the middle of a conversation and then you randomly peck him on the lips

☆ it makes him smile so hard

☆ he could be having the worst day ever, but at least he knows he’ll be able to get a kiss from you later

☆ please cup his face kiss his cheeks when you see him

☆ if you kiss his neck while cuddling, he’ll literally melt in your arms

소희⭒SOHEE

[whispering in his ear]

☆ cuddles with sohee is a mandatory step in your nighttime routine

☆ and the atmosphere is always so soft and peaceful

☆ you always whisper an “i love you” into his ear

☆ or if you’re quietly talking about your day in your soft sleepy voice

☆ and he kind of dies inside everytime

☆ like his heart actually stops in his chest

☆ your voice is so beautiful to him, and when you whisper??? even better

☆ you make him feel so safe and he loves how vulnerable you can be around him

찬영⭒ANTON

[playing with his hair]

☆ it’s a subconscious habit you have, to mess with his hair, or twirl strands around your fingers

☆ and he falls for you all over again every time you do it

☆ when his hair falls into his eyes in the middle of a conversation and you reach up to brush his fringe to aside

☆ and if you make eye contact at the same time? 

☆ anton.exe has stopped working

☆ he stutters in the middle of his sentence

☆ you always make him so nervous

☆ you can see him trying not to smile when you begin to play with his hair if his head is in your lap

☆ he's so soft for you, it's crazy

MASTERLIST

reblogs + feedback are greatly appreciated!

©️SO-STARZ

[satoruhour]

oh my god, i dont know if you write for this specifically (feel free to disregard if you don’t), but I’ve been thinking about satosugu x reader,,, imagine kissing the both of them!! spending a nice summer day with them!! just being able to enjoy spending time with the two of them!! I dont know if its my love for both of these characters and their relationship, but i just like thinking abt that dynamic,,,

a/n: wrote this yesterday to upload today since it was a loaded day today ❤️ enjoy. hope it’s up to standard cause i havent written fluff in a long time! / 1.3k, poly!satosugu x reader

sleep-ins were popular amongst the three of you. before you, suguru had his own routine of waking up early to brew some tea for himself, to get the laundry going . .

satoru, on his own, was a light sleeper, sitting straight up at any hint of sound due to his sorcerer duties but after moving in with geto, he’s been letting the long-haired man to do all the work.

and here came you, waltzing back into their lives (and apartment) after teaching at kyoto for just a few months until you couldn’t stand gakuganji and headed right back to your alma mater.

it wasn’t difficult to maintain the dynamic the three of you had from your school days, except maybe unspoken feelings and lingering glances until the two men were gassing each other up to ask you.

you’re not even sure how you even got roped in — old feelings, a crave for the younger days, the allure of satoru, the wonder of suguru — but now you’re stick in between both of them wanting to pee so badly.

alas, your body is trapped under gojo’s protective leg and geto’s gentler wrapped arm, but you still feel your bladder about to burst, trying one last time until your body is slammed back into bed.

“hm . . what’re you doing?” is gojo’s first raspy call out to you as he curls his calf around you even more, and you sigh, turning to him to brush his fringe from his face.

“i need to pee, satoru.”

“no.” and you roll your eyes because he’s always whiny like that and you’d usually employ suguru to do your bidding but he’s fast asleep, still. this was another thing: both you and gojo have inextricably fucked with his routine because now he’s more inclined to sleep in than drink his morning tea. he realised this one day when he was doing laundry, in the afternoon.

“’toru, pleeaasee?” you pout even if he can’t see and like a good boyfriend, he senses your features pulled into a face specifically meant to make him feel bad, and cracks his eyes open.

“oh, youuuu—” gojo scrunches up his eyes and squeezes, and then steals you from geto’s arm, trapping you with tight arms wound around your middle, “stop it with the eyes!”

you giggle, using your free hands to relax the tightness in his brows, using that opportunity to forcibly open his eyes and then you hit him again — knitted eyebrows and doe eyes, and a perfect pout that has gojo grumbling under his breath. silently, you wiggle yourself just enough to reach his face so you can place a peck on his lips and he hums.

another, his eyes say and you indulge him, sinking into his embrace and letting him guide you back to his mouth. morning breath is nothing to the both of you, grinning into the kiss when satoru loses himself and his embrace starts to loosen. the kiss still holds you captive, though, the other moaning softly when you deepen it with some tongue.

“you’re just going to leave me hangin’?” geto’s voice calls out from beside you, and gojo’s excited suguru! gives you just that sliver of time to slip away from the two as they catch up but—

“you’re not going anywhere, missus,” gojo pulls on your arm and you’re falling back into your space in the middle of the both of them, greeted with geto’s lovely laugh and his gentle gaze.

“good morning my loves,” he says, arm draped over the both of you before he leans down to give you a kiss while gojo replies with a good morning as well, also giving a peck to your temple. “what’s on the agenda today?”

“lazing in—”

“i need to pee, firstly,” you pipe up, cutting gojo off and patting his puffed out cheeks. grabbing his face, you wiggle his head just to emphasise your point, “your man here has been preventing me from going to the bathroom.”

“ahem! our man,” gojo corrects, sticking his tongue out just enough to lick your hand and you shriek in disgust while his giggles only fill the room.

“satoru, c’mon, let her go.” and again, the other only cuddles you closer to him, long, lanky limbs trapping your body. geto has a hand on yours like he’s trying his best to console you.

“but— she’s so much nicer to cuddle! did i ever tell you suguru once hit me in the face with his arm?”

and you laugh while the other only sighs and chaos erupts once he stands up and says in faux disappointment — “okay, i’m making breakfast for myself only. guess i lost two partners today.”

“hello?! i didn’t even do anything!” you shout in incredulity, words muffled once gojo slaps a hand over your mouth and laughs, watching through the bathroom mirror at how he chuckles at the both of you. you lick gojo’s hand and he moans obnoxiously.

geto did end up making the both of you some breakfast after some convincing (it was mostly gojo yelling “pleasepleaseplease” in the bathroom and interrupting brushing teeth time), but he’s got around it with a sloppy kiss given to the both of you, sat at the wooden table you commissioned — large enough to bring friends over but small enough for it to feel intimate with your two boyfriends.

“on the real agenda, we need to go for some grocery shopping,” geto suggests, reaching diagonally to you to wipe off the bits of strawberry lingering at the corner of your lips and gojo shouts a loud oh!, running from the table to grab his phone that he’s left on the bedside table. naturally, he has become so enamoured with the both of you that he doesn’t even need his phone to entertain him that much.

“i made the list like you asked, sugu,” and you’re giggling when you see his eyebrow raise, positive that on the list, there was more of what the house didn’t need than what it did.

silently, you’re helping to clear all three of your plates that had coatings of maple syrup on it, apart from gojo’s who licked his squeaky clean. a smile spreads across your face when you hear them bicker, a common occurrence.

“baby, there’s more candy than actual groceries on here.”

“but suguruuuu . .” gojo pulls this all the time and it hardly works on geto any more, so the both of them invade your cleaning escapades to argue. like the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other, satoru sucks up to your boyfriend, suguru appeals to you.

“should we listen to him?” leaning against the counter, geto rests his arm around your torso, sidling right up to your face who only gives him a small grin.

gojo follows suit. “sweetness, don’t listen to him. you know you love the sweets i buy, i’ll even buy you your favourite brand!”

here in this kitchen in the house that gojo had no problem expanding to accommodate the both of you were all that you know in this mess of a world, destined to exorcise curses for as long as you live, but it wasn’t so bad when you had the strongest duo beside you, talking over each other on whether meiji chocolate was more important than buying celery for tonight’s dinner. 

“boys.” turning off the tap, you shake off the water and turn around in their arms only to see what had escalated: geto ready to summon a curse, gojo crossing his fingers in his muryōkūsho pose, all the while keeping an arm around you like everything’s fine. and as chaotic dating the both of them were, you don’t mind putting both their hands down and calming the situation down.

with a laugh, you give one kiss to both cheeks. “let’s just buy both, okay?”

and satoru leaps to hug you, planting endless kisses on your face while suguru sighs, then smiles, defeated. “plus, we can just make ’toru pay for everything, can’t we?”

“and then make him cook tonight.” you suggest, not-so-quietly.

gojo stops, “hey!”

i didnt write the grocery shopping part since i alr rambled off about it here but maybe next time we’ll see :)

[alwaysshallow]

141 react to their partner nightly routine (shower, hair care, face/skin routine, brush teeth, retainer, etc.)?

What if the partner has the night zoomies (late night burst of energy)?

gaz absolutely loves your night routine; he got interested in it when you two moved in together and you sat in the bathroom for more than twenty minutes straight, singing your favorite song in front of the mirror. he observed the process at first, but then got into it.

if he's not deployed, he does it with you; he even has his own products and all, you taught him well. insists on helping you with massaging etc....... since he adores how his hands feel after massaging it for you. if it comes to night zoomies, i feel he's trying everything to tire you lmao. or he just straight up does whatever you want!!!

ghost..... he's not that into night routines, no. it's good to observe you, you always manage to make him smile, but he's not into the skincare, haircare. this man uses 3-in-1 shampoo or your olaplex if you're gonna leave it because his hair smells nice after that lmao. but he always observes you, it makes him calm. if he has time when he's deployed, he definitely calls you on video so he can watch and hear about your day.

night zoomies...... the only answer is wrestling. he's a tired man, tries to have you around all the time when he can; he can't be bothered, really. he pins you down or allows you to pin him and fuck around a little because you're just adorable when you have too much energy.

price and a night routine.......... not into skincare, but more into haircare?? like, you once showed him how fluffy his hair can be and he didn't look back ever since. it applies also to his beard btw, he loves trying things and making you watch it (he's very proud.) skincare only when he's tired after deployment and thinks he looks the worst. week later, he's back to only haircare.

reaction to night zoomies.... he's similar to simon, can't be bothered, but if you want to do something, he's more than okay with that. or if you just need to ramble about your day, or maybe wrestle. or you can fuck and ride him.

soap and night routine oh my god. he's like a five year old mixing all the products and complaining about it after when it stings. he doesn't even read the labels, he does it for fun and thinks that the order doesn't really matter (it does). he's literally into anything you are at this point, following you around like a puppy.

if you have night zoomies, he's literally your soulmate lmao because this man is insufferable. suddenly, the world is his oyster and he can do anything he wants; at least, in his mind. in reality, after fucking around and scaring the neighbors (his favorite thing to do), he sleeps like a log.

[peachesofteal]

Soap on the escort mission with Cypher to her temporary base: they're both given rooms, but he tricks her into thinking they were only given one so they only have one shower and bed. He gets her into sleeping in the same bed, copping a feel and cuddling her so tight it feels like he's suffocating her

Oh my god yes but also this sent me off the deep end, sorry.

18+ mdni / soap x cypher (fem reader) / dark and twisty themes

First of all, the entire trip is nauseating. You weren’t given much notice. You’ve never ridden in a helicopter before, and Sergeant MacTavish has to show you how to buckle the straps, knuckles brushing along the tops of your thighs as he clips you in. You’re way outside of your comfort zone. You’re so off kilter, more changes, adjustments to your routines, more strangers. When you get to the outpost, it’s even worse. The systems are rudimentary. You can work with anything, because you’re good, but harvesting the data that Laswell has tasked you with is going to take longer than you’d like. The group you’re with is… small, as well, just you, Sergeant MacTavish, and Sergeant Garrick, who confidently ignores you unless you speak directly to him.

All of this piles and piles on top of you until you’re practically having a nervous breakdown on the first day. Nothing goes right, no one at the outpost is kind, and they all stare at you as you work, like you’re some kind of freak. You’re pretty sure you even hear someone make a joke about you under their breath, something cruel, something that sounds like the things kids used to call you in school. Awful, isolating things, things that always made you feel more alone than you already did. It picks at you, picking and picking, and then you break.

You run into Sergeant MacTavish in the hall, who stops you, alarmed. You try to tell him you need to go to your room, that you need some time to decompress and sit in the dark, but you can't get the words right, they come out messy and mixed up, and you get stuck on a few, repeating them more than once, embarrassment simultaneously trying to melt you into the floor. You’re ripping at the skin on your fingers, digging into the cuticles, trying to keep a lid on yourself when he informs you that the outpost is over occupied, and you’ll be bunking with him.

After the initial shock, he herds you with efficiency to the room, firm hand on your shoulder blade, and you’re surprised at how well the touch grounds you, closing your eyes, sinking into it, listening to the sounds around you, his breathing, the scratch of a door handle, a lock clicking closed.

"Keep 'em closed." He coos, and the command relaxes you. You like the dark, it comforts you, and you think he knows, because the lights never flick on, even though the room is nearly pitch, only one little window in a concrete box, the standard issue. When you don't respond, he hums, pulling you back into the warmth of his body. "Do ye need a lay down?" He murmurs into your hair, petting over your skin, under the neck of your shirt-jacket combo, and you nod, fingers still picking at your skin until his hands overtake them, separating them by force. "Words, sweet Cy."

