#also one of the things that got thrown at me Friday was to find a video of someone hitting cones and like. i looked through the video of

[andwewerehappy]

i have so much work anxiety this is insane. i hate this job what does it even MATTER

[morganbritton132]

I absolutely love every time other people find something out about Steve and are just like ???

I wonder if any of his student’s parents are fans of Eddie’s but have no idea their kid’s teacher is married to him (perhaps finding out at career day 👀)

I love the thought of some rock n roll dad (aka: the guy in the minivan blaring Rage Against the Machine during morning drop off (aka: aka: my dad)) meeting his kid’s teacher during open house and seeing a picture on his desk of him and guitar legend, Eddie Munson.

Steve’s in the middle of explaining the curriculum for the year when Rock N Roll Dad points to a picture of him and Eddie backstage at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame last year when Eddie presented like, “You like that guy?”

Steve looks from Rock N Roll Dad to the picture and then back, “Yeah, you could say that.”

Then he goes back to talking about what they should expect in terms of homework and that was that until parent/teacher conferences.

The first thing Rock N Roll Dad clocks in the new picture on Steve’s desk. It replaced the Eddie Munson one with a new one of the two of them in the parking lot after a local show. Steve’s got his arm thrown around Eddie’s neck, both of them smiling wide, and Gareth is in the background giving them bunny ears.

Rock N Roll Dad points to the framed picture like, “Pretty cool to have met ‘em.”  

“Yeah,” Steve nods. “It’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.”

Rock N Roll Dad is not gay himself but he is not one of those ultra straight Corroded Coffin fans that liked to pretend that half the band isn’t queer. He was actually watching the MTV Music Awards show that Eddie publicly came out at by declaring his love for some guy named Steve, and actually.

Rock N Roll Dad thought it made a lot of sense that Eddie Munson was gay because well. A lot of his songs were… phallic.

So, he knows.

He knows that Eddie Munson is gay and that he’s married to some guy whose name isn’t even listed on his Wikipedia page, and he knows that he lives in Chicago, but what he doesn’t know is why he never put two and two together and got Steve Harrington.

There’s a different picture of Eddie Munson on Mr. Harrington’s desk when Rock N Roll Dad goes to talk to him after his kid gets detention for being a little shithead. There is framed original concept art for CC’s first album on the wall behind Steve when Rock N Roll Dad checks in on his kid during a zoom study session.

Hell, Rock N Roll Dad follows Eddie on Tiktok.

He has seen the ass shots that Eddie has posted of his husband in his running shorts, and he did think, yeah, that’s a great ass. He didn’t know he was thinking that about his kid’s math teacher!!

It’s not even Career Day when he discovers it. It’s the day before when they can set up their booths in the gym because Rock N Roll Dad may be a heavy metal fan always, but he’s also an accountant from 8:30 to 4:30 Monday thru Friday.

 He’s struggling to keep his poster board up when in walks guitar legend, Eddie Munson. He’s carrying a box, following behind a guy carrying an iguana.

Rock N Roll Dad abandons everything and walks over to the booth across the way. He can hear the two bickering with each other but before he can say anything, Steve Harrington is there and he is distressed, “Why do you have that?!”

“Her name is Leia, Steve,” Dustin says, “and she has separation anxiety.”

Steve opens his mouth like he wants to complain but doesn’t even know where to begin so he just accepts it, “Is she going to eat somebody?”

“That happened one time!”

Eddie Munson, infamous guitarist that lived on Rock N Roll Dad’s walls as a teenager, uses the opportunity to slide up next to Mr. Harrington and wrap an arm around him. He kisses his cheek, “Baby, we’re here to help.”

“You’re here to guilt me into letting you be a part of Career Day.”

“I can multitask, babe,” Eddie grinned, still so close to Steve that his smile touches his cheek. Steve just sags against him and Rock N Roll Dad thinks, oh. He thinks, oh, shit.

“You have a fan,” Steve mumbles, pulling away a little. It takes Rock N Roll Dad a second to realize that they’re talking about him and then he thinks, fuck.

“Hey – Hi. Uh.” He stops, thinks about lying and saying he needs tape or something, but settles on, “I didn’t know my kid’s teacher married you.”

“Technically, I married him.”

“Technically, I married both of you,” Dustin pointed out. “I officiated the wedding.”

“Ah,” Rock N Roll Dad says because what else is there to say. “Big fan.”

“Yeah, I can tell.”

[moonlinos]

Invisible string (pt. II)

♡ Pairing: Lee Minho × fem!reader

♡ Synopsis: Minho is even more determined to make you see the good in love after falling for you, while you’re too preoccupied with thinking you’re not good enough for him.

♡ Genre: A ‘lite version’ of a soulmate AU, fluff, smut, friends to lovers, pining

♡ CW: Explicit sexual content (minors dni!), hand job, fingering, like two seconds of nipple play, slut shaming, swearing

♡ Word count: 13.2k

♡ A/N: I got such a great response on the first part 🥲 thank you to everyone who left feedback. It means a lot more than you realize. I researched what to do on a trip to Japan so extensively just to write this part that I got sad I’ve never traveled there 🫠

← part I ♡ part III →

The night after you and Minho watched the light show, you stayed awake until four in the morning with your roommates as Eunha cried about her ex-boyfriend. You’ve never been the type to hope for someone’s misery, but that guy is deserving of every terrible thing that could happen to him.

After she calmed down, you fell asleep together on the couch. You only managed to check your phone in the morning, finding it thrown on your bed along with your bag. Minho’s string of messages put a smile on your face. You could use the time away from everything, even if it was only for a weekend.

You agreed to his strange invitation without thinking twice. You did, however, insist on paying for your hotel room. Chan was already being far too generous in offering you his place on a trip he had paid for.

Soon enough, two weeks flew by and the Friday of your trip finally arrived.

You’re already waiting outside of your house when Minho’s car arrives. He greets you with a hug, taking your backpack from your hands and placing it on the backseat. He opens the passenger door for you, waits until you’re settled in your seat, and only then closes the door and walks around the car. It’s something he does every time you go out together and it always makes you smile, even though it’s such a minor detail.

“You know, you’re my first friend who can drive,” you comment as he enters the car. “You shot up a lot of spots on my favorite friends’ list just by saving me from taking the bus.”

Minho chuckles. “And here I foolishly thought you liked me for my personality,” he feigns offense, shaking his head. “I actually only know how to drive because of my mom. I was moving to the countryside, and she got really worried I was gonna be stranded there, so she gave me a car when I graduated.”

You raise your brows. “You lived in the countryside?”

“Yep, I moved to Gurye right after graduating high school,” he explains simply, starting the car.

You nod slowly. Truthfully, you wanted to ask more questions but didn’t want to seem intrusive. Minho had never told you a lot about his life before starting university — the only things you know are that he has three cats back home in Gimpo and started college late for some reason. You figure he’s a private person who will hopefully open up to you once he’s ready. You couldn’t blame him either; you also desperately pretended as if your life before university didn’t exist.

As you two sit in the car, moving slowly through the awful Friday night traffic, you feel the familiar thoughts of panic overflow your mind. This trip felt almost romantic; just you and Minho in Japan for an entire weekend. You should be running away from shit like this, should be shutting him out before anything more than friendship blossoms between the two of you.

Your fingers pick on the fabric of your sheer tights, pulling and pinching apprehensively as your mind races. Because, at the end of the day, Minho is still a guy. He’s still capable of breaking your heart in the same ways it was broken before, and maybe even in new ways. He could still cheat on you, fall in love with someone else, treat you like nothing more than an object or a nuisance in his life, wake up one day and simply decide he’s had enough of you.

But he’s also Minho.

Your heart quickly countered every single reason your brain came up with on why you should run away from the situation.

How could Minho, who believes that love doesn’t allow you to hurt the person you love because it feels like you’re hurting yourself, cheat on you?

How could Minho, who told you that love makes it so that you can only see the one you love, fall in love with someone else?

How could Minho, who does stupid romance movie shit like opening car doors and pulling out chairs for you, insisting that he should walk on the street side when you’re together, reading classic novels, learning how to cook so his mom doesn’t have to, all while having three fucking cats, possibly break your heart?

Part of you hates how you have to do mental gymnastics to even consider allowing yourself to feel something more for a guy, but a bigger part knows the hurt that inevitably comes with love isn’t worth it.

You hear a soft chuckle beside you, and you lift your gaze to find Minho smiling at you as you stop at a red light.

“Is that a style thing?” He asks, gesturing toward your thighs with a nod. You furrow your brows. The light turns green, and his attention is back on the road, a grin spread across his lips. “Ripping holes in your tights. Is that a style thing?”

You look down toward your legs and grimace as you realize you had mindlessly torn two holes in your tights while overthinking. You mentally curse yourself.

“I’m cold,” you lie with an awkward giggle. “Was trying to warm myself up.”

Minho hums, stepping on the brakes as you encounter another traffic jam. He unbuckles his seat belt, turns his body toward the back seat, and retrieves his jacket before draping it over your thighs. He shoots you a small smile and turns his attention back toward the road.

The side of your brain that was against Minho and anything romantic with him just a few moments ago is completely swallowed up, dissipating as you ultimately admit to yourself that you don’t hate the prospect of this being a romantic trip as long as it’s with him.

God, you really don’t hate it one bit.

You two finally arrive at the airport just in time to board your flight with no issues. You’re not big on flying, but the flight is just a little over two hours, and Minho is such a calming presence next to you. He quietly read you some harlequin romance he picked up at the airport bookstore, and you two laughed a bit too loudly at the over-the-top plot and theatrical writing. The two of you were taken aback as the book turned out to be erotica, but hearing Minho dramatically read to you in a whisper about the hunky love interest and his manhood made you laugh until tears formed in your eyes.

After that, you two somehow end up talking about your lives back home. Minho shares how he always cooks Christmas dinner for his family, and his favorite part of the night is always the praises his grandmother throws his way. He explains that although he started cooking simply to help his mother, he found that he genuinely enjoyed it. He said he missed doing it every day, having stopped because his roommates had begun treating him as nothing more than a personal cook. You listen to his every word with a smile on your face that you can’t hide. It feels like he’s slowly opening up more to you about his life outside of university, and even something as small as this detail about his home life makes you feel closer to him.

The flight is so pleasant that you only realize you’ve landed once you see Minho unbuckling his seat belt.

You two take an Uber to the hotel, arriving in thirty minutes — you insist on paying since you’re basically here for free. You stare out the car window in awe the entire ride, Minho fondly laughing at your amazement.

As you arrive, you struggle with your backpack, pulling it out of the backseat with such force you would have fallen backward had it not been for Minho’s hands holding your shoulders. He asks if you’re okay with a chuckle, and you groan about how heavy your backpack is. Packing light wasn’t your forte.

As you two walk toward the hotel entrance, the weight on your shoulders disappears suddenly. You furrow your brows and look behind you. Minho had nonchalantly picked your backpack up by the handle and lifted it off your shoulders, carrying all the weight in his arms. You bite back a smile, murmuring a thank you. He just nods, like he hasn’t just done yet another thing you thought only happened in books written by women.

You feel that damn pinwheel return to your chest, making you feel a kind of thrill that you haven’t felt in a while. A good kind.

The hotel is relatively small, clearly on the cheap side, although it’s still quite charming. Minho mutters an apology as he catches you looking around the place.

“It was the only place I could afford being a broke college student,” He explains with a sheepish chuckle, and you shake your head.

“It’s lovely. I’m so happy to be here, I think I wouldn’t mind sleeping on the floor.”

Minho is the one who checks you in, speaking in near-perfect Japanese to the front desk clerk. You focus on the wood chipping on the table and bite the inside of your cheek as you inwardly berate yourself for finding it so damn attractive. It was different from your classes or your small study sessions. You had never truly grasped just how good Minho was until right now. You didn’t understand a word he said. All you know is that he sounded too sexy for his own good while saying it.

Minho hands you the key and tells you the room number, and you finally make your way up the stairs. He walks beside you the whole way, and you wonder if his room is on the same floor as yours or if he’s just doing this so he can hold your backpack off your shoulders.

As you reach your room on the third floor, he stops you before you can insert the key into the door.

“Before you go inside…” He trails off, pursing his lips before letting out a sigh. “I — we could only afford to pay for one room, so this is actually our room.”

Your eyes widen for a second before you nod slowly. “Oh. It’s… okay,” you assure him, although there’s very little confidence in your voice. The prospect of sharing a bed with Minho makes you nervous, but not for the reasons you thought it would.

“There are two beds! Of course,” He assures you, and you mentally slap yourself on the forehead for feeling disappointed at this information.

It’s because you’ve exclusively been having sex with Hyunjin for so long, you reason with yourself. Your hormones must be making you stupid, making you want something more with someone else who isn’t him.

Yeah, that’s it.

Minho’s your friend, after all. It wouldn’t make sense for you to want anything more with him.

It’s just your stupid hormones.

You turn the key and open the door, stepping inside the tiny room with Minho. The two beds were so close together due to the room size that they might as well be just one. The only other piece of furniture is a bedside table, which basically connects the two beds.

It’s only once you slide your backpack straps off your shoulders that Minho lets go of the handle, and you toss it on the plain white sheets of the bed to your right by the bathroom door.

Feeling a chill run through your body, you let out a groan. The heater in your room is clearly not the best.

“Tights and a skirt weren’t the right choice for this weather. This shitty heater also isn’t helping,” you grumble.

Minho chuckles behind you, and you hear the sound of the bed springs as he all but throws himself onto the bed. “Poking holes in your tights probably didn’t help either,” he jokes, and you force out a chuckle.

It seems you chose today to act like a complete idiot.

You excuse yourself to the bathroom to change into your warm sleep clothes. The first thing you notice as you walk out into the room again is Minho’s bright orange sweater with a cat knitted on the front. He’s lying down, his back resting on the wall since the beds don’t have a headboard, and the color of his sweater might be a bit offensive to the eyes, but it’s quickly forgiven once you take in the kitten adorning the fabric.

You giggle, and he looks up from his phone, his eyes meeting yours.

“Your sweater is really cute,” you tell him as you sit down in your bed, crossing your legs in an attempt to warm yourself a bit more.

Minho grins. “I know,” He says smugly, “It reminds me of two of my cats because of the color.”

“You know,” you hummed, “You never showed me any pictures of your cats.”

You watch as his eyes light up at your words. He locks his phone before quickly turning it to face you, showing you his wallpaper. Your lips stretch into a fond smile as you analyze the picture: Minho holding an orange and white cat close to his face with a grin, a butterfly filter cutely adorning his nose.

“This is Soonie, he’s the first cat I got,” He explains, turning his head so he could look at the screen as well, “I was thirteen when I adopted him, and I remember begging my parents for almost three months until they agreed. In the end, they loved him so much they allowed me to adopt another one.”

Minho unlocks his phone and opens his gallery, flipping through his pictures like it’s the most normal thing in the world. You purse your lips. It feels like you’re intruding, even though he’s the one who hasn’t moved the screen an inch. You couldn’t think of one person you’d trust enough to so freely view every single picture you had on your phone like this. Minho really was something else.

Most of his gallery is composed of blurry food pictures mixed with pages and covers of books and computer screens filled with codes. Until he reaches a point — before he started university, you assume — where the only thing you can see is pictures of cats.

He stops scrolling and clicks a picture of the same orange cat, this time wearing glasses and a hat. You snort because, of course he dresses his cats in clothes.

“Soonie is adorable,” you beam. Minho furrows his brows and shakes his head, looking at you like he’s offended.

“This is Doongie,” he states like it’s obvious, “The second cat I adopted.”

Your brows furrow as well. “Minho, that’s the same cat.”

He clicks his tongue, closing the picture and scrolling before opening another one; two orange and white cats lay together on a cat tree. Your lips fall open.

“See? This one is Soonie, he has a white nose. And this one is Doongie, his nose is orange,” He explains, and you nod, knowing full well you’d be dead if your life depended on distinguishing these two cats. “Doongie is the middle child, so he’s more temperamental.”

You stifle a giggle at him talking about his cats like they’re his children, much like you do.

He closes the picture once again and scrolls down further. His fingers hover over a picture for a couple of seconds, like he’s hesitating before he ultimately opens it. The screen fills with the image of a younger Minho smiling while holding a gray cat. His wire-frame glasses were round, unlike his current ones, and his black hair used to be shorter. The picture has clearly been cropped, only half of the cat’s body still visible.

“This is Dori. He’s the last cat I got, and he’s actually the only one I call my son.” He lets out a breathy chuckle. “I adopted him with my ex-girlfriend. She wanted a dog, but I fell in love with Dori as soon as I laid eyes on him on the website, so she had no choice but to accept him.”

You watch as he smiles at the picture and the memory. You absentmindedly fiddle with your fingers on your lap, an all too familiar ugly feeling bubbling inside you. Jealousy. Not because Minho mentioned a girlfriend — you wish it was as simple as that. Jealousy consumed you when you were forced to face the reality that people have healthy relationships, where one partner sacrifices their own desires just to please their loved one. Where you make plans to adopt a kitten together just so you can call it your son. You know damn well you were never even close to having something even remotely similar to that.

You shake the feeling off, forcing out a smile. “He’s really cute,” you tell Minho, “And he’s my favorite, ‘cause at least I can tell him apart from the other two.”

Minho chuckles, scrunching his nose as he locks his phone and rests it on his thigh.

  You two settle into bed after Minho walked you through the day he and Chan had planned for tomorrow. He had organized everything neatly in a travel planning app — from where you would be going down to an estimate of how much you would be spending. You always preferred roughly planning things out mentally whenever you traveled, mostly enjoying going with the flow.

Among all your coincidentally similar little incidents, you finally found something in which you two are complete opposites.

That should, in theory, annoy you, but you can’t help but find his meticulousness endearing. You can just picture him searching tirelessly online, crunching numbers and jotting everything down. The image is too adorable for you to be mad.

“Guess we finally found somewhere we’re different,” you mention with a smile as you tuck yourself into your sheets. Minho remains sitting on his bed, putting his glasses on their case.

He hums. “Rather than different, maybe we just complement each other in this case? You hate organizing, and I fucking love to do it, as you just saw,” he chuckles, “We’d be a great team. I plan everything, and all you have to do is show up.”

You nod with a smile, going over the places he chose in your head. You were excited for all but one: the very first one on the list, Inokashira Park.

“You know,” you start with a sigh, Minho’s eyes finding yours in the dimly lit room. “I never talk about this, but I weirdly feel like I can tell you anything. Nobody from our friend group knows this but…” you trail off, gripping the scratchy fabric of the comforter. “One of my ex-boyfriends cheated on me during a family trip to Japan when I was seventeen. I found out ‘cause the girl he hooked up with tagged him in pictures on Instagram. They were together in Inokashira Park.”

Minho hums, his eyes studying your face. After a beat of silence, he shrugs.

“We can skip that if you want to. I just—” He purses his lips, shifting on the mattress. “I just don’t think you should deprive yourself of the experience just because of a bad memory. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

You nod, taking in his words. He was right. You were positive none of your exes ever deprived themselves of going back to places where they cheated on you, so why should you? They were the ones in the wrong, the ones who hurt and betrayed you, so why should you be the one to bear the trauma?

Minho rests his back against the wall, playing with the drawstrings of his sweatpants. “Is that why you don’t believe in love anymore? Don’t feel like you have to answer! I just… I wondered…” He faltered, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. “I wondered what could have happened to make you feel that way.”

“Well, that was just one of five times when love proved to kind of hate my guts,” you chuckle. You didn’t understand why, but the words you held back for so long were bubbling at your throat, ready to spill out. And you were willing to let them. Even if only to a certain extent, you were ready to talk about this pathetic side of your life. You would rationalize it all later. Right now, you simply wanted to talk.

“I’ve had five boyfriends in my life, and they were all terrible in some way. I know, it’s a lot of relationships considering my age.” You scrunch up your face, cringing when you voice out the number.

Minho chuckles, and you’re ready for him to agree.

“It’s really not. There’s no right or wrong number of people to date during your teenage years or your twenties.” You open your eyes to find him leaning on his side, looking at you dismissively. “Some people date more, some date less, some people don’t even date at all. Either way, it’s fine.”

Your lips open and close, then open again. You had always expected people’s reactions to be the same as the ones you heard during high school. From your classmates to your ex-boyfriends, even your friends at the time, they all seemed to be in unanimous agreement that you were at fault for having dated so much in such a brief period. You never thought that maybe people with different opinions existed. And that, maybe, those people would be the ones who you care the most about.

Thinking about it now, after hearing Minho’s words, you were certain neither Eunha nor Soojung — or any of your friends, for that matter — would ever think badly about you or shame you simply because you’ve had five boyfriends. It seemed silly even to think that way now.

It was sad how much your teenage traumas undeniably affected your perception of reality.

Minho is the one to break the silence, his soft voice pulling you away from your thoughts.

“I’m sorry that happened to you. I promise you, the memories we make on this trip will be good enough that they override this lousy one,” he vows with a small nod. “And, more than ever before, I truly hope I can change your view of love.”

You smile at his words. “I surprisingly feel my thoughts about many things changing. Love is one of them.”

“I’m glad,” he hums, finally slipping under his covers. “Y’know, love isn’t only romantic. You say you’re closed off to love, that’s really a lie,” he states matter-of-factly, a smug grin spreading across his lips. You bite back a smile and raise your eyebrows at him. He continues, “The love you feel for your family and your friends, platonic love, that’s also love. I’ve been around you long enough to know just how much you love your friends.”

To say you loved your friends almost didn’t seem sufficient. After graduating high school, you left behind all the judgmental and toxic friends you had. You are immensely grateful to have found such good people at university. Eunha and Soojung were the housemates of your dreams, the three of you so different that it truthfully shouldn’t work, but it simply did. Hyunjin becoming your best friend was also a surprise; he was younger than you, and you had never been friends with a guy before — in part thanks to your jealous boyfriends — but he carved out a space for himself in your life and refused to leave. And you were so thankful for that.

And then there was Minho, who had come out of the blue into your life and just as suddenly became such an important person to you. From the way you two first met to your little similarities and how well you got along in such a short time, it was as if fate pulled you toward him.

You smile.

“I do love them,” you tell him, fiddling with your fingers under the white comforter. “And I love you, too, Minho. You’re my friend, after all. In a way, you’re already succeeding in changing my view of love just by being you.”

Minho’s eyes blink rapidly as he looks at you, his parted lips making him look like a confused child before they close. He hums, nodding as a small smile spreads on his lips, which quickly grows bigger and bigger until he’s basically giggling. He hides his face behind his hand, clearing his throat. You feel warmth spread across your chest at the sight. You’re sure if the lights were brighter, you’d be able to see his ears turning red.

You shake your head with a chuckle. The mood has suddenly become a bit too emotional, and you still find yourself running away from these things. However, you were proud of your progress tonight. Talking about love and your past — especially regarding your ex-boyfriends — was already a huge step for you.

You hope Minho knows he’s part of the reason you’re able to take this step in the first place.

“Okay, your turn.” You sit up on the bed, the white comforter pooling on your lap. “I’m curious too, y’know. You’re such a love enthusiast,” you tease him with a grin, earning you a chuckle from Minho, who throws his head back. “Tell me about your romantic experiences.”

He mirrors you and sits up on his bed. “Experience. I’ve only had one girlfriend,” he corrects you, “We met on the first day of high school and began dating the year after that, when we were sixteen. We were together until I was just about to turn twenty-one, so…” he trails off with a deep sigh. “Yeah, it was quite the long first relationship.”

“My five relationships combined didn’t last as long as that.” You click your tongue, and Minho lets out a breathy laugh. “Why did you two break up after being together for so long?” You blurt out before you can process the words inside your head. Annoyed with your own self, you scrunch up your face. You really chose today to be an idiot. “If that’s okay for me to ask! Sorry for being nosy, I’m just— I guess I’m curious.”

Minho smiles at you, a fond smile he always shoots your way whenever you are word-vomiting. Much like your other friends, he had quickly adapted to your habit of spilling out words before thinking about them.

“It’s a bit of a long story. Basically, she wanted a quiet and simple life in the countryside, so I did that for her,” he explains, shrugging dismissively. So that was the reason he had moved to Gurye after finishing school. “I began saving up money at eighteen with my job at the convenience store while she gave piano lessons to the kids in our neighborhood, and we moved on her twentieth birthday. I figured I could just do programming jobs from home, anyway, so I completely gave up on my plans to attend university…” Minho trails off, his voice all but a whisper at the end of the sentence. He shakes his head, a bitter chuckle leaving his lips as he continues, “I kind of wanna kick myself in the face for that now. It fucking sucks to have started university so late, but it was my own decision. I guess you say stupid shit when you’re nervous, and I do stupid shit when I’m in love.”

You had never met someone who would abandon so much of themselves for the person they loved. It made Minho even more admirable to you. However, even though it was his own decision, he clearly came to regret it. People often say love is all about compromises, and you couldn’t help but feel like Minho had been the only one to give up anything in this scenario.

“Were your parents okay with you two making such a drastic move?” You question, your curiosity bubbling inside your chest.

Minho scoffs. “Of course they weren’t. Especially my dad. But we were nearing our twenties, so there wasn’t much they could do to stop us.”

He drums his fingers on his thighs, and you wonder if this subject brought back sour memories — or maybe even good ones he just didn’t like remembering because they had become part of the past. You want to tell him it’s okay if he doesn’t want to talk about it any longer, but he’s continuing his story before you can speak.

“We adopted Dori and left a week later. We were pretty much broke. All we could afford was a small cottage that hadn’t been renovated in over a decade, but we were happy,” Minho’s voice is soft as he speaks, a smile forming on his lips as he stares ahead, almost as if he’s reliving those moments in his head. “We talked about growing old together and raising our kids in that cottage. And we — god, looking back, this was so stupid it’s fucking funny,” He chuckled, shaking his head and raising his gaze to meet yours. “We were actually trying to get pregnant. We barely had money to feed Dori and ourselves, yet it still crushed us every time that test read negative.”

You feel your expression change, a blend of astonishment and admiration washing over you. They must’ve truly been in love. You felt a slight pang of hurt and envy run through your body; it truly was so easy for other people when it came to love.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” you lament, although you’re not sure if you’re talking about the pregnancy or the entire relationship.

Minho shakes his head, scrunching his nose. “Don’t feel bad, it was a blessing in disguise. I can’t imagine how the fuck we would ever manage to raise a baby at that time.”

“It seems like you two had the perfect relationship.” You force out a smile, waging war against your bitter jealousy.

“It was perfect, until it wasn’t,” Minho shrugs dismissively, “We began to fight a lot after a while. Haneul would always get upset at me for not doing things the way she thought I should do them, down to replying in a way that didn’t fit with what she had hoped I would say. And I was the same, always getting frustrated when she disagreed with me, even if it was about something silly like what to have for dinner. We used to be able to talk it out and come to an agreement in the past — it wasn’t for nothing that we were together for so long — but being in that little cottage, just us two all the time, it became suffocating.”

“Is that why you two broke up?”

Minho nods. “We realized we were merely playing house. Neither of us was happy anymore,” he explains, a soft laugh escaping his lips. “It was like we each had a script inside our heads of what the other should say or how they should act. It wasn’t healthy anymore, so we mutually decided to end things before they got worse.”

Your fingers fiddle with a loose thread on the white cover. You had always been envious of this type of relationship, but you never thought to think about the fact that they can also come to an end. It always seemed to you that your relationships never worked because they weren’t perfect, like the relationships you saw in books or movies — like the one Minho had described with his ex-girlfriend.

You never once rationalized that even perfect things can ebb away. That nothing lasts forever, even if it seems utterly ideal.

“I know how terrible breakups are,” you tell him. “I can only imagine how much worse it must’ve been to you two after so many years together.”

Minho shakes his head with a smile. “I never really felt hurt by it. It was such a perfect breakup she even let me keep Dori without going through a custody battle,” he jokes, raising his eyebrows at you.

“How can it not have hurt you?” You let out an incredulous laugh. “You were in love, planning to start a family, and you tell me it didn’t hurt when it ended? That’s bullshit, Minho.”

He looks up at the ceiling, like he’s trying to find the words to explain to you. He hums. “Well, I loved Haneul. I loved her so very much, with every fiber of my being. She was my first love. My mom once said we were probably a couple in another life as well, and I fucking loved that,” He chuckles, “The idea that someone was destined for me and I was destined for them, that we were fated to find each other and be together across lifetimes.”

