#Winged-Women Academy

[aethelredism]

i finally saw promising young woman last night because i am nothing if not dedicated to the hater lifestyle and i knew it was going to be awful but i did not realize it was literally going to be the worst movie i've ever seen in my entire life.

[januaryembrs]

HOT UNDER THE HELMET | Poe Dameron x Mechanic!Reader

Request: Hi, would you mind writing for Poe Dameron where Poe accidentally injures the reader (whose a mechanic), which is how they meet for the first time. And would you mind using the dialogue prompt “Oh, oh my god! It was an accident! I’m so sorry!”? 

Description: Poe finds out the hard way the best mechanic in the resistance is also most beautiful woman he’s ever seen; too bad you’re so hot headed. 

word count: 1.5k

trigger warnings: sexism, fire, women in stem facing problems even in space (because ofcourse they do).

main masterlist

As much as you would love to admit times of war made people more benevolent towards each other, you’d be dead wrong. Not only had you been one of the only females in the resistance who knew her way around a wrench, but as it also turned out, not even the risk of dying could pull a males head out of his arse. 

You heard snickering before you saw them. The other three mechanics in your squadron crowded around a starfighter, laughing to themselves as they watched you tinker with a leaky engine, your body strewn across a lying board as you worked above yourself, your tools against your foot. 

Rolling out from underneath the ship, you paid them no mind as you searched for a screwdriver small enough to fit the flathead you needed removing. Scanning your work area, that you were proud to say you kept much neater than the blaster brained males you shared a space with, your brow furrowed when you saw your equipment nowhere to be seen. 

“Looking for something?” You heard Zagg, one of the males, say, and you felt a rage boil up inside you at the smug look on their faces as you regarded them with a sweaty, pissed off expression. 

“Where’d you boneheads put it?” You snapped, hauling yourself to your feet as you approached them hotly, your scowl only growing as they burst out laughing, “Real mature. The galaxy is going to bantha fodder, and you guys are hiding my tools,”

“You know, if you need help from someone who knows what they’re doing, you could just ask,” The tallest of the trio, Bran, goaded you, a smarmy smile on his face as he watched your cheeks puff with exhaustion, whirling around to charge up to him, no matter if you did have to turn your neck upwards to confront the pig of a male. 

“Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, instead of going after little girls who make you look like rookies,” You hissed, eying up the other two who seemed to exchange a sneer, “Leia chose me herself, handpicked me from the academy. You three nerf herders got through on sheer size alone, and it’s obvious you feel the need to compensate everywhere else possible,” 

You sauntered away, back towards the rear of the workshop where spare apparatus was kept, banging around the drawers with a foul mood, muttering about how useless the opposite sex was in times of crisis. 

As if he had heard the call of a siren, Poe strolled into the hangar, fully suited with his helmet under his arm, an all too cheery smile on his face for the belly of the beast he was unknowingly heading straight for. 

Catching the eye of one of the mechanics, a freakishly tall man that seemed to be chatting to the other two as they stood around an X-wing with a huge hole ripped into the body of it, he watched the worker drop his bitter face and regard him with raised eyebrows when he saw the chirpy pilot approach.

“General,” He nodded respectfully, though there was not a single trace of regard on his face. “You’ve come for your ship?”

“Leia said you had your best guy on it?” He said, almost missing the way the three of them nodded hesitantly, “She said it should be ready today,”

“Right this way, General Dameron,” The shorter, beefy one said, leading him away to a pristine looking starfighter, by far in the best shape he could see it being without it being brand new. He thought he caught a snigger behind him as the mechanic, whose oiled badge read as Kripply, took him over to the ship, “Why don’t you give her a whirl? As you said, we had our very best on the case,” 

Poe looked at him with an odd mix of a smile and wariness as he couldn’t miss the devilish excitement the man looked at him with. Had he sat in paint again, he wondered. Finn had had a field day walking him around the entire compound with two white ass cheek marks on his suit, he wouldn’t put it past his co-pilot to try his luck again seeing as Poe had been the one to win at cards last night and had not so graciously rubbed his credits in the man’s face. 

“Sure, let’s give this baby a whirl,” He said after a moment, his hair falling all over the place as he shoved his helmet over his thick, sable locks. 

Maybe he had a case of bedhead, he wondered. Afterall, he’d not exactly been sober as he’d stumbled back to his room last night, his winnings buying him round after round of smuggled Corellian Whiskey. 

He hopped up onto the wing, yanking himself into the cockpit that had been cleaned thoroughly, and he didn’t know why he ever doubted his repair team if this was the condition they left their vehicles in. The engine hummed to life as he flicked the tiny lever, and he couldn’t help but appreciate the oddly floral smell inside the small flight deck, and he wondered if they had gone so far as to spray freshener in there. 

You had found a spare tightener that would fit the screw, the last thing that needed fastening up before the engine should be good to run, Leia’s general would be by any second now. 

Rolling back under the vehicle, you tuned out the way Zagg cackled over the sound of an engine springing to life, you assumed their own, focusing on the tiny panel you had yet to cover the machinery with to protect the pilot from any stray blaster fire cutting the engine. 

But no sooner had you settled on your back beneath the jet, your hand reaching up for the metal sheet, you heard the familiar rumble of oil being fired through the motor, the drums whirling as the ignition started and a short blast of heat hit you in the face. 

You blanched as you knew that meant, knew what would come shooting out any second now. Heat always got kicked out of the engine first, the left over energy dishcharged out of the bottom grate. Because then came the fire as it sprung to life.

Your hand came up before you could think through what you were doing, the hard work you were unravelling in the interest of keeping your face intact, your brain from turning to crispy mush, as you yanked the oil pipe from where you’d connected it to the drum, the thick black liquid pouring over your entire body as you stumbled from out beneath the plane, just incase your plan hadn’t worked. 

You heard the engine cut, the sound of the cockpit sliding open as someone cursed from above, and you were filled with a new wave of rage as two feet jumped from the wing above you, turning to the three men who watched with entertained chuckles. 

“What happened, I thought you said-” Poe had started chewing out the males who didn’t seem to care all too much about the fact the jet had broken down, when he felt two hands shove him from behind, and he spun on his heel with annoyance. 

His face dropped entirely when he saw you, covered head to toe in a thick, gunky oil, your nostrils flaring as you glared at him with a heat he had yet to see from a woman before.

Usually women were so receptive to his charming good looks. Not this one it seemed. 

“What the kriff was that, man,”  You yelled, shoving his chest again with your slimy hands, and he quickly put it together what had been the problem. 

“What that me?” His brows flew into his hair line as you looked at him like he’d just learned there were stars in the sky, “Oh, maker! It was an accident! I’m so sorry!”  

“Oh he’s sorry. Thank goodness he’s sorry,” You threw your arms up, wiping the oil away from your eyes with slippy hands, and Poe had no idea what to say for the best. 

Though, he supposed telling you you were by far the prettiest woman he’d seen in moons was not the correct thing to go for, despite the fact it was the first thing he’d thought. 

“I’m a decorated pilot, I would never intentionally-” He spluttered, but you had already turned away, heading towards a small work bench where a bunch of old, dirty rags lay, supposedly for hands only. 

“You can decorate my ass, general. You’re waiting another week for that plane,” You seethed, barely regarding him over your shoulder. 

And he stood there, speechless, because what was he supposed to say. No one had ever spoken down to him like that, not since he’d grown into his good looks and had women falling at his feet to be near him. Certainly not since he’d become leader. 

You huffed past him, as he was rooted to the spot, jaw hung slack as you left the workshop, cursing him out clearly to yourself, and it was only then that he turned to the other three males who had watched him get his ass served to him with another round of sniggers. “Who in the maker was she?”

[theinfiknight]

My favourite thing about the Pokemon universe is how incredibly accepting it is. Everyone has the freedom to stray however far from the norm and be however eccentric they like and it's absolutely 100% accepted over there. You want to spend all day wearing a cape and gloves and brandishing a whip? Go right ahead! You want to spend the majority of your time in darkness talking to the dead? Shit, head right up to the tower on route 209 and there are a ton of spirit mediums and hex maniacs with the same idea. You want to finish your highschool education despite being over fifty? Absolutely! There's a world famous Pokemon academy in Paldea that would be more than happy to have you! You can be the heir to a powerful clan of dragon masters and still choose to be a highschool arts teacher instead and that's absolutely alright.

One in five people is a student of the martial arts who spends all day in a gi training to get stronger, and another fifth of the population stand around in long sleeved outfits honing deadass psychic powers. Honest to gods ninjas are part of society, and it's not at all hard to find kids around training hard in their ways. Science is an exploding field and the people who conduct research are well respected and highly regarded. You can be absolutely anything, wear a godsdamned clown outfit and breathe fire on the streets for fun and no one will bat an eye.

A bunch of women in pink, flowery outfits spend their days inside of a giant dollhouse taking the places of toy dolls in toy rooms, and this arrangement is approved of by the official Pokemon league just as their leader is a respected gym leader. The Eiffel tower was designed and is maintained by a fifteen something year old boy. A large portion of the population of gym leaders, trainers who are acknowledged by the pokemon league as capable of testing others, are children under the age of 16, with a smaller number being adults over the age of 60. A member of the Paldean elite four is six years old. Capability matters far more than age in this world. Kids are taken seriously and given positions that befit their accomplishments.

Respected and looked up to members of the community go around in white fairy outfits with wings, or nothing but swim trunks, or wearing wooden masks, or Hawaiian shirts, or that gay little number Wallace wears in oras, and they're still beloved and admired by the population regardless of their quirks, and more often because of them.

The most famous, most badass rap artist in the pokemon world is a lady in possibly her seventies. The founder of the Alolan Pokemon League is a pro wrestler in his free time. The most powerful Pokemon trainer in the Hoenn region spends his time collecting rocks.

There are absolutely no requirements there other than be kind and considerate to others, and don't be an ass, and I can only hope that our society can reach that point someday.

[scribblesofagoonerr]

Why does Monkey live with Leah and not her own family?