"Yes, sir." You croak, and he rewards you, in a way, with his arm across your chest, pressing you harder against his front, his chest, stomach and waist, the pressure working like a tea kettle that's boiling, letting off steam.

"Good. That's good, bonnie. Let's get ye comfortable then." He works your clothes, unbuttoning your jacket, your pants. He lays you on your back, eyes still closed, pulling your boots off, divesting you of everything but your underwear, folding your feet onto the mattress together so your knees are bent, and then laid to the side, outwards. You let him move you, shift you around like a doll, unable to protest. The words just won't come out, half afraid you'll earn yourself a punishment, and half afraid he'll stop whatever he's doing right now. You don't want this, do you? Don't you? A hot mouth washes over the inside of your thigh, thumb pulling your panties to the side to expose your cunt, and he clucks his tongue. "Ye need a shave, wee sweet." Oh my god. Oh my god? Your cheeks burn, entire body doused in gasoline and then lit on fire with shame. "Dinnae worry, we wonae be doin' it tonight." His mouth is closer now, you can feel it, the thorned silk of his stubbled cheek against your leg, nose nudging into the curls between your legs. Your heart thumps inside your chest at the first contact of his tongue to your clit, and even with your eyes closed, you think you can see the moon, the sun, the fucking stars.

"Fffuuck." You moan, unable to keep yourself quiet, and he brushes his calculated touch back and forth at the perfect rate and speed, pad of his thumb rubbing soft circles into the flesh of your thighs at the same time, pressing them wider and wider, giving him more and more access to your weeping pussy.

"My sweet Cy." He breathes into your body, flicking around your clit, across it, electrical pulses spreading up through your belly. "Ye jus' need someone to help ye. Take care of ye and this bonnie pussy, aye? Treat it nice." He's working you over so well, like an expert on your body, pushing and pulling you towards the cliff, and you writhe on the bed, the burn spreading, shoving your too busy brain and too busy thoughts slowing slipping away with every second.

"Yeah." You pant, dumb. What? What are you saying?

"Want ye to come for me, baby." His voice goes serious, mouth pulling away a fraction, and you whine a little, confused. "But ye need to be good, and ask. Ask yer Sergeant for permission."

"S-s-sir. Can- Can I-" You struggle with it, brain overloaded, floating away on a cloud, and he smacks his palm against the flesh of your ass, from the side.

"Try again."

"Sir. Please. Pleeease. Can I- I come?"

"Aye, wee genius. Come for me, let me see it." It only takes a few more seconds, long strokes of mouth and tongue against you and then you're bursting into stardust, wild and fast orgasm slamming into you, as he coos to you about how good ye are, how ye wonae need anyone else now, he'll take care of everything, anything, how sweet, and your brain glitches trying to piece together his meaning until you're turning to putty, sinking deeper into the mattress under the aftershocks.

Later, not long after, he folds you into bed fully, nestled under the covers in the dark. He slides in behind you, blazing heat of his body against yours, hard cock against your ass in his boxers, and you gasp, squirming, trying to shift away until he tightens his grip, smothering you still, arms locking around you too tightly, and soothing you with calm touch in all the right spots until you're drifting off into sleep.

[frogchiro]

hi me again i know its not eremites but my brain has been HAAAUUNNNNTEEED by omegaverse and COD i just know for a fact Ghost n Price share a role as "leader" of the pack, more Price than Ghost (warrior cat brain: DEPUTY GHOST *WACK*) and yes the entire pack takes care of their sweet omega but they feel the most weight of keeping her happy n healthy :<< Ughehrgrgrgrr Ghost is a silent lover, (this can really apply for annnnnyy au im just barfing my brain out here) brushing your hair out of your face as you sleep, cheek smooshed against your pillow. Oh my god you know that man would invest in silk pillow cases if you mentioned that silk is better for your skin n hair. That one stuffie you can't seem to sleep without, it never seems to get dirty, you don't think much of it. That's cause Ghost brushes it out for you, making sure theres no limp neck syndrome either (basically the fluff gets separated from body n head leaving none for neck) mention that you like a certain snack? or found a childhood snack you had but could never find after a certain point? at least 5 of them in the cupboard, 2 if they come in big packs.

John loves to spend time together with his sweet girl, he doesnt often have the time for it but when he does he loves to savour it. Loves Loves Loves being able to have you on his lap, a cigar in one hand, the other on your waist and a whiskey on the table next to his recliner. Memorizes your routine, if you have somewhere to be that you have to wake up for, he wakes you up, very gently. Kisses against your shoulder, traveling to your face. Kissing your cheek before turning you onto your back, just admires your relaxed face before he whispers your name. ASS!! GRABBER!!! grabs your ass, sure here n there he'll greet you with a gentle spank but he. grabs. ASS. He memorizes your coffee order too!! He may tease you a bit if it something like, 80% cream, 12% sugar and 8% coffee but still. sniffle snorgle so sorry for the long ask snifhghgrngr i love them. and i LOVE your blog, been following for a super long time, found you from pierro tags and just been obsessed. Take care of yourself okay?? MWAH (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

AHHHH THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS DARLING *MWUAH* I'm really glad you like my humble little blog so much and stick around for such a long time <3

I'm gonna go with omegaverse with these again bc I'm obsessed :<

And yes yes you're right!! Alpha Si is a silent lover but he's so expressive when he wants to be! If you're close enough you'll see all the little things; ticks, micro expressions even with the balaclava and/or mask, the little noises like chuffs or rumbles, everything! It's like a whole new world opens up and that's when makes being mated to Ghost beautiful <3

And he can be surprisingly clingy and touchy too! Definitely not right from the start but give him time and soon you'll have a 6'3 baby clinging onto you. What he may lack in verbal communication he compensates with physical affection and little noises; he will literally purr like an engine and make little chirrups in answer to your own as you nuzzle and preen each other in your nest.

Another thing about him are his surprisingly strong nesting instincts! He never really got to make a nest, or rather felt safe enough to do it. With his past, his father who always mocked him for nesting it never felt right until he got with you. Will take up the whole bed and literally roll in it so it's covered with his scent and pheromones and let out a pleased rumble when he finally deems his den good enough and safe before dumping you in it <3

Alpha!Price on the other hand loves quality time spent with you <3 He's much more verbal with you than Si and is quite touch himself in the privacy of his office or den, will always try and keep a hand on you and never let you out of his sight. He's the oldest of the alphas, much more mature and secure in his position as head alpha but will bellow and growl like crazy if he went out for a second out of the den to check up on something and upon returning he notices that you're not there anymore only for you to return from the bathroom confused what's all the commotion about.

Would never admit it out loud but he loves loves loves scenting you! Especially if you're on base with him. John has a strong masculine smell that screams 'ALPHA' in the most pleasant way; will make you go weak in the knees just from a whiff <3

Likes to rub on you when you're laying in your nest at night, his face shoved right into your scent glands and your delighted giggles bring him immense joy as he tickles you with his beard <3

[eyesfullofsttars]

could you write something about ellie stealing abby's clothes? 😭🙏 ever since I've started shipping ellabs this has been my fav headcanon

☆ she says i’m pretty, wearing her clothes. . .

sypnosis: ellie steals one of abby's sweaters, and from then on, it becomes a frequent habit that abigail allows to happen without refusing at all but instead, giving in to sharing her closet...

notes: i'm so dumb!!! when i finished writing this, i realized how i completely misunderstood what this request was about, oh god please anon let me know if this is okay or if i should write something else that obviously relates to what you asked!!! i'm so sorry 😭

In the beginning, it was something simple and unintentional. Ellie woke up one frosty morning, missing the comforting warmth of Abby's embrace. Shivering slightly, she reached for one of Abby's oversized sweatshirts, pulling it over her head. The fabric was soft and carried the familiar scent of pine that always made Ellie feel at home.

Yawning and stretching, she finally rose from the bed, her breath visible in the chilly air. She brushed her teeth and tried to tame her short, unruly hair. Descending the stairs, she made her way to the kitchen, where she hoped a steaming mug of hot chocolate would provide the warmth she craved.

Just then, Abby returned from her early morning workout. Her face lit up with a smile as she saw Ellie, and she walked over, planting a gentle kiss on Ellie's cheek. "Good morning," she said, her breath slightly labored from her run.

"Is that my sweatshirt? Are you wearing my sweatshirt?" Abby asked, her blue eyes narrowing playfully as she scrutinized Ellie from head to toe, inspecting the fabric with amused disbelief.

Ellie shrugged, taking a sip from her mug, the warmth spreading through her hands. "Is it? I just grabbed the first thing I saw..."

Abby couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking her head slowly. If Ellie didn’t mind wearing her clothes, she wouldn’t make a fuss.

And from that moment on, it became a cherished habit. Abby stopped commenting, her lips curling into a small smile every time she saw Ellie enveloped in one of her garments. The scent of pine, the oversized fit, and the deep navy hues all became a comforting part of their daily routine.

That cold morning when Ellie had worn Abby’s clothes without a second thought opened up a new tradition. Abigail started sharing her jackets to keep Ellie warm, carefully arranging their clothes in the middle of the closet so they could both easily reach them. She even began buying clothes with both of their tastes in mind.

Despite Abby’s clothes being designed for her muscular frame, they fit Ellie comfortably. Ellie rolled up the sleeves for better mobility and cinched the waist with a belt to keep the pants from slipping. The hems of the pants often dragged on the floor, frayed from being stepped on by Ellie’s worn-out Converse.

Williams had no intention of stopping. Abigail had given her free rein, making it clear that this wasn’t a bother but a gesture of love. Why would she stop? Abby's clothes always felt cozier, a warm refuge with a scent that made Ellie feel safe, and the colors brought out the green in Ellie’s eyes.

Additionally, Abby began wearing Ellie’s jewelry as a form of exchange. If Ellie wore her clothes, then Abby would wear Ellie’s jewelry, adorning her fingers with rings and her neck with silver necklaces. This silent agreement became a ritual, with Ellie leaving her jewelry on Abby’s nightstand each night before bed...

(However, neither of them could escape Lev's silent, questioning glances. Every time he noticed Ellie wearing Abby’s favorite blue sweater, or Abby sporting Ellie’s star-shaped ring on her annular finger like a wedding band, Lev would analyze them suspiciously, silently waiting for an explanation. Yet, more often than not, he settled with Abby’s nervous laughter)

[anonymouslydisabled]

Some small chronic illness/disability tips!

Here's a list of random minor advice that I've accumulated in my short experience of being a psychically disabled person who gets dizzy and pained standing for too long. (slight emeto tw)

Evaluate how much of your life and daily routine is spent standing, it's a lot when you actually think about it! Try to focus on small ways you can sit more day-to-day. Just simple things like brushing your teeth while sitting or getting dressed seated can make a really big difference!

Keep your disability aids by your bed oh my god it took me so long to get this one down because of a need for organization but having a little organized pile of things that help your disability that you can reach from your bed is the most helpful thing ever.

This one is kind of similar to #2 but specifically food and water. Keeping a large water bottle (equivalent to 2+ cups of water) next to your bed, as well as some food (crackers work great for lack of appetite and nausea) can really help on days when I can't or shouldn't get out of bed too much.

If you don't already have one, consider a mobility aid, actually life changing, and there are a lot of different types than you might know!

Don't let hustle culture make you feel like shit when you can't work out or go on a daily walk or generally just be "productive" enough. Sounds easier than it is but please try to remind yourself that your productivity does not equate to your worth and you on your worst days is just as good and worthy of a person as you on your best days.

This tip isn't for everyone but I have a health diary where I log symptoms and episodes, mainly seizures. I don't do it very thoroughly but it still helps give me a sense of security and also has helped me navigate life with daily seizures so much!

Talking to your disabled friends, making a disability-based social media account, or even just watching disabled people talk about being disabled on social media has helped me tremendously to feel less alone.

Try to prioritize how something is going to affect your body and symptoms over how it's gonna make an able-bodied person or group of people feel. If going to an event is going to cause you to flare-up, your friends thinking you're a "buzzkill" isn't as important as your health. If using a mobility aid is going to get you weird looks in public, it still helped you that day! I know this once again sounds easier than it is, but try to remind yourself that your health matters most!

This is everything I have right now, I might add more later, and if you have anything you'd like to add please feel free to comment or reblog!

[zomzomwritingwhileeating]

Sorry for being so dead!! Lol get it??, my health hasn't been too good and I was hit with MASSIVE writers block still have it :( .

Regardless, I am slightly better now!

*:..｡o○Tengen Uzui General HC's○o｡..:*

For absolute starters, this man fucking LOVES HIP DIPS. GOES FERAL

He is that one tik tok audio screaming about hip dips

I think he has a preference for more chubby partners, likes a little squish to them and most certainly has no shame in expressing his love for them.

