#also I’m working on something big with this and it should be done tonight if I draw like an actually insane person

[literallyjusttoa]

Guys I think Troy is becoming my Roman Empire.

[for-a-longlongtime]

Guilty Pleasure (6/7) - dbf!Joel Miller x reader

An open bar and Joel in a tailored black outfit mean trouble at your father's garden party. Enough reason to do something you haven't done before.

Rating: Explicit, 18+ only, mdni 🔞🔥 Series warnings (tba): Age gap (reader is 22, Joel is 43), masturbation (f), use of sex toys, oral sex, PiV, anal, hair pulling, dirty talk, getting caught, playful use of 'daddy', outrageous flirting, groping, reference to m/m, Joel's arms should always come with a warning. No outbreak!AU. Word count: 3.4K A/N: I finished writing the final chapter last night and y'all, I'm giddy as fuck. Big BIG thanks to @milla-frenchy and @reallyrallyauthor for your support and reading Part 6 and 7 early to make sure this hits juuust right!

< part 5 | series masterlist | main masterlist

There are too many people in your backyard. Mingling, chatting, networking, kissing ass - all accompanied by canapés that are too fancy, beer that is so painfully hip and micro-brewed that you don’t even want to try it, and outfits intended to seem semi-casual yet also upstage everybody. You hate these gatherings. It’s far from the first time you’ve had to endure them because of your father’s work, though. Even your grandmother liked reminding you when you were little that your grandfather also hosted affairs like this. “It’s important to build connections.”

You don’t care. All you give a damn about tonight - or maybe these days, if you are honest with yourself - was Joel, dressed like a fucking vision. Well fitting black pants, that you suspect are tailored, an ever better fitting black dress shirt which is absolutely tailored, and matching black boots. His hair, usually curly and messy, now looks so sharp that you wonder if he got a haircut this morning; it’s a little shorter, definitely neater, and brushed back a little.

But what your eyes keep going back to the most are the few buttons on his shirt that are undone, showing off his tanned skin and a smattering of freckles you had barely noticed before. It makes you want to trace every single one with your tongue and find out if he would whine when you'd suck a hickey on his neck.

He’s at the bar, waiting for his drink, so you slide in right next to him and bump against his arm. “Hey. Don’t tell me you’re drinking those craft beers?”

“Jesus. No, of course not.” 

The expression on his face is one of instant disgust, and you can’t help but laugh at the candid response. “Wow, didn’t think there’d be someone else who’d hate them as much as I do.”

Joel grumbles something, then gives the bartender a nod as he takes a glass of whiskey from him. When the guy turns to you to take your order, you point at Joel’s glass. “I’ll have whatever he’s having.”

The guy gives you a doubtful look. “Can I see some ID?”

“Yes, you can. It’s called ‘I’m the daughter of the guy who is paying your salary tonight’ and I’m twenty two. Thanks for making that drink now.” You stare at him, daring him to push back against you - you are NOT in the mood for this tonight, especially not in front of Joel. After a few moments, the bartender sighs and shrugs as he turns around, reaching for a glass and some ice. You can feel Joel’s eyes on you, so you turn towards him to give him a similar look. “What? Go ahead. Say it.”

“Say what?”

“That I’m being a brat.”

“Nah.” Joel shakes his head as he sips from his whiskey. “You’d just get off on that. That’s not brattiness - you’re actually being rude,” he says, then wanders off to go talk to someone nearby.

You stare at him with an open mouth, anger starting to creep into you. How the fuck does he dare to just say something like that to you? It hurts, and most of all it gives you a pang of concern that maybe you’ve ruined your chances with him - between this and the way he responded at the pool a few days ago.

“Oh honey, forget about it.” The bartender gives you a look that’s bordering on pity and disdain, his inflection drastically different all of a sudden as he pushes a glass towards you. “That man ain’t into you. Wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole. Why don’t you go find somebody of your own age to play with, hmmm?”

“Why don’t you go fuck yourself?”, you snap at him as you grab the glass and stalk off, his words feeling like claws that have sunk into your skin and won’t let go of you. The burn of the liquor doesn’t help you in the way you’d hoped for, and you find yourself craving something stronger, sweeter. Anything that’ll help you take the edge off.

Anything, in this case, turns out to be 6’3”, blond, looks like a jock and is named… Brady? Brody? Brad. Ben. Blake. Something like that, you can’t remember, but it’s unimportant after having chatted with him for all of ten minutes. What matters is that he’s not a bad kisser, smells fine - not woodsy like Joel unfortunately - and his hands are large as well as eager, pressing you with your back against the solid wood of the pergola. 

If it wouldn’t ruin the mood for him, you probably would’ve laughed at the irony of making out with Blaine - Brandon? Brayden? No. Bruno. Bruce. Barry. Maybe it was Chad after all - right against the pergola that Joel had built over the past couple of days. 

You’d been watching Joel from your bay window, his muscles straining in the sun, while he grunted the way you had memorized from his Instagram videos. And for all of those three days, you’d had several orgasms as you’d watched him. Some of them were thanks to your fingers, others due to toys - varying from the small bullet vibe to the thrusting rabbit vibrator you used for longer sessions. But in the end, all of this had been going on for too long. The flirting, the way you’d feel him look at you regularly, the build up of tension; it had you feral by now, and you just wanted Joel.

You are gonna get him. Soon. Even if it means needing to make him jealous.

“Should we- should we go inside?” Jock guy pauses his kisses, leaning his forehead against yours as he runs his hands down your body, and you can feel him press hot and heavy against your thigh. Fuck, he is hung. “We’ll have some more privacy, and…”

“No, this is fine,” you say quickly, your eyes scanning the crowd of people across the yard. Most of them are unaware of your makeout session, and your glance slides right past them, but suddenly you detect Joel not too far away from where you are. He is staring right at you, gripping his whiskey glass in your hand, and when the guy next to him says something, he only shakes his head, not breaking his glance with you.

“Are you…”

“I said this is fine,” you said sharply to the guy with his hands on your hips. A frown plays over his face, and in a gesture of good will you let your hand brush over the crotch of his pants, tracing the outline of his dick. “Nobody is watching.”

He groans, his lips finding yours again as he pushes himself against your hand. You kiss him back eagerly this time, your arms around him as you turn him just the slightest bit so you can keep your view of Joel. He’s talking to the guy next to him now, a back and forth conversation, but every now and then his eyes slide back to you, and then there’s a nod he gives you that makes you shiver.

Baxter, or Bart, Bobby, or whatever the hell his name is, slips his hand under your skirt, and you moan when his fingertips trace your lacy underwear. You hear how he sucks in air for a second, then his chest almost puffs up in pride at how wet he finds you. Silly guy. He thinks it’s because of him, that his not-too-bad kisses have riled you up so much. Has no damn clue how Joel’s eyes are back on you again.

“Touch me,” you breathe at him, and then hold your breath when he does so. Thick fingers - though not as thick as Joel’s - slipping under the fabric of your panties, pulling them to the side while your eyes remain locked on Joel. You’re trying to merge the touches with your fantasies and the visual of Joel right in front of you, conjuring up his voice. You think of the way he’d tease you with slow, playful strokes over your pussy, each time a little more focused on your clit, making you delirious with need before he’d even consider sliding a finger into your soaked cunt.

But reality seems more than unwilling to blend with your fantasies. While initially the guy seemed to smell fine, you’re now noticing the overwhelming amount of generic fuck boy cologne he’s wearing, the scent unsettling and clearly something Joel would never even wear. He doesn’t smell like a hard day’s work on Joel does and his hands are too smooth, too well taken care of. No roughness from manual labor whatsoever, no finesse to tease you, and definitely not much muscle memory on how to properly get a woman going. 

Instead he’s just clumsy, perhaps because all the blood has rushed to his cock that’s pressing insistently against you. Substitute-Joel’s fingers slide over your folds only one disappointing time, clearly not even attempting to find your clit. He fumbles around as his own breathing grows heavy, then suddenly tries to push two fingers inside of you - without any further prep or even checking if that’s okay with you. 

It abruptly ruins the horny spell you’d been under several minutes ago, and you swear as you grab his hand to stop him, your pussy strongly objecting to his fingers trying to invade you. 

“Hey! Fucking hell,” you hiss, pulling his hand out of your underwear before he can go any further. “You always fingerbang girls without properly prepping them?”

“What? You’re practically dripping on me,” he hisses back as he looks confused. But you’re not about to end up in a discussion about how being wet doesn’t mean he can just shove his fingers inside of you - let alone without any warning.

“Never mind,” you say as you push him away from you, then straighten your clothes as you move away from the pergola. “Let’s just forget this happened, okay? I’ve gotta go say hi to someone.”

“Bitch,” he mutters at you, adjusting his tie and the collar of his shirt. On most days you would’ve gladly torn him a new asshole for that, but you’re just not in the mood to further engage with him. So you start to head into Joel’s direction, but then see that he seems to have moved elsewhere, leaving you to look around in confusion.

You look up when you hear a group of men laugh, and see your father shake some hands as he offers his audience a few more words. Joel is there too, you realize, still with a drink in his hand. Your father gives him a friendly pat on his arm, which is returned with Joel’s signature nod, as he then heads over to some other people who look more than eager to greet him. It makes your skin crawl to see him acting like some kind of politician, eager to make a good impression on everyone, and you quickly turn away from him to look back at Joel - who is now looking straight at you again, without saying anything.

It’s not until you’re back at the bar for another whiskey - you’ve lost track of how many you’ve had - that he shows up next to you, giving you a gentle nudge like you had done to him earlier. “D’you eat anything recently?”, he asks, absentmindedly playing with a coaster on the bar. You can smell the smokey alcohol on his breath, see that the buttons on his shirt are just a little more opened than they were a little while ago, and it just makes you ache for him.

“Shut up, Joel,” you mutter, but he doesn’t follow your suggestion - instead he picks up the whiskey that the bartender slides over to you and takes a sip of it.

“A water for her, please?”, he asks, then covers the liquor glass with his hand when you try to reach for it. “No. You’re done.”

You’re starting to seethe at this point. “Who the fuck you think you are telling me how much I can drink?,” you snap at him. His eyes are infuriatingly calm, but the smirk tugging at the corner of his lips makes it clear he’s a lot more amused than you are.

“Easy, darling. Just looking out for you, okay?” He pushes the glass of ice water on the counter over to you, but you have half a mind to throw it at him.

“Why are you bothering me?”

His eyebrows raise at the word ‘bothering’, but he doesn’t quite respond to it. “Just have some water and food,” he says softly. “You’ll feel like shit if you don’t.” 

“You’re drunk too.”

Joel rolls his eyes at you. “Yeah, well… have to get through this all somehow, don’t I? Been drinking water too, though.” He gives you a look as he takes another sip of whiskey, sighing.

“I don’t get why you’re here.” Your head is spinning a little, but at this point you’re not sure if it’s the booze or proximity to Joel that’s getting to you. The memory of that jock guy’s cologne is far from your mind by now, replaced now by that smell that you crave - the cologne you would recognize anywhere, layered with Joel’s own scent. And it’s driving you mad. “Nobody is making you, unlike they’re doing with me.” 

A smile plays over Joel’s face and he shrugs. “Your mom asked me.”

You can’t help but laugh. “My— what? And that’s why you’re voluntarily subjecting yourself to all of this?” You gesture around the yard, the groups of stuffy people, pretentious bite sized food and music that makes you desperately want to connect your phone to the speaker system. “I’ve been to so many of these. It’s awful, every single time.”

You’re waiting for him to tell you it’s not that bad, or even that you should suck it up. But instead he simply doesn’t respond, and only gives you a raised eyebrow as he has some more whiskey. When he puts the glass down on the bar, you impulsively swipe it and drain it before he can interfere, waiting for an actual retort this time. 

A frown slides onto his face and you grin almost triumphantly at the reaction, pushing the empty glass back towards him, only ice cubes remaining in it now. “I think you like dramatic,” you then blurt out, and see how he blushes slightly, the red flush creeping up from his chest to his neck.

“That what you think?” His eyes flick over you, and you nod, poking him in the chest with your finger. 

“Yeah. You’re… practical. Proper. Maybe kinda boring. You got your routine.” You really should stop talking with all that liquor in your system, but you refuse to admit he was right about you needing to sober up. “Maybe getting close to a midlife crisis? Working your job and then all the reno on your house. Don’t see you chill a whole lot.” 

You run your finger a little down his chest, then place your full hand against his shirt as you lean over to his ear. “I think you want some fun,” you whisper in his ear, barely audible due to the music playing at the party. “Somebody who shakes things up. Brings a little drama and excitement.”

Joel’s eyes are slightly unfocused from the whiskey, just like yours probably are, and you can tell that his guard is down in ways that you haven’t experienced before. “Old, huh? Boring, old, and close to a midlife crisis,” he says after a moment, a smirk on his face as he shakes his head. “But you would shake things up? Why would you bother with an old man?”

“Maybe I’m into that.” You bite your lip as you hesitate for a moment. “The whole DILF thing. And don’t think I haven’t noticed you watching me.”

His smirk widens into an actual grin now as he laughs, looking away at some commotion or a gathering that’s happening at the party. When he looks back at you, his eyes are darker than usual, and you can’t help but feel a shiver run down your spine.

“Little girl. You are in over your head.” His words are measured and quiet as he seems to pick them carefully, his hand now reaching for yours that’s still resting against his chest, and he gently pulls it off his shirt. “ Y’don’t even have a clue of what you’re playing with, darling. What are you gonna do? Rock my world? At your father’s party?”

“I don’t give a shit about his party,” you say sharply, but he shakes his head, interrupting you.

“But that’s the thing. You do,” he murmurs. “Y’couldn’t be more thrilled than to do so here, just to make a scene. Like you did with that guy.”

You feel victorious hearing him confirm that he had been watching you, and together with his ‘little girl’ comment it’s enough to make you soak your panties on the spot. “Were you jealous?”, you ask him challengingly.

He chuckles again, this time getting up from the barstool, and you take in his physique, admiring the way those tailored pants fit around his thighs. “Have some more water. And food,” he tells you, and in the split second you have before he turns away, you make up your mind. Perhaps it’s more like instinct, to do what you’ve been stopping yourself from doing for a while now. 

You grope him. 

Fingers quick as you cup him through his pants, closing around his balls and a part of his dick. It takes effort to bite back a whimper at finally feeling him, thick and hot and heavy in your hand, after all those weeks that you’ve been here and tried to figure out what the right move was. You hold his eyes defiantly, lips parted as you’d like to use your words but they all seem stuck in your throat.

His surprised intake of air when you grab him is immediate, and he looks frazzled as he shakes his head, tugging your hand abruptly away from his cock. “You out of your damn mind?”, he hisses, looking more than just a little flustered. “In front of everyfuckingbody?”

“So come insi—” The words die on your tongue when you suddenly see your mom approaching from a couple of feet behind Joel, unaware of what’s happening between the two of you, but apparently in search of you as she calls your name. Joel and you immediately step away from each other, him leaning against the bar as he seems to need a moment to compose himself. You have even less time to plaster a smile on your face for your mother, so you just nod enthusiastically as she rambles at you about some person’s son you should come meet. Your heart feels like it’s hammering out of your chest as you force yourself to tell her that you’d love to meet them, bringing a smile to your mom’s face.

Just as you’re about to join her to meet this person, your mom pauses at the bar and puts her hand on Joel’s shoulder. “By the way, he said that he could use your help with moving that thing, if you have time? Think he’s inside, couldn’t find you,” she said, and Joel nods while humming something affirmatively. His eyes flit to you for a split second before he looks down at the bar again, and he seems to wait until the two of you have moved away until he goes inside.    

You’re in a mild daze as you follow your mom through the crowd, performing the role you’re expected to play, while the moment that you grabbed Joel plays on repeat in your head. The gasp that spilled from his lips, the way he didn’t say “no” - just “in front of everybody?”, which was an entirely different thing, and frankly… he wasn’t wrong.

You can wait. Just that little bit longer. It’ll be so worth it.

Joel's outfit at the party (as a dress shirt and pants instead of a jumpsuit):

series masterlist | main masterlist

Thank you for reading, commenting or reblogging - I appreciate it so very much 🙏

🚨 Follow @longlongtime-updates + turn on notifs to see when the finale drops later this week!

[butididntpourthewhiskeys]

