#This took me 27 hours to finish my god

[acekindaneat]

A Wedding. 💍

Based on Lapidist's work on ao3.

^^please give it a read because it's really good but i had to cut out a lot of bits to fit it into 10 pages :0

[chrissfawn]

anything for an A+ .

pairing ;; professor!matt x student!fem!oc

warnings ;; SMUTTTT🤞🤞 , age gap (matt is 27 reader is 22), cursing , making out , oral (m receiving) , p in v , fingering , unprotected sex (pls dont!!) , pet names (princess, sweetheart, etc) , lowercase intended and thats it!

a/n ;; pls bare w me im too shy to write on here but first smut post i hope yall likey!!! this is for my baby kitten whiskers; @mattsluttywaist and @cheetahmadi 🥳🥳 also this looked better in drafts

pink: you

blue: matt

. . . . .

“remember, no talking during the test.” was what pulled me out of the trance that i was in. i blinked as i noticed that i was staring at my professor for the entire time he talked about the test we were about to take. professor matthew was walking around the class to give everyone the papers.

“if i catch you talking, i will invalidate your test.” i let out a loud sigh as he placed the paper infront of me, remembering me of the last time that i accidentally spoke during an exam and it led me to get a zero. “yes sir.” i picked up my pencil from my pencil case and started to write my name.

a few hours felt like 10 minutes when my professor said that time was up. i looked down at my test for it not to be completed. “fuck.” i mumbled under my breath. my fingers flipped through the pages to see how many questions i had left. many students had started to walk down to the professors desk to turn it in, soon i was the last student in the class.

“ms. stallord, i said time was up.” he spoke, walking up to my desk. i groan and slouch into my chair. “sir, please is it okay if i finish this after school? i cant afford to fail.” i pout as i looked up at him, his arms crossed with his sleeves rolled up. the brunette shook his head, trying to think of something.

“lets do this.” matt said as he grabbed the packet of paper and walked back to his desk, signaling for me to follow him. i swallowed the lump in my throat while walking close enough to him that i could smell his cologne.

i watched him sit down in his desk and taking out what i assumed was the packet with the answers. the classroom remained quiet for a few minutes, the brunette probably grading what i had done. “C-“ he finally spoke up. i roll my eyes and let out a frustrated whine. “seriously??” matt took off his glasses, “its still passing.” he shrugged. i bit my bottom lip and let it bounce back as i thought. “is there anything i can do at all for extra credit?” i asked, tilting my head to the left and taking a seat next to his desk matt let his glasses on top of his head and pressed his fingers against his mouth. “hmmm, not that i know of, i dont think there is sweetheart.” he replied calmly. my heart skipped a beat as he called me sweetheart in such a way. “i would do anything sir. i cant have my mom know i got a C- on this exam.” i was practically begging at this point. “you got that grade because you didn’t finish the test, probably because you were looking at me. that correct?” he asked me, his head tilting to the side with a cocky smirk spread on his lips. i blinked rapidly when i heard what he had said. but to make it worse, he wasn’t lying. i wasn’t even looking, i was staring. “s-sorry what sir?” i muttered quickly. “you really don’t think i notice ms. stallord?” he chuckled a little bit. i stayed quiet, my cheeks a pink hue.

“now that i pointed it out, you stay silent huh?” matthew stated, his eyebrow raised ever so slightly. “no thats not it um.” i spoke quietly. “i don’t really mean to stare its just that uhm. you are very attractive.. sir.” the sentences left my mouth in a sheepish shaky tone. he laughed quietly to my embarrassment. “dont worry about it. i dont mind.” the brunette said, adjusting his seat so he was closer to me now. god i wanted to kiss him so bad. “o-oh okay, im glad sir.” i replied quietly, my eyes flickering to his lips and my tongue licking my lips to rehydrate them. “please, call me matt.” he mumbled, looking at my eyes then my lips. i listened to my gut and leaned in for a kiss, surprisingly getting one from him back.

my eyes fluttered shut, my heart pounding against my chest as my hands found their way to his loose brunette locks that i messed with slightly. matt nibbled on my bottom lip before sliding his tongue into my mouth. i whined softly, now somehow getting ontop of his lap. my legs were now wrapped around his hips and my hands rested on his shoulders. goosebumps covered each piece of skin matt had been touching. i felt one of his hands slide underneath my shirt, i shivered slightly at how cold his hand actually was.

his mouth detached from mine and he started to leave wet open mouthed kisses along my jawline and neck. small moans come out of my mouth as he did so, my hand trailed up to his head and i started to scratch his scalp gently. “will this make up the C-, sir?” i asked in an innocent tone as i looked down at him. “if you kneel for me, perhaps.” matt whispered, letting go of my hips and resting his hands back on the arm rests. i smirked with an obedient nod as i slid off of his lap and in between his legs. i kneeled in between his clothed thighs, my hands sliding up and down on them softly. i unbuckled his belt and pulled his pants down and threw them somewhere in the classroom.

matt was left in his light grey boxers that had a small dark stain from his pre-cum on them. my fingers hooked around the waistband of his boxers and i pulled them down. his 7.4in slapped my face lightly as soon as i took off his boxers.

my mouth began to practically drool as soon as i saw him fully. i wrapped my cold palm around his base firmly and stroked him slowly. i made sure to make my thumb slide right through his slit.

“fuckk.” he whined, looking down at me. i looked up at him with innocent doe eyes as my hand began to stroke him up and down a bit more quicker now. i kissed his tip before taking him entirely in my mouth.

i felt his hand turn down to my hair, he grasped it and made it into a makeshift ponytail. my tongue slid over the head of his cock as i bopped my head up and down. i heard a string of swears pouring out of matt’s name while he began to thrust his ups upward. “fuck fuck yes yes.” the brunette groaned out. he started to twitch in my mouth which told me that he was getting close. soon enough, he spewed his cum down my throat. his cock left my mouth with a wet pop. i rubbed off any of his white liquid that was on my mouth. “you did so well.” he purred, i kissed his tip one last time and earning a small whine from him.

i stood back up and before i could say anything, he grabbed me and sat me down on his lap. “oh princess im not done with you.” the brunette said, placing his hands on my hips. my core was begging for any sort of friction.

matt’s hand slid underneath my skirt, his thumb rubbed over my clothed clit gently. a small whine left my lips as i tried to balance myself by having my hands on his shoulders. he hooked his slender fingers on my panties and he pushed them to the side. “your so wet already sweetheart.” he cooed, his fingers tracing my entrance. “dont tease.” i begged with my eyes fixating onto his face. matt tilted his head to the side as he slowly shoved his digits inside of my cunt.

his fingers slid easily in and out of me, they curled against my g-spot occasionally. i bit my bottom lip to hold back my small whimpers as i clenched around him. “oh shit.” i breathed out, my head leaning back slightly. matt thrusted his fingers in and out while the familiar knot started to form in my stomach. his slender digits continued to stab my pussy, but before i could finish on them he slid them out. “why’d you stop?” i pout with a small whimper. “not letting you finish just yet sweetheart.” matt spoke softly as he aligned his tip with my cunt.

before anything else, he slowly thrusted into me. as soon as he was inside of me, i made sure to squeeze around him perfectly. “tell me when i can move.” the brunette whispered so i could get a chance to adjust to his size. matt’s finger tips grazed my hips gently, his eyes fixated on my face. “o-okay.” a shaky moan left my lips. with no hesitation, he started to thrust in and out of me.

i leaned my head back when his tip kissed my sweet spot within every thrust. matt rested his hands against my hips a bit more roughly as he rutted his hips into mine. god he was so deep inside of me. i guess i was being a little bit too loud that caused matt to shove two of his fingers down my throat. “gotta be quiet baby.” he whispered, still plunging himself into my wet core. i coated his digits with my salvia, using the opportunity to do so. “m’so close sir.” i whine out when matt slid his fingers out of my mouth. his tip stabbed my cervix a few more times before the knot in my stomach started to form again. i felt him twitching inside of me, letting me know that he was about to cum again. “cum for me sweetheart.” he moaned out as his hips began to stutter into mine.

after a few more thrusts, i came all over his cock. it wasn’t too long before matt came deep inside of me ether. he fucked me through our high before he pulled himself out. “so, can i get an A+ now?” i asked with a small smirk spread on my face. “yes, you can sweetheart.”

. . . . .

a/n part 2: i started writing this at 4am and i finished at 4pm 😭😭 sorry if this isnt that good i hate writing fics publicly 😕

[javierpena-inatacvest]

Chapter 6: Dinosaurs, Dates and Diners, Oh My!

Summary: After a long last week, Javi takes you out to celebrate the end of the school year. Even when things don't go according to his plans, you're convinced you've never been on a better date.

Warnings: SMUT (18+), unprotected P in V sex (wrap it up, y'all), phone sex, oral (f receiving), vaginal fingering, creampie, masturbation (m and f), mentions of panic/anxiety, mentions of food/eating, subpar Spanish (my 4 years of high school Spanish don't take up a lot of space in my brain, I apologize) Javi being our consent king, Javi caring so much about you it physically hurts me

Word Count: 14.1K (I didn't realize how long this was until I finished)

A/N: YOU GUYS. When I started doing this, I just wanted to write for fun and posted thinking that no one would read this, let alone be invested in it 🥺 Y'all are so sweet, thank you so much!! This was another fun chapter to write, I'm thinking I have some good ideas about what these two are up to next!!

Series Masterlist Next Chapter Previous Chapter

Javier Peña had always been a light sleeper. Even as a kid, he would wake up to the sound of a stray footstep wandering through his home, or the wind rustling the tree outside his bedroom window. Once he got to Colombia, it was like he never slept at all. Since coming home, his dreams were plagued with the violent images of his past, causing him to thrash and toss in his sleep, waking up sweaty and breathless. But last night, he slept next to you. Your warmth and presence draped over him provided a sense of comfort he hadn’t felt in years. For the first time he could remember since coming back, Javi actually slept. When he woke up Monday morning to the sound of his alarm, he so desperately wished to have rolled over and found you, to wrap himself around you and ground himself. To smell the warm and fruity scent of your hair, to kiss your soft skin, to take in every detail about how your body seemed to impossibly take up every corner of the bed, despite your small stature. This morning, Javi had to settle for the emptiness of his childhood bedroom, begrudgingly preparing himself for the very long 4 days ahead of him until he could see you again. 

He got out of bed, following his usual routine of brushing his teeth, shaving and showering, the emptiness of his bathroom making him wish you were there to serenade him with your cute sing-alongs as you both got ready. 

After he was dressed, he headed out into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee and sit on the back porch, overlooking their acres of farmland and the impending sunrise. During Javi’s time away, Chucho had hired help at the ranch, now relieving Javi of having to get up at some God awful hour to feed animals or move cows from one pasture to another. Even in his older age, it didn’t stop his father from getting up every morning at 4:25 AM to make sure things stayed running smoothly on the ranch. Normally, he and his father’s morning schedules didn’t overlap, sometimes getting the occasional good morning in passing as they headed to their prospective jobs. This morning, Javi had to check his watch to make sure he wasn’t late for work, realizing his Dad had finished his morning chores almost a half hour early. He must have seen that Javi’s car finally made its way back to the driveway when he got up. Javi knew his dad would confront him about the weekend at some point, he just didn’t think it was going to be at 6:27 this morning. 

Chucho walked up the steps of the back porch, sitting down next to Javi on the top step. “Morning, Pops.” Javi took a sip of his coffee. 

“Glad to see you made it back. I was getting close to sending a search party out for you, Hijo.” He chuckled, seeing that Javi’s face was already starting to get red. “Seems like it must have been a good weekend then, huh?” 

“Yeah, it was uh, it was a really good weekend.” 

“Good. I’m glad, son. The way I watched you smile on Saturday… it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you like that.” 

“Yeah. She makes me really happy, Pop.” He reached down for another sip of his coffee, Chucho keeping quiet, in hopes to get more out of him. “I uh, I asked her to be my girlfriend. I know it seems really fast but… I don’t know, Dad. There’s something about her. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about anyone before.” 

Chucho placed his hand on Javi’s shoulder. “Sometimes Mijo, you just know.” Javi shifted his gaze from his reflection in his coffee mug to the soft smile of his father. In that moment, it was like a weight had been lifted off of Javi’s shoulders. He couldn’t quite describe what it was. Was it the fact that he could tell how happy his dad was for him? That he had found someone who liked him for who he was? That it wasn’t too late to prove he deserved the life he wanted before he left for Colombia all those years ago? 

“Thanks, Pops. She’s special.” 

“I can tell she is, Javier. I’d love to meet her sometime.” 

“She already told me she wants to come and meet the animals. Tried to buy a bag of carrots when we went grocery shopping so she could make sure the horses liked her.” They both laughed to themselves. 

“That was how I got su mamá to come to the ranch for the first time. She told me I was fine, but los animales were the only reason she really wanted to come over. It all seemed to work out okay.” Chucho patted Javier on the shoulder, before grunting as he stood up. “You going to see her again soon?” 

“Thursday. Taking her out to celebrate her last day of school.” 

Chucho smilied. “Ah, yes. No me hables hasta los niños estan libres. (Don't talk to me until the children are free). I’m happy for you, Javier. All me and your mamá ever wanted for you was that.” 

Chucho huffed as he took a step on to the deck and walked his way into the house. Javi smiled to himself, repeating his fathers words in his head. 

Sometimes, you just know. 

You knew Monday was going to suck. It was inevitable. It had been so long since you had slept in the same bed with someone, after just one night of being with Javi, you found yourself tossing and turning, craving his body in your bed. To top off your not so great night’s sleep, you realized you had forgotten to set your alarm, made no food for your lunch, and hadn’t set your coffee to brew for when you woke up. Scrambling, you started a pot and threw whatever lunch-like items you could find into your lunch box, hoping that maybe you would have the appetite for one of them later. Not having enough time to shower, you threw your hair up in a bun, found a dress (since it was easier than having to pick out a top and bottoms), grabbed your things and raced down to your car. Thankfully, there wasn’t too much you had to prep when you got in- there wasn’t planned since it was the last week of school. But, you did have to have your room packed for summer cleaning before Thursday. You were planning on doing the majority of it on Thursday afternoon since the kids had a half day in the morning, but knowing you had plans with a very handsome someone later on that night, you were trying to get as much done as possible. 

Just as you assumed, your room was in absolute chaos as your students entered, like they could feel it in their bones that summer was almost here. You couldn’t have been more thankful to have music and gym this morning, sending the kids on their way shortly after they arrived, leaving you alone again with the sweet sound of silence in your room. Well, at least for a few minutes. 

Knock, knock, knock 

You had closed your door on purpose, hoping it would give the hint that you didn’t want people to come talk to you during your planning time, but the door meant absolutely nothing to the 3 ladies peeking in through your window, frantically ushering you to come open it for them. You should have known it was going to happen. 

“Hola, mijaaaaaaa.” Estelle greeting you with a smirking smile. The other two ladies snickered behind her. 

“Hi, you guys.” You responded as they made yourself at home at the large table you had at the front of your room. 

“Sooooo, how was the rest of your weekend?” Linda asked, raising her eyebrows at you. 

“It was good.” You responded, at least trying to make them work a little harder before you shared your news with them. 

“Cut to the chase, Mija. What happened with you and Javier?! We are dying to know. I tried to call, but Chucho is too good of a man to gossip with us, so we have been left high and dry since Saturday night.” Of course Maria would have no problem not beating around the bush to get the answers they needed. 

“We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out together. He offered to run errands with me on Sunday and we watched a movie before he left to go home last night. We had a really good time.” 

“How good of a time? There’s a very large gap between you leaving on Saturday and going shopping on Sunday.” Maria was invested in you two like a weeknight telenovela. The other two ladies shot her glaring looks, knowing she was the only one bold enough to ask the question. 

“Maria! Considering we’re inside an elementary school right now, I’m keeping it PG. We had a lot of fun, that’s all I will say.” 

“Fine, fine, fine.” 

You paused for a moment, blushing before dropping the next bit of information. “He um, he asked me to be his girlfriend too.” 

You blushed as the women shrieked in delight at the news. “No puedo creerlo!” (I can’t believe it) Estelle screeched. “Digame (tell me), how did it happen?” 

You knew they were about to have a field day with your answer. “Well, um, it actually kind of happened because of Lorriane.” 

Their faces went stone cold. They began whispering to each other in frantic Spanish. 

“Esa mujer está un punta loco…” (That woman is a crazy bitch…)

“Yo se, Maria, dèjala hablar!” (I know Maria, let the girl talk!) 

“Quiero saber qué pasó, shhh!” (I want to know what happened, shhh!) 

“Well, um, we were out shopping for a birthday present for my niece. Her and her family ended up being in front of us in line when we went to check out and she realized Javi was behind her. She asked who I was and before I could answer for myself, he introduced me as his girlfriend. She’s um… something.” 

The women paused before saying anything else. 

“Javi told me about what happened with them, don’t worry.” 

“If she said anything to you, mija, don’t let it bother you. That woman is ruthless.” 

“I know, I kinda picked that up after talking to her.” You grimaced your face. “But I guess I owe her a thank you because it really speeded up the whole him asking me out thing!” The ladies smiled again, recognizing your genuine happiness when talking about Javi. 

“We are so happy for you, mija. Really, you both deserve each other.” Linda chimed in. 

“So, are you going to see him again soon?” Estelle asked, prodding for more information. 

“Not until Thursday. He’s taking me out to celebrate the last day of school, we’re going to dinner and a movie.” 

The ladies swooned. “So sweet mjia. He’s already doing more for you than mí marido (husband) has ever done for me on the last day of school. He just looks at me and tells me he’s glad I’m not grumpy anymore.” 

“Yeah, it was really sweet of him. I’m really excited for it.” 

“Congrats, sweetheart. We really are so happy for you.” 

“Don’t think you’re escaping until August to give us an update. We know Chucho, his papá, will keep us up to speed.” Maria winked as the ladies started to get up out of their seats. “Well now that we know you have a busy day coming up, we’ll let you get back to packing.”

The ladies were almost out the door when Maria popped her head back in. “You tell Javi I’ll make good on my promise to him. He breaks your heart, I will run him over with his father’s tractor.” You snorted, picturing the tiny woman rage driving a heavy piece of machinery.  

“I wouldn’t put it past you Maria.” 

She smiled as she closed the door behind her. You stared around the contents of your room before picking up another box. You better pick up your packing speed. 

You practically collapsed as you opened the door to your apartment. Today had been a LONG day. You left for work at 7:00 AM, and were now finally returning home to your apartment at 7:50 PM. Whoever decided to cram every single end of the year activity into the last week of school needed to be seriously evaluated. Yesterday was the annual teachers vs. 5th graders kickball game as a way to celebrate before they were off to middle school, and tonight was the school music concert. The thought of having to go to the Alma Pierce Carnival tomorrow made you want to cry in exhaustion. Only two more days until Thursday. 

You disregarded your usual routine of neatly putting all of your things in their rightful home before doing anything else, opting to drop everything by the door in a pile and crawl your way to take a shower. Stripping your clothes and throwing them in the hamper, you turned on the shower and cranked up the heat. Waiting for the water to warm, you looked at Javi’s toothbrush, still sitting next to yours in the cup on your sink. Now finally having a second for your brain to turn off of school mode, the sight of Javi’s toothbrush flooded you with three different feelings all at once. 

You missed him like crazy 

You couldn’t wait to see what he had planned for Thursday 

You were hornier than a middle school boy on the brink of puberty 

After going so long without sex (at most, it had been 5 times in the past 2 plus years), you had almost written it off as an afterthought. That was until Saturday, when Javier Peña causally decided to blow your mind with the best sex of your entire life, on repeat. As you stepped into the shower, you pictured where Javi stood only a few days ago, his tanned, muscular, very naked body soaping you up in your favorite body wash. You spent the rest of your shower wishing he was the one scrubbing the shampoo and conditioner into your hair, imagining his hands would eventually travel out of your hair to somewhere else. 