Oh my god this man absolutely has a full skincare routine that he sticks with to a T, making a point to do it every night.

He will drag you into it, has no problem with just picking you up and carrying you to the bathroom while the wives watch with a laugh and follow behind with matching smiles.

Tengen is the type of man to pamper his lovers, likes to dress them up in pretty clothes and shiny jewelry. He especially likes to get in his lovers lap, make-up brush in hand and scolds you if you start squirming.

"Sit still! It's just a brush, you'll smudge the eyeshadow!"

You can't help but squirm, feeling the pointy bristles near your eye just freaks you out! You trust Tengen, a lot, but seriously it feels like it's so close to just stabbing yo-

Tengen grabs your face with an annoyed huff, his hand holding you firmly in place with his eyebrows furrowed and the command slipping from his lips with a slight growl.

"Stay still. "

Tengen also has the tendency to grab in his sleep. The man treats his wives and lovers like a giant teddy bear, clinging and NOT letting go.

You've been late to work more than once.

This man loves to pamper, I said it before and I'll say it again. If he even smells a bad mood he's on you like a rabid dog.

While not Rengoku levels of emotional comfort, he's much more of a fix it type.

If you have a depression spiral? He's dragging you out of bed and making you help with chores, distracting you constantly from your thoughts. He's helping you bathe and brushing out your hair, making you meals (that are burnt from his attempts before Hina takes over) .

The wives of course help, loving you just as much as Tengen and putting just as much effort into caring for you.

Mostly Hina, but Suma and Makio make efforts too! They give great cuddles, and hugs, and love to gossip with you!

Anyways, I'm absolutely down horrendous for the Uzui's.

[starsurface]

these are great :) Plz plz mk1 headcanons for care-giver Liu Kang with a baby regressor

Oh my goodness, Liu Kang would be such a great CG!!!

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

CG Lord Liu Kang w/ Babyspace Regressor Hcs

🌟 Ugh, he's such a good CG :(

🌟 Another CG that does really good with almost all ages too!!

🌟 But absolutely adores baby regressors (guys they're so cute, come on 🥺)

🌟 Favorite CG nicknames are Dada, Papa, Liu-Liu, or honestly just babbling and grabby hands for him (he finds it adorable)

🌟 But will be absolutely floored if you called him any kind of CG indication nickname!!!

🌟 Favorite nicknames for you are Firestarter, Starlight, Sunshine, Baby, Sweetie, Honey, Little One, my Flame, Tiny Fire 🥺

🌟 If your nonverbal or just like babbling more than talking, he's actually very good at finding out what you want rather quickly

🌟 Tummy time is one of his favorite activities, especially if you lay on his chest (finds it really funny when you try to eat his nose at times)

🌟 Since your a baby, you can't really meditate with him, but it's another good opportunity for play mat tummy time that he'll have installed into his personal room

🌟 If you wanna try to meditated, he's very encouraging!!!

🌟 (^ But we all know either your going to pass out on his lap or slowly chew on all his fingers)

🌟 Very good and gentle with biters or chewers

🌟 Mostimes he'll just remind you that we don't bite and tease on whether your a baby or an monkey (meanie >:(

🌟 Will get you a super cute paci that's all decorated based off your favorite animal, or a dragon

🌟 I can see him really liking storytime, but acting out storytime (especially if he gets to pretend to be a dragon for whatever reason)

🌟 He's not very good at acting the parts, but he always gets you to giggle and clap your hands happily, so its always fun in the end

🌟 Very soft with padded regressors

🌟 Any accidents don't need a big fuss or a big cry about, it's all okay, Dade's here to help <3

🌟 If your a naughty baby that thrives off testing his patience? Psh, good luck, this man's patience levels are through the roof!!

🌟 Man has a constant watch over you, always making sure you aren't getting into too much trouble

🌟 Your safety is his number one concern, so matter how much you whine or pout

🌟 Very on dot with the rules unless your this tiny, because he understands that you might not know exactly what your doing wrong

🌟 Still won't let you eat more candy than necessary though >:/

🌟 Really easily persuade like Nightwolf though, just sit and look at the ground going ‘🥺’ and you'll get whatever candy you want >:3

🌟 Another big outside encourager

🌟 Will take you to his favorite hill with a blanket and some soft toys and you two can have a picnic!! :D

🌟 Even though this man's already very gentle with you, he becomes extremely gentle when it comes to naptime

🌟 There's not much fussing over naptime unfortunately :(

🌟 He'll set up a small naptime routine you two do together (put all the toys away, brush teeth, brush hair, get into soft jammies)

🌟 If you don't own any jammies, he will go out of his way and get you the nicest pair of jammies he can find (will probably do this if you do anyways, so you can match!!)

🌟 Amazing cuddles, especially in the winter!! He runs more warmer since he's the God of fire

🌟 Might suck a bit during the summers but he'll at least hold your hand or have one arm on you if you're too hot

🌟 If you regress negatively for any reason or just overall feel icky that day, he's very comforting

🌟 Rocking you, focusing all his time and attention on you, trying to make any bad thoughts or memories go away

🌟 He's very set on making sure his baby feels a little bit better by the end of the day, even if he has to do the most silliest things to make you happy <3

🌟 If you attempt any of his super awesome ninja moves while small he might just have a heart attack

🌟 Especially since your a bit too young to be attempting ANY of his really awesome moves :(

🌟 But if you lay on your back and do something similar to his bicycle kick, he'll look very proud in you

🌟 If you made him anything while small, he's keeping it and cherishing it like it's an artifact from ancient blah blah blah

🌟 Even if it was just a piece of paper with two wiggle lines because you got bored!! It's hanging on his wall and he's very proud of it

🌟 Is really good with hissy fits and getting you to calm down

🌟 Will walk around the room and bounce you

🌟 Generally just likes having you in his arms, your his baby after all <3

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

He's so Dad coded, I love him. :3

[lliminall]

ok but what about yandere giorno who gets jealous super easily to the point where he gets jealous of everything and everyone that has his darling's attention for more than a minute

and when they are meeting up with some of his friends one of them, i don't know, let's say fugo or a random character that you can create, is too touchy for his liking (let's say hugs darling too much or tries to be near them).

how do you think he will react? what will he do?

I live for jealous yans

tags: gn reader, yandere, possessive behavior

You are late coming into the cafe this morning. Or rather, you are a few minutes behind your usual routine, because you haven’t actually agreed to meet Giorno at the little table by the window you love to sit at each morning. It shouldn’t matter. It’s only a few minutes. But this is the only time he’s able to speak with you, and Giorno has already been deprived of your presence for the last week.

It’s a shame that Passione business often keeps him away for such stretches of time, and a greater shame still that you don’t realize just how out of his way he’s gone to align his morning routine with yours. The warm mug of mocha in his hands is adequate at best. The coffee isn’t the reason he comes to this place.

Another glance at his watch, another minute you’ve yet to arrive, and he really doesn’t have much time this morning before he must get back to work. He thumbs at the tube of chapstick in his pocket. Your favorite scent, the label peeling from its time spent in the pockets of your purse. He could imbue it with life, follow it straight to you, find out exactly what’s happened to keep you away-

Ah. There you are.

Meandering distractedly down the street, deep in conversation with an individual he doesn’t recognize. A man who tugs you to the side of the walkway to lean in close and show you something on his phone. You lean in as well, angling to see the screen, and your face is close to his. Too close.

It’s a position Giorno has found himself in once before. Standing in line beside you as you wave him in to look at the newest pictures in your phone’s gallery. He remembers the soft scent of your perfume, the warmth radiating from your skin, his arm nudging yours.

He knows exactly what this man is doing. It’s what Giorno himself does every time he finds a way into your presence. The need to be near you.

You’re laughing at whatever this man has shown you. The energy of it sends you curling into yourself, further into the space of this…intruder. The man doesn’t look away from you for even a second as you straighten and settle down, distracted again by whatever video is playing in front of you. Giorno knows the look in this man’s eyes. He knows, as well, that you’re as oblivious to it on him as you are of it on Giorno.

There is something cold settling into the core of Giorno’s chest. Frigid. Tight. Bitter. You look up at the man to chatter at him animatedly, and he leans against the wall behind him to gaze down at you with something not unlike infatuation. He settles into your space and his thigh touches yours. You don’t seem to notice. You don’t pull away.

Giorno stands and brushes smoothly past the doorway.

“Ah, signorina,” he greets you as he crosses the street. “I was beginning to think you’d slept in again. And here I was thinking you wouldn’t get to enjoy the croissant I saved for you.”

“Oh my god. You did not,” you say, but your face betrays your excitement. For all your insistence against him paying for your morning meals, you’ve never once turned down food from him.

“It was the last one and I thought you might appreciate it,” he says. Giorno looks briefly at the man standing beside you, who straightens and casts Giorno a perturbed look. It’s quickly wiped away as you turn to face him.

“Carlo, this is my friend Giorno. We both come to this cafe a lot,” you say.

Carlo gives Giorno a short smile.

“Good to meet you,” he says. “I’m a high school friend of theirs. (Y/n) and I got into a lot of trouble together, right?”

You roll your eyes at him. “Whatever. You got into trouble, I saved your ass before your parents could find out.”

Carlo gives you a genuine smile, and that tightness in Giorno’s chest returns.

“(Y/n) does seem to have a knack for doing charity work,” Giorno says. “I often have to remind them to pick their battles. Sometimes it isn’t worth the effort.”

His friendly expression belies the barb in his words. Carlo looks at Giorno for a hard second, as if deciding whether or not he’s been insulted, and whether or not he should do something about it. Giorno takes the opportunity to turn to you again.

“Should I finish off your croissant myself?” he says. “I would hate for it to go to waste.”

“What? No!” you say, and pull away from Carlo with a laugh. “It was nice catching up with you,” you tell your friend as you motion for Giorno to follow you. “I’m starving. But we should finish talking another time!”

Carlo nods and waves you goodbye with a look on his face that hasn’t quite processed what just happened. In the span of a few seconds Giorno has snatched you up again, sparing one last glance at your interloper before turning on his heel and offering you his arm to cross the road.

Giorno holds the door open as you slip inside, falling straight into your usual seat at your usual table and digging happily into the food he left for you. He settles in with his mocha again, feeling the bitterness fade into a subtle thrum beneath his skin.

“I know what you were doing back there,” you say in between bites of food. “If I was feeling bold today, I’d say you were acting a little…” you place your finger to your chin in faux contemplation, fixing him with a stare that’s chastising, but playful enough that he knows he gotten away with it. “Jealous?”

Giorno hides his smile behind his mug.

“Can you blame me?” he asks. “It’s been far too long since I had the pleasure of your company. And your food was getting cold.”

You level him with an unimpressed stare as you chew your cold croissant.

“Giorno Giovanna. You’re lucky I let you bribe me with food.”

He watches you, content, as you finish off your breakfast.

“And lucky that I let you run other men off when you haven’t even asked me out yourself,” you add knowingly.

Giorno pauses with his cup midway to his mouth. His pulse skips, and for the first time he feels as if he’s the one under the weight of your analyzing stare. It’s a nice feeling, to be held under the microscope of your undivided attention. He clears his throat.

“Well. In that case, you’ll have to let me buy you dinner next. So you can tell them you have a boyfriend, and run them off yourself.”

You take a long sip of your coffee and smile at him. “I guess I will.”

The bitterness under his skin thrums quietly, but Giorno presses it down to bask fully in the light of your (finally, finally) shared affection.

There’s a phone in his pocket with a number that can take care of your interloping friend in minutes. There are any number of ways he can excise this miserable emotion from himself. A threat, an accident, a well-placed accusation of wrongdoing on your annoying new friend. Giorno supposes it will depend on his mood once he leaves you here.

But for now, he will let you ramble to him about the work day you have coming up, your plans for the weekend, your new favorite show. He’ll let you lean in close to him to show him that funny video, and he’ll lay his hand over yours to steady the phone as you dip into his space.

There’ll be time to figure out how to deal with this blight, after he’s satiated himself with the knowledge that you’re his, his, his.

The video ends and you curl your fingers into his, entwining your hands on the table.

Lucky, indeed.

[minisugakoobies]

Sunny! I’d like to request #5 on the dirty texts with anyone - smutty dealers choice!

Ooooh, dealers choice?? Hmmm… I gotta go Yoongi on this one, I have not (and will never) recovered from the D Day tour. 😵‍💫

This was supposed to be a drabble but it's well over 1k so… sorry about that!! 💕

Title: Out of the Bag Now Pairing: Yoongi x Reader Genre: friends to lovers?, a bit cracky, smut, Coworkers!AU Rating: M(18+) Warnings: accidentally dirty texts, misunderstandings, mutual pining, masturbation (m), almost turns into phone sex, reader is flustered af (in the best way!), ends on a cute note, prompt is highlighted in bold

You: Okay, so we have everything ready for the presentation tomorrow?