Homebodies

A little fluff for your TTPD weekend.

~~~

“No I promise, just sit down, I’ll be done in just a minute, mom.” she says firmly in response to her mother asking if she needs any help in the kitchen. Travis just gives Andrea that one look she’s grown to know too well. His eyebrows raised an inch and a smirk on his face that tells the blonde woman he’s got her daughter all figured out.

Leave it to me.

She giggles quietly at Travis, then slowly walks back into the living room to sit down next to Scott. Travis looks at all the different dishes on the counter behind her. The California sun is slowly setting. He should’ve known this morning when she announced that she’ll cook ‘a few Italian primi piatti’ that the ruthless perfectionist lurking inside of his girlfriend would finally make a come back on this Friday. After running around all day, going to the gym, completing her cardio challenge, baking cupcakes for her parents, finishing a work meeting, discussing a music video concept with her team and signing a few new contracts, she of course decided to hit the delicacy shop she loves out here in LA, just to buy all the ingredients she needs for a total of six different Italian dishes that she wants to make for him and her parents tonight. He knows too well by now that whenever Taylor is in this state of mind, there’s no stopping her. If she sets her mind onto something, there’s nothing anyone can say or do to make her loosen up a little. Even if that would involve her actually enjoying this quiet evening with him and her family instead of standing in the kitchen for a solid two hours now, not having had a single conversation with any one of her parents yet.

“What else needs to be done? I can cut veggies? I’m good at cutting stuff.” he tries one last time, steals a carrot stick from her cutting board and starts munching. While stirring the big blue Dutch oven in front of her, she looks back at him for a second, stressed, clearly not amused that he’s eating her uncooked food.

“No, all good. I just need to make sure the risotto won’t thicken too much and once that’s done you guys can sit down and eat the carpaccio before it gets soggy because I need to take the bread out of the oven and quickly scrap together the bruschetta sauce..”

Travis just sighs deeply, takes a step closer towards her. She’s too stressed whipping up the food in front of her to even notice him trying to get closer.

“How about we just let the bruschetta be? We’ve got so much food, babe. It’s just us four. It’s also really late already.”

She shakes her head, not responding to him and he knows that if he pushes her any more now, she might actually get mad at him tonight.

“How about I start cutting some tomatoes for the bruschetta then?” he says with a sigh, finally gave into her obsession with the tomato bread. For a moment she looks up at him, a weak smile on her face. It immediately lights up his entire body.

“That would be great.” she just says, still a bit hesitant and he knows why. She’s not sure if she should be happy that he’s offering to help her, or if she should be worried about the fact that he might cut off his fingers while doing so.

“Sure.” he says, can see the washed and perfectly ripe tomatoes sitting in the drain by the sink right next to her. He grabs one of the tomatoes, holds it up in the air with a question mark on his face.

“Little cubes?”

She nods, a smile on her face.

“Thanks, Trav.” she says then, still busy stirring the risotto in front of her. She doesn’t even notice that he gets closer to her, and fast enough has stolen her cheek a gentle kiss. She giggles all surprised about his gentleness, then feels him lean in again after a second.

“You’re very welcome, crazy.”

Another kiss leaving her cheek. She just giggles, continues stirring her risotto.

_________

“Taylor, that was absolutely incredible.”

She smiles proudly at her father sitting across from her, takes one last sip from her white wine.

“Thanks so much. So glad you liked it.”

“Honey, it was delicious but you didn’t have to put in all this work just because we’re visiting.” Andrea says, her tone a bit more dunning than Scott’s was before. Taylor just rolls her eyes, a bit annoyed that everyone around her acts like she reinvented the wheel with this Italian dinner. Yes, it was some cooking time to prepare this meal, but she loves hosting and loves being a cook. Her mom should know that better than anyone.

“Tay loves spoiling our guests.” Trav says then, and Taylor looks up at the big man sitting next to her. She starts smiling. Our guests. It was a simple sentence. But it made her feel a certain way. He’s home. This has become his home, too.

“I do. Also, this is Trav’s favorite dish. So..”

“Hey, don’t put this on me now.” He says quickly, jokingly holds up his hands in an innocent gesture that makes the whole table laugh. Taylor can’t help but giggle, too. She playfully hits him in the side.

“I gained fifteen pounds since December, Scott. Fifteen pounds.” he says dramatically to both Andrea and Scott, who amusedly witness the interaction between him and Taylor.

“That’s a good sign, though.” her father laughs, especially because his daughter starts hitting the man’s upper arm some more, looking deeply shocked from him, to her mom and back at Travis again.

“Do not even start blaming me for that. Every time I have food laying around he eats it. That’s not on me.”

Andrea starts laughing, and so does Scott. Travis just rolls his eyes playing pretend, sips one last time on his wine glass before looking at the blonde woman in the black top sitting next to him, giving him a playful side eye. She looks absolutely gorgeous as always, but there’s something in her eyes that gives her away. She’s exhausted. Deeply exhausted and tired, but he knows she won’t ever admit to it.

Without countering her some more, Travis just places his wine glasses in front of him, then wanders with his right hand to her head. He starts gently caressing her hair, wandering down to her neck then, where his thumbs draw some soft and slow circles. He can see her eyes getting smaller and her smile getting softer. His touch helps her let her guard down slowly. But she’s not the only one sitting around this table smiling quietly. Both of her parents witness his gentle gesture silently, a smile on both their faces, unsure if they’ve ever seen their daughter look as loved and taken care of as she does right now.

“You had three hours of sleep last night. How are you even still upright?”

She giggles, his hand now leaving her neck and reaching for her cold left hand.

“Jetlag and being tired is a choice.”

Andrea starts laughing. She knows just as much as Travis that this is the most ridiculous saying her daughter comes up with whenever she’s urged to slow down a little.

“Mhm. Sure.” he just says laughingly, knowing damn well that there’s no arguing with her tonight. Within less than two seconds, she gets up, starts cleaning the dinner table.

“How about you start picking a movie and we do the dishes.” Andrea now takes initiative but before she can even finish her sentence, Taylor shakes her head and makes sure to grab the used plates quicker than her mother can.

“Absolutely not. Trav will go pick a movie with you guys, I’m gonna quickly clean up and feed the cats and join you then.”

“I can feed the cats, babe.” the man who just got up right next to her tries once more but she shakes her head.

“No, please pick a movie with mom and dad.” She asks him with a serious look on her face and he sighs, just shakes his head in disbelief, knowing damn well that he’s got to let her be her obsessive self tonight.

“Alright guys, what do you want to watch?”

_________

“Why is it so quiet in here…”

“Because we are waiting for you, honey.” Scott says from the living room couch, looking at Taylor who stands in the now clean and shiny kitchen preparing the bowls for her cats.

“No, just start the movie already. I’ll be there in a second.” she says, really doesn’t want them to have to wait any longer. After all, it’s past nine already now. The view onto her little backyard is pitch black, and she knows her parents are still jet lagged, too.

“Absolutely not.” Travis says from the very right couch on which he sits, giving her that look she loves so much. With the remote control in his hand, as comfortable as he can be, he smiles at her, looking right into her eyes somehow even though this massive living room is dividing them.

“You can’t miss the beginning. It’s the most important part of this movie.”

“Alright, alright, give me one second.” she says, places the bowls in front of the three impatient cats waiting for their dinner, and washes her hands with her favorite lavender soap in the big kitchen sink one last time.

“Do you guys have drinks? Do you need any snacks, or ice cream? Trav, do we still have the…”

“We have everything, honey. Now enough with all this madness. Sit down on your ass. Now!” Andrea says in a new tone, which Travis hadn’t experienced before. It makes him smile though. Suddenly, Taylor just nods, turns off the lights in the kitchen and finally, after what felt like an eternity, makes her way up to her family lounging in the living room. Travis smiles at the beauty in front of him, immediately opens his arms for her to sit down next to him.

“Come on, babe. Lay down.” he just mumbles, gets comfortable on the big couch himself, a pillow in his neck, and enjoys to feel Taylor cuddle up to him, becoming the little spoon to be able to face the big flat screen.

“Alright, are we ready?”

“Yes.” Both Scott and Andrea answer annoyed from their seats and it makes Taylor laugh. Travis hits the play button and the movie starts. His right hand securely around Taylor’s small body frame, slowly wandering onto her stomach. She places her hand on top of his, and with his head on the pillow behind him, he leans over to her once, breathing in her incredible smelling hair, and steals her neck one last kiss. She moves a bit more, trying to get comfortable, and he can feel how fast her heart beats. He knew it. She’s been running around all day, not even allowing herself a single moment of rest. She’s rattled up, and her inability to just lay still in his arms is proof enough. Sometimes, he feels like whenever she’s not playing a show she needs to run around all day to compensate for her lack of adrenaline rush. It’s not good for her though. It’s not good to be in a constant state of stress.

The movie has just started and he catches himself every so often just staring at her instead. Her silhouette in the darkness, lid up by nothing but the flickering tv light. She’s the most beautiful person he knows. Not a single ounce of badness about her. It terrifies him sometimes, how deeply he loves her. How pure his feelings really are for her. His thoughts manifest themselves once more as she starts laughing about a scene on tv and he realizes that he was way too distracted to follow the storyline until now.

A few moments later, Travis can finally feel her become more and more still in his arms. Her hand still firmly over his, her thumb drawing the ever same slow circles on the back of his hand. She’s slowly coming down from her day. And half an hour later, he knows she’s fighting sleep. Whilst both of her parents are still awake watching and enjoying the movie he chose, the blonde woman in his arms has grown unusually quiet. It takes another five minutes and he feels her spasm once. She’s fighting sleep when really, she shouldn’t. Travis slowly lets go of her stomach, moves his big hand over her cold and naked upper arm instead. Nothing but the tv light lighting up her sleepy face.

“Baby?”

“Mhm?” she answers in her half sleeping state, of course pretending to be fully awake.

“Can you reach for the blanket next to you?”

She slowly sits up, grabs the blanket and just hands it to him, too tired to fully recognize the fact that she’s freezing in her top, and that she needs the blanket more than he does. She just lays down again, her head this time getting comfortable on his upper arm. He opens up the soft blanket over her, feels Taylor finally giving in. With her eyes half closed and the same tired disoriented look on her face whenever she wakes up at night to go to the bathroom, Taylor turns around, signaling him to open his arms for her some more. She’s now fully turned away from the tv, her sleepy face facing his chest. He protectively wraps the blanket around her cold torso, feels her little hand placed on his chest over his sweater. With her wrapped in his arms, and the blanket, Travis looks down at her closing her eyes, finally allowing herself to fall asleep. He leans down to kiss her forehead once, his arm around her, stroking her back up and down.

“Sorry, I’m just..”

He doesn’t know whether her mumbles are an apology to him or her parents about the fact that she falls asleep twenty minutes into the movie. But he’s having none of it.

“Shh. I’ll tell you later what happened.” he whispers, and she doesn’t even nod. Instead, he can watch her breathing get slower and slower and steadier and steadier. It takes less than a minute and she’s fully asleep in his arms. A little sigh escapes her throat. Her toes between his legs move once. In his arms, she slowly lets go. And Travis can now face the TV again, and actually enjoy the movie knowing that the woman in his arms is finally getting some well deserved rest. But his gentleness doesn’t remain unnoticed. Both Scott and Andrea watch Taylor drift off in his big arms, his left hand securely on her head, his right one around her waist, stroking her back over the blanket up and down every so often. Not one of the two can recall a time, in which they’ve witnessed their daughter more effortlessly safe, feeling loved and able to be herself more than in this moment.

[katsu28]

to be alone together

pairing: Steve Harrington x reader

summary: steve has to work on valentine’s day, but maybe it’s not as bad as he thought it would be

warnings: none, 1.8k

a/n: u know i had to do a lil something for my steve girlies too <3 went for a more steve centric pov bc he is the definition of pining simp 

navigation

(gif credits to @harringtondaily)

“Kinda sucks that you gotta work tonight.” Robin’s voice through the phone pressed to Steve’s ear was staticky, but still provided a good distraction from the empty video store around him.

It was Valentine’s Day and Steve had been at Family Video since opening, watching couple after couple come in to pretty much clear the romcom shelves, and yeah, he was a little bummed about it, but there was no point moping around about it any longer than he already had been. 

“It’s whatever, honestly. Not like I had any plans to begin with.” He sighed, shifting the receiver so it was wedged between his cheek and shoulder as his fingers drifted down to fiddle with the pen on the counter absentmindedly. 

“Steve, that’s sad.” Robin replied. Steve wrinkled his nose, a slightly offended noise escaping the back of his throat. “No! I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant that you should be out and about, having a good time.” 

“You know what’s actually sad? You talking to me instead of paying attention to your date.” He shot back, only half serious. “Where’s Nance?” 

“Oh she’s right here. Say hi, Nance.” 

Steve heard a faint ‘hi Steve’ in the background and he returned the greeting. “What are you guys doing tonight?” 

“She made this really fancy pasta thing for dinner, we’re just waiting on the chicken to finish in the oven and I thought I’d see what was going on with you.” Robin sounded casual, but he knew this was her way of checking up on him since he was the only one on shift all day and she knew how he felt about today. 

“Rob, I don’t know how many times I gotta tell you, but I’m fine. It’s really not a big deal.” 

“Why don’t you just close up early, come join us for dinner? We have more than enough food.” 

“You’re seriously inviting me to crash your romantic dinner date with your girlfriend?” He snorted, rolling his eyes playfully. “What does Nancy think of that?” 

There was some shuffling on the other end, a bout of silence, then Robin was back on the line. “She’s giving me a weird look, nevermind. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t my best idea.” 

“I love you both, but you know I can’t.” 

The bell above the door jingled softly, drawing Steve’s attention away from his phone call and to whoever just walked in. 

Shit. It was you. 

You were dressed like you were supposed to be on your date, not here, hair and makeup done up all pretty, floaty dress in his favorite color swishing around your knees as you made your way into the store. It made him wonder if you chose that color on purpose, but he knew that you didn’t. You couldn’t have known you’d be seeing him tonight. Wishful thinking on his end though. 

“Rob, I gotta go,” He blurted, straightening up behind the counter. 

“Wait, what—” 

“I gotta go, she’s—someone’s here, I gotta help her.” 

“She? Oh my god, wait! Is it—” 

“Have a nice date, tell Nance I said bye!” With that, Steve hung up, slamming the receiver onto the base with enough force to send it skittering a few inches. “Hey, Y/N.” 

“Steve!” Your previously downturned lips lifted into a smile, one that had Steve’s heart thudding a little faster in his chest. It always did. “I didn’t know you were working tonight.” 

See, you were also part of the reason he decided to take the extra shift today, but through no fault of your own. You’d mentioned earlier in the week while you were hanging out with him and Robin that someone had asked you out for tonight, and Steve didn’t really know how to feel about it. 

You were friends, but had Steve been harboring a crush on you since pretty much the first day you met? Yes. 

Did he feel an itching sense of jealousy that you were going on a date with someone that wasn’t him? Also yes. 

Would he do anything about it? Probably not. 

Okay, so maybe he knew exactly how he felt about it. Hell, he’d picked up an extra shift to distract himself from it. 

“Yeah, I got called in last minute." A lie. "Aren’t you supposed to be on a date right now?” A casual, not at all hoping that it crashed and burned question. That would be mean. (But also a little gratifying for him.)

You chuckled, a tad bitter as you leaned forward, propping your elbows on the counter, the action sending a whiff of your perfume his way. Steve’s knees almost gave out. “Supposed to, yeah. But the guy never showed up.” 

Steve had to fight a noise of surprise. What kind of dumbass would skip out on a date with you? “Really? That’s—that sucks, I’m sorry.” 

“S’okay. Wasn’t really looking forward to it anyways.” 

“Oh?” 

“I didn’t really know him that well, honestly. He was a friend of a friend, asked me out in front of a bunch of people, and I didn’t really wanna turn him down and make it awkward.” 

“You’re way too nice, Y/N. And he’s an idiot for standing you up.” 

“Thanks, Steve.” You smiled warmly at him, patting his hand. Steve had to pretend his pulse wasn’t racing right now. “What about you? Why’re you here and not out with anyone?” 

“I, uh—I didn’t really feel like going out tonight. Don’t think I’d be a very good date anyways.”

“Oh, you’re just being modest. What girl wouldn’t wanna spend Valentine’s Day with Steve Harrington?” 

The one girl he wanted to spend this day with, he thought. You. 

“You’d be surprised.” He muttered. 

“Well then they’re idiots too.” 

A small smile quirked his lips. “Thanks.” 

“Hey, I just came to pick up some movies and spend the rest of my night shoveling down ice cream, but since we’re both here now and alone, d’you wanna…be alone together? Grab a bite to eat or do something?” 

Steve’s shoulders slumped defeatedly. “I’d love to, but I—I can’t. I gotta stay here til the end of my shift, Keith’s been on my ass about taking off early and as much as I hate the guy, I don’t wanna get fired.” 

“Oh, okay. Don’t worry about it, I’m, uh—it’s cool.” Was he hallucinating, or did you look disappointed? 

“Would you maybe wanna, I dunno, stay here? We can watch whatever you want and I know where Robin keeps her work snack stash. That way we can be alone together and I don’t get chewed out again?” Steve blurted hopefully. He was honestly expecting you to say no. Why would you wanna spend the rest of your already shitty night with him in a dingy video store? But then your face split into the biggest smile and you nodded, rocking forward on the balls of your feet earnestly. “Go pick something out, I’ll grab the snacks.” 

You scurried off to browse the near bare shelves, leaving Steve shaking his head amusedly in your wake as he watched you skim the tapes with a look of utmost concentration. He slipped into the back room to grab Robin’s last unopened bag of chips, making a mental note to buy more before tomorrow’s shift before returning to the video area.

He skimmed the store, spotting you in the romcom section, and when he made his way over, you were contemplating the last two tapes on the shelf. 

You beamed at him upon spotting him. “Pretty in Pink or Sixteen Candles?” 

“Am I allowed to say neither?” 

“You said whatever I want, Steve.” You said pointedly, propping your hands on your hips. 

“I did, didn’t I?” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. You let out a hum of pleasure, sliding your chosen movie off the shelf and wandering towards the TV in the corner. Steve hurried after you quickly, plucking the tape from between your fingertips and running away, not unlike a child would. 

“Steve!” You huffed, whirling on your heel. He grinned mischievously at you, waving it in the air like a taunt. You caught up with him within seconds, lunging for the tape that he held up above his head and away from your outstretched hand. Your body was pressed against his as you reached for it, as you leaned against him in a fruitless attempt to overpower him. “Steve, gimme the tape!” 

“No!” He laughed, but that laughter very soon trickled off as soon as he realized your proximity. You were so close, he could see the color of your eyes clear as day, looking right back at him. You’d fallen quiet too, as if you’d come to the same realization. 

You were nose to nose, faces a hair’s breadth away from each other, the stolen tape in Steve’s hands long forgotten. Every fiber in his body was telling him to pull away, because the longer he stayed here the weirder it would be when he finally did manage to retreat, but no matter how hard he willed himself to move, he couldn’t. Instead, his eyes flicked down to your lips. Your breath hitched almost imperceptibly. 

“Steve?” You whispered, gaze darting around his own face. 

“Yeah?” 

“Kiss me.” 

You didn’t have to tell him twice.

Steve dropped the tape immediately, closing the gap between you and pressing his lips against yours. His hands came up to cup your face, holding you firm but kissing you soft, like he was preparing himself to pull away if you did. But from the way you were returning his kiss, how your hands clutched at the front of his vest to keep him this close, it didn’t feel like you’d be pulling away anytime soon, and that spurred him on even more. 

One hand slid down to settle at your waist, the other curling around the back of your neck as he tilted his head, deepening the kiss just a little bit. 

Steve’s lips felt tingly when he pulled away, tasted of your cherry lip gloss when his tongue darted out to lick them. He was sure to have a little bit on his mouth now, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Not by a long shot. Cherry might’ve just become his new favorite flavor. 

“I really like you.” He breathed, chest heaving against yours. Your lips curved into a soft smile—the same smile that nearly sent Steve’s brain short circuiting every time it was aimed his way. 

“After that kiss, I’d sure hope so,” You replied, smoothing out his wrinkled shirt as best you could. “I like you too, just so you know. Part of the reason I was so okay with my date ditching me. He wasn’t you.” 

Steve could only beam at you, going in for another kiss. In his excitement, he missed his mark, hitting the corner of your mouth instead, but he didn’t care. The girl he wanted all along actually liked him back, and it only took one failed date and an extra shift to find out. 

Maybe working on Valentine’s Day wasn’t so bad after all. 

[skalfy]

A Poorly Planned Escape

Misa x Reader, ~2k words, part 1/?

hey so I wrote this and I thought why not post it. I've started writing the next part already, so I'll probably post that as well if there is any interest. It didn't start out as being about Misa, but I got partway in and thought "yeah that's definitely about Misa" so here we are. Don't be confused by María, it should become clear that it's misa, not one of the other marías lol. Also my spanish is limited to two semesters several years ago in college, so all dialogue is written in english, but in my mind they are speaking spanish.

I've written things before, but not like this and not posted, so apologies in advance for things like messed up formatting. Also not proofread, but such is life. Enjoy!

no smut, but some general descriptions of people hooking up

You weren’t sure what you had been expecting as shouldered your way into your flat, hands full of leftovers your mum had insisted you take back for Alma, your girlfriend. Probably her form on the sofa, tv bright with one of the Spanish reality shows she preferred. Maybe even a dark, quiet room if Alma was out with her friends, something she seemed increasingly inclined toward the last few months. You certainly weren’t prepared for the sight that did greet you.

Your girlfriend was draped rather artfully across the plush sofa, head thrown back and eyes shut, a position not unfamiliar to you. In fact, the only thing really unfamiliar at all was the stranger who knelt between your girlfriend’s legs. Her smooth, broad shoulders and bowed head obscured the rather intimate details of what was taking place, but between the sounds and the way Alma’s fingers were gripping the stranger’s dark hair, it wasn’t hard to guess. You were frozen in the doorway, watching the ripple of muscle under tan skin as she slid her palms up to your girlfriend’s hips to hold her down, pressing her firmly into the couch. You wondered for a moment what hands that big might feel like against your own hips, shaking your head suddenly when you realized the absurdity of that thought.