You wrapped yourself up in your towel after emerging out of the shower, the sight of his toothbrush once again only making the ache between your legs more and more present. God, how bad did you have it that even his freakin’ toothbrush was making you horny?! Stupid magic hands and magic dick. 

As you went into your bedroom, you shuffled through the very back of your nightstand. Patting your hand around the back right corner you found what you were looking for.  Please let this thing be charged, it hasn’t even been used in god knows how long, you hoped, pulling the small bullet vibrator out of your drawer. Holding down the power button, you were relieved to hear the low hum vibrating in your hand. You laid down on your bed, head propped up on the pillows as you brought the vibrator between your legs. Running it up and down your clit, you could feel how wet you already were, wishing Javi was the one rubbing his thumb against your sensitive nerves, his thick fingers pressing inside you as- 

Ringggggg, ringggggg, ringggggg 

The phone ringing startled you so badly, you practically flung your vibrator across the room. Breathing heavily, you wrapped yourself back up in your towel and ran to the phone. Considering you and your mom always talked on Wednesdays and your brothers didn’t call unless you called them, it left one probable answer of who it could be. You tried to compose yourself as the phone rang a few more times, beet red and sweating from embarrassment that the person probably calling you was the one you were just thinking about with a vibrator between your legs. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey, Osita.” The low, sweet voice made your heart sing. 

“It’s good to hear your voice again. I missed you.” 

“Missed yours too. Sorry you didn’t call yesterday, Pops needed extra help after I got home from work yesterday. Are- are you okay?” 

“Me? Yeah, why?” You obviously weren’t doing a very good job of hiding how flustered you were. 

“You just… you sound like you’re out of breath?” 

“Oh, yeah, I um, I just got out of the shower.” It wasn’t a lie.

“You’re out of breath from getting out of the shower?” The thought of you wet and naked made Javi’s cock twitch. 

“No, well, um, not exactly.” You were glad Javi couldn’t see you from the other end of the phone as you facepalmed yourself, jumbling over your words. 

“What’s goin’ on Osita?” Javi spoke with a sneaking suspicion. He didn’t want to assume what he was thinking, but given what he had done to relieve himself in his shower earlier this morning, he couldn’t help but hope you had been just as riled up as he was. 

You let out an audible sigh. Before you could try and come up with an answer, Javi spoke again. 

“Osita, it’s okay. You can tell me.” You couldn’t even see him, but even picturing his sweet, brown, puppy dog eyes was enough to make you spill your secrets in an instant. God, could this man read your mind?! 

“Well, I don’t know, it’s dumb. I- I was in the shower and I was thinking about Sunday morning.” 

“And?” You could practically hear his smirk through the phone. 

“And I was thinking about you, in there, with me. How much I wished you were there” 

Javi had to bite down on his lip from letting out an audible groan. “I wish I was there too, baby. What else were you thinking about?” 

“How much I missed your hands. How much I wished they were touching me.” 

Bingo. There it was.

Javi dipped another toe into the water, getting the green light on his suspicions. “Yeah? Wished I was touching you? Were you touching yourself, baby? Thinking about me?” 

Your face was so flushed. You were already mentally making space on your gravestone for “Magic, sexy words” under dick and hands. “Yeah, I was.” You paused for a moment, feeling completely un-confident in yourself. “Sorry, this is so embarrassing, I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” 

“Baby, it’s not embarrassing, I promise. It’s fucking sexy, is what it is. I can’t stop thinking about this weekend either, Osita. Came so hard this morning thinking about you sucking my dick in the shower. Fuck, I wish it would have been you instead of my fuckin’ hand.” 

Oh shit. Were you about to do this?  

“Javi, I- fuck, I’ve never done this before, like, had phone sex.” The innocence in your voice had him hard as a rock. He knew for a fact after this weekend, you were not shy about sex. Fuck, you were the one that came on to him first. But the thought of you sitting in your bed, hand between your legs picturing him? That pushed him over the edge. 

“It’s okay, baby, we don’t have to if you-“ 

“No, I do. Fuck, I’m so horny for you.” 

“ Dirty fuckin’ girl. Take off your clothes, baby.” 

“Lucky for you, I’m fresh out the shower and already not wearing any.” Your little giggle on the other end had him palming at his jeans. He quickly got up to double check his door was locked, thanking whatever higher power was up there that his dad was still out working. 

“Go lie down on your bed for me.” Grabbing your phone, you brought it to your room, and sat propped up against your pillows. 

“O-Okay, now what?” He could tell you were still nervous, a stark contrast from the confident and bold woman he usually saw.

“Relax, baby. It’s okay. I’ll take care of you. You trust me?” 

“Yeah. I do.” He knew you meant it. 

“Okay, hermosa. Tell me how you’d want me baby. Tell me what you’d want me to do to you if I was there.” The low rasp of his voice through the phone had you shuttering. 

“Fuck. I’d want you to kiss down my neck. Kiss every fucking inch of me.” The words began to spill out of you. “I’d want you to touch me. Put your fingers in me. Your hands are so big, they feel so good.” 

“Touch yourself, Osita. Feel how fucking wet you are for me.” You set the phone next to you, pressing the speaker button, freeing both your hands. Slowly, you dipped a finger inside you, diving in and out of your entrance, the other hand slowly rubbing over your clit. It felt like nothing compared to Javi’s hands, slowly adding a second finger inside you to imitate the pleasure he had given you this weekend. He could hear your soft moans through the other end of the phone, causing him to undo his belt, and slide his pants down far enough he could free his aching cock, already hard from your sounds alone. 

“It feels so good, Javi. Fuck I wish it was you inside me.” 

He spit on his hand as he began stroking himself, nestling his phone between his chin and his shoulder. His breathy groans traveled through the phone. 

“You touching yourself too?” 

“Fuck, hermosa. The thought of you touching yourself has me so fucking hard. Yeah, baby, I am.” 

“I wish I could suck your dick like I did on Sunday. You tasted so good, loved feeling you down my throat.” 

“Wish I could taste you too. Pussy tastes so fucking sweet. Fuck, I’d spend hours in between your legs making you scream my name as many times as I could.” 

That was an offer you would definitely take him up on. 

The pace of both your hands became more rapid, both of you so worked up from your conversation. 

“Fuck. Javi, I want you to fuck me so bad. Your dick feels so good.” 

“Want me to fuck you, hermosa? Want me to bend you over, fuck you over your dresser so you can watch in your mirror how fuckin’ gorgeous you are when I make you come? Watch your pretty face when I fuck you full of me?” 

Yes please. 

Javi’s words had you losing your mind, the rubbing of your clit getting faster and faster, the wet  sounds of your fingers in and out of your pussy filling the room. If you weren’t close before, the image that Javi had just planted in your head had you right on the edge.

“Javi- holy shit, fuck fuck, baby, I’m gonna-” the whimpers of your orgasm had Javi groaning, his hand wrapping tighter around his cock, imagining it was your cunt clenching down on him as you came. 

“Such a good fucking girl, Osita. Fuck baby, I’m gonna come too.” Over your panting, you heard Javi muttering your name as he climaxed, the both of you breathing heavily. 

There was silence for a few moments before you spoke. 

“Javi, holy shit.” You laughed, shocked and thrilled by what you two had just done. 

“Jesus Christ, Osita, I was just trying to call and ask about Thursday but this was a lot fucking better.” His voice still breathy, coming down from his high. 

“Well I still wanna talk about Thursday, it’s the only thing getting me through this week, although this was helpful, to say the least.” 

“Believe me, me too. Lemme just clean myself up really quick. Be right back.” 

There was a grin across your face so wide, it hurt your cheeks. You waited patiently on the other end, Javi quickly coming back. 

“You still there, Osita?”  

“Yes sir.” You replied in an obnoxious voice. 

“Weirdo.” 

“Oh shhh, you love it.” 

Fuck. There it was again. That stupid word. He knew you didn’t mean anything by it right? Did you mean anything by it? Even if you did, there’s no way in hell you’d admit that to yourself so soon. Right? You frantically responded before he could say anything. 

“Anyways, sorry for my incredibly horny tangent, what are you thinking for Thursday?” 

“All good, hermosa, well worth it. What time are you done with work on Thursday?” 

“I’ll probably be home at 4:15? The kids are only there in the morning so I just have to finish packing up my room and then I can go!” 

“Can I pick you up around 5:30? I was gonna make dinner reservations at 6:00.” 

“Do I get to ask what dinner is?” 

“You don’t do well with surprises, do you?” He chuckled. 

“How’d you guess?” 

“Just had a feeling. If you really want to know, I’ll tell you.” 

“No, I won’t ruin the surprise, that’s no fun. I was gonna let you have full reign on the movie we go see. You made a fantastic pick on Sunday, figured it would be fun for you to pick again.” 

“Do you want that to be a surprise too?” 

“Absolutely. I trust you.” He smiled, the phrase you had already used twice making his heart skip a beat. There was a brief pause before he spoke again, his voice a little more nervous than before. 

“Is it uh, okay if I bring stuff to spend the night? That way I can just go in to work from your place?” 

You bit down on your lip to try and contain your excitement. “I would be disappointed if you didn’t.” 

“Me too.” In the background of Javi’s phone, you could hear a faint voice in the distance yelling out to him. Holding his hand over the receiver, you heard him faintly yell “What, Pops? I’m on the phone.” Followed by a muffled, “stupid fucking horse…” 

“Hey Osita?” His voice once again full volume, trying to restrain his annoyance. “I’m really sorry, I have to go. My dad just came in and told me one of the horses got out again and it's a two man job to wrangle him back in.” 

“It’s okay, have fun horse wrangling, I hope he isn’t too much of a pain in the butt.” You giggled, imagining how grumpy Javi would look trying to fight with this horse. 

“Símon is the biggest pain in the ass I’ve ever met.” 

“Glad someone else gets to take the title besides me. I’ll make sure to give him extra carrots when I meet him.” 

“Won’t do you any good, bastard hates everyone. I’ll see you on Thursday, Osita.” 

“Bye Javi, see you on Thursday.” 

“Bye.” 

The line on the other end clicked, leaving you laying on your bed and smiling at your ceiling. You rolled over, now facing the dresser and mirror on the other side of your room, the image of Javi’s filthy words from earlier seeping into your brain. You would never look at your dresser the same. Thursday couldn’t come fast enough. 

Javi had never really been nervous when it came to women. Even from a young age, he was confident in himself and his abilities to flirt, pick up girls, and show them a good time. Hell, half his reputation from his time in the DEA was trying to put the moves on any halfway decent looking woman as a way to fight the tension and stress of his job. Javier Peña knew he had a way with women. What absolutely terrified him, was trying to date one. Regretfully, Javi didn’t have enough fingers or toes to count how many women he had slept with over the years. He could, however, count how many women he had dated on one hand, and only needed 2 fingers. Lorraine Doogan, and you. He’d taken women on dates- the occasional movie, dinner, drinks at the bar, but the idea of dating someone with the hope to keep them around for as long as he could? That scared the shit out of him. 

Javi had been a nervous mess all of Thursday. He called to double check your reservation time at dinner, made sure he had an outfit to change into in his car, and spent way longer than usual getting ready this morning. The thing was, Javi knew you liked him. Fuck, you were his girlfriend. But this wasn’t hanging out at your apartment like you had done this weekend, he wanted to do something special for you to show how much he really cared.

Around 12:30, he found his co-workers sitting around their desks chatting and eating lunch when Javi stopped by, taking a break from his morning of doing nothing, too distracted by tonight to focus. 

“Hey, just so you idiots know, I gotta head out early today. Carter, can you finish up that Guadalajara report and give it to Morris before you leave?” Javi came out of his office to see Agent Miller and Carter staring at him with confusion, their mouths still half full of food. Javi never once had left early in the time that he had worked there. If anything, he was there after everyone had left. Ever since last week, Carter and Miller had noticed that Javier had been in a surprisingly better mood than normal. They had seen him smile, not once but multiple times, and had even said good morning to both of them, several days in a row. 

“Uh, yeah, sure Peña. Where ya going? Gotta hot date?” Carter meant it as a joke, but Javi’s lack of witty response and embarrassment on his face left him with an open door to ask the question.

 “Holy shit, you gotta date don’t you?!” 

Javi didn’t say anything, just ran his hand over the bridge of his nose. 

“He’s gotta fuckin’ date tonight, Carter!” Miller responded, outstretching his hand to high-five Javi. “My man!” Javi glared at the hand held high towards him before Miller quickly got the hint to get it out of his face. 

Javi let out a deep breath. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell people about you. He really did. He was so happy you were his. He just knew that these two buffoons were about to give him ten pounds of shit when they found out you were the person he was going on a date with. “Yeah, I’m going on a fucking date, okay? Happy?” 

“Shit, no wonder you’ve been in such a good mood for the past week, Peña. Who is it? How’d you meet her?” Carter stretched back in his chair, completely invested in any information Javi was willing to share. More silence. Javi put his hands on his hips and let out another deep breath. Before he could get out any words, it was like the gears had been turning and a lightbulb had gone off in Miller’s brain, filling him with absolute glee. 

“Carter… you said Peña’s been in a good mood for what now, a week?” Miller smirked. 

“Yeah, why?” Clearly, he was not catching on. 

“How long ago did he go in to do the presentation at the elementary school?” Miller’s grin widening, hoping it wouldn’t take Carter too much longer for him to understand his question. 

“Fuck, I don’t know, like a week ago-” He paused before his face lit up, even giddier than Miller’s. “OH SHIT. IT’S THE HOT TEACHER ISN’T IT?! YOU LUCKY SON OF A BITCH.” Miller and Carter were now playfully swatting at each other in shock over the news. 

There was no point in trying to deny it. Javi figured he might as well bite the bullet on this one. 

“Yeah, it is. Again, she’s got a fuckin’ name okay?” 

“I can’t believe it. Damn, she must really like you, Peña. The other teachers practically chased us away when we went to try and talk to her.” While he hated the thought of his idiot co-workers harassing you week after week, it did fill him with a little pride knowing he was the only one you were ever interested in. 

“You dirty dog. This the first time you’re seeing her since then?” 

Javi met every question with more silence. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to disclose any information to them, but their persistence in getting you to Alma Pierce last Wednesday was the reason you found yourself in this situation. 

“No way. You’ve already seen her already, haven’t you? And she still wants to see you again? Damn. Good for you, Peña.” 

“So what are you two doing for this date tonight? Besides hopefully getting laid?” Carter and Miller high-fived each other. 

Was that part of Javi’s plan tonight? Absolutely. He wanted to fuck you until you couldn’t walk, and once he was done, he wanted to do it again. But the jealous and possessive part of his brain lit up hearing other people talk about you in that way. 

“Don’t fucking talk about her like that or I will snap both your fucking necks, understood?” Javi’s voice was stern and commanding, making Carter and Miller rapidly nod their heads in unison, knowing that if Javi really wanted to, he would. 

“Understood man.” 

“Yeah, sorry.” 

The two men stared sheepishly at each other. Javi took another deep breath before composing himself and focusing his gaze back on Carter. 

“Guadalajara report on Morris’s desk by the time I get in tomorrow, got it?” 

“Will do, boss.” Carter barely made eye contact with him. Javi nodded before turning around, heading back into his office and closing the door. 

Peeking his head around the corner to make sure Javi’s door was all the way shut, Miller leaned back over to Carter for one last remark. 

“They’ve gotta be fucking already, right?” 

“Oh yeah. That’s the face of a man who’s happy and gettin’ laid.” 

“Lucky bastard.” 

“You can say that again.” 

You were shocked at how smoothly your Thursday was going. Your class had lots of fun at their class party, showering you with plenty of hugs and goodbyes on their last day. With your efficiency and determination to pack up your classroom, everything was labeled and put away by 2:45, leaving you with plenty of time to say goodbye to your co-workers before heading out early. 

Remembering Saturday’s disaster of trying to pick out an outfit, you had spent the whole week trying on potential choices to not leave yourself a frantic mess today. You had settled on a peach colored dress with small white flowers, having a feeling that Javi would like it just as much as the one you wore on Saturday. You had plenty of time to get ready, taking more time than usual to do your hair and makeup and try on your outfit one last time. By the time you were all ready to go, it still wasn’t even 5 yet, leaving you with enough time to do a brief clean (even though you had made your apartment spotless enough it would have passed a health inspection test) and turn on SportsCenter for a little as you anxiously awaited Javi’s arrival.  

At 5:25, you heard a knock at your door, practically sprinting up off the couch to greet him. As you opened your door, his tall, handsome frame filled the doorway. He was in a navy blue button down, its short sleeves fitting deliciously over his biceps, with a pair of tight, dark washed jeans. In his hands, he held a bouquet of sunflowers, but looked like he was practically about to drop them when he saw you answer the door. 

“Osita, you look… beautiful.” His jaw was already half slack as his eyes ran their way up and down your frame, taking in every detail about you. 

“Thanks, Javi. You don’t look half bad yourself. You blushed as you tried to contain your grin. 

“These are for you.” He outstretched his hand, passing the bright yellow flowers over to you. 

“Phew, thank god, I was worried that you just wanted to carry them around all night for fun. Thank you, Javi. They’re beautiful.” Carefully placing them on your entryway table. You stared up at Javi, his lip darting around his bottom lip, practically undressing you with his eyes. You grabbed him by his shirt collar, pulling him through the doorway, your mouths meeting in an electric kiss. He reached down to grab behind your head, pulling you closer into him his tongue danced along your open mouth. God, you had missed him. The scent of his cologne and minty breath overwhelmed your senses, as you leaned further into him, his other arm wrapping around your waist as he reluctantly pulled back from your kiss. 

“Wow. Definitely missed that.” You smiled up at him, your heart pounding as you caught your breath. 

“Fuck, me too. I missed you, Osita.” His sweet brown eyes stared down at you, a smile growing under his mustache. 

This man had been in your presence for less than a minute, and you could already feel an ache growing between your legs. His kiss had you begging for more. 

“What time is it? You said our reservation is at 6:00, right?” You asked, glancing down at Javi’s watch as you bit down on your lip and reached up to give him a kiss on his neck. It was clear to both of you why you had asked the question. You knew how riled up you both were given the phone call you had just 2 days before, and having gone 5 days without him, you were really holding it together to not jump all over him.  

“Hermosa… Fuck. I can’t believe I’m gonna say this.” He took a step back from you, causing you to cross your arms and raise an eyebrow. “Baby, if we don’t leave your apartment now, we’re not fucking leaving. I meant what I said on the phone. Osita, I’ve spent every goddamn day this week thinking about this, but I really want to take you out to celebrate, you deserve it.” 

It took every ounce of you not to protest. He looked so good that you would have fucked him right there on the floor next to your shoe rack. But he was right, he had worked so hard to plan whatever you two were doing tonight. He cared about you. He wanted to make sure you knew that you were worth celebrating. No one had ever cared about you this much. 

“You’re really sweet, Jav. Thank you. Although with how fucking hot you look and the fact that you pretty much eye fucked me from the moment you walked through the door, this is about to be a a battle of iron wills, and right now my will power is about the strength of a limp noodle.” You both laughed, trying to regain your composure. Smirking, you looked at him to give him a proposition. 

“I bet you 5 dollars.” 

“You bet me 5 dollars, that what, Osita?” He chuckled, shaking his head at you. 

“I bet you 5 dollars that you break before I do. I don’t think you can make it through the night. Not with the way your eyes are still trying to undress me.” 

“You sure? You were the one practically crawling all over me as soon as I walked through the door.” He crossed his arms to mirror yours, enjoying the prospect of your competition. 