— monkey's past | buddy & monkey: double the trouble

despite her wild and chaotic antics, the girl's background is actually pretty sad and she doesn't like to talk much about it.

the nightmares from monkey's past at night haunt her sometimes.

monkey always considered her relationship with her parents her father to be challenging and hard, while the relationship with her mother is pretty much non-exsistant.

she finds it hard to talk about them things.

her mother abandoned her only child when she was little, no explanation - one day monkey woke up and the women had fled.

there was no goodbye, no note, nothing.

the resentment for the women was still is there and whenever monkey is asked about her mother, she's always quick to drop the subject.

the team have learned that the hard way in the past.

"my mother is dead,"

"is she really?"

"no, but... well, she might as well be,"

monkey's relationship with her father was complicated to say the least, the man had to raise her alone when his wife walked out on them when monkey was just shy of 2 for a whole new family.

her father had a few various different coping mechanisms - throwing himself into his work and drinking, sometimes even drugs.

the man definitely did have a temper and the scars on monkey's back prove it, unfortunately.

"i'm sorry dad,"

"sorry isn't good enough. you should know better!"

"dad,"

"your nothing but a disappointment, your mother had the right idea to leave you when she did. get out of my sight, now!"

if the man wasn't passed out on the sofa drunk or lashing out at his daughter with his fists, he was throwing himself into his work.

monkey was completely neglected and alone, but he was clever and always made it seem like he was the caring doting father, so he was to never get caught out.

monkey never got to escape her fathers' clutches until she was 16

when arsenal scouted monkey, the man was more than happy enough to sign the papers and all but washed his hands off her.

"i've washed my hands off her, shes' your problem now."

there was never any contact from that day.

not even on birthday or christmases.

monkey should have felt a sense of freedom, but instead she was lost.

the man who had so much hatred for his daughter and all she wanted craved was his approval.

monkey has always been a life-long gooner, joining the academy when she turned 8 and it felt like a dream come true, her dad was a gooner as well - it's in her blood, she lives and breathes arsenal.

being only 16 when she signed, she was taken under the wing of the older girls, more so specifically leah who she moved in with, along with kim, the two she formed a pretty close bond with.

"your my person, you both are. i love you."

"we've always got your back here, monkey."

"and your never alone, you have family here."

"we love you too, menace."

it was at the age of 18 when monkey found out her dad died, not that it made any difference at all.

"ha, well guess that i really am an orphan now, right?"

"monkey,"

"was it the drinking or drugs that killed him? it was only a matter of time,"

after all, monkey thinks that dark humor is the way to make things better.

it's become her coping mechanism.

"should i care? he didn't care about me when i was alive, why should i care about him when he's dead?"

it's safe to say that monkey's past is pretty haunting to her, but with the stability that she has around her, its' better now she has the arsenal girls to look out for her.

monkey has her chosen family, she is protected and loved by all of the older girls, despite how much of a menace she can be at times.

I didn't plan for this to be so sad, but here we go. feel free to continue to send me hc's for this little world i'm creating!

[sunshine-theseus]

Pequeña | Kyra Cooney-Cross x Reader

Word count: 1.8k

Summary: you make stupid decisions but you got your girl in the end.

Warning: fluff, horrible self-care, fainting

My parents and I moved from Spain to England when I was 5.

I was a quiet kid with no friends, who spent most of her time reading or listening to music. At seven years old my parents decided to sign me up for my local football kids club to try and get me to ‘open my wings’, their code for ‘stop being a fucking loner we value popularity over smarts’. I haven’t seen them in 8 years.

Turns out I was fucking great at football and by 12 I was in the Arsenal Football Academy. At 15 I was playing for their Women’s team in the WSL and was debuting for England’s national team. I spent most of that time on the bench of course, but by 17 I had a large ‘1’ on my back and was starting 90% of games at Arsenal. I didn’t have many friends though, especially when I knew most would either leave to bigger leagues or transfer teams. I preferred it though because that meant I had plenty of time between training and games to study and read and play music.

Another 6 years later and I’m playing for England in the Semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup against Australia. I wasn’t our main goalie, but Mary had gotten a concussion so that left me and like hell I would let us lose this close to the finals. I’d nearly managed to keep a clean sheet until Sam Kerr came running up from halfway, past Millie and chipped it behind me into the goal. Despite the goal, we won.

As I’m walking toward the girls, I tripped over something, or someone, sitting on the sidelines near the tunnel. One of the Aussie girls, clearly tired and upset, curled up to their goalkeeper. If there was one thing I could do, it was recognise a phenomenal goalkeeper when I see one, and Mackenzie Arnold was just that.

“I’m sorry.” I whisper to her as I pat her shoulder and copy the gesture for the girl next to her.

I didn’t know much about her, but I’d seen her play. Her footwork was incredible, and she was clearly underrated and underestimated, something Arsenal could benefit from.

“Wanna swap jerseys?” it comes out soft, I almost miss it as I turn away. When I turn back around, I expect to see Mac offering her’s, but instead I see the younger girl looking up at me questioningly and I smile. I’d already swapped with Mac in a friendly earlier this year, and I love collecting jerseys from different players.

“Fuck yeah.” and within seconds she has my jersey pulled over her head, and it hangs loosely, clearly a few too many sizes too big for her.

I then pull on her’s, for a moment fearful it would be too small, but I’m thankful for her clear preference for baggy clothes as it slips over my torso. Mackenzie beckons over their photographer, and I pose with the still nameless girl. She’s small in comparison to my 5’11 stature and I giggle at the difference before offering her a piggyback for a silly photo.

As she jumps up, I notice shocked stares of my teammates from the corner of my eye but shake it off as she wraps her arm around my neck as if to choke me.

“Has anyone told you how small you are?” I ask her as I drop her back to the ground.

“They don’t shut up about it.”

“I think I’ll call you Pequeña.” I chuckle at her confused look.

“It means small in Spanish.”

“What the fuck!? Fine I’m calling you fucking Giant or something.”

I don’t get her actual name that night, but I look it up when I get back to my hotel room, Lotte missing from the space.

Kyra Cooney-Cross. An unexpected star.

I watch one of her games instead of doing my uni work and fall asleep to one her interviews playing.

~~~~~

I don’t expect to see Kyra until whatever friendly we have with Australia before the Olympics. In the time after the World Cup and before pre-season, I’ve hung her jersey in my hallway, along with all the others. I put her’s at the entrance with others like Mapi León and Christine Sinclair, people I consider special.

We also begin talking. A lot. I spend most of my spare time calling or texting her, but I don’t tell anyone.

The shock I get when the final minute of the pre-season transfer window approaches, and I get a notification from the Arsenal Women twitter account.

‘KYRA COONEY-CROSS IS A GUNNER✍️’

~~~~~

We’d been knocked out of the qualifiers for the Championship League and yet I walk into training on Monday with a slight spring in my step and excitement buzzing through me. I wave to all the staff and greet everyone, asking how the girls are when I walk into the locker room.

It’s Katie who asks.

“What the fuck is up with you Ms Dark and Broody?”

“Whatever do you mean?” I giggle.

She gives me and incredulous look before turning to the rest of the locker room who share similar expressions.

“W- wh- wh-” she continues to babble as Steph pulls her back to her cubby and pats her shoulder as a way of reassurance.

“You just… you’re never so smiley or talkative. At all. Like ever. Like in the past 8 years you’ve said maybe 100 words per season to me.” Lotte speaks up.

“Not true!”

“I’ve only seen you without a book off the pitch 13 times. I started counting after the 1st.” My jaw drops.

“She’s not wrong Y/n. You’re pretty reserved and stoic. Which there’s nothing wrong with! But it’s just odd to see you, well like this.” Manu points at me as if that’s explanation enough.

“Wow thanks gu-” I’m cut off by someone jumping on my back and screaming.

“BEANSTALK!” and I’m smiling all over again as I turn my head to see the young Australian I’ve been missing.

“PEQUEÑA!”

“I can’t believe I had to put up with your nerdy shit in person every day now.” She jumps off my back and moves to greet the other girls except for Steph and Caitlin who she obviously knows.

We don’t get much time to talk before Jonas calls us into the meeting room. He introduces all our new players like Kyra and Lessi and announces the return of Vivianne and Beth to our playing squad, before going over how we need to improve after our defeat in the Champions League.

“L/n, I know you just came 2nd in the World Cup but you cannot be slacking like you did in the game against Pairs. You’ve got to be doing more.” I don’t get to reply before he’s ushering us out onto the pitch.

I’m left in a sour mood the rest of training, once again avoiding everyone, including Kyra who seemingly found a close friend in Alessia. I had given my all in that game against Paris, but they were good, and I’d stayed up until 2am the night before completing one of my assignments for my uni degree, something Jonas had encouraged me to do.

I was more mad that he didn’t allow me to tell him why but either way, I’d decided I would be staying after training to practice until I couldn’t any longer. So I did. And I came in an hour early the next morning to get more training in. I continued to do this for a while, studying once I got home until I couldn’t keep my eyes open now that my usual study time was booked. Eventually the girls stopped inviting me for coffee or team bonding and Kyra stopped trying to talk.

We were playing against Man United when I began to sway side to side, and my eyes began to droop. I think Kyra noticed first while on the sideline, and whispered something to Katie as she passed by the bench, but nothing came of it until United got a corner. They didn’t even get to kick the ball before I crumpled to the ground beside a clueless Lotte and Katie Zelem.

I don’t feel myself get carried off the pitch or get transferred to an ambulance. I don’t think I recognise anything happening around me until hours later. The clock on the wall says 9:21 and I think I’ve only slept for a few hours, but then I notice the sun streaming through the curtains and realise the few might actually be a lot.

I then recognise the limp bodies spread across the room. The awfully sterile white room which is nothing like the warmth of my olive-green bedroom. I don’t think I’d been so slow to figure out what was going on in my life.

“Beanstalk! You’re awake!” I look to the small brunette who has been hunched over asleep next to me for god knows how long and smile.

“Hey pequeña.”

“You are so stupid!” Kyra slaps my arm and sends me a sharp glare.

“What the fuck is going on. You’ve been exhausted 24/7 and no one sees you outside of training.” I then decide to explain my rather stupid schedule and reasoning to her.