After a deep breath to compose yourself, you kicked your heel firmly back into the door, slamming it shut behind you. Both bodies stilled, but it only took a moment before Alma’s head snapped up and her eyes met yours. You turned away, willing your shoulders to stay down and relaxed as you walked to the refrigerator.

“Sorry to interrupt, but my parents say hello. I’m putting the leftovers from dinner in the fridge, please have some. I’m sure you’ve worked up an appetite.” You said, back still turned and only a slight waver in your voice. “I think I’ll head out and stay with one of the girls tonight, just need to grab a few things.” Alma didn’t reply.

As you walked into your shared bedroom, you heard a soft voice ask “your roommate?” Alma didn’t reply to that either.

--

When you emerged a few minutes later, overnight bag over your shoulder, only Alma sat on the sofa. She had clothes on now, shorts she must have been wearing before and a hoodie of yours that had been across the back of one of the sitting room chairs. You resisted the urge to snap at her to take it off.

“I just don’t understand, Alma. I know things haven’t been great, but why didn’t you just say something?” Even as you spoke you knew it didn’t really matter. There was no going back from this and you didn’t need your feelings hurt by whatever reasons she gave. You sighed and turned toward the door again. “I’ll call you to sort things out once I’ve calmed down.”

You thought she wouldn’t say anything at all, but as your hand grasped the doorknob, she finally spoke, “Are we done?”

“Yeah, Alma, I think we are.” You pulled the door open and left.

--

When the elevator doors opened at the ground floor of your building, you were surprised to see a familiar figure. She was fully clothed now, but the broad shoulders and thick, wavy hair were unmistakable to you. She half turned as you stepped into the lobby, dark eyes meeting yours. You expected her to look away, but instead she held the eye contact. She was striking--beautiful, but intimidating, all heavy eyebrows and unreadable expression.

“I’m sorry.” She said, still not looking away.

“Did you know she had a girlfriend?” You asked.

“No.” She shook her head.

“Then it wasn’t your fault.” You gave a half smile. “I thought you might be trying to escape my wrath, but it looks like you didn’t get far.”

At this she finally looked away, shrugging a little uncomfortably as she answered, “My phone is dead, and I-- well, I’m still figuring the escape out.”

“I can give you a ride home.” You spoke without thinking, regretting it when the silence stretched afterwards. “I’m leaving anyway, and I promise I won’t try to kill you or anything.”

“If you’re sure, I’d really appreciate it.” She said, a smile breaking across her face, “I wouldn’t blame you if you tried to kill me just a little bit, though.”

For a moment, all you could do was stare at her face. The bright smile had turned it from intimidating to adorable, and you were having a difficult time collecting your thoughts with those particularly lethal dimples shining at you. You flashed her a soft smile of your own and gestured to the door.

“Come on then, follow me.”

--

Once the two of you were seated in your car, you plugged her address into the nav, then scrounged up a charging cable and passed that over to her. Fortunately, her home was near the friend you intended to crash with, so your extra passenger hardly took you out of your way at all. You sent a quick text to your friend letting her know you’d be at her place in around 30 minutes, then put your phone down and backed out of your spot.

The first couple minutes on the road were quiet, just the muffled sound from the city around you mixed with the playlist you’d started and turned down to play quietly. As you sat at a traffic light, you turned for a moment to the woman sitting next to you.

“You know, we haven’t actually introduced ourselves.” You told her your name, then held out your hand for a handshake with mock seriousness. She grasped your hand firmly, mirroring your serious expression and replied,

“I’m María, it’s nice to meet you.”

That opened up the conversation, and the two of you began to chat. It was mostly surface level, but you found yourself actually enjoying it. María was witty and interesting, but most of all she seemed to truly want to listen what you had to say. She was impressed when you described how you had moved to Madrid from London for work right out of uni, explaining that she had at times considered leaving Spain for her own job, but had worried about unfamiliar places and languages. She understood what it was like to live a plane ride away from family, with her parents back in Tenerife. You were happy to ply her with questions about her beautiful homeland, mentally planning a trip there after hearing about the gorgeous beaches and scenery. It wasn’t until María asked her next question that you realized there was a new predicament you were in.

“I think you mentioned dinner with your parents, are they visiting?”

“Yeah,” you replied, “they are here for a week, along with my sister and her husband and their daughter. They aren’t really here to visit me, but it’s a nice bonus. I’m actually taking my niece to-- oh fuck!” You cut yourself off with the exclamation.

“What, what’s wrong?” María asked, startled.

“I was supposed to take my niece to a football game this weekend, she is a huge Real Madrid fan, loves women’s footy. Except I’m now realizing this is a mess, because the only way I could get tickets was a favor from Alma. Her company has a box, and I begged her to get two seats for Luisa and I, but now even if she still lets me use them there’s no way we can sit with all my ex-girlfriend’s coworkers. If I know her at all then at least half of them will have heard all about this by lunch tomorrow, and I don’t think I want my eleven year old niece there to find out how much of the truth she tells.” Your eyes suddenly stung as you tried to take a deep breath. “Sorry, I just realized I’m not sure I can take getting cheated on and being a shitty aunt all in one week.”

“Please don’t apologise for being upset, clearly the only person in this car who should be allowed to say sorry is me.” You managed a sniffle and a small smile at her words. “Also, I definitely can’t fix the first part,” this caught you off guard and you couldn’t stifle a surprised snort, “but I think I can help with the second.”

“María it’s okay, you don’t owe me anything. Plus the game has been sold out for weeks, it’s El Clásico, I already tried to buy tickets before I asked Alma in the first place.” You could feel your voice wavering and fought against the tears. María was quiet in the seat next to you as you pulled up outside her building. You shifted into first and turned the car off, then felt a hesitant hand cover yours on the gearstick.

“I can get you two tickets if you want them, I promise. I work for Real Madrid and there are tickets set aside for us.” She sounded almost desperate.

“I can’t ask you to do that--” you started, then she cut you off.

“I wouldn’t have used them anyway! Please let me do this.” You looked at the big hand on yours, then up at her face. “Not for you, but for an eleven year old girl who loves women’s football.” She had you there and she knew it.

“Yes. Yes, fine!” You smiled at her. “Thank you, María.”

She smiled back at you, then lifted her hand from yours, reaching it up to thumb away the rebellious tear that had made it onto your cheek. You acted on instinct and reached both of your arms out to her shoulders, pulling her into an awkward hug across the car’s center console. She didn’t seem to mind the uncoordinated attempt, accepting it with grace and tucking your head neatly into her shoulder. As she held you there, the most ridiculous thought of the night crossed your mind. Why had Alma cheated on you with María? She wasn’t Alma’s type at all, she was yours.

The two of you separated after another moment, and María pulled her phone out.

“Can you text yourself so I have your number? That way I can let you know where to go to pick the tickets up.” You nodded and did as instructed, sending yourself her name, then replying with yours so neither of you would have any trouble identifying the new number.

“Please let me know if I owe you anything. I know you said the tickets are set aside, but if they cost you then please let me at least cover that.” You got the sense that she would be the type to not mention that if it were the case.

“They normally don’t charge me anything, but I promise I’ll tell you if they do.” She met your eyes and winked-- whether that meant she was trying to reassure you or just that she wasn’t going to make you pay either way you weren’t sure, but you let it go. “One more thing, does Luisa have a favorite player? No guarantees, but I might be able to leave something for her with the ticket agent. The players are usually happy to do something like that.”

“Only if it’s no trouble.” You leveled her with a glare. “She’s always on about Hayley Raso and Linda Caicedo, so either of them’s probably a safe bet.”

“Only if it’s no trouble.” She agreed, with what she must have thought was an innocent expression on her face.

“Please get out of my car before you offer to do anything else for Luisa that will leave me severely in your debt.” You pointed out toward her flat then made a shooing motion with your hand. She huffed out a chuckle then opened her door.

“Thank you for the ride… and for not killing me when you had the chance. Look out for my text!”

With that she hopped out and shut the car door. You watched as she walked up to the building entrance, turned and waved, then stepped inside. After a deep breath, you turned your car back on and drove the last few minutes to your friend’s house.

[itsghvstfvce]

TAKE YOU BY THE HAND

pairing : jenna ortega x gn!reader

summary : the night of the met gala is reminiscent of a special night you shared with jenna

word count : 1k

warnings : none!

a/n: a short little something about jenna at the met gala while i work on the next part for 'what's in a name' <3 thank you all so much for the love you've been giving it! i hope you enjoy this oneee

You sit on your hotel bed as you admire the suit hanging in front of you.

After gaining immense success from your new film, you earned an invite to the Met Gala for the first time. The annual event is known for showcasing some of the best outfits and looks for the year, with hundreds of people tuning in to find their favourite celebrities creatively sporting different luxury brands. Although the Met Gala is known for seeing crazy, big, and loud attire, you and your stylist worked together to be on the simpler side of things for your first appearance.

But if you were being honest, being able to attend the Gala was not the sole reason for your excitement; it’s the fact that you get to attend alongside your longtime girlfriend, Jenna.

The Scream actress was ecstatic to learn that you had also been invited to attend, rambling about how proud she was and how you two should coordinate your outfits. You were on board with the idea and have been discussing with your stylists to make it work. However, Jenna said she wanted to keep her outfit a surprise until you were both ready to make your way to the museum. Even after pleading for hints and sneak peeks, she was adamant on surprising you on the evening of. Respecting her wishes, you eventually stop bugging her about it and tell her you’ll be excited to see the final result.

Your Chanel suit fits you to a tee, and your stylists and manager are stunned at your appearance. You were always attractive, that much everyone knew, but tonight you exude a different aura. You showed confidence and a fierceness that hadn’t been seen from you often, as if a hidden beast was unleashed for the first time.

“I’m sending this to your mother! She’d be so proud to see you,” your manager excitedly snaps pictures of you like they were the paparazzi. You laugh at all of their reactions, feeling your cheeks heat up due to the attention they were giving you.

“Guys come on, it’s just me in a suit!”

“Yeah, but you look so damn good in a suit! Why haven’t we put you in more suits?!” your stylist lights up with glee. Now you were expecting your future premieres and interviews to be done in suits.

After final touches, you head down to the hotel lobby. You patiently wait at the bottom of the grand staircase, conversing with your team. You’re lost in conversation, not realizing that everyone’s attention had been diverted to something else - or someone else. You follow their line of sight to the top of the stairs where you find Jenna.

Your eyes do not leave the girl for one moment. Your gaze is fixed on her as she slowly makes her way down the stairs. Jenna was beautiful, that’s a given fact, but tonight she looked phenomenal. There’s a lack of words on my part to describe how amazing she looked, yet the look on your face was enough to explain how you felt.

“Close your mouth babe, you’ll catch flies,” she places her hand on your chin to gently shut your mouth. You didn’t even realize how close she’s gotten to you, too mesmerized by her appearance. Your girlfriend giggles at your lack of speech and decides to give you a better view by taking a step back and twirling around.

“Well? What do you think?” you’re finally snapped out of your trance.

“Eh, I think I look better,” you tease. Jenna laughs and closes the distance between you again until she’s standing right in front of you, and she brushes off specks of dust and lint from your suit.

“I can’t deny that you do look amazing tonight, mi amor.”

“Says you. You’re beautiful, cara mia,” you add emphasis on the compliment and Jenna smiles as a familiar pink tint crawls onto her face. You wrap your arms around her waist, hers around the back of your neck.

“You know what this reminds me of?” you hum in response, curious to hear what the shorter girl had to say. “Prom night. The way you looked at me as I was coming down the stairs was the exact same look you gave me when I came out of my bedroom and you saw me in my prom dress.”

Your heart swells at the memory. Due to the pandemic, there was no opportunity for you to take Jenna to your prom. However, you still wanted her to have that experience so with the help of both of your families, you planned a makeshift prom in Jenna’s backyard. When you went upstairs to bring her outside, you remember staring at her from top to bottom and all the way around, ensuring that her beauty would forever be imprinted in your mind.

“Yeah, I remember. I can’t believe that was almost 3 years ago now,” you smile lovingly.

“And do you remember what I said to you when we were dancing in the backyard?”

“When you said you felt like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and that the entire night felt magical?”

“Your memory truly amazes me, but yes. I feel that way right now and it’s how I feel every moment I’m with you,” the last part of her sentence turns into a soft whisper, loud enough for only you to hear. You scan her face to admire all that is Jenna, taking in the features of her perfectly crafted face and you lean into place a kiss on-

“Y/N! Jenna! Over here!”

A sea of flashing lights and the calls from reporters and the paparazzi catches both of your attention, and the two of you burst into a fit of giggles. Your managers tell you it’s time to head to the museum, so you take a step back from Jenna and hold out your hand for her to take. Your fingers interlace with each other in a perfect fit, raising your hands to place a sweet kiss on hers.

“Shall we, princess?” Jenna snorts at the nickname, but finds it endearing nonetheless.

“Lead the way, love.”

a/n: i know nothing about clothing so i didn't want to try and describe our outfit too much TT forgive me lmao but thanks for reading!

[jungshookz]

smitten: jungkook's date is tonight but y/n's more stressed about it than he is

➺ pairing; jeon jungkook x reader

➺ genre; smitten!miniseries!! bff!kook & smitten!y/n!! university!au!! honk honk humour!! the boo hoo angsty wattpad-energy fic of your dreams!! unrequited love!! so much pining!! it hurts so bad but that's what makes it so good!! yoongi should really mind his own business!!

➺ wordcount; 6.5k

➺ summary; jungkook's dream date with ji-eun is tonight and y/n's going to do everything in her power to make sure everything goes perfectly.

➺ what to expect; "we've been planning and preparing for this date for the past week, jungkook. i'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that things go according to plan. your date is going to be perfect.”

➺ currently spinning on the record player; i wish [one direction]

➺ smitten: part one [the almost confession]; part two [the incriminating note]

»»————- ♥ ————-««

“pepperoni to garlic knot- pepperoni to garlic knot- come in- are you there?" 

the sound of the walkie talkie crackling to life makes you perk up and you reach behind to pull it out from your back pocket, pressing down on the side button with your thumb before bringing it up to your mouth

“garlic knot to pepperoni- i'm here." you bite back a grin at the silly nicknames jungkook insisted on using before speaking up again, "the last of the fairy lights have been strung up, by the way! over." 

“oh, sick!" jungkook gasps lightly, "okay, i need you to come down and help me because i've been trying to tie this tie for the last, like, half an hour and at this point i’m just going to have to wave a white flag and surrender. over.” 

"roger that. i'm coming down." you tuck the walkie talkie into your pocket again before letting out a sigh and looking around the rooftop setup with your hands on your hips 

you must admit it looks really good (as it should, because you've literally been setting everything up since this morning and it's about 5:30pm now)

the bubble tent's been blown up and you made it all comfy and cozy inside with fluffed up pillows and soft throw blankets 

you strung the fairy lights up on the clotheslines and you made sure to use fresh batteries for them so that they'll last all night 

and the little round table that jungkook and ji-eun will be eating dinner at was a little wobbly but that problem was easily fixed with some blu-tak 

the happy smile on your face twitches slightly when the realization that you spent the entire day setting up a date that you're not even a part of hits you

"…oh, you silly girl.” you can't help but snort as you shake your head and turn around to head towards the rooftop door so you can go to jungkook’s apartment, "you silly, silly girl-" 

all of this time

all of this effort

all of this everything for a boy you like who you know for sure doesn't like you back because if he liked you back he wouldn’t have asked someone else out

what exactly do you think the end result is here?

what exactly do you think you're gaining out of this?

literally nothing!!!!

so why are you doing all of this??

"because i'm a big ol' simp with no backbone, apparently-" you mutter under your breath as you open the door to jungkook's apartment, forcing the frown off your face and replacing it with an easygoing smile 

you may be a simp with no backbone but…

well, no

that’s it. there’s nothing else to say. 

"y/n? that you?" 

"yeah! sorry, probably should’ve knocked or something- also, not to toot my own horn or anything, but i did a fantastic job with the decorations! i could be a party planner or something if this whole school thing doesn’t work out-” you kick the door shut behind you before looking around for jungkook, "where are you?" 

"gimme a sec! i'm, like- i'm almost done, just wait-" 

you plop down on the couch and tilt your head back to look up at the ceiling before letting out another quiet sigh 

this is why you need to be constantly busy doing things, because if you get even a moment of peace, you start to think and think and think and you hate being alone with your thoughts because your brain starts to mock you and berate you and say things like hey, y/n? you have a paper due at midnight tonight that you're only halfway done with but instead you're prioritizing being a wingwoman to a boy who's head over heels in love with someone else-

"okay, hi!" you jolt in surprise at the sound of jungkook's voice from behind you and you're about to turn around when suddenly he speaks up again, "hold on! close your eyes until i tell you to open them."

"what? why?" you frown as you settle back against the couch again and shut your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest, “i already know what you’re going to wear, i’m the one that picked the outfit for you anyway-”

"i know, but surprises are fun-" you hear the shuffling of material and you resist the urge to turn around immediately as your impatience grows, "okay, i think that looks fine. turn around!" 

"i really don't know why you had to prepare me to see you in-" you twist your upper half around so you can finally look at jungkook and almost immediately you feel your heart skip a beat at the sight 

the crisp white button-up tucked into a pair of slacks are a stark contrast to the outfits you're so used to seeing jungkook in because most of the time he's drowning in a sweatshirt that's ten sizes too big for him and some slouchy cargo pants and a pair of chunky black stompers

but this? this is…

oh, wow.

"so?" jungkook's being uncharacteristically shy with you as he averts his gaze and reaches down to fiddle with one of the buttons on his shirt, "how… do i look?" 

"-handsome." you blurt out, shaking yourself out of your slight daze as you get up from the couch so you can go over to him, "you look- you look very handsome, jungkook. you- yeah, you look very handsome.” you press your lips together, unsure if you should say anything else because you’re not sure where the line is between being a supportive friend or just ogling your friend like he’s a piece of meat 

it's when you find yourself looking down at your own outfit (jeans and a t-shirt and socks with a hole on the right heel) that the little voice in the back of your head reminds you of the reality of the situation: that he's looking very handsome not for you, but for ji-eun, and in this moment you wish there was a way to just shut your brain off to cease all cruel thoughts 

jungkook looks very nice. just focus on one thing at a time. 

“oh my god-“ jungkook's nose immediately scrunches up before he lets out a little laugh, "you're totally hitting on me right now, you weirdo- you look very handsome, jungkook-” he mocks you in a higher voice and you can’t help but feel a little dejected that this is how he reacts to a genuine compliment from you 

if anything, it’s more confirmation you didn’t need that jungkook most definitely doesn’t feel the same way about you  

"well, i-" you stop yourself from walking any closer to him as you feel your entire face flush bright red, "i- well, i’m trying to be supportive here… you look nice, i’m not gonna be an asshole and say you look bad for this date-” you force out a nervous laugh as you reach up to rub the back of your neck, "whatever, you look fine-" 

“thank you, i just- i’m not used to compliments but anyway-” jungkook interrupts you (thankfully, otherwise you definitely would’ve continued to babble and babble and babble) to hold up a black tie, "you need to help me with this." 

"you know, i… i actually don't think you need the tie?" you tilt your head a little as you look over jungkook's outfit, "i think you'll look better without it on, and a tie seems a little too formal for the date- can i-" you shuffle forwards slightly before undoing a couple of buttons on jungkook's shirt and spreading the collar open a little, jungkook raising his head a bit so you can work your magic 

"you really think this looks better?” he asks quietly, and your eyes flicker up to meet his for a brief second before you quickly look back down at your fumbling fingers 

"yea,” you respond, pressing your lips together as you smooth out the collar before taking the tie from his hand, tossing it over your shoulder and stepping back to look at your work, "yeah. that's much better. okay, put the suit jacket on, lemme see the whole look-"

"dude, i've been, like- so nervous all day." jungkook lets out a breath as he pulls the suit jacket up off the back of the couch, "like- okay, obviously ji-eun and i get along really well in real life, but this is the first time we'll be in, like, a romantic setting, you know? like romantic on purpose.“ 

"it'll be fine. i mean, you already got through the hardest bit which was asking her out-" you shrug as you lean against the back of the couch and cross an ankle over the other, "and she said yes, so… obviously you're doing something right. you’re gonna be fine, you just have first date jitters! everyone gets the first date jitters.” 

"i know, but-" he smooths the sleeves of the suit jacket out before looking back over at you, "ah, i don't know. i just feel like i'm gonna screw up somehow, you know?" 

"you won’t,” you shake your head before offering him a smile, "just be yourself! don't put too much pressure on, like- on acting like how you think she wants you to act, you know what i mean? just be yourself. she likes you, jungkook. you're a total catch, so-" you cut yourself off before you wander into the ‘you’re a total catch which is actually the reason why i’m in love with you' portion of your pep-talk as you get up off the couch, "yeah! just- just relax. everything's going to go perfectly tonight. and like i was saying when i first walked in here, not to toot my own horn or anything but the rooftop looks immaculate.”  

“i’m sure it does! i can’t wait to see it-“ jungkook pauses all of a sudden, his eyes widening in realization, "oh, shit!"

you don't even get the chance to ask him what's wrong before he starts to spiral and you blink rapidly at the sudden change in behaviour 

"oh my god.” jungkook slaps his hand against his forehead, “i- fuck, i forgot to pick up the flowers and the- oh my god, i knew i forgot to do something today!" he gawks, pulling his phone out of his back pocket, "shit! shit, shit- damnit, i was gonna pick them up this morning and then i went to the gym and i forgot-" 

“i-" you’re slightly startled at how stressed he is over some flowers and you can’t help but chuckle, “there’s even a little sticky note on the fridge to remind you-”

"i know!” jungkook whines, “i know, i don't know, i guess it just slipped my mind because i've literally been thinking about this date all week-“ he sucks some air in through his teeth before shaking his head, “okay, i guess i can just head over there right now and then come back-”