“Like soulmates?” You ask.

He nods. “Soulmates, yes. That’s what we were. And, after we broke up, I realized maybe people’s understanding of soulmates is wrong. At least to me,” He shrugs.

You let out a chuckle. He really turned a terrible situation into a chance to reevaluate his beliefs. It was the most Minho thing you had ever heard.

“How are people understanding it wrong, then?” You question him, resting your chin on the palm of your hand and looking at him. Minho mirrors your actions, a grin etched onto his lips. 

“Well, for starters, you can have many soulmates in one lifetime.” You furrow your brows, opening your mouth to ask him more questions, but he quickly adds, “For example, Haneul was my soulmate and there’s no doubt about it in my mind. But it ended, because it was time for it to end. I learned everything I had to learn with her, and she did the same. We couldn’t grow together anymore, so there was no point in staying together.”

Biting your lip, you nod. “I never thought of it that way. You ask anyone and they’ll tell you that a soulmate is unique.”

“It may be so to some people, but I find that way of thinking a bit unfair,” he shrugs. “Haneul found someone new. Wouldn’t it be unfair for me to say her new relationship is inferior to ours simply because we were soulmates? We were soulmates, but our time to be together has passed and she’s with the soulmate she’s supposed to be right now.”

You hum, tapping your fingers against your cheek. “I guess it does make sense.”

He shrugs, feigning smugness. “I am quite the smart man.”

“What about you?” You question, smiling at him, “Have you ever found a new soulmate after that relationship?”

Minho clears his throat, his gaze shifting to look at where his sock-clad feet poked out from underneath the comforter. You could swear you see a tiny smile on his lips.

“I think I did,” He answers with a questioning lilt. “There were some signs, and a lot of things that aligned.” His gaze lifts once more to meet your eyes as he continues, “Makes me think maybe I’ve found her.”

As you take in his words, jealousy rears its ugly head, the feeling almost swallowing you whole. You gnaw on your bottom lip. The way Minho made you feel at times was questionable at best, but you chalk it all up to your jealous nature. You’d always gotten jealous when your friends found new friendships or when they started relationships.

However, that feeling was a bit different from the one currently making you want to bite your lip until it bled out of sheer and petty jealousy.

You let out a heavy sigh, pushing all those thoughts into a neat little box inside your head and locking them up.

“You’re really lucky,” you tell him, and Minho cocks an eyebrow. “That’s why you think love can only be good, because your only experience with it was long-lasting and good until the very end. I’d much rather have love fizzle out than have it end in a way that ended me as well. That’s how it’s always been with me, and I guess that’s why I came to hate love a little bit.”

Minho smiles at you, a genuine smile that reaches his brown eyes. “Well, sometimes love lasts forever,” he asserts, “So you shouldn’t think about how it’s going to end.”

You can feel the pinwheel inside your chest spinning, causing your heart to skip a beat and your cheeks to blush pink. Forcing out a chuckle, you lie on your bed and pull the covers up to your nose.

“You’re back to your hopeless romantic ways.”

“I never stopped,” He corrects you. He lies down as well, facing you, his hand reaching out to turn off the lamp that sat on the bedside table. “Even when I thought you had a boyfriend,” Minho continues, “I was still able to be a hopeless romantic.”

You feel your eyes widen at his words, thanking the darkness that covers you both as confusion and shock swim in your eyes. Did Minho subtly admit he liked you? Were you reading too much into things? Why did this not scare you? It should scare you, should make you terrified, as this is the very thing you’ve been running away from.

You were probably over-analyzing his words.

But why did you hope that wasn’t the case?

The two of you wake up early, hitting the streets of Tokyo immediately after getting dressed. Minho’s list definitely made things easier, with you two hopping from place to place before crossing them out one by one on his phone. Your favorite so far had been the cat café you two went to for breakfast, where you spent the entire hour watching Minho petting and playing with the kittens, the smile on your lips so fond that it probably made you look stupid.

But as you walk around Inokashira Park, that quickly drops to second place on your mental list. It was a beautiful place, especially in the late afternoon sun. As soon as you arrived, Minho took your hand in his without a word. It was unexpected, to say the least, but you were even more surprised to find yourself liking the gesture. You squeezed his hand, smiling at him, before lacing your fingers together.

Your heart was racing so fast you were certain that damn pinwheel brought along a friend today.

After walking around for a bit, Minho abruptly stopped, letting go of your hand and moving to stand behind you. You furrowed your brows as his hands came to cover your eyes. With his lips incredibly close to your ears, he whispered, “I have a surprise. It’s a place that wasn’t on the list. A museum I think you’ll like.”

You felt goosebumps rise all over your body at the sound of his low voice coupled with his breath tickling your skin. You silently thanked the cold weather — had you not been wearing long sleeves, Minho would have seen the effect he had on you, and you would’ve had no other choice but to throw yourself in front of a taxi on the way back to the hotel.

The two of you waddled awkwardly, Minho still standing behind you with his hands over your eyes. He giggled the whole way to your destination. You were too immersed in not focusing on how his body brushed up against yours with every step you took to even think about laughing.

His broad chest so warm against your back, his arms wrapped around you, his lips grazing your neck once as he bent down to whisper something about the museum being just around the corner, and his lower body continuously brushing and rubbing against your ass as you two walked. You had to fight the urge to push your body against his every time that happened, wondering if that would be enough to get him hard.

After Minho’s supposed confession last night, your mind had truly thrown every bit of worry and shame you felt about being attracted to him out the window.

It felt almost liberating, being able to say fuck it and simply feel.

So you were attracted to Minho; why should it be a big deal? You shouldn't deprive yourself of these silly experiences just because love scares you.

Maybe being scared was okay sometimes. Maybe it was worth it for the right people.

Just as your mind was running wild with thoughts of Minho’s body pressed up against yours, his voice whispered in your ear again. You had arrived, he announced, removing his hands from your eyes.

As your eyes adjusted to the light, you made out the words on a wooden sign before you. Minho had taken you to the Ghibli Museum. Before you could stop yourself, you were throwing your arms around his neck with a gasp.

You could just kiss him at that moment. That was how happy you were.

After walking around the museum with a smile engraved onto your lips, your cheeks hurt in the best way possible. Minho hurried you as you looked through the overly expensive gift shop, reminding you that the swan paddle boats would be closing soon. You whined but ultimately had no choice but to leave the shop as he grabbed your hand and pulled you toward the exit. Mourning the loss of a Soot Sprite plush perfect for your collection, you grumbled to Minho about how he had no heart as you two ran across the park.

You made it just in time, being the last ones in line on the pier. Minho insisted on paying for your tickets, and you agreed only after he explained it would be your compensation for the loss of your precious plushie.

And now you sit beside him on a swan paddle boat, failing miserably at containing your giggles as Minho adjusts his life jacket.

“You know,” He starts with a dramatic sigh, “You’re not gonna be laughing if we crash and you drown.”

You poke his arm, making him look at you just as a smile spreads across his lips. “I’m only laughing ‘cause you look real cute.”

You begin to paddle, and it is surprisingly easy — especially because Minho is the one guiding the boat with a steering wheel. The scenery is quite dull because of the cold season, with most trees already bare of leaves and the sky a blend of pale blue and white.

“I wish it was spring,” Minho speaks beside you as if he’s read your thoughts. “The cherry blossoms are fucking gorgeous.”

You look over at him, his eyes fixed ahead as he steers the boat around the pond. His glasses reflect the pale sky and obscure his eyes, but you’re sure he’s blinking rapidly like he usually does whenever he’s focused.

“Did you come here with your ex-girlfriend in spring?” You blurt out.

Minho’s lips stretch into a grin as he turns to face you.

“No,” he answers simply. “But I want to come with you.”

It’s only then you realize he had been doing most of the work paddling, as he easily controls the speed at which the boat glides across the water, slowing down until you two are stopped at the edge of the pond.

Your mind races, but not as hard as your heart does.

“With me?”

“With you.”

His eyes are fixed on yours, and his left hand grips the steering wheel tightly. You part your lips, but only silence is stuck in your throat. Drawing yourself out of the impromptu staring contest the two of you had gotten into, your eyes shift down to stare at your purse which lay across your lap.

You softly utter the only two words your mind can conjure up. “Why me?”

“Because I like you,” Minho’s voice is also quiet. You hear him shuffling beside you, turning his body so he fully faces you. “I know you’re scared, and you feel like you’re protecting yourself, but I’m—” He cuts himself off abruptly, and your eyes shoot up to find him biting his lip, his brows furrowed. He lets out a sigh. “I like you so much I think I might implode if I do nothing about it.”

Your breath hitched audibly. There is still a part of you that’s screaming out run away, this is terrifying, you’re on your way to another heart-wrenching breakup — but that part has become so minuscule, so insignificant now, it feels like nothing but muffled background noise inside your head. Because a much bigger part of you is begging for you to just say, “Then do something about it.”

And he does.

Minho’s hand leaves the wheel and gingerly touches your cheek, his thumb brushing against your skin before he closes the distance between you. It isn’t the first time you kiss Minho, but it is certainly the first time your entire being is fully enveloped in only him; from the way his slightly chapped lips still felt so soft against your own to how his strong hand finds your waist and pulls you closer to him.

And his taste. Minho coaxes your mouth open with his tongue and licks into it, your senses being taken over by the taste of the watermelon candy he’d been eating all day until you’re positively drunk on him. Your heart racing and your hands shaking like a teenager having their first kiss.

You go to grab his shirt, desperate to pull him even closer to you, but your hands collide with the damn life jacket he’s wearing. You whine into the kiss, annoyed, and Minho only chuckles against your lips. He bites your lower lip, pulling softly before releasing it and pressing another kiss to your pout.

“I take back what I said, the life jacket isn’t cute,” you mumble against his lips. His smile grows, and his lips crash against yours again, his hands tangling in your hair.

He groans into the kiss, barely pulling away before whispering, “Don’t wanna stop kissing you.”

You hum. “Well, you can kiss me anytime now.”

Minho’s lips spread into a grin, and he closes the small distance between you for one last kiss before he pulls away, your noses brushing. His eyes are dark yet soft, as if longing and affection had melted together.

“I want to be with you,” He says, “But I want you to think about it before you say anything because I know how scared you are of love. And if by the end of our trip I haven’t given you enough reasons to give me a chance, I’ll let you go and move on with my life. If you want to stay friends, I’ll happily do that. And if you never want to see me again, I’ll also respect that.”

Your heart swells with his words because Minho is the complete antithesis of everything your ex-boyfriends taught you that men were.

And, for the first time in so long, you feel the kind of nervousness that’s nothing but good. The kind that leaves you with trembling hands, a racing heart, and a dizzy head. The kind that only love can provide.

Despite his request, you’re eager to answer him right then and there, but just as you’re about to speak, the sky roars and dark clouds gather above. You jump in your seat at the sound, and Minho’s hands instinctively wrap around your shoulders and squeeze. You smile, simply nodding your head and giving his lips a small kiss.

Minho struggles a bit, but he’s eventually able to turn the paddle boat around, and you two begin to paddle back toward the pier. The light rain quickly becomes heavy raindrops drumming on the roof of the boat, and you dread the walk back to the hotel as neither of you thought to bring an umbrella.

“Y'know,” Minho starts. “There’s a myth here in Japan that says if you ride this boat with a girlfriend, then you’ll break up soon. I kinda always believed that.”

You let out a chuckle. “Really?”

He hums, nodding his head. “So I’m choosing to also believe that if you ride it with someone you like, they will become your girlfriend soon.”

Minho turns to look at you with a smile as you stop at the pier, removing his life jacket and exiting the boat without another word. You bite the inside of your cheek in a failed attempt at holding back a smile. Minho helps you out of the boat, his hand taking yours and pulling you toward him gently.

You two run back to the hotel, Minho holding you close to him with his hand around your waist. The streets are mostly empty as people squeeze under bus stops and shop awnings to shelter from the rain, and it almost feels like you and Minho are the only people in Tokyo that night.

You two giggle the whole way to the hotel. Even when you are struck with the realization that the power has shut off on the entire street upon arriving, you simply turn to each other and laugh even more.

You clumsily manage to take a brief shower in the darkness, changing into your sleep clothes as quickly as you can. You realize with a grimace that if your room was cold before, with the shitty hotel heater on, it’s basically turned into an icebox now.

Wrapping yourself up in your comforter, you shiver with a groan just as Minho walks out of the bathroom.

“Bet you miss that shitty heater now, huh?” He jokes, and you faintly make out his silhouette in the dim light of the moon coming from the window.

You let out another groan. “I'm gonna freeze to death tonight. I've made peace with that. Thaw me with a hairdryer in the morning, please.”

Minho chuckles, sitting on his bed as he checks his phone. You make out his features in the moonlight coming from the window, and he’s wearing another sweater, black with more cats printed on it.

Such a cozy, warm-looking sweater. You curse yourself inwardly for only packing t-shirts to sleep.

As he locks his phone, an idea hits you, and your words are faster than your thoughts — as they always seem to be whenever you’re around Minho.

“Can I lay with you for a bit?” You ask, “Just for a bit, until I get warm? My bed is right under this damn window, and I don’t have any sweaters I can sleep in, and I know I joked about making peace with freezing but—”

Minho cuts you off by calling out your name with a chuckle. “It's okay. You don’t need to make up a thousand excuses. I'm cold, too,” He says simply, scooting to the side to make room for you in his bed. “Come here.”

You smile, ripping the covers from your body quickly like a band-aid and all but jumping from your mattress to his. Minho instructs you to lie on the left side of the bed, facing the wall. You furrow your brows.

“Why?”

He shrugs. “It’s like the sidewalk thing. So I can protect you if a serial killer comes into our room.”

“Oh, so a serial killer’s gonna come into our room?” You ask, a teasing lilt in your voice as you scoot on the bed and slip under the comforter. 

“Well, I—” Minho stammers, pausing with a sigh. He removes his glasses and places them on the bedside table before he continues, “I don’t know, okay? I just… wanna take care of you in every way possible. Even in this weird scenario that my mind made up.”

His words slip out of his lips quickly, much like yours do when you’re nervous and can’t make yourself stop talking. You wonder if your habit is rubbing off on him, and you can’t help but smile.

As Minho settles into bed, you feel your body stiffen up. The two of you lay on your backs next to each other in the cramped bed, and you feel like you can’t move. Hyunjin was the first guy you ever slept next to, and even then, it was after you two had already had sex, so there was no room for feeling awkward. With Minho, everything feels so new. If kissing him had made your hands shake, laying next to him makes your whole body tremble.

You lay like that for a while, watching as the thunder lights up the ceiling until Minho turns to lie on his side.

“Wouldn’t we get warmer if we cuddled?” He trails off in a whisper, clearing his throat after his words leave his mouth. 

You open your mouth to answer but know you’ll only end up word-vomiting again with how nervous you feel, so you simply nod, turning so you’re facing Minho as well.

His arms quickly find your waist, pulling you closer to him until your noses are touching, and you feel his breath on your lips as he lets out a sigh. Before you can make sense of what’s happening, Minho presses a slow, open-mouthed kiss to your lips, making your mind go hazy. You two stare at each other for a beat, your lips agape and eyes wandering through each other’s features until he breaks the silence.

“You make me nervous,” he whispers, taking your hand and guiding it towards his chest. You feel his heart beating quickly through the thick fabric of his sweater. “In the best way possible.”

You smile, whispering back, “You make me nervous, too.”

Clutching at the fabric of his sweater, you pull him closer to you, slotting your lips together once more. Minho’s hands hesitate, his left hand barely touching your back before he changes his mind and grazes your shoulder with his touch, only to settle for cupping your cheek. You smile into the kiss, taking his hand and placing it firmly on your waist. He grips the fabric of your shirt just as you did and brings your body flush against his.

The kiss is hurried, as if you two will be forced apart tomorrow and this is your only chance to feel each other. Minho licks the seam of your lips, his tongue slipping into your mouth as you gasp. His firm grip on your waist, his body pressed against yours so tightly that you can feel his heartbeat thumping against your chest, and how with every stroke of his tongue, he devours you almost greedily — it’s downright impossible to keep the whine that forms in your throat from slipping out, Minho’s mouth swallowing the muffled sound.

And then he’s pulling away, and you’re left chasing his lips. He lets out a breathy chuckle at that.

“Let’s go to sleep, hm?” He suggests, his voice breathless. You can’t help but wonder if you practically moaning while simply kissing him had made him uncomfortable, and you inwardly berate yourself, mortification washing over you.

So you only nod, turning to face the wall so you can properly cuddle this time. Minho wraps an arm around your waist, and you wait for him to pull you closer, but he never does. You furrow your brows. Was it that bad? You can’t be faulted for reacting like you did, especially with how he kissed you. So you take it into your own hands to shift closer to his body. Your lips part as you feel his hard member pressing against your lower back.

Oh. 

So that’s what’s going on.

You bite back a grin, feeling Minho tense up behind you.

“And here I thought you were like a romantic lead in a PG-13 anime,” you joke, smiling as he chuckles, clearly more at ease. 

He uses the hand that had been resting against your stomach to pull you even closer to him, pressing his body against yours. “I am romantic,” He whispers, lips close to your ear. You only then realize he’s hovering over you. “But I’m still human.”

You fight back the urge to shudder at how his voice drops an octave, all low and soft, and, god, how his breath grazes your neck.

You search your brain for something to say but come up empty. Being nervous has rendered you speechless for the first time in your life.

“Let’s sleep now, okay?” Minho presses a quick kiss on your cheek. “I’ll lie far—”

“I can help you,” you blurt out, turning to face him. Going to sleep is the last thing you want right now. “If you want.”

His eyes wander across your face as he pulls on his bottom lip. “I don’t want to rush things.”

“There are ways to do this that aren’t… rushing.”

Minho hums, but his eyes are now fixed on your lips. You move to lie on your back, and he slowly climbs on top of you.

“As long as it’s okay with you, I don’t care what we do,” he whispers. You smile, pushing his black hair away from his face with your fingers.

“It’s more than okay with me,” You answer simply, using your hand on his hair to guide him down into yet another kiss. 

You can feel him still hesitating, so you grab a fistful of that silly sweater of his and pull him closer to you until your bodies are flush against each other.

“Can I touch you?” You ask, breaking the kiss. Minho nods hastily.

“Yes, please,” he groans, “I’m gonna die if you don’t.”

With a breathy chuckle, you move your hand between your two bodies, cupping him through his sweatpants; he’s even harder now, and you subconsciously bite your lip. He closes his eyes, his left hand resting on your waist before squeezing lightly as he hides his face in the crook of your neck with a shaky sigh. It might simply be because it’s your first time being intimate together, but Minho’s timidness is genuinely endearing to you.

Your palm grinds against him gingerly, and his body trembles under your touch. His hand travels from your waist toward your lower stomach, and you let out a quiet gasp as his fingers toy with the hem of your shirt. He lifts his head off your neck, his face so close to yours you can feel his unsteady breathing on your lips.

“Can I touch you, too?” He whispers, and you nod a bit too eagerly. 

“If you don’t, I think I’ll die too.”

Minho grins, his head dipping lower until his lips are pressed against yours, but he doesn’t kiss you. You’d be lying if you said finding Minho so hard after only kissing you hadn’t turned you on — kissing him alone also made you more aroused than you were willing to admit. But you were more than ready to go to sleep without doing anything about it after offering to help him, so the fact that he wants to do the same for you makes your head spin. This was not on your bingo card of things that could happen during this trip.

He pulls your shirt up slightly, only enough for him to slip his hand inside your sweatpants. He hesitates twice before cupping you through your underwear. His dark eyes meet yours, whispering against your lips, “You’re fucking soaking through your panties, and you weren’t gonna tell me?”

You gasp at his words, clenching around nothing. Wasn’t he shy just two minutes ago? Your mouth opens to answer him, but your brain is far too cloudy to form any coherent sentence, so you settle on a nod. He hums, pressing a kiss to your agape lips.

Once you feel his thumb tentatively brush against your clit through the thin fabric, you find the courage to slip your hand inside the waistband of his sweatpants, your fingers immediately brushing against his member. Minho shudders at the touch, his eyes still fixed on yours.

Your brows shoot up at the fact that he had foregone wearing boxers, and he chuckles lightly at your reaction.

“I never wear underwear to bed, so don’t think I was trying to seduce you,” he jokes.

“Too late,” you hum, “I was seduced the moment I saw your bright orange cat sweater.”

Minho grins, sucking your lower lip as he pushes your panties to the side painfully slowly, his middle finger gliding from your entrance toward your clit and spreading your arousal. With a sigh, you bring one leg to wrap around his waist, and he adjusts himself so he’s properly hovering over you. You take this opportunity to slide his sweatpants down his hips, his hard cock finally free from its confines. He groans low in his throat, his tongue suddenly licking into your open mouth as his right hand intertwines with your left, your fingers locking together. He presses your clasped hands onto the mattress beside your head.

Your hand now glides through his length, the palm of your hand beginning to rub at the head of his cock and Minho sucks in a breath, breaking the kiss, his eyes remaining closed. Pressing your thumb to the slit, you gather as much precum as you can and spread it through his member. You quickly find that it’s not enough, wanting it wetter and messier and—

Minho whines as you stop touching him, eyes shooting open. Bringing your hand to your lips, you lick a stripe on your palm and let a glob of spit fall on it before finding his cock again, wet both with your saliva and his precum as you begin to stroke him gingerly. With a quiet moan, Minho’s hips buck up at the touch and he kisses your lips again. You giggle into the kiss, inwardly thanking Hyunjin for teaching you that guys love sloppy shit like this and, in turn, making you realize you do too.

You avert your eyes from his intense gaze as his finger moves to find your entrance, pushing in slowly before moving at a steady pace.

He squeezes your hand. “Look at me,” his voice is all but a whisper, low and hurried. You turn to lock your eyes on his once more, immediately biting your lips to stop a moan from slipping out of your lips as his thumb begins to rub your clit in circular motions, and he slips another finger inside of your aching cunt. It was getting increasingly difficult to keep yourself from vocally begging him not to stop.

You focus on your own hand as you stroke his cock, your steady pace gradually quickening. Minho’s pace mirrors yours, and soon the small room fills with the noise of his finger swiftly pumping in and out of you mixed with the sound of your hand stroking him.

“What do you like?” Minho asks suddenly, his breath hitching as you tighten your fist around his cock. Your mind is far too clouded by desire and pleasure to fully comprehend, so you hum, your brows furrowing. He leans in, pressing his forehead against yours with a quiet moan and curling his fingers inside you, causing your eyes to shut tightly and a whimper to escape your closed lips. “Look at me, baby,” he repeats himself, his voice firm and his shy demeanor having completely shifted. You slowly open your eyes. “What do you like? I — fuck,” He curses as your hand twists on the head of his cock. “Wanna make you feel good, tell me.”

You’re definitely not used to being vocal about what you want or like during sex; your ex-boyfriends always too selfish, and Hyunjin too confident for you to even have had the opportunity to do so. Coupled with just how good you felt, you know you won’t possibly be able to speak a word without moaning the way you’re trying so hard to avoid. You settle for guiding his hand, which was tangled in yours, under your shirt. Minho immediately massages your breast, his thumb caressing your nipple as his eyes find yours once more.

You feel as if his gaze is setting you ablaze, his eyes boring into you. It felt as if all his desire was accumulated in his dark eyes, clearly visible in how he watches you like he’s drinking in every last drop of you through his stare. You’ve never had someone look at you like this before; it makes you feel so wanted, so desired, as if the only thing Minho could ever need in this moment is you. That alone makes your body tremble, your left hand holding onto his shoulder for purchase as you feel you might float away at any second.

If you were told a couple of hours ago that something as simple as having Minho’s fingers inside you would have you so euphoric, you most definitely would have laughed.

Minho groans into your open mouth, his breathing heavy and his brows drawn together tightly. You force your lips shut once more as his thumb rubs your bundle of nerves more hastily. Your hand leaves his shoulder to tangle in his black hair, futilely attempting to tug him even closer to you before you kiss his agape lips that spill out groans and sighs like a mantra.

It’s almost all-consuming. His fingers inside of you, the warmth of his hand on your breast, his cock pulsating beneath your touch, his hot breaths that fill your lungs as he sighs into your kiss, and his eyes — his damn eyes that look at you as if he wants to eat you whole.

You finally allow yourself to moan as you feel your orgasm building up, whimpering his name against his lips as your strokes on his cock turn messy and desperate among the copious amounts of precum. Minho growls, pulling your hand from his hair — his grip on your wrist so firm it stings a little — before he pins you down to the mattress, fingers messily intertwining with yours again.

This time, you’re unable to restrain your whimper at his actions; Minho had always been gentle and sweet, something as simple as him pinning you down to the bed has you clenching around his fingers. This duality of his you just discovered is something that stirs up curiosity inside of you.

“I’m gonna come,” He announces with a sigh, his hand squeezing yours. You can only nod as you melt around his fingers, your whole body trembling. Minho soon follows, his cum spilling into your hand and your shirt, a low guttural sound leaving his throat.

His eyes only leave yours as he leans down to connect your lips again, giving you small kisses before a stifled laugh escapes him. You furrow your brows, and Minho grins.

“Sorry for getting your shirt dirty,” He mumbles against your lips, the two of you unwilling to move for the time being.

You shake your head with a chuckle. Although you cringe slightly as you feel the fabric of your shirt stick to your stomach.

“It’s okay.”

Minho shifts on top of you, and you only then realize his fingers remain inside of you. Your body jolts faintly at the stimulation, his name falling from your lips in the form of a whine. He grins at you again, all lopsided and handsome, before bringing his hand to his lips. You watch with agape lips as his tongue flicks out to lap at his fingers before sucking on them with a hum, his eyes locked onto yours once more.

Once again with this newfound duality of his. He’s pure romance and gentlemanly behavior, but seemingly so alluring and shameless in bed. The way he looks at you alone makes you clench around nothing as if you didn’t come mere minutes ago. And it’s such a simple act — you can’t count on one hand the number of times you watched as Hyunjin licked his fingers clean after being inside of you — but the contrast of his calm and endearing everyday personality and him suddenly pinning you to the bed or licking your cum off his fingers while looking into your eyes makes this entirely different.

You would’ve never expected this from Minho, and it makes your brain stir up with thoughts of what he would be like while eating you out or while fucking you. Would he pin you to the bed again or pull your hair, or maybe—

The sound of him clearing his throat interrupts you from your thoughts, and you only now realize you had been staring at the ceiling while fantasizing about Minho fucking you. Great.

Once your eyes meet, he’s quick to avert his gaze. “I will, uh, pay to wash your shirt when we — when we get back,” Minho stumbles over his words, his eyes now fixed on your shoulder. “If you want. But, like, I got it dirty, so…” He trails off, and you purse your lips to muffle the giggle that bubbled up your throat as it seems all the confidence he had only minutes ago had dissipated into dust and left his body.

He was back to his usual self. You can’t help but smile as you realize you adore any version of Minho.

He pushes himself off of you, muttering that he’ll be back before disappearing into the small bathroom. You remove your soiled shirt, wiping your hand on it, only to blanche at the sight of the logo printed on the fabric. It’s one of Hyunjin’s shirts that you had stolen ages ago. You mumble a string of apologies to him as you pull the covers off your body. After discarding it on your bed, you change into the first t-shirt you fish out of your backpack, worried Minho might come into the room and see your naked chest — as ludicrous as that was, seeing as he was knuckles deep inside of you less than twenty minutes ago.

Minho returns to the bedroom just as you’re closing the zipper on your bag. He silently takes your hand in his and wipes it with a towel, his head lowered as his eyes focus on his actions. You let out a breathy chuckle.

“There’s really nothing there anymore,” you inform him. “I wiped most of your cum on my shirt.” You nod toward the crumpled-up fabric thrown across the bed. Minho’s mouth opens, then closes, then opens again. He lets out a small noise, nodding his head slowly before ultimately pressing his lips together. Under the faint moonlight that lights up the room, you almost miss how his cheeks dust a shade of pink. You smile, pressing a kiss to his nose. Minho hums, smiling back at you and dropping the towel on top of your shirt.