She stares blankly at me for a while.

“You are genuinely so fucking dumb. I was so worried about you.” She whispers.

“Why?”

“Because I love you.” Her eyes drop to her lap.

“Te amo.” I’m not sure she understands it but she smiles either way and leans in.

Just as our lips meet, Katie abruptly wakes up in her corner of the room and shrieks.

“What the fuck!” and we’re left to quickly pull away as she tries to wake everyone else up to tell them what she saw.

“Katie don’t be fucking ridiculous! They’re both sound asleep.” I hear Kim whisper shout, followed by more of Katie’s babbling about how we’re just pretending as they trail out of the room, assumedly getting coffee.

As the door clicks shut, I open one eye to glance around the now empty room. It seems everyone needed some coffee. Except a certain Australian, whose eyes also peak open.

“Kiss me.” And then her lips are on mine again.

~~~~~

I don’t play again until our game against Bristol for the Conti Cup. Jonas apologised for pushing me too hard but made it clear I was to properly rest before I get to do anything and makes Sarina Weigman promise not to play me during our international break.

Kyra also gets her first starting debut.

It’s a tough game, and in the 84th minute, Kyra drops to the ground. I nearly run to check on her, but she gets back up, and within another minute she gets subbed off for Vic.

The whistle blows, signalling the end of the game, we win 3-1.

I meet Kyra in the middle of the field, pick her up and swing her around. Our first proper game playing together seems like an obvious thing to celebrate. And before I can think, I’m leaning down and kissing her, something I’m not sure if I’ll regret later.

She smiles that smile, brighter than the sun, and I melt.

“Te amo pequeña.”

[totaly-obsessed]

Could you write a fic about Reader just always staring at Alessia because R just finds her really beautiful. Reader doesn't even try and hide her crush or staring and everyone knows. And if you wanted maybe add like Reader give Alessia a compliment everyday or every time she sees her (even if it's just saying you look beautiful or giving her something)

Muffin Top

Alessia Russo x reader blurb & request

-> Reader can't hide her crush on Alessia - who quite likes it that way

-> warnings: she/her pronouns, awkward flirting

➳ Masterlist

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

“Oh god. Look at the big dope.” 

Beth’s gaze followed Katie’s finger, the defender pointing at Alessia who was currently falling over her own two legs, trying to re-tell a story to Lotte and Viccy. 

“What? You mean tiny?” Viv who had overheard her friends tried to make out who they were talking about. She thought they were talking about you. 

While you were not necessarily ‘tiny’ you had joined the Arsenal women’s team out of their academy when you were quite young – having quite literally grown into the team. And while you had grown, the nickname stuck. 

“Tiny? No! We`re talking about Less.” 

Now that you were mentioned, their eyes wandered over to you – sat on one of the benches at the side of the pitch. You had started braiding Laia’s hair when the Spaniard sat down in front of you. 

“She just can’t help it, can she?” 

No. you really could not – but who could blame you? 

Nobody that had ever laid eyes on the tall blonde striker – that’s for sure. 

Alessia had joined Arsenal at the beginning of the season and while you had always carried a deep appreciation for her talent, things had changed a little when she joined you at your childhood club. 

She was funny, so nice, and always listening to you when your quiet voice got swallowed in the chaos that was the changing room. 

The fact that she was stunning did not help your crush at all. You were falling – hard and fast. To everyone’s amusement you did not even try to hide it, staring blatantly at the striker – awkwardly flirting with her whenever the possibility arose. 

“Do you think we should help her? Poor thing – don’t think she’ll ever have a proper conversation with Less.” While Vivianne had compassion for you, seeing a little bit of herself in you, Beth and Katie did not – their eyes meeting and mischievous smiles taking over. “Nahhh.” 

Meanwhile, Alessia had joined you on the bench, handing you a bobble to finish off Laia’s hair, the brunette immediately skipped off, throwing a loud “¡Gracias!” into your general direction. 

Your heart was skipping as well, just not away from you but now that Lessi was sitting next to you, the staring was even more obvious – not that you cared. “Hey, Less?” 

“Yeah?” 

“You know what’s awesome? The top of a blueberry muffin.” Alessia wasn’t the least surprised that you actually handed her the top of a blueberry muffin, secretly swooning that you remembered that she didn’t like the bottom of it. “Tha-“ 

“Also, your face!” 

There it was. 

The incredibly bad flirting or rather blurting that the Italian loved so much, but only when it came from you. 

“Thank you, baby.” Not that the pet name wasn’t enough – she came closer, and closer, just to kiss your cheek. The blonde was satisfied after feeling the heat of your face, joining Lotte with a cocky smile on her face. 

“Just help the poor girl out, Less.” 

Katie had joined the childhood friends, her arms thrown over Alessia's shoulder, taking her quite literally under her wing. 

“Nah – I love her awkward flirting.” 

Like a proud older sister, the Irishwoman squeezed her shoulder “Atta girl.” 

--

Beth and Viv had been watching the exchange like everyone else, standing behind the benches, seeing you hold your cheek – still stunned at the kiss. 

“Please let me help her Beth.” 

“Nah – let her figure it out.” 

[topguncortez]

[ CLOSE ] with Jake and shy wifey ❤️ I can’t get enough of them!

Hold Me Close - Jake Seresin x Shy!Wifey

warnings: mentions of childhood trauma, mentions of parental abuse, tooth rotting fluff.

based on this prompt: [close] sender reaches out and pulls receiver into their lap as they are walking by

opposites attract masterlist | G's slumber party

Growing up, Jake was never a fan of Sundays.

As a kid, Sundays meant going to church. Sitting in the hot chapel in long sleeve button up, a suit coat that never quite fit him right, and pressed khaki pants with dress shoes that squeezed his feet. It took every ounce of strength for him to not fall asleep when Paster James would go off on one of his weekly tangents about the youth in the town turning into "whores and sluts" whatever those were. After church, meant Sunday school were Jake had to sit and sing songs and eat lukewarm egg salad sandwiches and lemonade.

It got worse when he got older and his dad had become a city official. High school Jake would roll out of bed fighting off a hangover as he sat in that same hot and stuffy church. Though, he no longer had to attend Sunday school, he did have to plaster a smile on his face for Sunday dinners, where his mother would spend most of the morning cooking some grand meal for some new guest each week. Jake had to sit there and listen as men praised his father for the work he was doing and how he would be a shoo-in for mayor. If only they knew that before they had arrived, his father and shoved him hard against a bookshelf.

Then, Sundays became the day of recovery as he entered the academy. Long were the days of going to church, but now he was the thing that Paster James had warned about, a whore. There was a new woman in his bed almost every Sunday morning. Jake was never the cuddling type, and he always did feel slightly bad kicking them out. But he wasn't totally heartless, he would order them a cab. Once he got rid of the women, it was time for studying and pounding out whatever last minute project he had to do, and ignoring his father's calls.

Once Jake got his wings and got to his first duty station, he despised Sundays once again. There was no flying on Sundays. Most of his wingmen spent Sundays with their families or recovering from a hangover. Jake had outgrew the hangover, banging a new girl every Saturday night thing, but he hadn't grown into the whole Sunday family man thing either. Instead, he sat in his small dorm room, folding laundry and watching the NFL, bored out of his mind waiting for Monday to roll around again.

Jake never truly learned to like Sundays, until he met Y/N.

Y/N, who grew up sleeping in late and having pancakes for lunch in her pajamas with her family. Y/N, who wasn't forced to go to church with her mother, unless she wanted to. Y/N, who spent Sunday afternoons lazying around outside, watching the clouds roll by in the backyard. Y/N, who truly felt like Sundays were a day to just relax, and rest.

The first Sunday Jake had ever spent with Y/N, he was completely out of his element. He woke up a whole three hours before she did, and just laid there in bed, with her head on his chest. He watched as her eyes slowly fluttered open, her eyes a little bleary in a cute, confused way.

"Morning," She whispered, her voice thick with sleep and it sent a jolt straight to Jake's cock.

"Good morning," Jake smiled, pressing a kiss to the side of her head, "What's the plan for today?"

Y/N yawned, turning on her back and stretching her limbs, "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Jake asked, his eyebrows furrowed, "It's Sunday. You have no plans?"

"Yeah, it's Sunday," Y/N shrugged, "I have some things I'd like to do today, like wash the vases I got back, set up a potential menu for the farmer's market this week, deadhead some of the morning glories. . . but I have all day to do that."

Jake nodded his head, still slightly confused as Y/N rolled out of bed and checked her phone, "If we hurry, we can probably go get breakfast at Great Harvest, they close at 12:00."

"And what time is it?" Jake was almost too scared to ask.

"11:30."

"11:30!" Jake felt like the day was already over. Like he should be preparing for dinner or hell, the next day.

"Okay, take a breather," Y/N said softly, "We don't have to go to Great Harvest. Actually, I have a better idea."

Jake still looked bewildered as he watched his girlfriend, in nothing but a baby pink floral nightgown waltz out of the room. A few moments later, he heard the familiar sound of pots and pans clashing together. For someone who was so quiet and shy, she certainly knows how to make a ruckus.

Slowly, Jake rose from the bed, pulling up the blankets and fixing the pillows just the way she liked them. By the time Jake had made it downstairs to the small kitchen of Y/N's bungalow, the scent of blueberries and lemon filtered through his nose. The familiar sound of sizzling bacon and eggs filled the air as Jake leaned against the doorway, watching his girl work.

Y/N moved effortlessly like she had done this a dozen times before, which should've made a pang of jealousy flutter through Jake's chest, but he knew that he was the first man to sleep beside her in bed. The first man who had ever seen her in her most vulnerable form.

"What are you doing?" Jake asked, causing her to jump.

Y/N looked over her shoulder, a shy smile on her face as he pushed off the doorjamb, "I had this dough in the fridge and decided," She shrugged, "Today's the day I'll bake it. Had some fresh blueberries and lemon to use. And I know as a growing boy, you need your protein," Y/N gestured to the eggs and bacon, two things Jake knew she didn't eat.

Jake couldn't help the smile on his face as he wrapped his arms around her middle, pulling her close against his chest, nuzzling his face into her neck, "You didn't have to."

"I wanted to," Y/N said, sincerely, looking up at him. She placed a chaste kiss on his lips, "Go sit. I'll bring this over when it's done."

Jake obliged, going to sit at the small wrought iron table in the corner of her pink kitchen. He chuckled to himself seeing the morning paper, a cup of coffee and a pencil sitting in front of him. Jake looked up at her, seeing her focused attention on some other baked good she was working on.