"woah, woah-" you skid over and press a hand to jungkook's chest to keep him from bolting out the door, “what are you talking about? you can't leave now! it's- it's 5:45- and not to mention, it's literally rush hour so the highways are probably all clogged up right now and- ji-eun's going to be here in half an hour so you'll never make it back in time and your suit's going to get all wrinkled because you'll be all cramped up on the bus-" 

"y/n, the flowers and the teddy bear are two essential parts of the date,” jungkook looks at you with wide eyes, clearly desperate to leave the apartment, “i’m not gonna have anything to give her when she arrives, she can’t show up only for me to be empty handed-”

"hey, relax!” you snap, softening your tone when jungkook’s shoulders droop slightly, “listen, you are not going to leave the apartment because ji-eun is coming and i’m sure she’ll be disappointed if she finds me on the rooftop instead of you. this is what’s going to happen: you’re going to sit here and wait for ji-eun, i’m going to go and pick up the flowers and the teddy bear, and then you can give them to her after the date. it’s going to be fine, you are literally being so dramatic right now-”

"but-" 

"look, i'm sure ji-eun isn't going to throw a tantrum if you don't present her with a bouquet of flowers at the beginning of the date- if she did, that’d be kind of odd but that’s not the point- the point is, it'll be fine. you go on your date, i’ll pick them up." 

"yeah, but-!" 

"kook, i've got it, alright?" you back away from him slowly but you keep your arm extended to make sure he doesn't move, "i'll take care of everything, you know i can handle it- just- i'm gonna go now and then- i'll leave behind the rooftop door as soon as i get them, okay? and i'll text you so that you'll know they're there-" 

"y/n…" jungkook chews on the inside of his cheek anxiously, guilt swirling around in his eyes, "you've already done so much for me, i can't ask you to-"

"we've been planning and preparing for this date for the past week, jungkook. i'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that things go according to plan. your date is going to be perfect.”

“are you sure? i feel bad, i feel like you did so much and-”

“i’m sure, jungkook-" you interrupt him again before turning to grab your jacket off coat rack, “the only thing you have to think about tonight is how you’re going to charm ji-eun — and to be honest, you don’t even need to think about it because all you have to do is be yourself! now sit down and try to relax. and try not to wrinkle your shirt, i spent way too long ironing it earlier."

»»————- ♥ ————-««

your nose crinkles slightly as you look up at the sky, your brows knitting together in concern at the light grey clouds hanging in the air

the forecast did say it would be cloudy today (and it has been cool and cloudy all day) but you’re hoping it doesn’t rain because if it rains that’ll completely ruin the date and jungkook will probably be electrocuted by the fairy lights if he touched them 

of course, jungkook and ji-eun can take cover in that bubble tent if it starts to rain, but hopefully it doesn’t… (why are you so hellbent on making sure this date is going to go smoothly?! you might as well plan their wedding for them as well at this rate.) 

you perk up when you see the bus you’re supposed to take rounding the corner and you fumble in your purse for your bus card, stepping up to the stop eagerly

your phone buzzes in your pocket and you pull it out once you plop yourself down in a seat in the back  

from: jungkook (5:58pm) — Holy shit I’m acc so nervous 

from: jungkook (5:58pm) — What if this goes horribly 

you can’t help but roll your eyes at how panicky jungkook is being because he really has no reason to be nervous 

all he had to do was dress himself and make himself presentable because you were the one who did all the hard work of setting up (to be fair, you insisted on setting up alone because you like things done a certain way and jungkook seemed too jittery to focus) 

to: jungkook (5:58pm) — you’re literally going to be fine

to: jungkook (5:58pm) — it’s going to be fine 

to: jungkook (5:58pm) —  you already know she likes you 

to: jungkook (5:59pm)— just think of this as another one of your hangouts but you guys are dressed more fancy and you’re on a rooftop for some reason LOL 

from: jungkook (5:59pm) — Okay 

from: jungkook (5:59pm) — She says she’s almost here

from: jungkook (5:59pm) — Do you think I should’ve picked her up instead of her meeting me here 

to: jungkook (5:59pm) — …you rented out a rooftop for her i think she’ll survive 

you pause, setting your phone face down on your lap before letting out a yawn and leaning your head against the window

you got up far too early this morning and the gentle rumbling of the bus down the highway is very soothing

google maps said the journey to your stop was about 38 minutes which means you have approximately 35 minutes to take a quick nap and the remaining 3 minutes to wake yourself up so you won’t be too groggy after hopping off the bus 

you’ve worked hard today, so you deserve a little snooze! 

your right eye peels open when your phone buzzes again

from: jungkook (6:04pm) — Omg she’s here early 

from: jungkook (6:04pm) — Okay 

from: jungkook (6:04pm) — Wish me luck and also thank you for everything you are the best 

a smile twitches at the corner of your mouth and you can’t help but think to yourself that yes, i am kind of the best, aren’t i? 

to: jungkook (6:04pm) — yes yes 

to: jungkook (6:04pm) — good luck! 

to: jungkook (6:04pm)— :-) 

another yawn slips past your lips and you tuck your phone into your purse before leaning your head against the window again and shutting your eyes 

an additional benefit to getting some sleep on the bus is so that your brain won’t start to flood with reminders that jungkook doesn’t like you like that and that you are currently sitting on a bus going to get flowers for him to give to another girl- 

okay, that’s enough of that, your teeth grit together slightly and you clear your throat, crossing one leg over the other as you get settled into the stiff, itchy seats, a quick power nap and then the overthinking can begin again. 

»»————- ♥ ————-««

“excuse me-” 

your eyes open immediately at the feeling of someone shaking your shoulder and you sit up straight, clutching your purse tighter to your body as you look up to see the bus driver smiling down at you in mild concern 

“morning!” he jokes, raising an eyebrow before clicking his tongue and nodding towards the opened doors, “end of the line, miss. gonna have to ask you hop off.”

what? 

in your half-asleep state you can’t help but wonder what you’re doing on a bus and where you were meant to be going in the first place… is the date over? are you heading home? 

“end of the-“ your heart plummets to your stomach at the realization that you took more than just a little snooze because you are, in fact, at the end of the line when you were supposed to be at the flower shop and heading back to jungkook’s apartment now, “wait, end of the line?!”

“i’m guessing you missed your stop? happens a lot when people fall asleep on the bus.” 

“i- yes-“ you pull your phone out to check the time (and your heart nearly stops beating when you see that it’s 7:13), “i was supposed to get off at crown street, how far are we from crown street?” 

“not too far-“ the bus driver hums, “about fifteen-“

“minutes?” you get up from the seat, starting to make your way towards the door but still looking at the driver

“blocks.” he sucks some air in through his teeth, “fifteen blocks away. if you walk from here, it’ll probably take you about… twenty-ish minutes or so to get to the crown street stop-”

“twenty-ish minutes, twenty minutes is nothing, i can make it in ten if i sprint-“ you mutter to yourself, pulling your purse up over your shoulder and turning to smile at the bus driver before hopping off, “thank you, sir, enjoy the rest of your night-!” 

it’s only a second later that you find yourself sprinting down the sidewalk, your runners smacking loudly against the concrete as you keep your purse tucked tightly underneath your armpit

unbelievable! something just had to go wrong tonight, didn’t it?

and it certainly doesn’t help that it’s drizzling right now — you don’t even have an umbrella with you! 

“so stupid, shouldn’t have fallen asleep-“ you look up briefly when you hear a rumble of thunder, stopping at the crosswalk and slapping the button multiple times as if it’s going to make the walk sign appear faster, “c’mon, c’mon…”

you jolt when a flash of lightning lights up the sky before suddenly- 

“oh, come ON!” rain suddenly starts to pour down from the sky and you resist the urge to just fall to the ground and completely give up because it seems like the universe is actively trying to tell you that what you’re doing is clownish behaviour and you need to stand up 

of course, because one of your more prominent traits is your innate stubbornness, you pull your purse off your shoulder and raise it above your head as if it’s going to stop you from getting completely soaked 

rainwater starts to flood into your shoes as you jog across the street and the feeling of your socks increasingly getting wet sends a shiver up your spine 

you pull your purse back onto your shoulder and keep it tightly held under your armpit once your arms start to get sore — you’re already completely soaked so using your purse as an umbrella seems pretty redundant at this point 

“don’t know why i didn’t bring a stupid umbrella with me either!” you huff to yourself, wiping your hair away from your face as you cross another street after looking both ways (safety first), “fall asleep on the bus, gets caught in the rain- stupid, stupid-“ you grumble, reaching up to wipe under your eyes and pressing your lips together in frustration at the wet mascara ink staining your fingertips

wonderful 

just wonderful 

and now you probably look demonic as well 

you pick up in pace when you recognize the street the flower shop is on, speeding up even more when you notice someone standing in front of the doors with a set of keys in their hand looking very ready to close up shop for the night 

“woah, woah, wait! wait, please!” you call out and the person immediately stops, looking over at you and then taking a few steps back in what seems to be mild fear, “so sorry, i just need to pick a bouquet up, i know you’re closing but i really need this bouquet- and-“ 

“did you run here?” he asks, looking you up and down as he adjusts his grip on his umbrella, “…you do know it’s raining, right?” 

“yeah, i- woo, give me a second to catch my breath-“ you pant, bending over and putting both hands on your knees, wincing to yourself as your lungs constrict in your chest, “i don’t remember the last time i ran like this, jesus christ- i think i’m going to puke-“ you force yourself to stand up straight again, placing a hand on your hip as you continue to suck in puffs of air, “i need to pick up an order.” 

“oh, wait! you’re the girl who’s in love with her friend, now i remember who you are-“ his eyes light up briefly before the deadpan expression returns to his face, “sorry, champ. we close at 7:30.” 

“it’s 7:29,” you choose to ignore his first comment before holding your phone up to his face and he immediately deflates, “come on, yoongi- it’s yoongi, right? please. give me a break.” 

“i’m just tryna go home-“ 

“please, my friend’s date is tonight and he was supposed to pick up his flowers this morning but then he went to the gym so he forgot even though there was a sticky note on the fridge reminding him to-”

“wait, you’re picking up his flowers for him?!” yoongi asks, eyes widening again before he throws his head back in a laugh, “hah! oh my god, you- you’re actually kidding me, this has to be a joke-“

“i will give you five glowing stars on google reviews if you let me in-“ you pant, wiping strands of wet hair away from your forehead again, squinting slightly because the rainwater has now fully fucked up your vision and yoongi is starting to look like a dark blob, “even though your customer service skills suck because you’re clearly laughing at me and i really thought you’d have the decency to share your umbrella considering the fact that it’s pouring-“

“my customer service skills are fantastic, you should see the way i flirt with all the older ladies who come in-” yoongi jingles his keys in his hands before checking the time on his watch, “they always leave with $15 silk ribbons on their bouquets and a boost in their self-esteem-“

“we’re wasting time here, i’m supposed to be back at my friend’s place like, now-“ 

“alright, fine.” yoongi sighs, shoving the keys back into the lock before clicking his tongue, “but i’m only doing this because i feel like saying no to you is equivalent to, like, leaving a puppy out in the cold or something. or stealing candy from a baby and then shoving the baby off of its high chair. or, like, taking a chainsaw and destroying a nice old lady’s rosebush in front of her for no reason while she’s standing there with a pitcher of iced tea for you-”

“alright, i get it, you pity me, just let me into the store and give me my damn order.” 

“did you really run all the way here?” he asks, opening the door to let you in as he closes his umbrella and shakes the excess water off before shoving it into the holder

“i took the bus but i fell asleep and missed my stop. ended up at the end of the line and i thought running fifteen blocks would be faster than waiting for the next bus.” you breathe out, your shoes squeaking obnoxiously against the marble floors as you step into the shop and leave a generous trail of rainwater behind you 

yoongi deflates slightly at the mess you’re leaving behind you and he quickly reaches out to grab onto your elbow, “do not take another step. i literally mopped up before closing and you’re leaving a trail everywhere.”

“sorry, sorry…” you apologize sheepishly, taking a step back closer to the front door and looking down at the puddle growing around your feet 

you reach up to squeeze some water out of your air, freezing when you realize you’re just squeezing more water onto the ground for yoongi to mop up 

yoongi gives you an unimpressed, blank stare before shaking his head and flicking the lights on, “there is nobody in the world i would ever run in the rain for. hell, there’s nobody i would even ever run for in general.” 

“well, i’m sorry your heart is made out of literal ice and you don’t have the ability to feel love for another human being.” you respond sarcastically, yoongi turning around with raised eyebrows 

“hey, for someone with an icy cold heart, i didn’t have to let you in, i could very well kick you out right now because i already clocked out for the night-”

“okay, sorry, i’m sorry- just- if i could just pick up the order, i’ll get out of your hair, i’m sorry-“ 

“why are you doing this in the first place?” yoongi asks as he gets settled behind the front desk, switching the monitor back on, “also, i promise i’m not stalling because i also want to get out of here as soon as possible, i just need to check what your order number is-“

“because jungkook forgot to pick the order up this morning.” you respond as if it’s the most obvious answer in the entire world (because to you, it kind of is) 

“well, i get that, but you still didn’t answer the question.” yoongi hums, tapping on the keyboard and hitting the enter key obnoxiously 

“sure, i did.” you frown, “i answered your question. i’m here because jungkook forgot to pick up the order this morning. he’s on his date right now and i told him i could pick it up for him. he’s on a date.” 

“with another girl.” yoongi murmurs, propping his chin up on his palm, “you are picking up flowers for jungkook to give to another girl because…” 

“because i’m his friend.” you feel your eye twitch slightly out of a mixture of growing frustration and impatience, “you have that order number yet? i’m on a time crunch here.” 

“…okay, i think all the rainwater must’ve flushed the logic out of your head…” yoongi purses his lips as he gets up from the seat, offering you an overly polite customer service smile, “please wait here while i get your order from the back. i would offer you a glass of cucumber water and an apple rose whatever cinnamon pastry thing but we are technically closed, so you’re just going to have to stand here and wait.” 

“funny.” you raise an eyebrow, about to squeeze some water out of your top before stopping yourself (you’ll wait until yoongi disappears to the back and then you’ll do it) 

you’re picking up flowers for jungkook because you’re his friend

and on top of that, not only are you his friend, you’re a very good friend of his! 

he would do the same for you if the roles were reversed (well, if the roles were reversed, you would’ve never forgotten to pick up the flowers so jungkook would never have to run in the rain to pick them up for you) 

what does yoongi mean by why are you doing this? 

isn’t it obvious??

if anything, he’s the one with no logic in his head if he can’t grasp the simple answer to his simple question

you’re doing this because you’re jungkook’s friend, and this is what friends do when they care about each other 

“okay, one more time- what are you doing right now?” yoongi pops out from the back with a beautifully wrapped bouquet and an adorable little white teddy bear with a pink heart as its nose and you can’t help but pout sweetly at it 

you know you said the teddy bear would be a little much but looking at it now… you want one too! 

“picking up a bouquet and a teddy bear.” you point out, holding your hands out to take them from yoongi 

“picking up a bouquet and a teddy bear for…” 

“for my friend…” you trail off, making grabby hands at him only for him to pull back slightly

“for your friend jungkook because…” 

“why do you care so much about this? you don’t know me and what i do is none of your business, your job right now is to hand me a bouquet and that teddy bear and you’re not doing a super good job if i’m being honest-”

“you’re right, i don’t know you, but i’m nosy as hell and you seem nice even though you’re oblivious as hell- you’re so close to the answer, too! what are you doing right now and why are you doing what you’re doing?” 

“what are you doing right now? and why are you doing what you’re doing right now??” you snap, looking at the little clock sitting on the desk, “i’m running very late, just give me the damn flowers, man-“ 

“alright, fine.” yoongi deflates, handing you the bouquet and the little bear before shaking his head and turning around to grab the mop from the back, “guess you’ll figure out the answer on your own. by the way, let your friend know that if he wants to order another bouquet for you to pick up that we now have an online ordering form so he doesn’t even have to come in store anymore- by the way, i can lend you an umbrella if you didn’t wanna run in the rain again because like i said, our customer service is-” yoongi spins around and immediately clams up when the only indication that you were even here at all are the two dirty shoe marks staining the white marble floor and the puddle of water around them 

he shrugs to himself and clicks his tongue 

oh well 

…you still better give the store a five star review. 

»»————- ♥ ————-««

the journey back to jungkook’s apartment is a little less chaotic than the journey leaving his place, thankfully 

you managed to get to the bus stop right as the bus came, and if anything, you took that as a sign that the universe was now on your side 

it was rewarding you for being such a good friend! 

of course, you still got caught in the thunderstorm jogging back to jungkook’s building from the bus stop (according to the forecast, it’s supposed to rain all night long) and the bouquet is a little soggy and the little bear’s fur is kind of matted now, but you tried your best to keep them dry under your sopping wet jacket, “alright, kook, don’t worry, i’m coming-“ you mutter, going up the stairs two at a time and ignoring the fact that you’re leaving a wet trail behind you 

you can’t help but shiver at the feeling of cold, wet clothes clinging uncomfortably to your body, pausing when you accidentally use the bear as a makeshift towel to dry your face 

“shit, whoops-“ you pull the bear away instantly, relieved to see that you didn’t leave any streaks of makeup on it 

your legs slow down as you reach the steps leading up towards the door to the rooftop, and you pause at the top of the steps when you hear a melodic giggle from outside amongst the rhythmic pitter patter of chubby raindrops splashing against the cement

sucking your bottom lip in between your teeth as you slow your movements as to not make too much noise and ruin the moment, you press yourself against the side of the stairwell and crouch down on your hands and knees, placing the bouquet on the ground by the door and the little bear right next to it 

the only thing to do now is turn back and head home before you catch a cold from staying in your sopping wet clothes, but the sound of jungkook’s laugh makes your ears perk up and soon enough, you find yourself crawling up the additional three steps up so you can peek through the crack between the door and the frame and- 

kissing

almost instantly, your mouth goes dry and you feel a sharp pinch in your chest at the sight of jungkook and ji-eun kissing, their lips seeming to slot together perfectly as ji-eun curls up closer to jungkook and he reaches up to cup the side of her face, the two of them looking nice and warm (and dry) in the bubble tent as raindrops continue to bounce off the top of it 

your eyelids flutter slightly as your brain catches up to what you’re looking at, and just like that, everything hits you like a ton of bricks 

what the fuck am i doing?

you are crouched down in the stairwell like a creep, sopping wet from the heavy rain, still exhausted from sprinting fifteen blocks to get to the stupid flower shop before it closed, staring at the boy you love kissing someone else on a rooftop that you spent all day decorating and setting up  

you look down towards the bouquet and bear, swallowing the lump in your throat as your eyes begin to glaze over because oh my god, what are you doing? 

the bouquet of flowers is not for you 

the cute little bear is not for you 

the bubble tent and the fairy lights and the porcelain plates and fancy cutlery — all of it isn’t for you, it’s for someone else, it’s for ji-eun 

ji-eun is the one that’s kissing jungkook right now, not you 

in fact, it’ll never be you because jungkook doesn’t like you 

you turn around so you can sit on the steps properly, folding your arms over the tops of your knees and propping your chin up on top of them

jungkook does not like you back

you helped him plan this date and you helped him set up the rooftop for his romantic date with ji-eun and you ironed his shirt and you ran in the rain to get the bouquet and the bear not just because you’re a good friend — you did all of this because you are hopelessly, hopelessly in love with jungkook and you would pluck all the stars in the sky for him and put them in a jar if he’d asked 

“oh my god, y/n.” you breathe out, pinching the bridge of your nose as you shake your head in dejection, “what the fuck are you doing?”

you feel that all too familiar prickle in your nose as you get up onto your feet and head down the steps one by one, your heart heavy in your chest as you adjust the strap of your purse over your shoulder 

(and as you stare up at the ceiling when you’re in bed later that night after taking a nice, hot shower and shoving your cold, wet clothes into the hamper, you can’t help but wonder if perhaps you’ll be pining after jungkook for the rest of your life.) 

»»————- ♥ ————-««

from: jungkook (1:08am) — Thanks for getting the flowers and the bear for me you’re a lifesaver 

from: jungkook (1:08am) — Like actually the best

from: jungkook (1:08am) — So grateful to have a friend as good as you 

from: jungkook (1:09am) —The date went really well btw 

from: jungkook (1:09am) — Hope you’re sleeping well :) Will text you tomorrow 

🎙️ tell yoongi to mind his own business or console y/n (talk to my characters!)

📚 why not explore the rest of the library while you're here? (full fics!)

💫 or perhaps you want something shorter to read? (drabbles and mini series like smitten!)

🌟 or something even shorter? (teeny tidbits!)

[peterman-spideyparker]

In Suspense (Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader)

Author’s Note: Hey lovelies! Because I was indecisive and didn’t know what fic to post first, I let a Tumblr poll decide out of three, and this one was the winner! I admit, it’s a bit self-serving, but good gravy I love this man. Enjoy! :)

Summary: Matt’s riding a high from a good day in court, and you’ve had a crappy day—your only perk having been being able to work from home. When Matt finally gets to the loft and you catch a glimpse of a particular piece of attire, you just can’t help yourself.

Warnings: Domestic fluff, established relationship, smut (oral—m and f receiving, needy and a bit rough, unprotected p in v sex, praise/Matt bring flirty and cocky, creampie), swearing/dirty talk

Other Characters: None

Word Count: 1,937

“Hey sweetheart,” you hear Matt call as he enters the loft. 

“Matt!” you say surprised, putting your laptop on the table and moving over to meet him halfway. His glasses, briefcase, and cane have all been discarded by the door, and he begins to loosen his tie. “Court let out early?”

“Yep,” he smiles, placing his hands gently on your waist as he pulls you in for a sweet kiss. “It also helps that it was a Friday afternoon and that I caught the prosecutions’s star witness in a lie during cross, got a confession on the stand, and saved my client from a wrongful imprisonment.”

“Matt, that’s amazing!” you cheer, wrapping him in a big hug. There’s a wonderful, prideful glow about him, feeling a strong sense of pride for what he was able to do for his clients. You mirror his joy, feeling nothing but admiration and amazement for him and how he helps the people who really need it. You press a sweet kiss to his cheek before you lean back and look at him, running your fingers through his hair as you cradle the back of his head. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“I do like the challenge of one-upping myself.”

You give him another kiss before you run your hands down his arms.

“I’m gonna clock out early and I’ll run down the the little market a couple of blocks over and I’ll get what I need to make your favorite for dinner. Tonight, we’re celebrating.”