“I may be stubborn, but I got all the patience in the world, Peña. And I don’t like to lose.” You shrugged and winked at him, giving a playful raise of your eyebrows. 

You drove him absolutely fucking crazy. 

Leaning down, he pulled you in to kiss you again, even more intense than the one you had just shared. Your tongues and teeth clashed, making you moan between your connected mouths, before suddenly pulling away and grabbing his keys, dangling them in your breathless face. 

He looked at you with a devilish grin. “You’re on baby. You ready to go?” 

“What?! That’s not fair, you can’t just kiss me like that and expect me to function normally!” 

“Never said it wasn’t part of the rules. Two can play at this game.” He leaned back down into your ear, his mustache tickling your neck as the low rasp of his voice serenaded you. “Besides, Osita, like you said, you have all the patience in the world, right?” 

“Javier I don’t know your middle name Peña, I swear to God, you really are trying to kill me.” You both laughed as you grabbed your purse and began to put on your shoes. 

“Jesús. Javier Jesús Peña. 

Something about him saying his name made you smile. Maybe it’s because his name was yours. “Cute. Good to know, in case of emergencies, such as times like these. Alright, I’m ready, and I’m making space in my wallet to be 5 dollars richer tonight.” 

As Javi opened his passenger side car door for you, you basked in the warm familiarity of sitting next to him while he drove. While his car was already neat, you could tell he must have gone through and cleaned in since Sunday. After he backed out of your apartment’s parking lot and you two headed on your way, his free hand almost immediately found its way to the skin of your thigh exposed under your dress, giving it a slight squeeze before tracing his fingers up and down your leg. 

“Music?” He looked at you, smiling, reminiscing on your last drives’ sing a long. 

“You don’t just want to listen to the Grease Soundtrack on repeat every time we drive?” You giggled as you reached into his glove box, shuffling back through the CD’s, noticing a new one that definitely wasn’t there this weekend. You quickly pulled it out, showing it to Javi. 

“This one wasn’t here on Sunday?” You looked surprised by the Queen’s Greatest Hits disc you now had in your hand. 

“Oh yeah, well you said they were your favorite band. I don’t know a ton of music by them, but figured you may want to listen to them if we’re driving.” He tried to play it off casually. You didn’t need to know that he drove to not one, but two stores after work this week to find that CD for you. 

“Wait did you- Did you get this just for me?” Your surprise was so genuine. Not only did he care enough to even remember your favorite band, he went out and got you a CD so you could listen to it in his car while you drove together? You couldn’t have been more thankful to have been stopped at a red light as you leaned over the center console, grabbing the side of his face to pull him in for a kiss. You only released him as you watch your peripheral vision turn from red to green. You both pulled back with smiles on your faces, Javi putting an even tighter grasp around your leg. 

“Play it. You’re in charge of music tonight, Osita.” 

“Figured you needed to let me be in charge of at least something, huh?” You rolled your eyes and snickered under your breath as you pushed the CD in and pressed play, the beat of Another One Bites the Dust thumping through the speakers 

“This song is dedicated to you after you lose our bet tonight.” 

“You weren’t kidding when you said you don’t like to lose, huh Osita? 

“I will admit being overly competitive is one of my biggest character flaws. Growing up with 3 older brothers who all played sports will do that to ya. I always wanted to play with them, and they wouldn’t let me play unless I proved I was good enough, so instead of crying about it, I just practiced to try and make myself better than them.” 

Javi couldn’t have been less surprised. Given your stubbornness, there were few things he’d put past you.

 “Did you play any sports as a kid?” You asked curiously. 

“I did swimming and some baseball. Always liked swimming more. Parents would call me el pez. (fish) They would always tell me that they’d have to drag me out of the water whenever we went to the pool or beach. Swam in college a little too, but was never super serious about it. What about you? I’m gonna assume yes.” 

“My brothers played everything, so yes, I’ve pretty much tried every sport under the sun at some point. Hockey was always my favorite though.” 

“I’m gonna be real honest with you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hockey game in my entire life.” 

“That’s criminal. Well considering you’re from southern Texas, it makes sense that a game involving ice isn’t very popular. Did you know Texas has an NHL team?” 

“Wait, actually?” 

“Yeah, actually. I don’t think anyone in Texas knows you do. The Dallas Stars. They were actually pretty good this year. Lost in the first round of the playoffs like the Blackhawks did, so now my only hope is that the Red Wings lose but it physically hurts me to say that I think they’re gonna win it all this year.” 

Javi nodded, trying his best to follow along even though he had absolutely no idea what you were talking about. Embarrassed with your rambling, you quickly retracted. “Sorry, I know you don’t really care about any of that.” 

“You care about it, which means I’ll try my best to learn, Ostia.” 

Your eyes shifted up from your lap where they had been staring to meet Javi’s gaze, soft and genuine. It shouldn’t have surprised you, but the feeling of knowing he actually cared never ceased to amaze you.

“Okay. All you need to know for the sake of this conversation is Blackhawks- good, Red Wings- bad.” 

“Easy enough. I can remember that.” He winked at you before reaching to grab your hand and lock it with his. 

You spent the last few minutes of your car ride in a comforting silence, Queen quietly playing in the background as you watched the sky slowly melt into a pink and orange sunset. 

As you pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, you looked at the sign above the entrance reading “Andiamos on Main.” You’d never been here before, but you felt like the name sounded familiar from hearing your co-workers who had gone on anniversaries, birthday dinners or big events to celebrate. 

“Javi, this place is supposed to be really nice.” 

“I know.” 

“Like, people come here for birthdays and anniversaries and special things that only happen once a year.” 

“You only finish school once a year, too. You’re special to me, Osita. You deserve it.” 

“But I-"

“I’m not letting you argue with me on this one, baby. Please.” 

As much as you wanted to, how could you argue with his sweet face, staring at you with his pleading brown eyes? You would have been thankful for him to have gotten you sandwiches again, let alone take you somewhere nice and insist you deserve it. 

“Fine. Thank you, Javi. This is the nicest thing someone has done for me in a long time.” 

“You deserve it, Osita. I’ll keep saying it until you believe me.” 

He leaned over to give you a quick kiss before turning off the engine of the car and quickly unbuckling himself so he could walk around the car and open the passenger door for you. 

“Ready to eat?” 

“Javi, there will be very few times in life where that answer will be no.” 

When you walked into the restaurant, your suspicions were confirmed. This place was nice. The space was dimly lit with soft piano playing in the background, filled with other couples and large groups, all dressed nicely and casually chatting. You were surprised how busy the restaurant was as Javi took your hand to lead you through the small crowd in front of the hostess stand. 

“Hi, how can I help you two?” The woman at the front asked as you two approached her.

“Hi, I have a reservation at 6:00. Should be under Peña.” 

“Alright, let me just check real quick and then we’ll get you seated!” You watched as her fingers flicked through the notebook she had in front of her, a concerned look creeping up her face as she began to back track and flip through previous pages. 

“You said Peña at 6:00, tonight, correct?” 

“Mhhmm.” He nodded, also starting to look concerned by her confusion. 

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Peña, it looks like your reservation was for yesterday at 6:00 PM.” 

Javi may have looked worse than he did when you had run into Lorraine a few days ago. “Wait, I uh-, it should be for today. It’s for June 3rd? The 3rd at 6:00 PM?” 

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Peña. The 3rd was yesterday. Today is the 4th.” 

You could feel the panic shedding from his body. The hand that was holding yours now started to become sweaty. The look on Javi’s face was sheer terror. “No, today’s the 3rd? Today’s the 3rd, right?” He looked frantically back and forth between you and the hostess before she flipped her notebook around to face you both, accompanied by her digital watch. In scratch writing under June 3rd, sat “Peña, party of 2, 6:00 PM.” And on her watch read “Thursday, June 4th.” 

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me…”  he muttered himself underneath his breath, trying to keep his composure. “Are there any seats left? Anything at the bar, even?” Part of him already knew the answer, but was desperate to not give up yet. 

“Well, we have a corporate event tonight so it’s extra busy. Right now there’s at least a 2 hour wait, and that’s being generous, and no seating at the bar. Again, so sorry for the confusion.” 

He stood frozen in shock. He wanted to scream at himself. How could he have fucked this up? The guilt and panic flooded over him, leaving him speechless. He tried so hard to rebuttal- think of something, ANYTHING. Stuck in his chaotic train of thought, he felt your hand rub over his arm and heard your sweet voice. 

“That’s okay! Thank you for checking! Mistakes happen, not a big deal at all. Come on, Jav, let’s go!” This time, you were the one leading him back through the crowd, him, following you helplessly, trying to think of anything to say. As you finally exited through the doors, the golden sunset shining down into the parking lot, Javi grabbed down tightly on your hand, stopping in his tracks. 

“Fuck, Osita. Fuck, I’m so sorry, I can’t believe I fucked this up. I could have fucking swore today was the 3rd. I’m such a fucking idiot I-“ 

“Javi.” 

He stopped. He wasn’t sure what to expect. Were you mad? Angry? Going to agree with him and tell him that he was a fucking idiot? He wouldn’t have blamed you if you did. 

“Do you know how many times I took my class to gym on the wrong day when I first started at Alma Pierce?” 

He looked at you blankly. It was almost like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

“A lot. It took me a month and a half. I could have sworn they went to gym every Monday from 2:00-3:00, and at 1:55 every Monday, I would March them down to the gym for Mr. Luíz to tell me I had gym tomorrow from 2:00-3:00. It literally took me having to write it on my hand each Monday- don’t go to gym! For me to finally remember. It’s okay, Javi. I know you’re gonna beat yourself up about this. Please, please don’t. The fact that you even wanted to do something this nice for me is more than enough. I don’t care where we go, if I get to spend time with you, then I’m happy.”  

If I’m with you, then I’m happy. The words danced around his brain, trying to make sure he was comprehending what he had just heard. He had completely fucked up your plans and not only did you not care, you were happy? He was the reason you were happy? That was a sentence he was positive he had never heard before. 

You stepped into him, wrapping your arms around his waist as you gazed into his eyes, still pooling with panic. “I like you, Javi. I like you a lot. You could have taken me to go get hot dogs from the gas station and I would have been excited. Maybe not excited for what they would have done to me after I ate them, but if I got to do it with you, I wouldn’t have cared.” He let out a small huff under his breath, half a smile creeping across his somber face. “There are plenty of places for us to eat, we still have a movie to go see, and when we get back, I am so horny I think I could spontaneously combust.” It relieved you to see the smile grow wider, a genuine laugh now coming out of him. “Promise me.” 

“Promise you what, Osita?” 

“Promise me you won’t beat yourself up over this.” 

“Baby, I-“ 

“Promise me, Javier Jesús Peña. Or I will beat you up enough for the both of us” you poked your finger into his chest, playfully. 

“Promise.” He wrapped his arms around you, kissing the top of your head, savoring the sweet and familiar smell of your shampoo as his nose met your hair. “Going full name on me, huh?” 

“Told you, it was good to know in case of emergencies.” You laughed as he shook you, wrapped in the broadness of his arms. “There’s a diner down the road we passed on the way in, I could definitely eat a whole mess of pancakes right now.” 

“You weren’t kidding when you said you liked breakfast.” 

“I don’t joke when it comes to breakfast, Peña” you winked before you stretched up to peck him on the lips. “Let’s go.” You reached to grab his hand, leading him back to his truck. Trailing behind your lead, he soaked up every ounce of the image of you. An image he’d never get sick of. 

You didn’t even bother looking at the menu as you picked a booth in the back corner of the small diner down the street. Javi ordered a sandwich while you shamelessly ordered a stack of blueberry pancakes with whip cream on top. You could tell Javi was still upset with himself, staying relatively quiet since you two had unexpectedly changed your plans. You had a feeling there wasn’t much you could say at this point that would make him feel any less guilty- you would have felt the same way. Looking for a way to get him out of his head, you pulled out a kids menu and a wrapped pack of crayons tucked behind the condiments at your table, scribbling on it before sliding across the table to Javi. 

“Hangman?” Javi looked at you, chuckling. 

“We don’t have to play if you don’t want to, just thought it could be fun. Figured this was better than me coming across the booth to beat you up because I can tell you’re still mad at yourself.” 

This set off a more genuine laughter from him, shaking his head as he crossed his arms and leaned back in the booth. “I don’t know, Osita, after you told me you used to play hockey, you’ve got me a little nervous that you could take me out.” You both snickered at the idea of you trying to take down Javi. “Sure, let’s play.” 

“P?” He questioned, staring down at the dashed lines. 

“P? That’s what you’re gonna start with?” You drew a circle for the head.

“What’s wrong with P?” 

“Vowels first! Makes it way easier!” 

“Sorry, I don’t think I’ve played hangman since I was in elementary school.” 

“Which is why I’m an expert, seeing that I’m in an elementary school practically every day. Next guess.” 

“E?” 

“See, there you go!” You marked down several spots after Javi’s guess. 

“Okay, how about M?” 

“That doesn’t mean stop guessing vowels, dummy. But yes, lucky for you there is an M.” You laughed as Javi continued guessing letters and began eating as your food arrived. Through a bite full of your pancakes you gave Javi a dumbfounded look. 

“Javi… you seriously don’t know what it says? You can go hunt down drug lords in South America but hangman on a kids menu at a diner is what’s gonna do you in?” You both snorted as Javi tried to defend himself. 

“Osita, those are two completely different things.” 

“Well I’m not gonna lie Javi, one seems significantly easier than the other.” 

“Fine, I’ll guess. What movie are we seeing?” 

“Great work, detective.” You remarked sarcastically. 

“Gimme that.” He said, snatching the paper from you as he began to draw his own lines. “Your turn.” 

“Okay, thank goodness, I was worried we were going to miss the movie with how long it was taking you to guess. I'm starting with A.” 

Javi begrudgingly noted down some letters. You continued guessing, quickly filling up the lines until you had figured out the clue. 

“Oh, Jurassic Park! I’ve been wanting to see that! Have you seen the first one?” 

“Jesus, that was fast. No, but I figured it would be one you’d like. 

“I was secretly hoping you’d pick that one, so one point for you, Javier Peña.” You winked at him as you took a final bite of your pancakes. “I know this wasn’t the dinner you had planned, but it was still really good. And we still have a movie to go see and plenty of movie snacks to eat. You ready to go?” Javi smiled at you, nodding, still in disbelief how content you were with how things were going.

Your waiter came around to collect your plates and give you the bill, Javi insisting on paying, despite your attempt to physically try to open his hand and put cash in it. As you made your way out to the car, you reached down to grab his hand, embracing the familiarity of your fingers interlocking, his grasp engulfing yours. Your drive to the movie theater included several more tracks of Queen sing alongs, Javi’s favorite notably being your enthusiastic rendition of Don’t Stop Me Now. With the windows slightly rolled down, the wind blew through your hair, a smile stretched across your face. You were so wrapped up in singing, you hadn’t noticed Javi’s eyes locked on you, completely enamored by your presence. Part of him just wanted to say fuck it to the movie. Instead, take you back to your apartment, fuck, to have you in his truck and show you how thankful he was for you. 

As you pulled into the movie theater, you noticed that Javi had parked in a far back corner, a sizable walk from the front entrance. Before you could ask anything, his mouth was crashing into yours, running his hand through the hair on the back of your head, pulling you closer in. His other hand snaked under the hem of your dress, rubbing along your thigh before reaching under your underwear, his fingers grazing along your entrance.  Your hand mirrored, reaching across to grab his face, before planting kisses along his, working your way up to his ear. As much as you wanted to say nothing, you knew you at least had to tease him a little. You could hear his heavy breaths as you bit at his earlobe and whispered. 

“You owe me 5 dollars.” 

He pulled back, shaking his head, his breathing still labored. “Jesus Christ. You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” 

You leaned back in, planting another kiss on his neck before pulling back. “I told you, I don’t lose.” You winked before giving him a quick peck on the lips. “Tell ya what, because I’m such a gracious winner, I’ll donate my 5 dollars towards buying our movie snacks, okay?” 

“Doesn’t that defeat the whole bet?” He laughed at you. 

“Well I needed to find a way to let you get me to buy something on our date so you don’t pay for anything, and I figured you can’t argue with me if I use my winnings from our bet.” 

“Fair enough.” He sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing. 

“Thank you. You ready to go watch some dinosaurs?” You nudged him before hopping out of the passenger’s side door. Javi sat there for a moment, regaining his composure before following beside you into the theater, his hand now taking its familiar spot locked in yours. 

Javi couldn’t remember the last time he had been in a movie theater. He hadn’t gone in Colombia, probably making it close to a decade since stepping foot into one. Once Javi had told you how long it had been, you wanted to make sure you did everything you could to make it the best experience possible for him. After getting your tickets, you made your way to concessions, getting much more than your 5 dollar bet’s worth of snacks.

“Do you really think we need this much?” Javi asked, now carrying the frozen Coke and M&M’s you had handed him, you carrying a large popcorn. 

“Well first of all, you haven’t been to the movies in forever, so I want you to get the full movie snacking experience. Second, you ate two full bags of popcorn by yourself when we watched Star Wars, so I’m honestly worried this isn’t enough.” Mentally noting that Javi had already had 3 handfuls of M&M’s on your way to your seats. 

You were thankful that you were able to find two seats in the top middle of the theater, considering how crowded it was. You could feel a shift in his demeanor, like he was uneasy with how many people filled the room, constantly scanning back and forth. It wasn’t that Javi minded crowds, it was what could happen in a crowd if something went wrong that made him anxious. He had seen it first hand, and knew how poorly it could end. He hadn’t been somewhere this crowded in a long time, but with his instincts kicking in to overdrive, he could feel himself starting to panic at his current state. 

“Hey, you okay?” 

“Uh yeah, um, I’m fine, it’s just, um-“ 

You patted the seat next to you, ushering Javi to sit down. Once he did, you reached over to grab his hand and squeeze it and rest your head on his shoulder. You had seen this happen before with your brothers, especially your oldest, after he returned back from his first tour of active duty. While you could never truly understand how it felt, the last thing you wanted to do was make Javi feel like you weren’t there for him. “It’s okay. It’s more crowded than I would have thought too. We can stay here or if you need to move or go outside for a little we can do that too. Whatever you need.” You could feel a little of his tension ease as he kissed the top of your head. 

“No, I’m okay, thanks, Osita.” He felt a wave of relief wash over him that some way or another, you just seemed to know what he needed to snap him out of his funk.

“Okay. Just let me know if you need anything. I promise I’ll keep you safe from the dinosaurs.” You giggled while you looked up at him, Javi giving you a playful shake as he moved his arm to wrap over your shoulder, his thumb stroking back and forth across your skin as the lights lowered and previews started. 

As the movie is played, you found Javi’s hand somewhere on your body at all times. Holding your hand, wrapped around you, rubbing your leg, even playing with your hair as you rested your head against the width of his strong shoulders. The other hand was either in the popcorn or reaching down to eat the rest of the M&M’s. Javi really couldn’t have told you what was happening on screen, his eyes had barely left you, watching every reaction to what was happening. He was soaking in every moment, noticing when you laughed, excitedly poking him when something big happened, trying to fill him in so he wasn’t lost on what was happening. He was surprised when you let out a little shriek and grabbed on to him as one of the dinosaurs popped out on screen, even though you insisted that you weren’t scared, just weren’t expecting it. As the movie ended and credits began rolling, you looked over to already find Javi looking at you.

“So, what’d ya think? Good first movie theater experience?” 

“It was great, Osita.” 

“Good, I’m glad. Enjoy your snacks?” You laughed, looking at how the popcorn and M&M’s were completely gone, the frozen Coke only filled with a few sips worth left. 