Soon, you find yourself back in bed with him, Minho pulling you into his chest, his hands now offering you pleasure by gingerly massaging your scalp. You are almost asleep — listening to his heartbeat through his sweater, smiling at the soft snores that escape his parted lips — when it dawned on you.

You notice just how different being with Minho had been. How kissing him alone made your hands shake, how even without being fully intimate, the way you felt with him tonight was incomparable.

Minho’s words from months ago about how sex with someone you love eclipses the feeling of sex with any other person linger in your memory. You hum, a smile on your lips as your eyes flutter closed again.

Before they shoot open.

Because holy shit.

If it felt that way with Minho, it can only mean you’ve fallen for him.

Awakening to the sound of the heater’s soft hum, you feel Minho’s arm tightly around your waist, keeping your body pressed against his. His gentle breathing brushes against the nape of your neck, and you cautiously turn your head, careful not to wake him, only to be greeted by his tender eyes already gazing at you with a soft smile. Cuddling with Minho is another thing that feels different. You feel safe, adored from how he holds you to the way his eyes look at you.

As he realizes you’re also awake, he suddenly turns to lie on his back, staring at the ceiling as his ears slowly turn a light shade of red. You frown, chuckling a bit at his actions, before settling yourself across his chest.

“The power came back a while after you fell asleep,” he explains.

You giggle as you assume maybe he’s shy because of what happened last night. But your smile fades as your mind begins to overthink, your subconscious screaming that maybe you should feel shy, embarrassed. Weren’t you too easy? Letting him touch you like that after just a few kisses. Does Minho think you came into bed with him for that reason?

You think back to the last boyfriend you had, who berated you for how ‘whorish’ it had been when you asked to have sex with him instead of waiting for him to initiate it. And how your first boyfriend would tell you — every chance he got — that you acted like a slut, touching him as if you knew it would make him have sex with you. How, at the end of your relationship, he told you maybe you acted that way because you knew that sex was all you were good for. How another ex had laughed as he told you that even though you went through so many guys, you still managed to be a terrible fuck, and that was the reason he had to cheat on you.

There were also the murmurs around your school whenever you started a new relationship. Another one? She’s boy hopping so much she’s gonna get through our entire class in less than a year. Some girls just can’t stand to be alone, it’s kind of sad.

At some point, you had detangled yourself from Minho, now lying on your side and looking out the window. You never understood why so many people thought that way. You had five boyfriends from fifteen to eighteen, and in each of these relationships, you were either cheated on or broken up with in a less-than-pleasant way. But you did have the awful habit of jumping into relationships with little thought, often because you felt incomplete without a romantic partner — as romantic as high school relationships can be, anyway. Being single and content for almost four years now, you were proud to have worked on that.

But you still can’t shake off the feeling that maybe you were a bit too… forward. You were single, sure, but you were quick to jump at the opportunity to have Hyunjin as a fuck buddy. Perhaps people were right about that.

“Is everything okay?” Minho’s voice pulls you away from your racing thoughts. You offer him a tight-lipped smile, nodding.

“Yeah, I just zoned out.”

Sitting upright on the bed, you stretch with a sigh. Minho takes your hand before you can realize it, placing it on his chest and gently playing with your fingers, his eyes still glued to the ceiling. You gnaw on your bottom lip, pulling at the skin until it stings.

“I’m sorry if I was too forward last night,” you blurt out. Minho’s gaze shifts to focus on you, confusion swimming in his brown eyes and his hands halting around yours. Oh god, why did you say that?

“Forward?” The question trails off his lips, his eyebrows coming together in a frown.

With a sigh, you grimace at your own words. “Yeah, forward, like I was throwing myself at you. I’m sorry if it came off that way. I swear I’m not…”

“You’re not…?”

“You know what I mean, Minho,” you mumble, but his eyes remain swarmed with confusion. 

“I really don’t.”

You roll your eyes in exasperation, annoyed not at him but at yourself for having brought this up in the first place.

“You know, Minho,” you groan, “Forward, like, slutty. Like I asked to come to your bed just so you would fuck me.”

His expression softens, his eyes widening. He sits up as well, his hand still clutching yours.

“Why the fuck would I think that?” He asks matter-of-factly. “What happened last night was completely natural. We made out, we got horny, we took care of it together. You didn’t even ask me to touch you, I did it because I was dying to do it. You weren’t forward — you weren’t slutty.”

You feel the heavy veil of worry lift off your shoulders at his words. It was definitely going to take a while for you to work on that aspect of your trauma. This had never been an issue with Hyunjin since you were pursuing nothing more than a sexual relationship with him — things were different with Minho.

Minho was the complete opposite.

After countless moments of your heart racing and your hands trembling because of him, you finally confess to yourself that your affection for Minho extends well beyond platonic feelings.

With a small smile, you slowly nod your head. “Sorry for bringing this up, I just… didn’t want you to think badly of me.”

Minho smiles, placing a kiss on the back of your hand. “That wouldn’t have made me think badly of you. I’m not some Victorian man who thinks women should be burned at the stake for showing their ankles,” he chuckles, and you bite back a laugh. “Even if you had been slutty, so what? I’d like that just as much.”

You playfully hit his shin under the comforter as he wiggles his eyebrows at you.

Minho was unquestionably different.

“We gotta get to the airport soon,” he says with a sigh, stretching his arms over his head, carrying your hand along the way. “I had to book the earliest flight I could to save up some money.”

With a frown, you retrieve your phone from under your pillow and check for the time: seven-thirty a.m. You feel a pang of guilt as you recall how you are essentially on this trip for free.

“Why didn’t Chan help with the tickets?”

Minho bites the inside of his cheek before his lips stretch into a barely-there grin. “Chan was never coming to this trip,” he blurts out. You feel your lips fall agape.

“What?”

“I… planned this trip by myself. Only for you and me,” he explains. “I wanted to get far away from everything that distracted us so I could concentrate on showing you the good side of love like I’d been trying to do with all those fruitless attempts at taking you on dates.”

You take in his words and find yourself smiling at the gesture — the white lie Minho told pales in comparison to everything else he has done for you, both during this trip and since you met him. Truthfully, you didn’t even realize he had been taking you on dates. You mentally slap yourself in the head for that, believing he simply wanted to spend time with you as a friend.

“I’ll pay you back for my part of the trip as soon as—”

Minho’s voice interrupts you with a drawn-out ‘no.’ He smiles as you stare at him, puzzled.

“This entire trip must’ve been so expensive, Minho.”

But he’s unrelenting, shaking his head with a squeeze of your hand.

“I told you,” he says simply. “I do stupid shit when I’m in love.”

♡ taglist: @notevenheretbh1 @malunar28replies @jazziwritesthings @finchyyy @bloom-ings @linocz @minhochaos @lastgreatamericandynasty1

[hierba-picante]

I'll Be There Ch.1

Summary: You are Gregory's older sibling! :D He tags along with you to your interview for your new job at the pizza plex!

Edit: Fic is now on AO3!

A/N: GUYS!!! THE LONG AWAITED FIIIC YIPEEE!!

I'm sorry this took a while to come out- I thought today was Friday--my bad guys :'D- I did also say I was going to post this to AO3 but uhm erm,... I was unaware of the invitation and having to wait a few days to get approved..SO I POST THE TWO CHAPTERS HERE!! They will later get uploaded to AO3 once I have the account settled!!

Word Count: 6k!!

Tags!: gn!reader, many hijinks, no use of y/n, Gregory is a little shit, the daycare attendants are goofy, Moon, Sun, and Eclipse are all separate animatronics!, Daycare attendants have transatlantic accents, Alternate universe- Canon Divergence, self insert, 2nd person POV, mentions of minor injury!!

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Serene. Quiet. In the warm grasp of your peaceful slumber. Your toasty blanket completely engulfed you whole. Your face poking out just enough to let air flow into your nose for proper breathing. Your room was cozy, well, your side of the room. A desk cluttered with trinkets and paperwork. Scribbled notes on top of books. Your soft bed adjacent to said desk. Some fairy lights strung about as to not let it ever be a full dark night. Plush animals strewn about to occupy the remaining space of your bed and floor beneath it. Ah yes, one could get used to such luxury.

The other side belonged to your little brother. A handful he was, one you kept close to your heart. His own plush animals are thrown around to mingle with his light boards and remote control cars. A small desk with crayons and construction paper. Some snippets of color here and there. A small pile of markers missing their caps. No matter, you’d find them another time. His bed laid empty, his liveliness unbeknownst to you. For now.

You awoke to a plush object falling onto your face. Your little brother’s laugh rang through the room. Feeling his weight shift onto the bed as he giggled and nudged you awake. Smiling to yourself, you sat up and let the object fall onto your lap. A yellow teddy bear with a blue gingham ribbon. How cute.

With a yawn and a stretch you greeted your sibling by ruffling his hair. “Morning, pudge.” He shook his head away and lightly smacked your hand. “Hey!”

You couldn’t help the chuckle that left your throat. “Heyyy!” Mocking him with a smirk, you ruffle his hair once more. A harsh nudge of his head sent your hand flying off. Before you could react, he sent himself shooting right into your abdomen. “Oof-!” You breathed out. Minor pain aside, he curled himself up into your lap and started babbling about a dream he had.

You glanced out your window as your hand tucked his hair behind his ear. The sun hasn’t come out yet. Blue hour. Smiling, you closed your eyes with a hum. Right on time.

This was routine for you and your little brother, Gregory. He’d wake up at around four in the morning and immediately run up to your bed. Toss his plush as high up into the air as possible and let it fall onto your unsuspecting self. Of course, Gregory only wakes you up for the important things, consisting of: a glass of water, a sweet bread, some cereal, or just to talk your ear off about the wildest dream he had. This time, he chose the latter.

Normally, you’d wait for him to talk to himself to sleep, but you were particularly tired this morning. So you scooped up your little brother, interrupting his dream talk session. 

He expressed his dismay by tugging on your shirt and raising his voice. You got off the bed briefly to remove some of your plush animals. Once satisfied with the space you made, you cradled him back to bed with you. Giving him most of your pillow as he made himself comfortable. Humming a short tune as you bundled up the blankets around the two of you.

“Alright, tell me what else happened in your dream,” you said, smiling and pinching his nose. He laughed and scrunched his eyes closed.

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The bright sun is what woke you up first. You sat up with a groan. Not quite the morning person you used to be, you sat up with eyebrows already knitted together, squinting at your window with repugnance. Begrudgingly, you made your way to shut the pesky light out with curtains. Only to get cut off by a sudden crash downstairs.

Oh come now, what time is it even? You thought to yourself. The clock read 6:32 a.m. That checks out. Gregory, still being the morning person, was usually making himself some sort of breakfast by this time. Grabbing a sweater, you made your way down the stairs. Dreading what sort of mess you’d find on your arrival.

“Don’t come down!! I dropped a glass bowl!!” he warned you. You paused and looked down at your fuzzy socks. You left your slippers upstairs. Admittedly a bad habit, but one that Gregory took into account. 

“Did you get cut? Do I need to get the bandages?” you hollered back to him as you made your way back to get your slippers. 

A few seconds of silence passed by. Taking that as a yes, you made swift work of retrieving the  bandages from the mirror cabinet in the upstairs bathroom, along with some antiseptic if needed. You smiled to yourself. Remembering how clumsy Gregory had been in his younger years. Often running to you in tears after scraping his knees, or getting stung by a bee he'd been chasing. It was rare to see him without a bandage somewhere. Your thumb traced over the bandaid box gently. You yourself were rather clumsy. Often bumping your nose into something or getting cut by the most random things. Just like Gregory, you'd be seen with some sort of bandage. Or even a bruise here and there.

Laughing to yourself, you made your way to the kitchen. Gregory had already swept up the glass debris. He dumped it into an old kitchen rag before tying it with a rubber band. All while wearing oven mitts. Something you'd taught him to avoid any further injury. Whether it be you or anyone else who comes across it.

"C'mere, lemme see," you offered with a hand. Embarrassed, he made taking off the oven mitts as slow as humanly possible. Mumbling something about it not being that bad. "Gregory." Warning him as if you'd already begun to count to three. He groaned out a "hmph" and let his wrist fall onto your hand.

The cut itself was wide. About a quarter size to be exact. It looked like he peeled a sliver of skin off, enough so to have little specks of blood forming. Not a deep cut, thank goodness, but a cut nonetheless. You hummed and dabbed some of the antiseptic on. Your little brother grimacing a bit at the sting. 

"How did you get this from dropping a bowl?" you questioned as you slipped on a bandaid. Keeping your hold so he wouldn't find a way to weasel out. 

Gregory huffed, "I didn't. I got it from cutting strawberries. I didn't wanna use the cutting board, so I cut them in my hand. But the knife slipped and...yeah…” he trailed off.

You hummed, seeming satisfied with his answer. Hand hovering just an inch above his bandaged wound. You smacked it. "Ow!! What??" he fumed.

 "You couldn't be bothered to wash a cutting board? Now look. You have a quarter sized piece of skin missing," you gestured towards his wrist. 

"So?" he cradled his wrist towards his chest. 

"So?" you parroted back, "You know how easy these can get infected if you don't take care of it properly? Knowing your ass, I'm gonna have to remind you to regularly keep it clean."

Gregory's voice grew quiet. "Nooo." 

You chuckled. "Yeaaah," you said, mocking his tone. Your brother laughed as he shoved your shoulder. 

"Go back to bed, don't you have that interview at two?" he commented as he made his way back to his fruit. 

"I do. Did you wanna come with?" 

He thought for a moment, "Hmm..I guess so. Knowing your ass, you'd probably forget where you park." A knowing smile danced across his face.

It was your turn to laugh, "I mean I do—but it's also just a fun place, I think. I figured you can look around and play games while you wait for me."

 Gregory feigned his deep thought, "Hmm…wellllll.” 

You chuckled and pinched his nose, "It's either yes or I leave you here alone for three hours. I don't want an 'I guess.'" Your brother shook his face away in laughter.

"Okay, okay! I'll tag along!"

You smiled at his answer, "Alright, be ready by 1:30." You ruffled his hair before heading to the stairs. The faint sound of chopping on a cutting board could be heard once you reached your bedroom door. Your shoulders relaxed. "Good egg,” you whispered to yourself.

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The drive there wasn't too bad. Early afternoon on a weekday. People were either working or in class. Either way, it allowed you to arrive ten minutes early. You turned your car off and rummaged around in your bag before exiting your car. You looked at the massive building before you. A silent gasp fell from your mouth as you opened Gregory's door.

"I didn't expect the pizzaplex to be that big…" you mumbled as your little brother laughed. 

"Didn't you read up on the job offer before applying?" he poked at your side.

You jumped and swatted his hand away. "I did!” You exclaimed as you shut the car door. “…The important parts at least..." Your answer only gives more fuel to Gregory's laughter.

True, you had read up on the offer itself, the expectations and what not. Just not the rest of what the place had to offer as entertainment. You were there for a retail position. Specifically, a spot in the Lucky Star's Gift Shop. Expectations were: know how to manage a register, minor custodial experience, customer service, and general knowledge of the products you'd be selling. Those products being: plush toys, candies, apparel, trinkets, etc. An easy job surely.

You didn't expect the pizzaplex to be the size of a super mall and then some. Your wide eyes glued to the building as Gregory dragged you to the front doors. The parking lot was thankfully not as full. You felt comfortable in trusting your sibling to guide you to your destination.

A small chime rang once the two of you arrived. The smell of pizza and freshly cleaned carpeting wafted in the air. The ceilings were higher than the sky. Tiled floors waxed clean and carpeted floors as vibrant as the day they'd been installed. Gregory let go of your hand as he took a step ahead. Eager eyes darting around all the possible things he could do: an exciting collection of bowling, racing, arcades, and a food court, to name a few. He felt his stomach growl. His window shopping, however, got interrupted by a robot. A cute little thing. Just an inch taller than Gregory. Colored cheeks and the animation of a stiff broomstick. A colorful sunny shirt with the words "Daycare!" littered across its chest. A quick scan from your head to toe gave it all the information needed.

"Interview number 24, scheduled in 8 minutes. Early. Punctual. With a—" it stopped and gave a slight nod, "—plus one. I am one of the daycare's staff robots, greetings. Would you like me to show you to the location of the interview? Do you need to enroll the young one into the daycare while he waits?" It offered its metallic hand towards you. 

You smiled and shook your head. "Thank you! But he’s alright on his own, I appreciate the offer though!" You made quick work of fishing for your credit card in your wallet. "Alright Greg, I'm leaving you with this to use responsibly. Food and a few games. Keep your phone volume on high and with you at all times. I'll call you once I'm done, alright?"

His eager hands snatched the piece of plastic, "Alright!" And with that, he was gone. Laughter hummed through your chest as you took the staff bot's hand. Just an interview. In and out. Then you'd find Gregory and be on your way home.

The walk there helped you familiarize yourself with the layout of the first floor. You took note of a few bathrooms and emergency exits. The bright neon lights arranged in stripes along the wall caught your eye. How you didn't notice that upon first entering was beyond you. The larger than life statues in the dead center as well. The Glam Rocks, in golden splendor.

You kept making mental notes as you followed the staff bot up the escalators—a gift shop or two on the side, a few designated party rooms—just some things you'd expect to see in the pizzaplex. You almost bumped into the bot as it halted. Pristine walls were decorated with a fun blue sky and the words “Super Star Daycare!” Two painted over doors sat in the middle. The right door had a small screen on it. A small wave of the staff bot’s hand had the screen flashing a green color. The doors click open, granting you both access. You watched in awe at the interaction, smiling to yourself at the notion that kids under Fazbear care were taken very seriously. Enough so to only allow a select few during working hours.

What you didn't expect was to hear the reverb of a band. Wasn't this a daycare? You didn't recall reading about there being two bands within the facility. That or the Glam Rocks hosting shows for the smaller children.  Sensing your confusion, the staff bot chimed, "While this is a daycare, the attendants do like to offer shows to both children and family members. A sort of break from taking care of all the little ones running around. It keeps them still long enough while me and the others get nap time essentials ready—or when organizing the place during a busy day." You nodded at it's explanation. The staff bot took your hand once more and guided you into the hallway.

The glittery ivory flooring wasn't new, but the light fixtures were. Instead of intense neon, this section of the pizzaplex favored a warm light hung by chandelier. There were faint wooden walls staring back at you. It felt elegant to say the least. Catching you off guard, as you wouldn't expect this sort of appeal from a daycare. But a place to hold shows? You could picture it. 

The daycare itself was enormous. The front doors loomed over you, as did its walls. Your eyes trailed up to find a sort of railing at an even higher level. You could only assume it was to help clean and maintain the structure. While it was walled off, the daycare offered viewing windows for anyone who dropped off their kid. Or in this case, for you to peer into. 

The bot led you a bit aways from the daycare. Noticing a small fault in your steps, it offered you a small stop to look through the side window. Paying attention to your growing curiosity for the daycare attendants. You smiled in thanks and turned your attention to watch.

A bright sunny animatronic held the position as lead guitarist. His rays dancing about with little head shakes along with his background vocals. His counterpart, a sleepy night capped moon animatronic, played what looked like a bass while also taking lead vocals. Easily keeping up with the sun's guitar. Behind them, another animatronic was on drums. He resembled the sun, but had a darker color palette and a dark silhouette in his rays. He had a calmer smile to him. While he didn't sing along, he did keep up with their energy. An eclipse themed animatronic, you deduced.

Next to the moon was another guitar player, a more human looking animatronic. His color palette matched the sun's while taking the personality of the moon. Rays shooting out from his curly hair. To the sun's left was a female animatronic, another human-esque one. A violin in one hand and a wide smile and energy to match the sun's. Though her color palette resembled the moon's more than anything. Even sporting a similar nightcap.

"A Thousand Eyes, I believe that's what they're playing. It's a popular choice here. Bobby Vee?" the bot nodded, "Yes Bobby Vee, a classic." You continued looking on, impressed by their performance.

Your eyes danced across their attire: the sun sporting an exciting patterned button up shirt, bright yellow suns decorating his arms and chest. His pants were high waisted and loosely flared at the legs. Having a clown like ruffle at both ends, with cute sun's at the knees. The moon wore a red vest atop his own button up shirt. A puffed short sleeve with moons leading into a tight long sleeve seamlessly. Sporting similar pants as his counterpart, the main difference being the moons on his knees and a faint change in fabric color at the hips. As well as the buttons, which formed in a triangular pattern at his waist. Their clothing is reminiscent of both a 50s working man's attire and a 50s clown costume.

The eclipse was vastly different in clothing. An eclipse patterned button up yes, but short sleeved. No elongated pants either. Instead, he was clad in high waisted, two toned shorts with two pairs of belts. A pair of knee socks hugged at his legs before leading into his jester shoes. You couldn't help the smile growing on your face. While his counterparts had casual working man's clothing, he wore a relaxed summer outfit. 

The human leaning designed animatronics had contrasting aspects. While the male's color palette resembled the sun and eclipse, he had somber imagery: a yellow short sleeved button down riddled with rain clouds and drops. His pants flaring with ruffles. The latter being cleverly white with raindrops defying gravity and drifting up his legs. His female counterpart sporting sad blues to match the moon. Specks of happy suns littered her puffy sleeved button up. Her own vest was colored a happy yellow with four pointed stars. Her high waisted shorts were a two toned blue with similar stars dancing at the ends. A sun patterned nightcap atop her head. 

"So remember when you tell your little white lies that the niiiight~ Has a thousand eyyyyes~!", The sun and moon sang while their human counterparts accompanied with a falsetto. The eclipse excitedly hit his symbols to signify the end of the song.

The daycare erupted in cheers and you couldn't help but clap softly. The animatronics bowed as flowers and toys were thrown to the main stage. The sun was the first to rise, his smile widening as he made eye contact with you. You smiled back and raised your hands up a bit. Wanting to make sure he saw you were clapping. Only for said clapping to stop once he winked at you. You couldn't help the silent gasp you let out. The girl animatronic jumped up from her bow, waving to children excitedly. Turning to yank her other half up. Her eyes briefly caught your's, her smile growing that much wider.

“Two minutes remaining until the interview. Shall we be on our way?” The staff bot unknowingly offered you an out to your awkward expression. "Y-Yea! Let's!" you agreed. This time you took its hand in yours as you walked away. 

"Ah—I see you were familiar with the way to the Lucky Star's Gift Shop?" you stopped abruptly. 

“Uhm...nooo..." sheepishly admitting you were, in fact, not. 

The bot laughed, "Don't worry, it's a few steps in front of you."

You glanced up from your stance and saw the sign in front of you. "Oh—! Well look at that…" biting the inside of your cheek as you continued leading the staff bot there.

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"Guys! Did you see them? The new interviewee for the gift shop?" Sun exclaimed. His fellow bandmates looked around for said interviewee. 

"I don't think we did," Moon admitted, "Brother?" 

Eclipse shook his head, "Sorry, afraid not. PeyPey?” he turned to the human animatronic. 

"Hmm...can't say I did, Caro?" his counterpart excitedly nodded.

"I did! I think they were absolutely darling, wouldn't you agree Sun?" she rested her head on PeyPey's shoulder. 

Sun excitedly nodded his head, "I do! Darling and kind! They clapped for us after we played! Oh, I can't wait to meet them!!"

Moon chuckled, "That's if they get hired, brother dear. And knowing the luck with past interviews, I'm afraid their chances look slim."

Eclipse clicked his tongue, "Well, never say never, Moon. Don't sour Sun's optimism." 

PeyPey nodded in agreement, "I think this is the first one to actually stop and watch a bit of our show.”

"Right you are! I'm sure we've more than grabbed their attention, enough so to have them really aiming to win this interview~!" Sun sang out as he began to put his guitar away. The rest of the band mates followed suit with their own instruments.

"Well, possibly…maaaybeee," his lunar brother teased as he put on his neck ruffle. 

"I just hope it all turns out okay," Eclipse added while also fitting his own neck garment on.

"Oh come now, I'm sure they'll ace it! They've already made quite the impression on Sun, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to convince the company otherwise if it all came down to it," Caro commented.

Her other half chiming in, "It'd be nice to finally open up the gift shop. The staff bots help a lot but none have what the higher ups are looking for, even with all the programming they do."

Moon hummed in thought, "What do you suppose they're looking for?" He opened his palms as if waiting for something. All eyes turned to PeyPey.

"Well...someone kind and patient, who can connect with guests, and…someone who has experience with children? Especially the younger ones. Someone who has a real knack for it," he concluded.

Eclipse twirled his drumstick. "That sounds about right. Certainly the type of person I'd want working in a gift shop right next to a daycare," he smiled.

"Speaking of daycare: our other jobs await! Come on!" Sun spun his rays as he ran off to the growing number of children waiting to get checked in.

Eclipse laughed and followed his brother. "Hold on now! Let me just wrangle up PeyPey and Caro!" Moon called over to his brothers.

He held out his arms and nodded towards the two animatronics. Both of which did a quick jump into the air. After a small popping sound and puff of clouds, they were the size of pineapples. Landing softly into Moon's embrace.

"Why they made you two as both small and tall will always confuse me," he quipped as he jogged over to the check in.

"Aww, Moon, don't you find us helpful when the kids get into small spaces? Or when you need an extra pair of hands for paperwork?" Caro asked while tugging on his ruffle. 

The animatronic rolled his eyes with a smile, "I suppose so."

"Or how about when you need us to walk around the daycare during nap time? The other two aren't aren't too great at sneaking like us three. Especially on a full day. Are we helpful then? Or how about—" PeyPey's words got cut short by Moon's hand gently patting his head.

"Alright alright! You're both helpful even when the size of fruits! Happy?" he exasperated. The pair nodded, satisfied with his answer.

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The gift shop was pretty homey, reminiscent of a mom and pop shop, and matching the personality of the daycare indeed. Faint primary colored wooden walls surrounded you, accompanied by cartoons of the attendants frolicking about. Ivory tiled flooring at your feet, white wooden shelves with card labels for what would be set out. ‘Sun plush toys here,’ read the one. ‘Eclipse plush toys here,’ read another. The shop was well kept. No dust in sight and your reflection smiled back at you from the floor. 

Yep, well kept.

"Alright, I've got your papers all settled here. Now let's see…" What would be your manager beckoning you to the front register. You loudly gulped and nodded as you made your way to her.

She was a warm woman. Pansy was what she went by. She was average height and wore a black button up with some slacks. A pen held up her messy bun. Glasses hung at the bridge of her nose. During your initial interaction, you'd find out that not only was she this giftshop's manager, but the manager of pretty much every other shop here in the pizzaplex. How does she manage all the inventory and employees? You'd never know. Trying to think about it made your balance shift off its axis. Even with the technological advancements of staff bots roaming around, managing that many stores must be exhausting. What with customer service whilst also making sure everyone on the team was okay. 

"Your resume is nice, your experience certainly fits our criteria. We would love to have you, but you must answer one question correctly," she watched you through the rims of her glasses.

With nervous eyes, you nodded at her once more. Urging her to continue.

"When you see a child begin to cry after a fall, what do you do?" The question itself wasn't one you were expecting.

Befuddled, you recounted the times that child was Gregory. "I...I don't make it into a big deal. If I do, they learn that every little problem is a bigger deal than it's supposed to be. Help them up, make sure they're okay and point out how there's no injury. Gravitate their attention to something else," you glanced back at her and tried to read her reaction.

This was how you raised Gregory. For whatever accident happened. You made sure not to baby him as much, and to show him ways to get back up. On the off chance you weren't around. It's how your parents had raised you, so you raised your little brother the same way.

She nodded and scribbled a few things onto her pad, "Well, consider yourself hired!" She immediately grabbed your hand and shook it.

Your air left your lungs in a gasp, “Really?” attempting to match the strength in her own handshake.

"Of course! Every interview I've had failed to give an honest answer. It's always, 'cradle them until they stop crying' or 'leave them there to cry until they stop', I was beginning to doubt I'd ever open this shop up!" her laughter raised into the ceiling.

"The position you're applying for is no daycare attendant, but to hire someone without at least that sort of experience? Right next to a daycare?" she waved her opposite hand, "Don't even get me started! I know I can confidently leave you here to handle any child. After your training period of course! If you can calm a kid down before the waterworks, you've made it!" her laughter died down as did her handshake.