About twenty minutes later, Y/N had pulled the fresh blueberry bread out of the oven, and covered it with the homemade lemon frosting. She served up two plates, one for Jake that had eggs, bacon, and three slices of blueberry bread, and one for her which consisted of oatmeal and one slice of blueberry bread.

"Plate for me," She smiled setting her plate down, "And a plate for you," She set the other down in front of Jake, "Anything else?"

Jake looked at her, a smirk on his face, "Yeah. . . you," He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her down into his lap, making her laugh, "This is what you do every Sunday?"

"Well, not to this extent," She gestured to the full plates of food, "But yeah. I wake up late, usually make a cup of tea and some oatmeal, maybe some bread if I feel like it. . . and just let the day take me where it wants."

Jake smiled at her, "I could get use to this."

"Good. . . cause you're stuck with me."

[reasonsforhope]

"Bria Peacock chose a career in medicine because the Black Georgia native saw the dire health needs in her community — including access to abortion care.

Her commitment to becoming a maternal health care provider was sparked early on when she witnessed the discrimination and judgment leveled against her older sister, who became a mother as a teen. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Peacock was already in her residency program in California, and her thoughts turned back to women like her sister.

“I knew that the people — my people, my community back home — was going to be affected in a dramatic way, because they’re in the South and because they’re Black,” she said.

But even though Peacock attended the Medical College of Georgia, she’s doing her obstetrics and gynecology residency at the University of California-San Francisco, where she has gotten comprehensive training in abortion care.

“I knew as a trainee that’s what I needed,” said Peacock, who plans to return to her home state after her residency.

Ever since the Supreme Court decision, California has worked to become a sanctuary for people from states where abortion is restricted. In doing so, it joins 14 other states, including Colorado, New Mexico, and Massachusetts. Now, it’s addressing the fraught issue of abortion training for medical residents, which most doctors believe is crucial to comprehensive OB-GYN training.

A law enacted in September [2023] makes it easier for out-of-state trainees to get up to 90 days of in-person training under the supervision of a California-licensed doctor. The law eliminated the requirement for a training license and also permitted training at programs such as Planned Parenthood that are affiliated with accredited medical schools.

“By allowing physician residents to come to California, where there are more opportunities for abortion training, and by allowing them to be reimbursed for this work, we’re sending a message that abortion care is health care and an essential part of physician training,” said Lisa Folberg, CEO of the California Academy of Family Physicians, which supported the bill.

The question of how to provide complete OB-GYN training promises to become more urgent as the effects of abortion bans on medical education becomes clear: 18 states restrict or ban abortion to the point of effectively stripping 20% of OB-GYN medical residents of the opportunity to get abortion training, according to the Ryan Residency Training Program in Abortion and Family Planning. That’s 1,354 residents this year out of 5,962 OB-GYN residents nationwide.

The restrictions in some cases aim to reach beyond state borders, spooking medical students and residents who fear hostility from anti-abortion groups and right-wing legislators...

Pamela Merritt, executive director of Medical Students for Choice, pointed to a Kansas law that requires repayment of state medical school scholarships — with 15% interest — if residents perform abortions or work in clinics that perform them, except in cases of rape, incest, or a medical emergency.

Doctors point out that abortion training is not just about ending pregnancies. Peacock recalled a patient who started hemorrhaging badly shortly after a healthy delivery. Peacock and her team at UCSF performed a dilation and curettage — a procedure commonly used to terminate pregnancy.

“If we did not have that skill set, and the patient continued to bleed, it could have been life-taking,” said Peacock, chief OB-GYN resident at UCSF...

Peacock, for her part, is adamant about returning to Georgia, where abortions are banned after six weeks. “I’m still going to provide abortions, whether that’s in Georgia or I need to fly to a different state and work in abortion clinics for a week out of the month,” she said. “It would definitely be a big part of my work.”"

-via The 19th, January 2, 2024

[batboyblog]

Public Domain Notice!

Happy Public Domain Day here in the USA!

today, January 1st 2023 marks the day all works published in the year 1927 enter the public domain! This includes books, movies and music.

Here are a few of the most famous and important works entering public domain today:

The final two Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. You likely have heard something about this, while the character of Sherlock Holmes has been public domain for many years a handful of stories in Conan Doyle's last collection of Holmes stories, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, published in 1927 remained under copy right. The famously litigious Conan Doyle Estate Ltd has used it's control of these copyrights to pressure movie, TV, and even authors to pay them when using the public domain character of Sherlock Holmes or adaptations of public domain stories. Well finally the last of their copyrights have finally run out and you can publish a collection of all 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories (and 4 novels) if you want, or use elements from these final stories in your own Sherlock Holmes story and the Conan Doyle Estate Ltd can finally go fuck itself.

speaking of detectives, the first 3 Hardy Boys novels, The Tower Treasure, The House on the Cliff, and The Secret of the Old Mill are also entering public domain, as such you are free to include Frank and Joe Hardy in your own work of fictions, but be careful to stick to their characterization from these first 3 books.

other exciting books entering the public domain today are, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, Men Without Women (a short story collection) by Ernest Hemingway, The Big Four by Agatha Christie (big year for detectives huh?) Mosquitoes by William Faulkner, Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton, The Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury, Der Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, Amerika by Franz Kafka

in terms of movies one of the most famous silent films ever made and one of the most visually iconic, Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang will reenter the Public Domain, The American copyright lapsed in 1953 making the film widely available and allowing for versions with material that had been cut from the 1927 version to be published in the 1970s and 80s. However under an international copyright agreement the film was returned to copyrighted status in 1996. But Today it's back back back again in the Public Domain!

Other exciting films entering the public domain are The Jazz Singer the very first "Talkie", Wings the very first Academy Award for best picture (or "outstanding picture" as it was then) The King of Kings directed by Cecil B. DeMille, Sunrise directed by F.W. Murnau (his first American film!) and The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog first first thriller directed by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock

the musical Show Boat by Oscar Hammerstein II will also enter the public domain with songs like Ol’ Man River, the musical Funny Face, and Good News with songs like Funny Face and The Best Things in Life Are Free, stand alone songs (I Scream You Scream, We All Scream for) Ice Cream, Puttin’ on the Ritz, Potato Head Blues, Gully Low Blues, East St. Louis Toodle-O, and Mississippi Mud will all be free to the public today

Finally a piece of Disney history is entering the public domain. Oswald The Lucky Rabbit first appeared in 1927 and will be free to appear in works of fiction this year, a year ahead of his younger brother Mickey Mouse

[xwpseaweird]

|| THE QUIET MAN ||

John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara Mesmerize in this Classic Romance

The above tribute is dedicated to June Beck, founder of Maureen O'Hara Magazine.

Synopsis: "A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union." -IMDB

The Quiet Man (1952) is a film directed by John Ford (How Green Was My Valley) and stars John Wayne (True Grit, The Searchers) and Maureen O'Hara (The Parent Trap, Miracle on 34th Street). This is the second film Wayne and O'Hara starred in together, the first being Rio Grande, which Ford also directed. Wayne and O'Hara had amazing chemistry on screen and made five films together in total, the rest being Wings of Eagles, McLintock!, and Big Jake. The Quiet Man is seen as the more successful of their films, having achieved the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and Best Directing in 1953.

John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara remained great friends until his death in 1979.

The song in the tribute is Into the Mystic by Van Morrison.

Notes: As with most old films, there are some things that may not have aged well, but were considered fine for the time period. One thing is the jokes about beating women who misbehaved with sticks. While no one was actually beat with a stick in the film, it was joked about. O'Hara's character, Mary Kate, was a redhead with a noted fearful temper. It was implied that she needed a good stick whipping to keep her in line, but Wayne's character never did. It was a sign that he had no issues with her being full of fire. The fact that these jokes exist doesn't diminish the fact that this movie is wonderful. I will always highly recommend it.

Fun Fact: At one point during filming, O'Hara hit John Wayne for real after their first big kiss. The punch was scripted, but she didn't pull it. Wayne saw it coming and blocked her punch with his hand. The impact of her fist with his palm caused her wrist to fracture. She literally broke her wrist and kept filming. O'Hara prided herself on being able to keep up with the men. She never let anything they threw at her bring her down. This is one reason why John Ford repeatedly used her in his films and why John Wayne loved working with her.

[writer12]

Could you do a Lute (hazbin) x female reader with fluff and smut?

Okay, here! The character hasn't been revealed much at the moment, so there will be a lot of headcanons here.

One of the main problems is that Lute is very sticky to the rules and his sense of absolute justice.

As you know, the Bible is not very supportive of same-sex relationships and, given that heaven in the series is based on it, Lute may also be against it.

But if we look at history, there were often lesbians in private girls' schools and academies. Yes, it was against the rules of the Bible, so they hid their relationship. And considering that Lute commands exorcists, among which only women and Adam, it is likely that she has some kind of minor interest in women.

In any case, if she dates you, your relationship will be secretive or only the top ranks of Paradise will know about it. This comes not only from the rules of the Bible, but also from its title. She wants angels to respect her and demons to fear her, and a relationship with you can not only destroy this façade, but also put you in danger, especially if you are exorcists too.

She is very proud of her work as an exorcist and after Extermination she brings you small trophies of the demons she killed: horns, tails, heads and the like. But if you don't like it, then she can come up with something else.