“I think we can achieve that same level of celebration with some takeout. Now it’s just a matter of deciding the kind of cuisine.”

“Well, now, that’s something for the man of honor to decide.”

“Personally, I don’t think we can ever go wrong with Thai.”

“Then Thai it is,” you beam. “Usual?”

“Usual.”

“Now that you’ve heard about my day, how was yours, sweetheart?”

“Not nearly as eventful as yours,” you sigh. “Long. Stressful. Not things Fridays should be.”

“I’m sorry, angel. But the day is almost done, I’m home, and no one can give feel-better cuddles like me. Actually, Foggy probably could.”

“He is a master snuggle bear. But I have my cuddle devil on call whenever I need him.”

“Damn right, you do,” he confirms with a long, sweet kiss and a quick smack to your butt before you both move toward the kitchen. As you walk, he takes off his suit jacket, and you stop mid-movement when you catch what’s underneath. 

“Matty, are you wearing suspenders?” you ask, feeling a blush rush to your cheeks while you watch him roll up his sleeves to his elbows. 

“Yeah.”

“Aren’t suspenders more of a tuxedo piece of attire for you?”

Matt gives a little shrug and pout of his lips. “I just felt like mixing it up today.”

“Well,” you breathe, closing the space between Matt and you once more. “In the interest in mixing it up, I think we should continue with the theme.” Matt’s eyebrows arch in confusion and anticipation as that beautiful lopsided smirk graces his lips. Hooking your thumbs under the elastic, gently sliding them down the fabric and stopping at the middle of his pecs, barely an inch between your faces. “Dessert before dinner?”

The smile that curls on Matt’s lips and the mischievous glint in his eye speaks louder than words as he pulls you in for a panty-soaking kiss. You moan into his mouth and pull his body impossibly close to yours by the textured fabric of his suspenders. 

“This really does something for you, huh?” Matt chuckles against your lips.

“Oh, yeah, Matty,” you hum, running your hands up and over his shoulders. “You have no idea what this does for me.”

Feeling the soft locks of his hair, you cup the back of his head and pull him back into you the short distance for another deep kiss, causing your bodies to fall onto the couch. With the solid flop on the couch making squeaky leather sounds, you both giggle into the kiss as you continue to embrace. As Matt’s hands cradle your face, he chases your lips, planting big, quick, open kisses on you that make your lips tingle. You move to unbutton his crisp white shirt, feeling his soft scarred skin underneath the soft cotton fabric.

“Fuck, you’re so hot,” you murmur into his mouth before he pulls back and sucks on your neck, marking you up for all to see. 

“I guess I should wear suspenders more often,” he nips at your earlobe. 

“Then we’d be doing this all the time.”

“I’m not opposed to that, angel—don’t put the idea in my head.”

You smile and giggle as you move in for more kisses, moaning as his hands glide up your body and his tongue explores your mouth. 

“Mmm,” you whimper as you grind against him. His grip tightens on your hips, pushing the fabric of your shirt up on your skin. You pull your lips from his and suck marks into his neck, sucking at his earlobe occasionally. “Wanna suck you off. Wanna bounce on your cock, too.”

Matt slides his hands over your body, squeezing your breasts before running his fingers through your hair, holding you incredibly close as he kisses you, letting you sneak down between his legs, freeing him just enough from his pants and boxers where you can give him a few pumps and swallow him whole—the fact that he’s still relatively soft making the entire thing easier. Matt moans in delight as you drag your lips up and down his shaft, tracing the prominent vein in his cock with the tip of your tongue, further using it to your advantage as you lick the underside of the mushroom head before kissing the tip of his cock slowly, your lips wrapping around the hot, pink flesh. 

Your time on your knees with Matt down your throat doesn’t last long, as he pulls you up and leans your body backward on the sofa so you’re completely at his mercy. He pulls his lips from yours and presses kisses down your neck and exposed collarbone before pulling your shirt off of your body. 

“No bra, sweetheart?” he chuckles as his hands settle on your exposed ribcage, his thumbs brushing just under your breasts. 

“No need—perks from working at home,” you smile as you run your hand through his hair. 

“Works great for me,” he says with a lick of his lips, dipping his face down, taking one of your breasts into his mouth while his hand grabs at the other one. Your back arches as you moan loudly into the apartment, Matt sucking at your nipple and licking at the supple flesh. You feel him roll your other nipple between his thumb and forefinger, getting it nice and pebbled before putting his mouth on it, mimicking the motion with the other nipple. 

“Fuck, sweetheart, your tits are so perfect,” he pants as he kisses you right above your racing heart. Taking your breasts in his large hands, he pushes your breasts together, burying his face right into them and moaning into the skin. 

“Matty,” you whine. “Fu . . . Ooh. Matty, eat me out. Please, Matty, need your mouth on me.”

Matt kisses your neck again before pulling off, making quick work of your pants. You lean up, pulling his shirt off and throwing it somewhere in the living room before he guides you back down and spreads your legs wide, grazing his hands over your aching core before sliding two fingers into you, pumping them just so.

“You’re so tight, baby,” he coos. “Shit . . . So fucking wet f’me, too.”

Dipping down, he wraps his lips around your clit and you moan, arching your back and tossing your head to the side as he eats you out and stretches you wide. 

“Matt!” you cry. “Matty! Fuck . . . Fuck, baby, I need your cock.”

“Thought you wanted my mouth?” he hums into your core. 

“Matt, please! ‘M gonna cum. Wanna do it on your cock.”

He slowly pulls his fingers from you and kisses up your body. “Of course, baby. You’re such a good girl. I’ll give you what you want, sweetheart, I’ll give you my cock.”

Completely ridding himself of his suspenders and slacks, the fabric blend joins the rest of your clothes on the floor. He pumps himself in one hand while he uses his other to adjust you on the couch, pinning you in a pocket of the cushions that creates the most comfort for the both of you. Tapping your pussy with his dick a few times, he gathers up the slick dripping from between your legs and slowly pushes all the way in, your moans harmonizing in the apartment as he moves to completely bottom out. His lips move against yours in a passionate kiss, the both of you doing your darnedest to chase your desires. As you go back and forth, Matt starts fast, shallow thrusts, hitting everything just right.

“Feel so good like this,” he breathes against your neck. “Perfect, angel. Made for me.”

“Right there!” you squeak as you try to hold onto his back, your nails scratching at his soft, scarred skin. “Right there, Matty! Just like that!”

The leather of the cushions squeak as the feet of the sofa scratch against the old hardwood of the loft with each of Matt’s thrusts. Your moans and cries of pleasure come out of you on their own volition as Matt ruts into you over and over. You hold onto him as you feel your orgasm build, and you cling to him as if your life depends on it when you finally feel your release wash over you. He holds onto you and gives you the support you need as you experience nothing but pleasure, his hips keeping a relatively steady pace as he cums inside of you shortly after you clench around his length, pushing the hot ropes of his release deep inside of you. 

“Mm, congrats on your win, counselor,” you hum, completely blissed out as you kiss his forehead, temple, cheek, and finally his lips.

Matt gives you a happy-hazy smile as he kisses the expanse of skin from your shoulders up to your neck.

“Sorry you had a crappy day, angel,” he says with a kiss to your sweet spot.

“It’s been less crappy since you got home.” That’s when it hits you, and you can’t help but laugh. “Oops.”

“What?” Matt chuckles into your neck, pressing a kiss into one of the hickies he left on your skin.

“I didn’t clock out—I just had sex and got paid.”

“Like a prostitute?” he offers, only making the pair of you laugh harder.

“Oh my—not funny!”

“Objection—it’s hilarious. Can you imagine?”

“Okay, sustained,” you laugh as you roll into him, resting your head on his muscly arm, the image he put in your head truly too ridiculous to not be funny. 

“C’mon. Clock out so when this happens again later—.”

“‘Again later’?”

“Yeah. I’m still in a celebratory mood, and I’ve gotta make sure my girl forgets all about her crappy day.”

You hum in agreement as Matt kisses your forehead once more, adjusting you so you can get cozy on the couch together in his arms. Moving as little as you can from him, you grab your phone and clock out, kissing along the lines of a red angry scratches you left in his skin as he holds you close, making sure you both recharge for round after round tonight.

Permanent Taglist: @majesticavenger​ @steampowerednightvaler​ @themusingsofmany @just-the-hiddles​ @toozmanykids​ @dangertoozmanykids101 @clints-worldavengers @theburningbookshop​ @itwasthereaminuteago​ @peter1ismybrother@hellskitchens-whore​​ @dpaccione​ @catnip987​

[sevenboarproductions]

[IDOLiSH7] [Part 6] Chapter 12: In a quiet night

6.12.1. - The right mindset

Kujou Tenn: Good work. 

Staff: Good work! I’m looking forward to “New Black or White”! Do your best!

Yaotome Gaku: Thank you very much.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Good work!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Tenn, are you going back to Kujou-san’s house today as well? 

Kujou Tenn: Lately, Kujou-san keeps going on business trips. And I can’t leave Aya alone, so… 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: She’s a girl, after all. Tell me if there’s anything I can do to help. 

Kujou Tenn: Thanks.

Yaotome Gaku: If he keeps going on business trips, is Kujou working on something big? 

Kujou Tenn: I wonder… He won’t talk to me properly. But it seems that he said the truth about staying home being hard on him, though.

Yaotome Gaku: Why would that be hard? Did he argue with Aya-chan?

Kujou Tenn: Well, kind of… 

Yaotome Gaku: If something happened, just talk to us. Don’t worry about it by yourself. 

Kujou Tenn: Yeah… Well, see you tomorrow. 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I wonder if Tenn will be fine…

Yaotome Gaku: He’ll come to us if things get too out of hand. At least I’ve had that sort of impression lately.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: The impression that Tenn trusts us?

Yaotome Gaku: The impression that he’ll let us spoil him. He seems like someone who’s never been spoiled in a non-calculated way. He sucks at giving signs that he wants it, though.  

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Aah, I get that… I’m also getting the feeling that cautiously, bit by bit, he’s trying to reach out and join hands with us.

Yaotome Gaku: That was unthinkable for Tenn before. Even when he cried during the street live, he was TRIGGER’s standard. 

Yaotome Gaku: Even right now, he is doing his best trying to get used to being the youngest when he’s with us. It’s different when he’s on stage, though. 

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: TRIGGER stays TRIGGER but at the same time we continue to change. I think that’s interesting. 

Yaotome Gaku: It’s cool, right? If we keep changing, we’ll never be done.

Yaotome Gaku: If we’re never done, that means that there is no end, either. 

--

Kujou Tenn: I’m back.

Kujou Aya: Ah… Welcome home, Tenn-onii-chan. Kujou-san said he is sleeping somewhere else tonight again. 

Kujou Tenn: I heard as much. You made dinner, right? Thank you. 

Kujou Aya: You know… Can I ask you something weird? 

Kujou Tenn: Go ahead. You can ask me anything. 

Kujou Aya: Uhm, well… It’s about a friend! My friend confessed to the person they like, and they got rejected. 

Kujou Tenn: I see…

Kujou Aya: But they still love them… How long should they wait so it’s fine to confess once more?

Kujou Tenn: …Like a retry? 

Kujou Aya: Yes.

Kujou Tenn: …

Kujou Tenn: I think that your friend has earnestly confessed, but the person who rejected them also earnestly thought about it before rejecting them.

Kujou Tenn: Wouldn’t that person think that if your friend confessed again, their own earnest feelings weren’t accepted, either? 

Kujou Aya: But… I often hear stories about people getting attacked fiercely, giving in and then going out after all or something? 

Kujou Aya: Retry and retry and retry, and then reaching the finish-mark as a married couple thanks to tenacity!

Kujou Tenn: …That sort of story, well… It does happen, but… 

Kujou Aya: So it might be the same for the person my friend likes! How do I put it, like valuing your own persistence and retrying… a person chasing after their dream… 

Kujou Tenn: Ah— Certainly… 

Kujou Aya: So what do you think? If it was about you, Tenn-onii-chan, how many days of waiting would be the most favourable for a retry? 

Kujou Tenn: …The most favourable retry, huh… 

Kujou Aya: Never give up, never lose, never die. It shows up a lot in the lyrics of love songs, too, so…

Kujou Tenn: …Certainly…

Kujou Aya: Never die. 

Kujou Tenn: Never die, huh…

Kujou Tenn: …By the way, to change the topic, with Kujou-san taking so many business trips like this, aren’t you lonely, Aya? 

Kujou Tenn: Besides, until now, you were with Kujou-san when he moved around, so I think things must have been very hard on you, Aya.

Kujou Tenn: Isn’t it about time we look for a quiet place for you to live? 

Kujou Aya: A quiet place…? 

Kujou Tenn: By your real brother’s side.

Kujou Aya: …

Kujou Tenn: If you want to continue to be with Kujou-san as his daughter, it’s fine for you to continue living like this, too, though. 

Kujou Tenn: If you want to be with Kujou-san for a different reason, it would end up being weird if you don’t get rid of your standpoint as his daughter first, right? 

Kujou Aya: …That’s… That might be true, but… 

Kujou Tenn: Yotsuba Tamaki is still a student, but he’s a kind, cheerful, dependable and reliable person. 

Kujou Tenn: It’s about time you properly talked for once? It’ll turn out alright, you’re siblings after all. 

Kujou Aya: …Did you talk to him, Tenn-onii-chan? Your real brother. 

Kujou Tenn: We talked. On the stage of the “Zero” musical. Bathing in the lights there, we didn’t need any words. 

Kujou Tenn: We were born together. But we can’t keep holding hands. I’m sure we’ll be walking different paths from now on.

Kujou Tenn: Still, we couldn’t replace each other. The same goes for you and Yotsuba Tamaki, as well as for you and Kujou-san. Please have a proper talk with him. 

Kujou Aya: …Yeah…

Kujou Aya: I’ll try talking to Tamaki-nii-chan… 

--

Ousaka Sougo: Manager…

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes. Did something happen?

Ousaka Sougo: Regarding “New Black or White”... I was wondering if there’s still open seats for priority guests. 

Takanashi Tsumugi: Ah… Could this be about your parents, Sougo-san? 

Ousaka Sougo: Yes… I want to try inviting them. 

Ousaka Sougo: I don’t think they’ll come. My mother might come, but she’s not the type of person who would go against my father… 

Ousaka Sougo: I’m sorry about wasting the seat space, but…

Takanashi Tsumugi: You don’t know that yet. But regarding the arrangements, I understand! I will get things ready!

Ousaka Sougo: Thank you.

Takanashi Tsumugi: I’ll get in touch with people right away. 

Ousaka Sougo: Please do. 

(footsteps)

Ousaka Sougo: …………

Ousaka Sougo: Even though it took a long time, with this, something will finally end… 

Ousaka Sougo: And the life of the new me will start. 

--

Natsume Minami: This is the demo of the new song. Please listen to it.

Inumaru Touma: It’s finally completed! 

Isumi Haruka: It’s the song we’ll sing as “New Black or White”! 

Midou Torao: What kind of song is it? How did it turn out?

Natsume Minami: Let me just say that I have no intention of being criticized by everyone. 

Natsume Minami: I will not listen to anything but praise.

Midou Torao: You don’t have to be so menacing…

Inumaru Touma: So it’s about building confidence, right?

Natsume Minami: …. Well… That’s true… …

Inumaru Touma: Well, I’m looking forward to it! 

Isumi Haruka: What’s the title?

Natsume Minami: Did I not tell you?

Natsume Minami: It’s “Utopia”.

Isumi Haruka: That’s a nice title!! Ah, it started. …Ooh! 

Inumaru Touma: Aah…!

Midou Torao: Hee…!

Natsume Minami: What is this reaction supposed to be…? 

Inumaru Touma: It’s good!

Isumi Haruka: It’s cool!

Midou Torao: I like it!

Natsume Minami: This is exactly why people who lack vocabulary are so… Praise me more, please, properly. 

Inumaru Touma: The best of the best! Mina, you’re a genius! 

Isumi Haruka: With this song, ŹOOḼ is definitely gonna win!!

Midou Torao: It’s perfect! The entire world will bow to Minami! 

Natsume Minami: …Alright!

Inumaru Touma: You’re unusually excited…

Natsume Minami: Let’s listen to it from the start once more. Please praise the lines one by one. 

Isumi Haruka: It’s super super super cool!! Only Minami can make songs like this! You’re number one! 

Midou Torao: Aah! Now we can't afford to lose. Let’s win with this song.

Natsume Minami: Yes. Absolutely. Since you said that, please put your body on the line, too. 

Midou Torao: Eh?

Inumaru Touma: Like, “show me some bold moves”. What do you think about something like that? 

Isumi Haruka: Isn’t that nice!? Let’s be bold! Torao, can you do it?

Midou Torao: Huh… Who do you think you’re asking? 

Inumaru Touma: Alright, I’m slowly getting the hang of how to get Tora’s motivation.

(door opens)

Utsugi Shirou: Excuse me. 

Isumi Haruka: Utsugi-san. Did you hear the song Minami made?

Utsugi Shirou: Yes. I listened to it a bit earlier. An incredible song has descended upon earth.

Utsugi Shirou: Natsume-san. I cannot express it in words very well, so I will write a 10,000 character report about it later.

Natsume Minami: Fufu. Thank you very much. 

Utsugi Shirou: Since the new song is finished now, there is someone I want to introduce to you.

Isumi Haruka: Someone you want to introduce to us…? 

~ to be continued ~

--

6.12.2. - Moonlight

Inumaru Touma: Are they coming here right now?

Utsugi Shirou: No. He said he wanted to say hello using a webcam. I’ll set up my computer now. 

Natsume Minami: …What kind of person is it?

Utsugi Shirou: Uhm, wait a second, please. I’m connected to them via this headset right now, so I’ll confirm things before switching to speaker.

Utsugi Shirou: Hello? Did you decide on the settings?

Isumi Haruka: …Decide on the settings…?

Utsugi Shirou: Anything’s fine. Eh? Ah… Ugh, what a pain. I get it, I get it.

Inumaru Touma: That’s a lot of arrangements… 

Utsugi Shirou: Sorry to keep you waiting. I would like to introduce you to a world-renowned event artist teacher.

Midou Torao: I didn’t have the feeling you were talking to a world-renowned teacher, though… 

Natsume Minami: What is the teacher’s name? 

Utsugi Shirou: Ah, that’s right… Please wait a moment.

Utsugi Shirou: What should I do? What’re you gonna do? Did you decide yet?

Inumaru Touma: He said “Did you decide yet?”... 

Isumi Haruka: Isn’t he introducing us to a really shady teacher? This manager… 

Utsugi Shirou: Sorry to keep you waiting. This is Moonlight Ichirou-sensei. 

Natsume Minami: Moonlight Ichirou-sensei…

Midou Torao: Have you heard of him?

Natsume Minami: Unfortunately, I have not, either…  

Utsugi Shirou: Well then, let’s switch to speaker. I’m very sorry, but his camera has a mosaic effect on it… 

Inumaru Touma: Why!? Serious, why!?

Utsugi Shirou: I’m starting.

(beep)

Isumi Haruka: Ah… it started… 

Midou Torao: Can he hear this already?

Natsume Minami: It seems so… Nice to meet you, Moonlight Ichirou-sensei, I am ŹOOḼ’s Natsume Minami.

Moonlight Ichirou: Yes… Nice to meet you.

Moonlight Ichirou: This is Moonlight Ichirou.

Inumaru Touma: …Ryou-san…？

Isumi Haruka: …Isn’t that Ryou-san…？

Midou Torao: …Is that Ryou-san…？

Natsume Minami: …Ryou-san…？

Moonlight Ichirou: Eeh~, to get right to it, before you take on “Black or White”, I’ll give you some advice.

Inumaru Touma: Wait a minute… you’re Ryou-san, right? 

Moonlight Ichirou: I’m not.

Isumi Haruka: You’re Tsukumo Ryou, right?

Moonlight Ichirou: This is Moonlight Jirou.

Midou Torao: The more I listen to it, the more it sounds like Ryou-san… Also, did you say Jirou? 

Moonlight Ichirou: Tch… That’s why I told you, Shirou. Come on, hurry. 

Utsugi Shirou: Wait a sec, I’m trying right now, so… 

Natsume Minami: What settings are you changing on your computer, Utsugi-san…? 

Utsugi Shirou: I apologize. It might be difficult to hear the audio, but… Ah, it’s working.

Moonlight Ichirou: Yes, I am Moonlight Ichirou.

Inumaru Touma: Ah, what’s this, it’s a voice that’s different from Ryou-san… Is what you thought I’d say!?

Isumi Haruka: Stop blatantly using a voice changer!? I mean, you’re Ryou-san, right!?

Moonlight Ichirou: I’m not.

Midou Torao: You’re Ryou-san! Utsugi-san, take down the mosaic effect. 

Utsugi Shirou: Can I? Ryou-kun.

Moonlight Ichirou: No way you can, idiot.

Natsume Minami: He’s calling him Ryou-kun…

Moonlight Ichirou: Anyway, I’ll give you some helpful advice, so listen to what I’m saying. 

Inumaru Touma: It’s been a while, Ryou-san. How have you been? 

Moonlight Ichirou: I haven’t been fine. It’s my first time meeting you.

Isumi Haruka: Did you see “BLAST”?

Moonlight Ichirou: I watched it. Not to the last episode, though.

Midou Torao: It was good, though! I jumped by myself in that one. 

Moonlight Ichirou: I know. I read it in a magazine.  

Natsume Minami: Wanna listen to the new song?

Moonlight Ichirou: Did you finish it? The one for “Black or White”?

Natsume Minami: Yes.

Moonlight Ichirou: Send me the data. 

Utsugi Shirou: Ryou-kun, can you stop playing Moonlight-sensei yet? 

Moonlight Ichirou: Don’t call it playing. It’s your fault it got ruined.

Utsugi Shirou: I don’t think it’s ruined. You might be able to keep going if you force yourself. 

Moonlight Ichirou: Really?

Utsugi Shirou: Maybe?

Isumi Haruka: No way. Utsugi-san, do you think we’re idiots? 

Utsugi Shirou: No, I would never.

Isumi Haruka: Ryou-san is the one on the other side of the screen, right? 

Utsugi Shirou: …？

Isumi Haruka: Stop tilting your head and playing dumb, you’re a grown adult! 

Natsume Minami: Well, isn’t it fine. So Moonlight-sensei, what in the world could the advice you want to give us be? 

Natsume Minami: We will no longer act according to someone else’s whims. 

Moonlight Ichirou: Hm… Aren’t you cocky?

Moonlight Ichirou: I will give you advice regarding the composition of ŹOOḼ’s mini lives so you can win “New Black or White”.

Isumi Haruka: Don’t need it! Stop messing with us by continuing to pretend. 

Isumi Haruka: Tell us properly. You’re Ryou-san, right? You wanna be involved with us, right?

Moonlight Ichirou: …

Moonlight Ichirou: I’m not.

Isumi Haruka: Utsugi-san! Hang up!!

Utsugi Shirou: Understood.

Moonlight Ichirou: Don’t “understood” me!!

Isumi Haruka: See you! Mosaic filter man!! 

Midou Torao: Hey, hey, hey! Wait! Isn’t Moonlight fine for now?

Isumi Haruka: You’re too soft, Torao! 

Midou Torao: Look, how do I put it, I just experienced wanting to say something but being unable to, so… 

Moonlight Ichirou: Why are you saying, idiot? Weren’t you replaced by some kid at the last second in the action scene? Since you have no guts. 

Midou Torao: …

Midou Torao: Utsugi-san. Hang up. 

Utsugi Shirou: Right.

Moonlight Ichirou: Don’t “right” me. 

Utsugi Shirou: Ryou-kun. If you’re just going to hurl insults at ŹOOḼ, I will hang up. This is an important time for them.

Utsugi Shirou: You said you had something to tell them, so I set up an opportunity to talk. If you have nothing to say, I’ll end it here. 

Moonlight Ichirou: …I get it. Remove the mosaic filter.

Utsugi Shirou: Understood. 

Moonlight Ichirou: As you said, my true identity is the one who scouted you… 

Tsukumo Ryou: Tsukumo Ryou.

Inumaru Touma: Huh…?  The blur on the screen got stronger…? 

Natsume Minami: Utsugi-san, what did you press? 

Utsugi Shirou: Huh? That’s strange…　

Tsukumo Ryou: I had my own reasons for not telling you my name right away. My position is little more than that of an observer, so… 

Isumi Haruka: Wa… Ryou-san, wait with the serious talk for a bit. Since it’s kinda become like an interrogation.

Tsukumo Ryou: What’s that supposed to… What are you doing? Isn’t this an important moment? 

Utsugi Shirou: Hey, Ryou-kun, that thing. The face editing game, where’d you drop that?  

Tsukumo Ryou: Just check your downloaded apps?

Natsume Minami: These old guys seem to play rather enjoyable games.

Isumi Haruka: Even when you become an adult you can use face editing apps. I’m kind of relieved. 

Inumaru Touma: That being said, aren’t those two getting along pretty well? 

Utsugi Shirou: We’re not getting along well. But we’re kind of like childhood friends, so I’ve been looking after him for a long time.

Tsukumo Ryou: I’m the one who looked after you, though. Since you’re from a family of commoners and all.

Utsugi Shirou: No, I’m the one who did. Since you were hated by your family. Ah, it’s fixed.

Tsukumo Ryou: Hello. It’s been a while.

Inumaru Touma: It’s been a while. It would’ve been fine for you to contact us in a non-roundabout way, though. 

Tsukumo Ryou: I was busy.

Natsume Minami: You haven’t met Momo-san, either? Isn’t he your friend? 

Tsukumo Ryou: He’s not my friend, so I haven’t met him. But after “New Black or White” ends, I might go comfort him. 

Isumi Haruka: Comfort him? Why?

Tsukumo Ryou: You know, since ŹOOḼ is going to win.

Isumi Haruka: …Ryou-san…

Natsume Minami: …You said you had advice for us, but what kind of advice is it? 

Tsukumo Ryou: I’ll decide that from here on out. First, tell me the set list. He won’t tell me ‘cause I’m an outsider.

Inumaru Touma: I mean, that’s true. After disappearing like that and then not contacting us, that is. 

Tsukumo Ryou: What’s this, are you mad? 

Inumaru Touma: Yeah.

Tsukumo Ryou: …

Inumaru Touma: It might be a little different from being mad. After all, I feel grateful to you, Ryou-san, so I can't quite hate you. 