Your mouth hung open in a smile, "Well-thanks! I owe it all to raising one!" 

Her eyes widened a bit, and her hand stilled. "You're a parent…?" she asked as if it was the most otherworldly thing she'd ever heard.

"Oh—! No, no! I raised my younger brother!" you laughed. 

She sighed a breath of relief. "Goodness—I was about to ask you for your skin routine!" You couldn't help the happiness constantly growing on your face.

Pansy wiped a tear from her eye, "Woo! What a hoot! Alright, what day are you able to start?" she asked, readjusting her glasses. 

You stood there contemplating for a moment. In all honesty, you were ready to start then and there. You had been let go of your previous job due to seniority and having to make some cuts. Unfortunately, you were one of said cuts. A bit of worry seeped into your brain. What if they view you as too excited? Maybe a bit of a try-hard? You could wait until the shop was fully furnished. Or maybe the following day…tomorrow...yea!

“Tomorrow's good! But of course I can see the shop needs its products, so I don't mind waiting until it's all stocked up, whichever works best!"

Your manager's smile grew, "I'll notify you once the shops all settled in, we'll start easy. Just some managing the floor and customer service, how's that sound?"

You happily offered your hand, "Sounds like a plan, I look forward to it!" She matched your enthusiasm with a firm handshake. The second one of the meeting. "As do I. Welcome to the family!"

You felt something in your grasp once she let go. Your name tag. A pretty, holographic lenticular tag. Shifting it to the left would shine a sun, in the middle a calm eclipse, and to the left, a sleepy moon. You stared in awe at the exquisite piece of plastic. This was the most beautiful name tag you'd ever been given.

“We'll get this little guy properly labeled with your name in a second, love. Just need to remember where I left that pesky hand machine…” she mumbled the last sentence as she walked around the front desk to look for it.

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"Moonie I simply must know!" Sun grunted as he tried reaching the daycare's front doors. His brother held him back without much struggle.

"We'll know in due time Sun. No need to pry for information," he chuckled.

Eclipse had started a game with the kids. A classic game of cops and robbers. Such a game in the daycare proved to exercise a kid's brain. With many places to hide such as the ball pit, jungle gyms, slides, cubbies, and so on, one had to get creative in this space. This time the attendants were playing the cops and the kids were the robbers. Caro and PeyPey had more luck than the lunar and solar triplets. Their smaller size proved useful in getting the stealthiest of kids. They'd started a system of chasing the kids out of hiding and straight into Eclipse's waiting arms.

"Come on Sun, don't you want to play with the kids? It's cops and robbers, one of your favorites,” Moon tried convincing his twin. 

"But Moon! What if we never find out? What if they didn't get hired?" Sun whined in his brother's hold.

Moon sighed and reluctantly carried a protesting Sun to the game. "You had confidence earlier. Where has it gone?" The animatronic passed by the window, not thinking much of it.

"Oh hey it's the interviewee!" Caro exclaimed as she popped her head out of a jungle gym.

"Where?” Sun jumped out of Moon's hold with his eyes darting across the room.

"Out there, they're shaking hands with Pansy...I think I see something sparkly on their clothing," Eclipse added while carrying four giggling children.

His solar twin excitedly gasped and ran over to watch. What he said was very much true. There you were, talking with Pansy as if the two of you were old friends. A fresh name tag glistening below your smile.

"I can't thank you enough Pansy, thank you!" you exclaimed.

Your manager shook her head. "No, no—I should be thanking you! Two years this shop has been here—two years without a proper employee. You're doing wonders by just being you, love!" She smiled warmly.

You felt bashful and rubbed the back of your neck. "Aww, I'm glad we could help each other then! I look forward to being able to help in any way I can!"

She patted your back with vigor. "There we are! That's what I like to hear!" 

Sun failed to notice bandmates and children crowding behind him to get a look at the new hire. 

"They did it! I see their name tag!" Caro hollered from Eclipse's shoulder. 

Moon nodded, impressed. "Huh, Look at that."

All comments fell on deaf ears. You did it. Finally they found someone competent enough to run the gift shop! Someone who's genuine—kind even! Sun couldn't contain his excited rays dancing about as he watched, resembling a puppy happily wagging its tail. He could see it now: his siblings and friends all palling around, with you in the middle! Catching up and having a swell time as you take your lunch break. Sun sighed at the thought.

Pansy turned curiously at all the muffled yelling. Her laughter got caught in her throat, "Oh! Would you look at that!"

Curious, you peered towards the direction she was looking in and gasped. Not only the animatronics, but the children as well had been watching you. Not knowing what else to do, you offered a small smile and waved. The crowd waved back with a muffled "Hi!" except for Sun. He stood there with his shoulders relaxed and smile tilted. 

As you were about to take a step, he joyously screamed and launched himself away from the window. The kids erupting in laughter as Eclipse and Moon can be seen calling out to him in chase. Caro and PeyPey, still at the window, poofed themselves to their tallest height, herding the kids away from the front door.

Sun rushed out with a trail of smoke behind him. He was a foot away from you in an instant. "Hello there! My name is Sun! I'm one of five daycare attendants and a member of the Starlights band! Who might you be, dear?" he cheerily asked.

His height was alarming. You barely reached his chest. While his tone of voice was welcoming, and you couldn't help the anxious flips your stomach did when you briefly raised your eyes up to his. This was the performer who winked at you—a type of interaction you weren't used to. His charming transatlantic accent didn't do you any favors either. You quickly glanced at Pansy for guidance. The only guidance being a nod to go ahead.

Your name trailed out of your mouth awkwardly as you reached a hand out for Sun to shake. "A lovely name! An absolutely darling name!” He matched the same enthusiasm of Pansy’s.

His siblings caught up to him. "Sun! You can't just run off like that, we've got children to look after!" Eclipse scolded as he placed a hand on Sun's shoulder. 

“Yes, just look at them all wiggling about in your absence." Moon observed once he reached the small crowd amongst you.

You peered past Sun's waist. The children had been trying to weave themselves through the other two attendants. So much so that you've noticed the two sprouted a second pair of arms just to manage the lot. 

"I'm sorry…" you trailed off. You didn't mean to cause this much excitement.

Eclipse shook his head, "Think nothing of it. It's our brother's fault, truly. We really must go before they get any more restless," he admitted with a short bow. Pulling his solar brother by the arm with him to the daycare. 

"We'll be seeing you around!" Sun called from Eclipse's grasp.

"Yes, sorry for the short introduction—I'm Moon, that one's Eclipse. The girl is Caro and the boy is PeyPey, the two there at the window," the lunar animatronic gave a small bow in turn. "We look forward to working with you, dear," rushing off to help get Sun back in.

You faintly heard Moon and Eclipse scolding their brother. Who in turn could only muster up "I couldn't help myself!" Your brain wracked against your skull. All three were charming, you had to admit. What with their manners, transatlantic accents, and just the way they carried themselves with each other. 

Both Moon and Eclipse smacked Sun upside the head in a playful manner before running in through the front doors. The latter took this as an opportunity for a chase. From the window you could see the children and two human animatronics briefly pause their actions. All heads following Moon and Eclipse as they excitedly ran across from them. The crowd turned their heads to Sun. All of them caught momentum once they noticed the attendant had begun to go after them as well. The children shrilled in joy as the other two attendants joined. Scooping up any stragglers on the way.

Pansy burst out laughing once more. "Those five know how to liven things up around here. Get ready to see more of them, especially with their merchandise in the giftshop."

You sheepishly smiled, "Can't wait!” Your eyes glued to the window a few feet from you. Admittedly, you missed when Gregory was that small. Laughing at almost everything, getting excited over the smallest things. It made your heart feel warm. This must've been how your own parents felt when you yourself grew up. 

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TAGLIST WEEE!!

@cosmog-mcgee

@antwithwaffles

End of chappie ooone :]!! I hope you guys liked it! I enjoyed writing it and my friend @by-the-chapel-gates did me a huge favor and was my beta reader!! I love her very much she are my booboobear :]💖💝!!!!💖💝THANK YOOOOUS💖💝Please leave your thoughts below!

Wanna keep reading it on tumblr? Chapter 2 is here! :]

[disturbedbeautywrites]

Next thing you know - Jake Seresin Imagine

A/N: This is a super cute imagine that I could not get out of my head. It is super fluffy and follows your relationship with Jake

Warnings: Pregnancy and tooth rotting fluff <3 Also, this is unedited so I'm hoping there aren't too many mistakes

“Rooster, just hit the damn ball.” Jake’s eyes rolled as he leaned against the wall of the Hard Deck. It was a typical Friday night and the bar was buzzing with the excitement of the upcoming weekend. The dagger squad was all there as was tradition after a long week and this weekend was no different.

As Rooster was taking his time, Jake let his eyes wander around the bar. His gaze landed on you, a super pretty girl he had never seen before. You were wearing civilians and leaning against the bar next to some other female aviators. You caught his attention immediately. Your smile lit up the bar and your laugh was absolutely infectious. He had to know your name.

He approached, a smirk on his lips as he leaned against the bar beside you. He ordered a beer for himself before asking you what you were drinking, which you told him happily. The two of you sat there flirting back and forth all night, laughing and carrying on. “Can I take you on a proper date?” Jake was hopeful as he leaned closer to you at the bar, his words in your ear as you giggled and nodded, kissing his cheek before you left with your friends.

He was smitten from that first date, though he wouldn’t admit it. But, when he showed up on your door step with the prettiest bouquet of flowers you had ever seen, you were pretty smitten with him too. The two of you became serious fairly quickly and you spent all your time together.

“When is she moving in?” Phoenix’s words were laced with teasing as you walked up to the bar at the hard deck, ordering drinks for your boyfriend and the rest of the squad. They had welcomed you in with open arms, insisting that you made hangman bearable. “Not for a while, guys. We’re not there yet.” The words left hangman’s mouth as he watched you, an easy smile on his lips. You were a new light in his life and he was already so in love with you.

However, a few months later he would eat those words as the two of you sat in his living room. You were cuddled up to him, your head on his chest and his arms lazily thrown around you. “Move in with me.” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement. The minute he said the words you looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, trying to judge his facial expressions. Once you realized he was serious you burst out into a bright grin and nodded, agreeing as you kissed him hard.

You started to slowly move your things in, finding a place for everything. You had talked to Jake and had decided on throwing out his old rug in his room and replacing it with yours, but he had one stipulation, his deer head got to stay. It was from his last ever hunt with his Grandpa, and it was special to him. You agreed, deciding to decorate it randomly with hats and things for the holidays. You made it fun. You made the space both of yours and you couldn’t have been happier.

The next few months went by smoothly as you and Jake got used to living together, each day an adventure that the two of you couldn’t wait to go on. You got to wake up next to each other and go to sleep together every night. You had late night conversations, morning cuddles, and afternoon kitchen dances to old country music. It was everything you didn’t know you needed. Life was going absolutely perfect.

“Mom was in such a hurry for us to get here, I don’t know why.” Your confusion laced your words as you and Jake walked up to your parents house. You were knocking on the door when you turned to look at Jake and you saw him down on one knee, a beautiful box and ring in his hand. Your moms door opened and she was sitting there grinning, tears in her eyes as you immediately said yes and threw your arms around Jake. You were getting to marry your best friend and the love of your life.

The months leading up to the wedding were a dream come true. Jake wanted you to have the best of everything. Anything you wanted, count it as done. You were able to plan your fairy tale wedding down to your Prince Charming. He would be standing across from you at the altar, his navy dress whites making him look handsome as ever across from you. There were lots of tears shed and more smiles and laughs had.

At the reception, it was considered the party of the year. Rooster was already half drunk during his best man speech, but he made sure that you knew how special you were to everyone. He saw how happy you made Jake and that’s all that mattered. The speech brought you to tears and Jake helped you to carefully wipe them away. The night was absolutely beautiful. It was everything you could have wanted. Jake loved showing you off as his new wife, calling you Mrs. Seresin as much as he could and constantly bragging on you. The two of you radiated so much love for each other that it was like you were glowing.

After all the wedding excitement, you were headed to Hawaii. You guys were excited to spend a week on the beach, forgetting sunscreen existed. You both got pretty bad sunburns the first day. However, you had never felt so content. You had a week of relaxation with your best friend and husband by your side. No navy to interrupt, no rooster (you loved him, but he could be a lot sometimes), and no responsibilities. You just had to enjoy your time with Jake, and that was the easiest thing in the world.

Once you two got home, you started looking into buying a house. Jake had one in mind and he knew you would love it. It was one you had said you loved and you had looked at it a lot. Well, Jake had taken it upon himself to make sure that you got that dream home. He hired a realtor and the two of you bought the house and turned it into a home. It was a dream come true.

The next few years went by fairly quickly, your new house becoming a home. Jake got a big promotion in the Navy and was home a lot more now; which was something you both loved. Jake was getting more and more used to being a husband and he loved every single moment with you. “I’m ready for kids.” His words were random as you laid on the couch one day, your eye brows furrowing together, a look of pure love on your face. “Really?!” “Really, baby girl.”

The two of you got too it and had been trying for months. You were taking pregnancy tests and hoping for the best; when one day it popped up positive. You were elated and you couldn’t wait to tell Jake. He was at work, but you had the test sitting out on the counter. As soon as he got home, you pulled him into the bathroom and waited for him to notice. He picked up the test and looked at you, tears rolling down your cheeks as you nodded. “I’m going to be a dad?” You felt him run over and pick you up, spinning you in his arms. “You’re going to be a dad, Jake.”

Your pregnancy flew by, Jake and you both being absolutely terrified yet excited for the new baby to come. You found out you were having a little boy and you were over the moon. You guys had decorated the nursery in planes and his new wardrobe was packed full of clothes from your family and Jake’s both. You guys had everything planned out, down to his name, Colton Lee Seresin.

It was bearing your due date and you felt like you were going to explode. Jake was a very dotting husband, your every wish his command as he tried to make things as easy as he could. But, as you stood in the kitchen making dinner one night, you felt your water break. You were in shock, Jake’s name barely leaving your lips as he rushes in to check on you. “It’s time.” And with those two words, he was rushing to get the emergency diaper bag ready.

He helped you into the truck, speeding as carefully as he could to the hospital. Once you were situated he was sitting next to you in the delivery room, his clothes replaced with scrubs and a sterile hat that covered his head. You were giggling at how silly he looked as he squeezed your hand, pressing a kiss to your forehead. It was an amazing moment and they soon told you to start pushing. “How you doing there dad?” The doctor asked, smiling at Jake as it fully sank in. He was about to be a dad.

After a couple of hours of pushing, your little boy was placed in your arms. You and Jake were instantly in love, the tiny bundle of joy eliciting big emotions from both of you. Tears of joy and happiness left your eyes as you held him close. He was your new purpose. He was the new light of your life.

Jake took the two of you home once it was time, an easy smile on his lips as he watched you try to show Colton around his nursery. “And look, this is the kind of planes your daddy flies.” Your voice was soft as you pointed at the F-18 on the mobile of planes, the tiny bundle making cooing sounds in your arms. “Yeah, I think it’s pretty cool too.” Your voice was hushed as you sat him carefully in the crib, walking over to Jake and into his arms.

Jake felt like he was falling in love again as he watched Colton grow up and become his own person. He was starting to walk and starting to talk and every single new milestone was beyond amazing to the blonde pilot. He was sitting on the floor of the nursery with the little boy when he heard the words Dadda leave his lips. Jake got teary eyed as he yelled for you, encouraging the boy to say the words again. When he did, you both had tears of proudness rolling down your cheeks.

He was growing like a weed, and you had been told repeatedly that kids grow fast. But, you never realized just how fast. In what seemed like no time, you were taking Colton to his first day of school. You were dropping him off and your social little boy waved bye at you and ran inside to make friends, your heart running off with him. You were proud, but you didn’t expect it to be this hard.

“Time is going by too quick.” The words left Jake’s lips as he watched his son, now 14 getting ready for his first date with a girl from his class. He had asked her out and was super excited to go to the movies with her. Jake had given him the speech already of how to be a gentleman and you had given him money to use to treat her tonight. Before he left, he threw his arms around the both of you and told you he loved you. It was enough to make you both emotional.

“Dad, I wrecked the car.” The words left Colton’s mouth as he walked into your room at half past midnight. You had been asleep, but had woken up when you heard Jake raising his voice. Colton had just gotten his driver’s license and his first car a couple of months ago. As you heard the fight get more heated you got out of bed and walked in, putting your hand on Jake’s bicep. “Honey, calm down. We can get him another car.” Your voice was soft enough to calm down your husband, a frustrated sigh leaving his lips. “We’ll finish talking about this tomorrow.” His voice was a promise as you walked over to your son, looking him in his eyes as you placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’re just glad you’re okay.” With that, you pressed a kiss to his forehead and told him to get to bed.

“I got accepted to USC!” You heard the screams of victory coming from the front room as you walked in and saw Colton excitedly dancing around the room with his girlfriend, Sydney. “We’re both going, I can’t wait!” He pulled her into a hug and you heard Jake inhale a deep breath. “That’s all the way across the country.” His voice was quiet and sad as you patted his back, walking into the living room. The conversation shifted to how far away the college was, and if they were serious about it. When they both reassured you it was what they wanted, you took the opportunity to console Jake. He would be okay, he was his boy after all.

Colton had gone on to USC and had taken an interest in becoming an engineer. You and Jake fully supported him and Sydney as the two continued to date through college. Once graduation hit, you watched as your son proposed to the love of his life and you got to gain a daughter-in-law. You welcomed her into the family with open arms, so excited for the two of them.

Their family continued to grow along with yours as you got word that Sydney was pregnant with twins, a little boy and a little girl. You and Jake were over the moon ecstatic to be grandparents, watching them go through all the milestones the two of you went through in your younger years. She went through all the same things you did, often coming to you for advice. You gave it gladly, treating her like your own daughter.

Once the twins were born and old enough to hang out at your and Jake's house, the two of you knew you did good. You were able to fall more in love with each other as you watched the interactions with the grandkids. The two of you often took them to church and then out to get icecream after, treating it as a tradition you were starting. Jake also loved getting to take them out fishing and teaching them just like he taught Colton.

"We made an amazing life for ourselves." The words left Jake's lips as you sat next to him on the porch, your grandchildren running around the yard and playing. Sydney and Colton were inside fixing dinner, telling you and Jake to relax. It was an amazing moment and you couldn't agree with your husband more. "I'm so glad I didn't just brush you off as a cocky pilot the day we met." Your words were teasing as he reached over to squeeze your hand, his laughter ringing out. "I love you, baby." You smiled easily at him, your head leaning back against your rocking chair. "I love you too."

[reverieblondie]

Meeting

Pairing: Gabriel O'Hara X Spider-woman!reader

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, Smut with Some Plot, Mutual pining, Lots of teasing, Miguel is a cock block, Inappropriate use of a work table, Lab sex, Unprotected Penetrative Sex, Hair Pulling, Fingering.

Summary: It all started with a boring Spider Society meeting...then you two just couldn't stop seeing each other.

A/N: So I usually only write about Miguel but I was inspired to make the when I saw h4mmiee's Gabriel doodles, Please check them out they are great:

Here

Here

Anyways, I will hopefully have two more Miguel x reader fics up by Friday, so please look for those. I hope you enjoy this in the mean time, it was supposed to be shorter but I got carried away, whoops.

Word Count: 6,552

Another dull meeting at the spider society, Miguel O’Hara the boss man himself stands on the stage giving us our usual depriving. Don’t go on missions alone, report anomalies in your dimension, turn in all paperwork promptly, keep an eye on new recruits, blah blah blah…

This all feels so redundant now, we have these meetings every six weeks on the dot. All the spiders are here getting our lecture from Miguel, as he stands on his stage. You were standing in the front row so you got an unobstructed view of the leader. Usually, you get lucky and get to stand in the back, losing yourself in a daydream to pass the time, with the others who are also not particularly fond of the meeting's usual dull tones. But today you don't have such luck, being in the front means you have to look interested or you could earn a scolding from Miguel. No thanks. 

As you look at Miguel you see the select few who got to stand up on the stage with him. His closest allies get the pleasure of standing on the rise and looking out to the crowd; those with this honor are Jess Drew, Peter B Parker, and Ben Reilly. unsure exactly why those three get to be there but they seem to always be the ones Miguel tells the most things to. Miguel's AI LYLA also makes a cameo, though a small one with her glowing at Miguel's shoulder. But someone is missing you notice. 

Then there he is emerging from the doors at a quickened pace trying to get to his usual spot on the stage. Gabriel O'Hara, the Spider societies lead technician, is the one who helps develop the tech here and works to keep everything functioning. You didn't know him personally, in fact, the only time you ever have had a chance to see the infamous Gabriel O’Hara was at these meetings. Everyone knew that Gabriel and Miguel were brothers, the resemblance was uncanny from what you could see. 

It was a little-known fact that Gabriel was always working in the back labs somewhere so not a lot of people had stories of him. Those who do, always positively speak of him. Apparently, the brothers were like opposites. Interesting… 

Gabriel spills onto the stage beside Ben trying to brush off the fact that he is definitely late and will properly get a lecture on punctuality from Miguel after this. Your mind wonders, thinking about Gabriel and his role in HQ, and why he was late. Why did he even come to these? If you were him you would find an excuse to skip these meetings using the whole I'm not a Spider-person as an excuse. 

Wrapped in thought you don't realize that your eyes are glued on him, watching as he gets in his usual place, looking out to the crowd. You haven't even noted that you are staring, but he has. Gabriel slides his eyes towards you, then he flashes you a grin. The sudden smile seems to wake you up from your thoughts. You quickly avert your eyes, A bit embarrassed being caught staring and thrown by the smile.

 Wait, did he just smile at me? No right? I mean we don’t even know each other?

You look back up and his eyes have returned to Miguel giving his speech. A tinge of disappointment rushes through you. But almost as if he can hear your thoughts he looks back at you and smiles again adding a slight wave. 

Looking to your left looking then to your right you try to figure out who he is waving at. Looking back at him he gives a slight chuckle before mouthing the word “hi” to you. 

Okay yep, he has noticed you, I mean it would be rude not to respond right?

Smiling, you give him a “hey” in return. He eyes you for a moment before mouthing “How are you?”. This makes you giddy, is he really doing this now? “Good” you mouth in return. This was definitely a turn of events. And here you thought you were going to have to deal with another grueling meeting with nothing to distract you, but here he is.  

You mouth back to him “You were late” wanting to tease him for his unprofessionalism that you definitely didn’t care about. His eyes light up at your words “I know, work-related” he responds with a smile and a slight roll of his eyes. Adorable just adorable; you nod, well he's definitely keeping you interested. “Did I miss anything?” he tilts his head giving you a knowing smile, he knows he didn't miss anything, it's always the same thing at these meetings. You shake your head no “Same as usual”. 

Gabriel is amused by this and starts to mouth some more words but quicker this time. Your eyebrows furrow as you stare trying to catch what he is saying but he's moving his mouth too fast. He finally stops and smiles at you pleased with himself. All you can do is look at him and shake your head not catching what he is trying to say. This seemed to only encourage him to continue to mouth words at you quickly then stopping to see your reaction.

You smile and shake your head again and mouth “I can't make out what you are saying.”. Gabriel's eyes widen slightly and his lips creep into a sly grin “I know”. Oh, he's enjoying this, now playing this little game with you. However you can't deny you're enjoying playing back. 

It's then that your spider senses shake you slightly, looking over you realize that Miguel is no longer talking. Jess is talking about teams and mentoring positions available. Not listening because all your attention has gone to the fact that Miguel's eyes are glued to you with a confused look on his face. Quickly you stop smiling and avert your eyes from him. Miguel's glare, then shifts to Gabriel, leaning in, Miguel whispers something to Gabriel and then goes back to listening to Jess. 

 Shifting your eyes back over at Gabriel,  his eyes move back to you, he mouths the word “busted”, grinning widely. This earns a chuckle from you, he was busted but he didn't seem to care all that much. 

You and Gabriel continue to steal looks from one another for the rest of the meeting. When the grueling meeting comes to a close and people start to flood out of the room you give Gabriel a small wave goodbye and head out the door. 

It seems like everyone is eager to get on with their day moving out of the meeting room in haste. Once you are finally out you head to where your duties are, you were on paperwork duty for the week and you absolutely were dreading it. Not wanting to think about the grueling task ahead, You think back on Gabriel and giggle to yourself. He seemed like a playful person completely different from his older brother. 

Then your spider senses start to tingle and you quickly look to your right. There's Gabriel with his hand extended out to touch your shoulder but your senses gave him away. Seeming surprised by your sudden turning he smiles at you and then puts a serious look on his face furrowing his eyebrows, “Don’t you know you're not supposed to goof off during meetings? You could miss something important.” He says in a mocking tone.

Laughing at his impression of seriousness, you quip back “Oh? is that what you think?” You put your hands on your hips and cock one to the side. His Smile spreads wide at you, looking at you up and down for a quick moment. 

“It's what my brother told me I should think'' he holds his hand out to you “I’m Gabriel O’Hara, and you are?” you shake his hand introducing yourself, and swapping pleasantries while you do. 

His hands are bigger than yours and have calluses from him working hard on different machines all the time. Now that you're closer to him you can see the differences between him and Miguel, like Gabriel's green eyes and slight freckles that dust his cheeks. His hair was exactly like Miguel’s but he kept it loose rather than brushed back. Also with him up close to you now you could get a better look at the goggles attached to his head and a striped scarf that hung down from his neck. He was good-looking, and he knew it. The hint was the confidence that flowed out of him.

“So where are you heading off to now? A dangerous mission? Going to fight crime and save the day somewhere?” A smile is painted on his face as he asks you. “Oh yeah I have a very dangerous villain I have to fight, it's called paperwork and if I don’t turn it in on time the whole universe could shatter” Everyone in the society thought that the paperwork we had to do was ridiculous, this universe was so futuristic and we still had to fill paperwork? The hell?

Gabriel tsks “That danm paperwork, you think we could find a better way to log reports? Well if you find yourself with some downtime you should come by the lower floor tech lab, that's usually where I'm held up at.” 

You nod “I might just do that,” you say walking backwards to your work area keeping your eyes on Gabriel before turning around to get your work started. 

Gabriel watches you walk away, your hips swaying in a way that he can't help but smile at, he is appreciating the must wear your spider suit rule right now as he watches your form, his eyes glued to the tightness of your suit and the way it leaves little to the imagination.

 “Oh I am in trouble,” he whispered to himself with a shake of his head, before walking down to his lab. 

-----

Turns out that getting downtime while working at the Spider Society is a lot harder than you originally thought. It had been a couple of days and you finally had nothing on your plate to take care of so you slowly made your way to the tech lab on the lower level to hopefully have an impromptu meeting with Gabriel. During your time working you couldn't help your thoughts running back to your first meeting with the younger O’Hara. So it was only natural you were eager to get to see him again.  

Never having been to this part of HQ before you note that it was pretty deserted, the only things you could see were all the different machines, some whirling and operating while others were broken down into parts. This place seemed like a maze with you having to take turns constantly and having to go a different way when you would hit a dead end. This is where he works? No wonder he was late to the meeting. He probably got lost down here. 

Continuing to walk,  you start to hear what sounds like a voice and it sounds irritated. As you get closer and closer you can hear it more clearly and the words that are being slipped. 

“Come on you know you wanna…” 

“That's it keep humming for me, very good…”

“Mierda…” (shit)

The words you were hearing caused you to blush, is that Gabriel? Who is he talking to? When you round the corner you see Gabriel working on a machine, he's completely focused on his work. The whole body is crouched down in the machine, small grunts and the sound of metal scratching can be heard as he works tentatively.  The machine would seem to start working when Gabriel was working on it but quickly would shut off as he started to move out from under it. 

Getting closer and leaning against a machine a smirk on your face as you watch Gabriel work. From this angle, you can see his muscular back, oh? Hiding some lean muscle huh? Being so close to him you can observe his muscles tense as he continues to get more irritated, the smirk never leaving your face. 

“Come on your dirty thing, work for me!” 

The machine starts to whirl and work as he continues his tinkering. 