“Oh shit, yeah, uh sorry…” realizing that he had pretty much eaten everything, oblivious to everything that wasn’t you. 

“It’s okay. I figured given what happened with the last movie we watched. You haven’t been to the movies in who knows how long, I wanted to make sure you got everything you wanted.” Javi wasn’t sure how you did it, but everything you did and said had him falling harder and harder for you. You were everything he wanted. You hadn’t cared when he fucked up the dinner reservations, you wanted to make sure he had fun at the movies, all you wanted was to be with him. Leaning over, he grabbed your face with both hands, engulfing you in a long, deep kiss. He didn’t care if people stared, in fact, he hoped they did. He hoped they’d see how lucky he was that you were his. 

“Wow. What was that for? Not that I’m complaining or anything.” You smirked, pulling away from his grasp. 

He knew it. He knew he couldn’t say it, but he knew it. He settled for what he could say instead. 

“I really like you, Osita. I like you a lot. Thank you for tonight. I, um… I, just, thank you.” 

“Javi, what are you thanking me for? I should be the one thanking you. You’re the one who wanted to do all of this for me. I really like you too, thank you for making tonight so special.”

Kissing the top of your head, he bent down to whisper in your ear. “Tonight’s not over yet, Osita. This isn’t the only part of our date I’m about to make special for you, baby.” He couldn’t help himself. He had spent the whole movie thinking about sneaking his hands further and further up your dress, how perfect you were, blissed out and moaning his name as he was inside you. 

“Jesus, Javi.” You shook your head, speechless. “I don't know what the hell we’re still doing standing here then. I’ll Tyrannosaurus Rex my way through this crowd for you to get me back home ASAP.” He laughed as you grabbed his hand leading him down the stairs and through the crowded lobby back to his car. 

The sexual tension in his car on the drive home was so thick, you would have needed a chainsaw to cut through it. You had both agreed, unlike Sunday, you would both have enough self control to make it back to your apartment, but with the way Javi was staring at you, and how dangerously close his hands were getting under your dress, the prospect of making it another 10 minutes home seemed practically impossible. When you finally reached the parking lot of your apartment, you practically threw yourself out of the car as you and Javi stumbled up the stairway, bodies crashing into one another as your mouths met furiously, hands frantically roaming over each other's bodies. You had no idea how you were able to get out your key and open your door as Javi’s chest pressed into your back, kissing your neck as your hands shakily unlocked your entrance to your apartment. The moment the door closed behind you, your clothes both quickly were shed, leaving a trail of items to your bedroom. Your bodies banged along the hallway as you shuffled your way to the bedroom, your mouths never leaving one another’s. Javi practically threw you onto your bed before shuffling his boxers down to pool around his ankles, his broad and handsome presence hovering over you. He knelt down to the edge of the bed, nudging your knees apart to reveal your pussy, glistening from its wetness. 

“Fuck, I’ll never get over your pussy, baby. Always so fucking wet.” Javi mewled before breathing in heavily and licking a long, broad strip along your clit. His tongue swirled around your heat as your hips bucked towards his face. One hand grasped your sheets while the other ran through his hair, tugging at the dark, curled ends as you moaned. You wanted him so badly to be inside of you, to fill the emptiness you were clenching around. Before you could ask, he slipped not one, but both fingers into you. His hand felt enormous compared to yours, his fingers so much more satisfying as they hit inside you over and over. As both digits curled up and his mouth sucked over your clit, you whimpered breathlessly. 

“Javi, you feel so good. Fuck me, holy shit.” 

“Patience Hermosa, I will, don’t worry.” He winked before diving back down between your legs. His free hand wrapped around your leg, grabbing your hip as you squirmed from how good he felt. The repetitive motion of his thick fingers plunging in you mixed with the skilled movement of his tongue across your sensitive nub had you already clenching down, close to your end. You knew with how worked up you had been this week without him, and what a goddamn menace he was, it wouldn’t take long for you to be on the verge of screaming his name in pleasure. 

“Baby, fuck, fuck I’m so close, Javi, I-“ 

Before you could finish your sentence, your orgasm flooded through your body, legs shaking and head thrown back as you moaned. The pleasure was so intense, and so much better than you could have even remembered. As you came back down from your high, Javi slowly pulled his fingers out from you before sucking them clean, your juices still smeared across his smirking face. “You taste so fucking good, Osita.” 

“Jesus, Javi… holy shit.” You breathed deeply, trying to regain your composure. He leaned over you, kissing up your body, stopping to take each nipple in his mouth, flicking it with his tongue before making his way up your neck.  

“I told you I meant what I said on the phone, baby. Is that okay with you?” His breath was low and raspy as he whispered into your ear. 

“Yes, oh my god, I haven’t stopped thinking about what you said all week. I haven’t been able to look at my dresser the same since.” You both let out light, airy laughs before Javi had picked you up and carried you over to your dresser before sitting you down on top of it. You spread your legs open, pussy still slick and shining from your last orgasm as Javi spit down into his hand before stroking his dick, already hard and desperate to be inside you. He then helped you shimmy down, smacking your ass as you turned around and placed your arms on the dresser. Looking up at the mirror in front of you, you could see the hungry look in Javi’s eyes as he ran his cock up and down your folds, collecting your slick. He kissed your shoulders as he rubbed his hands down the side of your body, squeezing your hips. “Javi, please.” You whimpered, the throbbing between your legs making it feel like he was taking years. 

“What happened to all that patience, Osita?” He smirked as he grabbed another handful of your ass. You were so desperate at this point your brain was unable to form words, only moans pleading for Javi to give you what you wanted. “So needy, huh? I’ll give you what you want, baby girl, don’t worry..” Slowly, he made his way into you, the sting of the sweet stretch of his cock making you breathless. As he bottomed out inside of you, a low groan from him mimicked yours. “So fucking tight, hermosa, fuck.” 

“Javi, move, please.” You were practically begging at this point. 

“I will, Osita. Look in the mirror first, baby.” Your eyes shifted off of the oak of the dresser under your arms and up to the image of Javi’s body towering behind you. His tanned and toned chest, his dark curls and mustache, the lust pooling in his eyes, Jesus, he really was the hottest man you’ve ever seen. 

“I want you to see how pretty you are when I fuck you. See what a good fucking girl you are when you take me so well, when I fuck you full of me. Can you do that for me?” As your eyes met his in the mirror frantically nodding, he began to move himself in and out of you, taking his time. Almost as if he was savoring how good each thrust felt. Each time he pushed back into you, your gasps became louder, the feeling intensifying. The spot he was hitting was so sweet, but your body was pleading for more. 

“Fuck Javi, give me more, please baby. Fuck me harder.” Your eyes once again locking with his, a delightfully surprised look spreading across his face. 

“Yeah, you want me to fuck you harder, hermosa?” You once again nodded rapidly, biting down on your bottom lip. “Use your words, pretty girl.” He teased, slowing his pace enough to make you squirm. 

“Fuck me harder, Javi. Please baby, you feel so good, I want more.” Javi knew his size was larger than average. He definitely hadn’t been gentle with you, but he hadn’t been overly aggressive, not wanting to push your limits and make you uncomfortable. But right now, he had you in the palm of his hand, begging him for more. 

“You sure you want more, baby?” He slowly began to speed up his thrusts, waiting for your answer. 

“Mhmmmm.” You whined at the ridges of his cock rubbing against your walls. “Give it to me, please.” 

With that, his pace changed drastically, his hips snapping into you repeatedly. You could feel every inch of him stretch you out in a way that you couldn’t describe. The way his dick pounded into, filling you so deeply and intensely had your screams echoing off the walls of the room. 

“Fuck, Javi. Fuck, oh my god.” 

“Yeah? Feel good, Osita? My good fucking girl, taking me so well.” 

Suddenly, his arm reached under yours, pulling you up so your back was flushed with his chest. He wrapped his arm over your breasts, his big hand engulfing one while his other hand reached down for your clit. The added pleasure made the building feeling in your stomach creep closer and closer, knowing you were about to snap. His calloused fingertips rubbed back and forth as he leaned into you, his mouth grazing along your neck. “Look at yourself, baby. I know you’re close. I want you to see how pretty you are when you come all over my dick.” Your eyes watched Javi’s hand rub faster along your sensitive bundle of nerves before shifting up to see the damp, dark curls stuck to his forehead, a sheen covering his body in sweat. Each snap of his hips hit harder and harder, you feeling your pussy beginning to flutter around his cock. With only a few more thrusts, you felt something snap inside you, your legs shaking as you moaned Javi’s name as you came. Watching you had Javi reeling, his thrusts becoming more frantic as your eyes met in the mirror before he spoke. 

“Where do you want me, baby?” 

“Inside me. It’s yours Javi. It’s all fucking yours.” 

Your words were all he needed before he took one last pump, spilling inside you. You watched in the mirror as his jaw went slack as his muscles tense. You felt his spend covering your walls, his cock pulsing as he finished. He draped his body over yours, your heavy breathing syncing for a few moments before he pushed himself back up, slowly pulling out of you. You whimpered at the loss, feeling the mix of you running down the side of your leg. Suddenly, you felt Javi’s body press into yours, his arm snaking between your legs as two thick fingers pushed into you, making you gasp. 

“Will you keep me in you, hermosa? So I know you’re all fucking mine?” 

“Yes, Jesus Christ.” You whispered under your breath. He watched you nod as he pushed into you one last time before pulling out his fingers and kissing down your back, chuckling as he pulled away.  

“Nope, just me, Javi. Go lay down on the bed, baby. Let me get something to clean you up.” 

“Oh shut up.” You laughed as you still laid slumped over the dresser. “I would move but I think you fucked me so good my legs don’t work anymore.” He snuck up behind you, picking you up and carrying you over to your bed before plopping you down and heading to the bathroom, leaving you giggling, staring at your ceiling. He returned with a warm washcloth, gently wiping you up before tossing it into your laundry basket and climbing under your covers with you. You scooted close to him, your head resting on his chest, arm draped across and one leg hiked up, resting on top of him. His strong arms wrapped around you, tracing circles along your back as he kissed the top of your head. 

“Thank you, Javi.” 

“For what, Osita?” 

“This was the best date I’ve ever been on.” 

“You must have been on a lot of shitty dates then, Hermosa.” 

“I’m being serious, you goofball! I mean yes, I think before this, the most romantic thing someone had done for me was when Paul actually remembered our anniversary, and then asked me if we could go to his favorite sports bar instead of the nice restaurant I picked because he didn’t want to miss a football game that was on that night. But I’m not kidding, the fact that you wanted to spend time with me, let alone plan something nice, I don’t know… it just really means a lot. So thank you.” 

Javi paused for a moment before he responded. He wasn’t sure how to feel. Happy, relieved even, that you had such a good time on a date that anyone else probably would have deemed a disaster? Thankful that you wanted to spend just as much time with him as he did with you? Heartbroken that there had been one too many idiots who had come in and out of your life that had treated you like shit and you had accepted that was as good as it got? 

“Osita, I said it before and I’ll say it again, you deserve it. You’re beautiful and smart and sexy as hell and even if you won’t admit it, you deserve someone who sees that. I still can’t believe that you think that I’m worth any of your time, but I’m sure as hell glad that you do.” He kissed your head again as you nuzzled it closer to his chest, trying to fight back the tears welling in your eyes. Before you could say anything he finished with, “I sure as fuck hope that I never meet Paul either, cause I’d give that fucking guy a piece of my mind.” 

You let out a small huff as you looked up at him. “Ease up there, cowboy. Don’t worry, I think everyone I know has already given him enough shit to last him 3 lifetimes. You’re really sweet, Jav. Thank you.” You stretched up to plant a soft kiss on his lips as you reached up to cup his face. 

“Of course, baby. I lo-“ He stopped himself as quickly as possible. His brain hadn’t even processed the words that were coming out of his mouth. There was no fucking way he could say it, even if he knew it. He just prayed you hadn’t heard his slip up before he continued. “I really like you, and I’m so glad you had a good time tonight. I did too.” 

“Can I see you again this weekend? I know you have to work tomorrow and we just saw each other today and-“ 

“Yes, Osita. I’d love to see you again this weekend. I promised my dad I’d help him with some things around the ranch tomorrow night and Saturday morning but other than that, I’m all yours.” He leaned down to kiss you, his mustache tickling your neck as you pulled away. 

“Perfect. Can I pick something for us to do since you got to pick what we did today?” 

“Is it a surprise, or do I get to know?” He asked mockingly. 

“If yours got to be a surprise, so does mine. I don’t have anything specific picked out yet, but I have a few ideas.” 

“Can’t wait to see what it is, Osita.” 

You glanced over at your alarm clock, forgetting the fact that you didn’t have to set it again until August, and Javi still had one more day until his weekend. “What time do you usually get up in the morning?” 

“Why?” He asked, fingers still tracing up and down your shoulders. 

“So I can get up with you in the morning and make you breakfast and say goodbye to you before you go to work.” Your fingers mirrored his, circling over his bare chest. 

“Hermosa, it’s your first day of summer, you’re not getting up with me in the morning, you get to sleep in.” 

“What if I want to get up with you in the morning? You gonna force me to stay in bed until you leave?” 

“Fine, I’m not waking you up on purpose, but if you’re awake and want to get up with me I’m not going to say no.” 

“Well then I will see you in the morning, bright and early.”

“Okay, Osita. I’m gonna go run down to my car and grab my bag, are you okay if I leave the door unlocked so you don’t have to let me back in?” 

“Sure. I’ll be right here, unless you’ve pulled off hiding your serial killer act this long and you and the rest of your gang have found the perfect opportunity at this moment.” 

“Dork. I’ll be back up in a few, okay?” 

“Safe travels out there.” 

He laughed as he collected his clothes scattered on the floor trailing down the hallway to put on before heading out the door. You rolled over, inhaling the scent Javi had left behind on your pillow, his space still warm from his body. You pulled your covers further over you, snuggling in closer to the space he just was in. Even without him physically next to you, the feeling of knowing he would be back next to you soon flooded your body with a sense of comfort. Not realizing how tired you were until this moment, you felt your eyelids begin to droop, growing heavier with each blink. You swore to yourself you could stay awake the few minutes Javi would be gone, but by the time he returned back up with his bag, he was greeted with the soft sound of snores filling your bedroom. He set his things down at the end of the bed before turning off the lights and stripping himself of his clothes once again before crawling under the covers, spooning you, wrapping your body in his arms. 

“Dulces sueños, mi amor. Te adoro. Todo es más bonito si estás conmigo. Soy tan afortunado de tenerte” (Sweet dreams, my love. I adore you. Everything is more beautiful when I’m with you. I’m so lucky to have you.) 

He kissed your head as he pulled you in closer. He slowly breathed out, a sense of peace and comfort filling his body. He took one more moment to savor your presence before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep next to you. There were few things in life that Javier Peña had ever been absolutely sure of. You were one of those few things. 

[tyforthevnm]

What we did for two hours was- there was this garbage can, like recycling garbage can that had a lid on it with the hole on top was about the size of a Coke can. And somewhere along the way, someone had gotten a miniature rubber ducky. And for two hours, we spent throwing the rubber ducky and trying to get it into the hole of the recycling can. And everyone- everyone in the room was so involved and took turns doing this. [Super invested.] Oh my God, to the point where we were getting so close, and there was like wars from the crowd and people being like, “You fucking suck! Are you kidding me?” and all our kids were there too and they’re talking shit. It was amazing. And it was like two, maybe two and a half hours before Tucker finally sunk one. [Oh, Tucker finished it.] Tucker finished it. [Central Jersey, great athletes.] But here’s the thing, like no one, mostly sober people, you know what I mean. Nothing on the rider, not a bottle on the rider. It was just pure fucking unadulterated fun. [And at this stage in the game, we’re talking about grown ass adults. This is a group of 40 year olds.] 40, yes! 40 plus. It was maybe the most fun I had backstage in a long time. – Frank Iero on Going Off Track #412

[videos from IG story by michaeldubin on November 27, 2022]

[lordeemailarchive]

Pure Heroine turns 10

(27/09/2023) (PH 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY DISPATCH)

Living in Ruins of a Palace within My Dreams

Photo by Simeon Patience

Hi,

Firstly, I wanna say thank you for your extremely supportive and kind messages after my last newsletter. I genuinely feel deeply cared for, less alone, and more sure that things will be okay after sending it! Albeit with a slight overshare hangover. I think a part of me knew that I had hit a wall, and that I needed to invite in the compassion and understand I’d been struggling to generate on my own, and then I’d have something to draw from and mirror. It feels like it’s working. I feel incredibly grateful that we have this relationship, that we can each give when the other needs it. Beautiful stuff x

Now, might U have noticed it’s 2013 mode round here????????? Yes that’s right, it’s a very special anniversary… Pure Heroine is... ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡TEN ˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚ YEARS ˚༘♡ ⋆｡˚ OLD ੈ✩‧₊˚ TODAY ! ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

You may (like me most of the time) hold the opinion that this album has been MYTHOLOGISED QUITE ENOUGH, but a milestone is a milestone, so I thought coming here and typing some shit to u about this time would be a fun thing for those who care.

2 xxxxtra special ltd time only commemorative designs by Hassan, who did the original of this bootleg tee 10 years ago❤️

It’s close to midnight, and I’ve just finished scrolling through my entire computer and phone archive from 2011-2013. Going on this memory lane ride has reminded me, for one thing, what a different time it was technologically. We were just starting to be able to see ourselves in real time, but we weren’t constantly connected. I had an iPod touch until halfway through 2013, which didn’t have a front camera or internet access, and my sister and I shared a MacBook, which is where we did our schoolwork and I wrote my lyrics. I took my first few years of selfies on Photo Booth…. Just let that… sink in!!!

Note the Royals Nat Geo pic in background— it’s happening...

When I was fourteen, my greatest work of art was my bedroom. A very cool, very classic teenage bedroom, Andie’s and Duckie’s from Pretty in Pink meets the Virgin Suicides— fairy lights, fabric on the ceiling, candles, stolen road signs (badman), paper lanterns, beer crate shelves, magazine pictures and club night posters and permanent marker on the walls. Bliss! I’d sit up there and vibe out, taking a lot of selfies. Creating a small-scale work of art using the self, and then examining the product from every angle, was the best method I had to express myself and exercise creativity at that time, and I now see it as an important PH incubation phase, whether I knew it or not. Something really amazing about a young person starting to see their own face and body for the first time, coming to a very secret understanding that they are beautiful. 

I started to smoke weed, which gave me a deeper understanding of sensory pleasure, and allowed me to start to see my world as a possible work of art. I’d go on long walks around the neighbourhood, and began to mythologise the stuff around me (big empty floodlit rugby fields/bus rides/dark streets/boredom/isolation) into the motifs that would become Pure Heroine. I wore a lot of like, navy lipsticks from the 2 dollar shop. God, this aesthetic, It’s just TOO MUCH.

At some point in here, I met Joel, and another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. When you’re a teenager, you’re particularly sensitive to adults being condescending to you, not respecting the specific and finely tuned skills you have because of the ones you don’t. I was always on the look out for it, and from the first day meeting Joel, I knew that he would never give me that feeling. Which I’m sure wasn’t easy — my wallet at the time was the foot of a pair of tights that I cut off and knotted at the top — but somehow from the very beginning he made me feel like my ideas had value, like we were peers, in the most sensitive and age-appropriate way. 

My view for thousands of hours making this album

We got on a call earlier this week and broke down the complete history of making the album. We both agreed that making Pure Heroine was deeply exciting and intimate and free, and still one of our most treasured experiences. I’ve linked it here.The second half of 2013 is when I really met the world, went to America and Australia and Europe for the first time. I found an incredible (for some reason Christmas themed) disposable camera image of my stage outfits all over the floor of my hotel room, which really sums up how ad hoc everything was at the beginning — a jetlagged sixteen year old, late for lobby call and frantically stuffing thousands of dollars of borrowed clothes into a suitcase. 