Yoongi: Yeah, we're good to go

Yoongi: Nothing to worry about, so try to get a good night's sleep

Yoongi: I know you didn't sleep before March's shareholder meeting

Glancing at the last text message, you sigh wistfully.

For over a year now, you've been madly in love with your coworker, Min Yoongi. Ok, love might be stretching it a bit. You're wildly in lust with the man.

He's everything you've ever wanted in a partner - cool, calm, collected, clever as fuck with an acerbic wit that always makes you laugh (while praying that you'll never been on the receiving end of its sharp sting). Plus, he's absolutely gorgeous, the kind of guy that people would use an example of "have you ever seen a man so beautiful you cried?"

Or maybe that's just you.

But he is strikingly handsome, and makes your knees go weak when he favors you with one of his rare smiles. They usually come out when he's being sweet to you. Like when he's making sure you're getting enough sleep.

So yeah, you're head over heels for him. If only you had the guts to do anything about it.

You: I'll try

You: But you too! No late night movie marathons again, Yoongi

You: Boss's orders

That's just a dumb joke between the two of you. You're colleagues, on the same level, but Yoongi had insisted that you take the lead on this project, since you had more familiarity with the product than he did. Another check in the "pros" column - he's a man who supports his other colleagues and isn't afraid to take orders.

Yoongi: Yes boss

Yoongi: You can't see it but I'm saluting you right now

He sends a few emojis through and you giggle. For the last few weeks, the two of you have been texting back and forth after hours. It's mostly shop talk, but lately the conversations have dragged on and on, drifting into the late night hours. As this one has. You've already finished your nightly skincare and have moved on to your dental routine.

Yoongi: Seriously though, try not to stress about tomorrow

You: Honestly, I'm not! I'm feeling pretty confident about this

Yoongi: Good. Then you can just relax tonight

You: That's the plan

You balance your phone in one hand while using your electric toothbrush with the other. Yoongi cracks a joke, and your response is a little mangled by your sole thumb's lack of dexterity.

You: Sorry abour any typos

You: I'm like typing with one hand

Three grey dots dance across your screen for a few seconds.

Yoongi: Oh shit, you're REALLY relaxing. I didn't realize it was that type of conversation

You spit into the sink, brow furrowing as you reread his message. What does he mean by that?

Then you scroll up and nearly scream. "I'm like typing with one hand"?? Oh my god, why the fuck did you say that to him? He doesn't know that you meant you were brushing your teeth!

Frantically, you start typing out a response, erasing and starting over a few times, trying to figure out the best way to say "hey no I'm a dumbass who was just brushing my teeth and not touching myself to you" even though the fact is that you have touched yourself while thinking about him, several times actually, but that's neither here or there -

and then a new message appears.

Yoongi: Hold on, let me catch up

Excuse me??

Your phone buzzes with an incoming call and you nearly throw it into the sink in shock when you see that it's Yoongi calling. It takes a few seconds for the command to answer the call to get from your brain to your finger.

"Yoongi?"

A happy sigh greets you. "Fuck, that's better. Wanted to hear your voice."

The floor seems like the safest place to be right now, so you collapse onto it, leaning back against the cabinets under the sink.

"You did?"

"Oh yeah. You've got such a pretty voice, YN. Bet it sounds even sweeter when you're coming," Yoongi rumbles, that's the only word for it, he rumbles in that deep-ass voice of his, and you slide until you're just lying on your back, staring up at the bathroom ceiling, waiting for death to claim you, because how the fuck are you supposed to go on living after this?

"I - um - thank you?"

Yoongi laughs, but there's a slight hiccup in it, and it dawns on you what he's doing right now while he's talking to you. He's catching up. Images flood your brain - Yoongi lying on a couch, or maybe on a bed, hand tucked into his pants, fingers wrapped around a hard cock - and you choke on your own saliva.

"You ok?"

"Yeah! Yes. I'm fine, thank you."

He chuckles again, and it's physically impossible but you swear you can feel the vibrations through the phone. "You sure? You sound a little flustered."

"Oh, I'm sorry." What the fuck are you supposed to be saying to him right now? You're pretty sure it's not apologizing, but that's what you do anyway.

"Don't be. It's really cute."

Well thank fuck for that.

"Yoongi," you steady yourself with a deep breath, "what I said earlier… I didn't mean I was touching myself."

Silence. A lot of silence. It's a relief when he speaks again, but it fades quickly as you catch the disappointment in his voice.

"Oh shit, really? I - fuck." Now who's flustered? "What - what were you doing?"

"Brushing my teeth."

"Oh. Huh." He sighs, sounding deflated. "Guess I just jumped to a conclusion that I… wanted."

"Oh," you echo. "That's…" Incredible? Unbelievable? The best thing you've heard since you were born?

"Listen, YN, I'm so sorry. This whole thing was just - fuck, just really inappropriate, and if I've made you feel uncomfortable, I'm truly sor-"

Sitting up, you wave your arm to stop him. As if he can see you right now. "No, no! Yoongi. Wait. It's not like that. I wasn't doing anything right now but… but I have."

More silence. You bite your lip as you wait for him to catch up, for real this time.

"You mean…"

"I mean, I've t-touched myself while thinking about you. Before." Clearing your throat, you cover your eyes with your free hand, hiding your face from an invisible audience. Somehow, it emboldens you to keep talking. "A lot, actually."

He exhales shakily. "Really?"

"Yeah. Yeah, really." Uncovering your face, you stand, propping yourself up against the counter as you stare at yourself in the mirror. Is that really you having this discussion right now? You start to laugh.

"I don't think I'm getting the joke," Yoongi says slowly.

"Holy shit, this is just so surreal, Yoongi," you inform him. "I never in a million years thought I'd be admitting that I - Jesus, that I masturbate to thoughts of you! Not over the phone like this. Maybe after like-"

"A date?"

You huff out another laugh. "After a dozen, maybe. This is… I'm extremely out of my depth here."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I think you're doing a great job." He's laughing now, too, and it makes you grin so wide your cheeks actually hurt. "How about this - you let me take you on a date tomorrow night, to celebrate our successful presentation, and maybe by the end of the night, we'll know where we stand on the timeline for surprising confessions?"

"Okay. Yeah. Yes." You close your mouth to prevent yourself from continuously accepting his offer.

"Great. Then… I'll see you tomorrow." His voice drops to a soft whisper. "Sweet dreams, YN."

"Good night, Yoongi."

Okay, so you may have lied to him. Because there's no way you're getting any sleep tonight.

Masterlist 💜 Find me on AO3 💜 

© 2023 by minisugakoobies. Crossposted to AO3. Please do not copy or repost.

[bringbacktim]

Hi! If your doing requests can you please do a Charlie slimeciccle smut? Maybe with a bit of fluffy aftercare.

I dont know why but this man has infested my brain and I need him religiously

I love charlie sm and I'm so glad I got a charlie request

I did take religiously a little seriously in one part of this but I loved it

Praying for you-Charlie slimecicle

Synopsis:above

Pairing: Charlie slimecicle x fem reader

Warnings: sex, smut, name calling (baby) , praying, not edited or proofread

Wc:564 words

Smut under the cut

Oh my f-fucking God" y/n practically sobbed out of pure pleasure and bliss as Charlie's cock pistoned in and out of her lewd noises filling the room

"That feel good?" He said as he brushed hair out of her eyes and off of her forehead as he thrust out and then all the way back in if not deeper

"So so good" she whimpered as her head fell back and her back arched out of pure bliss and pleasure

"You look so good under me ,I'm going to fucking ruin you " he complimented as he took his time with her savouring every whimper and sound that left her lips

She wanted to cry then and there because of how absolutely breathtaking he looked as the sun shone through the sheer curtains and made Charlie look ethereal ,his chest glistening with sweat,the sun just above his head like he had a halo,his buff arms each side of her head, wondering if this is what it felt like to enter heaven as he attempted to put her legs over his shoulders which almost made her fall into another dimension due to the almost over stimulating pleasure she was receiving from him at that moment

the headboard was slamming against the wall and threatening to give out thanks to the relentless thrusts

"F-fuck not gonna last" y/n whimpered underneath him as he smirked and started to rub vicious circles on her clit

"Wanna see you let go , c'mon baby" he said coaxing her

She put her hands around his neck (not choking him , like when you hug someone) and prayed that he wouldn't stop

"Please God never stop letting me feel this good " she said not meaning to say it aloud , but her brain turned to mush as soon as charlie entered her

"I know you said you needed me religiously , but this is next level" she went to laugh and slap him for being so annoying to her , but her brain short circuited and she came with a shout of his name

Charlie could feel her getting tighter around him and the sight of her completely fucked out under him was more than enough to make him come

Clean up after sex fell into two categories : 1) charlie would eat her out if he was feeling particularly horny that day or 2) he would get the well loved (stained) rag that was tucked away in his nightstand ( disgusting I know )

Tonight was definitely the latter as they were both very tired

"Have I ever told you how much I love you" she said before he went into the bathroom to either warm the shower up or run a bath for them

"You say it everytime, but I always love to hear it" he laughed at the routine they had

"You take such good care of me" she said as she walked(limped) to the bathroom and leant on the door frame to see what was taking him so long

"Missing me already?" He joked pressing a kiss to her head and holding her

"Just want you to hold me" she said tucking her head into his chest

"Good cause I just want to hold you"

[softshrimpy]

How To Woo A Hot Principal

Step 17: Oh Gods, She's Wearing Pants (NSFW)

Summary: Working at the Weathervane was exactly what you needed. The routine, the people, your co-workers. It certainly helped that a certain tall, blonde, fucking gorgeous woman happened to frequent the cafe. Now some may call hopelessly flirting with your customers inappropriate behavior.

But truly, when it came to Larissa Weems, who could blame you?

I'm backkkk! Sorry this update took so long, I started a new job a few weeks ago and it has been a hugeee adjustment. But have some smut from this lil shrimp 🦐✨

Tags: @variant-2402 @the-bagel24 @autumn-leaves-chasing-breeze @kimiinou @muffintopxs @h-doodles @bbykens @lilfartbox1 @bigolgay @winterfireblond @gela123 @i-like-reading @hopelessly-sapphic @alder-saan @im-a-carnivorous-plant @weemssapphic @barbarasstar

(pls let me know if you want to be tagged/ I missed you!)

Chapter 16

Cross Posted on AO3 Here

HWTAHP Masterlist

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

Life was actually looking up. You had been seeing Dr. Kinbott every other week to help work through the plethora of issues you had. On top of that Vlad was still getting you moving every day (you low-key hated him for it). He had also taken it upon himself to teach you everything he knew of vampire history. Sometimes you weren’t sure whether he was embellishing some of the stories or if vampire history was that insane.

Sometimes Yoko would tag along, more often than not to help him teach you how to use some of your vampire powers. You snorted the first time Vlad referred to them as that and then nearly died when he moved from one end of the room to right in front of you in the blink of an eye to glare down at you.

The one ‘vampire power’ you had the most control over was your sudden acquisition of fuckin epic strength. And by most control you mean you had to learn super quickly how not to rip every door you opened off its hinges.

Your other abilities weren’t anywhere near refined. Yoko had been trying to teach you how to use your enhanced speed which you had managed once before ending up smashing into a wall. You were fine, the wall however did suffer. (yet another wall that is a victim of your new powers. Rip.)

Since you didn’t know who your family was or where you came from both Vlad and Yoko had explained that you may have other abilities if you came from what they called a Legacy family. Apparently, they can have some super sick extra powers like hypnosis or transformation and the like. You were sure you were just a regular vampire, the odds of you having any extra powers were so slim you didn’t need to worry.

On top of that things between you and Larissa were better than ever. You spent every evening together, often ending with you staying the night in her quarters. And fucking hell was waking up to her almost every morning a gift from the gods.

On the nights when you’d stay with her, you’d help her with her evening routine, always ecstatic she let you help her. You’d help remove the pins from her hair, brushing it out for her as she removes her makeup. You always press kisses into her hair afterwards, your heart skipping a beat and the small soft smile on her face at your actions.

You’d both then change into pyjamas, hers always sinfully attractive on her. Then you spend the evening having dinner and cuddling on her couch. Sometimes she’d tell your stories of her day or about her past. you loved listening to her speak, you could quite literally do it for hours.

This morning you were lucky enough to wake up in her arms once again. You took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of her and feeling a smile creep across your face. You bury your head into her neck, sighing happily. You feel her stir a few moments later, her arm tightening around your waist. She lets out her own content sigh before pressing a kiss to your head.

“Mmm…good morning my darling,” she hums, her voice still raspy from sleep.

“Good morning pretty lady,” you hum back, leaning up to kiss her chastely.