“That's a girl, work for Papi”

“So does talking to the machines help?” you say startling him

“ah, ¿qué carajos?” (What the fuck!?) Gabriel jumps at your voice and hits his head on the machine, he looks at you with goggles on his eyes as he rubs his head. standing there you can't help your giggle at his surprise. He lights up in your presence, quickly he moves his goggles to the top of his head to reveal his green eyes. 

 “Hey! You finally got some downtime!” He quickly stands to his full height with a warm smile looking down at you. 

“Yeah I did, I am a pretty busy woman so it took me some time to get all my stuff done.” you smile at him he seems excited to see you again, which causes your chest to warm up a bit.

 “Do you often talk like that to your machines?” you tease him. 

“Talk dirty? Yeah sometimes if they are being difficult” He says a bit embarrassed but quickly hides it with a smirk. 

“So you talk dirty often then?” you ask with a smile spreading to your lips, wanting to tease him more. But this only gets him to step closer to you and lean down to you slightly, his eyes roaming all over you, watching you as if you just told him a dirty secret about yourself. 

He smirks and looks deep into your eyes, making your heart race and your lower stomach tighten “Why? Are you enjoying it?” 

Oh, he's teasing you back, “Probably not as much as the machine is.” 

Gabriel looks over to the machine and smiles to himself before turning back to you. “Oh yeah, they can't resist my charm or these hands” he holds his large hands up to you in a playful gesture that has you blushing. 

Gabriel goes back to working on the machine stealing glances your way. Walking around you look at the different machines running your finger along some of them. “So how come you only come out during meetings?” darting your eyes to look at his tall figure up and down, when you do you catch his emerald eyes following your form as you walk. 

Moving away from his work, eyes still glued to you he shrugs. “Oh, I don't know, probably because Miguel doesn't like me getting distracted and leaving my work.”

Coming to a stop you look at what appears to be his work table, filled with tools and parts that you couldn't begin to understand. Pushing yourself up you sit yourself on the edge, slightly swaying your feet. Eyes glued to Gabriel as he begins to walk closer to you. That sly smirk on his face filled with mischief that you just couldn't resist. 

“Yeah? What gets you so distracted from your work?” 

Gabriel chuckles and looks to his feet for a moment before meeting your eyes again. “Well, I have a proclivity for flirting with pretty girls”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it's very bad, I just can't resist the pull they have on me.”

“I couldn't even imagine how hard that is for you.” 

Gabriel stops right in front of you and leans both arms down to the edge of the table, trapping you between them. Being so close to his face you are trapped looking into his eyes, his tantalizing scent takes over your senses. Flirty smirk still glued to his face he slowly leans into you dragging his hands slowly back. 

“Sometimes it's downright painful.”

His closeness causes your face to flush and your heartbeat to race. Leaning in slightly. 

Gabriel looks from your eyes to your lips back to your eyes again. A slight hum left his lips. Leaning in you know you hardly know him but the tension between you two has been electric. This has to be what he's wanting right? Then he quickly pulls back holding a tool in his hand. 

“Pardon me, I just needed to grab this from behind you real quick.” 

That cocky tease just totally played you! 

Eyes wide you Quickly readjust yourself trying to make it look like you weren't just leaning in for a kiss from him. Gabriel just eyes you and laughs to himself. Great he's an incredibly cute flirt who knows how to push your buttons, you're starting to understand why Miguel keeps him busy in the lab. It's not that he's distracted by us, we would be distracted by him. 

-----

After your first meeting with Gabriel going to his lab to flirt and hang out with him became a common occurrence. Now is flirting on the job acceptable? Not really you knew getting caught would mean some serious Miguel wrath but you justify to yourself that Gabri might just be worth it. 

The more you spent around him the more and more you wanted him, but you were not going to be the one to break first. The two of you seemed to be in an unspoken game, the game? See who can tease the other until they confess their feelings, or break the tension first. He was a tease and proved to be good at the game, but you will be damned to be the one to break first. The tension between you building and building till someone was going to burst. With any luck it would be him, you just need to be patient and play the game to the best of your ability. 

You two were not the only ones to note the sparks between you. People had started noticing the flirting and the stolen glances. Though to save your skin you had to play it off as just harmless fun, though on the inside you were burning with want. 

“You know Miguel won’t like that you're getting so close to his brother,” Jess says as she picks the tomatoes from her burger

“I say keep going, maybe one day you will be his sister-in-law and he will have to see you at family BBQs” Peter chuckles as he steals Jess’s unwanted tomatoes to stack on his burger. 

“Okay, wow, we are not talking about marriage. We are just flirting a little here and there is no harm, no foul.” taking a bite out of the blue and red burger, it's funny you thought that the food coloring would make it taste strange but the 2099 burger was actually decent. 

“All I am saying is be careful flirting so close to trouble, speaking of…” 

Jess trails off as she nudges her head behind you. Turning you see Gabriel approaching, quickly turning you check your teeth to make sure you don't have anything caught. This action causes Jess to roll her eyes and Peter to give you a thumbs up. Turning back around you kick the chair out next to you for Gabriel to sit. 

“Lunch out of the Lab? What's the occasion?” 

Gabriel sits down with a giddy smile “They are serving Birria! So I had to come get some.” Gabriel starts to eat the stew-like soup with glee. You watch Him enjoying his lunch, in a moment of relaxation, you rest your palm in your hand as you just observe him eating. Gabriel turns to you a mouth stuffed with birria, you quickly adjust your stare from him back to your burger. Seeing that you are watching he quickly swallows his food and hits his chest from eating too fast. 

“What did you get?” he looks over to your plate and sees that you are eating the burger with his brother's face, he scrunches his nose at you. When he does you note how this makes him look like his brother but you wouldn't mention that. 

“What's with the face? It's pretty good” You take a bite and chew and Gabriel's face contorts with disgust. 

“Yeah no I’m not going to eat something that looks like my brother” 

“Your loss”

“Here, put that monstrosity down and try some real food” Gabriel takes the spoon away from his lips and fills it with the hot liquid. Grabbing your chin gently with his warm fingers, he turns you to face him, that flirty smirk on his face and he watches you with hooded eyes. 

“Ah~” He teases as he brings the soup to your parted lips. Watching as you take the soup hypnotized by his emerald eyes. Taking the spoon in your mouth tasting the perfectly seasoned liquid, you can't help but blush at the fact you are using the spoon he previously had his mouth on. An indirect kiss is all that floods your brain as Gabriel just watches you, fingers slightly rubbing your soft skin. 

“It's good huh?” His voice purrs staring at your lips

The sound of a clearing throat breaks the tension as you look at Jess, she shakes her head and Peter just smiles as he takes in the moment you two just shared. Feeling your face heat up you quickly avert your gaze back to your unfinished lunch, your sudden bashfulness doesn't seem to faze Gabriel as he swings his arm around your chair and leans closer to you. 

“I could give you more if you want,” his voice whispers to your flushed ear, sending your brain swirling. 

It was a loaded question, he knew it, you knew it, but would you crack? 

Then just as if it could sense the tension Gabriel's watch starts to ring and Layla makes her appearance. 

“Hey Gabri, Miguel says he needs to see you.”  

“Can it wait till I’m done with lunch?”

“He insists it's urgent” 

With that Gabriel sighs and quickly eats his soup, taking the bowl to swallow down the contents. Turning to you he winks “Duty calls, see ya bichita.” 

Quickly darting towards Miguel's office his scarf and large jacket look like a flowing cape as he runs off. Staring, a smile tugging at your lips as you watch him go, but then you feel a set of eyes piercing you, you turn to see an unimpressed-looking Jess and a giggling Peter. 

“What?”

“Girl, you're in trouble” Shaking her head she leaves you at the table and Peter follows behind her laughing. 

-----

The next day you hadn’t seen or heard from Gabriel so it was the perfect excuse to go see him. Walking into his lab you see Gabriel. He seems sweaty like he's been doing strenuous work. The subtle sheen of sweat resting on his face makes your mouth water. Moving around the lab he's picking up what seems to be heavy machinery, this is what must have made him all sweaty not that you're complaining. 

Gabriel tries to lift what seems to be a very large, very heavy piece of equipment, he tries to lift it, even tries pushing but it’s not bugging. Sauntering over you look at his struggle, it strangely excites you watching him, face contorting in frustration, skin glowing from sweat, breath heavy with exhaustion. Wonder if he looks like that during…Taking a deep breath you calm yourself before you approach. 

“Hey Gabri, looks like you're struggling a bit. Let me help you” 

Bending over you go to grab the equipment Gabriel tries to stop you. “Wait it's too-”

Before he can get the last word out you have lifted the equipment over your head holding it with ease. 

“Huh, sometimes I forget you have super strength…” he marvels as you move with the machine with ease. 

“What? I don't have super strength? I'm just that jacked.” You say in sarcasm before You flex your arm to show off your muscles. 

Gabriel laughs, “Must be nice to be able to lift whatever you want.” 

Opening your mouth you go to rebuttal his comment but as you're placing the equipment down you see how Gabriel's face seems to flush from watching you work, he quickly turns to hide his flushed features. This is an interesting development, he's made you nervous about two times now. Maybe it's time we make him nervous…

Walking up behind Gabriel you quickly scoop the taller man from his feet and hold him like a bride, a wide grin painted on your lips as you take in his slight squeal and shocked expression.

“Yeah, it sometimes has its perks like getting to surprise people” You boost with him in your arms. If you didn't have powers you could never lift him. Not always loving being a spider-woman. It's moments like this that make everything worth it. 

“Aw don't worry, I won't drop you” You tease him as he tries to change his expression to fit that of someone who is unfazed, failing miserably he decides to lean into the role of a saved civilian. 

“Oh Spider-woman your my hero” he bats his lashes at you 

“All in a day's work Sir, no big deal” 

“Oh, well I just have to repay you somehow, you know for lifting that heavy machine and lifting me to carry me” You gently put him back on his feet, his tall stature immediately towering over you as you do. 

Craning your head up to meet his eyes you feel his hand brush against your jaw, thumb rubbing your cheek. “How about a kiss Spider-Woman?” Leaning down he is inches from your lips, noses almost touching, those green eyes studying your face. Is this him breaking? Is he going to pull back? Is this real?  

“Can I kiss you Y/N?”

It's real, you can feel your heart thrumming like crazy. This feeling is so intense. 

Your lips part and you start to rise to your tiptoes. Gabriel's other hand finds your soft neck as he leans down. Hands searching for anything to grab, they find a place gripping onto his striped scarf. Finally one of you broke and it’s led to this perfect moment. 

“Gabri, I think we need to relook at the go-home machine, I think if we can program it to work faster we could, oh…” Miguel stops walking and tapping away at his watch when he sees you and Gabriel in such proximity. Face contorting from surprise to confusion, to annoyance. 

Damnit…

Gabriel and you quickly let go of each other and face Miguel. Miguel walks closer to you two, his face in that unhappy glare. 

 “What are you two doing?” he asks placing his hands on hips narrow waist

“I-I-Uh-” you nervously stumble over your words trying to find an excuse. 

“She was helping me out, I needed someone with strength to lift some heavy equipment” pointing to the large machine you have effortlessly moved. 

“Well looks moved, you should head back to your dimension if you're done with your duties today,” Miguel says in a serious tone. 

With a quick nod, you slip past Miguel and look back at Gabriel. Looking back at him he looks like he is bracing for a lecture from Miguel. Feeling guilty because you know those are never fun. Miguel starts tapping his watch, something he does before lectures, you assume to think of what he will say before he says it. Gabriel's eyes land on you, he looks serious preparing for his talking to, then just like a flip of a switch, he gives a mischievous smirk with a wink. 

And with that, you knew you were going to break first. 

 -----

Miguel made sure to keep everyone extremely busy after he saw you and Gabriel together, maybe you were reading too much into it but it seemed to be the only correlation. It had been four days since you saw Gabriel and you were getting antsy. The almost kiss played on a loop over and over in your mind. The sudden distance between you two only made your thoughts of him run rampant. The whole absence makes the heart grow fonder thing was right. Not seeing Gabriel for four days made you realize how much you enjoyed being near him and how desperate you were to kiss him finally. You two had teased each other and flirted enough, it was now time to do something about it. 

As you wind and twist your way through the maze you make your way closer to Gabriel's lab, you didn't know what you would say or do once you saw him you just knew you had an uncontrollable urge, a desire to be near him and you couldn't wait anymore. 

Finally getting through the maze of a lab you reach your goal, Gabriel.

Gabriel sees you enter the lab, giving you a sweet smile and putting down the small apparatus he was tinkering with. 

“Well if it isn’t Spider-Woman, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Gabriel strides over to you still insistent on teasing you like always. Danm, He gets cuter every damn time you see him. That cocky strut is like he knows why you're here like he knows how bad you have it for him. Hating to lose the game but you're going to burst if you don't, just swallow your pride, tell him…

“My w-watch, it's acting weird.” you quickly stumble out. Okay, what the fuck? That's not the plan? What the hell is the matter with you?

Looking at you with concern Gabriel grabs your hand lifting your arm to examine the watch. 

“Well, that's not good bichita. Step into my office, let's see if I can't help you out.” 

Guiding you through the lab he takes you to his work table. Swiftly he grabs your hips and lifts you on the table. A small Squeak leaves you for a moment, you're here to confess and he's still making you nervous, danm…

He takes his time examining your watch. Nesting himself between your legs making your breath get shaky. He then raises his eyebrows in concern and shock. 

“Oh wow this isn’t good, it's really messed up…”

“What really?” You look down in surprise. 

Gabriel taps his index finger on your nose making you look back up to him. “No, it’s perfectly fine, now why are you really here?”

Taking your arm back you adjust your watch on your wrist looking at him irritatedly. “Don’t scare me like that…” 

“Well don’t lie to me, what’s up? You don’t need a reason to come see me, you should know that?” 

Starting to chew on your bottom lip you look at him and nod. “I know, I just…the thing is…I hate losing.”

Lifting an eyebrow confused he pry for you to elaborate. “Okay? What did you lose?”

Holding your head down you sigh and point between the two of you. “This I lose the game, which sucks because I almost won if it wasn’t for-” 

Before you can finish your sentence Gabriel's hands gently grab your face and lifts it to meet his emerald eyes, then his soft lips are meeting yours. The kiss was tender and passionate, his large hands carefully gliding down from your face. The slow movement of his fingers leaves a heated trail on your skin. Finally, his hands met yours, intertwined his fingers with yours holding your hands tightly, as if he didnt you would disappear. With a swift gradation of intensity, the kiss from his instant lips has yours parting making your body quake as you begin to feel the slight teasing of his tongue to yours.

Pulling back he's the first to relinquish the kiss looking into your kissed-hazed eyes. “I lose…this stupid little game between us, I lose, you win.” 

Grabbing onto his scarf you bring him closer so you're whispering into his lips. “You're not going to be a sore loser right?”

He laughs slightly “I will gladly lose to you whenever you want” 

With that you pull him into a passionate kiss, quickly heating to a blazing fever that has you both instantly stripping each other trying to cool the raging fire between you. 

Before you know it you're bent over his work table, bare for his taking. Warm lips kiss up your spine while his index finger explores your soft folds, finding you already desperately wet. 

“Wow, I don’t even need to prep you, so fuckin’ wet for me,” Gabriel says, his finger still rubbing through you teasing at the opening of your slit. 

Moaning and leaning into his finger you're desperate for him but he's insistent on still teasing you. Slowly he begins to plunge his finger into your walls and the sweet stretch has you rocking back and forth only to get worse once he slips a second in curling into you. 

“Amas mis manos, ¿verdad?” (You love my hands don't you?)

Nodding you are willing to agree with anything he says as long as it means more. A chuckle leaves his lips and he takes his other hand and starts rubbing tight circles on your clit, slightly pinching the bud to make your hips jump forward. You can't help the embarrassing moans that escaped your lips but Gabriel just relishes in them.  “That's it, gemido por papi.” (Moan for Papi)

You're approaching your orgasm quickly just from riding his skillful hands. Uncontrollably you're squirming underneath him, thighs closing and tightening around his arm. Gabriel nudges your feet further apart with his foot spreading you open and plunging deeper till you're practically panting as he continues curling into you and abusing your swollen clit. “No, no, stay spread for me, can't make you cum with you getting shy like that” he purrs into your ear. 

Your moans are reverberating through the lab, it is music to his ears getting to hear you approach your high. “God, bichita I've been wanting to do this to you for weeks, I didn't imagine you would be so loud though. Aw, don't hold it in now, I want to hear you scream my name.” 

The new pace as you lean further on the table as you clench down on his fingers screaming out his name as your orgasm flows over you, your juices coating his digits, some of it falling onto his floor. Gabriel finally pulls his fingers from you looking at your quivering pussy as you shake from your orgasm, tilting his head he watches as your juices drip to the floor, he lazily sucks the slick from his fingers releasing them with a pop. 

“Danm, you're making a mess on my floor.” Before you can turn you feel a hand caressing your ass and his breath fanning your ear “Let's make a bigger mess shall we?” 

You feel his hand grab onto your hip and rub small circles, then you feel him pushing against you, foot kicking yours to spread open again, he's going to have to break you of that habit. Then his cock is rubbing against your wet folds, and you're instantly ready to go again, breathing quickening in anticipation.  Carefully his tip teases your entrance before slipping into you spreading you open with a moan escaping your lips. Starting slowly he kisses your shoulders as he slowly pistons his cock, loving to see your pussy gripping onto his cock. The soft pleading of your moans and mewling of his name is making him throb inside you, like a siren song to fuck into you harder. 

Answering your sinful song he grabs a handful of your hair before his thrusting into you harder and faster. 

“Harder, Ha-Harder!” you cry chasing his cock with your hips. 

“Harder? Oh, dirty girl, you're already gripping me so tight and you want it harder? ” His hand presses down on your back stilling you as he fucks harder into your squealing cunt. Hiccuping and slurring you're getting drunk from the pace he's pushing into you. Sweat is forming on him as his chest starts to burn, taking his hand from your hair he lifts your leg to where your knee is on the table, pushing himself deeper where his tip is nudging that sweet spot that has you clamping around his cock. 

Approaching your second orgasm he takes his hand and rubs those same tight circles on your clit. Finally, you're coming undone on his cock, squirting on him. Gabriel lets you ride out your high as long as he can before he's about to bust inside of you, finally when you're wiggling and whining in overstimulation he's pulling out and cumming his thick cum on your ass. Gasping from the sudden emptiness, your skin tingles as you feel the warm liquid run down your leg. 

Gabriel is quick to leave a barrage of kisses on your back. He quickly grabs a clean rag and wipes the cum dripping down your leg off you coo sweetly to you. Turning to face him, your chest fills warm from his tired-looking expression, you're quick to wrap your hands around him and kiss him sweetly. Gabriel surrenders to your gentle kiss, but slowly you become more ravenous taking the lead, your tongue eager to push through to taste him again.      

Breaking the kiss to catch his breath he looks into your eyes, and all his confidence wavers as he sees the hunger in your eyes. You're already ready for the next round and he's still recovering. Using your hand you push his chest gently backing him onto the table. A sweet smile on your lips as you watch him lean against the table watching you with bated breath. Before he can even try to make a move or say something he is lifted and pinned on top of his disheveled work table. The surprised look on his face has you licking your lips as you crawl on top of him. 

You look as if you could devour him, he can't help how it's making his cock hard again. A smirk falls onto your lips as you see his excitement. Straddling him you start to lazily pump his cock making his hips buckle and he moans from the overstimulation. 

“Spidey powers means I have crazy endurance and quick recovery time. Can you keep up?” You start to pump his cock faster making him moan and the precum to pebble from his cock. 

Gabriel hiccups and hastily nods, he would do whatever you wanted of him. 

Leaning down you lick the secretion off his tip making him whimper and throw his head back.  

“Good…” you purr.

-----

Completely spent you lay your tired body next to Gaberials. Your head resting on his warm chest, you could hear how his heart was still racing. Your stamina being higher than his, he had worked double time to satisfy you. Watch beeping, Gabriel lazily looks and sighs seeing that it is time for another one of the dull meetings. 

“We have a meeting to go to” 

Looking at him you think for a moment then a sly smile crosses your lips

“Well, that's no fun” 

“No, it's not” 

“Want to go take a shower in my dimension instead?”

A gasp leaves his lips “And skip our very important and completely not irrelevant meeting instead?”  

Biting your lip holding in a laugh you nod enthusiastically. 

Gabriel kisses your nose “Let me grab my clothes.” 

[the-kr8tor]

okay so hear me out for fluffy friday: guitar lessons with hobie?

(also love reading your work! 💖)

Thank you for requesting ❤️ ly 😘 sorry this was so short, I don't know how to play the guitar 😔

Pairing: Hobie Brown x gn! Reader/ Spider-punk x gn! Reader

Tags: No use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader, FLUFF.

EDIT: I THOUGHT IT WAS FRIDAY 😔 Let's pretend it is 🫣

It's Fluffy Friday!

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You sit on his ruffled bed, sheets messy on top of the mattress, pillows thrown haphazardly near the headboard to give you two some room.

Hobie's arm wrapped over your shoulder, legs around your form, his other hand right on the chords, teaching you the basics. You lean on his chest fully, distracted by how his slim fingers caress the neck of his guitar.

"There, you got 'em?" He finishes showing you the various chords. "Love?" Hobie shakes you using his shoulder, you giggle, bobbing up and down.

"Mm-hmm, I'm listening" Moving your head up to reach his jaw, you leave a chaste kiss over the soft skin. "But just in case, can you repeat that?"

"Which part?" He knows you're distracted, noticing how your eyes ogle his hands.

"The um– start?" You look at him apologetically, you clearly just want to listen to him explain, and just watch as he expertly moves his hands to strum the strings.

You expect Hobie to get annoyed or click his tongue in frustration, instead he hugs you tighter with one arm around your abdomen, chin resting on your shoulder.

"Maybe we should try again next time, yeah?" He places his guitar on the bed. "When you're not too…" he tries to find the word without offending you, "tired"

"I'm not tired" you roll your eyes, making air quotations around the last word. "I just really like listening to you when you talk about something you like"

Hobie raises a quirked brow.

"Yeah, okay your hands are very distracting" you snuggle closer to his chest.

"Knew it" he rubs his chin on your shoulder blade teasingly. You laugh, ticklish.

"Okay, let's try again. I'll listen this time, I won't get distracted" grabbing the guitar by its neck, you place it back on your lap. "Please?" You bat your lashes for added effect.

Hobie sighs but the giddy smile on his lips betrays his true emotions. "Only because you asked so nicely" he places a lengthy (not long enough for you though) kiss on your temple, making a loud smacking sound from his lips when he pulls away. The entire thing leaves you all smiley and giggling.

"Watch closely, yeah?" Hobie starts his explanation again.

"Mm-hmm" you hum, eyes fixated on his hand.

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

Thank you for reading! Please consider reblogging if you enjoyed it ❤️

[groupiegirlie24]

Bless Your Little Heart

A/N: Phew, so this is actually the first time I’ve put fan fic out, I’ve always made little blurbs here and there in my notes app but never sat down and wrote one to post. Go easy on me, I’m learning! (Also this is kinda long oops). Also this is actually inspired by lyrics from “Bless Your Little Heart” by The Velveteers! So enjoy!

Pairing: f!reader x Jake Kiszka

WARNINGS: 18+ MINORS DNI, mentions of alcohol consumption & drug use, break up, unprotected sex, jealousy, mentions of toxic relationships, smut, penetrative sex, oral (f! &m! receiving), strong language, mentions of a break-up, name calling, spit play, degradation, hair pulling, choking, slapping, blood (barely), dom!Jake. (I think that’s all)...

Bless your little heart…

Waking up from your nap, you look at your phone to see a text from your best friend inviting you to a party tonight. You groaned and threw your phone to the other side of the bed, leaving her on read. On any other Friday night, you’d already be halfway done with your makeup, with your hair done, and your hottest outfit on, starting to pregame for the weekend activities. Except this week was different, you were single. For the first time in a long time, you were completely single. You had been with your ex-boyfriend for awhile, a toxic relationship that was now over. One day you were in love, and the next it seemed like you were at each other's throats all the time. 

The final straw was last Saturday, you got into a huge argument when Jake had seen you talking to another guy at a bonfire. To say he lost it, would be an understatement. He ended things with you right there, and left. This was different from the other arguments and fights though. Jake always would come around and call you or pull up to your apartment to figure things out or half-ass apologize. But this time, your phone never rang, and the apology was nowhere to be found. Instead, you got blurry pictures from your friends about Jake out with another girl; his arms around her waist, his tongue down her throat. 

Devastated and angry, you hadn’t left your room since. You had barely even spoken to anyone. So it was fair to say, the party invitation was going to be a firm pass. Happy with this decision, you picked up the T.V. remote to scan through Netflix and find something to watch. Five minutes later, you were comfy, watching Gilmore Girls, and snacking on pretzels when your phone started buzzing from the corner of the bed where you had thrown it. Maybe if you ignore it long enough, they’ll leave you alone…right? 

On the third call you finally sighed and picked up the phone to see your best friend Kate calling you. Your finger hovered over the green button trying to decide whether you wanted to deal with this right now. Maybe it was an emergency? Ugh. Fine.

“PLEASE tell me you aren’t still in bed.”

“Fine, I won’t.”

“Y/N you need to get up. You need to get your sorry ass out of bed, it’s been days.”

“I’ve left my bed plenty?” 

“Bathroom & snack breaks don’t count.”

“Ok fine, then maybe I haven’t so what?”“Come to the party tonight, I’ll drive so you can drink your sorrows away.”

“Kate, really I don’t want to go. I’m bad company, you wouldn’t want me there.”

“But I do, and you’re going. Jake & that bitch Maddie will be there.”

“Ok so I DEFINITELY don’t want to go then, why would I want to see them?”

“Because you’re going to put on your sluttiest outfit and that red lipstick that used to drive him up the wall, take a few shots of tequila for confidence, and find the hottest guy in the room and get yourself back in the game.”

“I’m not sure that’s my favorite idea.”

“Well too bad, I’ll be there in 45 minutes to pick you up.” *click*

So now here you are, hair done, makeup done, and dressed in the sexiest outfit you could find. You know you previously said you hated this idea, but to be honest you’ve  come around to it. After slipping into a skin tight black mini dress that cut deliciously low to show off your plump breasts, and swiping on a deep red lipstick…You actually felt good. Your curves accentuated in all the right places, this outfit was dangerous. You felt hot, sexy, and out for blood. As you put my gold earrings in and slipped on your shoes, you  heard Kate’s car pulling up and headed outside. 

Pulling up to the Wagner house, you realized you might be in over your head. There were way too many people here. Luckily, Kate delivered on the tequila she promised; handing you a bottle and demanding you take a sip. Three tequila shots should do it right? Let’s hope.

Walking through the doors you recognized the normal crowd, most people already drunk or high. The music loud, and the bass so heavy you could feel it in your bones at points. You and Kate pushed through the crowd to find the rest of our group, and as we did you found your traitorous eyes darting around looking for that familiar brown mop of hair, and those deep brown eyes that could turn you into a puddle. When you didn’t find him, you felt a wave of relief. Maybe he wasn’t here. Walking up to your friends, you fell into casual conversation. Slowly, you could feel the tequila sneaking up on you. 

After a few minutes, Kate asked if you wanted another shot. Why not right? Fuck it. After the shot, you felt loose. Euphoric even. You grabbed Kate and dragged her towards the dance floor. Feeling the music you slipped into the rhythm, grinding your body against Kate’s and just having fun. You weren’t paying much attention but you could feel eyes on you. Looking up you made eye contact with him. He was leaning against the wall across the room, Maddie pressed up against him so all you could see was her extremely short dress and long blonde hair. His hands trailed down her back, making their way towards her ass. His hair was slightly disheveled, wearing a maroon button up shirt that was completely unbuttoned, his tan skin was gleaming, begging to be touched. Shaking the thoughts from your head, your eyes came back up to meet his. You could practically see the heat in his gaze, and if you couldn’t you could certainly see it in his smug smirk. Looking over your shoulder you realized Kate had started to dance with another guy you recognized, Danny. On the other side of you, you could see Sammy. 