In this stage, it felt like I pulled everything off by the skin of my teeth. Every week was the most exciting week of my whole life, I was so tired and still didn’t have a winter coat and took everyone clamouring for a piece of me completely for granted. I had zero cultural context, had no idea if an interview or TV show was huge or small, and so breezed through it all truly not giving a fuck. I am not a naturally nonchalant person, it was literally just too much to care about, I could hardly get up in the morning, so I just said absolutely whatever I felt like, all kinds of wild shit, if someone did something corny I’d say so, I was ruthless in that way that only teens are. Then through that year we went on our first tours, met you guys for the first time, hours and hours of hugs after the show, my favourite part so far and where it started to feel real for me. James took a lot of beautiful film photos through that time, and I’m really grateful he did.

Ten years goes really fast. One minute you’re wearing a leather collar with a giant crystal hanging off it to a Chanel party, and the next you’re blonde. A lot of stuff isn’t good after ten years. But I am still totally touched by this sweet record. I have deep respect for the vision of the little one making it. 

Going back through all of this has reminded me of something that feels important to point out, whether you make art or not: everything starts out as a bunch of bullshit in a laptop. Pure Heroine was a handful of Photo Booth selfies and emotional Word documents and Tumblr posts (and a gorgeous over-decorated bedroom) before it was even one song. I had no reason, on paper, to believe that I was capable of anything. But if you can trust that the first impulse you had to create came from a place of deep wisdom, develop a few principles for your decision-making, and absorb a lot of stuff you find inspiring, you’ll have something special on your hands. Pure Heroine exists because I had the tiniest inkling of what I’ve now come to see as one of my guiding principles: that each of us have a handful of songs inside us that are ours, and only ours, to sing. Your specific interests and upbringing and physiology and experiences exist only in you; you are sitting on a gold mine that no one can rob. Whatever that means to you, whatever that statement you were born to make is, I invite you to take a big breath and make it.

All my love for another ten years of all this, and more, and more—

Ella XXXXXXXXXX

(source: received this email)

[bbytamaki]

PRIVACY — armin arlert

genre: nsfw (MDNI)

content: nerdy!armin x mean bff!reader, black reader, a sprinkle of plot, armin gets off on being called a pervert 🤧, not edited.

note: reposted bc fuck tumblr

“you’re a virgin, aren’t you?”

“what’s it to you?!”

you definitely knew armin was too busy for dating. every week he was cramming in lectures, late night study sessions, club duties, and a laundry list of other things that prevented him from getting any, but you could tell he needed someone to take the stress off. being the kind and generous soul you are, you couldn’t just sit back and watch your best friend suffer.

of course, you had to have some fun for yourself first.

“is it small? that’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“i-it’s not! why’d you come over if you were just gonna distract me?”

armin hated you. he hated how rude you were, your slick jokes, and your shitty attitude. he hated that you never took him seriously. he hated how invasive you could be.

he hated your pretty hair, he hated how you kicked anyone’s ass that treated him wrong, he hated how bad he wanted you to keep prying. he hated that he was ready to throw all of his privacy out of the window just for you.

“distract you? why are you so red then?”

“cause you… you’re…”

he couldn’t finish with you leaning over his shoulder like that. you knew what you were doing. your chest rested on the headrest of his desk chair, just a little too close to his eyes.

armin looked at the digital clock on his desk. ‘21:27” it read. he looked at the shelves full of action figures and his favorite books. his eyes darted around his bedroom in search of anything to focus his eyes on; anything but you.

“do you touch yourself, min?”

his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. “wh- you’re such a fucking perv.”

the answer was obviously yes, but he didn’t want to think about it. if he did, he’d be forced to remember what, or rather who he thought about when he did. he could think about you for hours with his hand shakily gripping his cock with his lips red and puffy from biting them to control the noise.

you slipped onto his lap and smiled.

“what’s this then?” armin hissed at the pressure of the warmth beneath your pink panties pressing against the bulge he was both shocked and ashamed of.

you leaned forward with a smirk. “pervert.”

armin whined underneath you, desperate to feel you any way he could. his hips bucked up impatiently, searching for any relief he could find.

despite your teasing, you knew he wasn’t lying. he want small at all. even without pulling his cock out of his sweatpants you could feel how big he was. such a shame he didn’t know what to do with it :(

this was all he had dreamed of and better. armin’s eyes screwed shut as he awkwardly gripped your waist. he just wanted to be closer to you. he could feel how wet your underwear had gotten from grinding against him. he felt the bohemian curls at the end of your long braids tickling his neck. he felt your glossed lips leaving sticky red marks at the base of his neck. it was all too much.

the only thing that could make this better was if he could kiss you. he imagination ran away from him, picturing your plump lips against his. just the thought of your taste made his eyes snap open in alarm.

“y/n wait-“

your head popped back up. armin tried desperately to still your hips and keep himself steady.

“hm? what’s wrong?” you looked so innocent for a change, so sweet.

he didn’t mean to look at your lips. he didn’t mean to squeeze your waist so tightly.

“don’t do that. i- i can’t hold- fuckk…“ armin’s voice could only be described as tearful when his head jerked back against the headrest.

armin shook underneath you with the most beautiful sounds you’d ever heard rippling from his lips. he looked so pretty when he came. ‘21:30’

“oh my god.”

armin looked down at the darkening spot on his pants and wondered if you’d cum too, or if he’d finally embarrassed himself beyond redemption.

“armin, i think i love you!” you couldn’t contain your laughter as you met his gaze at the wet spot. armin knew that was a joke. you’d always tell him that he ranked number 5 of 5 in guys you’d be interested in. maybe that meant he still had a chance.

“don’t say that.” his eyes never met yours.

“i do. as your best friend, who you love so so much, i have to teach you everything about sex!” you playfully kissed his cheek.

all he wanted to do was kiss you. just one time. he just wanted to feel you.

“we’ll work on stamina another time.”

[heeseung-min]

Hiiii, can we a yandere Jake where he threatens y/n's professor make him their tutor

Word count: 1.2k words 

[01:01]

You massaged your back after few hours marking the papers. You wish you can burn it all because it's so tiring to read all of it. You are a professor at Belift College. You are not old. You are 27 years old and one of the luckiest people to finish your studies at such young age.

You continue marking the paper until you heard a shy voice from the door. It turned out to be the one of the smartest student, Jake Sim. The guy that everyone loves. Not only because his smart brain but also his behaviour and attitude towards people. It's very refreshing to see this type of people despite him being richest.

"Hi Miss y/n!"

However, Jake likes you. Not liking you as his lecturer but more than that. He didn’t say it but literally everyone can see the way he acts towards you really showing affection. Even some of the students and other lecturers were teasing you about it but you choose to not care about it. Jake is still young so the hormone must be the reason for it. You are very sure his feeling will disappear.

"Oh hello Jake. How are you?"

"I'm good. Here is some food for you."

"Oh wow, you don't need to do this though but thanks!"

"You deserve the best."

You waited for him to go out but he keep standing in front of you as he was waiting for something from you.

"Do you...want to help me?"

"Yeah!! I can do a favor for you." 

-----

You take a look on your watch and was impressed because your work finished early. Thank god, you asked for Jake’s help. 

“I can’t wait to take a shower and sleep.”

It has been five hours and you were suddenly woke up from the sleep.

You felt that again.

You felt the staring.

It has been months since you moved to the apartment and sometimes you feel someone is watching you.

You slowly took the taser from under the pillow and went outside the bedroom. Everything is neat and no sign of break in.

“God, I hate when I feel like this.” 

You sighed frustratedly and walked back to your room and continue your sleep not knowing someone was smirking at your acts.

----

You were walking to your room but stopped when saw Jake was standing in front of it. He waving his hand excitedly when he finally saw you. 

“May I know what is your wish, Jake? You are so early.

“Y/n.”

You looked to him with wide eyes when he didn’t use ‘miss y/n’ as usual. Jake took out a small box and opened to reveal a beautiful ring inside of it. He also put a bouquet on your table. You don’t like this. You hate how your morning turned out to be like this.

“I think you already know my feelings towards you but I still want to confess properly. Y/n, I like you from the first time I saw you and the feelings keep growing and I can’t keep it anymore. Will you accept me?”

“I-I can’t....”

“I know it’s so sudden. I can give you time. Don’t wor-”

“No, Jake. I only see you as my student and there is never a moment I think you more than that. I can’t accept this. I’m really sorry.”

You ran out from the room leaving Jake disappointed and decided to went straight home. You don’t think you are able to face him.

“What did I get myself to?”

----

“Come on y/n!!! Time to release your stress!!!”

You watched your friend screaming and then dancing crazily. She had pulled you to a bar when she saw your tired face staring at your computers. You admit you are too stress because of the college. Moreover, you also become stress when Jake calling and messaging nonstop. You decided to do online classes so you will not get to meet him at the college. You chugged your drinks without thinking anything and enjoy your life.

When you had reached your limits, you went to dance with your friend not caring about the world. You also dance with some strangers being oblivious not knowing a guy walked closer to you when you nearly fell.

“Ooop!!! You saved me! THank yOuu~~”

You giggly said before continue to dance. The stranger hold you again when you lost your balance.

“You are drunk y/n. Let’s go home.”

You whined loudly but went quiet when felt something injected into you. Your friend also didn’t notice your absence as she was busy making out with a guy.

----

“Ergh, I feel like a shit.”

You covered your eyes when felt the sun went straight to your face. You sat up at the bed for a while to regain back your energy. It has been too long since you drink in that large amount. When you had finally back to your sense, you felt weird when having various pictures on the room.

“What the fuck is this?”

“You finally up!!!”

It’s Jake. He was standing proudly at the door while holding a tray that has breakfast and drink on it. You slowly stood up from the bed and realised your clothes got changed to a night dress.

“Don’t worry. I told my maid to change your clothes.”

“What are you doing now, Jake?”

“You should be grateful though. Those guys who were dancing with you will harm you. So, I helped you by killing them after dropping you here. They shouldn’t went close to you.”

“Jake...that’s-”

You stumbled when your body collided with his table. You turned back to have a look on his computer screen showing a familiar room that you quickly recognised.

“It’s your room, baby.”

You wanted throw up at the thought of him being the one who made you paranoid every single night. Jake hugged your body closer from the back. You can feel the heat on his body and him whispering to you make you feel disgusted.

“You did this, y/n. You make me obsessed with you.”

At the sentence, you pushed his body off you before scream,

“YOU SICK!!! I WILL REPORT THIS TO THE POLICE!!!”

The man in front of you laughed loudly. He pulled you closer to him with force and show you something on his phone that made you widened your eyes.

“What do you think people will feel when they see these pictures?”

Those pictures were showing you and Jake in very intimate position. Your eyes slowly tear up when you imagined the students and lecturers giving you dirty look. Even though you are professor at the college but Jake is literally richer than you and can easily do anything to make sure the rumor is true.

“You shouldn’t reject me because I will do anything to make sure you are mine even if it make you lose your job.”

Since then, you resigned your job and people never see you again. Some of the students and your lecturer friends felt sad that you are leaving without any notice. But, Jake is satisfied. He finally got you in his arms and there is no way you can leave him. Never in a million years.

Taglist: @stacey-stonem @duolingofanaccount

I often forgot my taglist im so sorry🥲🥲 anyway I hope you guys enjoy this its a bit long but the longer the better, right?😙

[guavagyu]

blush - y.jh

this is part 3 of the eyeshadow series!

request: “request: jeonghan fanfic where new stylist/makeup artist and jeonghan fall in love? slow burn, sexual tension, secret relationship typa thang ;) <3!”

smut probably next or 2nd next part? idk

ITALIC WORDS REPRESENT THOUGHTS!

[prev.] [next]

wc: 970

contents: slice of life ig, fluff, humor (im such a comedian el em eff ay oh), afab!reader, tall!reader (178 cm or 5’10), stylist!reader, makeup-artist!reader, model!jeonghan, swearing, non-idol!au, swearing, lmk if there r more!

recap:

yup. this is great. gotta clean. ugh why did i agree to my place?? you just decided to let later-you to worry about it and prepared for bed.

——

friday - y/n’s pov!

——

@hannie_hae:

hi! you still up for 3:00? :)

fuck. your phone read 2:17 pm. you had gotten distracted from all of your other friday endeavors, and jeonghan’s visit totally slipped your mind. you rushed to get off the couch, and begin to clean. you had until 2:30, and then you’d take the shortest shower of all eternity, and then hastily make yourself presentable. ‘A+’ for planning skills, a big fat ‘F’ for time management. and so, all that planning was what you did. you practically ran around your apartment with a vacuum whilst spraying the couches with leather cleaner. after grabbing two rags, one to wipe the tables and the couches down, you moved on to the mop for the kitchen. you clorox-wiped more than anyone had ever clorox-wiped. the clock read 2:27. wow, i probably broke some sort of record. so, you had an extra 2-ish minutes to waste in the shower. just kidding, you had to be as quick as possible, it’d be horrible for jeonghan to arrive before you were ready.

god damn, the clock read 2:54 and you were more finished than gordon ramsay’s beef wellington. your hair was dry, and looked amazing. your makeup was subtle, and your tshirt and sweatpants were..okay maybe not the best wardrobe choice, but it’s not like you’re visiting a 3 michelin star restaurant, allow yourself to be comfortable in your own home!

the clock just turned to 3:01 when jeonghan knocked on your door,

“hi! come in,” you smiled, silently relieved for him to be just as casual as you were. a black hoodie, grey sweatpants, and some sneakers. he gave you a small "hi!" and took off his shoes, "uh, you can sit on the couch, please make yourself at home! ill be right back, ill get some makeup stuff," you walked back to your bathroom while jeonghan unpacked the things he brought with him and settled down on the couch, looking around everywhere, tapping his fingers on the arm, waiting for your return. and a few minutes later, you returned with..a lot of makeup, to say the least,

"woah, that's a lot," jeonghan giggled, making you laugh,

"yeah,"

"um..how long do you think we'll need for all of this?" he asked,

"oh, we don't have to do all of this, just more options," you gave a small smile as you organized them into their respective categories,

"oh okay, i mean i have time, i was just curious, it's not that i dont want to be here i-" he rambled on, clearly a bit flustered, his ears and cheeks tinting an adorable pink,

"jeonghan, you're fine, let's just get on with it, alright?" you put your hand on top of his, calming him down a little bit,

"o-okay," he smiled, blushing harder but giving a small thumbs up, cute,

"awesome, where should we start? what concepts should we practice?" you looked through the outrageously large pile (that had been organized by you),

"let's start simple, maybe let's just work with colors for now, how about blue?" jeonghan suggested,

"whatever you feel like is fine by me," and you started on a simple blue themed look,

----

2 hours later, 5:09 pm

----

after 2 hours of trying out makeup looks, palettes littering the table, a pile of used makeup wipes in a trash can,

"alright, i think that's enough for your skin today," you smiled, noticing his reddening face, "did i do too much?"

"no no, you're fine, don't worry," jeonghan reassured you, giving the cutest giggle ever,

"okay, if you say so. can i get you some water or anything? we've been sitting for a while," you asked, realizing you forgot to offer when he first arrived,

"yeah, some water would be great!" he smiled, leaning back into the cushions,

"sure!" you headed to the kitchen, soon returning with a glass of water, "that good?"

"it's awesome, thanks!" ugh, is he always this cute? it makes me want to pin him down and- woah. that was, um, wow. that was quite the intrusive thought if i do say so myself. ha. ha. ha. during this thought segment of yours, you ended up zoning out..directly staring at jeonghan, causing him to be flustered, confused, then concerned. he thought there was something on his face, but after calling your name out a few times,

"hey, y/n?" he waved a hand in front of your face, knocking you back to reality,

"huh? what? im so sorry, just zoned out for a bit," you awkwardly laughed, flustered from your thoughts,

"you're good, but i think i'm going to head out now, thank you so much for having me over!" he smiled again, ugh that smile is going to kill me,

"no problem, anytime! make sure you don't forget anything here," you said as you prepared to open the door,

"yup, got everything, thanks again!" he gave the most adorable wave as he walked through the door, leaving, making you return to gather your makeup, put the trash can back, and collapse on the couch. you sigh, a smile settling on your face from what seemed to be a successful meeting. but..those thoughts you had were quite interesting.

--

jeonghan's pov!

--

holy shit. thank the lord i was able to leave before i had a meltdown. why did i think that me being close to y/n for so long would be okay for me to handle? wait..when they stared at me..were they actually starting at ME? or..did they actually zone out? fuck, why am i stuck with y/n? it's only sooner or later they find out about my dumbass crush on them

--

y/n's pov!

--

what the hell was i thinking? zoning out like that while staring at him? jeonghan probably thinks he’s stuck working with a creep. this is great.

--

© guavagyu 2023. all rights reserved. plagiarization, reposting, translating, and/or rewriting ANY and ALL of my works is prohibited.

[yawnzzznnn]

Not sure if you’re still doing BTOB but if you are #17 of your prompt list for our boy Im Hyunsik 🦅🦅

❦︎After Hours - Hyunsik❦︎

❦︎special thanks too: Anon, BTOB, Hyunsik

❦︎Note: sorry this took so long but I hope you enjoy

❦︎TW: n/a

❦︎Taglist: N/A

❦︎prompt: Can i do your makeup?

8-27-23

Hyunsik had finally had a day off so of course he wanted to spend it with you, earlier that day he called to come over you accepted before hanging up and bringing out all the snacks, blankets and, pillows you could find after what making what looks to resemble a birds nest with all the blankets and pillows scattered about with snacks here and there-albeit messy but comfortable-you heard a knock at the door pressing pause on the title of the movie you two would be watching you ran to answer the door

"Hyunsik!" You half yelled before jumping on him like a kola "Yn!" He playfully yelled back hugging you "come come" you said grabbing his hand and leading him to the living room "it's messy but trust me it's comfortable" you said as you pointed to the pile on the floor "it looks comfortable" he said admiring the thought you put into everything "ok sit sit" you said as you practically pushed him on the small pile

You were about to sit before an idea struck you "oh my-Hyunsik what if I do your makeup!" You said clapping your hands slightly hopping Hyunsik groaned and flopped backwards "why" he whined "because I think you'd look good and I've never had to chance to do makeup on someone before" you responded in a pleading tone, Hyunsik thought for a moment before sighing "fine" he said sitting up "just don't make me look like a clown" he whined you brushed him off before running off to go get your stuff

After a few minutes you came back with a bag full and a headband "here put this on" you gave the headband to him "why-" he asked taking it from you "so I don't get makeup in your hair" you rolled your eyes. You situated yourself Infront of him before pulling everything out everything went smoothly till the eyeliner "Hyunsik you have to stay awake" you said lightly hitting his arm "I'm sorry your too gentle it's calming" he said "I wouldn't complain if you were easy to wake up but you aren't so you can't fall asleep" you said continueing the work

Soon enough you finished his makeup too focused to actually make sure if he was awake or not "hyunsik-" you said shaking his arm but he wouldn't budge "god damnit-" you sighed.

[justaminuteimonhold]

hold report 1/14/23

goal: last 2 hours with rapid desperation. compensatory leaking allowed (must drink twice what was lost. if leaking on purpose, must be at least 15 minutes apart and be completed within a minute). game over with accidental void.

6:45 - 8:30 I'm hydrating by drinking 2 cups of water every 15 minutes. still peeing whenever I feel like it. made isotonic tea and browsing Tumblr. I'm also planning for later.