The two of you stay like that for a little while, Larissa laying on her back with her eyes closed, one arm wrapped around your waist. You grinning up at her, bringing your hand up to trace the lines of her face. These moments with her, where the two of you are simply existing together, are your favourite moments in the world.

Eventually, though Larissa has to get up and get dressed, she does have a school to run after all. You love watching her get ready for the day. She always wears such gorgeous outfits, always looks so elegant and-

Oh, holy fuck she’s wearing pants today.

She so rarely wears pants, usually opting for skirts or dresses. So when she slips on a pair of form-hugging pants with a chunky belt and white sweater you almost choke on air and feel your face heat up. She bends over to pick up a pair of heels and you absolutely stare shamelessly at her ass.

You must have let out some noise, probably a rather gay sound with the way Larissa turns and looks at you. She grins smugly as she toes on her heels. She pulls on a blazer to complete the look before leaning over to press a kiss to your cheek.

“I’ll see you later darling,” she all but purrs and you have to resist every urge to pull her into the bed and ravish her right then and there.

“I-you- have a good day m’love,” you manage, ogling her as she all but saunters away.

———

You spend the rest of the day catching glimpses of the white-haired beauty every hour or so. She seems to be moving around campus far more than usual. Not that you’re complaining. When she does come around, nine times out of ten you get so distracted you walk into or drop something.

On top of that, sometimes when she appeared she would shoot you these looks. You couldn’t explain it but you swear the woman was trying to kill you. Gods, you wanted to climb her like a tree.

So after a lunch filled with you all but drooling over her and a couple of hours afterwards daydreaming about her and her stupid sexy legs and hands and face…where were you again? You finally decided to say fuck it and made your way to her office in record time. Vlad and his lessons could wait, you had a far more important task to do.

You entered her office quietly, not wanting to disturb her if she was in a meeting. The sight that greeted you made you actually choke on air. There she was sitting at her desk as usual. But she had discarded her blazer on the back of her chair and rolled up the sleeves of her sweater. She was typing furiously on her laptop, as usual, frowning at the screen from behind her glasses.

You locked the door behind you before striding purposefully over to her desk. By the time she glanced up at you, you were already rounding her desk to get to her.

“Darling? Is everything alri-oh!” She yelps as you pull her up from her chair into your arms.

You press a kiss to her very gorgeous lips and reach around her to shut her laptop and move it aside. You lift her up onto her desk, not once removing your mouth from hers. She lets out the cutest noise at that, hands moving to clutch your shoulders before she tangles them in your hair, tugging on it slightly. You groan into her mouth, teeth scraping against her lip. The room feels impossibly hot and she is wearing far too many clothes. As much as you like her pants they need to come off. Now.

Your hands make their way down her body, slipping under her sweater to caress the skin of her stomach. You preen at the hum she lets out, your hands becoming more daring. Your fingers slip under her bra, trailing gently over the underside of her breasts. She gasps, her mouth disconnecting from yours when your thumbs brush over her nipples.

You press kisses to her neck as you do your best to unclasp her bra. It does take a fair bit of fumbling and a few curses muttered to get there. Larissa lets out a breathy chuckle as she scratches the back of your neck. When you finally manage to get rid of the offending item you make quick work of removing it along with her sweater.

You press your lips to her collarbone, nipping at the soft skin just above her breasts. Her grip on your hair tightens, her hands attempting to move your attention where she wants it. Instead of giving her what she wants you graze your teeth along to underside of her breast, grinning at the way her breath stutters.

You decide your desire to tease her is not as strong as your need to please her and take one of her nipples into your mouth, lathing your tongue over it. The strangled moan she lets out makes your heart skip a beat. You nip at the pert bud, your other hand groping at her free breast. She lets out the most sinful sounds, your whole body heating more and more with each one.

Your hands travel down to the waistband of her pants, fingers quickly undoing the button and unzipping the zipper. You pull them and her panties down her legs after she lifts herself off the desk for a moment. She starts tugging on the hem of your shirt, trying to get you to take it off. You pull back from kissing her chest and take her hands in yours, moving them back to sit on the desk.

“Nu-uh honey, tonight I’m in charge,” you hum, delighting in the way her whole face turns red.

“So you just keep those lovely hands of yours right here. Can you do that for me, my love?”

“I- yes. Yes,” She breathes.

“Good girl,” you purr.

You get down on your knees, looping your arms under her thighs. You pepper kisses from her knee to the top of her thigh, stopping just before her soaking cunt. You repeat the action on the other side before gently pulling her thighs apart. You take in the sight of her glistening folds, feeling your mouth water at the sight.

“Is this all for me Rissa?”

“Mmm, only for you baby…” she moans.

You press one final kiss to the inside of her thigh before licking at her cunt. You lap at her slit, moaning at the taste of her. You’re certain this is what heaven is like, the way she tastes like the sweetest ambrosia.

You eat her out as though you were starved. You alternate between flicking your tongue over her clit and lapping at her entrance. Her moans and whimpers are like music to your ears, the sexiest symphony you’ve ever heard.

“Oh fuck, darling. Please-I’m-I’m so close-“ she pants.

You feel her thighs begin to tremble on either side of your head. She lets out a string of curses interspersed with cries of your name. You double your efforts, hands pinning her to her desk as she bucks and writhes.

“Fuck!” She cries.

Her back arches as she throws her head back, letting out a choked moan. Her whole body stiffens, thighs clamping shut around your head. You keep licking and sucking at her clit, only stopping when she gently pushes you away. You press one last kiss to her inner thigh before standing and wrapping your arms around her waist.

She truly looks ethereal in this moment. She’s leaning back on her hands, chest heaving and flushed. Her eyes are closed, breath coming out of her lips in pants. She’s glowing in the low light of her office. Her hair is slightly mussed, falling out of her elegant hairstyle in places.

You cup her cheek, heart-melting when she nuzzles into your hand and presses a kiss to your palm. You almost want to cry, luckily you don’t. You lean forward and press a kiss to her forehead, hearing her hum happily in response. You bury your face in her neck, enjoying having her in your arms.

“Darling,” she sighs happily, “not to sound ungrateful because that was truly wonderful, but what on earth brought this on?”

“Pants.” You mumble into her neck.

“Pardon?”

You lean back, idly tracing shapes into her collarbone. “You were uhm, you wore pants today. You don’t often you know wear ‘em. And you just. I mean you have such gorgeous legs and the most earth-shatteringly sexy ass I’ve ever seen-“

She bursts into laughter at your admission, cheeks flushing.

“It’s true!! You have no idea how hot you are Rissa. Like…I don’t know how I get anything done when you’re here looking like you stepped out of heaven every single day.”

“But the pants do something for you hm?” She chuckles.

“Mmm, they just tipped the scales of my already incredibly inappropriate thoughts about you,” you grin.

“Well, darling,” she purrs, slipping off her desk and sauntering in the direction of her bedroom while pulling you along, “I hope you had no intentions of returning to your rooms tonight.”

You stare far too shamelessly at her ass as she drags you into her room. You were so focused on watching her that when she spins you around and all but pushes you onto the bed, you can only stare up at her, eyes wide and incredibly turned on.

She straddles your waist, smirking down at you in a way that makes heat pool between your thighs. She slips her hands beneath your shirt, leaning down to hover close enough to your face that you can feel her breath on your lips.

“Now then,” she hums, “let’s get you out of these clothes hm? The evenings only just started, and I’m nowhere near done with you.”

[cho-aaacho]

(Flufftober 2023) Early Morning/Morning After

Main Masterlist I Archive of Our Own

Flufftober 2023 Masterlist I Prompts List

Tags : Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Early Mornings, Living Together, Flufftober 2023, Reader is genderless

(Flufftober 2023 Day 15)

The morning breeze a gentle caress through his hair, kissing him with tender affection. The canvas of the sky is painted in hues of crimson and golden ochre, a masterpiece painting from heaven.

In the tranquil morning, a gentle melody played on. The symphony of dawn harmonized with the horizon and whispered its warmth to every living thing.

And then, a seductive aroma of high-quality coffee wafted on the right side, alluring the balcony with its charm.

With a tender "Good morning," you graced Chris with a cup of coffee. He hummed in response. The true reason he cherished mornings was you. A morning kiss that is sweeter than sugar, your smile beneath the dawn, was a morning routine for him when he started living together with you.

Every morning was a new love story in his memory.

He loves sharing a passionate kiss on your cute lips or just a simple, romantic shower with you. The world may find it corny. But for Chris, it is something that he would cherish for his life. He never tired of savoring the coffee you brewed because he knew it was a cup of love crafted just for him.

"How are you sleeping?" You smiled, sitting beside him on the balcony. "I have a feeling that a morning run will be good for my health."

Chris chuckled. "I can't imagine you as a morning runner."

"Stop teasing me, Chris! I'm a good runner; you should know that."

A warm, comforting aura enveloped him as your smile blossomed. His eyes fixed on you, a color of oceanic blues and forest greens, locking you in their embrace. Oh... God, how he swore his love for you deepened each day. The dawn's light makes your beauty seem a millionfold more ethereal.

From the very first time he met you, he invited you into his tiny world. Allowing you to share his love that he'd never share with anyone else. As your comfort in his presence bloomed, he gave his heart to you, letting you feel his blue and red, his black and gray. Entrusting you to save his heart in yours.

He was never one to express his love at first; he always buried those feelings deep within his heart. However, when he met you, something inside him awakened. To the point of telling him to reach your soul, compelling him to claim you and every part of you as his and his alone.

"I'm always happy to have an exact morning routine with you." He said this as his hands squeezed your palm. "I want to be with you, not only in the morning but every moment of every day, alongside you."

"You know, it feels so weird to hear this in the morning."

You couldn't help but giggle. At the same time, you playfully reach him, your hand cupping his cheeks. Trying to lead his soul with your eyes. After a few seconds, you plant a slight kiss on his lips, feeling his sweet and cute lips brush against yours.

"...but remind me that you're Chris Redfield. Everything is possible for Chris Redfield to say something like that. I love you too; even if the sun loses its warmth, I still love you."

Note : It's always fun to write Chris in love with someone else. Because I'm sure he has a soft spot for his partner. I want to make him happy with his current life because, every time I see Chris, only melancholy appears in his eyes. He lost so many people around him, yet he is still doing "that job." I hope Capcom gives him justice; at least I want to see him smiling again :''))) 

[fanfic-scribbles]

Dinner Date Chapter 34

Masterlist

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Overall Story Facts:

Fandom: MCU Captain America/Avengers

Story Summary: Steve Rogers has a girlfriend. A prickly, generally asocial girlfriend, but they make it work. They have more in common than some people might think.

Quick Facts: Romance – Steve Rogers/Reader – Female Reader

Story Warnings: Reader-insert that verges on OFC, written in 1st person past tense

Chapter 34: The Mission

Chapter Summary: Steve goes on a routine mission and ends up confronting the Winter Soldier. It doesn’t end well.

Chapter Word Count: 8602

A/N: I have not coherently put together how “CA:TWS” happened in this universe but I have tried to thread it through. I hope I explained it just enough for what matters, but if you’re still confused, I’ll put a summary at the very end of this chapter. That said: I am soooo sorry for how long this chapter is. I had actually wanted to combine this chapter and the next, but when all was said and done, it took everything in me not to split this chapter up into two. As a result, there is a bit more angsting than I normally do, but…you gotta have some hurt to get to the comfort. Hang in there; it’s coming <3

~

It figured that when Steve’s work started to die down, mine started to pick up. Not in the overly obvious ways, given how the corporate overlords were deathly allergic to paying overtime, but just enough to leave me too drained to do much other than trudge home, do basic human maintenance, and then sleep before I had to do it all over again the next day.

It was near the end of the week and on top of an especially long fucking day, that when I finally got home well after dark, I practically crawled into my apartment. I tried to hit the lights on my way in but missed, and I didn’t care enough to backtrack. Apparently I had left a lamp on in the living room this morning, (oops), so it wasn’t that big of a deal, but given I could barely keep my eyes open it barely mattered anyways.

I stumbled further in, dropping my shit to the floor and yawning so big I could just barely see a lump of something on the couch. Ugh; my laundry. Instead of contending with that, I tried to kick my shoes off. It didn’t work super great, and I ended up tripping over myself and falling down. While sitting on the floor I realized how great sitting down was, and my floor was mostly clean, and I really didn’t want to have to fight with gravity any more today anyway.

“Fuck it, I live here now,” I grumbled and flopped over to lie on the floor. It was a good floor. Clean. Sturdy, yet comfy. But…there was something in front of me.

I blinked when I realized I was staring at boots. On feet. Attached to legs. Belonging to…

“Oh. Hi Steve.” Well, that explained the light, at least. I tried to think of why he was here, and after a few seconds, a single synapse managed to fire. “Shit. Is it Thursday already?”

“Yeah.” He leaned over and looked like he was trying not to laugh. “You, uh, comfortable there, Sweetheart?”