Sammy was Jake’s younger brother, but he was also a friend of yours. Sammy was always good looking in an effortless way that made girls drool, but he wasn’t Jake. Reaching your arm out you grabbed onto Sammy and pulled him closer to you. To your surprise, he came up behind you with no hesitation. Locking eyes with Jake, you started to dance with Sammy. Immediately the smirk from Jake’s face dropped. Smiling at the win, you turned to face Sammy and took the opportunity to get even closer. Your chest completely flush with his. He smiled down at you and allowed you to have complete control of this encounter. You grinded with Sammy, allowing your faces to be a mere inches away, giggling and whispering flirtatious comments in his ear. 

You continued this way for a few songs until you felt a hand wrap around your wrist, yanking you towards someone else. You whipped your head around to find Jake, pressed against you, his hands on your lower back now & holding you in place. You started to pull away when you realized you could play this game. Maybe it was the tequila talking but you could play, and you could play it better. 

“A shame you pulled me from Sammy, I heard he's a good lay.”

“My brother couldn’t handle you.”

“I mean if he’s anything like you then you may be right.”

A smile played on his lips, and the heat in his gaze grew. You knew you were treading dark waters playing this game. 

“You put on quite the show for me with him though, might as well have blown me a kiss to make it a little more obvious Y/N.”

“Bless your little heart, you think that was for you? No, I just have always wanted to know how Sammy would feel pressed against me.”

“Oh come on, you know you can’t resist me. You never could.”

“Mhm, where’s your little plaything?”“Maddie? She went home, why? Up for a little three way fun Y/N?” 

Disgust clouded your mind thinking of having to share Jake, thinking about another woman’s hands all over the places you’ve claimed a hundred times now. Hiding your disgust, you jumped back into your little game.

“It’s really such a shame you love to hate me Jakey.” You said as you turned to finally face him, making a show of pressing yourself against him. You could see the bulge in his jeans, not fully hard but you could see he was turned on from your banter. Jake wedged his leg between yours so you could feel his thigh pressed against your core. You gasped a little at the sudden contact, desire glazing over your eyes as you looked back up at him. As much as you didn’t want to admit it, you were also turned on by this little game you were both playing. Lost in thought, you didn’t feel Jake’s hand inching towards your neck. His hand coming around and getting lost in your hair, he grabbed a fistful of hair and tugged you back. Leaving your neck exposed he brought his face close and you could feel his breath on your bare skin. His eyes hooded with lust as he took his time scanning your face. 

“You look like a whore tonight.”“You don’t mean that Jakey, I see the way you’ve been looking at me.”

“And how have I been looking at you?”

“Like you want to eat me alive. Like you want to smear this pretty red lipstick I have on. Like you want to rip this dress off me with your teeth.”

Jake gulped and you swore his eyes rolled back a little. God, revenge was so good. You were finally winning, finally had the upper hand. Feeling downright cocky, you kept pushing.

“Such a shame I’m not yours to take though. You weren’t a half-bad fuck.”

No sooner than the words left your mouth, Jake’s eyes snapped open. His expression immediately changed to anger. He spun you around and grabbed your wrist pulling you up the staircase. His grip on you is a little too harsh to be a joke.

“Jake let go of me. Where are you even going?”

“Shut the fuck up Y/N.”

“You're hurting my wrist Jake let me go.”

He shoved you into a room you recognized as Danny’s guest room. He pushed you past the door and slammed it shut. He turned around to lock the door while you stood there dumbfounded. He spun around, his hand flying to your face and clutching your jaw. 

“Who the fuck do you think you are Y/N? Hm? You’re nobody.”“Funny. I was someone to you a week ago.”

“Well now you’re nothing but a bratty bitch.”

The words barely registered with you before his lips were on yours, kissing you fiercely. He backed you towards the bed, your mind going a million miles a minute. You did not see the game going down the path of a hate fuck, but you were eager to play anyways. Pulling you from your thoughts you felt a hand press onto your chest and shove you on to the bed. Jake standing over you at the edge of the bed with a violent sparkle in his eyes. He finally leaned down, nipping at your lips hard enough to draw blood. You spat at him, blood and all. 

“Oh Y/N, that wasn’t the move to make darling.” He said with a smile.

 “Are you gonna be a good little slut and let me fuck you, baby?” he taunted. 

You mulled over his words, wanting to spit in his face again but the dripping heat and throbbing between your legs told a completely different story. Jake had a strong hand gripping your jaw in a firm hold, forcing you to look up at him, his face had the same smug expression that made you want to slap it off of him.

 “Answer me Y/N. Quickly.”

 His firm body pressing into yours, pinning yours to the bed You tore his hand away from your face and gripped the collar of his shirt, pulling his face into yours.  

“You better watch your fucking mouth. Now, fuck me or fuck off, Jacob,” you seethed through clenched teeth.

“Oh in time, but until then, consider this punishment.”

Harshly, one of his hands pushing into your panties.

 “Oh, and what do we have here?” 

He stood back up, his hand wrapping around your neck, holding you in place as he stood over you and pushed the dress up to expose your lower half.. His rough and calloused fingers brushed over your soaked thong, pushing past the fabric and claiming his prize, by collecting as much slick as he can before pulling them out of your panties. He slowly brought his drenched fingers to your face, showing you just how wet you are. 

“You’re awfully wet for someone who was, what did you say? Oh not a half bad fuck.”

Jake takes his fingers and puts them at the entrance of your mouth, slowly you part your lips as you look up at him. Trying to maintain eye contact and a soft moan escapes as he pushes the fingers past your lips into your throat. This time you let out a whimper that is muffled by the fingers buried up to the knuckles in your mouth. No matter how hard you press your tongue against the intrusive digits, Jake merely applied more pressure to the slick muscle, shoving his fingers even further until you audibly gagged around them. Your spit coats the length of his fingers and the slender digits slip and slide against one another as he pumps them into your open mouth. A flood of drool dribbles down your chin as your jaw hangs open and a thin stream begins to trickle across Jake’s wrist. You watched Jake’s eyes follow the stream as he removed his fingers slowly from your mouth.

“Now look at the mess you’ve made…” You sat breathless on the bed still, half-naked and while you should feel embarrassed or ashamed of your current state; you were the opposite. You were thrilled, this kind of foreplay was pleasurable for you both. You enjoyed a rough fuck, and you knew Jake did too. As you went to reach for Jake, aching to feel his skin on yours, he backed away.

“What are you doing?”

“Tonights not about you Y/N, you pissed me off. You’re gonna pay that price now.”

You opened your mouth to speak, when Jake placed a hand on the back of your neck, fisting into your hair, pulling you towards him, and suddenly you were kissing him again. His tongue sliding into your mouth, keeping his left hand with a death grip on your hair, he slowly moved his right hand up to cup your breasts. You arched into the touch, whimpering into his mouth.

“So this is the secret to getting you to shut the fuck up.” He smirked into the kiss. 

“Everytime you open that pretty mouth, you ruin the mood.”

You tried to sound unaffected, but Jake could tell from the soft moans escaping your already swollen lips, that you meant nothing of the sort; you wanted more. Absolutely needed more. He pulled down the top of your dress, that could barely be called a dress now that it was just black fabric bunched at your waist. Your breasts bounced out from the top of the dress and Jake immediately was all over them. Biting and leaving his mark anywhere he could. Slowly one of your hands snuck into his hair, close to the base of his ears, tugging on it with heavy force; the action rewarding you with a pleasured grunt as he sucked more deep purple bruises on your chest. 

“I’m getting impatient Ja-” you moan, clenching your thighs together as he presses his face to your chest again. 

“Should I stop?” he asks, tracing a finger over one of the many bruises he’s left against your skin. “Everyone should know you’re taken.” he breathed.

Jake’s tongue drags along your skin as he sinks down between your thighs, spreading them open and staring admiringly at your dripping cunt. He leans forward, his head now settled between your legs, kissing and sucking at your inner thighs. You hold them open wide for him, pussy clenching at his proximity. “Sir, please,” you whimper as you feel his hot breath ghost your core. 

“Oh now we’re begging? I thought I wasn’t that good. Tell me how bad I am at this Y/N.”

“I-...I can’t. God I can’t.”

you stumble out, as you let out a gasp when his tongue licks your folds as his nearly black eyes, rimmed with revenge and desire, lock with your own. He’s teasing you, slowly, and he smirks again up at you. His hand was on your right hip, holding you tight (and God, he was strong) as he spreads you open and lapped at you with deadly focus, spinning you stupid at an alarming pace. Jake’s fingers are now dancing along the fullest part of your hip. He locks eyes with you again as he slips two fingers into you causing your hips to buck wildly into him, your hands reaching to grip onto anything you can. He chuckled against the wet mess he had already made of you, making your back arch from the sensitive chill as he put his mouth right above where his fingers were already causing the heat to stir in your stomach. His suctioning mouth pulled back, releasing your soft skin. Spreading your folds again with his tongue, he slowly licked up and down, before swirling his tongue around your clit, earning him a gasp and a tug of his long brown hair. He let his lips wrap around your sensitive nub, suckling at it gently - reeling from your soft moans.

“Fuck, Jacob, don’t… don’t stop… I’m so fucking close” you whimpered, before one last swipe of Jacob’s tongue had you so close to falling apart against his mouth. Looking down at him, his chin glistening with your arousal, you watched the smirk form across his face as he pulled back.

“Did you think I was going to let you cum Y/N?” His eyes were dark with a playful evil.

“On your knees, now.” 

You looked up at him ready to protest when you felt his fingers coming to fist around your hair, yanking you up only to tug you onto the floor in front of him.

Your knees make contact with the cold wooden floor and you settle there between his legs. Your cunt throbs when your hands come together at the base of his cock, thumbs and pointer fingers trying to wrap around his girth. He's too thick for even both hands. You swallow down a moan when you feel him twitch.

“Stare later Y/N, put it in your mouth.”

You sit back on your ankles, head bowing to meet the tip of his hanging cock. All the muscles in his body tense and he hisses when you open your mouth and your tongue slides under his shaft. Keeping his hands in your hair he grasps the back of your head, jutting his hips forward so that his dick pushes past your lips, a little groan escaping your throat as he keeps pushing himself deeper into your open mouth. You groan, eyes squeezing shut as you adjust to his size. He's caught off guard when you nibble down on him a little bit. One hand leaves his shaft to reach down and cup his balls. You squeeze them gently and you feel the top half of his body hunch over. His fingers dig into your scalp with unbelievable pressure. The sound of you starting to gag seems to spur Jake on because he starts fucking your mouth faster. His movements start to become erratic as he approaches his orgasm. His breathing is heavy and labored. The hand tangled in your wet hair tightens even more and holds you steady. And you could feel him shaking, his grips on your head weakening as his fingers tugged at your roots. He was getting so close, but before you could feel him release down your throat he pulled away, your brows furrowing in confusion as you looked up at him. 

“Up, on the bed.” Shakily standing up, feeling the sting of the carpet on your knees as you winced a little. 

“Who do you think you’re bossing around Jake, I’m not a ragdoll.”

“Tonight you are, you’re a little slut of a ragdoll.” He whispered, leaning closer to your ear. You could feel the heat of his breath ghosting the shell of your ear. His breath burns every inch of your skin, instantly causing the pool of wetness in between your thighs to collect again. 

“Now, get on the fucking bed and maybe I’ll consider letting you get even slightly close to cumming tonight.”

Part of you wants to retort but the thought of him leaving the room with all your pent up sexual arousal stings more than you’d like to admit. So you lean back, lowering yourself onto the bed behind you. Your scowl and eyes remain trained on him as he watches you.

“Spread your legs, present yourself to me like the slut you are.”

He watches your pretty legs spread wide open, small tiny red bites spread over your soft thighs from where his brutal mouth was, your exposed breasts in all your glory, your perky nipples hard, and the dress he had hastily pulled down and up is now resting against your hips. 

“F-Fuck get inside of me already.” 

“beg.” Jake sighs as he stares down at you, legs open and ready.

“fuck you Jake.” 

“You’re about to babe.”

He fists himself as he closes the distance between you two and bumps his tip against your clit making you want to cry, you’re so fucking wet for him. 

“Enough teas-” he cuts your thoughts short by plunging deep inside of you and grabbing your hips, raising you up to meet his own. He pulled out just as fast as he entered you, pulling back for a torturous second before thrusting all the way in, and it made your breath falter, the way he filled you up so completely and fully.

“Say it, Y/N. No one compares to me. I’m the best you’ve ever had. Sammy could never fuck you like this”

Your eyes widened as you met his dead serious stare, heated eyes lasered in on your own in return. Waiting to hear your response. There was no way he didn’t already know, and you certainly didn’t need to feed his ego by moaning about it. The way he was stretching you out was near criminal, some kind of sweet agony that pulled a breathy whimper from your traitorous lips. 

“Say. It. Now. If. You. Want. To. Cum.” every word punctuated by a hard thrust, causing tears to form in your eyes. His pace was brutal and relentless, he was burying himself deep in you, damn near feeling it in your stomach. 

“Jake,” you muttered as his hand came up to spread across your throat, his thumb against your collarbone as he nudged your knees a little farther apart. You arched into him as he cups your breast, teasing your nipple with his calloused fingers.

“You’re the best. No one compares.” You breathed, a devilish grin forming on his lips, but you weren’t finished.

“I’ll fuck Sammy too, and let you know how he performs.” you replied with a smug grin of your own.

With this reply you were met with a heavy smack on the side of your thigh causing a moan to escape your lips. You locked your legs around him, and let your nails trail down his back, not caring if it hurt. He bites your nipple and you squeal as pleasure and pain mixed delightfully inside you. You love spurring on an angry Jake, it makes for euphoric sex and that’s exactly what you’re getting.

“Y/N, if you mention my brother again you won’t cum and that’s a promise. So shut the fuck up and take all of this.”

“Look at you, how pathetic, Y/N,” Jake says as you whine and whimper when he swipes his thumb over your swollen clit. “I know you are slut for my cock.” he grins, looking at you, spread wide on his bed. “How does it feel to have my dick inside? Mine. No one else's.”

His gravelly voice sounds intoxicating as he whispers to you in the darkness, you feel absolutely drunk off the way he’s fucking you. “It feels so good Jake, don’t stop.” 

He keeps fucking hard and fast. His hand on your waist trails down to your heat, sliding to your clit. His fingers begin circling the nub in rhythm with his hips. You let out a moan, “Fuck, fuck, Jake.” You feel the warmth in your core starting to unravel, getting closer to your release. 

Jake keeps his brutal pace, absolutely pounding into you and he’s not showing any signs of slowing down. “Y/N I’m gonna fill you up.” Those simple words tearing the most pornographic moan from your throat. His fingers on your clit start rubbing faster as his breathing starts to grow ragged, his hips starting to stutter as he gets closer to his orgasm. Your walls tighten around him and he hisses. The white heat inside you grows and soon you feel it flowing over.

“Come for me Y/N, give it to me, cum all over my cock.” 

He doesn’t have to wait long before you’re absolutely shaking, eyes rolling to the back of your head, as he pins your hips to the bed and pours into you. His hips stutter as your back arches off the bed, your walls clenching around his dick. 

Slowly, Jake pulls out of you leaving you empty and cold. He backs up and stares at you, limp and breathing like a mad woman, still sprawled on the bed. Almost as if he’s admiring a piece of artwork in a museum. 

“Filthy, you look absolutely filthy Y/N. Look at you, my cum leaking out of your dripping cunt. It’s a sight truly.”

Speechless, you just stare at him. That devilish grin you love appearing on his face. You watch him as he begins to redress. After putting his pants back on, he reaches down and grabs your still soaked thong and puts it in your pocket. Before you can question it, he’s already reaching for the door handle and turning towards you.

“I’ll hold on to these, maybe if you behave for the rest of the party you can come back to my place to get them back. See you out there.”

With a wink, he was gone. Disappearing into the dim light of the hallway and shutting the door behind him leaving you on the bed, naked and exposed. But you’ve never been more turned on in your life. The only thought in your head being, to find Sammy for another dance. 

[flowingivy]

Cut by Thorns

CW- domestic violence, swearing, slight graphic description.

Chapter 1

"GET THE FUCK OUT NOW." You screamed at the tall man, who was previously hitting and yelling at you. "ITS ALL YOUR FAULT Y/N" the loud crash of plates being thrown against wall echoed threw the apartment. You were finally able to shove the big man out of the apartment and locked the door. "IF YOU DONT LEAVE ILL CALL THE FUCKING COPS." Silence for the first time in multiple hours. Silence.

Noise dripping with blood caused by the man you called for boyfriend for almost a year. Things started off really good. He was sweet, took you out of dates. Made sure you were always happy. On a normal day, he was in the shower and his phone buzzed on the bed. That day everything fell apart. Cheater. Lier. Fake.

After finding out that he had been cheating on you for a large portion of your relationship, he got violent, but it wasn't ever physical until now. Sitting on the floor, crying your heart out. The man you once knew was gone. Stomping to the bedroom you shared just earlier that day. You grabbed a trash bag and threw all his shit into it. Rushing to the balcony and throwing it all off the third story of the building.

You called your closest friend. The girl you've been close with for years. The only one who has never done you wrong. Your ride or die. Kate. She has always been protective over you. Never wanted to leave your side. When you met the girl she was drunk at the bar. Complaining about work and the large amount of men she lived with. You took her home and made sure she was safe. Sometimes friends come when you least expect it.

After that night, Kate would come over every single Friday and have what you both liked to call a girls night. A glass of wine and talking about how shitty work has been. Along with her frequently bring up the men she worked with. Which Kate also lived with. Not knowing what she did for work. You tried to be as supportive as possible. Kate always hated your now ex boyfriend. In her words he was a free loader so once she heard about the series of events of just minutes ago.

She was livid and angry. You're the one person she genuinely cared for as a person. Well on the phone with the furious women. You heard her talk to someone. Probably her roommates. "hey y/n? Is it okay if I go for about half an hour?. I'll be over as soon as I can. Just text me if he comes back okay?" You whip the tears from your eyes "yeah that's okay. I'm gonna go take a shower. Just come in when you get here." The phone hangs up.

You go back to the room and grab a pair of men's stripped boxers and a large black shirt. Turning the water on to the hottest setting and wait for it to heat up. You turn on your favorite music and start to wash up. Getting all the crimson blood off your face and hands.

Knock knock.

You hop out of the shower, throw on your large clothes, and walk to the door of your very spacious apartment. Opening the door, you were met with four faces. Three you have never seen before. Kate immediately hugged you and grabbed your shoulders tight. "Oh my god. Y/n your face is so bruises." You flinch at the sudden touch. "Kate, who are these guys?" You say in a soft tone, always sounding scared.

"Oh yeah! This is Brian" pointing to a tall blonde man with slight stubble and a bright yellow hoodie and ripped jeans. "This is Tim" Kate pointed to a built man with side burns and a red flannel. "Last but not least, toby." Lastly pointing to a shorter boy but still taller then you. He had a black face mask on and a black turtle neck. "These are my roommate I've always told you about. They offered to give me a ride" You wave at the boys and smiled a bit. "The place it fucking trashed." You say with a bit of embarrassment.

"These pigs are probably worse." Kate jokingly rolls her eyes."fuck you." Toby thought he was quiet but kate had elbowed him in the side. Which he couldnt feel but got the hint. "Can we come in? I'll help you clean up y/n. " You move out of the way. Unveiling the trashed apartment. Glass all over the floor. The coffee table in the living room flipped over. "Oh god." Tim said under his breath, trying not to make y/n feel bad. "One person did this? Jesus." Brian said, looking towards you with concern written all over his face. What she went threw. None of them wished upon anyone. Ever.

Kate went under the sink and grabbed a trash bag. Picking up large pieces of glass and trash that was thrown around. "Kate, please, you don't have to.." You say with guilt in your voice. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You should just relax for right now. I'll make sure this place looks untouched when I'm done. After we can even go get food." Kate smiled slightly at you, trying to cheer you up.

"Fine.. but I'm paying for food. For all of us." You smiled back at the girl. Tim helping get trash off the floor. Toby whipped down the counter that had spilled pop on it. Kate now with a broom getting the rest of the glass. "Go get dressed so you don't look homeless!" Kate said in a joking tone. "Ok, mom," you giggled back. Walking to your room. Flipping on the light switch. You heard talking in the kitchen/ living room (they are connected). Not being able to understand what was being said, you got dressed into a pair of oversized ripped jeans. Along with a large black hoodie that had a large picture of Medusa on the back.

Walking out of the bedroom, you saw a fully clean apartment. It looked like your ex-boyfriend wasn't even there. It felt great. Being with Kate and the boys you just met. Felt comfortable, like as along as you had Kate. Nothing bad was going to happen to you. The men made you feel like they would have your back as long as Kate cared for you. As you walked to get your shoes. You felt three pairs of eyes on you. Watching your every move. You could get comfortable with not getting treated like shit by a man all the time. You could get used to having a man genuinely care about you as a person. Not an object.

"Are you ready to go y/n?"

A/N- this is my first book ever. I would love to hear suggestions🙏 next chapter will be out soon.

[squish36-writes-and-draws]

Carry a Torch

Word count: 4401 <- untrustworthy number

TW: alcohol

Taglist (lmk if you want to be added/removed!): @stellar-lune @faggot-friday @kamikothe1and0nly @nyxpixels @florida-preposterously @poppinspop @uni-seahorse-572 @solreefs @did-i-say-you-could-get-up @rusted-phone-calls @when-wax-wings-melt @good-old-fashioned-lover-boy7 @dexter-dizzknees @abubble125 @hi-imgrapes @callum-hunt-is-bisexual @xanadaus @callas-pancake-tree @hi-my-name-is-awesome @katniss-elizabeth-chase @arson-anarchy-death @dizzeners @thefoxysnake @olivedumdum

On Ao3 or below the cut!

I would thoroughly recommend reading this on Ao3 if possible. I originally wrote this as a screenplay for my creative writing class and, as such, tumblr nuked the formatting. Ao3 did as well, but less so.

That being said, it's kind of important to understand my larger concept. This is a script for a pilot episode of a TV show. Each episode is going to be featured around a song (and I was forced to write this one which is why it's bad) so at the end, it's a concept album. You will not be allowed to have the rest of the show. I refuse to write it.) This also takes place in 1925 so I've thrown some less than successful slang in there.

INT. EVERGLEN RECORDING STUDIO - MIDDAY - 1925

KEEFE leans over the antique Vernon family heirloom piano where FITZROY (FITZ) is playing. The intro credit music stops as FITZ looks up at him. 

FITZ sighs. 

FITZ

Let me guess. You’ve been thinking.

KEEFE gasps overdramatically.

KEEFE 

(feigned surprise)

Why ever would I do such a thing? You 

know thinking can only lead to dangerous

outcomes. That being said, I did have a

thought. 

FITZ

Stars, why do I even bother anymore? 

KEEFE smiles annoyingly. 

KEEFE

Because I’m very difficult to get rid of.

(beat) 

I trust you know we’ve been looking for 

a new venue since Tam dusted out on us. 

FITZ 

And whose fault was that? 

KEEFE

Legally? Not mine. 

FITZ pinches the bridge of his nose. KEEFE is unbothered by this. 

KEEFE (CONT’D)

Anyway I was talking to Sophie—

FITZ

Anything that starts like that is certain 

to end badly. 

KEEFE

Fitzroy Avery Vacker, listen to me for a 

second for once in your life. Foster has a 

cousin whose family has a place we could 

use. It’s not the most ideal—

FITZ 

(interrupting)

Then why are we even going to bother with

considering it? 

KEEFE

The back corner of a coffee shop is 

better than nothing. Not all of us are 

lucky enough to leech off your parents.

FITZ pauses for a moment, considering making KEEFE verbalize why, exactly, he cut off his relationship with his parents. 

FITZ

I take it that means you’ve already booked

it.

KEEFE

It’s one gig. Do your best to tolerate it. 

KEEFE turns toward the back door. No one knows where he is going, probably including himself. 

FITZ

You know I won’t.

KEEFE

And you know I don’t care. 

The door closes behind him and FITZ cracks his knuckles before going back to playing the piano. 

INT. SLURPS AND BURPS - LATE EVENING/NIGHT

Slurps and Burps is a coffee shop during the day and a Speakeasy at night. People mill about, the space filled with chatter. 

BIANA is sitting at the counter, swinging her feet as she talks to SOPHIE, drinking what is likely spiked coffee. 

DEXTER (DEX) and FITZ are getting everything set up for the performance this evening. FITZ is trying to be helpful. DEX is left moving the piano mostly by himself. 

DEX

(breathing heavy, teasing)

My guy, did you fill this thing with rocks? 

FITZ

(indignant) 

No. It’s just built to last. 

DEX

(proud of his pun)

Well, it could certainly last through me 

driving a car into it. 

FITZ

Why would you ever find yourself in that 

situation? 

DEX shrugs. 

DEX

I don’t know. 

FITZ looks over at KEEFE, who is flirting with some random extra. 

DEX adjusts the piano into its final resting place. 

DEX

Can I get you anything? Java, tea, what 

have you. We’ve got everything.

DEX lowers his voice. 

DEX (CONT’D) 

A little bit of moonshine? It’s a family

recipe. 

FITZ

(low, dangerous)

You know, it’s probably not very good 

business practice to disclose that 

information to just anyone who walks in 

off the street. Somebody’s going to call

copper. 

DEX

(unconcerned, irritated)

You rat me out, you’re out of a job. 

FITZ snorts. 

FITZ 

I didn’t want this gig in the first place. 

FITZ raises his voice. 

FITZ (CONT’D)

Isn’t that right, Keefe? 

KEEFE

I got no context, so whatever makes him 

look the most like a sap is the one I 

want. 

KEEFE spends the rest of the conversation watching them. 

DEX

(voice low) 

Then why are you here? Why did you even 

bother?

FITZ leans against the piano, almost protectively, trying to make himself look relaxed. He is not. FITZ shrugs stiffly. 

FITZ

I had nothing better to do. Trust me. I 

tried. I really did. 

DEX

(maximum sarcasm) 

Wow, that must have been so difficult

for you. 

FITZ

Lay off it, alright? I’m here for Keefe, 

regardless of what you might want to think.

DEX

I want to believe you’re a sap, and you’re

not exactly giving me much evidence to the

contrary. 

DEX takes a sip out of some unspecified alcoholic beverage. This is a speakeasy, after all. 

FITZ

Oh, so you’ve talked to me for what? Five

minutes? And now you think you’re an 

expert in my every waking thought? Every 

detail of my inner psyche? 

DEX puts his hands up, defensive. 

DEX

I didn’t say that, Socrates. Watch your 

tongue the text time you try to blow 

things out of proportion.

FITZ

Like that isn’t blowing things even 

further out of proportion? 

DEX

If I remember correctly—and please 

correct me if I am wrong here—you were

the first to threaten me and my family, 

so I think that’s more than a fair 

trade from your perspective.

The lights flicker, signaling the start of the show. It is operated by DEX’S BROTHER #1.

DEX

Well. 

DEX presses his lips together. 

DEX (CONT’D)

(bitter)

I should tell you to have fun up there, 

but I don’t think you’re capable of

that. Break a leg and all that 

superstitious nonsense. 

DEX shifts to his customer service voice, laced with passive aggression. 

DEX (CONT’D)

Let me know if I can get you anything 

to make your time here slightly less 

inconvenient. 

FITZ turns away without a reply or a second thought. 

EXT. - HAVENFIELD - MIDDAY, FALL

SOPHIE and DEX are sitting under a Jacaranda tree, leaves beginning to fall but not completely bare. They are complaining about many things. FITZ is a large topic of discussion on this fine day, and also KEEFE and BIANA to a lesser extent. 

DEX

How do you put up with all of them on 

a daily basis? 

SOPHIE

Determination, resilience, a lack of 

other valid career paths, and a dash 

of—

SOPHIE wiggles her eyebrows. It is unclear which one she is wiggling her eyebrows about, but that ambiguity will be important. 

DEX sighs. 

DEX

Okay, like, on the one hand, I get what

you’re saying and, yeah, you’re 

absolutely right.

SOPHIE laughs. 

SOPHIE

That’s because I’m objectively correct.

DEX is too far in his own head to react to SOPHIE’s comment. 

DEX

But, like, how can you reconcile that 

with that personality? I don’t get it.

SOPHIE 

There’s nothing to get. Admire from a 

distance and your problems solve 

themselves. Easy. 

DEX pauses to consider this answer.