Her favorite thing to do with you is relax. She works a lot both in Extermination and on regular days. She has a huge responsibility and often after work she just wants to lie down next to you and hug you.

If you are also an exorcist, then Lute will ask Adam and Sera to remove you from this position. Knowing that there is a possibility of not returning, Lute is afraid for you and wants you to stay in Paradise for the sake of your safety and her peace of mind.

Adam, Sera and Emily are among the few who know about your relationship.

Emily thinks your relationship is sweet. I believe that Lute is in some way the bodyguard of Emily, Sera and Adam, which is why Emily considers Lute her friend.

Although Sera knows about your relationship, she is neutral about it.

Adam loves to make fun of Lute and that’s why your girlfriend will never let him into your house after hours.

I see her as the same woman who has an average apartment with a simple design.

Before her relationship with you, she did not visit her home often due to a lot of work, which is why her apartment is so simple. After starting a relationship with you, she gave you every right to change and add whatever you want to the apartment.

Now let's move on to smut.

She's definitely a dominatrix, but she doesn't mind and is very good at giving cunnilingus to you.

She has low sex drive. She might not have sex for months because of work, but after starting a relationship with you, she might have sex 1-2 times a month.

She believes that sex is just a release after hard work. Therefore, especially after a whole day of slaying demons in hell, it might be a good idea to go for a few rounds and change positions a few times.

Нer favorite positions are scissors, face to face and 69.

She doesn't see the point in sex toys, but she can try them if you ask.

Adam once suggested a threesome to you both as a joke, but Lute sharply rejected him. She believes that sex should only be with lovers.

Prefers to do this in your common home and does not agree to do it in some other place.

She loves lingerie and doesn't mind if you wear a cute white lace lingerie set.

Аfter sex, she will naturally be tired, but she will try to bring you a towel and water before she falls asleep.

By the way, her inner wing is sensitive and if you stroke it, Lute will become embarrassed and let out a groan.

This is all! I hope you liked it and I will be glad if you write some more requests!

[cybervesna]

Prima Ballerina

Wiosna Kochanowska, the star of Honorata Kochanowska's Ballet Company. Blame @ouroboros-hideout cuz I brainrotted hard with them about Ballerina AU and had to bring it to life! More under the cut!

Traditional ballet - In my headcanon it's the form of ballet strictly performed by people without any body cyberware. The first person to do so was Honorata Kochanowska (Wiosna's grandmother), who later opened the first traditional ballet academy.

Ballerina!Wiosna is the literal opposite of the main Wiosna. Mostly because this one was given to her grandmother to be raised, and her parents didn't interfere in any decisions (unlike in the main headcanon where they prohibited Wiosna from pursuing ballet professionally and neglected her in her childhood). So she grew up under her grandmother's wing, learning ballet night and day, not having time for anything like sneaking to Warsaw underground or netrunning. She did become the best ballerina of her time though.

She was sheltered for her safety since as a traditional ballerina she can't have any body enhancements, and any accident may be fatal for her career. Which means that she's 100% organic. With that come many dangers on its own, like creepy men who would like the taste of "real" women and stuff like that. However, that doesn't mean she was prohibited from meeting people, far from it actually. She was often invited as a guest of honor not only due to her international megastar status but also because she is the heir of LoveSky SMC. Think of her as a more social Hanako, lol.

The people she knew were mostly the highest of elites, and the richest of the world, which was kind of boring for her. Being a perfect porcelain doll had its downs in that regard, so when Wiosna grew up and had more liberty in what she could do, she was more and more interested in dark and dirty stuff. And the best way to experience that was a relationship with a scary man, like Vlad Volkov with whom she has a really terrifying and toxic relationship. About that I will for sure post more :>

[ohshy]

The challengers for my womens circuit and mens circuit respectively !!! Meet Cassidy Cornfield, the cornfield crusher under Little Mac’s training and Poppy Ollie, the Kaiser’s academy graduate !!!

More info ab them below the cut;

Name: Cassidy Cornfield Real name: Cassidy ‘“Cassie’’ C. Campbell Pronouns: She/They Age: 18 Ethnicity: Irish/Cherokee Weight: 90 lbs Height: 5’2 ft Rank: Depends on how well you play >:) Record: Refer to ‘’Rank’’ From: Farley, Iowa, USA

Bio: A huge conspiracy nut that believes she was put on this planet by the aliens to box. Or maybe they just had a very vivid dream when gauging down one too many corn cobs! Speaking of corn, she WILL talk your ear off about all the supposed ‘’proof’’ she has of alien existence, like the crop circles that show up frequently around her hometown. That being said, she IS determined to prove herself for her alien overlords, so prepare for a challenge!

Trivia: Unlike Little Mac, she had to wait a year to get her boxing license for her 18th birthday. She simply doesn't look old for her age 😔 Speaking of Mac, he is her trainer as well! Many years into the future, he adopted her, and when she showed a knack for boxing, decided to take her under her wing as his protégé. In a hypothetical Punch-out!! game, she takes on the role of challenger.

Gimmick: When charged with enough punching power, she can unleash a painful series of punches known as the ‘’Glass corn combo’’

_

Name: Poppy Ollie Real name: Oliver Blumenthal Pronouns: He/him Age: 18 Ethnicity: British/German Weight: 120 lbs Height: 5’5 Rank: Depends on how well you play >:) Record: Refer to “Rank” From: Manchester, England

Bio: this 18 year old graduate from Kaiser ‘s academy is ready for battle ! Naming himself after poppy flowers to honor his trainer Von Kaiser, he’s sure he will crush the competition in the men's circuit ! Despite the hardships he's faced and the long hard road of becoming the boxing champ, he is a bubbly young man with a lot of confidence in himself, in no part thank to his dad's n Kaiser's tremendous support. Prepare for a challenge !

Trivia:

Aside from boxing, likes soccer (manchester united supporter).

Does soccer chants before starting a match.

Speaks both English and German.

Like Cassidy, takes on the role of challenger.

More lore: He was born in Manchester, England to a British mom and a German dad. Unfortunately, his mom died suddenly when he was just 8 years old. As a result, his dad moved back to his native Berlin, Germany. Because of her death, Ollie, once a bubbly young child, becomes reclusive and insecure. His dad, vowing to boost his confidence, sends him to a boxing school, so he can keep his mind occupied, as well as “become a real man”. He ends up rly liking it, as well as having a true knack for boxing. Kaiser takes pity on the kid, for they both lost their moms at a young age. Additionally, he doesn’t like playing favorites, but he has to admit that Ollie is a bit of a favorite of his due to his dedication to the craft. This eventually leads to him becoming Ollie’s trainer.

Gimmick: Like Kaiser, he has a powerful signature move, which Ollie called the "Poppy Punch". When he's charged up enough, it can take down an opponent in one hit. But watch out, as in Title Defense the opponents can counter it, and take HIM down in one hit instead !

[circethesinner]

Hello. Can I request an ask ? Xavier x vampire female reader. She can read minds and she is the new student at Nevermore Academy.

Thank you so much !❤️🥺

suave

pairing: xavier thorpe x reader oneshot (second person pov - she/her pronouns used for reader - occasional use of Y/N)

warning(s) : mild language, small injury and bl**d mentioned

word count: 2.5k

⭑•⊱✩masterlist✩⊰•⭑

A/N - eee first ever request thank you!!! I hope its okay! full disclosure before we begin - one of my special interests is what we do in the shadows so I've decided that vampires are just chaos gremlins

I support womens rights, but more importantly, womens wrongs 😌💅

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

Being a newborn vampire sucked.

Everything was too bright, smells were too strong, and your beloved garlic bread sent you to the hospital on four occasions, but goddamn it, you were going to build up a tolerance if it was the last thing you did. Which, at your rate, it probably would be.

How were you supposed to live, laugh, love in those conditions? Instead, you had to settle for manipulate, mansplain, m̶a̶n̶s̶l̶a̶u̶g̶h̶t̶e̶r̶  mind reading.

Hearing other people’s thoughts when you spoke to them was nothing short of exhausting. It wasn’t that it was difficult or strenuous on your body; it was just boring. People were so boring.

Day in, day out, you heard people’s shopping lists, people wondering if the person they liked would ask them out, people trying to multiply things in their heads; the list was endless and dull and endlessly dull. When the most exciting part of your day was hearing someone have an internal meltdown because they were sure someone had just seen them pick their nose and now thought poorly of them, you knew it was time for a change of pace.

That’s when you ended up at Nevermore.

Well, that and your normie parents were panicking because they didn’t know what to do for their newly turned vampire daughter. Nevermore had teachers who could teach you how to vampire properly and stop antagonising the neighbourhood by flying through people’s houses as a bat and stealing jewellery because no cop would believe them when they said a small, winged rodent-like creature flew through the window and stole their grandma’s necklace.

Your new roommate, Yoko, had taken pity on you and taken you under her wing. She had shown you the ropes of the school, ropes which you had promptly cut just to see what would fall.

It wasn’t that you were lying about being able to read minds; you just conveniently ‘forgot’ to tell anyone about it. So, a few weeks into your time at Nevermore, a Twitter account popped up on everyone’s feeds. It was just your run-of-the-mill anonymous gossip, but what caught people’s eyes was that thoughts and opinions that had never even touched their lips were being shared.

Nothing inherently harmful, of course. You weren’t out to ruin lives; just shake them up a little.

Crushes were spilt, cheating was exposed, friendships were made, and friendships were broken. It was all just playful fun in your eyes.

To divert attention from yourself, you would add some of your ‘thoughts’ to the account. Things that would only be mildly embarrassing that you could easily brush off.

“Looks like you’re the hot topic today,” Yoko smiled, her eyes peeking out from atop her sunglasses as they had slipped down her face. She showed her phone screen to you, and you pretended to act surprised as you read the words ‘Y/N thinks Kent is cute’ as though you hadn’t been the one to write them.

“I won’t deny it; he’s easy on the eyes,” You shrugged, looking over at Kent, catching him looking at you. His face flushed red, and he looked away. “In, like, a puppy way.”

“Are you going to ask him out?” Yoko asked, her eyes looking over at him as well. “He’d say yes, but I think he’s just scared of you.”

“He’s scared of his own shadow,” You laughed, passing her phone back. “Again, he’s cute in a puppy way, not in an ‘I want to date him’ way- sorry, bud!” You called out the last words to Kent, who you knew had been listening in from the other table. Confusion and relief flooded his face, and you knew you’d picked the right person. Anyone else would have been more vocal about it. You would have risked being publicly rejected or, worse, asked out. You hedged your bets on Kent doing nothing about it, and it worked.