“Mmm. It is a good floor.” I thought about moving.

Luckily Steve came down and crouched closer, next to my head. “Did you really not notice me?”

“I sort of saw a shape but I thought I left my laundry on the couch.” Hey, wait; that meant I hadn’t. “Ooo, I did my laundry. Go me.”

“Yeah, go you,” Steve chuckled and stroked my hair. “Come on, the couch is more comfortable than the floor.”

“If the couch wants me it knows where to find me.”

He said my name sternly. Well, semi-sternly, but the push was there. I sighed but rolled over so I was on my back. I extended my arms to him. “Help; I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”

His laugh was quick but full, like his beautiful smile when he wasn’t sure he should show it. God, I loved that sound. Go me indeed. “I thought I was supposed to be the geriatric in this relationship,” he said and pulled me up effortlessly.

“Only to the uninitiated,” I said and brushed off my clothes. “But only one of us regularly curses their joints and back and, surprisingly, it’s not the one who bodychecks Nazis and aliens and Nazi aliens for a living.”

He smiled and pulled me in. But then, there it was– The Concerned Forehead Crease. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked and started patting over my body.

I rolled my eyes, but I put my face right next to his. “If I say ‘no,’ are you gonna keep feeling me up?” I asked. The Crease relaxed, and he smirked and kissed me. I kept him drawn in and close and he melted right into me. I wished I could have done the same but something about the moment felt…off. I chalked it up to a weird fucking week and one of the longer days of my life, but even though I tried to focus on the fact that I was home and kissing my boyfriend, something nagged at the back of my mind.

When I finally realized why I felt so weird, I pulled back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, a little dazed.

 “You’re not in normal clothes.” I looked him up and down. Normal-ish, but his pants were definitely different, and I pulled back part of his jacket to see a darker swatch of his uniform. “You’re dressed for work. You’re leaving?”

His expression softened. “Not for a while yet. I did as much prep as I needed so I could come see you for a few hours. I’ll have to get back to the tower very early in the morning, but you’ll be well asleep by then.”

Steve was leaving again, for who knew how long, and I had taken my sweet time getting home and barely clinging to consciousness during the little time we had together.

“Sweetheart?” he said uncertainly and slipped his hand into mine to grip. “Are you mad at me?”

I took a deep breath and tried to exhale all my frustration. “No; no, I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at me; I fucking–”

“Don’t– don’t be mad,” he interrupted and kissed my head. “Things happen. It’s good enough we get to spend time together now.”

“Hmf.” I glanced at the clock. “When do you have to leave?”

“Before you wake up in the morning.”

“That’s assuming I go to sleep,” I said and started for the coffeemaker.

He snagged my hand and pulled me right back into his arms. “You are going to get some sleep.”

I scowled at him. “You’re not the boss of me.”

He softened into a smile and nuzzled me. “Well, if bossing won’t work, how about bribery?”

I nipped at his jaw. “What kind of bribery?”

He kissed me. “The kind where we go make out in your bed until you fall asleep.”

That did actually sound really nice. Cozy and comfy. I eyed his outfit, and he gave a helpless shrug. “Hm,” I said. “Boots are not allowed in bed.”

“Fair enough,” he said and let go. “Go get ready, and I’ll take care of ‘em.”

I should have argued, but I trundled off with (mostly) minimal grumbling. I wanted to argue. I felt bad that Steve had been waiting around for me while I did something stupid (work; ugh). Even though I would have avoided it if I could have, it still sucked to know I’d been elsewhere instead of spending time with him when he’d be leaving again.

But I dressed for bed– fresh pajamas, without any holes to speak of, and I brushed my teeth extra nice and made sure I looked especially presentable before crawling into bed. My pillow felt so nice, but I heroically kept my eyes open, and was rewarded with a nice sight when Steve came in. Sans boots and jacket, and my but that work suit was very flattering. Dark blue was a good color on him. However, he also brought in the small soft blanket from the couch.

“The outfit’s protective, and that means it’s not all that comfortable from the outside,” he said, laying on top of the covers but draping the blanket so it covered his chest before he wrapped an arm around me and I snuggled closer.

“I’m so glad you thought of my delicate sensibilities,” I said and slid my hand behind his neck.

He grinned and opened his mouth, but I dove in to save him from himself. And myself, from him inadvertently talking his way into getting kicked out of bed. I didn’t have the most patience at the moment, but as we fell into a familiar rhythm I did start to relax more and more, until it was too hard to keep my head up.

“Damn it,” I mumbled as he chuckled. I didn’t bother opening my eyes; I was done fooling myself. “How long are you going to be gone?”

“Not long; not even a week,” he said. He slowly traced gentle circles in my skin. “We’re just doing some cleanup.”

“M’kay,” I said as I started to doze. “I’ll make it up…when you get home.”

“We’ll spend plenty of time together when I get back,” Steve said like he was agreeing with me.

“Stay safe,” I said, or tried to say, just before I fell completely asleep.

~

Several days later, on an otherwise pleasant Sunday morning, I got a phone call. Not a text, a call. From Natasha.

“Are you guys okay?” I asked as soon as I picked up, hoping that she was immediately about to launch into bitching about Sam or Steve doing something stupidly heroic that got them hurt but not too badly.

She was silent. “Everyone’s alive,” she said in a flat tone of voice that made me sit up straighter. Despite her words, I felt my stomach drop like a rock. Something felt very, very wrong.

“Natasha?” I asked, and my voice was shakier than I expected.

“I can’t say more over this line,” she said. “Someone is coming to pick you up and bring you here. I’ll explain more when you arrive.”

I opened my mouth to ask more, but she fucking hung up on me. I took a few seconds to sit with my panic before I got up, took several deep breaths, and grabbed a few things. Just the basics I always took when leaving the house. I waffled over the portable charger, unsure of how long I’d be out, but a knock at the door made me jump. I grabbed whatever was closest, made sure I had my wallet and keys and phone at the very least, and opened the door.

“Phil,” I said in surprise.

His smile was definitely strained. “Maria’s waiting in the car,” he said and gestured for me to go ahead. I nearly fumbled with locking my own door, I felt so scattered, and as we walked down the hall I opened my mouth, but Phil held up his hand. “I’m sorry,” he said as we waited for the elevator. “I promise, we can talk more in the car.”

I sighed, but his voice was just soothing enough that some of the jitters went away, and since this was apparently the only way I’d get more information, I followed him out without another word.

As soon as the door shut and Maria and Phil were buckling up in front, I leaned over the seat. “Is Steve okay?”

“He’s going to be just fine,” Phil said and started the engine. “Put your seatbelt on.”

At least I had that much to go on, so I sat back and did as he said. “Why did Natasha call me instead of him? Is he hurt bad? Why did you come to pick me up? What is going on?”

“Most of it I think I’ll let Captain Rogers tell you,” Phil said, sounding almost business-like. He’d never talked to me like this before, so I paid attention. “But the facts are this: there was an altercation with a potential enemy agent known as the Winter Soldier. Captain Rogers engaged him while Agent Romanoff and Falcon subdued the surrounding Hydra operatives.” Phil looked in the rearview mirror at me. Maria was pretending not to exist, so I focused on him. “Steve is in medical, but he shouldn’t be there for too long. Overnight at most,” Phil said, a little gentler. “But he was still hurt in the scuffle.”

There was so much I wasn’t being told I felt like I was fucking choking on the elephant. “He’s been hurt and in the hospital before. Why did you guys come to pick me up?”

Phil looked back at the road, and didn’t glance at me anymore. “We have more information now, on the Winter Soldier,” he said, going matter-of-fact flat again. “His past, his…identity.”

There was silence. I tried to peer around the seat. Maria looked at him sharply, but I couldn’t see Phil’s reaction. Just hear him as he picked up like he’d never stopped. “And some of his movements over the past couple of years. We have reason to believe he may know who you are. Specifically, who you are to Captain Rogers.”

Well, that was unsettling. I sat back in my seat. “Does it really matter that much?” I asked. “And what does ‘potential enemy’ mean? Who is this guy?”

“It’s complicated,” Phil said. “Captain Rogers will tell you more.”

I opened my mouth, but Maria held up her hand, and once I shut my mouth, she held up her phone and started making a call. A bitter and self-centered part of me wondered if she was just doing that to make me shut up, but I just crossed my arms and fumed to myself, trying to metaphorically steam out all the anger before we got to the hospital. Steve was hurt and would need me to not be a raging bitch, and I could manage that. For him, at least. Right now, his friends were on thin fucking ice.

Especially so when we didn’t even get to the hospital. We turned off onto a small side street between two nondescript buildings, and Phil turned into a driveway I hadn’t seen even seconds before he was in it, and then we were at a parking turnstile guarded by people with very big guns.

“Get your ID out,” Maria said as Phil spoke quietly to the attendant. “We’ll need it to get you clearance.”

I wanted to know what the fuck was going on, but more than that I wanted to be away from this, so I scrambled to do what she asked and managed only slight trembling when I handed it up to her. I didn’t even drop it.

“I’m going to roll down the window and they’re going to confirm your identity,” Phil said, and I did appreciate the warning, considering when I faced the window, I was looking right at someone’s very fancy high-tech phone. It was brief, and after only a couple of seconds they walked away and the window went back up. I expected that to be the end of it, so when we sat there for several more seconds I started to wonder if I had been secretly framed for murder somewhere and was about to find out in the worst way possible.

Instead, the attendant handed Phil a laminated card on a clip, which he then handed back to me, with my ID, and I found myself staring at maybe the worst photo I had ever taken. “Wow,” I said, distracted enough that I only realized we were moving again when we started down an incline. “You guys put the DMV to shame.”

I couldn’t see Phil’s full face in the rearview still, but his eyes crinkled with a smile. “Don’t worry; nobody takes a good photo,” he said as if to reassure me.

I looked at Maria, who was only ever immaculately put-together, and thought of Sharon, who was only ever gorgeous, and Natasha, who was only ever what she wanted to be, and even Fury, who was nothing but utterly terrifying. “Sure.” But I cleared my throat as we turned into a gated area. “I sort of thought we were going to the hospital Steve has been in before?”

“Captain Rogers will normally only be here for immediate patch-up after missions. He does not like to stay long, so if he has more extensive injuries, and they allow for it, we take him to the hospital he trusts,” Phil said. “Circumstances, this time, have not permitted that.”

I thought about that, because Steve had sort of said as much once– that he woke up in a SHIELD medical unit when he was unfrozen, and the shock of the whole thing had fucked him up. I assumed this wasn’t the same place, since we weren’t anywhere near Times Square, but, now, not only was he physically fucked up, he was in a place that might have reminded him of a really bad mental spot. I said nothing but tried to let my disapproval seep out of me in waves.

“He hasn’t been on his own,” Maria said. Not soft or gentle, but understanding. Sometimes it was nice being around spies, if only so I didn’t have to try to emote too hard. “Black Widow has not been far away, and Falcon is with him now.”

That Sam was here was a huge fucking relief, actually, because we had only just parked and I was exhausted and dreading having to be the strong one. Also, it was curious that Maria was defaulting to code names around me, but she was also way more strait-laced than I’d ever seen her, and I already thought she was kind of a hard sell normally. I sure as hell wasn’t going to bring it up though– I had the mental space to care about the well-being of one person right now, and I didn’t want to risk any delay in getting to him. This was probably her version of being stuck in work mode.

I didn’t give a shit about SHIELD interior decorating, except to note that the building we were in, despite the large underground parking garage, felt very narrow and was incredibly bereft of people. The only sign of life were guards stationed at points along the way, and all of them stood straight and gave an acknowledging nod to Phil and Maria when we walked past. I was practically bouncing in the next elevator we took, hoping it would lead me right to Steve.

When the doors opened and I saw Natasha standing there I almost felt relief– until she said a few clipped words to Phil and Maria in Russian and didn’t even acknowledge me. We walked out of the elevator, she walked in, hit the button, and she was gone without another word. I shook it off the best I could, followed Phil and Maria past the occasional SHIELD worker or guard (or both?) until we got to a door.

“Excuse me,” Maria murmured and peeled off to talk to someone who looked like a doctor.

Phil said my name and introduced me to the agent at the door. But he didn’t give me their name. “I have something to take care of,” he said. “They’ll be here if you need anything, or if you’re done visiting.”

“Thanks,” I said and took a deep breath. Everyone said that Steve was going to be okay, and he was alive, and safe, and that was all that mattered. The agent opened the door and I walked in, managed a small smile as Sam noticed me, and–

Everyone was full of shit. Steve was covered in large, ugly bruises; his whole right arm was bandaged up and I could see burns at the edge that still hadn’t healed, as well as healing red skin in other places. He was sleeping, but his face was twisted in pain even out of consciousness. He almost looked like he was going to cry.

I had never seen him look so bad.