DEX

No. I don’t like that solution. Give me 

a better one. Replace the personality

itself. You went to college. You have a 

fancy degree in marketing or something. 

Figure it out. 

SOPHIE

Okay, first of all, that was several 

years ago and I haven’t used it since. 

DEX 

You have a photographic memory. Don’t 

try to pull that on me. 

SOPHIE doesn’t know how to reply to this for a beat. 

SOPHIE

(feigned anger)

Damn. How dare you know all my tricks? 

Anyway, I don’t think personality 

replacement was covered in my curriculum. 

Sorry. But do let me know if the store 

needs new customers. 

DEX

Some might argue there’s already too many

people. That doesn’t excuse the fact that

you’re supposed to know the answers to 

life, the universe, and everything. This

has been thoroughly established. 

SOPHIE

Well, I don’t. Sorry. 

DEX pauses for a long time, somewhere in the realm of several whole seconds. 

DEX

I just wish…things would be easier. 

SOPHIE smiles softly, encouragingly.

SOPHIE

On which front? 

DEX laughs bitterly. 

DEX

Yes. 

DEX pauses, debating with himself if he should elaborate.

DEX (CONT’D)

(frequent pauses, struggling with sentences)

It’s just that…Fitz is…tangling 

everything together. I used to be able

to go to work without getting trapped 

in my own mind. And, well, to be 

completely honest, I don’t much 

appreciate it. 

SOPHIE

You should go tell him that. 

DEX physically flinches away from this idea. 

DEX

I have an even better idea. How about 

you go tell your boyfriend Keefe? 

He’s the one that concocted this whole 

booking-Slurps-and-Burps-for-a-gig

disaster. He should be the one to unravel

this Gordian knot of a situation. 

SOPHIE

I’m not dealing with your problems. 

You can talk to Fitz yourself or you 

can deal with it. 

DEX

(Making himself sound useless on purpose)

But, alas, I’m incapable of speaking 

with people in rational terms. Whatever

am I to do? 

SOPHIE

(not buying into DEX’s act)

Don’t make me show you what irrational

terms sound like. 

DEX sighs, defeated. This is going to be unpleasant, but he’s already concocting the bribery he is going to offer KEEFE to make him want to relocate. Preferably without destroying his and SOPHIE’s relationship. 

DEX is also fairly easily convinced to do things he doesn’t want to do while also being immensely stubborn. 

DEX

Fine. 

EXT. RECORDING STUDIO - THE NEXT DAY, DAYLIGHT HOURS 

DEX walks up to the door and argues with himself in his mind before knocking. 

Inside, FITZ sighs and stops playing piano. As he stands, his joints sing the song of their people. Unlocking the door, he finds DEX studying the ground and fidgeting with his sleeve. 

FITZ 

Hello! What can I—

FITZ realizes who is standing in the doorway and drops the polite act. 

FITZ (CONT’D)

(flatly)

—What do you want?

DEX is irritated by this in an effort to not be thinking about how he is engaging in a conversation. 

DEX

Believe it or not, not everything is 

about you. I’m here to speak with 

Keefe.  

FITZ considers this, leaning against the doorframe. 

FITZ

Nah, I don’t believe that one. Besides, 

Keefe isn’t here. I don’t know where 

he is or when he’ll be back. Sorry. 

DEX feels a rush of relief, taking a deep breath. 

DEX

It’s probably futile to ask you to tell

him that I was looking for him, but I’m 

going to hope anyway. 

DEX turns around to leave. 

FITZ 

You’re exactly right. 

DEX

You don’t have to sound so disappointed. 

BIANA (O.S.)

(yelling to be heard from across the studio)

Fitzroy! Stop being so obnoxious! 

BIANA’s voice comes down from a yell to a normal speaking voice as the sentence goes on and she gets close enough to push FITZ out of the doorway and take his place. 

BIANA (CONT’D)

I’m sure Keefe will return sometime 

soon. 

FITZ

(muttering)

Lies. Filth and lies. 

BIANA 

(to FITZ)

He’s going to get hungry sooner or 

later. 

FITZ seems to accept this, rolling his eyes and wandering back to his precious piano.

BIANA

(to DEX)

Can I get you anything? Fitz has an

obsession with baking and we’re

always trying to get rid of the 

aftermath. 

DEX smiles awkwardly as he shakes his head. BIANA turns to not be outdoors anymore and DEX follows her inside. 

DEX

I mean, if you want to sell them at 

Slurps and Burps, I could always

ask my parents. 

DEX shrugs. 

DEX (CONT’D)

I’m sure they’d agree, but I’d rather 

present a possibility than a guarantee, 

you know. 

BIANA

You sound like him.

DEX and FITZ look equally offended by this and avoid eye contact at all costs. 

BIANA takes this opportunity to leave DEX and FITZ together for a length of time while she investigates this route. 

BIANA 

Well, I’ve got some extra time today, 

so I can go ask your parents myself. 

Don’t knock each other off while I’m 

gone, got it? 

FITZ and DEX watch her leave. This is the same door that KEEFE used in the first scene, not the front door. 

FITZ

(yelling after her)

How many times do I have to tell you to

stop meddling in my life?

FITZ huffs. 

DEX gets up to leave out of the front door that is still open. 

FITZ

(irritated and tired)

Where are you going now? 

DEX

…Leaving? 

FITZ

Well, don’t. Biana is going to think 

I’ve planted you in the backyard or

under the floorboards. 

DEX releases an exasperated sigh and sits down on a conveniently placed stool. 

FITZ (CONT’D)

Believe me, I wouldn’t say that unless 

it was absolutely necessary. 

DEX

(his temper finally snaps)

What is your problem, dude? You’ve been 

nothing but rude during the ten minutes

we’ve interacted. I understand if you

don’t like me. That’s understandable. 

But you’re like this toward everyone. I 

can also understand you didn’t want to 

do the gig for whatever reason, but 

instead of being like that about it, you

could’ve figured out a way to sit in 

time out until the last minute. It’s not 

that hard. There’s a very nice storage

closet where I’ve spent more hours than 

I’d like to admit hiding from people.

FITZ’s hands drop forcefully into his lap. 

FITZ

(equally angry)

Why should I explain myself to you? I 

couldn’t care less about what you 

think. I don’t know why you think I 

would. 

DEX

Oh, I don’t know, basic human decency?

I really don’t care if you disagree,

but I tried my best to be pleasant, 

and you made that very, very difficult. 

FITZ

That seems like a you problem. 

DEX

Well, I’m sorry you couldn’t tolerate

a single evening that wasn’t precisely 

what you wanted to do. That must have 

been so hard for you. It’s almost like 

I’m not trapped in that coffee shop 

every single day. 

FITZ

Again, that seems like a you problem. 

I don’t see why I should be concerned 

with a you problem. 

DEX

And I don’t see why I have to put up 

with your—

DEX gestures vaguely at FITZ, unable or unwilling to say what he’s thinking. 

FITZ

(challenging)

My what?

DEX

Your general existence. I don’t want to 

be here as much as you don’t want me to

be here. I would adore being able to 

leave you alone, but it looks like 

neither of us are going to get what we

want. 

FITZ

So you’ve made it your personal mission

to make yourself as infuriating as 

possible in the meantime? 

DEX

I guess so. You didn’t exactly make it

difficult for me. 

The sound of the back door opening stops FITZ from responding. KEEFE enters, mild surprise at seeing DEX but he also doesn’t care that much. 

KEEFE

Did you miss me? 

FITZ and DEX

(in approximate unison) 

No. 

FITZ and DEX look at each other—this is a pretty significant milestone in them agreeing on something. They laugh. 

INT. SLURPS AND BURPS - MIDMORNING

FITZ enters, the doorbell announcing his presence. He makes eye contact with DEX’S SISTER at the counter. 

DEX’S SISTER

Dex! Your friend is here!

DEX appears from the back, expecting SOPHIE or maybe even KEEFE. He has severe dark circles and is immediately irritated by FITZ’s presence. 

DEX’S SISTER trades places with him, though she will be listening to their whole conversation. 

DEX

What do you want this time? 

FITZ

I do believe you’re a tea shop when 

you’re not running from the police, and, 

as such, I’d like a small Earl Grey.

DEX gives him a look. The kind of staredown that requires invocation of the if-looks-could-kill meter. 

DEX takes some of the hot water from the coffee and unwraps a teabag, allowing it to start steeping. 

DEX

And you had to come here for that? 

FITZ

You’ve got the best tea in the shortest

distance from my apartment. 

DEX

You can make tea yourself, you know. 

FITZ

Yes, but, you see, then I have to 

Interact with Keefe. In that case, 

the amount I would spend in bribery is 

significantly greater than venturing 

out into the world. 

DEX

I can almost see that.

DEX hands FITZ the scalding mug of tea. FITZ touches it and flinches away. 

DEX (CONT’D)

Can I get anything else for you today?

FITZ

If you have a least favorite muffin, 

I’ll take one of those. 

DEX studies the muffins for a long second before choosing a victim. It is placed into a white paper bag that is slightly too small for both his hand and a muffin. 

DEX

That’ll be $1.05

FITZ takes out his wallet and slides over a $20. For reference, this is roughly $350 when adjusted for inflation. That is also why the price of a tea and muffin is scaled the way it is. 

DEX’s eyebrows react appropriately to the amount of money this is. 

DEX

(projecting calmness and irritation)

Singlehandedly paying for a week’s rent

isn’t going to make me like you. 

FITZ

Okay. That’s not going to stop me. Just

think of it like a starting point. A 

deposit in exchange for dealing with me

and my—

FITZ gestures vaguely at himself. 

DEX

I’m never going to live that one down, 

am I? 

FITZ

(almost, but not quite, playful)

Not if I have anything to do with it. 

DEX

Lovely. 

FITZ

Careful, I’m willing and able to have 

Keefe perpetuate it even further. 

DEX

I hope you know that my siblings have 

already added it to their very limited

vocabulary, so there’s really no need. 

DEX realizes this may result in additional perpetuity because it sounded like he was trying to make FITZ stop and that means he could take it as a challenge. 

DEX (CONT’D)

Although, I guess there is a constant

need to make me suffer as much as 

possible, so it’s really up to your

discretion. 

FITZ takes the tea, no longer giving him fourth degree burns, and his muffin. 

FITZ

Would you care to dine with me on 

this fine morning? 

DEX makes sure there aren’t too many customers, in case he would be needed to work. There are not. Most of their income comes in after sunset. 

DEX

(loud so his siblings can hear)

Yes, I would like to get paid to not

work. 

FITZ flashes a small smile that DEX does not see.

FITZ and DEX sit at a booth in the corner for minimum visibility. There aren’t many other people and if they get into another argument, they don’t want to be public entertainment. 

DEX

It really is remarkable how determined 

you are to both piss me off and remain

a patron here. 

FITZ

Well, I’m sure you could solve the 

latter fairly quickly. 

DEX gestures widely to the doorway to the kitchen, where his siblings are trying to not be caught eavesdropping. 

DEX

Behold. The reasons I am physically 

incapable of kicking you out. I do that, 

I’m never going to hear the end of it,

and that’ll get out to the rest of our

customers—because of course it will—and

then suddenly they start going down the

street for their mediocre morning coffee. 

FITZ

Well, I’m not a coffee person, so I can’t

review yours, but your Earl Grey is quite

nice. 

DEX lowers his voice conspiratorially. 

DEX

It’s even nicer with a little splash of 

something. If you get what I mean. 

FITZ

(voice low to match)

It’s not even noon yet. 

DEX

Then come back later. Time usually 

travels linearly in the forward 

direction, and then it’ll be after noon

and you’ll have to come up with a new

excuse. If that new excuse just so 

happens to be that it’s not five 

o’clock yet, wait until I tell you about 

what else time can do. It can travel

linearly. In the forward direction. 

DEX’S BROTHER #2 (O.S.)

And we don’t have a band tonight so then

maybe you’ll perform and Dex will be—

DEX turns and points at him. 

DEX

Don’t finish that sentence if you don’t 

want lead poisoning. 

FITZ smiles. 

FITZ

Allegedly. 

DEX

Allegedly. 

DEX turns back to FITZ. 

DEX (CONT’D)

You don’t have to if you don’t want to. 

FITZ

And that sounds like you’re trying to get

rid of me. I’ll see you tonight then. 

FITZ brightens his smile and leaves. DEX doesn’t take any opportunity to argue with him, despite the fact that he has more than enough time to react. 

When the door shuts, DEX releases a big sigh, deflating. 

INT. SLURPS AND BURPS - AROUND SUNDOWN

Slurps and Burps is once again filled with many patrons, and they are once again filling the room with chatter. The piano is already in place, as are BIANA’s saxophone and KEEFE’s drum kit.  

FITZ

(at KEEFE)

Stop looking at me like that. 

KEEFE

(feigned oblivious innocence)

Like what? 

FITZ

You know what you’re doing. Being all 

self-righteous. 

KEEFE

I don’t know what you’re talking about. 

FITZ cycles through a few arguments before deciding it isn’t worth it. 

FITZ

Forget it. We don’t have time to argue 

about this. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I 

do have a small change to the setlist. 

KEEFE

Shouldn’t that have been discussed 

previously? 

FITZ

It’s not like you would care either way.

What’s it you tell me? Fitzroy, it’s 

jazz, nobody cares about the setlist. 

Half of it is already improv. 

KEEFE

That might be accurate, but that doesn’t

mean I like it. 

FITZ turns away, grumbling to himself and searching the crowd for DEX. 

When he does eventually find him, FITZ smiles hesitantly. 

FITZ

So this might be an odd request, but 

please hear me out before you say no. 

DEX

(already irritated)

Go ahead. 

FITZ

(quickly, in a single breath)

I may or may not have a tendency to 

process things by writing songs, which 

I’m sure is a massive surprise 

considering why I’m here. I don’t 

remember exactly why I was talking to 

Sophie a couple of days ago, but that’s 

beside the point. Anyway, I happened to 

be blessed with the songwriting curse 

immediately after she left, and when I 

emerged from the cave, the song’s point

of view was a little wonky. And by that 

I mean, of course, that I tried to 

project into your head, which is really 

weird now that I’m saying it out loud. 

DEX

Calm down. I don’t need you passing out

on me. I don’t want to call Elwin. He’s

already mad at Sophie. I don’t need that. 

FITZ takes a deep, slightly shaky breath. 

FITZ

On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely would

it be that I could ask you really, 

really nicely to do the verse that’s 

attempting, probably very badly, to 

be in your point of view so that I 

don’t have to ask Keefe to do it? 

DEX

About a -7, presuming it’s a logarithmic

scale, but I’ll do it anyway. 

A pause. 

FITZ

Why? 

DEX

Don’t question my motives. Just be 

aware that I don’t know what I’m doing

and if I think about it too long, I’m 

going to go cry in the bathroom, so 

don’t let me think. 

FITZ

Got it. 

A longer pause, FITZ contemplates telling DEX something to help with the fact that his blood pressure is visibly rising. 

BIANA (O.S.)

Fitz! It’s nine. Get going. 

FITZ

(yelling over to BIANA)

Who is this punctual person and what 

have you done to my sister?

FITZ turns back to DEX and pulls a crunched piece of paper out of his pocket. 

FITZ (CONT’D) 

Here’s the lyrics. I didn’t have time to 

formalize any sheet music, but just kind 

of…vibe with the music. That’s kind of 

this whole genre’s mission statement, 

isn’t it? 

DEX

I am regretting my life choices. 

FITZ

I’m sorry to hear that. You’ll be fine, 

though. If not, I’ll bribe everyone with

muffins until the complaints stop. 

DEX

(physically shaking)

Okay. 

FITZ takes his place at the piano, making eye contact with KEEFE. 

FITZ

Trust me, okay?

KEEFE smirks. 

KEEFE

Yeah, of course. I’d let you lead us off

a cliff. 

FITZ

A wouldn’t expect anything less. 

FITZ begins playing an introduction, underscored by low rumblings from KEEFE’s floor tom after the first bar. FITZ’s focus remains squarely on KEEFE.  

FITZ (CONT’D)

(singing) 

HE LEANED OVER THE PIANO

WITH THAT MISCHIEVOUS GLINT IN HIS EYE. 

HE’S BEEN THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING

AND NOW THERE’S NO GOING BACK. 

The tempo ticks upward as KEEFE’s drums develop into a polyrhythm. FITZ leans back, his gaze landing on the ceiling. 

FITZ (CONT’D)

THE WORLD IS ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD

I’M HANGING ON TO WHAT I’VE ALWAYS KNOWN

WHAT I’VE KNOWN HAS GOTTEN ME THIS FAR

WHY BOTHER CHANGING THAT?

FITZ finally looks at DEX, his irritation over the past few days on full display in his tone. The instrumentation drops out for a beat. 

FITZ (CONT’D)

WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO DIFFICULT WITH ME?

WHY DO YOU FIND SUCH PLEASURE ANGERING ME?

IF I COULD LEAVE, I PROMISE I WOULD, 

BUT I DON’T HAVE A WAY TO ESCAPE. 

I DON’T HAVE A WAY TO RUN AWAY FROM THIS PLACE

AND SO I’LL KEEP ON OCCUPYING YOUR SPACE. 

DEX’s voice is so soft even the people standing next to him probably cannot hear him. He’s staring firmly at the ground. It’s not exactly symmetrical in the vocals or instrumentation with the first verse, but there’s no need for it to be. 

DEX 

(singing) 

SHE’S ALWAYS MY WORST INFLUENCE

BY PUSHING ME OUTSIDE MY COMFORT ZONE. 

IF ONLY SHE WOULD UNDERSTAND

I WANT TO FIND AN ESCAPE. 

DEX gains a bit more confidence, staring at FITZ’s shoes and singing slightly louder. 

DEX (CONT’D)

THE WORLD IS ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD, 

I’M STILL RUNNING FROM WHAT I’VE ALWAYS KNOWN. 

WHAT I’VE KNOWN HAS GOTTEN ME THIS FAR

WHAT MORE CAN LIE AHEAD? 

DEX fixes a death glare on FITZ. 

DEX (CONT’D)

WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO DIFFICULT WITH ME? 

WHY DO YOU FIND SUCH PLEASURE ANGERING ME?

IF I COULD LEAVE, I PROMISE I WOULD, 

BUT I DON’T HAVE A WAY TO ESCAPE

I DON’T HAVE A WAY TO RUN AWAY FROM THIS PLACE

AND SO I’LL KEEP ON OCCUPYING YOUR SPACE. 

Two bars of SILENCE echo through the room. 

FITZ and DEX 

(start softly, crescendoing)

IF I STAY HERE AND YOU STAY THERE

I’LL STOP STEPPING ON YOUR TOES 

IF WE PRETEND LIKE NONE OF US CARE

MAYBE IT’LL COME TRUE. 

THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT I’LL EVER LIKE YOU

AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIKE ME. 

PACIFY THE ELDER GODS 

AND THEN WE’LL BOTH BE—FREE. 

There is a long break, filled with instrumentation. BIANA and her saxophone have a whole narrative arc. DEX goes and runs off into the back, trying to never be seen again. 

FITZ

WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO DIFFICULT WITH ME?

WHY DO YOU FIND SUCH PLEASURE ANGERING ME?

IF I COULD LEAVE, I PROMISE I WOULD, 

BUT I DON’T HAVE A WAY TO ESCAPE. 

I DON’T HAVE A WAY TO RUN AWAY FROM THIS PLACE

AND SO I’LL KEEP ON OCCUPYING YOUR SPACE. 

END SHOW

[albertasunrise]

Stuck in the Middle of it - Part 3

Masterlist

Summary: Years after breaking up, you bump into Benny Miller again one evening at a bar. He was one man you could confidently say you had loved once but you’d both agreed you were better off as friends. When he introduces you to Frankie Morales, you instantly feel connected to the man but unbeknownst to you… You get thrown into a love triangle. The two men crazy about you. Only thing is… you have no idea.

Relationships: Reader x Ben Miller, Reader x Frankie Morales

Warnings: Like AO3, I choose not to give any warnings. This will be an 18+ fic (So I'd had this more or less written out already... It's my birthday on Friday so won't be doing much writing. Hopefully this'll keep you going for now 😘… sorry in advance 😬)

Series Masterlist, Part 1, Part 2

Ben held you as you sobbed into his chest. You'd stopped crying long enough for him to guide you to his couch before you had broken down again. He hated seeing you like this and a twinge of guilt shot through him at the knowledge that he was somewhat to blame for this. The last time he'd witnessed you cry was the day he'd ended things all those years ago, and it hadn't been this bad.

You'd not been all that surprised when Ben had called and said that you needed to talk. 

Things have been strained for a few months. Your sex life had all but fizzled out. You could pinpoint the moment things had started to fall apart almost down to the second. You'd been at dinner and had brought up the future. You'd asked him what he wanted and he told you he didn't know before asking you. You'd told him that you wanted to get married, have kids and buy a house... He'd been off after that. 

Your stomach was still twisting in painful knots though as you waited for that inevitable knock on the door. It came around half an hour later and when you'd opened the door, you knew what you feared was true. 

Sitting down at your table, he took your hands in his and sighed, trying desperately to find the right words. 

"I think we both know this ain't workin' anymore." He started, eyes drifting up to yours that were filling with tears rapidly "I've been thinking about what we talked about the other day and the truth is... I don't want any of that stuff right now." He confessed and you let out a choked sob. 

"I don't want to waste your time baby." He continued, giving your hands a gentle squeeze "I don't want those things now... but I'm also not sure I'm ever going to want them." 

You nodded numbly, knocking a few tears loose.

"Then I think it's best we end this." You managed to say before you choked on a sob. 

You paused a moment so you could compose yourself before letting out a shaky breath and continuing. 

"I love you, Benjamin Miller." You stated firmly "But I don't love you enough to give up my dreams." 

Ben's own tears were falling now and as he brought your knuckles to his lips, he placed a soft kiss there before he spoke. 

"I love you too Moonshine." He stated "But I think you're right... I just- I Hope we can remain friends." 

"Sure Ben." You replied, knowing in your heart of hearts that you'd lose touch eventually "We can stay friends."

"I don't understand it." You managed to say as you pulled yourself back so you could wipe your tears with your sleeve "We were perfect! I even met his daughter. We were talking about the future and then suddenly... He's breaking things off." 

"Fish had to have a good reason," Ben said, hoping to gauge whether you knew any semblance of the truth.

"He just said he couldn't tell me why." You replied sadly and Ben felt his guilt grow. 

Frankie hadn't told you. 

"This hurts so much Ben." You sobbed and he sighed, pulling you into his arms again. 

"I know." He soothed "But it will get easier." 

"No." You replied, shaking your head "I'm in love with him." You confessed and Ben's stomach sank "I don't if I'll ever get over this." 

"You got me Moonshine." He said softly, placing a kiss in your hair "I'll help you get through this." 

You nodded numbly, whispering your thanks as you held onto him tighter. You were relieved, somewhat, that through this heartbreak, you'd not lost Ben. You liked having him back in your life again and knowing that despite his best friend breaking up with you, he was willing to stick around brought you comfort. 

If only you knew the truth. 

~

Will and Ben didn't hear from Frankie for almost two months after the breakup. He'd kept to himself. Going through the motions but he couldn't face anyone but his co-workers. He certainly couldn't see Ben. 

Fate, however, forced his hand. Coming down with what he'd thought was the flu had rendered him useless and Isla was suddenly such a burden. Will had arrived within an hour of Fish calling him and had been quick to set up shop but as the days had passed, it had become clear that Frankie's illness was a little more serious than anyone had first thought. 

You and Ben had been sitting watching your new favourite show when Ben's phone had rung. Glancing at it, he noticed it was his brother and had chosen to ignore it. In the six weeks since the breakup, you and the younger Miller had been spending a lot of time together and you'd treasured it. He had done everything he could to try and help you heal and it was starting to work. Your heart hurt a little less every day. 

He answered when his brother rang a second time. Barely 30 seconds between his first call failing and him trying Ben again. 

"What?" Benny answered, your head turning to look at him and you noted how his expression changed from irritated to worried in a heartbeat as his brother spoke to him on the other end "Okay... Yeah, I'll be there right away." 

"Everything okay?" You asked, watching as he frantically looked around for his shoes and coat "Ben?" You questioned again but he didn't answer, only got more frantic when he couldn't find what he was looking for "What's going on?" 

"Fish's in the hospital." He blurted out and your stomach sank. 

"He okay?" You asked, trying to keep your panic from becoming evident. 

"No." Ben replied as he threw his hands up and grabbed his hair "No, he's not." 

"What's happened?" You asked, noting that Ben had finally found his shoes and coat "Ben?" 

"I'm sorry." He said, shaking his head "I have to go." He finished before rushing out the door and leaving you to panic openly. 

You weren't sure why the news that Frankie was in the hospital upset you so much. He'd broken your heart a little under two months ago. Yet as your eyes drifted to the picture you'd still not had the heart to take down, you found you didn't care about any of that. You cared that he was okay. 

...

Ben sprinted into the waiting room where his brother was sitting with a sleeping Isla in his arms. She seemed none the wiser to what was going on and Ben was grateful for that. 

"Any news?" He asked as he sat down next to his brother. 

"Yeah, they uh... They had to put in a chest drain, he was practically drowning there was so much fluid." Will started, being careful to keep his voice low "They've taken him to ICU and he's on a ventilator. It's down to him now." 

"How the hell did this happen?" Ben asked and Will sighed. 

"I don't think he's been taking very good care of himself since we last saw him." Will replied grimly "He's lost a shit tone of weight. Seems he's fed Isla but not himself." Will paused, scraping a hand over his face as he looked down at the sleeping baby in his arms "They think he had the flu, but because he wasn't taking care of himself, it turned into a chest infection which then became a severe case of Pneumonia ." 

Ben felt his stomach sink. 

He was the reason Frankie was so down. He'd made his best friend break up with a girl he'd confessed he'd been falling in love with and now, he was on death's door. His phone dinging dragged his attention away from his brother and pulling it out, he felt himself relax a little at your name glowing on his screen. 

📱 - I hope Francisco's alright. Let me know if there's anything I can do xx 

His heart swelled as his eyes danced over the words you'd sent. Despite everything, you still wanted to help. Still cared. You were the most selfless person he knew and it made him love you even harder. For a moment he forgot about his troubles, his mind consumed only with thoughts of you but a loud cough pulled him from them and he looked up to see a nurse standing in front of him. 

"You can see him now." He said, giving the brothers a small smile "Follow me." 

They were led down what felt like a never-ending hallway and into a ward that was filled with noise. Machines beeping, clicking and whirring filled the air and Ben shivered as he looked around at the patients that inhabited it. They came to a stop outside a clear room and the younger Miller choked at the sight of his best friend inside. 

"Visiting hours end in half an hour." The nurse stated, "But you are welcome to sit with him till then." He finished, giving both brothers what he hoped was a reassuring smile before leaving. 

The brothers made their way into Frankie's room and sat with him until they were thrown out. Will then returned to Franki's house and Ben, knowing he couldn't handle being alone, went back to yours. 

...

To say you were surprised to see Ben standing on your doorstep again that evening was an understatement but you'd invited him in, in an instant when you saw how wrecked he was. You guided him to your couch, poured him a coffee and waited for him to pull himself together enough to talk to you. 

"What's going on Ben?" You asked, hand resting on his back and rubbing soothing circles that had the younger Miller relaxing a little. 

"Fish uh... Well, he's pretty sick." He started and your brows drew together as you waited for him to elaborate "He's got really bad Pneumonia." 

"Shit." You breathed and he nodded "They think it started as flu and just got worse." 

"Poor Frankie." You all but whispered, "Who's got Isla?" 

"Will." Ben answered as he dragged a large hand over his face to wipe away his tears "He's on strong antibiotics and they've got him on a vent. Done all they can and it's just down to him now but he's uh... Well, he's pretty weak." 

You nodded weakly, pulling Ben to lie down with you when he started to sob again. Your heart was breaking for him. Frankie was more than just his best friend. He was his brother. 

"Can I stay with you tonight?" He asked, his voice so small and vulnerable. 

Your eyes drifted down and locked with his. His expression was one that, if you had been standing, would have brought you to your knees. You nodded, giving him a small, reassuring smile, before pulling him close again and you both lay there a while before finally deciding that it was time to get some sleep. 