Inumaru Touma: But as ŹOOḼ’s leader, I cannot let anyone who might hurt them get close to them.

Inumaru Touma: I think that's also why Utsugi-san called you an outsider. Which is it gonna be?

Inumaru Touma: Are you going to cheer us on and pick up the pieces of our dream together with us? Or did you just come here to poke fun at us on a whim? 

Inumaru Touma: Tell us properly. …I know you disappeared by yourself to protect us. 

Inumaru Touma: Tell us properly if you want to hold our hands once more.

Tsukumo Ryou: …

Tsukumo Ryou: You guys are really stupid. You were used this much, and yet you thought you were being protected? 

Tsukumo Ryou: What's more, “holding hands”? You guys are idols, your image is your trade, right? What a bunch of imbecile idiots. 

Tsukumo Ryou: I was feeling down, so I poked fun at you, but I stopped. Since my identity got revealed, too. 

Tsukumo Ryou: This is the end of it. Shirou, you can hang up now. 

Isumi Haruka: You're the idiot here, idiot. 

Tsukumo Ryou: Excuse me?

Midou Torao: This is really pointless. Utsugi-san, lend me your laptop.

Utsugi Shirou: There you go.

Tsukumo Ryou: What are you doing? I can only see Torao’s face like this.

Midou Torao: Wouldn't that be lucky? You guys are fine with that, right? 

Inumaru Touma: Sure.

Natsume Minami: I don't mind.

Tsukumo Ryou: What are you even talking about?

Midou Torao: Look, I sent it to you just now. The set list. It's still a work in progress though.

Tsukumo Ryou: …Hmm…

Inumaru Touma: We thought about it in our own way and did our best.

Inumaru Touma: If you have advice, we'd like to hear it. But don't hurt us for no reason. 

Inumaru Touma: If your words affected us and we couldn't give it our all for the actual thing, that’d be the worst. 

Inumaru Touma: I no longer think you don't like us at least a little, Ryou-san. 

Natsume Minami: But the fact that you left us without saying anything is true, too.

Natsume Minami: Right now, we love ourselves, more than a certain someone who wouldn't take responsibility… 

Natsume Minami: Even if they don't love us, we need someone to take responsibility for us.

Utsugi Shirou: Why are you looking at me like that? I properly love you guys. 

Natsume Minami: If you care about our feelings, then let's play together again. 

Natsume Minami: Ryou-san, you said idols are the best game in the world. 

Tsukumo Ryou: …

Isumi Haruka: It's fine, right? You'll cheer us on, right? 

Isumi Haruka: During last year’s Black or White… Ryou-san, you came to see us. I saw it from atop the stage.

Tsukumo Ryou: …Hmm…

Tsukumo Ryou: I won't cheer you on. After all, I don't like idols.

Tsukumo Ryou: But, every now and then, Moonlight Ichirou might make some nice comments.

Midou Torao: You're going to continue with that character even though you failed that much at pretending? 

Inumaru Touma: …I get it. Then I will say goodbye to you. 

Inumaru Touma: But I'm glad you're doing fine.

Tsukumo Ryou: Yeah. You, too.

Natsume Minami: Contact us anytime. 

Midou Torao: Come see us on that day, too. 

Tsukumo Ryou: If I have free time.

Isumi Haruka: Cheer us on.

Tsukumo Ryou: Do your best.

Isumi Haruka: …

Tsukumo Ryou: Do your best.

Isumi Haruka: …Yeah. Thank you.

Tsukumo Ryou: Haha… …Shirou, this is enough. Hang up. 

Utsugi Shirou: Understood. 

(beep)

Utsugi Shirou: …I cut the connection. Sorry for taking up your time while you are busy. 

ŹOOḼ: …

Inumaru Touma: Since we're idols… I hope we can make Ryou-san happy one day, too. 

Midou Torao: That's right… 

Utsugi Shirou: Everyone is very kind. ...Huh?

(ring)

Natsume Minami: There's a sign of an incoming call. May I try taking it?

Utsugi Shirou: Yes…

(beep)

Natsume Minami: Yes. Who am I speaking to?

Moonlight Ichirou: It's Moonlight Ichirou.

Natsume Minami: …

Isumi Haruka: You're pretty fast at switching, Ryou-san… 

~ to be continued ~

--

6.12.3. - News from the country up north 

Nanase Riku: Finally, “Black or White” is tomorrow… 

Izumi Iori: That’s true… 

Takanashi Tsumugi: Everyone, you did your best even though you were busy! I’m sure there will be good results! 

Nanase Riku: Mhm, that’s right. Thanks, manager!

Rokuya Nagi: Iori, Riku! OH! Manager, too!

Takanashi Tsumugi: Nagi-san, what happened? You have your laptop with you…  

Rokuya Nagi: Manager! Please gather the members. He wants to talk to everyone using the internet… 

Izumi Iori: To whom?

Rokuya Nagi: My brother… Seto! 

Izumi Iori & Nanase Riku: Seto-san!?

Nikaidou Yamato: Ah, Bernard-san appeared on screen… 

Izumi Mitsuki: The background is stunningly gorgeous~… I’m kind of nervous… 

Bernard Kenneth: Good evening. Can you hear me? 

Rokuya Nagi: I can hear you.

Bernard Kenneth: Huh…? I think I can’t hear them. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: He said he can’t hear us.

Ousaka Sougo: What’s wrong? Are we muted? 

Yotsuba Tamaki: Bercchi! Bercchi, how are you?

Nanase Riku: Bernard-san, hello~! 

Bernard Kenneth: ＜Apparently there is trouble with the audio. Can they no longer my voice, either?＞

Bernard Kenneth: ＜That’s troublesome… I can’t type in Japanese, so I can’t confirm whether they can hear me or not via messaging them, either.＞

Bernard Kenneth: ＜If it’s going to be like this, the only thing I can do is to say some risque words and judge from whether his Highness looks shocked or not…＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜Stop taking dangerous bets, Bernard.＞

Bernard Kenneth: OH! Hello! I just heard something! Hello, can you hear me?

Nanase Riku: I can hear you!

Izumi Mitsuki: Hello~! I can hear you!

Bernard Kenneth: OH! Hi! My friends! IDOLiSH7-dono, it has been a while!

Yotsuba Tamaki: It’s been a while! How have you been?

Bernard Kenneth: OH! I’ve been good! I saw “Crescent Wolf” on blu-ray! It was truly wonderful! 

Nanase Riku: I will tell TRIGGER about it! Tenn-nii and the others will definitely be happy! 

Bernard Kenneth: I will invite His Highness Seto. His Highness Seto has been studying Japanese. 

Rokuya Nagi: Japanese! I’m impressed!

Bernard Kenneth: He wants to give an encouraging speech to everyone in IDOLiSH7. Please look forward to it! 

Ousaka Sougo: He said it’s a message of encouragement!

Izumi Iori: I presume he contacted us because we are taking on the challenge of “New Black or White”.

Nanase Riku: Ah! Seto-san is here!　

Nikaidou Yamato: It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, but he is stunningly gorgeous as always… 

Ousaka Sougo: Even though there’s no effects, both the background and the people look like they’re in an MV… 

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: He. 

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: H e l l o.

IDOLiSH7: Hello~!

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: IDOLiSH7, how are you? 

IDOLiSH7: We’re fine!

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: I am, Nagi’s brother, Seto. 

IDOLiSH7: We’re IDOLiSH7!

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: I cannot, come to Japan, on December 31st. In order, to win, I will give you, a hundred, sea breams… sea breams.

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: Brimming with happiness.¹

Izumi Mitsuki & Nanase Riku & Yotsuba Tamaki: Ya~y!!

Izumi Iori: …Rokuya-san. Is it alright for His Highness, the crown prince of Northmeir, to memorize bad puns?

Rokuya Nagi: OH… Aren’t Japanese puns a lucky charm, though?

Nikaidou Yamato: Huh? Wait. Did he catch a school of a hundred sea breams? 

Ousaka Sougo: Do you mean a swarm of a hundred sea breams? Sea breams aren’t that big, are they...²

(doorbell rings)

Izumi Mitsuki: Huh? A guest… 

(door opens)

Ousaka Sougo: The lock unlocked before we even opened the door!? 

Thorvald: ＜As usual, the security of this accommodation is weak…＞

Rokuya Nagi: Thorvald!

Thorvald: It has been a while, Your Highness. I came to deliver the sea breams which come from Northern Europe.

Thorvald: They’re stored in a container right now, but is it okay to store them all in your refrigerator?

Izumi Mitsuki: No way it is, no way it is. 

Nikaidou Yamato: Our fridge will be filled to the brim with sea bream! Did you really bring a hundred of them? 

Thorvald: Yes.

Nikaidou Yamato: Why!?

Thorvald:  …So you’d brim with happiness…

Nikaidou Yamato: Are the people of Northmeir that innocent? 

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜Nagi.＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜Yes.＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜Is there some sort of trouble?＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜Yes, uhm…＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜It’s nothing. Everyone is happy. Thank you, brother.＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜Is that so? I’m glad.＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜You, IDOLiSH7, are Nagi’s friends and you saved me. From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful.＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜I wish for you to attain honor and victory in tomorrow’s battle.＞

Nanase Riku: What did Seto-san say?

Rokuya Nagi: He’s grateful to everyone from the bottom of his heart. He wishes for us to attain honor and victory in tomorrow’s battle.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Thank you~! Prince Seto! 

Ousaka Sougo: Thank you very much.

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜One more thing.＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜I’ll bring this up through the Northmeiran Embassy again, but Nagi’s residence problem needs to be resolved.＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜You’re saying there’s a problem with my housing…＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜You may have relinquished your royal rights, but you are my only brother. I want you to live peacefully and safely.＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜Brother…＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜But I know that you like living with IDOLiSH7, Nagi.＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜If your friends are alright with it, I will look after the matter for all of you. The property is secured.＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜Our residence?  What about our homeland? >

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜Those who left the royal family cannot be supported by the people’s taxes. This a personal loan from me.＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜I have backed up talented people. I never aimed for profit, there were people who expressed their gratitude to me by giving me some of their privileges. ＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜Those are my personal assets. Do not worry.＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜Wa… Wait. I will discuss this.＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜I don’t mind.＞

Rokuya Nagi: …

Izumi Mitsuki: Nagi, what’s wrong?

Rokuya Nagi: My brother would like to prepare a new house for me. He’d like to know if everyone else would like to live there, too… 

Nanase Riku: You mean we’d all live in the house Seto-san prepared?

Izumi Mitsuki: All seven of us!?

Rokuya Nagi: Probably. What should we do…?

Izumi Iori: Manager…

Takanashi Tsumugi: …Even at the agency, we were thinking of preparing a new residence for everyone.

Takanashi Tsumugi: The only question is whether you’d live together as seven like right now, or whether there would be a different setup… 

Takanashi Tsumugi: But as for an answer, we don’t…

Nikaidou Yamato: It’s fine to live as seven.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yamato-san…

Nikaidou Yamato: There might be a limit to living like this someday.

Nikaidou Yamato: But that will be alright when the time comes. Right now, we still want to be together. At least I do. 

Ousaka Sougo: Me, too… I want to be with everyone, too. 

Ousaka Sougo: When I came home fatigued from work, just seeing everyone’s smiles blew away my fatigue. 

Ousaka Sougo: I don’t want to lose this place. 

Izumi Mitsuki: I agree. Until Iori becomes an adult, I think we’ll stay together.

Izumi Mitsuki: So I think staying with everyone is fine. What about you, Iori?

Izumi Iori: …If possible… If I could stay with everyone, I think I’d want to, too. 

Izumi Iori: One day, the time where everyone live on their own will come. But even so… 

Izumi Iori: Right now, I want to be with everyone and still have them be within sight. 

Yotsuba Tamaki: …I… I might not be able to do it…

Ousaka Sougo: Tamaki-kun…?

Yotsuba Tamaki: I can’t leave Aya alone after all. When it comes to living with Aya, it doesn’t have to be right now, though… 

Yotsuba Tamaki: The idea of me being surrounded by people while Aya is alone is… 

Nanase Riku: Tamaki…

~ to be continued ~

--

6.12.4. - Sea bream

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜What are you talking about?＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜Tamaki has a younger sister. He would like to live with us, but he says he cannot neglect her. >

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜She should just live with you. If you are concerned about the fact that there are a lot of men, I can hire female staff. >

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜Is there a problem? If there is, let’s resolve it right away.＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜Brother…＞

Yotsuba Tamaki: Nagicchi, what did Prince Seto say…?

Rokuya Nagi: OH, Tamaki… Prince Seto is my pride.

Rokuya Nagi: When the circumstances got bad, he would repeatedly try to escape from reality. For him to say he wants to resolve something right away…

Yotsuba Tamaki: Nagicchi?

Rokuya Nagi: OH, sorry. I was too impressed…

Rokuya Nagi: He said that living together with her is okay, hiring female staff is okay and that if there is a problem, he’ll solve it.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Really…!? Thank you, Prince Seto!

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: Y o u ‘ r e w e l c o me.

Izumi Mitsuki: I’m glad for you, Tamaki…!

Yotsuba Tamaki: Yeah! All I gotta do now is convince Aya…

Nikaidou Yamato: Have you not talked to her? If you keep putting off the conversation, you’ll become like me one day.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Since we can’t just keep putting the burden on Seto-san, please let us do something as well.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Which is to say, originally, we should have been the one to secure the property…

Izumi Iori: Isn’t it fine? There probably aren’t that many buildings with security levels that satisfy the royal family…

Takanashi Tsumugi: Seto-san. Please let me consult the President! We are very grateful for your feelings! Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜She is IDOLiSH7’s manager, right? What did she say?＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜She thanked you and said she would like to consult with her boss first.＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜She can do what she wants. Well then, Nagi and everyone in IDOLiSH7. I wish you great fortune tomorrow.＞

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: ＜May the goddess of victory smile upon you. Cheers.＞

Rokuya Nagi: ＜Thank you so much.＞

Izumi Mitsuki: Thank you very much! Thank you! Very thank you!

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: Thanks. Byebye.

Nanase Riku: Thank you so much! Byebye! See you!

Yotsuba Tamaki: Thank you!! Byebye! See you again!

Izumi Iori: Thank you very much.

Nikaidou Yamato: Byebye~

Rokuya Nagi: Good night, byebye.

Seto Ranvalt von Northmeir: Byebye.

(beep)

Nanase Riku: …Sending us an encouraging message as we worry about tomorrow… you have a great big brother, Nagi!

Rokuya Nagi: Yes… A day like this coming is like a dream.

Izumi Mitsuki: About the dorm though… Is this really fine?

Thorvald: Next time when I have time, I will show you around the property.

Nikaidou Yamato: Thorvald-san, what are you doing with that penlight turned on?

Thorvald: It’s preparation for tomorrow. I wanted to make sure it shines properly…

Rokuya Nagi: OH… How foolish…

Ousaka Sougo: I didn’t think you were close enough to him to say “How foolish”.

Yotsuba Tamaki: It’s like a manga, it’s cool. Rokuya Nagi: This type only glows for a couple of hours. So there won’t be a tomorrow for that penlight.

Thorvald: How tragic…

Nikaidou Yamato: Shouldn’t we be happy he came to cheer us on? Thorvald-san, thank you.

Thorvald: You’re welcome. Is it fine with you if I distribute the sea breams that wouldn’t fit in the refrigerator among the neighbors?

Izumi Iori: I don’t know about giving out perishables in the current times…

Thorvald: Don’t you give leftover ingredients to the neighbors in Japan?

Nanase Riku: It is sea breams, though… Do you think TRIGGER will eat them?

Nikaidou Yamato: It does seem like they’d eat them, but should we really give sea bream to the people we’re competing against tomorrow…?

Izumi Mitsuki: That’s just how we are, isn’t it fine? I’ll go ask Momo-san, too.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Then I’ll contact Isumin.

Nikaidou Yamato: Riku, will you ask TRIGGER?

Nanase Riku: Yes! I’ll send a rabbit chat right now!

Izumi Iori: Nii-san, our parents might eat it, too…

Izumi Mitsuki: That’s true! I’ll contact them. It seems like we’ll be able to hand out all 100 fish!

Ousaka Sougo: I will ask Touma, too.

Yotsuba Tamaki: Sou-chan, don’t you get along better with Toracchi, too?

Ousaka Sougo: Because Midou-san is the type of person who can eat sea bream whenever he wants…

Thorvald: Eating sea bream anytime… He must be brimming with happiness.

Nikaidou Yamato: Uhm, I don’t think you have any bad intentions at all, but there is a risk of battle occurring here…

Thorvald: Is that so? Are you the type of person who is brimming with happiness without engaging in battles, Nikaidou-san?

Nikaidou Yamato: Yes…? Are you trying to pick a fight…?

Takanashi Tsumugi: Well then, I will go for a quick drive to deliver the sea breams to those we managed to contact!

Izumi Iori: Somehow, it has become a strange evening…

Izumi Mitsuki: Well, isn’t it fine? It’s not like the sea breams are poisoned.

Yotsuba Tamaki: We’re brimming with happiness, after all!

--

Yuki: What is this, what happened…?

Momo: It’s from Maneko-chan. A delivery of sea bream!

Yuki: A declaration of victory…?

Momo: Eh~!? It’s to make us brim with happiness for sure. Isn’t it like, “let’s do our best together”?　

Yuki: Huh. They’re strange kids. Momo, do you wanna eat some?

Momo: I wanna~!

Yuki: Then I’ll grill it.

Momo: Nice~!

--

Yaotome Gaku: Takanashi-san just delivered this to us. Ryuu, prepare it!

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Sea breams are a lucky charm, after all! It’s a big sea bream, too! What do you want to eat it with?

Kujou Tenn: Sea bream over rice.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: That’s good, sounds delicious!

Kujou Tenn: Do we have mitsuba leaves? Maybe I should buy some.

Yaotome Gaku: We got three sea breams, so we could also do grilled fish or sashimi.

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: I kind of… am starting to feel like we won!

Kujou Tenn: Same.

Yaotome Gaku: Same. I feel like I’ve just scored a goal.

Kujou Tenn: Maybe it’s a strategy to make us let down our guard…?

Yaotome Gaku: IDOLiSH7 will eat it tonight, too, so I don’t think so…?

Tsunashi Ryuunosuke: Let’s be thankful and eat it! Alright, let’s prepare it~!

--

Isumi Haruka: We kinda got a lot of sea breams from IDOLiSH7…

Haruka's grandmother: My, isn’t that nice, Haru-chan? Eat lots of it with your friends, will you?

Inumaru Touma: Excuse me! Sorry for intruding! I thought since it’s a good opportunity, we could all eat together!

Haruka's grandmother: It’s fine, take your time. The sea bream rice is almost ready, too.

Natsume Minami: I’m happy. I love it.

Haruka's grandmother: My, well, I am glad.

Isumi Haruka: Grandma, you can go now, so.

Haruka's grandmother: Yes, yes.

Midou Torao: Thanks, it will be a feast.

Midou Torao: The sea bream Haruka’s grandma grilled is yummy. But don’t you normally eat pork cutlets³…?

Natsume Minami: Sea bream have a bone called the sea bream’s sea bream because it is shaped like a fish. Supposedly, carrying it with you will ward off misfortune.

Isumi Haruka: Then the leader should carry it.

Inumaru Touma: A fish bone!? Won’t it smell!?

Midou Torao: Won’t it be fine as long as you put deodorant on it?

Inumaru Touma: Then should I hide it in my costume for the sake of victory…?

Isumi Haruka: It’s both surreal and funny that the guy preparing sea bream bones is going to dance in “New Black or White”.

Inumaru Touma: Mina, around where is the sea bream’s sea bream?

Natsume Minami: It appears to be around the pectoral fin.

Inumaru Touma: Then I’ll go find it now…

Isumi Haruka: If you find it, I want to see it, too.

Midou Torao: Me, too.

Inumaru Touma: It’s like a treasure hunt. Fufu, just wait for it…

--

Takanashi Tsumugi: And just like that, the night before the battle passed―

Takanashi Tsumugi: And December 31st… The day of “Black or White Live Showdown” arrived.

~ to be continued ~

--

TL notes:

Mod Riku here! I'd actually drafted this ages ago, so going back to do TL notes was kind of a hassle. We started this project over a year ago... Nostalgic, am I right? Two more chapters to go!!

...That being said, expect chapter 13 to take a bit. Both mods are kind of preoccupied.

¹ - I've dreaded this pun for a long time. I managed, though! (Click.)

² - Japanese counting words correspond to the thing you're counting, hence them joking about what counter to use for sea bream. (Click.)

³ - Katsu (pork cutlet) and katsu (to win) are homophones, so you eat katsudon before a competition.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Something wasn’t right with the consistency of the batter.

Eddie had triple checked the recipe on the notecard in front of him and it was still wrong.

He tried not to cry out of frustration, but his eyes were stinging and he felt a lump in his throat anyways.

He was in charge of this one tiny thing for Steve’s surprise birthday party. It’s literally all he was asked to do: bake the cake.

He’d gotten the recipe for Steve’s favorite from Claudia at his own insistence that he could definitely handle it and it couldn’t be that hard.

Apparently he couldn’t and it was.

The batter was extremely water-y, definitely not thick like the recipe said it should be. It also was more of a tan color than a brown color, but that wasn’t even something Eddie could be worried about right now.

He was supposed to be done with it 20 minutes ago. Steve would be home from work in 30, and there was no way this would be baked and hidden and cleaned up in that time.

He’d fucked everything up.

What a surprise.

He poured the batter into the cake pan, resisting the urge to just pour it in the trash.

He had to see this through even if it did end up being the failure he expected it to be.

He’d call Claudia while Steve was in the shower if he had to; She was already prepared to help if needed.

He put the cake in the oven and waited.

He watched the timer slowly click down and the clock slowly approach the time Steve would be walking in the door.

He could always just say he wanted to try a new hobby. Steve always said he needed a hobby just for him to do alone. All his hobbies usually involved the kids or his band.

Baking could be a hobby. Probably not though since he couldn’t even get cake batter right.

He was startled by the front door opening.

Fuck.

“You’re early!” Eddie yelled as he tried to hide the recipe card, as if the rest of the mess wouldn’t give away exactly what he was doing.

“Yeah. Robin didn’t need a ride tonight.”

Steve’s voice was closer to the kitchen with every word he spoke and Eddie was going through either a panic attack or an aneurysm.

Maybe both?

And then Steve was standing in the kitchen, hands on his hips, suspicion written clear across his face.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

Yeah, that’s good. Act normal. Greet him like you always do. There’s definitely nothing baking in the oven. There’s no dirty dishes in the sink and on the counter and…is that a mixing spoon on the floor? God, he’s a mess.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

Steve snorted, amusement taking over instead of suspicion.

“Okay, but this looks like a big mess for nothing.”

Eddie watched as Steve walked behind the counter and took in the rest of the mess.

Dustin and Robin would be so pissed at him for ruining the surprise.

“Just felt like trying my hand at something new.”

“Uh huh. And that something new involves making every dish in the kitchen dirty?”

“It was a test.”

“A test.”

“Yeah. Just making sure everything works.”

Steve nodded once and then turned to Eddie with a smirk.

“Did you make me a birthday cake for my surprise party?”

Eddie’s jaw dropped. How the fuck did he know about the party?

“What do you mean?”

“The surprise party that I definitely don’t know anything about but is taking place tomorrow at the Henderson home. I’m assuming this is what you’re in charge of.”

“How did you find out? I was so careful. God, Dustin’s gonna kill me. Robin’s gonna kill me a second, bloodier time. I couldn’t make the cake right, I couldn’t keep anything a secret, now the surprise is ruined and-“

Eddie was cut off by soft lips on his.

When Steve pulled away, he was smiling.

“I love you.”

“I love you too?”

“You didn’t ruin the surprise at all. Dustin did three days ago. He doesn’t know he did though, so please don’t tell him.”

“What?! That shithead threatened my LIFE.”

“I figured.”

“Well, the cake isn’t gonna be right anyways. I fucked it up.”

“Did you add flour?”

Eddie looked at the counter where all of his ingredients were still scattered.

“Uh. Is flour one of those?” He pointed at the sugar and powdered sugar containers.

Steve looked at them, then back at Eddie, then at the oven.

“Let’s get that one out and start over.”

“I knew it! I knew it wasn’t gonna be right! I’m so fucking stupid. I swear to you I followed the recipe perfectly!”

“Baby, it’s okay. It’s just a cake. You did kinda miss the most important part, but we can make a new one.”

“You can’t make your own cake! It’s a surprise party!”

Steve chuckled. “It’s not a surprise anymore. And it’ll be fun.”

It would be fun to see Steve in an apron, mixing ingredients together, getting flour on his nose.

Hm.

“Fine. But if anyone asks, I got it right the first time, and Claudia is in charge next year.”