8:30 - 9:15 (TMI) waiting to make sure my bowel movement is done so I can start the hold without risking needing to poop later. continuing to drink 2 cups every 15 minutes. (end TMI) I took a dab at 8:40. at 8:45 I am starting to feel desperate by 20 minutes, so I'm definitely losing this game. at 9 I changed a porch light and watered the indoor plants.

9:15 hold starts. I'm going to show down drinking to 2 cups every half hour.

9:30 I'm starting to feel it. I went and passed on my bladder, and I can feel some pressure. it's not bad yet, but my goal was 2 hours 🥺😬

9:35 I put on water sounds to tease myself. I can feel my heart beating faster, I'm going to have to let off some pressure soon, but if I do that I have to drink more, which will compound the issue 😬

9:40 I'm at a 7/10 fidgeting, heart beating hard. at 9:45 I'm going to try to let just a little out in my pants. I'll drink it back in isotonic tea.

9:50 I just let out a tiny bit, drank my half hour drink and my compensation, and now I'm going to tease myself with a cold bath (I had some cold water drawn already to cool down the tea)

9:55 I took the bath, no accidents, but it was pretty intense. I couldn't lay back in it because it was too cold. my pelvic floor tensing as I poured cold water over my belly.

just before 10 I decided to try out my new spreader bar. sitting on a kitchen chair with a puppy pad under me. at 10:00 I have until 10:01 to let out a tiny amount. if I can't, I stay in this position until 10:15 to try again

10:01 I couldn't pee 😢

10:05 it's already getting difficult, my pelvic floor isn't quite wavering yet, but it's pulsing

10:10 I'm really struggling, I have my knees as close together as I can with the spreader bar, I have my other hand clinching my cunt as I type this, bouncing a bit

10:13 oh my gods just let it be 10:15

10:14 so fucking close

10:16 it's so hard for me to pee while dressed and sitting in a chair. I had to pee so bad, but even on purpose I could only let out a small amount. getting out of the spreader bars is nice, but my small leak let off no pressure and I'm dying. just drank my compensation while fidgeting on my feet so bad

10:20 I'm fucking shaking. I finally turned off the water sounds, but my cat's water fountain is still going. IDK if I can hold until 10:30 for the next scheduled leak

10:25 I'm having to write this after the fact because I was using both hands to hold it in until 10:30. a lot of shaking, rocking, bouncing, crossing, and holding on for deer life, but I made it.

10:31 I'm going to have to drink so much in the next 15 minutes. I peed 1.75 cups, so I'm drinking 3.5 cups. I feel so much better though. down to a 6/10

10:45 I'm starting to feel the liquids I started drinking 15 minutes ago, so the next 15 minutes will be interesting 😶

10:55 I'm teasing myself again. spreader bar standing without squirming or holding until 11

I'm writing this later because holding took all my focus, but I made it 😄. shaking my the end, having a really hard time not absent mindedly rubbing my tdick against the seam of my jeans to help hold back the tide 🌊.

11:01 I peed a cup and a half again. I kept trying to cut it off, and it kept restarting on it's own.

11:15 pulled down my pants and boxers a little and peed into them for compensatory time, but it might have made it worse. hard to tell since it's time for those fluids to hit me. this was going to be the finish time, but I'm going 15 more minutes

11:27 I'm writing this after because it all happened so fast. I decided to go to the shower to void at the end, but that cold bath I drew earlier is still in there. so I release the plug and let it drain, but the drain sounds are SO LOUD oh my gods. so I have to listen to it drain, while standing (squirming and holding myself) next to a toilet and the shower, for 3 minutes while it drains. I get into the shower a little after 11:29 and holding for that last 30 was so hard.

11:25 my partner is up so I had her gently feel how full my bladder is. Feeling the spark of urgency with the slight pressure and seeing her look of astonishment was 🤩.

11:31 I made it but as soon as my eyes saw "11:30" I had no control over my bladder. it just emptied. so much pee.

11:40 I'm still standing in the shower because I was finishing my notes and I already just peed again. The warmth is nice because the pee was starting to cool.

update written at 2:20 - after the hold I cleaned up and went to do errands and my bladder is so weak and I'm still so hydrated I desperately had to pee while we were out and again as soon as we got home. I definitely peed before we left, and all we did was get the oil changed (fidgeting in the lobby), went to get to-go burgers (desperately had to pee before we ordered, thankfully the bathroom didn't require a code), and go to the dispensary (had to go again), and I was desperate when I got home again. when I was running down the steps to my door I had the thought that I hadn't done the wash yet, so it wouldn't be a big deal to just let go now. but I could tell I could make it to the toilet if I kept moving.

Debrief: this was really fun.  Peeing a little bit drinking double every 15 minutes works for me to stay desperate as long as possible, and for me there's no pain with this method.

[mdnghtfae]

halloween special

characters: jade leech x gn! reader wc: 2.1k warnings: none? i dont think so anyway a/n: i meant to post this on halloween but it wasn’t finished so you get this for jade’s bday 🥰 this might be ooc idk…i also used a halloween prompt for this so i’ll link it

Halloween night at Ramshackle dorm is quiet, well…it was quiet. It had been quiet for a total of 3 minutes and 27 seconds before Grim burst through the door and into the living room. He skids to a stop in front of where you’re seated on the couch. He jumps up and yells, bragging about the desserts he managed to sneak out from the Halloween festival that the school was hosting.

“Why’d ya leave the party so early anyway? You left before the the party got good!” Grim hops up onto the couch, making you clutch your legs closer beneath the blanket you’re curled under. Your arm rests on the armrest of the couch, cheek in your palm as you watch Grim scarf down the contraband.

“I was tired, Grim. While you may have been a fan of the clout you received from all the magicam freaks, I am definitely drained.”

He yawns and sinks into the couch, continuing to stuff his face with the sweets. “Either way, you missed a good party and even better food.” He pauses as he notices you’re in your pjs. “Hey, where’s your costume?”

“Oh, I took it off as soon as I got back to the dorm. Grim, like I said…I’m tired. Now please, leave me alone will you?”

Grim scowls but hops off the couch. “Yeesh, it’s Halloween…lighten up!” He takes a swipe at your blanket as you throw a pillow at him and pull the blanket toward you. Grim races to his room, clearly in a rush to eat the delicacies by himself. God, he’s so stingy.

“So annoying,” you whisper to yourself as you try to find the comfortable position you were in before Grim so rudely interrupted your peace and quiet. And as you scrolled through the scary movies playing on the TV to see which one appealed to you, a knock rang on your door.

“Grim! Are you expecting anyone?!” Of course, no response. You sigh, kicking the blanket off and walking toward the door. Three knocks are heard once more after a brief pause. The knock almost sounds polite, yet demanding that the door be opened. You look through the peephole and see Jade Leech standing while holding a cellophane bag between his clasped hands. True to the knocking, he looks like a gentleman.

You open the door and give a small smile. “Hey, Jade. Were we expecting you?”

Jade steps forward and pauses, a silent plea for you to allow him in. He looks at you as he waits for you to decide. Almost instantly you step back, letting him walk into the foyer of the dorm. He smiles graciously, courteous smile never leaving his face as you lead him toward the living room.

“No, you were not expecting me. I came on my own will.” He tails behind you as you maneuver your way to the couch. His proximity made you a little nervous, not because you were afraid of him, but because you and Jade had a bit of a…situation. You weren’t exactly sure if you were reading too much into the comments he made when he was with you, but you felt like he was trying to tell you something!

“I didn’t mean to come off as rude, by the way, I just wasn’t expecting to see you at this hour.” You motion for him to sit beside you on the couch, moving the blanket aside so he’s not uncomfortable.

He chuckles, and that little polite laugh of his makes the butterflies in your stomach swirl like crazy. “No need to worry, I didn’t take it that way. I’m here because I have something for you.” He shifts in his spot so he faces you completely and extends the hand that was holding the bag toward you. “I noticed you left the event early and that you probably didn’t get the chance to taste the dessert, so I thought I’d bring some for you.”

You look down at his extended hand and grab the bag, your fingers brushing against his. You both smile, eyes lifting to gaze at each other momentarily before looking away. “You know sneaking out the food wasn’t allowed right?” You peek into the goodie bag and honestly, you’re glad he snuck some of the food out for you. It smells delicious.

He smiles, one that shows all of his teeth in their pointy glory. “I’m aware, but I could not let you go without tasting these.” Jade begins to stand, clearly feeling like he’s overstaying the visit. You reach out a hand to stop him while glancing over at a clock on the wall.

“Hey, Jade?”

He stands before you and waits for you to continue. “Yes?”

“It’s not that late…do you wanna stay and watch a movie or something??”

He gives a sly smile and quirks an eyebrow. “Or something?” Your cheeks burn as you look down, the ground suddenly very intriguing.

“I mean- well I was looking for a movie before you got here. And you brought me so many snacks that I think it’d be best if we share while watching something.”

He moves the blanket so that he can sit beside you. “I agree with that sentiment, prefect.” He takes his seat beside you, seemingly unfazed.

While you try to look for a movie, Jade’s presence is very much in your face. Well, it feels that way. He’s calmly sitting beside you, holding the sweets that you handed back to him so you could find a movie. Jade points at one of the titles of a horror movie that had come out earlier this year. “What about that one? I have heard it is good.”

“Oh really?” You turned to look at him, his physical proximity making you nervous. He’s so close to you, my god he’s pretty. His arm is brushing against yours and you swear he can feel you shaking. Jade nods in response to your question, so you click on the movie, not actually caring whether the movie is good or not.

“Care for a dessert?” Jade holds his hand out, goodie bag in his palm.

“The movie hasn’t started yet, let’s give it a few minutes.” You leave the living room to grab beverages and return in record time. After setting the drinks on the end table, you sit beside Jade. While you’re trying to give him his personal space, he doesn’t mind leaning in close. If anything, he keeps scooting closer while you try to keep a sliver of space between the two of you.

You can feel the warmth radiating off his skin, how his arm brushes against yours, how his hand slowly inches your way. The movie keeps rolling in the background, and Grim’s annoying snores can be heard down the hall-he’s definitely under a food coma. Jade looks in the direction of the hall, slyly smirking at Grim’s snores. “That will be a joy to sleep with.”

You groan, rolling your eyes as you sink into the couch and further under the blanket you crawled under at the start of the movie. “Don’t remind me.”

Jade peers down at you, playful remark on the tip of his tongue. “Okay, I will not.” Once again, he holds out the bagged sweets, seemingly wanting to change topics.

“Why are you so persistent?”

He raises an eyebrow. “About?”

You motion toward the bag with your eyes, looking at the bag for a brief second before meeting his gaze again. “About that.”

He clears his throat and sits up. “Ah, about this.” Jade holds the bag open as you reach in to grab one of the desserts, both of you staring intently at each other until you lean back once you’ve grabbed the delicacy.

He takes in a breath, holding it as he watches you take a bite. “I made them.”

Your eyes widen for a split second, until you recall that he’s a skilled chef, despite him denying his talent. “Why am I not surprised-but wait…”

Jade waits for you to continue, eyeing you intently. “I thought the school was preparing the food for the Halloween festival, not the students?”

He sinks into the couch, leaning in closer. “You are correct.” You wait for him to continue since it sounds like he’s only halfway through an explanation, but the latter half is never said.

“You made these for me specifically, didn’t you? You definitely didn’t snag these from the party like you said earlier.”

He turns his body so he’s facing you more directly. He’s about to open his mouth when another knock is heard at the door, this one sounding a little harsher, desperate. Your eyes dart from the TV to the door, the knocking only increasing in volume.

Jade looks at you expectantly. “Are you not going to open the door?” He tilts his head, making him look innocent. Not that he looks guilty, but Jade’s polite attitude seems a little excessive sometimes.

You shake your head, feeling the slightest bit uneasy as the knocks on the door seem to be timed perfectly to the current scene on the TV. “Nah, whoever is at the door can come back tomorrow.”

The music is picking up, clearly indicating there’s about to be a jump scare in the movie. It’s just your luck that you suddenly feel like you’re in a real life scary movie. Another knock is heard, this time on the window.

“I believe you should check who’s at the door, prefect.” Jade pauses the movie, fully expecting you to stand up from the couch.

You lean away so that you can get a good look at his face. “Are you crazy?! I’m not answering that door! That’s exactly what happens at the start of all of those movies, right before the killer gets in and-”

You’re stopped mid sentence when Floyd bursts into a fit of laughter. When Floyd managed to sneak into your dorm, you’ve no idea, but he definitely was not accompanying Jade when you let him inside.

Floyd stands up from behind the couch you and Jade are seated in, clutching his sides as he laughs. “You scare so easily, Shrimpy!”

You stand up and glare at the tweels, Floyd laughing unashamedly while Jade hides his small smile behind his hand. “You were in on this, weren’t you?”

Jade stands up, hand splayed on his chest. “Are you accusing me, prefect? Are you accusing me after all I did was bring you homemade sweets?”

Floyd frowns. “You’ve hurt my poor brother’s feelings Shrimpy, this is bad.”

You roll your eyes, not in the mood to deal with the twins’ antics. “And I thought I was the dramatic one.”

Jade drops his hand to his side, stepping closer to you. “May I apologize?”

It’s your turn to raise an eyebrow questioningly. “You’re not one to apologize, Jade Leech. Now can the both of you leave?” You point toward your door.

Jade is somewhat annoyed because while he did enjoy the prank Floyd pulled, he’s not happy that it ruined the intimate moment you and he were sharing. He’d have to speak to Floyd once they’d returned to their own dorm, but for now he’ll pretend like he was in on the prank the whole time. Jade was not one to be made a fool of nor was he a fan of being interrupted. At least he knows how to get back on your good side.

Like the gentleman he is, he stayed behind to help you clean after having sent Floyd to the dorm. You’re standing in the foyer while Jade stands outside your door. “Thank you for inviting me into your home.”

You snort. “And thank you for ruining the mood with your silly little prank. How did Floyd even get in?”

He shrugs, hands clasped together in the usual Jade Leech fashion. “As I asked before, may I apologize?”

“You’re asking me if you can apologize? Why would you need my permission?”

Stepping into the foyer upon your short interrogation, he bursts your bubble as he, once again, invades your personal space. He tucks a few strands of hair behind your ear, caressing your cheek with his knuckles as he smiles.

“I will only ask once more. May I apologize?”

He’s knocked the breath out of you, and all you can do is nod. His smile widens for a brief second, his sharp teeth on display for a moment before he presses a tantalizing kiss to the corner of your lips. Damned the way he toys with you.

He steps outside so quick you’re not sure if he actually kissed you or if you imagined it. In the blink of an eye, his hands are clasped once again and is standing up straight as he smiles his usual, polite smile.

“Happy Halloween, prefect. I hope you enjoy the rest of your night.”

And with that, he walks away, leaving you questioning what happened between the two of you on Halloween night in the Ramshackle dorm.

[codenamehazard]

.:The Dam Breaks:.

Chapter 27: The Dam Breaks

[TRIGGER WARNING: SEVERE MENTAL BREAKDOWN, SMALL MENTION OF CORPERAL PUNISHMENT, ANXIETY, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, MENTION OF ABILISM, SHITTY PARENT BEING SHITTY, MENTIONS OF BUGS AND SPIDERS.]

Hey guys! Hoooooo man, this is a chapter I've been chomping at the bit to share with you guys ever since I finished it! I hope you guys like this as much I liked writing it! Big shoutout to @rogueshadeaux for helping me with research, brainstorming and being the creator of Jean and Brent Rowland!

Without further ado, let's jump in!

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

Warmth runs down my throat as I take a sip of warm water. How long has it been since the chaos that was Pangolin’s transfer into the Poison Ward of this hospital went down? Around 12 hours? With how on edge everybody was, it was hard to tell and it didn’t calm down either.

Sometime earlier, The metal man had walked out into the waiting room to get Mako with a worrying urgency. She got up with no questions asked, but this prompted Dove to jump up and try to blitz through the doors. It took both Kestrel and I to hold the thrashing pigeon back. I actually had to zap him hard enough to knock him out just so that Mako could get through unimpeded.

A squabble followed when Dove came to, the dodo and the bird of prey locked verbal talons as they screamed at each-other. It wasn’t until Kestrel gave a sharp-tongued snap at Dove that he backed down and conceded the argument. Now he was just sitting in the corner, sulking like a child.

I don’t blame the kid, really. If that was my brother, I would be ready to become a one-man demolition team. Though I understand that right now, the best way we can help Pangolin is to stay out of the docs’ way until we’re called upon.

I paid little mind to the plague doctor knock-off as something else has my attention. Kestrel…

Ever since Pangolin was admitted, she hasn’t been acting right. Granted, she’s always been an odd bird, eccentric, but this? This isn’t normal even for her. Pacing back and forth like a trapped zoo animal, fussing with that evil eye bracelet I remember seeing from when we talked in Droptown, sometimes she would flap her hands when she thinks nobody’s looking. She’s silent as a church mouse, something that she just isn’t.

The thing that really had my attention were her steel-blue eyes. Wide and wild, darting from the bay doors to a door painted a cool blue with a moon on it. Back and forth, back and forth, incessantly. Something’s not right in her head and it isn’t just from the fear for her fellow Misfit.

Watching Kestrel pace about with her wild eyes, it made me feel something I haven’t felt in a long ass time. An emotion I didn’t expect to feel. A weight in my stomach, an ache. The sight twists my guts into a knot that claws at me. Worry. I scoff at the sensation and brush it off.

Why should I worry about the girl? She’s a grown woman, she can take care of herself. Besides, it’s a waste of emotional energy. There’s no point in worrying about someone who hates me and who I hate in kind.

Despite my reasoning, the knot remains, so I just ignore it. There’s probably another reason why it’s there.

I turn my head as I hear the door open, seeing Mako and the tin-man… Coyote, was it? I don’t know, so many new names. They were quietly talking among themselves before turning to face us. Kes takes a deep breath and shakes her head, trying to calm herself and hide her… Whatever’s going on in her head, before asking the two about Pangolin’s status.

God, she’s not even sounding right. Her voice is too quiet, despite trying to speak with confidence, her tone’s also…. Restricted, I guess? There’s the kind of cracking that happens when you’re trying to hold something back. Mako and Coyote look at each-other before nodding, Mako stepping up towards us.

“Pangolin’s status has been stabilized, but he’s not out of the weeds yet. That sting from the blink scorpion went into his bones and was wreaking havoc on the marrow. I had to help Crow infuse the anti-corrodium serum directly into his bones without throwing up.” She says with a shudder as Coyote rubs his hand, must have had her hold it during everything. Mako was never a fan of patterned holes. “Thankfully the infusion is working and he’s stable enough to have another visi-”

Before Mako could finish her sentence, Dove leaps up from his seat and practically disappears as he turns into a gust of wind. The only thing that tells me where he is was the movement of objects as he rushes through to be with his brother.

Kes sighs in relief, or rather tries to. Whatever demon she’s fighting in her head is crossing some wires in that brain of hers. The sight is strange, the only thing I could really describe it as is like she’s forgetting how to be a normal person right before my eyes. The wild eyes now damn near flying around in their sockets and her smile becoming more forced by the second.

Coyote and Mako look at each-other worriedly before the shark gives the metal-man a nod. Coyote nods back before heading over and whispering something into Kes’ ear, I try to listen in, but it’s too faint. Whatever he said prompted the girl to make a beeline to that weird moon-door with Coyote hot on her heels.

The man gets in front of Kes and opens the door for her before she shoulder-checks it down and closes it quietly behind her. What happens next…. Makes me nauseous.

Screaming, warped and metallic. Just like back at her shop when Pangolin pushed her too far. Hearing it the first time made me sick and angry but this time it makes my blood run cold and the knot in my stomach grow tighter, the sound of twisting metal inside the room didn’t help either. Without thinking, I push myself off the wall and walk over to the door. Coyote looks at me worried and about ready to go into a defensive stance when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head to glare at the offending party. Mako.