“What…happened?” I asked, stumbling forward.

“Hey. You’re gonna need to sit down for this particular story,” Sam said. He was using his gentle ‘I do this for a living’ therapist voice and fuck if that didn’t set off all my alarms. I didn’t want to deal with him yet, couldn’t even look at anything but Steve, so I slipped past him and took the chair next to the bed. Sam pulled his chair next to me and took my hand, giving it a squeeze I could feel only in the physical sense. “He’s gonna be okay.”

I stared at him and tried my best not to look like I was going to set him on fire with my mind. Sam hadn’t done anything, but I had had it with all the talk-around. “Natasha would only tell me everyone made it out alive. Phil and Maria came to pick me up for some reason, and Phil only told me he got in a fight with the Winter Soldier guy,” I said, trying to be as neutral as possible, and, failing that, at least trying to be quiet. So I mostly ended up hissing, “What the fuck is going on?!”

Sam put his hand on my back and rubbed, and I literally had to force the tears back. I didn’t know what was happening but it was bad. “He’s gonna be all right,” Sam murmured, but even he looked doubtful as he glanced at Steve. “But he’s got a lot to deal with right now.”

“Like what.” I was no longer asking.

Sam didn’t answer right away. He chewed on his lip for a few seconds. “What all do you know about the Winter Soldier?”

I wanted to yell. Why did I care? “Big bad assassin guy. Was involved in whatever the fuck happened in DC with SHIELD; started on Hydra’s side, then suddenly switched for some unknown reason and helped against them. Apparently was only on their side because they tortured him to hell and back.” Maybe I was missing some stuff, but that felt like all the bullet points. Except… I looked at Steve, then back at Sam. “What did he do?”

Sam breathed deep. “We’ve been trying to find him. Partly because we know what he’s capable of, partly because we want to help him,” he said. He seemed so sincere when he said that. I doubted how much SHIELD would want to help a former enemy combatant, but for Sam and Steve, I did believe it. “Also important to mention is that we knew he’s been a prisoner of Hydra for a long time. Longer than normal; reports go back to the sixties or seventies of his first show on the scene. They used cryo-freezing as a form of suspended animation– only bring him out when they needed him for a special job, then put him back under. Ad nauseum.”

Ad nauseum was right. I shivered a bit at the thought. Sam leaned forward in his chair, letting his hands clasp in front as his eyes dropped away from mine. “So when we heard a faction of some Hydra remnants got their hands on him and were trying to bring him back under control, we raced to the rescue.” Sam visibly swallowed. “And, for the first time, we actually got a look at his face.”

I waited. But he hesitated, like he didn’t want to say it.

“It’s Bucky.”

I first registered the appearance of Steve’s voice meant that Steve was awake and I whipped my head to look at him. What little relief I felt was short– there was such a dead look in his eyes as he stared vacantly at the ceiling.

And then I registered the words. At first, it didn’t make sense. I couldn’t figure out what Bucky had to do with–

Prisoner for a long time– suspended animation–

“What?” I said, barely audible even to myself as I realized why the world felt like it was dropping out. I knew Steve heard it, but he didn’t acknowledge it. He didn’t acknowledge anything. I looked at Sam.

He nodded, and let out a breath. Meanwhile I felt like I was going to cry. This had nothing to do with me but everything to do with Steve and I didn’t know what to do, how to help. If I even could. I scrabbled for Steve’s hand without looking and squeezed. He didn’t react. “All the info we scraped together– it’s pretty minimal. Nothing with any hints to the Winter Soldier’s identity,” Sam said, occasionally glancing at Steve. “So we knew we’d barely scratched the surface. After this last–…”

…This last, which had left Steve more than a mental wreck. “What happened,” I said again, trying to compose myself. Steve couldn’t do it, so I had to be together. For him. I took a deep breath and focused on that. “Hydra got to– …to him again. And then– then what?”

“They were trying to bring him back under their control.”

Sam and I both jumped a bit, though I felt reassured when Steve finally did squeeze my hand, even if it was small. Natasha stood by the door, with Clint. She cast a glance over Steve, but she looked…okay. Better than her phone voice had hinted at, at least, and better than when I’d seen her at the elevator. Clint looked more serious than I’d ever seen him, but he gave a little wave, and they both came to join us at Steve’s bed, Clint leaning on the wall and Natasha standing in the space beside Sam and me.

“Whatever methods they used in DC aren’t working anymore,” Natasha continued, looking at Steve. “This time, they relied on the classic standards– physical reinforcement, manual conditioning, heavy drugging–”

“He didn’t know which way was up,” Steve said, his voice cracking slightly. He cleared his throat, but when I tried to rub my thumb over his hand, he took it away. His face was stone, and he didn’t look at me– or anyone. “He didn’t know what he was doing.”

“He was lashing out at anybody who got too close,” Natasha said, and inclined her head to me, then to Steve. Obviously, yeah, I could figure out what happened there. “Once he recognized Steve, he…stopped, looked horrified, and ran away. We didn’t find him again, but while waiting for evac I did find where he had holed up before he fell into the trap they’d set. And there, I found documents he had salvaged that confirmed his identity.”

The silence after that was…awkward. I didn’t know what to say. I was afraid to say anything, in case it was wrong. But they all kept looking at Steve, like he was going to show them–…I didn’t even know, but it was stupid. And rude.

I swallowed. “He got away. From you guys and Hydra, right?” I asked. It felt stupid, but…I wanted to know. “Do you think…he’s okay? Physically?”

Natasha let out a little sigh, Sam rubbed his face, and Clint rolled his shoulders. I didn’t know if they actually thought I was stupid, bit whatever; so long as they stopped looking at Steve like they were waiting to watch a crack form right down the center of him. “There’s no reason to believe otherwise,” Natasha said, and she looked so incredibly tired in that moment I felt a little bad for my uncharitable thoughts. She’d mentioned the first time I’d heard about the Winter Soldier that the brainwashing stuff hit too close to home; this was probably hard for her too. And she and Clint and Sam cared about Steve. I was just being a bitch.

“And yes– he’s fully in the wind, and SHIELD is focusing on keeping track of any other rogue Hydra units looking to find him, rather than on capturing the Soldier himself,” Natasha said, walking around to the end of Steve’s bed.

That, oddly, got Steve’s full attention. “Really?” he asked warily. Skeptically.

Natasha nodded. “Fury deemed it a better use of resources,” she said, a bit dry. “As long as he doesn’t fall into Hydra’s hands, he is less of a threat to us.”

Less of a threat? Steve’s jaw tightened, and I braced for a fight, but he was silent, took a few deep breaths, and then…he said, “Thank you,” and settled back against his pillow.

An argument felt like it was still in the air, but Natasha inclined her head, and neither of them mentioned it. Nobody mentioned anything, actually, and I tried not to be a jerk– they were his friends, they were allowed to visit him too– but…

I looked around. Clint looked pretty hale and healthy, but Natasha was worn to a wire’s edge and Sam had bandages of his own and looked exhausted. I almost wanted to ask if he was all right but what if he got those from Bucky? I didn’t want to step on anything. But I did want a chance to visit with Steve alone. And I kept looking from Natasha to Sam, trying to find a polite way to ask if maybe they needed some sleep…

Natasha’s lips curled in a wry smile when I looked back at her for maybe the hundredth time. I curled in on myself, considered never looking her in the eyes ever, ever again, then thought, ‘fuck it,’ sighed, and looked her head on.

Her smile softened, and she stretched, bringing just enough noise to the utterly silent room with her movement. “As fun as it is to watch you try not to crack another rib, I’m exhausted, and you need to sleep too.”

“Yeah, don’t want your battle-axe of a nurse to see you up too late,” Clint said and came to stand next to Sam. I focused on Steve as they all shuffled out and when the door clicked shut…well, there was no magic shift. No special acknowledgement. Just more stifling silence and a growing pit of dread forming like a black hole in the center of me.

I sighed and took his hand again. I touched gently, moving over bumps and ridges before leaning in to kiss his bandaged knuckles. He gasped and when he looked at me, weariness set in on his face, making him look so much older. After all that time setting himself up like a gargoyle, sorrow arrived relatively quickly.

I sat closer and angled so I could hold him. He moved too quickly, but leaned in to hug me. He rested his face in my shoulder and took big, heaving breaths.

“Seventy years,” he croaked. “He’s been tortured and used while I slept, and assimilated, and–”

He broke, and I felt like a flimsy plastic pole trying to weather a hurricane. There was nothing I could say, or do, and neither could he. But I stayed, and held tight.

~

He cried himself to sleep and I set him back in bed as well as I could. I wiped down his face, straightened his hair, and gave him a kiss before I left, stumbling a bit as my legs refused to work at first.

Sam was waiting for me when I came out. I didn’t know what to say, so I gave him a little wave and walked. He fell in step beside me and stayed quiet until we got to the elevator.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as we waited for it.

“Like a…” I mimicked wringing out a dishrag and he gave me a little smile. “How are you?” I asked and tried to gauge his injuries, but I could barely focus on anything.

“I’m fine. Really,” he said firmly, and patted his bandages. “A few burns, some bad aches, but I got the good pain meds so the worst is actually the jet lag. I’ll be fine once I get some sleep.”

I nodded. For some reason I could only stare at the floor. “You should; you–…you…should…”

Sam said my name. I blinked rapidly. “Sorry,” I said. The elevator was small. And quiet. I felt my face start to twist and I contorted it even more, as I looked down and away, trying so hard not to break into tears. But they were coming. They were still coming.

Sam said my name again and wrapped his arms around me. “It’s gonna be okay,” he said. “And I’m not just saying that. Steve’s gonna pull through.” I could hear his sigh, quiet as it was, as I shook from the effort of trying to swallow all of my feelings without choking on them. The elevator dinged loudly enough to make us both jump, and I kept my head down and let Sam lead the way. Breathe, breathe, breathe, I just wanted to fucking breathe and not have a nervous breakdown in Spy Headquarters.

When we were in a corner off to the side, I managed to pull myself together just enough to ask, “Do you think…Bucky’s okay?”

Sam didn’t respond. Not right away. “I think fully answering that is way above my pay grade,” he said gently. He paused again. “Do you want him to be?”

“God I hope he is,” I said. I held my face. “It’d be so much better for Steve if he is.”

Sam shifted. “Even though it might mean…”

“He deserves to be happy,” I said without thinking. True, though. “Whatever form that takes, I just want him happy, and safe; I–…I–…” My eyes burned. ‘I love him so fucking much’ I wanted to say, but couldn’t, because that was the end of my ability to cope with this rollercoaster of a fucking day and I started crying into his chest. Sam was good, too good, and held me for all of the hyperventilating waterworks, even though it couldn’t have been comfortable, even without the times I caught myself pushing my face too hard into his body. Thankfully the break didn’t last too long, and as soon as it tapered off I unpeeled myself from his person.

“Sorry.” I rubbed my face hard and took a deep breath.

“It’s fine,” Sam said. “You know I’m your friend too, right?”

I continued to rub my face raw of any trace of tears. I hated crying in front of people, and I had to consciously stop myself from thinking of all the surveillance that probably happened in every part of this fucking building. “It doesn’t even directly affect me. I don’t know why I’m being like this.”

“It’s tougher, sometimes, when it’s people we care about.” Sam squeezed my arm. “It’s going to be tough, even just being there for Steve right now.”

I swallowed one more time and, despite still feeling rough, I felt…better. Less on a knife’s edge, at least. “Doesn’t matter. I’m here, and…we’ll deal.”

Someone walked up behind Sam and he stiffened, and used his arm to move me closer to the wall and more firmly behind him as he turned. “Hey Phil,” he said, not exactly warm, but polite enough. “You need something?”

Phil said my name. “I just need a moment of your time before we take you home.”

I rolled my shoulders and looked around. Luckily, I had a good excuse not to face him yet. “Yeah, just give me a minute. I’m gonna hit the bathroom first.”

“Take all the time you need,” Phil said, and left. Or so I assumed; I didn’t really hear him go but Sam sighed and turned to face me again.

“You want me to stick around for that meeting?” he asked.

I gave him another look over. Maybe he wasn’t hurt that bad, but he looked exhausted. I shook my head. “It’ll be fine,” I said, and kept the, ‘I hope,’ completely to myself. “You go get in bed and sleep.”

His lips curled up. “Yes ma’am,” he said, and leaned back in for another hug. A really tight hug. When he stood fully again he said, “Hey,” and clapped his hand on my shoulder. “Call or text, any time. I’m here.”

I nodded. When it came to Steve, I probably wouldn’t hesitate. I’d just have to find some cute pictures and dumb memes to pepper in to make it worth it. “You staying at the Tower?”

“Yeah.” He actually managed to forge a decent smile. “As much as I’d love to come vet your couch, the apartments Tony’s set up for us ain't half bad.”