“Deal.”

Steve sealed it with a kiss, and quickly started washing the dishes.

Their cake turned out perfect and Dustin was so impressed that Eddie not only managed to keep the party a secret, but also make a perfect cake, he told him he could be in charge of next year’s party altogether.

Eddie smirked but went along with it.

Steve never had a surprise party again. Eddie got his help making the cake every year.

[musings-of-a-rose]

Prepping for Parents

Pairing: Javier Peña x f!reader

Word Count: 680+

Rating: This is fluffy and for everyone, but my blog is rated Mature - 18+ ONLY!

Warnings: Just like ao3, “creator chooses not to use warnings.” If you click Keep Reading, that means you agree that you’re the age to handle mature themes. Also by clicking Keep Reading, you understand warnings may not be complete in order to avoid spoilers for the story. 

Notes: This was for the @pickled-pena writing challenge! Check it out here, but the specs are in the moodboard.

**If you want to be added to the taglist, join here or let me know!

❤If you enjoy the fic, please consider giving me a warm beverage! (It is not required in any way!)

→Tell Tumblr this should be shared with others by reblogging! That's what the algorithm loves (it's how it works here. I don't make the rules!)

**Reader is not described

Main Masterlist

Javier Peña Masterlist

“Ok..I think I have everything for the natilla. We’ll have to stop at the bakery to grab the buñuelos on the way back home…” I scan my grocery list, making sure to check items off with the pencil I have stuck behind my ear. In the corner of my eye, I see Javier nervously shifting from foot to foot, his hands on his hips as he chews at his lip. “Are you ok, Jav?”

“Hhmm?” His dark eyes meet mine and I swear I melt a little every time he looks at me. “Yeah. I’m great.”

“You’re about to chew a hole through your lip.”

He puffs his lips out, putting his hands up as if to say “Better?” I lean in and kiss his puffy lips, feeling him relax slightly. I pull back and look up at him. “Really. What’s up?”

He shakes his head but isn’t able to contain his thoughts anymore. “Your parents are coming in tonight, our first meeting, and you’ve done all of the cleaning, made sure the hotel is taken care of, made a menu of what we’re having, and you’re picking out all of the food. I just-” he sighs “-can’t I do something?”

“Jav, you don’t have to do anything. You’re here with me and that means so much, especially with all of the work you’ve been doing lately.”

He nods. “Yeah, but I would like to contribute something.”

I can see this is important to him, that he wants to do something for my parents and it makes my heart swell. 

“Do you know what a relish dish is?”

He thinks a moment. “Pickles and olives and shit?”

I chuckle slightly. “Yeah, basically. It’s a big staple at all of our dinners. Mom and dad are pretty particular. Can you go pick out some things for it?”

His eyebrows raise, nearly disappearing into his hairline. “You would trust me with it?”

“Just don’t put actual shit on the plate and I think you’ll be fine.”

He nods and takes off while I finish out my list. About 10 minutes later, he finds me picking up a bag of milk, which I nearly drop when I see that he’s carrying at least 12 jars of things. “What…what’s all this, Jav?”

He’s struggling slightly, trying not to drop them as he attempts to gently set them in the cart. “Well, I couldn’t settle on just a few things. These?” He holds up a jar of pickles. “Are dill. But maybe they like sweet so..” He holds up another jar. Jar after jar of pickles and olives and peppers, a slew of varieties, some I’d never seen before as he puts them in the cart. When he’s done, he brushes his hands together and looks at me, his eyes big like a puppy.

“Do you think it will be enough?”

I laugh then, my whole chest bouncing with it. “Jav, you got way too much. It’s just the 4 of us.”

"You stand there and accuse me of getting too much but where were you at the time? I don't know what everyone likes and..." he mumbles something, but I can’t quite hear him, my eyebrows pinching together in confusion. “What?”

He crosses his arms, his eyes not quite meeting mine as he leans in, speaking quietly. “I just want them to like me.”

“Oh, Javier. They’re coming all the way to Colombia for Christmas just to meet you. Trust me, they wouldn’t have made all of this effort if they didn’t like you. And besides-” I put a finger under his chin and tilt him to look at me “- I love you. There’s no way they won’t.”

His eyes soften and the corners of his mouth twitch slightly with a smile. “I love you too, querida.” He kisses me, soft lips and bristly mustache tickling at my skin before pulling back. “But this is stressing me out.” He kisses the top of my head before patting down his pockets and sliding out a pack of cigarettes. I let out a huff of disapproval when he fishes out his lighter.

“I thought you said you were quitting?”

He puts a cigarette in his mouth as he turns to walk to towards the door. “It will be my resolution, I promise querida.”

Author’s Notes: Natilla is a sweet custard that’s traditionally served during Christmas in Colombia. There’s many variations on it, but here’s one with coconut. Buñuelos are like a sweetish bread made with cheese, corn starch, and yuca flower that’s typically round/ball shaped and are pictured with the link I added with natilla. I could eat my weight in buñuelos. And yes, they have bagged milk in Colombia, I’ve seen it with my own eyes!

General Taglist:

@frankie-catfish-morales @chaoticgeminate @janebby @astoryisaloveaffair @balekanemohafe @greeneyedblondie44 @hoeforthefictional @marvelousmermaid @hauntedmama @giuliarogers @icanbeyourjedi @wretchedmo @sunnshineeexoxo @livingmydreams13 @adventures-of-a-noodle @sara-alonso @theewokingdead @punkerthanpascal @giggly-otter @f0rever15elf @phandoz @dirtytissuebox @gallowsjoker @lovesbiggerthanpride @sarahmilesbendrix @booksarekindaneat @mrsudontknowme @swol-bear @charlispersonallyhell @xoxabs88xox @amneris21@gooddaykate @alindeluce @avengers-fixation @paintballkid711 @harriedandharassed   @ladykatakuri @marrianena  @practicalghost @withakindheartx @batdarkladyvampir @justanotherkpopstanlol   @mermaidxatxheart @alexxavicry @ichigodjarin @justreblogginfics @sullyosully @kmc1989 @veryprairieberry

[wolfjackle-creates]

Ghost!Robin Part 5

First, Previous

This is probably the segment you've all been waiting for. Hope it holds up to expectations! 1.1k words.

----------

Before Danny could ask any questions about what the big deal was, Dick nudged him. “Which do you want—curry or beef?”

“Can I try both?”

“Alfred loves to see people enjoy his food. Eat as much as you can, then take a few more bites.” Dick handed him one platter followed by another. Robin watched on as Danny scooped some of each onto his plate.

When the ghost pointed to the potatoes and patted his stomach, Danny made sure to grab a large scoop and took a bite of that first. It was heavenly.

He raised his second spoonful up to Robin as a thank you for the recommendation.

“The potatoes are my favorite, too,” commented Jason who must’ve seen.

That caused Danny to raise and eyebrow and flick his eyes to Robin again. “I can understand why; they’re to die for.”

Jazz choked back a laugh. “Now you’re just stealing Dick’s joke from earlier,” she said.

“What can I say? It was a good one.”

Dick clucked his tongue. “Jason’s the same way. I don’t get how you can joke about almost dying.”

Danny tried the curry and shrugged. “This is so good. And I dunno, death jokes are super common in Amity. What else are you supposed to do when surrounded by ghosts?”

Dick just shook his head. “Well, if you say so. Now, here, try this, too,” he said as he scooped more food onto Danny’s plate.

Danny did so obediently and the conversation moved to lighter topics.

When he was mostly done with his plate, Robin decided it would be a great time to sit down on the table between him and Jazz. He stared at Danny and pointed to himself then raised an eyebrow. “When help me?” he mouthed.

“Jazz, I hope you’re well rested because I keep remembering more things I need to tell you about tonight after dinner.” On the last words, he made eye contact with Robin.

Who was not happy at all with his response. He stood on the table and seemed to grow in size. “Now,” he mouthed, foot stomp included. Angry-frustrated pulses filled the space.

“Danny?” asked Jazz.

Damn, he’d completely missed her reply. “Um, sorry Jazz, I got a work message earlier and I’m a bit distracted. Could you repeat that?”

Her eyes narrowed. She was totally onto him. “Something is up with you tonight.”

“Who me?” he rubbed the back of his neck and put on his innocent grin, the one that never worked on her. Flicking his eyes to Robin, he asked, “Why?” hoping that Jazz would take it as directed to her.

She stared at him a moment longer before turning back to Jason and pointedly ignoring Danny. Robin also moved until he was next to Jason, their faces side-by-side.

Then he removed his domino mask to show bright blue eyes, the exact color of Jason’s.

“Well fuck.” No way could he keep silent after that reveal.

The rest of the table fell silent and Bruce looked concerned. “Is everything all right, Danny?” he asked

Robin flew over to Bruce next and held two fingers to either side of his head and wiggled them.

“Well, double fuck.” Danny let his head bang on the table and cursed under his breath in Sumerian.

Dick touched his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” The concern was clear in his voice.

“Danny?” demanded Jazz.

Danny sat up and looked longingly at the remaining food on his plate before pushing away from the table and holding up his PDA and bag. “I’m sorry, I have to excuse myself for a few minutes. An important work thing.”

“Really, Danny? Can’t it wait?” asked Jazz.

“No. It really can’t.”

“Will you at least be quick?” she tried.

Danny sighed. “This’ll probably take ages to sort out in full. But the first part should only take a few minutes.” He looked over the rest of the table and bit his lip. He should tell them something, but where to even begin? And it’s not like Robin, Jason?, whatever, wouldn’t spill the beans as soon as he was able. So he just turned and let the room, Robin right on his heels.

“How far away from Jason, er, from your living self, can you get?” he asked quietly as soon as he felt like they were out of immediate earshot.

Robin flew a few feet down the hall and around corner. They were only just out of sight of the doorway and well within shouting range. In fact, he could still hear the sounds of conversation, even if exact words were difficult to make out.

Robin floated before him, no longer smiling, and held out a hand.

Danny stared at it a moment before grabbing it and pulling Robin into a hug. The ghost felt so insubstantial in his arms, like a wisp of silk or an underinflated balloon. Without thought, he transformed and surrounded Robin more securely in his aura.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t visit sooner,” whispered Danny. “I’m sorry I didn’t know about you until now.”

There was a tug on his core. Robin was trying to take some of his power. Danny pushed as well, giving it willingly. In his arms, Robin grew more solid.

With Robin’s increased corporeality, Danny became aware the boy was shaking. He chirped an I’m here, you’re safe message.

Robin trilled his thanks and nerves.

Before Danny could ask what Robin wanted to do next, they were startled apart by a loud crash and the sound of breaking glass and china and a voice shouting, “What the fuck?”

In the hallway, in perfect view of Danny and Robin, stood Alfred and Duke. A dropped tray and shattered dishes decorated the floor at Alfred’s feet and Duke had barely kept hold of his own tray and was half turned away but squinting at Danny and Robin like they were painful to look at.

Shouted questions and running footsteps echoed from the dining room and then everyone else was there, too.

Danny ignored everyone, focusing on Jazz who was staring at him in pure terror. Before he could assure her it would be all right, she was moving, ducking under arms until she was in front of him.

She fell into a fighting stance and pulled out a fenton staff. With the press of a button, it powered on, glowing like a double-sided light saber in her hands. “If any of you try to turn in my brother or hurt him, I will end you.”

----------

Next

Tag list!

@addie-lover-of-stories, @justwannabecat, @gin2212, @amercurio, @regonold, @overtherose, @readerzj, @sjrose1216, @echoednonny, @deeterzz, @blu-lilac, @number-one-jew, @rowanaway-fromthisbs, @vythika96, @tired-yet-awaken, @themirrorghost, @emeraldcorpral, @all-mights-asscheeks, @darkhinauniverse, @blep-23, @phandomhyperfixationblog, @larkcoe1, @thegatorsgoose, @job-ross-the-second, @britcision, @lenacraft, @bubblemixer, @androgynouslordofescapism, @purefrickingspite, @leftmiraclechaos, @lizisipancardo, @starlight-sparks, @miraculousandmore, @gildedphoenix, @sometimesthingsfallapart, @letmesayfuxk, @phoenixcatch7, @skulld3mort-1fan, @abaowo, @dhampir-princess, @idkmrpianoman, @sarina-elais, @ballzfrog-blog, @undead-essence, @spookytragedyshark, @flyingpansaurus, @akintoabitch, @marivictal, @8-29pm

[hiddenwritingsintheworld]

Cruel Summer Chapter 1 (Chris Evans x Actress/Singer!Reader)

(Okay, So Ive been away for a hot minute. And I've been through quite a bit. But I got inspired to write this and I hope yall love it!! Couple of things. 1.) Taylor Swift doesnt exist in this series, the reader is like taylor swift! 2) dont come for me, I've been chewing on this idea for a few months now lol. 3.) Im almost done with chapter 1 of My Alpha, I know I've gotten some messages about that!! Also, half way through chapter 2 of Midnight rain ;) Enjoy! Let me know your thoughts on this!! love you guys!!!)

Thoughts? Suggestions? General opinion wanted here!!!!!

You’d be delusional to think that he wanted anything more than hookups with you. Being a movie star was hard enough to make a “normal” life ...falling in love with your co-star though...that made everything even worse. That’s what led you to becoming a world famous pop star, releasing smash hit after smash hit. Your smile; when up on that stage, tens of thousands of fans screaming your songs as you sang them, standing ovations, tears of happiness, excitement, thrill, it all made that heartache ease just a little bit. But not all the way. 

“Tonight is a HUGE night, I can’t believe you’re going to announce another album. I’m in awe, really I am.” Your mom said, grabbing your shoulders and looking at you in the mirror of the room you were currently using backstage. “Mom, thanks so much for traveling with me during this tour. It means so much to me.” you smiled softly at her, “especially after everything I’ve been through recently. Wanna know the surprise songs tonight? Or just be surprised like everyone else?” you asked with a soft laugh. 

Your mom and dad were your biggest and best fans you could have ever asked for. Even during the worst time of your life, you’d had your parents support when changing careers. “Awe, let me be surprised like everyone else dear. Your cue is up….come on,” she gave you a big hug and kissed your cheek. “You’re going to be amazing, just like every other night” she beamed before walking out of your dressing room. 

You stared in the mirror, touching up your red lipstick before turning around and walking out. Your bejeweled bodysuit in the colors of your most favorite album you’d put out, pinks and blues. You smiled at the stage crew and everyone working behind the scenes as you walked with your assistant. “Another great sold out crowd out there, the VIP tent is dead center, lots of celebrities are here tonight too.” She smiled before you walked away standing on your mark. 

Listening to the entrance music you’d had custom made, caused the memories to flood your mind. 

You looked over at him grinning as you both reached for a piece of popcorn. “Soooo I thought you wanted to do something else when you asked me to come to your hotel room 10:30 at night.” you smirked as he laughed, throwing his head back. “While yes, I’d love to do that too….I figured it would be nice to watch a movie or two, enjoy a snack and relax together too. I ordered some wine and chocolate covered strawberries too.” he said leaning closer to you, as you bit your lip leaning into him, letting his lips brush yours. The next thing you knew, he had you pinned to the bed, popcorn littering the floor as he kissed down your neck, slowly pushing your shirt off and attacking your chest. 

“Ready? Have fun!!” Your assistant shouted over the music and screaming fans as the platform started to bring you up from under the stage. You plastered a grin on your lips and got in your stance with your mic. 

The moment your back up dancers pulled back the large fabric fans to reveal you, you began to sing one of your songs. The roar of screams, cheers and cries erupted throughout the entire stadium as you came into sight for everyone. The platform continued to rise as you sang, smiling at everyone. 

“It's you and me, that's my whole world

They whisper in the hallway, "She's a bad, bad girl"

Oh, I just thought you should know (you should know)

It's you and me, there's nothing like this (like this)

Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince (okay)

We're so sad, we paint the town blue (paint it blue)

Voted most likely to run away with you.” 

The music ended as everyone cheered even louder and you laughed softly, the platform lowering back to the mainstage level; you grinned as the next song began instantly. You loved performing for a crowd, they never made you feel like you weren’t worth the love and attention. You strut toward the front of the stage, beginning to sing the bridge, along with the crowd, when a sight almost threw you off your performance. He stood there in the VIP tent with a cold beer in one hand, his other arm around the shoulders of a petite brunette. 

“I'm drunk in the back of the car

And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar (oh)

Said, "I'm fine, " but it wasn't true

I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you

And I snuck in through the garden gate

Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)

And I screamed for whatever it's worth

"I love you, " ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?

He looks up grinning like a devil” 

You belt out the bridge, the crowd screaming louder toward the end. You tried to not to look at the VIP tent, the urge to see him again, standing there happy with some other girl, you danced around, happily grinning at the crowd, encouraging them to sing along. You finally took a break, smiling wide as everyone clapped and cheered. “Hi!” you said cheerfully. “My name is Y/N and welcome to The Eras Tour,” you grinned as the stadium erupted again. 

“I just want to say thank you to everyone who is here tonight and I hope that I don’t disappoint. I usually perform only two surprise songs a night, however, I’m feeling…fun tonight, so I want to add another song to the list for you all. It’s one that I don't usually perform live. But, I hope you enjoy it.” you smiled as the platform rose and you looked around, the soft jazz music starting as loud cheers erupted. You couldn't stop the smile that landed on your face as you began to sing. 

“We were crazy to think

Crazy to think that this could work

Remember how I said I'd die for you?

We were stupid to jump

In the ocean separating us

Remember how I'd fly to you?

And I can't talk to you when you're like this

Staring out the window like I'm not your favorite town

I'm New York City

I still do it for you, babe

They all warned us about times like this

They say the road gets hard and you get lost when you're led by blind faith

Blind faith” 

You smiled looking around, your eyes landed on him again, he had a look in his eyes, just like how he used to look at you, hunger and desperation for your touch. You put your lips back up to the microphone and made eye contact with him again. 

“But we might just get away with it

Religion's in your lips

Even if it's a false god

We'd still worship

We might just get away with it

The altar is my hips

Even if it's a false god

We'd still worship this love

We'd still worship this love

We'd still worship this love

I know heaven's a thing

I go there when you touch me

Honey hell is when I fight with you” 

You didn’t mean to stare for so long, but the way he looked at you, watching your body move. You wanted to jump off stage and run into his arms again, kissing him, telling him how in love with him you still were, even after the three years that had passed. You felt a tightness in your chest when the girl turned and kissed his neck, and began to dance with him. 

You finished the song not soon after and took a small bow as everyone screamed out. You stood still smiling as the platform began to lower, before diving off to get changed. “I need a minute,” you said as your assistant came up to you. She looked slightly confused as they began to help you into your next outfit. How were you going to continue this concert with him staring at you? You didn’t think you could do it honestly. 

“I can’t believe you changed the set list, We’re going to have to cut one of the surprise songs.” You looked at her. “No we can’t but we are changing them tonight.” you said as they did up the back of your dress. “What?! Why!” she gasped. “Chris is here,” you said looking at her as her face fell. “With some girl.” she sighed putting a hand on her head “Jesus fucking Christ……okay. Tell me what you need.” you looked at her again as tears filled your eyes. “I need a fucking minute.” you grabbed the new mic rushing off.

[raffe156]

Late Night sparring

Pairing - Price X Tank X Ghost

Summary - A Late Night sparring sessions turns into something more.

Warnings - Smut (18+) Voyeurism, Language, Age gap Price (39) Tank (25) Ghost (36) SoftDom!Price, public sex, praise kink, fingering, Oral (F receiving) P in V, unsafe sex, Ghost being a little simp for Tank, Price likes to watch...

AN- I'm so sorry this took so long! not 100% happy with it, but we'll see what you guys think.

It's kind of filth, I re wrote this about 4 times so please please please let me know what you guys think either by comments, anon asks or however you feel comfortable! I've been in such a writers block headspace that getting this out felt like such an accomplishment haha!

Also enjoy another one of the commissions I had done by the amazingly talented @hffhifjou x

@deadbranch @mildlyhopeless @fanficandartgal @shuttlelauncher81 @a-littlebirdie @soapyghost @boomtowngirl @mostannoyingbillioner @brewed-pangolin @chb-7 @sarcastic-raptor163 @tapioca-marzipan

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Call of duty characters, Only Tank

“Hands where I can see them Riley!” Price shouted from the side lines. Ghost currently had you pinned underneath him both arms locked behind your back pressed to his stomach, face pressed to the floor of the ring.

“Will one do?” Ghost waved his free hand at Price causing his weight to shift fully onto you. You could just make out Price giving him the finger, his brow furrowed.

“Off now…” He made his way over to the edge of the ring, but Ghost didn’t ease up. Instead he leaned down close, you could feel the warmth of his breath on your cheek.

“You don’t want me to get up do you?…I think you like being under me…” it was just quiet enough for Price to miss but he didn’t miss the flush that spread across your face.

“UP NOW!” It was more of a warning that a request now. Ghost made a slow effort to get up, his hands being the last to leave your wrists. They felt bruised but it was a nice ache. You would never admit it to him, but he was right.

‘I think I’m done for tonight cap…I need a shower” You rolled over onto your back flat out. You didn’t even need to look at Price to know that wasn’t happening.

“Ill be the judge of that…I’ll take over the session..” Price shrugged his shoulders, stretched his arms and entered the ring. Ghost shot him a look.

“Maybe we should just hit the showers eh Cap?” Ghost rubbed your calf, you both knew exactly what he meant and the mental image caused your mind to wander…would all 3 of you even fit? The cubicles were small…you and Price just about fit…would Ghost keep his mask on? Did Ghost wear his mask in the shower? You hadn’t realised Price was talking to you till he snapped his fingers in front of your face.

“I said are you ready kid?” Price cocked his eyebrow at you.

“what? Really? I’ve just had my arse handed to me by him…I don’t need another beat down from you! Can we just all go take a shower?” You sat up, looking up at Price from under your lashes…hopefully the little lost lamb look would soften his big bad wolf stance…it didn’t. The pathetic attempt made Ghost scoff…but you and he knew it would have worked on him. Price was a tougher nut to crack. You stood up.

“If that’s what you want then you better get to work…because we aren’t stopping till you get me pinned to the ground” before you could protest Price was on you like a rash, in two moves he had disabled you completely. Both arms behind your back body bent forward. If you weren’t so pissed off this would have been hot, but you knew he meant business an knew he wasn’t joking about not stopping till you pinned him.

*******

It had been about an hour your breath was ragged, the sweat dripping from you, your body ached from being slammed to the ground numerous times by Price his full weight resting on you each time, he didn’t hold back.

Every sly attempt to seduce him or touch him failed and almost always ended up with you on your arse or in a headlock tapping his arm.

“Can’t flirt your way out of a headlock love!”

“How long can you keep this up? Really?” You crouched taking in the few minutes rest. You watched Price from the corner of your eye he circled you like a predator his breathing was deep, though he didn’t look half as worn out as you did, if anything he looked virile, rejuvenated what was he getting out of this? He crouched in front of you a smirk planted across his face.

“You know me Tank I can go all night…”

His smug words had you grabbing at his arm to attempt a throw but instead he pulled you back into him your back pressed to his chest your own arm locking you in place.

“Nearly…” He chuckled in your ear, he knew it enraged you. He knew you were getting ratty now like a toddler that had been deprived of an afternoon nap. You bucked back into him trying and failing to throw him over. His laugh only get louder.