“You better have a damn good reason for why I shouldn’t fry you for touching me.” I can hear Shiny getting ready to say something, but Mako holds her hand up.

“Cole, slow your roll for a second. I can explain what’s going on…. Somewhat.” She hums and I try to relax. Eyes glowing intensely as I watch her.

“Kestrel’s having a meltdown.” Mako says with a sigh and I scoff.

“Yeah, I can see that but that doesn’t explain anything.” I snip as I cross my arms, Mako facepalms.

“I was getting to that, Cole.” Mako growls in aggravation. “She’s on the Spectrum.”

“... The internet company?”

“NO!!” The shark bellows out before thumping her hand on her forehead. “The Autism Spectrum. She’s high functioning!”

Autism? That’s a word I haven’t heard in a long time. Last time I heard that word was back when I was in high-school. A classmate of mine fell to pieces in band class after the asshole behind him wouldn’t stop screeching on that damn violin he had. Surprised I didn’t have tinnitus from that asshat alone. The last horrendous squeak had me turning around to deck the fucker when the poor kid just lost it. Threw himself on the ground, covered his ears, started to rock himself to pieces and yelled at the top of his lungs to “shut up” repeatedly. The teacher’s assistant had to help the guy out while the teacher dragged Screechie McFuckface out of the class to give him a verbal lashing.

I remembered asking the assistant what was going on and she told me it had something to do with Autism and then shooed me away so she could focus on getting the kid calmed down… Then I asked my dad about it. 

“That’s what damn brats like you become when parents are too soft on them. 16 years old and throwing fucking tantrums like toddlers. Damn kid should have gotten the belt, not a coddle.”

Needless to say that was the last time I talked to Dad about that kid.

With that word associated with Kestrel, things started to make sense.. Things I thought were normal girl things started to line up with things the rocking kid did and even the things that weren’t normal made some sense. How she would get irritated when things she had placed just so would get moved or just people moving her stuff in general. How she avoided certain textures. How she would sometimes stop and stare at the ceiling or at corners at odd times. Even how she couldn’t quite look me in the eyes, always looking at the large scar on the left side of my face. It all made sense.

And now, her screaming also made sense.

“Everything that happened?” Mako continues. “The monsters, the bugs, the big ass spider, Pangolin getting tagged badly, all of that on top of shouldering the physical and emotional burden that comes with taking the lead? It was like a landslide falling into a reservoir. Yeah, the dam can hold it all back for a little bit, but it starts to crack and leak until-”

“-It fails and breaks.” I finish as my brain processes everything, dots connecting in ways I didn’t know were there.

“Mhm.” Mako hums as she nods. “She did well to last as long as she did, but that constant burden of having to always put on a brave face and look like she’s in control is one of the reasons why she wants nothing to do with leadership at all. It would wreak havoc on her mental-state, that’s what she says anyways.”

Mako continues to explain, but at this point my mind begins to focus on something that’s only growing more and more insistent. The knot in the pit of my stomach that I’ve been trying to ignore. The gnawing of worry. It’s damn-near suffocating, but why?!? I don’t worry about people like this unless I care about them, but why am I caring about the bird?! Why do I care? Why am I giving a rat’s left testicle about the freak-out of someone who hates my guts, Autism or not?? Kestrel doesn’t like me, I don’t like her. We both hate each-other, so why should I give a shit?!

The clicking of the door draws my attention as I see Coyote peek into the room, it’s at that point I notice that the screaming has quieted. He walks inside and stays in there for a little before peeking his head out of the door. Signaling for Mako to come over. She nods and ushers me to follow. I walk over to the door to peek in and…

Oh… Fuck…

Kestrel Morrison, the Fiery Gunsmith… She’s just… Sitting in the middle of the floor, anything metal around her twisted and warped from her powers going haywire. A black, fuzzy-looking blanket wrapped around her form as listless eyes gaze out at a wall. Her appearance looked almost sickly with the blanket around her body. Flushed face, cheeks streaked with drying tears that stained the fluff and her expression blank, almost hollow.

The only other time I’ve seen her look that lifeless was after the Mine Incident and it pulled at my heart just as strong.

I turn my head to see Coyote walking over to a shelf and grabbing two large totes full of colorful items. The sound they make when the totes are gently placed near the silent bird told me what they are, the tell-tale rattle of Legos. The metal man quietly opens the totes to show that yep, they were Legos, one’s full of the tried and true bricks, the other was full of more mechanical looking pieces. Bionicles.

The sight of the toys caused the girl to stir, a small turn of her head, a twitch of her lips upwards and the light in her eyes brightening.

Coyote sits down next to Kestrel and begins to build, the bird following suit with her Bionicles, no words spoken, only small looks and the sound of clicking and clacking as they begin to build. With the bricks Coyote builds a small city, showing his skill in architecture. The Gunsmith takes the robotic parts and snaps them together, creating monsters to re-enact favorite kaiju movies in among the growing buildings.

Seeing Kestrel playing quietly with her mechanical creations soothed the knot that ate at my stomach, but a new feeling takes its place. A feeling that makes my blood start to boil, I resist the urge to frown. What the hell? Where did this come from?! The worry is gone, the screaming has stopped! This is the most wholesome sight I have seen in a long-ass time! Kestrel’s fine and she’s just playing Legos with Coyote! I’ve lost track of how many years have gone by since I’ve seen anything remotely this sweet!

Why in the name of GOD is this pissing me off?!?

[youreobsessedwithtoomanyfandoms]

You'll See Me In Hindsight (Jason Todd)

Word Count: 1667

Warnings: Language, Age gap, 7 years. Reader is 20 and Jason in 27

Originally was supposed to be just for Wildest Dreams but decided to add All Too Well to it as well so yeah, hope y'all enjoy

ALSO FROM THE ACCOUNT YOUREOBSESSEDWITHDC WHICH WAS ME

DC Masterlist Main Masterlist Join My Taglist

Love Z <3

Y/N sat cross-legged on her bed, text and notebooks out in front of her. She looked up from them when she heard the slam of her apartment door. Soon seeing Jason standing in the doorway of her room. She tilted her head to the side as to ask him what was up. She wasn’t expecting him until later which why she had confusion on her face.

“Get your shoes on and grab that travel bag you always have filled.”

Her curiosity grew as did her fear, “Why?”

“Because, I decided that we should get out of this town. Away from everything, even if it’s just for the weekend.”

And before she could argue, he have her his signature look and all that she could think was ‘God, not even Heaven can help me when he gives me that look.’

So she nodded silently and grabbed her things.

She knew that one day this moment would haunt her, if not both of their memories. But she didn’t care. Besides, she always says that nothing can last forever.

——–

The two had been in the car for a few hours. Things had gone from good to bad to worse. Now they were arguing and he was pulling over to the side of the road.

As he got out of the car she was just beginning to unbuckle, “What the hell are you doing Jason?!”

He didn’t even look at her when he spoke, “I just need a moment to fucking breath.”

The door slammed shut and she stumbled out of the car. Following after him. “Seriously Jason! We’re in the middle of no where and the sun is going down! We need to continue going if we want to reach the next town or make it back to Gotham before it’s too late.”

He said nothing as he threw his keys at her and continued to walk in the way that they had just come from. She walked over and kneeled to pick the keys up, grabbing at his ‘fuck the patriarchy’ keychain.

She sighed as she stood up again and stared as Jason slowly began to fade into the distance. She went into the drivers side and turned the car on. She turned around and drove towards him, slowly down to match his speed when she made it.

He voice was soft as she spoke, “Jay, get in the car.”

“No Y/N.”

“Jay, please, we can head back to Gotham and not say a word to each other. Just please, please, please get in the car. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

That was when he looked at her finally. And in the dimming light she saw his face soften. He nodded, “Fine, alright, unlock the door.”

She smiled and leaned over to unlock the door and he slipped into the car. “Thank you.”

Once he had shut the door, she began towards Gotham.

It had been about 20 minutes when she felt his hand sit on her thigh. She smiled softly and dropped one of her hands down and took his in her own.

——–

“Would you mind if my family came here to eat tomorrow night?”

Y/N nearly dropped the plate that was in her hand. She turned to him, “I’m sorry?”

“What? All that I did was ask if my family could eat here tonight. It would be the perfect chance for you to finally meet them.” He shrugged as he finished speaking.

“I-I guess. But Jay, are you sure they’d want to come here? I mean, it isn’t exactly what they’re probably used to.”

He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist, “Bruce was the one who suggested it actually. Everyone agreed with him so it was kind of hard to get out of it.”

She nodded, “Alright, fine. That’s fine.”

He kissed her forehead, “Don’t worry. Bruce Wayne and his dysfunctional adopted children and actual biological child will love you.”

She smiled softly, “Whatever you say Jason.”

——–

They had all finished eating and Y/N was sitting at the table, unsure of what to do. She had tried to speak but every time she had gotten spoken over. No one had tried to speak with her, except for the normal 'hi’ and 'it’s nice to finally meet you’. The only person at this table who she knew was no help either. Jason didn’t even try to include her in the conversation.

She moved her hand to take his and he brushed it away. And she didn’t know why, but it made her upset. But she couldn’t name on why.

——–

Now everyone was gone and she was doing the dishes. It had been silent until Jason decided to speak, “Why’re you pissed off?”

She refused to look at him, “Who said I was pissed off?”

“Your body language and the tone of your voice. Everything shows you’re pissed off. Not even counting the fact that you’ve been acting weird this whole evening.” She tightly gripped the sink nozzle, “I mean, this is my family who were super fucking nice to you.”

She turned off the sink, “Never said that I didn’t like your family. They seemed nice.”

“Then why’re you acting like this?”

“Like what Jason?”

“Like you didn’t like them! I mean seriously, what the fuck?!”

“Maybe you forgot Jason, I’m only 20 and everyone else was older than me or younger.”

“Tim’s only 4 years older.”

“Yeah? And he’s a fucking CEO of a company. A very fucking successful one at that!”

“I thought your age never mattered? Why does it when it comes to my family?!”

“Because they all thought I was over 21! Every one of them, besides those who’re younger, asked me if I wanted any wine! I had to fucking take it so they wouldn’t get suspicious! I mean, obviously my age matters to you!”

“It doesn’t matter to me!”

“Then why do they think I’m older than I am?!”

“God, you’re acting so fucking crazy.”

“Oh? So I’m crazy now?!”

“Yes! Yes, you are!”

“You’re such a fucking dick Jason!”

And for some reason, he said nothing. All he did was walk over to her and smashed his lips onto hers. She gasped slightly and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She moved her hands to tangle in his hair as one of his hands moved to grip the counter as the other gripped her hip.

——–

Clothes were scattered all around the room. His hands were tangled in her hair. Both were breathless. “You know, no one has to know about us.”

She kissed him, “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He untangled one of his hands and used it to brush some hair out of her eyes. The look in his eyes was strange, she thought that he was finally gonna do it. Finally tell her that he loved her. “Y/N…” He paused, as if to think of what to say next. “Y/N, you’re my best friend.”

She knew what he meant. She knew that he was in love. But she also knew that it was too good to be true. That nothing this good lasts forever. But it was just getting so good.

——–

“You’re making me feel so fucking stupid Todd! God, I can’t believe I fucking loved you!”

“You’re just being a fucking bitch! You’re literally making everything about you! I mean fuck, maybe we were wrong to do this! Maybe this age gap was wrong! Maybe, if we had been closer in age this all would have been fine!”

When he said that, she wanted to die.

“This idea you have of me, who is she? This perfect innocent girl who doesn’t understand anything? You’re treating me like a secret, saying my name as if I’m some special little secret! I mean, I just found out that you’re family didn’t know I was your girlfriend! They thought I was just a friend!”

“Why are you acting like this?!” And before she could say anything he threw his hands up in anger, “No! Don’t fucking say anything! I’m done! I’m fucking done with this! You!”

She nodded, “Fine.” She pushed a piece of hair out of her face, “Fine. I’ll just leave then.”

“Yeah, just fucking go.”

She pushed past him, keeping the tears in until she had gotten out of his apartment complex. Once out, she cried the entire way to her friends apartment.

——–

It had been 6 months since they had broken up. She was turning 21. Jason was sitting at his table, staring at the seat across from him. Remembering what he had heard her say on the phone to a friend once.

“Yeah, but like dude, he’s really tall and handsome.” He heard her sigh, “I just hate that I can see the end as all of this is beginning.” He didn’t hear anything until he heard her soft laugh, “When we have our last kiss I’ll also make my last request.” He heard a plate getting placed down, “I’ll request for him to tell me that he’ll remember me standing in a nice dress while staring at the sunset. Red lipstick on too. I’ll ask that he’ll see me again, even if it’s just in his wildest dreams.”

In hindsight, he should have known, well, they both should have known, that her gut feeling was right. That they were just doomed to be self-destructive. Now all that he can see is her tangled around him. Their legs interlacing, hands in hair, holding onto each other like it’s the one thing keeping them alive.

It was debatable on who was the one who left, but he knew that those memories of her haunted him. It was as if she followed him around. There was nothing he could do that didn’t remind him of her. He knew she was doing well since he had seen her a few days previous, giving her the rest of her things, as well as something for her birthday.

Because after all, isn’t it supposed to be fun turning 21?

[afairytalestray]

Day 27 of @storyweaverofgondor's cats-pril - background. I found this as a writing prompt incredibly challenging and I definitely went off piste, but I hope it was a fun read anyway! Also on Ao3 here.

..

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Misto laughed as Tugger, once again, called for a break, slumping down on a nearby rock. The forest around them chittered with life, but there definitely wasn’t another Cat for miles.

He did and he didn’t. Hiking was, undoubtedly, dreadful, and Tugger hated it. Walking was fine, but an endless uphill slog was not how he envisioned today going. He wasn’t unfit, not by a long shot, but it had been two hours and they still weren’t there!

“Of course!” he replied stubbornly. He did desperately want to get to the end of this hike. There, according to his research, was a beautiful hidden waterfall, which would make the perfect backdrop for what he had planned. The internet had made out like the path there was an easy stroll, not this Everest climb! But the plan was the plan, and Tugger had meticulously thought out every other detail.

“Do you want me to carry something for you?” Misto joked. He could and would actually do it though, Tugger thought. Being a principal dancer at the ballet meant his boyfriend was in god-like shape. Additionally, he actually enjoyed hiking.

“I’d say my heart, but you already have that,” Tugger said, blowing him a kiss. He received an eye-roll in return.

“You’re a terrible flirt,” Misto groaned, but he was definitely trying not to smile. “Come on.” He took Tugger’s paws and easily pulled him upright again. Tugger kept hold of one of them and swung it as they walked. It was worth it, really, to see Misto enjoy himself so much. He chatted mindlessly as they followed the forest trail further, telling Tugger all about his last rehearsal, the birds they saw in the trees, the cake Tugger baked last week… this, that, and everything, really. Tugger engaged as much as he could whilst trying to hide how much he was panting for breath. Misto only chattered uninhibitedly like this when he was completely comfortable with whoever he was around, and Tugger was insanely proud to tick that box.

Finally, FINALLY, after another 20 minutes that felt like 20 years, they rounded a bend and came face to face with the waterfall. Misto let out a little gasp, dropping Tugger’s paw as he darted over to the little pool beneath to get a closer look. Tugger gave as big a whoop as his strained lungs allowed, and dived into his backpack to pull out the massive camera and tripod he had brought. Misto looked back, and snorted at the sight.

“No wonder you’re exhausted, lugging all that around with you! What’s wrong with a couple of phone shots?”

“Oi! It’s a heck of an achievement I made it up here, I want high-quality evidence of this moment!”

This moment, that would hopefully be so much more than reaching the finish line. Tugger clicked everything into place, making sure the shot would be perfectly lined up, before tapping the record function.

“Sparkles! Take a photo with me!” he called, bounding round in front of the lens. From here, the camera would perfectly capture them, with the pretty waterfall in the background. Tugger may look slightly dishevelled, but Misto looked glorious, and there was nothing a touch of photoshop couldn’t fix!

Misto smiled, and came over to where Tugger now stood. He turned to face the camera, but Tugger manoeuvred him so they were facing each other, camera on the right, waterfall on the left.

“Trust me,” he murmured, seeing Misto’s quizzical look.

“I do, I just didn’t realise you were into photography all of a sudden. Not that that’s surprising, mind you.”

Tugger laughed. True, his interests and hobbies changed like the tides, all except one – the interest-turned-love he had for the Cat before him. The one and only Cat who had ever made him keen to settle down.

“Close your eyes,” he murmured, floating one paw over Misto’s eyes, the other over his own pocket.

“What are you up to?” Misto smiled, but closed his eyes anyway.

Oh, Everlasting, don’t get scared now!

Everything around them faded into the background. Tugger took a deep breath, and got down on one knee. He pulled the engagement collar box out of his pocket, and took Misto’s paw in his own.

“Open?” he said, trying to sound braver than he felt. A pause followed, in which Tugger was too nervous to look up.

“T- Tugger?”

“Marry me?” Tugger asked, gathering the nerve to look up into Misto’s eyes. A wide range of emotions crossed his face, from surprise, to amazement, and eventually to joy as he nodded furiously. He had teared up a bit, which seemed to be stopping him from actually saying anything, but his grip on Tugger’s paw was unbelievably tight. A lump rose in Tugger’s own throat as the weight lifted off his chest. He rose to his paws, grabbed his new fiancé, and lifted and twirled him in a circle, cheering all the while.

“Yes!” Misto managed to gasp, laughing at Tugger’s exuberant display of pure delight. He tugged the box to see the collar closer. “Put it on?”

Tugger did, and felt his own eyes get dangerously watery as he clasped it closed around Misto’s neck.

“How do I look?”

“So beautiful baby, you have no idea.”

Misto laughed, and pulled Tugger into a kiss.

Tugger hated hiking, but this was worth it. The camera should have caught every second of this perfect moment, and he doubted anything would ever sour his mood again! Not even realising he now had another two-and-a-half-hour trek back to civilisation.

[lumalesa-kadichizho]

~A Memory~

Inazuman Newspaper

It was March 27 when I first met the entity.

It was late into the night when I finally got the chance to catch my breath. I had just finished closing the small shop I was working at before stepping out into the calming night. I noticed how brightly the moon shone as it illuminated the streets, almost as if the sun was still out, and how warm the air was while being accompanied by a small breeze.

I remember feeling restless and not wanting to go to bed just yet. The stresses of that day would keep me up for another hour or so. So, I decided to go on a walk. There was no destination in mind as I kept walking. I had simply let my feet guide me through the streets, outside of city walls, through dirt trails, and eventually towards the woods.

The woods are a little far from the city, being almost on opposite ends of the island. As I approached the gate that laid before the forest, I looked around the environment. The trees loomed above as fog seeped through the gaps in between. I had never ventured through these woods before, but I had heard countless stories. It was known as the Chinju Forest. There were many stories about the weird phenomenons that would occur throughout the forest late into the night. 

The feeling of the trees watching you, the fog whispering, mysterious creatures appearing and disappearing, and the weirdest thing here. The flowers. They say that the flowers here are one of a kind and can only grow within the forest. During the day they’re regular blue flowers, but during the night they emmitt a bright yet soft glow. Enchanted by the beauty, many people have attempted to pick these flowers and take them home, only to be met with misfortune the moment they leave.

As I entered through the gates, I was immediately greeted by a wave of fog only for it to quickly dissipate and be followed by a soft blue glow. I kept walking on the trail as I took in the view. It looked exactly like the stories. The trees, the fog, the glowing flowers. There’s even a stream that weaved through the trees. The path traveled upward as torii gates followed it. The place was obviously sacred in some way and it was highly likely that a shrine resided nearby.