I scoffed. “Can’t believe you’d pass up my couch for a bed that probably costs more than I pay in rent. No accounting for taste.”

“It definitely isn’t better company.”

“I don’t think that’s true right now.”

“Well, that’s going around,” he said gently.

After one more hug, I managed to shoo him off, and I ducked into the bathroom to wash my face at least. I definitely looked ragged in the mirror but the cold water felt nice. Unfortunately, I wasn’t alone for too long, but when I glanced at who entered, I was definitely surprised. Perhaps foolishly so.

“Oh. Hi Sharon,” I said, and dabbed the paper towels at my face. She greeted me but she didn’t go for a stall, nor did she use a sink. She just leaned against the back wall. I sighed. ‘Foolish’ for sure. “You need something?”

“I’m going with you to the meeting,” she said. My stomach clenched with dread, but I just wanted to be done with all of this and back home. Well, I’d rather have stayed with Steve, but barring that, home was the next best thing, and Phil was too creepily good at his job. Even if I managed to duck out, he could probably materialize from my mirror and I wouldn’t think twice about it. Better to get this over and done.

I followed Sharon just down the hall, and when we entered the room it was occupied by Phil, Fury, and four SHIELD agents– including the brunette guy from the first time I’d ever tried to visit Steve in the hospital. That brought me up short and I wondered if I’d accidentally wandered into a different meeting, but Sharon gently nudged me further in so she could slip inside and shut the door behind us.

“Uh…” It was quiet. And awkward. “Hi?”

Phil said my name in greeting. “We’ll keep this short, since I’m sure you’d like to get home,” he said. “To start– everyone in this room is aware of the true nature of your relationship with Captain Rogers.”

I hadn’t known I could still emote, but my eyebrows went all the way up when I looked at him. “Why?” I asked warily.

Fury shifted, and all attention turned to him– even though I couldn’t even tell how he had moved. “Despite Captain Rogers’s feelings on the matter, the Winter Soldier is a dangerous and deadly assassin. Given their past relationship, and your current relationship, we are going to be giving you a security detail,” he said. Like that explained everything.

My immediate ‘that’s stupid,’ was, thankfully, something that didn’t come out of my mouth. Maybe out of my eyes, but at least I didn’t say it. Granted, Steve was in terrible shape so, yes, Bucky was objectively dangerous, but…he had run away from them. And why waste his time coming after me when Steve was, ostensibly, the one he had major Feelings about, and lived in the same damn city?

“Does he even know we’re dating?” I asked. “I shouldn’t matter any more than Steve’s other friends.”

“We’ve found out that he has…observed the two of you on at least two occasions,” Phil said. “We don’t know exactly what he saw, but he was one of the best assassins alive, under Hydra’s control, and he might be even better now.”

Creepy. I tried not to think too hard about it. “If that’s the case, he’s been free for years now. If Mister Super-Duper-Assassin wanted to take me out, it’s not like he couldn’t have done so already.”

“Except now we don’t know where he is or what his state of mind is after the weeks he just spent under re-conditioning,” Fury said. “There are a lot of factors going into this. We have discussed all the angles. A minor security detail is necessary.”

These people looked very serious and very capable, so ‘minor’ didn’t feel quite right. However, I was just done. With everything. “Ugh,” I said and rubbed my face. “I think it’s really stupid and a waste of your resources, but I’m too tired to argue about it.”

“Good enough,” Fury remarked dryly. I rolled my eyes, but let him and Phil blather on to the agents about shifts and details, and just…zoned out. Until someone tugged at my jacket sleeve and I turned to see Sharon right there again. She jerked her head at the door and I followed along, letting the rest of them continue to do…whatever.

I regained enough conscious thought to wonder if this was awkward. Sharon wasn’t immediately connected to it, but she was friends with Steve, and Peggy…god, I almost didn’t want to think about it. But my head kept circling back to it.

“How are you?” she asked, kindly, once we were on the road. This time it was just me and her in the car. Was she part of this new detail? From the way Steve talked about her that seemed almost demeaning, and I kind of didn’t want to ask in case it was.

“I’m, um, fine. Fine enough. It must be weirder and harder for you, with SHIELD and…” I swallowed. “How’s Peggy?”

Sharon was silent for a little bit. I was just about to get in my head about how maybe that wasn’t an appropriate thing to ask– Sharon and I were friendly but we weren’t friends– but she actually admitted, “We haven't told her yet.” She focused on the road. “I haven't told her yet. It has to be in person, but I still…”

The way she trailed off sounded…uncertain. And I could relate. She didn’t have much more stake in this than I did– we both had Steve, but I while had the ‘new girlfriend dealing with old boyfriend’ issues, she had the ‘SHIELD agents versus former Hydra assassin’ issues, and I…started to wonder. I started to wonder if maybe she shouldn’t be the one to say it. If maybe…

“Can you wait, and let Steve do it?” I asked. She actually looked at me, long enough that the light turned and someone honked. She got back to driving, but she kept glancing at me. I swallowed. “It’s not my business,” I said, because it really, really wasn’t, “–…but it’s going to be hard to hear and…maybe it would be…maybe it’s better. If she hears it from the one other person who knew– who knows Bucky.”

She drove in silence for a few more minutes. Then she asked, “Does he really believe Barnes is still there?”

I shrugged one shoulder. “What’s more believable– that the Winter Soldier did a sudden inexplicable heel turn against masters he was violently conditioned to obey?” I asked. “Or that Steve got through to him based on years of ingrained trust?”

She let out a short but heavy sigh. “Most of it feels pretty inexplicable,” she said. “But Romanoff and Wilson said the same thing about this last time. That Rogers got through to him.”

“I think he did,” I said quietly, and we both left it at that. When she pulled down my street I took a moment to make sure all my limbs worked and were going to support me properly.

“Hey.”

I looked at her. “Don’t worry about the detail,” she said. “We can make ourselves noticeable if the occasion calls for it, but we can also be pretty inconspicuous too.” Sharon gave me a small smile. “I lived as Steve’s neighbor for months without him having any idea until I revealed myself.”

“Impressive,” I said. Steve wasn’t spy material, but I’d always thought he was good at sussing out when people were watching him. “Also kind of creepy.”

“That’s the job,” she said, as if stating an unfortunate but also true fact, and, well, she was right. She stopped in front of my building. “I mean it, don’t worry; if anything does happen the agent on duty will make themself known and escort you to safety. But we’re all hoping this is going to be a fairly boring assignment.”

I couldn’t argue with that. I still thought it was stupid to waste their time on it though, and once I got my head on straight, I’d be telling them that. Telling Phil that at least. Fury wasn’t mean, per se, but he was still intimidating as all hell. “Thanks for the ride.”

She nodded. “Tell Steve to get in touch, if he doesn’t want to break the news,” she said, a little quieter. “I’ll take care of it.”

I wasn’t sure when I’d see Steve again– if he’d come over willingly, or if I’d have to track him down. But I knew where he lived; I wouldn’t let him run away. Not from me. I nodded, got out, waved goodbye…

…And the next thing I knew I was zoned out at my door, keys in hand, when I suddenly heard someone’s door opening down the hall. I cursed at myself– seriously, so many possible assassinations could have happened it was stupid– but I fumbled with my lock, got inside, and leaned my back against the door.

From there it was a slow descent to getting my apartment ready for the night. The day was over, and tomorrow was Monday, and I was so tired I wasn’t sure if I should prepare to call out or just go and be miserable and deal with it. If I was going to be miserable anyways, it was better to at least get a paycheck for it.

And, when a knock at my door made me jump to a straight-up sitting position on the couch, I wondered if I wouldn’t feel so nervous if I wasn’t so…alone. Which was stupid, because even if pigs did fly and Bucky did come after me because his head was so fucked up, wouldn’t it be better if there was no one else around?

I sighed and went to check the door.

Natasha stood there. She then immediately looked right at me. Or rather, right at the peephole.

I unlocked the door and opened it. “That’s such a horror movie thing to do,” I said.

She shrugged, and a plastic bag in her hands crinkled with the movement. “Depending on what side you’re on, I make a hell of a slasher,” she said, like she was trying to make a joke, but it came out a little…flat. She held up the bag. “I brought you dinner.”

“Oh, nice,” I said and stepped back. She didn’t take the implied invitation, so I waved at her to come in. After only a second, she did, and I shut and locked the door. “They’re not making you do this stupid ‘detail’ thing, are they?”

“No. I’ve been deemed ‘too close’ to the issue,” she said. “But I also don’t think it’s stupid.”

I chose not to follow that, just in case it led to an argument. She kept glancing around, like Bucky might jump out of a closet, so maybe she had been watching one too many horror movies. “What’d you get?” I asked. “That’s a big bag. You’re staying to eat too, right?”

She visibly hesitated. “I was going to,” she said. Her tone was still fairly flat, and I wondered if this was how she got when she was tired. “But maybe I shouldn’t.”

“Why not?” I said.

She gave me a look like she knew I knew something was off. “I’m not capable of being very ‘normal’ right now.”

I snorted. “Join the club.” I walked up to her and took the bag, setting it on the counter right behind her. “Normal’s bullshit anyways. Let’s eat.”

She watched me unpack the food, but when I got the plates, she took one and loaded it up, and joined me on the couch. She was muted in a way that I worried I might have pushed her into something, but if there was anybody I didn’t think I could force into shit, it was Natasha, so I took her as she was, and let it be. Mostly. The air seemed to get heavier by the passing moment, with the two of us moodily chowing down on food that was too good for this amount of personal dark clouds, so I took a chance, and stabbed at a particularly good-looking bite on her plate.

I probably should not have done so while she was holding a fork. I almost had it when she struck, poking me so hard with her utensil that I jumped and took my hand back, but the pain was quickly gone, and there wasn’t even any blood. The look she gave me, both eyebrows raised, made me laugh. “I can’t believe you actually let me get that close,” I said and shook out my hand.

“I could hardly believe you were trying it,” she said. She sighed and looked away, as if frustrated. “I told you I wasn’t normal tonight.”

“It’s still fine. I didn’t actually piss you off, did I?” I asked. She shook her head. “Then, no harm, no foul.”

“Hm.” But she only poked at her food. It was almost a minute before she spoke again. “This is all–…it’s not exactly the same, but it’s…hitting similar buttons.”

I considered. “What happened with Bucky?”

She gave a curt nod. “This last time especially. Most of what they did to him before used methods they could only employ against someone with the serum. Anyone else would have been dead,” she said. “But this most recent, with the drugs and the…‘manual’ brainwashing…that was familiar.”

I didn’t know what to say. I leaned against her for a brief moment. “People fucking suck,” is what I decided on, and I sat up and scraped my plate.

She didn’t move right away. But then she let out a little huff. “Yeah. Sometimes,” she said, but she started eating again too. When she finished she put her empty plate next to mine and sat like she was…waiting for something. Sam was exhausted, and I assumed she must have been too, but she was way too wired. And maybe sleep was a worse idea than just dealing with reality.

Or…

“Hey,” I said. She looked at me. “Have you ever played a farming sim?”

She blinked several times. And stared. “Huh,” I said. “I’ve never gotten a look that good before. I’d ask if I was suddenly speaking Russian, but–”

She hit me with a throw pillow so hard my shoulder hurt. “That’s not even an expression,” she said and flumped back on it. “Also– no. I haven't. Shocking, I’m sure.”

“Do you want to?” I picked up my controller regardless of what the answer was and started flipping through my library. “You can make a stupid looking avatar, and go on dates.”

“I thought you said it was about farming,” she said, watching as I scrolled through. “Oh god– are all of those about farming?”

“Da. The curse of capitalist pigs trying to–” She hit me with the pillow again. “–Ow how do you do that?” I asked, dropping the fake Russian accent and stopping to rub my aching arm. “I bet you could give somebody a Charlie horse with a fucking blanket.”

“That’s too easy. But I’ll show you if you do the accent again,” she said, back to resting on her Murder Pillow.

“Yeah, yeah.” I picked a game, flicked through the initial menu, and handed her the controller. “Make a stupid avatar and get fishing.”

“I thought I was farming,” she said, but she started flipping through hairstyles.

“You can plant crops, smooch pixels that look vaguely humanoid, and make fish fear you,” I said. “Oh– those overalls are awful.”

“Perfect,” she said, and settled in. Nothing was right, none of us were okay, but we could only do so much, and for the moment all of us were, at least, safe. I could only hope Bucky currently had that guarantee too– for all our sakes.

~~

Basic background info for this chapter in case of confusion: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” movie happened mostly as-is, up until the unmasking. The mask didn’t come off, but Steve accidentally broke through the programming, allowing Bucky to regain just enough sense of self to break from Hydra. Bucky did come back at the end to help against the Helicarriers, but after saving Steve from his fall into the Potomac, he left without a word. “The Winter Soldier” has been in the wind ever since, fighting against Hydra, and destroying/taking anything that might hint to his true identity.

~

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