You scanned around the quad, hopping into people’s minds to see if you could pull anything out that would be useful to you later. It was like you were channel hopping, hearing bits and clips of people’s thoughts until something grabbed your interest.

“Wonder if Thing would like this new nail polish-” You heard from Enid.

“Who sets homework for-” You skipped Ajax almost immediately as you didn’t want to listen to him internally complain about homework for the seventh time in three days.

“Glad she doesn’t actually like him because I-” From Xavier.

“I just wish I-” You heard the start of Divina’s thoughts but panicked and switched back to Xavier. By the time you had, you had realised you were too late. Whatever he had been thinking had been derailed by Ajax talking to him about homework, and now his thoughts were focused on that.

Could he have been thinking about you? The timing would make sense. He was at the table over with Kent, and he would have been able to hear your conversation just as well. Your mind flooded with possibilities on how his thought could have ended. Against your will, it had fixated on the idea that maybe, just maybe, Xavier was glad you didn’t like Kent because he liked you.

What was also against your will was your mind, for some unknown reason, liked that idea.

You decided that you needed to keep tabs on his mind just to gather proof that you were wrong. There was no way that thought was about you, and even if it was, there was no way that was the reason behind it.

“Earth to Y/N!” Yoko snapped her fingers in front of your face, bringing you back into the moment. “Have you listened to a word I’ve been saying?”

“Yoko, my love, I am sorry, but I have not,” You used the pet name, hoping it would quell her bubbling annoyance at you. It was seemingly successful as she smiled.

“It’s okay! I can repeat myself… again!” She teased. You could only hope that a certain someone would also repeat themselves soon.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

You had been listening in to Xavier’s thoughts almost obsessively for a week, hoping to catch him thinking about you. You were barely paying attention in class as you were so wrapped up in this idea that maybe, just maybe, Xavier liked you. It was driving you crazy not to get the answers you wanted.

Then one day, at dinner, you got an answer.

Well, sort of.

Bianca was upset, and as her friend, you wanted to cheer her up. You didn’t pry far into her mind. You just knew that it was something to do with her mom. It wasn’t your business, and you didn’t make it your business. You were throwing M&Ms up into the air, trying to catch them in your mouth again. It had resulted in stray M&Ms on the floor, which you swore you would pick up when you were done.

After fourteen failed attempts, the fifteenth landed in your mouth, and you very openly cheered. The whole ordeal had put a smile on Bianca’s face, despite her eye-rolls about how mature you were being. 

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, you heard his thoughts.

“That was cute,” It wasn’t exactly the love confession you had been hoping for, but it was something, and something was better than the whole heaps of nothing you’d been getting up until then. It had left you almost frozen in time for a split second, only snapping out of it when the one who had invaded your thoughts as you invaded his reached over to pluck out a stray M&M that had somehow gotten caught in your hair.

Effortlessly, he threw it up in the air and caught it in his mouth on the first try.

“Show-off,” You teased, trying not to get caught up on how cute and suave that move had been. That idea was thrown when he winked at you as he stood up to return to his dorm.

You realised that in your endeavours to see if he had a crush on you, you’d developed one on him. 

But you decided that two could play at the cute and suave game, and you set in motion a plan.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱••••✩••••̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

“What the fuck?” Xavier shouted as you, in your bat form, flew through the window and crashed against the wall. You transformed back to your human form and held your now-pounding head.

“That…” You stumbled slightly, trying to stay upright as you turned around to face him. “That went so much better in my head.” “Why the hell did you even do it?” He was definitely confused, but his voice was also laced with concern. “Shit, your head is bleeding a bit.” He grabbed an old black hoodie he didn’t care too much for anymore and walked up to you. He gently pulled your hands away from where you had been clutching your head and held the hoodie up to it to try and stop the bleeding.

“Vampires in movies are so cool and suave,” You groaned, the reality of your situation hitting you almost as hard as you had hit the wall. “I wanted to be like them.” You avoided adding the ‘and you’ that followed it in your mind. You thanked whatever Gods there were that he couldn’t read your mind in return.

“That really doesn’t explain why you did it in the first place,” Xavier laughed. He had carefully pulled you over to sit down on his bed, which your shaking legs greatly appreciated. You weren’t sure if you were shaking from the shock or the nerves of what was about to come out of your mouth or if it was a horrid mixture of the two that had turned your entire body to jello.

“Okay, so…” You sighed, figuring it would just be easier to say it than dodge around it. As you had just awfully demonstrated, subtlety was not one of your strong suits. “I wanted to be all cute and mysterious so you would be more likely to say yes when I asked you if you wanted to go out on a date.” You felt his muscles stiffen next to you, but his hold on the hoodie hadn’t stopped.

You felt the nerves bubble up in your throat, hoping that rejection would be quick and painless and that you could just laugh it all off.

Then, he started laughing.

Somehow, that made it worse. He was probably laughing at you. You tried to dive into his mind to confirm your suspicions, but you were met with pain and mental static. You almost laughed at the idea that the hoodie was blocking your signal.

“There are so many easier ways to do that,” His laughter had settled down a little after a few seconds. “You could have spoken to me in person, called me, texted me; even a written letter slipped into my bag would have done the trick.”

“My handwriting sucks,” You laughed a little with him. It was easier to laugh off than to let the embarrassment consume you, and his own laughter had helped, even if it was aimed at you rather than with you. “And texts aren’t cool or mysterious.”

“The bleeding has mostly stopped, but you might want to get it checked out at the infirmary in case you have a concussion,” Xavier carefully pulled the hoodie away and tossed it to the side. “So, are you going to do it?”

“Yeah, I’ll go to the infirmary on my way back to my room,” You nodded, wincing at the pain that it caused.

“That’s good, but it's not what I meant,” He held out his arm to prevent you from standing up.

“What do you mean?” You asked, doing your best to avoid eye contact and find some sort of escape plan so you could crawl into a hole and regret the life choices you had made thus far.

“Are you going to ask me out on a date?” Your eyes widened as the words registered in your brain, and you looked up at him, still doing your best to avoid eye contact in case you lost your nerve.

“Depends if you’re going to say yes,” You tried not to look too hopeful, trying to cling onto any sliver of keeping cool after the disaster that the whole interaction had been so far.

“You’ll have to ask me to find out,” He fired back, a sly smile on his face. You took a deep breath.

“Do you… want to go out on a date?” You asked.

“With who?” He teased. Annoyance flashed past your face at how difficult he was making things, but he spoke again. “I’m kidding! It would be an honour to go out on a date with you.”

Relief washed through you. It had worked. Despite the absolute chaos and everything going wrong, it had worked.

“Do you know how many times I had to think about how much I liked you around you until you heard it?” Xavier laughed. You looked at him with confusion.

“Wait, do you know-” You started to ask, but he cut you off. “Do I know that you can read minds?” He finished for you. “Do you remember your second day at Nevermore? I left my hoodie on my chair in botany. I realised it halfway out the door, but before I could turn and grab it, you were behind me, holding it out to me. Then, you said that the torn seam was easily fixable and that I could borrow the sewing kit you’d brought with you.”

“Which you did!” You recalled the memory from the months before. “How did that clue you in, though? I thought I’d been careful and said it as though I’d seen the tear.”

“I’d mistaken the hoodie I had with me for another one,” He explained. “The hoodie I had was fine. The one with the tear was in the wash. I thought it was weird, so I tested things a few times. I’d think about certain things, and you would casually bring them up or direct the conversation so I could be the one to bring them up.”

“And during that time, I guess I fell for you,” Your face flushed as you heard that thought, loud and clear.

“I know you heard that one,” Xavier laughed nervously. “I hope that didn’t overstep any boundaries.”

“Xavier, I just flew in through your window after regularly reading your thoughts. If anyone overstepped boundaries, it was for sure me!” You snorted with laughter as you spoke. Hearing Xavier think it was ‘cute’ made your face feel hot but in a pleasant way. You managed to calm down a little as you made eye contact with him for what was the first time since you’d flung yourself into his room.

“I want to kiss you,” You heard his thoughts again, loud and clear.

“Then do it,” You told him. It was a challenge he was more than to accept as he gently took your chin in his hand, tilting your head up and pressing a soft kiss against your lips which you gladly returned.

A/N - have I beta read this at all? hell no - any mistakes y'all find please lemme know 💀

feel free to send in any requests for xavier or other wednesday characters and I will get to what I can!!

[lucysarah-c]

95 in Math

Summary: A little tale from my Teen! modern au Levi stories. Zeke had been getting on Levi's last nerve and they solved it as teenage boys know to.... beating eachother and posting it on snapchat. Words: 2920 Paring: Teen! Levi x Teen! Reader Warnings: cursing and slightly sexual mentions. Also violence from the fight but nothing too graphic.

If you want to read more stories from me, this is my masterlist! under the banner "Lele's tale" its all my Teen! Levi modern au world. Or you can click here!

There was a well-known fact, Levi despised No! Levi hated Zeke Jaeger with all his soul. It was an established rivalry since they were toddlers. Anyone must know about it. It didn't help at all that each one went to the biggest two schools whose rivalry on matches was popular too.

God, if they were in the same frag party, It was certain that they would at least exchange a few words if Erwin managed to retain his best friend from beating Zeke up. The tall blond would usually say "Come on Levi, do you want your mother to get mad at you for having to hear another of Diana's speech about Zeke's bruises?"

There was something else that didn't help, both of them belonged to respectable noble families. Jaegers and Ackermans have been throwing glaze at each other since the Titan war. One exception was the new wife of Grisha Jaeger, Carla, and Levi's mother, Kuchel. Both women knew each other since their high school years and they had done their modelling career together. Another special case was Eren Jaeger, he had an unusually good relationship with the Ackermans' kids, Mikasa and Levi. Probably because of his mother’s influence and, perhaps, the wish of pissing his father off.