Ghost was silent in the corner, he had watching in awe as the two of you had fought. Watched as your bodies collided and crashed into one another. He watched as if in slow motion you bare and snap your teeth at Price who only returned the aggression in the form or a smirk. It was like a dance and Ghost wanted to cut in.

“Think she’s had enough Price…she’s getting snappy now…literally” Just as he said it you had sunk your teeth into Prices forearm. He kicked your leg out from under you causing you to drop down releasing his arm from your bite, Price went down with you repositioning himself so your arms were completely locked behind you.

“Im sick of this shit…” you were struggling against him so much you hadn’t even clocked Ghost now crouched in front of you. His ski mask was up.

He leaned in his lips grazing yours. It took you by surprise but you welcomed him in, Price watched as you let Ghost slip his tongue into your mouth. He felt you ease up but he didn’t release his hold. He liked the control. He pulled you back.

“Tell me what you want Tank?” Price was in your ear. You let out a sigh.

“Ghost…” you knew the answer was a risky one, but he had wound you up. Ghost looked at you a little smirk on his face, but he knew Price was in charge here still.

“Is that right?…fair enough…” Price slowly released his hold. You looked back…there must be a catch surely it wasn’t that easy? But not to look a gift horse in the mouth as soon as your hands were free they flew up to Ghost face, your thumbs running just under the edge of his mask testing your limits, his hands came up to rest on yours.

“Easy tiger haha” Ghost watched Price from the corner of his eye, what was he up to? Price jumped out of the ring and made his way over to his jacket pulling out a cigar and lighter. Really?

Ghost turned his attention back to you, he was going to make the most of this “free rein”. He gently pushed you back so you were lay flat pulling your shorts off in one quick move. Your underwear was soaked. It made him feral the thought of you getting off on being thrown around and pinned by you Captain and Lieutenant.

He lowered his head his mouth just a few inches from your centre making you scream internally, his hand kneading your inner thigh he lifted his head slightly to plant little kisses close to where his hand rested in between each kiss you could feel the faint nip of his teeth, as he got close he used his other hand to gently pull your underwear to the side. His warm breath caused your nerves to spark and fizz. The sight of you laid open for him made his mouth water like a sour sweet had been placed under his tongue. He noticed your hand fidgeting in anticipation so decide to lace his fingers with yours, his much larger hand nearly swallowing yours as he did he slowly licked a stripe up your core, savouring your taste, smoked honey mixed with salt…it drove him insane as he licked and sucked at your slit you could feel your eyes rolling to the back of your head, as he pushed two fingers inside, you felt your walls clamping down on him and then came the familiar swell in your stomach. You turned your head locking eyes with Price his face mostly distorted by a cloud of thick cigar smoke, but you could just make out his sharp blue eyes.

The thought of Price watching you pushed you over the edge, he didn’t break eye contact as you came.

“Atta girl�� the sound of praise from Price flooded your system just like his smoke filled your lungs. Even without touching you he could still cause a stir inside. He still had control. Ghost knew this but he didn’t care, he had you laid out, open for him to explore even if he had to share your attention.

He made his way up your body, taking you in as he did. He almost completely covered you, his body a shield. He had you caged underneath him his arm blocking you from Price’s view. He could see you looking for your Captain, but right now here you were under your Lieutenants command.

“Eyes on me…” he whispered as he undid his pants, pulling his cock out the weight of it resting on your opening. You were pinned under him but you watched his eyes as you managed to roll your hips up into him causing the head of his cock to slip over your clit.

“Fucking HELL” his eyes rolled back as you rolled your hips again for another pass. Ghost couldn’t take it anymore he hooked your legs over his thighs pulling you up as he did supporting you from underneath, you instinctively wrapped your arms around his neck. He fisted his cock angling it at your core you were warm an inviting. You looked at him your eyes glossy an wet, you wanted him inside you here an now and you wanted Price to watch him have you. You both looked down to where you were almost joined.

“Ready?” Ghost drew back he knew from last time he had to take it slow allow you to adjust around him.

“Mhmm” you head felt foggy like the smoke from Prices cigar had clouded it. But the feeling of Ghost entering you cleared the fog like a wave, washing it away suddenly all your senses were filled with Ghost, his body heat, his smell cigarettes and mint all filled you up the feeling of his rough hands gripping your arse as you rocked back down onto him. You held on tight pushing yourself into him chest to chest. He could feel your heart racing he wanted you closer needed you closer if he could he would open his chest an keep you there.

His thrusts became rampant, rutting up into you the sounds echoing across the gym. Ghost could feel himself getting close an could tell you were as well by how your walls clung to him reluctant to let him pull out even an inch.

“Cum for me…” he lowered you back down onto the floor of the ring his pace only slowing slightly your legs still wrapped around his waist.

You felt the spring in your stomach coil up tight as Ghost buried his face in your neck.

“Are you gonna be a good girl an cum for your Lieutenant” he growled through gritted teeth into your neck. You turned you head to allow him to get deeper into your clavicle. As your eyes fluttered open you noticed Price was sat closer to the ring slouched and legs spread, cigar still in his mouth puffing away. A smirk on his face was he enjoying this? He knew you were looking for him, knew you needed to know he was watching you. He knew you needed his nod of approval to say you could be a good girl an cum and there it was subtle but it was there. You allowed yourself to fully be devoured by Ghost and swallowed whole, you took all of him in every nerve ending was alight and screaming his name an he knew it he could feel the difference in you, Ghost wanted to give you all of him willed you to take it he only asked for a fraction of you in return as he knew he could never have all of you but for a split second as he glanced down at you he felt like he did.

You both came at the same time you could feel the hot ropes of cum filling you as your bodies eased up. Your panting an moans filled the gym hall. Both trying to catch your breath a haze of lust and body heat surrounded you. Then out of the haze came Prices voice

“Hurry up an hit the showers, you still haven’t pinned me yet Tank…so don’t be thinking we are done for the night…”

[uluvjay]

Just going to casually feed into my own delusions but the boyfriend of a coworker came in today with a big bouquet of flowers for them so could you write something with that for Trevor? 😭🤭 maybe him and the reader are still in that talking stage where they aren’t official yet and he decides to surprise her at her job (possibly working at his moms store)

This is so cute also congrats to your coworker for finding a man like that🥹 I am so sorry I completely missed his moms store part until after I wrote this entire thing🧍🏼‍♀️, if your unhappy just let me know and I would definitely rewrite

Trevor Zegras x business owner! Reader

Warnings?; FLUFF, kisses, slight cursing, lowkey jelly of my own fic..

You looked up as you heard a knock on your office door and one of the girls you work with step in.

“Hey Y/n there’s someone up front with a delivery for you” she notified

“I didn’t see any deliveries on my schedule today” you slightly panicked hoping you didn’t miss something important.

“This one wasn’t scheduled but he says that it’s important” she shrugged with a glint in her eye

“Okay..” you said as you got up to follow her to the front

As you arrived to the desk you saw Trevor standing there with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. You immediately broke out in a deep blush and felt warmth surrounding your heart

You two had only been talking a few months and he was buying you flowers while guys you had spent years with never did.

“Hi” he cheekily greeted with a shy smile

“Hi..what are these?” You asked coming around the counter to stand in front of him

“Oh! Well you said you were having a tough morning so I wanted to bring you flowers to cheer you up” he smiled and pushed them towards you

But his face and heart dropped as he seen tears welling up in your eyes, “oh no are you allergic or something? I’m so sorry I should have as-“ but he got cut off as you pulled his face to yours and kissed him.

You heard a gasp of surprise leave him but he quickly got control of himself and kissed you back.

“I love them Trev, I started crying because nobody has ever done anything this sweet for me before” you told him once you two finally pulled away.

“You scared the shit out of me for a second” he laughed before pulling you into a hug, carful not to squish your flowers.

You two stood there for a second before he jumped back with excitement, “I forgot about the card! Read it”

You looked at him with suspicion before taking the card out of the bouquet and handing it to him so you could open the card.

Tacos and wine at my place tonight? -Z

“That is the weirdest combo I’ve ever seen but yes I would love to have Tacos and wine with you tonight” you giggled and leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“It is not weird!” He defended his choice of food and beverage

“I’ll find out tonight, but I do have to to get back to work” you told him with a small pout

“I’ll see you tonight, go do your boss bitch shit and run your business” he encouraged with a laugh

“Goodbye Trevor” you laughed as you took your flowers and walked back to your office.

-

[whispering-radiance]

| Glow of amber | Chapter [#1]

Word count: [ ~2890 ]

Hello everybody! This is the first story that I’m actually showing to people — so I’m a bit nervous … Although I feel confident about my English, it’s not my first language so there might be some grammatical errors along the way.

I’ve made a post explaining this AU some time ago, you can give it a read if you want to, but I will explain everything in the story eventually.

With that being said, I invite you below

The corridors of Norrisville high were unusually quiet. There was no soul around, not even a single student running late for their classes. Janitor had already done his round around the school, mopping the floor and sweeping dust bunnies under the lockers. Halls remained empty for most of the day, not unless a teacher had to rush to the building to file some important documents or to prepare materials for another school year.

While the other parts of school slumbered, the main hall brimmed with life. As usual, a great Ninja battle had left a great damage on the property, and this time, the repair team was tasked with fixing a considerably huge hole in the wall. But since the school year was ending, there wasn’t a need to do it immediately, so all of the heavy work was left for the vacation period. 

As careful as they wanted to be, they unfortunately caused some small, additional “scratches”. Cement was splattered on few lockers, a bucket of paint rolled all over the floor, a new guy made some mistakes while reading the blueprints and connected water pipes into one big circle, and heavy machines were dragged across the most beautiful thing in the Norrisville highschool, a carp mosaic decorated by strange, yellow gem.

School itself didn’t have anything precious to guard, but the business responsible for the construction team and equipment demanded to hire someone to protect the expensive materials.

It was a bright night and a full moon decorated the sky.

“It’s just you and me, buddy!” A night guard shook his flashlight and locked the back door. He also pinned a card with “Jeremy” written on it.  “Maybe they don’t pay much but after tonight we’ll be able to afford a brand new keyboard!”

He kept talking with his trusty flashlight as he walked down the hallway. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, he made sure to bang on every locker to check for hidden intruders, but he found nothing. Maybe it was for the better, even if it meant the rest of the night being extremely boring.

The sound of his own footsteps was creeping him out. He wished he could at least turn on the big lights and get rid of the uncomfortable darkness, but due to safety and financial reasons, power was cut off for the night.

“Ughhh! This stinks!” He moved his light around him.”I know I’ve said that I’m over my fear of the dark but… Jeez… I will go insane before this shift ends.”

Jeremy glanced at his flashlight again.

“I heard that this school has a glass ceiling” He shook it and made a squeaky voice. “It’s in the main hall! And you know what else is in there? Equipment we have to keep an eye on! How about we just go in there and enjoy our shift under the bright moonlight?”

“Oh buddy!” He smiled. “You always have the best ideas!”

Thanks to the gentle rays of the moon, the Main lobby looked enchanted, despite it being a construction site.  Heavy machines and bags of cement were covered by large blankets, and the hole in the wall was well secured. The whole room seemed very inviting, yet something felt weird. The giant mosaic of golden carp was beautiful, but bathed in moonlight it gave off an eerie energy. Jeremy agreed with his trusty flashlight that they should avoid getting closer to it.

After doing the necessary check up, he lied down on the floor and leaned against a pillar.

“Everything is where it’s supposed to be…Nothing was stolen… no intruders…” He yawned. “Darkness was terrifying but besides that…– Well I didn’t expect this job to be this boring”

His eyelids felt heavy.

“What if I just… take a quick nap…?” He looked around the room one last time.”If there’s no boss around then you can do what you want.”

After just a few minutes, he was drooling on the floor.

“I’ve been stuck here for far too long…”

 A husky voice echoed in his ears. Jeremy’s eyes were quick to open. He didn’t know what he was seeing, but one thing was sure, he wasn’t in the lobby anymore. The amber sky seemed to be stretching for miles. Whatever he was standing on didn’t feel right, on the one hand it was slippery like glass, but at the same time it felt sticky, like if it wanted to trap him.

Jeremy looked around, he wasn’t alone, but he couldn't locate the person he had just heard.   

“I’m alone— All alone!” The voice cried loudly. “What’s the point of keeping me here anymore?! The Sorcerer is gone after all…”

A gigantic shadow of a bird flew just above Jeremy’s head.

“But it’s not about the sorcerer!” Huge bird landed and laughed to itself. “It’s because he hates me. Oh, he wants me here for all eternity!.. To hell with him!”

Demonic creature hit the floor with all its rage. This was enough to make Jeremy fall down and scream out of fear. As he was laying on the floor, slowly sticking more and more, he expected to wake up at any moment. He heard another hellish screech and sound of sharp talons getting closer very quickly.

Jeremy opened his eyes, hoping that he would see the familiar moonlight. But instead he was greeted by a pair of glowing, red eyes analyzing his every movement. The head of the creature was just a skull of a bird with a few blue markings that resembled a warpaint. The bird demon was smiling, sending chills down Jeremy’s spine.

“A visitor…” Its voice echoed through his head. “Tsch, not anyone I know…– How bothersome.”

“I.. I am… I…” Night guard was squeaking like a mouse.”I’m Jeremy! Just a simple guard!”

“I didn’t ask! And frankly I’m not interested in hearing about your pitiful life!” The demon screamed and threw Jeremy back. “I hate humans. You always think of yourself as heroes! Think that your lives are somehow more important than other beings!”

“I don’t consider myself a hero…” He tried to stand up. “I’m nothing compared to our town's savior, the Ninja!”

Creature went silent, and so did the boy. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, everything felt so real that he started questioning if it really was a dream. Bird demon approached him in silence.

“Ah… so he’s a hero.” Its last word came out with a lot of bitterness. “Yes… Hm, yes, it was very heroic of him to slit my throat with his blade, disrespect my body by ripping away my feathers… and then trap my spirit here! Who you call a hero is nothing more than a filthy murderer.”

Jeremy stood confused. 

“From what you’ve said… It sounds like… well… you don’t paint ninja in a good light” He tried pinching himself in order to escape this dream. “I don’t think he would have done all that without a good reason.”

The black shadow of a bird turned into flames, and from them it reformed itself in a much different shape. No longer was it a monster looking down at him, but simply a man. His body was translucent and colored like a bright ember. He was wearing damaged samurai armor, wings dragged behind him like a cape, and in his hand he held a broken blade. His gaze was intense and drilling, but not as wild as in his bird form.

“Did I say something wrong!?” Jeremy was trembling. “I am terribly sorry! I… I know nothing about the ninja… but… I thought he’s an honorable guy!”

“I think this whole conversation started on a wrong note.” Warrior dropped his blade.”Don’t think I’ve changed my mind about humans— my hatred runs deep. But since you’re already here, I think you deserve to learn a few things about your hero.”

“Well… I don’t want to take your time!” He shook his head.”Maybe you can just— wake me up! And I won’t be bothering you anymore!”

The spirit tried his best to give a sincere looking smile.

“You’ll miss out on some valuable knowledge.” He shrugged. “You know, in the past people would do anything to have such a conversation.”

Night guard took a deep breath.

“Then if I may ask… who are you?”

“I’m glad you asked.” His chuckle sounded a bit forced.”People used to call me a Tengu— a bird spirit. I was the greatest swordsman in the land, and a noble one as well. I never declined a duel, not even to a human. I always fought with honor.”

“Why are you here then?”

“Because of the ninja, of course!” Tengu was making circles around the scared boy. “You see, one day he challenged me to a duel. He was confident about his powers, but confidence alone isn’t enough to win. I defeated him and sent him on his way.”

“But…”

“Shhh” He put his finger up.”Some time had passed and I was sure I wouldn’t see him again. Oh but I was wrong— He was furious that I'd managed to defeat him! He came to claim his victory and he was ready to do so at any price!”

“If you’ve beaten him once— then how come you didn’t manage to win again?” Concentrating on Tengu’s story made him stop shaking.

“This time he had a friend.” He clenched his fist. “I don’t know what he had said to that goddess to make her think I was the enemy… But he was successful…He challenged me to an uneven battle. I couldn’t win against someone backed up by a heavenly power…”

Tengu gasped theatrically.

“They imprisoned me here.” He spread his arms.”In a stone they’d called “Eye of Eternities”!”

Jeremy scratched his head.

“This is confusing…” He was trying to analyze the story. “I’m having a hard time believing all this— It was hard for me to believe in ninja… and you’re spitting nonsense about spirits and gods.”

“You humans used to be more spiritual back then.” Tengu frowned. “You may want to argue with me about your beliefs, but you must believe me that it’s all real.”

“First of all, this is a dream!” Jeremy spouted. “This is just a figment of my imagination!”

“Wrong.” Tengu moved his hand towards the orange sky and after a moment it became clear like a window. “There you are. Lying unconscious on the school floor.”

“But— how— this is impossible!”

“Oh well— If you knew anything about spirits, then you’d know that you should be very careful about what you do during the full moon.” Tengu shook his head in disapproval. “For you, it might seem like a dream, but for me, it’s a very real visit.” 

The young night guard wandered lost in his thoughts. Nothing made sense. Things he considered to be just fairy tales were real this whole time. 

“Why didn’t you just attack me?” Jeremy felt like he should have asked this question earlier. 

“If I’ve attacked you, you’d simply wake up…None of us would have gotten anything out of this meeting.” 

Even though the mind of a Tengu was broken after centuries of imprisonment, he knew he should always take the opportunity when it’s there. It’s not everyday that he has a chance to speak with someone. Boy was naive, he noticed it right away. Maybe if he plays his cards right, he’ll be able to make this night interesting.

“Tell me, Jimmy…”

“It’s Jeremy, actually.” He said quietly.

“Whatever…” Tengu said under his nose.”Do you like helping others?”

“Oh I…— I… sure! Who doesn’t?” Jeremy giggled. “I’ve had many bullies during middle school and high school, but no one was kind enough to give me a helping hand…So now I help others in need!”

“Truly amazing…” He ran his hand across his face. “Would you like to help me then?”

Boy stood shocked.

“Me? Help you? But…—“

“You’ve said you help those in need, am I right?”

“Jeez… yes…—“ He tried looking for an excuse. “Well… From what you’ve said… it seems there’s no reason for you to be here… But how am I supposed to help!? I’m just human! And I didn’t even have my 20th birthday yet!”

“Don’t panic and listen.” Tengu grabbed him by his shoulder. “I can’t free myself from the inside, this prison can be open only from the outside.”

“Didn’t you say that this stone was made by a god?” Jeremy was sweating nervously. “Isn’t it like… crazy powerful?”

Tangu looked up.

“Maybe at the beginning, yes” He chuckled. “But nothing is truly eternal. This stone went through a lot and it was even cracked on multiple occasions. I can feel how weak it has become. I don’t think Ninja is needed for the job anymore.”

He smiled mischievously.

“A brute force might be just enough to shatter this prison.”

“You want me to crack the stone?” Jeremy panicked. “But that would be a destruction of property! I’d be punished for it! Oh man— I don’t have money for such a fine.”

“No one will know about it!” He screamed enthusiastically, trying to earn the boy's trust. “After you get me out I will simply fix it! I promise!”

Jeremy looked at Tengu with mixed emotions. 

“All you need is a hammer, or other tool!” Tengu smiled. “It just so happens that the equipment is right there!”

“And what will you do once you get out?”

Spirit turned around, hiding his face from the boy.

“I’ll return home.” He exclaimed. “I miss my mountain…Maybe I’ll even say hi to old friends.”

He felt conflicted. Tengu’s story felt genuine, but despite his reassuring words, he still felt freaked out by the spirit. 

There were several outcomes of this encounter, and he preferred not to know how it would end if he said “no” to him.  

“I’ll try my best…” There wasn’t much confidence in Jeremy’s voice. “Just…– How do I wake up?”

Spirit of the warrior smiled and came closer to the boy.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help you.” Smile disappeared from his face, and he lowered his voice. “I’m counting on you…– Don’t fail me.”

His last words sounded like a threat. But before Jermey was able to  say anything, he felt a powerful punch hit his stomach. He hasn't experienced such pain before. His eyes faded to black.

He was back.

Jeremy jumped up from the floor. He was sweating and breathing quickly, he could feel his heart pounding his chest, like if it was about to break free from the ribs of his body. He tried to calm down but what he just experienced was simply too much. He was scared for his life.

He grabbed his trusty flashlight.

“I’m so glad to see you again!” He screamed. “I’ve had the weirdest dream of my life! There was this giant bird, and then shoosh! He changed into a samurai, and he told me…”

Jeremy turned his head towards the mosaic. The stone was glowing like a warning sign, it was bright enough to light up the whole hall. It was calling him.

“...He told me to break the stone…” He put down his light. “I’m sorry… I think you should just wait here…Close your eyes while we’re at it…”

He took a deep breath and walked towards boxes of equipment. He didn’t want to do this, but what will happen to him if he decides to flee now? Will he be cursed forever? Will his family die? The thought of spirits, or worse, demons, haunting him for the rest of his life was much worse than paying a few bucks for destroying one thing on the property.

A hammer laid heavy in his hand. 

As he was getting closer to the stone, he felt as if the golden carp was judging his every action. It looked angry in the bright moonlight, and the glow of the amber prison made its scales look alive.

Stress was making him gasp for air. He knelt down and lifted his hammer high, ready to strike the stone.

His whole body was shaking.

“Please… let this be over with.” He closed his eyes and struck the stone.

His first hit was met with a lot of resilience, but it didn’t make him stop. On each next hit he was striking it harder and harder, and with each one he could feel the surface cracking.

The light coming from the stone was getting dangerously intense, and after dealing another blow, he was violently thrown across the hall by a strange and powerful force.

Tiny bits of amber scattered across the floor, and the hammer hit the ground with a loud bang. Jeremy tried to pick himself up, but his body was hurting from the fall. 

And then he heard it, a terrifying screech.

If you’ve managed to reach this section, I want to give you my biggest thanks for taking time out of your precious life to give my story a read ♥️♥️

I might not be the best writer, but I enjoy what I do — and besides, there’s always room for improvement

And remember kids, don’t ever trust a Tengu trapped in a magical stone, he’s mad and insanely good at lying