Torii gates are symbolic gateways between the living and spiritual world, and also mark the entrance to sacred shrines or temples. It’s important to know two things before passing through a gate. First, you need to bow in front of the torii gate as a sign of respect towards the gods. Second, do not walk directly in the exact center of the gate since it's believed that only the gods have the right to pass through in the direct center.

Following all the procedures, I kept walking. The higher I traveled, the more noises I would hear. In the distance I could hear music playing. Listening closely, I realized how the music sounded like celebration or festival music. Maybe the spirits there were celebrating something. What for? I didn’t stay to find out.

As I approached the end of the path, I saw a building. It resided just a little ways outside the end of the forest, near a cliff. It was a bit of a surprise since I hadn’t heard of any stories about a building residing on the other side of the forest. The closer I got, the colder the air became. The atmosphere was dense and any sounds I heard before vanished. It felt like the air was stagnant. Walking closer, I felt a pit of foreboding swelling in me.

 Getting a closer look at the building, I could see how neglected it was. It seemed to be a small estate that a previous clan lived in. Parts of the outer walls had either collapsed or had holes through them.

I stopped at the entrance of the estate. It was smaller than the average clan households and held a foul smell. It was dangerous for me to be out alone like that in the middle of no here, but I wasn’t afraid. If anything, I was curious. I was weary but never scared. It was a peculiar feeling to be so calm in this situation.

As I looked across the estate, a lone figure stood at the opposite end. They seemed to have their back towards me as they gazed out into the ocean. I contemplated not bothering them and leaving the person behind, but the figure held such a somber presence that my conscience wouldn’t allow me to leave a troubled soul in need. Taking a deep breath in, I walked towards the figure.

It was a human, or at least looked like a human. From what I could see, it was a male with light blue hair, who was wearing what seemed to be a mixture of a Jinbaori and a Hitatare. It looked like he was from a high ranked clan based on his attire, but as far I know, there’s no existing clans in the area that wear those types of clothing. At least, not anymore.

Before I knew it, I was just a few feet away from him. Whether or not he heard me approach him, he did not acknowledge me even as I stood next to him. My eyes focused towards the waters, not having looked at his face quite yet.

We stood in silence for a couple minutes before I decided to turn my attention towards the man. The first thing I noticed was the location where his face should’ve been. Everything about him was human except for the void where his face should have been. Oddly enough, he still had eyes. They stood out against the black void. It was quite unnerving and surprising, but I managed to calm myself down before saying anything. 

The man or entity looked at me. I gave him- it my greetings and introduced myself. I knew it probably wasn’t the best choice to accompany this unknown entity, but it looked lost. As if it was longing for something but knew it couldn’t have it. 

Then, it spoke.

“Greetings. ##### has mentioned you on numerous occasions y̴o̴u̸r̶ ̵t̵i̵m̵e̴ ̵i̷s̵ ̸n̸o̷w̴ ̵a̷n̸d̸ ̵w̴i̴l̵l̸ ̸b̶e̶ ̵g̸o̶n̸e̴,̶ ̸t̴h̶e̵ ̸e̶n̷d̴ ̸i̷s̶ ̵n̵i̸g̸h̷  which belated our first meeting until today. I am ######## Ayato, head of i̷t̷ ̴i̵s̵ ̴t̵i̵m̶e̸ ̵t̶o̵ ̸g̸o̴ ̸h̵o̶m̴e̶,̷ ̵i̸t̴ ̷i̴s̶ ̸t̷i̶m̷e̸ ̷t̴o̶ ̵g̶o̵.”

It was…interesting. During its introduction, I would hear static every now and then which would block out certain phrases, and the man’s voice would change almost as if another entity would pop into his body to speak to me. It was extremely disturbing and the thought of running away crossed my mind, but I also wanted to hear more. My curiosity was conflicting with my “common sense” side. As I debated on whether or not I should run away from the entity, the entity spoke again.

“Hello”

(this was inspired by a character ai conversation I had with a faceless ayato. fun fact, this was actually for a school assessment I did a few months ago.)

(Should I do a part 2?)

[potassium-pilot]

FFXIVWrite 2023, Prompt 27: Sole

Dia has met zombies on more than one occasion. She's fought off her fair share of them in several locations. She's met the gentleman zombie converted by Hildibrand Manderville. She likened the tempered of Garlemald to zombies with the way they moved and acted.

This day, however, she understood what it meant to be a part of the living dead.

A raucous night in the Forgotten Knight with Hilda and Joye led to what she had hoped might be a rehabilitation of sorts to public drinking. The rehabilitation was all too successful, ending with Dia waking up in Borel Manor with not even a shred of memory of the night before. Slowly, she made her way into the kitchen to obtain some fresh water. Her head was pounding, her skin felt glued onto her bones, even the sound of blinking pulsated within her skull. It was official; she overdid it.

This much was proven when the kitchen door opened behind her, and a well-meaning Aymeric greeted her with a "Hello!" He was met with the pained groans of a woman in the throes of a nasty hangover.

"Ah. Forgive me", he apologized much quieter, "I had assumed."

She held up a finger to indicate "One moment" while she drank her water. From there, she leaned against the kitchen counter, placed her hands against her head, and did everything in her power to focus Esuna enough to remove it. Aymeric leaned on the opposite of the counter to watch. Her eyes were closed, her lips were pursed, and her mind was doing everything in her power to recall the ability, adding to the headache already pulsing through her.

In a minute, life returned to the lifeless, and she could let down her hands as Esuna worked its magic across her body.

"There we go. I feel like a person again, at least. Sorry about that", Dia remarked before she leaned across the counter to kiss his cheek.

"I wish I could say I was surprised. When Hilda returned you home, you were barely hanging onto consciousness."

"Oh gods, Hilda. I'll have to see how bad it was last night."

"Be ready. No one likes how they act when they're in a drunken stupor."

Dia kept drinking water. Upon finishing her sip, she asked, "How bad was it when I came home?"

"Not terrible. You were mumbling about how happy you were to see me, giggling, and stumbling about the place. Eventually, I shepherded you to bed, but I was prepared for more difficulty than that."

"You're a saint. What brings you home at this time?"

"My meal time allows me some leniency, and I thought to use the hour to ensure that you let live." Aymeric smiled. Then, realization flashed in his eyes.

"Ah, and the man who robbed you is to be arraigned in an hour, if I remember the schedule correctly."

"Ha-ha, very funny", she returned sarcastically.

"I'm serious."

"Wha?"

"You...don't remember at all, do you?"

"Not even a little. What the hells? What did he take?"

"A few hundred gil, and some odd red and blue trinket", Aymeric answered.

"Red and blue trinket? What did it look like?"

"A rectangular shaped object with red and blue lines running up and down the surface."

It took her a second, but she soon remembered. "Oh! That's an Allagan tomestone." She pulled one out of her inventory. "I use them to buy dirt. Oh gods, they're not going to make this man fight in the tribunal for taking my dirt money, are they?"

"...why are you using ancient Allagan technology... to buy dirt? And how?"

"Adventurer's market likes the dirt Rowena has in stock. Look, can I stop this?"

"At this stage, you would need to discuss dropping the charges with the magistrate. Considering that the arraignment is so soon, I'm not sure what can be done at this stage other than pleading with the magistrate to let him go. You may find significant protest to such a measure, however."

"Why?"

Aymeric sighed. "There's not a soul in Ishgard who has not heard about what happened."

"What? I got wasted and a guy picked my pockets. What's there to tell?"

"Precisely that. Many, from the Pillars down to the Brume, find that what the man did to you dishonored your legacy...myself included, I'm afraid. Though you seem adamantly opposed to fighting him and I shall support your wishes in this matter, I was also gravely offended to hear what he did whilst you had no control over your body."

She buried her face in her hands. "You can't do anything about this?"

"Little and less, I'm afraid. I created a government that specifically deters public figures from being the sole leaders of Ishgard. The power is in the hands of the people, and it would take the support of the House of Lords for a pardon to come into effect. That said, I can at least offer some weight behind your pleas and write a letter to send with you."

Dia breathed a long, heavy sigh. "All right. I appreciate the help, anyway."

"Of course."

"And thank you for checking on me. I'd eat lunch with you, but with the timing of everything..."

"No need to explain. I'll write the letter first and foremost."

------

Dia spent a good portion of her time running and teleporting. She started with the magistrate's office in the Vault, the secretary who presided over this office asking for a case number. Of course Dia knew of no case number as she only knew of this trial some quarter bell ago. Then she was off to the Congregation, who gave her a case number. She returned to the Tribunal only to be asked for the name of the perpetrator, cursing herself for not knowing it. Back to the Congregation, she personally made sure there was nothing left that she needed to know of the man and her case, and returned to the magistrate, only to be told that the magistrate residing over the case was in a meeting and she would have to wait.

And wait she did until the time was nigh for both the magistrate and Dia to be in the courtroom.

The magistrate opened the door, clearly in a rush, but stopped when he saw her.

"Mistress Sito! Forgive me, I expected you downstairs."

"I know I'm supposed to be, but I've been trying to talk with you this past hour. Listen, about this case-"

"Let's walk and discuss this."

"Wait, we don't need to do it!"

The magistrate seemed shocked. "Mistress Sito, do you recognize what you are asking?"

"I am. I simply do not wish to fight a man over some gil and a tomestone."

The magistrate blinked. "At this stage, Mistress Sito, you would have to ask for the charges to be dropped in the Tribunal."

"All this for some gil?"

"All this for some gil taken from someone who is considered one of the most revered heroes of Ishgardian history, and I say this without a trace of exaggeration, madam. There are many people who are watching this case."

Dia shook her head. "All right. To the Tribunal, then."

The two of them quickly made their way from the Vault to the Tribunal. Both entered from their respective entrances, Dia being led to the prosecution side of the table where she could see her robber.

The Elezen man opposite her was a scrawny young man, with his hair disheveled, clothes tattered, and face filled with fear. He knew he would be fighting her, and she desperately wished not to do that. Hilda entered and joined her side of the courtroom.

"Ye feelin' better?" Hilda asked.

"Well, I'm not hungover, at least. Sorry if I was a wreck last night, by the by."

"Eh, don't worry 'bout it. Drinkin' makes a fool of all of us."

"Can I just let him go? I don't want to fight him."

"Ye could let him go, but consider- this crowd's pretty fired up. I've already heard talk around the place of what people would do were he to walk. If he were to be let free, no one could control what happens to the poor sod after the trial. Chances are he's safer in prison than he is here."

"Well, shite. What do I do now?"

"Hm...I have an idea."

As expected, the magistrate called upon Hilda, the person who made the arrest, to explain the charges being levied against this man. The man was determined to be in good enough shape to fight. From there, the floors opened behind the two of them and both her and her robber were led downstairs.

The robber was the first to come out. He didn't see his victim anywhere in the arena, confusing him greatly. Soon, however, she appeared before him and he couldn't help but gawk in complete surprise.

Dia stepped onto the field in a culinarian's smock and hat, pulling out her pan and brandishing it as she would a weapon.

"Food's up, Heuritrellain!" Dia called her robber's name with a smile and a wink.

Not a single person watching the match wasn't confused by her attire and choice of weaponry, except for Hilda. The halfling watched above with a smile.

Heuritrellain stopped staring, and picked up the sword he barely knew how to use, shaking as he held it. Dia faced him down happily, allowing him the first move. Soon, he picked up his courage and made a full run towards her.

As Hilda watched, she remembered the first thing she told Dia in the courtroom:

"Make it seem like you're trying."

For his unprepared run did he earn a loud 'THWACK' against his face, knocking him to the ground.

"Come on, then! You've got the sword here, not me!"

Heuritrellain stood up, and tried to slice behind him, Dia's Echo warning him of his next move instantly, even before he did anything- his tells were incredibly obvious. She dodged his attack effortlessly and taunted him with an obnoxious guffaw.

"What are you doing?" Heuritrellain asked.

"Fighting, of course!" Dia answered before smacking him upside the head once more with a frying pan. When he fell once more, Dia went down to his side and spoke quietly to him.

"Listen, I don't want to put you in prison. Just pretend to get me down and you can go free."

"No."

"Huh?"

"I don't want to go free. I bloody robbed the Savior of Ishgard."

"You...didn't mean to rob me?"

"I didn't know who you were. I thought you were just some drunken noblewoman. I couldn't see your face when you were passed out face flat on the table."

"Oh gods, I'm never drinking again", she mumbled to herself, clearly lying.

"If the defendant does not stand up, he forfeits the trial!" the magistrate called. He picked himself up.

"Just keep making swings at me. I'll avoid them", she assured quietly. He followed her advice and made his incredibly obvious and unpracticed sword swings at her, all of them dodged with ease.

"Why'd you choose to fight me if you clearly don't?" he asked between two of his swings.

"Thought I'd give you a chance. I don't want you in prison over this, but I think you know what happens if I let you go without a fight." The duelists continued their discussion between sword swings.

"I'm sorry I robbed you. I really am."

"Don't worry about it. Next time, though, you'll have better results asking for help."

"Lesson learned. I lost my job in the Western Highlands when the war ended. They didn't need me smithing weapons anymore. Course, I wasn't about to go about cursing your name when the war's over now like some of my coworkers did, but I've been having difficulty getting back on my feet."

"I'll point you to someone I know when you're free."

"I'm not going free, Savior of Ishgard. I told you that."

"Unbelievable." She smacked him once again with the frying pan, but against his left hip this time. That was still enough to knock him off balance. "That's for being stupid. I'm letting you go. Take it!"

"No..."

"Come on, get up!"

"No. I'm staying here. They can drag me away."

"Heuritrellain..."

"Ten..." the magistrate counted down.

"Punishing yourself isn't going to make what you did disappear."

"Nine.."

"I've already forgiven you. Who are you hoping to appease?"

"Eight..."

"Please, Savior of Ishgard...I don't wanna go back to the Brume."

"Seven..."

"Heuritrellain..."

"Six..."

"I'll forfeit right now, Heuritrellain."

"No!"

"Five..."

"Then get up and fight me properly."

"Four…"

"Savior of Ishgard...", Heuritrellain began to get up, standing on his hands and knees, "The world owes you a debt beyond anything anyone can repay in your life time..."

"Three..."

"...I refuse to add to it any more. What I did was wrong and it was witnessed by everyone."

"Two..."

"I don't deserve to go free. You call it punishing myself, but I can see pretty clearly who's doing the punishing."

"One..."

"I'll do better."

He fell over and laid on the ground face up.

Before she realized what he did and could forfeit, the magistrate declared, "And the trial is won by Dia Sito!"

"Wait, no!"

The magistrate clearly wanted this ridiculousness out of the way as he deliberately interrupted her from forfeiting the trial. Temple Knights appeared and dragged the man out of the arena. Her pan was placed back in its holster, and she watched as he was pulled along the ground.

---------

The trial concluded, Dia took the time to walk around the Brume, try to find someone, anyone who knew him. Along the way, she could hear denizens of the underground of Ishgard discuss the events.

"And wit' a bleedin' fryin' pan, no less! Either she's cocky or she's mental!"

"People can be both, mind."

"Eh, the sod deserves to get a lil' humility out of it. That's what happens when you try an' fight the woman who saved the whole Fury-damned star."

"No kiddin'. I wouldn't wanna be him."

"How his sister holdin' up?"

The last bit caught Dia's attention.

"Who knows? Since the whole affair started, Henricie locked herself away and no one's seen her since the trial."

"Can't blame her, really. I wouldn't wanna be dragged into that mess either."

With a name and a relation, Dia asked around to find her, getting pointed to a house in the Firmament. She made her way to the nice cottage and knocked on the door.

Nothing was heard.

"Henricie? It's Dia Sito. Can I talk to you? Please?"

There was yet silence. She held up two hands around her mouth. Then, the door swung open.

"Why are you here?"

Dia took in a quick breath, having lost what she was going to say out of humility. "Look, I wanted to apologize for what happened with your brother."

"Don't you dare. I want nothing to do with that coward."

That stunned Dia. "B...but why?"

"He deserves it. All of it. He'd rather roll over and face defeat than try to fight for himself. Fury's sake, you went out with a frying pan! He still lost!"

"I..."

"I knew perfectly well you wanted to let the whole thing go the minute you went out there looking like you were to prepare his dinner after the fight. I just hoped that maybe he'd try more, and he wouldn't. He bloody wouldn't!"

"Henricie--"

"I will hear no apologies. You did better with a kitchen utensil than he ever could with a sword. You earned your victory, and he chose to lose. You are, without a doubt in the world, the only person that has any faith left in him. You're the only one who would want to see him again. Leave it alone, Savior of Ishgard. He's not worth your time."

With that, Henricie slammed the door shut and left Dia with a frown on her face.

--------

Heuritrellain sat in his cell alone. The sun barely peaked in through the tiny windows. This was his life. This was what he deserved. This was the apt punishment for what he did. It had to be. It just made sense.

At least, that's what he believed.

When a Temple Knight opened his cell door, however, he called his beliefs into question.

"Get up. You're free to go."

Heuritrellain gawked in surprise. "I...I am?"

"Yes. You've a visitor at the gates as well."

The Elezen man stood up and followed the guard out of the door. Once they reached the processing area, he noticed who stood at the desk.

"You!" Heuritrellain pointed.

"Me", Dia smiled back.

"What...what's happened here?"

"Focus on getting your stuff back and getting processed, hm?"

He did just as she insisted, and together, Dia and Heuritrellain left the dungeons of the Vault.

"H-how did you do that, Savior of Ishgard? That was less than a sennight."

"The name's 'Dia' and I'll thank you to stick to it. I got in a word with the House of Lords. Once I reminded them that I knocked you out with a frying pan, they seemed to agree that the public humiliation and the week you've already been in there was punishment enough, especially after I presented them with the Lord Speaker's own letter saying that you should be freed. They agreed to pardon you after that."

"Ah...I don't know how to thank you, Dia."

"Heuritrellain, I've talked with that friend of mine that I told you about in the Firmament. Turns out the Skybuilders could most definitely use a blacksmith for repairing tools. If that's what you'd want, I'd consider that ample payment for letting you out of prison."

The former robber smiled with awe and wonder. "That would be perfect! Oh, it's been a while, certainly, but-but I think I can do it..."

"Before you get started, I'd talk with your sister. She wasn't too happy with me when I tried to apologize for what happened."

"Ah...I shall, thank you!"

"Now go on! The Firmament awaits."

Heuritrellain ran off, leaving Dia to return to the Congregation for her Firesday lunch tradition. Once in the Seat of the Lord Commander, with lunch prepared did the two of them enjoy their midday meal.

"May I ask you something, Dia?"

"Sure."

"Why did you go to all that trouble for that man? He robbed you."

"He did. I know it doesn't seem worth my time..."

"...but?"

"But...", she released a breath, "...it made me think about Hector."

That made Aymeric put down his sandwich. "Dia, not everyone can end up like your father."

"Gods, I hope you're right. He should be here."

"That's not what I mean."

"I know, I know. And I know I deserve better than to be robbed, but I guess I just...I can't bring myself to be too harsh with people doing something like pickpocketing me. It'd be one thing if it was violent and he went at me with a knife. He'd be eating dirt in a minute. But that...I just don't feel right. I've had worse happen to me than that."

"So long as you know that the harm brought against you by others justifies not what he did to you."

"Yes, I know you're right, though I would say smacking him about with a culinary utensil might not be the most righteous thing either."

"Perhaps not, though the trial and a week away from the public spotlight seems to have calmed people down."

"It calmed the House of Lords down, anyway. That's the important bit."

Aymeric nodded. "I agree."

"And he can tuck himself away into the back of a blacksmith's workshop where no one can find him."

"Sounds like a rather lonely life..."

"From what I've seen, that's exactly what he wants."