Especially after he joined the Scouting Legion Academy and received the deep green and white letter jacked with the wings of freedom in them as a prize of belonging to the School team. Another fact that grew the bad blood between the two teens was that both of them were leaders of their respective teams. Of course, Levi was an Ackerman and, as any respectable member of the family legacy, he was good at any sport that he played. Ackermans had been the pride of the scouts for generations.

However, if there was one extra straw that was last needed to blow their bad blood out of proportion it was . . . Y/N

It's quite pointless to get into details of how YN and Levi began to date, that could be a story for another day but these two were high school sweethearts. It was not a secret, almost everybody knew about it unless that person lived under a rock. The way that she would run into his strong arms with her tight little navy blue and white cheerleader dress after he achieved another victory under the school uniform. Kuchel adored her, treating her as her own daughter, and, believe it or not, Kenny tolerated her.

Perhaps the question would be, what is the correlation between the rivalry of the two teens and the brand new relationship that Levi held. Long story short, jealousy. Before joining the Scouts prep, Y/N used to live in Marley and while being a cheerleader there, she encountered members from other schools. For example, Zeke. And apparently, Levi's new sweetheart got along with Pieck, who was close friends with Zeke.

One connection led to another and Zeke wasn't particularly jumping for joy when he heard from his little step-brother that the girl he spends three whole parties talking to, moved to another country and ended up dating Levi fucking Ackerman in less than a year.

On the other side of the tale, Levi fucking Ackerman wasn't happy hearing out from, guess who, Eren (Aka Zeke's little brother) that his biggest enemy since he used diapers had a crush on his girl. Zeke commented and liked all her pictures on Instagram and he replied to her stories? Levi was on a blink on asking Kenny for the family private plane, travelling to Marley and paying a visit to the other side of the Jaeger's household. The young Ackerman had beaten the living shit out of Zeke for less, way less.

No, things weren't looking good. It wasn't good timing for having the final of the baseball teams between the two schools. There were too many hormone teens in the same field for the game to end up good. The tension was rising like boiling milk, it was a matter of seconds until it blew out of proportion.

It was an early morning, Levi left Kenny's apartment around 5 to 6 am to arrive first to the field as the good captain team he was. Then the rest of the team arrived late, he almost freaked out when Eren was nowhere to be found but he arrived late, as always. When the young Ackerman was almost ready to go to the field, his backpack was vibrating. He picked up his phone and read "Come outside, I've something for you" from YN.

He peaked out of the changing room and she basically jumped into his arms.

"mhm" He groaned against the curve of her neck, feeling the sweet vanilla perfume from her smooth skin, the tight embrace of her bare arms around his neck and his strong arms were quick to find their place on both sides of her hips after the sudden hug.

"I came to kiss you once 'cause you had to wake up too early on a Saturday," She said before pressing their lips together on a quick peak. Before Levi could lead on and deepen the contact a bit, she parted away.

"Kiss you twice because the match is going to be alright" she repeated before leading on another kiss. This one lasted a little bit longer. “I’m going to be cheering for you!” “Try not to fall like in practice last thursday,” Levi teased back earning a little push from her, faking taking offence.

Levi’s team was winning but, at what costs? Marley’s side was playing so dirty that to stand a chance they had to go down to the same level. There were a bunch of “unprofessional game attitudes” and Levi himself had to stop Eren a couple of times from starting a fight.

There was something that Levi had to give it to Zeke and it was that he was a hell of a pitcher. If it wasn’t for his Ackerman reflexes the ball would have crushed right into the middle of his face. Luckily he squatted on time to avoid it.

“Sorry!” The apologises that left the blond felt anything but sincere. He was smirking as he chuckled with another member of the team under his breath. Levi was dedicating him his best death glance, he was meditating inside his head that it was his duty as a Captain to show professional and mature gaming attitude

The grandstand held their breath in a quick general gasp as the second ball was thrown way too close. Levi dodge it, again, but this time he was growing heavily and his teeth hurt from pressing them.

Hange was really active shouting about how Zeke was going to leave with his ass kicked if he kept with that attitude. Erwin held eye contact with Levi as he slightly shook his head, as the leader of the School’s student council, he had left it clear that they didn’t need another video of them fighting going viral online.

Levi hit the ground a couple of times with his bat and tried to remain focused. Breathing deep as he swore to himself that he wasn’t going to let it get on his head. When he turned, she was looking eyes with him. Worriness covered her features as she tried to tie up together with a smile of reassurance.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I would leave him as brand new,”

Maybe it was that his Ackerman’s powers blessed him with extraordinary abilities, perhaps another person wouldn’t have heard that comment from the distance they had. It would have been great if Levi hadn’t heard those words leaving Zeke’s lips as he dedicated the girl a sassy side smirk. It would have… but that didn’t happen. Levi heard it, clear as if it had been whispered to him.

Zeke didn’t even see it coming when he turned around, Levi had already tackled him to the ground. The public screamed, some of them in surprise, most cheering for one guy or the other.

“You like to eat earth, fucking monkey? Eat earth!” Despite the fact that Zeke was easily 10cm taller than the dark haired boy, he could barely hold on. Levi was pushing the Marley’s team guy’s face to the soft ground of the field, covering his face in mud as he grabbed the golden locks and tugged them.

“Mike! Do something! Stop them!” Erwin screamed to the other team member that was on the field watching interested.

“Wait, he’s winning,” Mike replied entertainingly.

“Of course he’s winning! KICK HIM IN THE GUTS” Hange screamed from the top of their lungs as they filmed the scene.

Reined tried to jump in in defence of their captain but Eren, who was easily rallied up, stopped midway. Soon the game was a disaster, professors trying to ease out the confrontations but they did little to no effort in stopping Levi.

One of them even said, when the principal told them to stop it “I’m not messing up with an angry Ackerman, I value my own life”

Each second that went by was loudly announced by the hanging clock in the room. Still in the muddy uniform of the team, Levi sat down, legs parted and elbows resting on his knees as he waited. The principal office was always quiet, but on a Saturday with no students in the school, the silence was overpowering.

No, phone, they had taken that away. Zackly was calling anyone at his household that would pick up. The game was over and as Erwin said “you’re lucky that any university would take you in no matter what, Zackly is 100% going to suspend you for a while”

The waiting room felt stupidly big at those hours that the cheerful slightly old-fashioned secretary wasn’t there to offer those old candies that she always had. The amount of available seats was tempting to raise his muddy boots and take a quick nap considering the time he had woken up. But he didn’t, his list of disrespect to the authority was quite crowded that day.

The office with the frosted glass on Levi’s right gave away the movement of someone in the attached room. The door with the golden plate on it opened up and revealed a furious Diana, whose heels echoed in the tiled floor as she hastened up. Before leaving the office, the blond woman (that Levi liked to call Karen because of the haircut) dedicated her best dead glance.

The teen just kept a stoic attitude, this wasn’t the first time Diana was mad at him and he feared it won’t be the last one either. Grisha walked slowly after handshaking with the principal, looked at Levi and kept going.

Levi did no movements, except from his eyes who looked up to his right. Slyly looking without turning to the principal who definitely didn’t expect to spend his Saturday’s lunch time dealing with angry parents after a baseball match.

“Nobody is catching up the phone in your house,” the adult affirmed.

“I told you. Kenny works at night, he must be sleeping until 3 to 4 pm and my mother is shooting a new HBO show in spain.” Levi repeated the information he had been giving since he was dragged to the office “Even if Kenny picked up the phone, he’s not gonna come,” 

“Well, you’ll spend the entire weekend here until an adult comes to pick you up and signs your suspension,”

The old man left the place, probably searching for a coffee. Levi’s curses under his breath filled the empty room.

The entry door opened up again revealing an enthusiastic Eren.

“Dude! I took a picture of Zeke crying in the nursing room! Hahah I post it on snapchat,” Eren, who had a black eye from fighting with Reiner, sat down next to Levi as if nothing was going on “You beat him up so good!”

Eren passed the pictures on the screen of his phone with his thumb, tilting to the right for Levi to see.

“Have you seen twitter?”

“They took my phone,”

“Ugh, Zackly it's been a pain in the ass since his wife left him”

“Yeah, fucking old man. Can’t get it up anymore and want to cut my balls because he’s frustrated,” Levi commented on gossip as he slacked against the uncomfortable chair “If they wake Kenny up, he’s going to kick my ass for real,”

“You’re fucked, because they asked Mika’s mother the number of Traute to get in contact with Kenny,”

Levi groaned loudly “Fuck! Come on! Zeke started! Why aren’t they suspending him too?!”

“Maybe because he’s going to lose one week of school recovering,”

“Oh yeah… the asshole can’t take a punch,” Levi replied and both of them began to chuckled “You should have seen him complained because earth was getting in his contact lenses,”

Eren left when Mikasa came to pick him up, the girl only said one thing “you’re dead, Kenny is coming over to pick you up. It was nice knowing you, cousin”

Gentle parenting? Kenny hadn’t heard of it. He was a man not made to deal with kids and Levi had known that from a young age, he was left on his supervision only when his mother couldn’t be around. Kenny always complained loudly about it until he could use his nephew in his advance, which wasn’t frequent but it happened more than Levi liked to admit. Skipping work under the excuse that he was trying to have quality time with his only baby nephew to what usually involved sending Levi away to a friend's house so Kenny could have the house for himself.

No, Kenny wasn’t a father figure. He wasn’t even a responsible adult. But he was a man who hated to deal with brat stuff and Levi was sure as hell that he felt his soul leaving his body when a tired barely woke Kenny showed up in the Principal’s office.

“Prepare your ass, rat. You won’t be sitting for a while,” Kenny murmured as Zackly invited them in. Both Ackermans sat down in front of the desk. Levi on the left chair, trying to make himself invisible. Kenny was slacked against the chair on the right, legs obscenely parted and hands on pockets.

“What’s the deal? I’m a busy man,” Kenny tried to get it done as soon as possible.

Zackly went through heavy detail on what happened earlier that day, making the young man grimace expecting his death sentence.

“You’re telling me that this rat,” Kenny pointed with his thumb to the left where his nephew was. “Kicked the living shit out of the Jaeger kid, got 2 other men out of his back to keep bitching the brat. All by himself?”

“Yes,”

Levi felt himself melting in the chair as he remembered being grabbed by two other Marley’s players trying to push him away and him throwing both guys out of his back. Maybe he did get carried away.

Cold big hand landed loudly with a pat on his head as Levi closed the eyes as a self reflect. His whole body moved as Kenny ruffled his dark hairs strongly.

“That’s my boy, a fucking Tiger. Unstoppable.” Kenny smirked proudly at him as Levi felt himself straighten his back as his uncle kept roughly tangling his hair. “That’s what we Ackermans do, we fight and we win.”

“Mr. Ackerman with all the respect, Zeke Jaeger has two teeth broken!”

“Nice,” Kenny replied, smirking all the way, turning around to Levi who was suddenly feeling really cocky “Did you use the kicks that I taught you?”

“Yes!” Levi replied quickly.

“Sir-”

“Look, if you want to teach morals. Talk to his mother. I think that assholes that flirt with your girly deserve a good punch, boys will be boys. They need to unleash energy” Kenny’s uninterested tone and slightly problematic tendencies weren’t what Zackly was searching for when he called for an adult. The old man sighed loudly as the two Ackermans raised from their spot

“Come on, rat.” Kenny’s towering figure abandoned the room without even caring to hear anything else, Levi was quick to follow.

“I’ve a party with the guys tonight, we won. Can I go?” Levi’s voice echoed in the empty corridors as he kept up with Kenny’s fast pace.

“As far as you don’t bust my balls, you’re free to go to another country as far as I care”

The Ackerman’s teen felt as if he had dodged a bullet, his uncle wasn’t angry, they won the game and he had won a free week from school. A win is a win.

However, when the following Monday morning the door of Kenny’s apartment opened up loudly and the voice of his mother screamed from the first floor “LEVI ACKERMAN, GET DOWN HERE IN THIS INSTANT!”

Levi dragged his feet down the stairs grimacing uncomfortably as he faced his mother that still had the luggage in the front door. Slightly wavy dark hair framing his mother’s complexion as he frowned at him deeply. Crossed arms and her feet tapping the floor.

“Something to say in your defence, young man?”

Levi looked at Kenny searching for an alibi, but his uncle just walked to the kitchen to make himself a coffee. Side eyes that said “you’re on your own, kid”

Kuchel raised an eyebrow, expectant.

Levi tried to force an innocent smile, searching for his mother’s lovely nature “... that I got a 95 in maths?”

[makethatelevenrings]

Angel by the Wing - TWENTY TWO

Chapter Warnings: discussion of child abuse and domestic violence, discussion of the possibility of miscarriage, allusions to homophobia

A/N: I’m nearing graduation so I’m in the final rush to get work done so updates will be going sloooooow for a bit. sowwy. love u.

Series Masterlist OR Mobile Masterlist

There is a reason why Jacob “Hangman” Seresin is such a dick.

He was seven years old the first time he saw his mom cover a black eye with concealer and a smile. Ten when he pushed himself in between Jennifer and Daniel Seresin and took a well-aimed smack to the face. Thirteen when Daniel stopped making his wife his main punching bag and started turning on Jake.

He was fifteen when he realized that he wanted to kiss Tony Garcia as much as he wanted to kiss Lisa Kelley. The words of his father haunted him at night. Things like how he didn’t raise no fucking fairy. How Jake was too much of a fucking sissy. How he needed to man up and take each hit like a champ.

Jennifer knew something was different about her son. She saw the way he gazed at the front cover of Tiger Beat magazine no matter who was on it. Daniel would beat her black and blue if he saw her giving his son that “sissy shit” but she would pay in cash and slip it under Jake’s pillow to find when he came home from football and baseball practice.

Jake grew thick skin in that house. He had to in order to survive. He loved his mom dearly and he wanted to keep her and his little sister as safe as they could. He was sixteen when he threw a punch back at Daniel and knocked him out cold. Jake was six feet tall and pure muscle thanks to being a double sport athlete. Daniel was on the fast track to alcohol induced cirrhosis.

He knocked his father out and then told his sister and mother to pack their bags. They would get out that night.

That same rough attitude got him through the last few years of high school. He had to protect his sister at her new school, his mom from the specter of his father, and himself from the world. By the time he entered the Naval Academy, DADT was well in effect. Being bisexual meant he could still flirt with women and kiss a few of his other female classmates, but there was still this gut-punch feeling he had every time he felt a flush rise to his cheeks when he saw some guy throwing a frisbee out on the quad.

And then he graduated and entered flight school and met Bradley Bradshaw and for fucks sake, they shared a bunkroom. What was he supposed to do? Bradley was charming and funny and his patience drove Jake insane. He thought that there were moments Bradley saw past that veneer of arrogance he held in front of him as a shield.

Jake always had to be the best. If he was the best athlete on the field, then his dad would be proud. If he was the smartest kid in class, his mom would be proud. He had to be the best in order to get the attention of Naval football recruiters. Five years of service in return for free tuition, a load off of his mom’s shoulders. He had to be the best to be a fighter pilot, a job that would take him away from his mom and sister, but wouldn’t put him in a submarine with no way to contact him for a year.

Letting people in was a risk, he learned, and one he tried to avoid at all cost. Letting people in gave them a chance to see the ugly, jagged, imperfect parts of him that he was terrified to let people see. So he pushed people away with his cocky attitude and jabbed words.

Bradley Bradshaw didn’t care because Jake wasn’t speaking when they were making out in their empty bunkroom.

But then the Navy split them up to deployments across the world. They attended Top Gun at various times, occasionally seeing the other at a base for a few days before they were sent off again, but Bradley had grown more serious and less impressed with Jake’s attitude. He knew it was inevitable. He pushed people away so he really couldn’t act surprised when they left.

He was stationed at Lemoore with Phoenix and then down to Miramar to help train some new pilots when the news of the special detachment came. By then, he was quickly sinking into the bright smile of the bartender of the Hard Deck.

And here he was sitting on his couch with Bradley Bradshaw’s head resting in his lap. His fingers ran through the brunet’s curls and he scratched his nails over Bradley’s scalp a few times, eliciting a satisfied hum from the man who was drifting between the veil between sleep and awake. How the fuck had he ended up here?

“Hey,” you said as you emerged from the bedroom. You were tucking one of your black Hard Deck t-shirts into a pair of jean shorts when you looked up and saw Bradley half-asleep on Jake’s lap.

“Oh sorry.” You lowered your voice and winced but Bradley waved you off.

“I wasn’t sleepin’,” he grumbled.

“Okay, that’s a bold faced lie but whatever you say, bear.” You came around the side of the couch and leaned down to run your hand over Bradley’s hair before straightening up and laying a kiss on Jake's cheek.

“I have to leave to help get the bar ready before we open. Penny took Amelia out on a boating trip to north Cali so I’m opening and closing tonight. I figured you two will want to get shitfaced tonight so I can drive you home and we’ll go get your cars tomorrow morning. Sounds good?”

The two men sent you a thumbs up and you grinned. “Okay, perfect. Item two on my list…”

Bradley sat up with a groan, his ribs protesting the move, and Jake slid his hand down to support his back until they were both sitting up and staring at you.

“There’s a chance.” You worried at your bottom lip and sighed. “There’s a chance I could miscarry. The risk dramatically drops after eight weeks and is extremely rare after twelve weeks, but there’s always a possibility.”

Your hands dropped to your stomach where that near invisible bump rested. “Would you be alright if we waited before telling people? I already told Penny, but that’s because I was freaking out and needed someone to screw my head on straight.”

“I told Mav too,” Bradley added. “But I’m okay with not telling anyone else until you think it’s good.”

Jake cleared his throat. “I’d like to tell my mom. I was hoping to have her and Liz come down to visit soon, maybe this month. Would that be okay?”

A smile grew on your face and you reached out to cup his face. “Of course. It would be really nice to meet your mom. I’m sure she’s got a bunch of embarrassing baby photos of you.”

He rolled his eyes but settled a kiss against your wrist as your grin brightened. You leaned down to drop a kiss to each man’s head and then hurried over to the front door to put on your shoes and grab your purse.

“Okay, I’ll see you both tonight. Be good while I’m gone. Jake…” Your gaze flickered between the two men. “It’s not my place to tell you what to do, but I think you should tell him about your dad.”

His heart sank into his stomach at the confused glance on Bradley’s face, but he knew she was right. If they wanted this to work, Jake would have to be honest about the fact that he didn’t know how to be a good father thanks to Daniel Seresin being a raging piece of shit.

As soon as the door shut behind you and the sound of your car drove off, Jake leaned back against the couch and sighed. Bradley kept those warm brown eyes fixed firmly on him and then Rooster surprised him by reaching out and carding his fingers through the soft strands at the base of his neck.

Jake let out a shaky breath and began to tell him.

A few hours later, Jake joined the rest of the Daggers at the Hard Deck. He sat across from Bradley, their feet hooked together and their heads occasionally turning in the direction of the bar where you were focused on making drinks. The team were all intent on getting sloppy, piss-faced, “holy shit we lived” drunk tonight. Warmth suffused his veins, both from the bourbon and from the laughter of the team as they all swapped stories from their earlier days in the Navy.

“What’s everyone doing for their leave?” Halo asked once the conversation started to die down.

Varying responses came, mostly people saying they were going home to see family. Others were staying in California, like Phoenix who would be going back to Lemoore with Sofia, and Bob, who had been practically adopted by the two women and would be joining them for the first half of leave before he went to see his family.

“I’m going to be here for a bit,” Bradley answered. “Enjoy the sun. Weather’s nicer here than in Virginia.”

The others were too drunk already to recognize the heavy gaze Bradley laid upon the man seated before him. Jake grinned into his beer just as you appeared at their table with a tray of shots.

“On the house,” you announced as you laid it down in front of the aviators. “You better have a designated driver planned out or I will be sticking your ass into an Uber and praying you get home.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Bob replied meekly. You grinned to show him you weren’t all that serious and nudged your knee against the interlocked ankles under the table.

Jacob “Hangman” Seresin never expected that he would have the chance to feel like this. He was thirty-three when he let two people into his life and found that flying wasn’t the only adrenaline rush.

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