You held Ben's hand and led him down the hall to your bedroom. The blonde couldn't help but notice that you still had the bed that you'd chosen together and his mind flashed back to that day. You'd liked every one, you had tried but Ben had been a little pickier. 

Then, the two of you had stumbled on this one, tucked away in a quiet corner of the store. 

"Now I like this one." Ben said as his eyes studied the furniture closely. 

"You like it because it's reduced to clear." You snorted. 

"I like it because it's nice." He argued before grabbing your hand and pulling you both down onto the soft mattress "See, super comfortable." 

"It's okay I guess." You shrugged as your eyes took it in. 

"Come on, shufty up." Ben said as he scooted further up the bed "I can totally see us chillin' on this." 

"You could sleep on a bed of nails Benjamin." You chuckled as you rolled on your side. 

Ben mirrored your movement, his hand resting on your hip as he nudged your nose with his "What's wrong with this one?" He asked as his eyes locked with yours.

"Nothing." You replied, smiling when he nudged your face so he could kiss you "It's fine." You breathed on his lips, moaning when his tongue teased your lips. 

You parted them without even thinking about it and your tongues danced as the kiss became more heated. Ben pulled you closer before his hand that rested on your hip moved to your mound. 

"Ben..." You gasped as his fingers dipped beneath your underwear "Someone might see us." 

"They might." He replied, kissing you again as his finger started to rub languid circles on your clit "They might not." 

His hand moved lower then and before you could say another word, he'd plunged two thick fingers into your heat as his palm gave your clit the stimulation it needed. 

"Fuck." You breathed against his lips as your hand shot to his shoulder "Shit, Ben." 

He grinned at your response and pushed his fingers a little deeper before he curled them expertly. 

"Fuck.... Shit, fuck... I'm gonna cum." You moaned as your grip on his shoulder tightened "Benny, baby, you're gonna make me cum." 

"Then cum." He ordered and you did. 

You clamped down on his fingers as your orgasm tore through you. Ben's mouth swallowed your filthy moans as he worked you through your peak and just when you thought this situation couldn't get any filthier... he pulled out his fingers and sucked them clean. A shit-eating grin filling his features. 

You both laid there a while as you caught your breath. Your eyes locked on one another as you shared smiles and smirks. 

"I think I'm starting to like this one a little more." You said after a while and Ben grinned.

"Yeah?" He questioned and you nodded. 

"Yeah." 

"Ben?" 

You calling his name pulled him from the memory and he rose his head to look at you. You were standing there holding a shirt he recognised. 

"You still have that?" He asked as you handed him the Fleetwood Mac shirt he'd gifted you all those years ago. 

"Couldn't throw it away." You said with a shrug "It was a gift." 

"Fair enough." He replied with a smile as he accepted it gratefully. 

"I haven't got any bottoms that'll fit you." You piped up, looking at him sheepishly. 

"It's not like we've not seen each other in less before." He teased and your cheeks flushed. 

"True." 

"I mean... This bed." He said as he motioned to it "Some memories here too." 

Your face went beet red at his statement and he swooned. You'd almost forgotten about that day. It was just a bed to you now. The frame was the same but the mattress had been replaced a year or so ago. 

Yet you couldn't deny that you'd made some lasting memories in this bed. The one that sprung to mind when you thought about it hurt though... For now, it was tainted. But that would fade with time... Just like your pain had started to. 

The two of you readied yourselves for bed then. You still slept on the same side Ben remembered. You still tied up your hair, slept in nothing but an oversized t-shirt and panties and you even hummed the same tune as you went through your nightly routine. It seemed that things never really changed. Then climbing under the covers, you allowed him to pull you close. Smiling when he fell asleep almost instantly. You took a little longer to drift off though, your mind plagued with a mixture of things. Memories of your time with Frankie before it had all gone wrong and how he used to hold you like this also. You felt guilty that you were enjoying the feeling of someone else. It hadn't been that long since things had ended. 

Yet... he had ended it. 

Why should you feel guilty? It was his choice. 

Then when your mind seemed to run out of things to plague you with, you finally succumbed to sleep. 

... 

When you woke the following morning, you were still in Ben's arms. He held you tightly as he slept, his breath tickling your neck and you squirmed a little before something stopped you dead. There was no mistaking what it was and when your ass had pressed against it accidentally, Ben had let out a filthy moan that had gone straight to your core. He started to stir a little, his hips then pressing back and your squeezed your eyes shut for a moment before letting out a shaky breath. You remained deadly still but Ben seemed to get more and more worked up as he started to surface. His hand which had been resting on your stomach slipped under your shirt and skated over your soft tummy before cupping one of your breasts. You couldn't help the moan that slipped from your lips as he gently pinched your nipple between two fingers and your hips shop back instinctively. 

Ben's lips then found your neck as his hand moved away from your breast and travelled south, slipping past the waistband of your panties. Dipping one of his fingers into your fold he found you slick for him and he practically purred against your skin as he slipped two fingers into your heat. 

"Fuck." You practically yelled out, your hands then blindly searching for his underwear and pulling them down to awkwardly pump his length. 

His hand then left your centre and gripped your thigh. He pulled it up and over his own before pulling your underwear to one side as you guided his length to your entrance. You turned your head to kiss him as he pushed inside of you, the two of you crying out in unison as he bottomed out. He waited a moment before rocking his hips lazily and kissing you just as languidly. When he felt you start to flutter around him, he began to rub your clit and cum hard around his length as you moaned loudly into his mouth. 

He continued his lazy pace a little while longer before he finally sought his own release and then as you both lay there in post-coital bliss. All your troubles seemed to disappear. 

But then Ben's phone rang.

"Ben... you need to get down here." Said Will, his tone filling Ben with dread "Fish has taken a turn for the worse." 

"What does that mean?" Ben asked his brother as he turned his head to look at you, your expression filled with concern. 

"It means you need to get down here..." Will paused a moment, struggling to get the next part out "To say goodbye." 

(Don't hate me 😅)

Next

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[daydreamer-707]

Unforgettable (Adult!Bakugo x fem!reader Fanfiction)

Finally the time has come! The prologue to my first fanfic ‘Unforgettable’ is out (I thought of a better name for the story)! I have read through it several times in hope of finding and correcting any errors. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

This fanfic is set in the future where all the characters are older. Reader will be female in the story, but I've tried to keep it as neutral as possible.

The story will be found under the hashtag #unforgettablebakugoxfem!reader. In the distant future, if things go well, I would make a list for it.

If you find anything I should add to the warning, please let me know. Somehow I found no more except cursing…

Have fun!

______________________

Words: 3666

Estimated reading time: 28.2 min

Warning: cursing because of Bakugo, English is not my mother language

Prologue

It was late evening when the last Agency Dynamight staff left the building. Ignoring the light in the entryway, you could still see a few lights burning in the central area. One of them was the office of Bakugo Katsuki, Japan's number two hero. His weary gaze lingered on the three stacks of paper that had formed in front of him. Grimacing in annoyance, he tried not to yell out loud.

The stack on the right was his. Missions he has completed and content designed just for him. The middle one was slightly larger than the previous one. Those were the important papers that he went through and has to forward on Friday. What got him incensed, however, was the leftmost stack, which is twice the size of the two combined. These would also have to be completed. Today was Wednesday. He has a day and a half to do this, since it has to be passed on at noon.

He couldn't suppress the next sigh when he thought of the person in charge. Marie Anderson, a woman who moved to Japan with her family from America 10 years ago. She was the third best student with the best grades and was highly praised for her work. After half a year he couldn't see it at all. Not a damn piece of it.

In the many years he's worked as a prohero, he had to fire his assistant several times. Sloppily worked, company secrets were passed on, bullying among colleagues and the many advances towards him. There were more reasons that he didn't really want to think about. Just the smallest memory of the previous one sent a shiver down his spine and his nerves working at full speed.

"Bakugo-san?"

A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts and he gave a small grunt in response. Not a second later the door opened and he couldn't help but sigh in relief. It was his secretary, Lilith, who tied her blond hair, adorned with gray streaks, into a tight bun. An elderly lady who volunteered to work under Dynamight and had never betrayed his trust.

"Shouldn't you be home by now, like the others? Like three damn hours ago?”

"I could say the same thing, Bakugo-san. I have made it my task to get rid of the problem once and for all.”

The afore mentioned raised his eyebrows skeptically when Lilith adjusted her glasses and gave him a stern look.

"I saw how you wanted to reprimand your assistant several times and was always interrupted by the other employees. As your secretary, I know what the atmosphere is like in the agency. A half is for and against Marie. Of course I'm against Marie."

Speechless and confused, he watched as her glasses flashed briefly. This happened every time her plan goes smoothly.

"I don't know if I should consider myself lucky or just blow myself up."

"Both."

"Fuck off."

"Later."

"Disgusting."

Not a second later there was another knock at the door and Katsuki's slight smile disappeared pretty quickly, since he could guess who was at the door. With a grimace, he tried to tell Lilith not to leave him alone. But her mischievous smile told him everything.

"I fucking hate you."

"I wish you a good night as well, Bakugo-san."

"Katsuki!"

With this sentence the door was thrown open. There she stood and Bakugo couldn't help but look her up and down. Not in a perverse way. Rather, he was comparing her to someone else. Marie isn't exactly bad looking and is even said to be the prettiest foreigner to have lived in Japan. But ever since he ate with the Todorokis a long time ago, he couldn't get this girl out of his head. He could never really refrain from comparing every potential partner to her. There was no one as fucking perfect as you.

"Oh! Lilith, I didn't know you were still here! I thought that you went home after this message to me.", Marie clapped her hands together in a high voice and clasped them together.

Her attitude and her sentence was as innocent as one could expect from her demeanour. However, if you knew her long enough and took a closer look at her voice, you could hear how contemptuous she spoke to Lilith. Since she was used to it, Lilith only smiled at her falsely and skilfully ignored her as she bowed slightly towards Bakugo again.

"See you in the morning."

"Go on and say hello to your brat for me."

"Of course."

With a loud bye bye, Marie closed the door behind Lilith and turned to Bakugo with a big grin, who gave her a serious look. He could see the corner of her mouth twitch and her smile getting more nervous. That's exactly what he wanted. That kinda reminded him of her first time. She was nervous at the beginning and innocent, untouchable. Everyone in the company loved that about her as she was different from everyone else. Marie apparently had experience to take advantage of that. Through her hard schoolwork and education, she should be able to do such work with ease. But she managed to fool everyone. Everyone asked to give her more time to master it. A few weeks turned into months and most of their work is done by the others. Now that no one was there to protect her, he could finally attack. You must be thinking, half a year and the great Dynamight hasn't managed to call her to account? It was more or less because everyone knew when to attack. As soon as he started, his colleagues or their fans came flying like dung flies. Most of the time he was also on missions or on patrol to check on the right ones. Then there was Lilith. An elderly lady collected evidence without hesitation and laid it out for him. Evidence that will help him open his dung flies' eyes before their venom can kill them.

Bakugo can't really see what's so great about her. You must be behind it, because everything you are or do is great. Your hair gently caressing your face. How you brush them off your face or tie them in a bun or braid if they bother you. Your concentration to master your tasks without problems is just sexy. It looked so easy when you do it and everyone looks at you with admiration. Your simple attire that suits the job and makes you look so professional. His eyes could watch you for hours and he would never get tired of it. He admits he can't stand meeting up with most of his co-workers, but when it's with Shoto and he can see you doing it, it doesn't really matter. Your size was perfect. You are just fucking perfect in every way and no one has been able to prove him otherwise until now.

"Well, about what Lilith said to me-"

"Sit down."

Wincing, Marie quickly sat down and looked at him in surprise, maybe even horrified. Whether it was because of his stern voice or that he had simply interrupted her, didn't interest him much. Plus she had just interrupted him from thinking about you and he couldn't stand that.

"Do you know the real reason you're still here late at night?"

"T-the real reason? I don't understand. I thought-"

"Thinking doesn't suit you and forget what Lilith told you because that was a lie."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Outraged, Marie looked at her boss and couldn't close her mouth. Shocked by Bakugo's choice of words and how she could fall for Lilith. She knew how closely she worked with Bakugo and actually tried to avoid being alone with him. However, it was just too tempting. Her boss is incredibly handsome and unavailable, everyone here knew that. How could she have thought he was smitten with her like the other men who were here? All she had in mind was to do something hot alone with him in the office. What could have ended so forbidden good and sexy.

"I didn't know you had something with your damn ears, too.", sighing annoyed, Bakugo stroked his hair briefly.

Ever since he finished school and was able to start his own agency, he tried to come across as professional as possible. Also avoiding swearing, mostly trying it. But he has to pull himself together in such a way that he sometimes had the feeling of bursting. But he won't hold back as much as before.

"See those three damn piles of paper in front of me?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Well, at least you're not blind. This bunch is mine, I already did this bunch because it's my fucking job. But this one is driving me crazy. Do you know why?"

"N-no."

"Now listen to me damn well. To this day I don't know why you work here. I get all the tasks that you should do from someone else. Marie can't do this shit yet, Marie has never had anything to do with it. I hear that every damn time from your colleagues. They don't or shouldn't have anything to do with it, because it's your fucking job to do it. Namely, as my assistant, who was recommended to me because you're supposed to be the best for the job. I don't see shit about it though. Because that shit is yours. Papers piled up because I took it away from the staff. Do you know what this means?"

"That… belongs to me? I don't… know."

He grinned dangerously at her with his eyes closed. A gesture that made Marie very nervous and made her sweat. It looked inhuman as he slowly sat up and pushed the fat stack of important documents towards her. She had to swallow hard when he opened his eyes again and a shadow fell across his face. It brought out his blood red eyes and made him look even more bestial.

“These stacks must be ready in my office by Friday noon. If they don't, you're fired."

"That's in two days! I don't even have 48 hours to do this! I will never be able to do that!”

"No shit Sherlock. You are entirely to blame for that. Just you and no one else.”

With one hand in his pocket, he stood up and grabbed the table with the other to lean towards her better. At that moment she would love to say how sexy that looks, but at that moment she only felt great hate and fear towards this hero who was watching her with a derisive smile. You could literally read it in his eyes how much he despises her.

"Show me how much you are worth. The old lady who said you were as good as y/n. Come on, show me or can't you?"

In that moment, Marie knew... she was screwed. Not only would her career be over, but her life as well. But she already knows that she has to change it. She won't be there alone. She'll take the whole agency with her and become the #1 assistant working at Todoroki. Oh how she despise that person that took her place. Y/n L/n, you've been at the top for far too long. It's time she took that seat now.

_____________________________________________________

"Do you have the papers with you for our meeting?"

"Everything prepared and sorted."

"Coffee?"

"Prepared and ready to serve."

"Is my tie right?"

With a mock sigh, the older of the two stopped, whereupon the younger but taller of the two also stopped. The aisle they were in was slightly crowded, so the two-color haired man pushed his partner aside so they wouldn't get in the way.

"Come show me. Let me fix this and now this should be alright. It's cute how you're still nervous before every meeting, Shoto."

Slightly smiling, Shoto looks at the girl, or rather woman, who has stood by his side for years. He was used to your little teasing. To be honest, he had to get used to it because he didn't know it. You were the only one where he was really allowed to make contact and where he could be himself during this time. With you, he wasn't the son of the number two hero, but just a child.

"I'm not nervous. Maybe a little excited.” He tried to sound confident and got a grunt in response.

"Your expression is even more tense than usual. You can't foul me."

"I'm serious, though."

You walked on laughing and therefore didn't see how Shoto looked after you, smiling but also sad. Just like him, you were born to be the perfect assistant to a Proheros. He still felt guilty about what had happened a long time ago. Even if you claim otherwise. Now he couldn't dwell on the past, he had to hold a meeting and do his best! Unlike his father, he didn't care where he was and it just happened that he was currently in 3rd place.

"Y/n!"

Shoto quickly pulled you aside and caught you as you stumbled over your own feet, sneezing. Surprised, you looked up at your boss, who is looking at you with the same wide eyes as you are at him. Still a bit startled, you pushed yourself away from him and took a deep breath.

"Are you alright?" he promptly asked worriedly, making you frown.

"Yes… I'm fine, but I've got a weird feeling. As if anything bad is going to happen.”

"You sure you won't just get sick?"

When Shoto saw your angry face he just put his hands up and shrugged.

"I'm just worried about you."

"You should worry more about the meeting."

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Before you open the door to the meeting room for Shoto, you couldn't help but turn around carefully and look at all the people in the hallway. Something inside you wants to warn you, but you couldn't figure out what or who. This little feeling unsettles you. Unfortunately, you couldn't think about it further because you have more important things to do.

"Don't overexert yourself Y/n, okay?"

"I can’t promise that."

Dissatisfied with your answer, Shoto wanted to tell you something, but you were faster than him and open the door for him. He gave you an annoyed grunt before entering the room with his neutral expression. Immediately the employees, as well as visitors, stopped talking to each other. Everyone watches his lips as he greets everyone and stops in front of the board.

"Y/n, if you please."

Standing next to him you nodded to him and not a second later the papers began to float into his place. They were linked together so the pages could stay in order. Everyone watched in amazement as everyone received a pile of paper without anyone touching them.

"Before we get into the dry subject, Y/n and I had a great idea to get coffee and some treats ready for everyone."

Cups as well as three pots full of coffee flew over everyone's heads and surprised exclamations fell over their mouths. It was always the same reaction. In the beginning you were excited and happy to see how people react to your quirk. But now it just bounced off you. The pots poured coffee for each person as if by themselves. Sugar cubes, like milk. You knew everyone here, as well as their tastes and preferences. You used to be drummed into remembering everything. Because knowledge was power and that's what you need as an assistant for a superhero. If you don't help outside, then where you can best grab them under the arms. To be the best as their right hand.

"Let's get started…"

After a while your phone started vibrating. Curious, you took it out discreetly and your bright eyes began to look soft. It was a message from your best friend that you were able to win thanks to this job. Ashido Mina who was currently engaged to Kirishima Eijiro. Also one of your closest friends. Because of your work you don't have much time to see them, but they were all nice enough to write to you or to invite you despite everything. Whether you can or not. You were very grateful for that, you don't know how you would be without her. They gave you light on your otherwise exhausted life.

'Do you want to have lunch with me? I'm dying of hunger! I don't take a no from you!' - Pinky Mina

'Okay, but you decide where' - SweetyPie aka Y/n

'I was just waiting for this! I'll send you the address and don’t be late! I’m very very hungry right now.' - Pinky Mina

Slightly smiling, you quickly put your phone back in your pocket and looked up at Shoto. Frowning, you noticed that weird feeling resurfaced. It grew stronger with every second you spent looking at your boss. Something will happen and you won't like it one bit.

…

..

.

Before you entered the meeting room with Shoto, neither of you realized that you were being followed. Not far from you stood Momo Yaoyorozu, who was newly married to Todoroki Shoto. Now that she was his wife, she wanted to give him a little pleasure. Living with him, Momo knows how excited he was before every meeting and wanted to do his best. Shoto wanted to show that he was very different from his old man. However, until today she didn't really know how he got through it.

You two stood there close together. She was too far away from you to know what you're talking about. Feelings like insecurity and her self-esteem from before came up again. Feelings that she controlled and lost thanks to training and Shoto. A rare and disgusting taste appeared in her. Jealousy. It wasn't that Momo didn't know you. Her newly married husband had talked a lot about you and she knew that you meant a lot to him. But in that moment, she wished it wasn't so. She actually liked you since you supported Shoto for so long. But she felt she could take on the role. She was his wife now and what would she be if she couldn't help him?

Momo quickly shook her head, hoping to shake those bad thoughts out of her head, as well as the image of you in his arms. How dare she think of replacing you? Throw you out of Shoto's life? You have a right to it, like all his other friends. But she couldn't suppress the small voice whispering to her how great it would be if Shoto replaced you with someone else.

You take on so many tasks from everyone and from Shoto himself that nothing in his agency would work without you. Shouldn't Shoto experience it for himself and stand on his own two feet and know what it would be like without you?

The ringing and vibrating of her mobile brought her out of her dark thoughts, which she warmly welcomed. What would have happened if she stayed there longer? Maybe she had gotten an idea and gone through with it?

"Yaoyorozu Momo, how can I help you?"

"Momo-chan..!"

"Marie? Oh my god Marie! Please calm down! I can't understand you very well."

With her heart beating fast, Momo tried to find a quiet place for her phone call and best friend she had the chance to meet. The Anderson family had brought great influence from America to Japan and were good friends with her parents.

"I… I can't do this anymore! You have to help me! Bakugo-san is so mean to me... How am I supposed to do this?"

"What do you mean? I only hear good things about Katsuki-"

"Of course you're on his side because you've been through a lot together. I also only have this job because of you, but Momo! He gave me over 100+ pages for Friday lunchtime! I only have one day left!”

"Marie-"

"And I hate it here! Y/n here, y/n there! I am constantly compared to her. She's so much better than everyone else because her family is F/n. I hate her... so much. I was hoping that you would feel the same way and understand me."

Looking ahead, Momo grinds her teeth thoughtfully. The thoughts came back in full force. It would be best if she met Marie in person and heard everything from the beginning. Get a better picture of their situation. What she couldn't know, however, was that Marie wasn't crying, she was grinning on her cell phone.

"Let's meet for lunch this afternoon. Shoto… wanted to meet up with Deku anyway. What do you say?"

"Yes… That would be perfect. You are the best Momo-chan!”

With a loud sigh, Marie stretched and carelessly threw her cell phone on the chair behind her. Her gaze was coldly focused on the half-finished stack before her eyes focused on the crowds outside her office. She was grateful to have her own office with a view of the other colleagues. So she could easily watch everyone and plan her next move.

"Soon you will be rid of a great colleague and consecrated since the fall. I'll bring Shoto to the top..."

[purplesurveys]

1904

Have you had more hot or cold drinks today? Cold. I don't really like hot drinks.

What's a name you like that's similar to yours? The only similar name I can think of and that I like is Rowan, for a girl.

Where did you get the last plate/bowl you ate with from? I'm currently eating tuna sashimi salad from a paper bowl that the restaurant I ordered from provided.

How's your mental health today? Not too shabby. I've been rattled the last couple of weeks for various reasons, but I think it's all mellowed down now and it also helps that it's Friday again.

What bands and artists did you listen to when you were a teenager? So the #1 band in my heart then, now, and always will be Paramore, but I also got way way into punk rock because of CM Punk. In the bus to and from school, I would listen to Against Me!, Rancid, H2O, The Bouncing Souls...basically all of his favorites that he used to plug on social media all the time at the time. I also really liked Killswitch Engage.

Do your feelings get hurt easily? Idk, it depends on what's thrown at me. I don't care how people think of me for the most part, and being called out does not bother me; but I do get bothered when I am talked to in a way that the other person is clearly thinking that I'm stupid.

What sort of restaurant did you last eat at? Does food delivery count? I ordered Japanese tonight.

Do you have a friend who's always sending you TikTok videos? Do you actually watch them? I'm pretty sure my close friends occasionally would, but I never open my TikTok messages hahaha.

Have you ever seen a cougar in the wild? Nope.

Will you attend a wedding in the next 3 months? Nope.

Are you good at following instructions? In general, yeah. As long as I can read the instructions or have visual aid as either is how I prefer to pick up details.

What's your backyard or outdoor area like? Apart from being paved and having a basketball stand/net/hoop (what do you even call the whole thing?), there's not much else to it really. We have our cars parked nearby as well, and my dad's newest baby - his motorcycle - is by the backyard too.

Do you like your boss? (or your last boss if you don't currently have one? I like Trina, and I'm gonna miss her when she leaves.

When was the last time you took a selfie? Tuesday.

What did you have for breakfast yesterday? I didn't eat anything yesterday until 1 PM.

What do you do to entertain yourself on a long flight or journey? The 'longest' I've experienced was like 3.5 hours lol, but in any case I like downloading YouTube videos offline so I don't go crazy sitting down. It's also why a part of me, while excited at the prospect of traveling the world, also kind of dreads it because I can't imagine being on a plane for any longer than 5 hours... :/ Where are you right now? In my room.

Have you ever done a hearing test? I don't think so.

Do you hate small talk? Well, no. Sometimes it has to happen. The only aspect of it I would find awkward by is if the other person barely makes an effort to reply or make conversation.

What's the hottest temperature your current town/city has ever had? I'm not sure tbh, maybe somewhere around the 40s?

What programs/applications do you currently have open on the device you're using right now? I usually have only Chrome open on this laptop anymore.

How many steps per day do you do, generally? When I work from home, which takes up most of my time, nothing over 200. But then I'll have my event days or days out, and my steps for those can range anywhere between 3,000 to 8,000.

Have you had any snacks today? Nope, just full meals.

What's the next thing you'll tick off your to-do list? I'll need to take Agi to the groomers tomorrow because that boy's fur has gotten long and STINKY lmao.

Have you ever had a chia pet? No.

What's your favourite sandwich filling? Pulled pork.

Do you have any nieces or nephews? I don't.

What was the last reason you saw a doctor? Needed to take my annual medical exam.

Do you use light mode or dark mode on your phone? Dark.

[invisibleraven]

Happy Friday!! "things you said that i wasn’t meant to hear" and Sweet Tarts?

“Reggie?” Carrie called out. No answer. And Tisdale, their Shar Pei was also absent, which meant that they both would be out for at least an hour. Perfect.

First call was to the caterer. “I went over your proposed menu and we have to nix the pigs in a blanket. Yes I know they’re a hit but my boyfriend has some weird hot dog related trauma and I don’t wanna trigger him.”

She hummed as the caterer proposed alternatives. Thankfully neither she nor Willie were vegan currently so she agreed to the mini quiches readily, and asked for a few Filipino dishes given Reggie had flipped over them the last time her dad broke out his Lola’s recipes.

The decorator was easy; red and black and cowboy themed with some Star Wars thrown in. He took it as a challenge and Carrie promised to give him some exposure in her Insta as well as pay if he captured her vision.

Music was the hard part. Normally she’d ask Luke to recommend a band, but he was also shit at keeping secrets. And what Julie knew, Luke would know, so she couldn’t ask her.

“Hey Flynnie?”

“What do you want demon?”

Carrie rolled her eyes at the nickname. Even after years of being best friends, Flynn would never let her live down her period of being awful right during Rose’s illness and passing. She had long since made amends, but she knew Flynn was determined to keep her humble.

“It’s for Reggie.”

“Well then ask away,” Flynn replied. “Anything for my favourite bassist.”

“It’s his birthday in two weeks, and I want to throw him a surprise party,” Carrie said. “He’s never had one before.”

“Awww, I love how sappy he’s made you,” Flynn cooed. “You need me to DJ?”

“That or find me a band to play that won’t set Luke off,” Carrie replied.

“Surprised you’re not getting the Candis to perform,” Flynn quipped.

“I mean, I’ve got a song written for him,” Carrie replied, feeling her cheeks burn. “But I wanna dance with him and I can’t do that if I’m on stage.”

“I got you girl,” Flynn assured her. “You let me know all the deets via text and I’ll be there with metaphorical bells on.”

“Thanks hun, I owe you.”

“And you can bet I’ll collect.”

Carrie grinned despite herself, and wondered who she needed to call next. Only when she turned around, there was Reggie leaning against the doorframe. “Reggie!”

“Hey doll,” he greeted her with a kiss.

“I didn’t hear you come in,” she said nervously.

“Forgot the B-A-L-L and came back for it,” he said, waving it, knowing Tisdale was busy lapping up her water. “Plus you and Flynn were having a chat, not surprised you didn’t hear me come in.”

“Yeah we we’re making plans for a girls night,” Carrie lied.

“Uh huh,” Reggie said, kissing her cheek, then a line up to her ear. “I’ll act super surprised, don’t worry.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Carrie said.

“I’m sure you don’t,” Reggie chuckled, and leaned in for one more kiss. “Thanks for being the best doll. I’ll be sure to do something doubly cool for your birthday.”

He whistled for Tisdale and waved at Carrie as they went back out the door, and she sighed. Sure the surprised was slightly ruined, but she was sure Reggie would love it regardless.

And she couldn’t wait to see how he topped it come her birthday in a few months.

[firespirited]

I should probably make a scavenging tag to keep tab of this buuuut it kind of goes under the home hacks and multipurpose crafting i've been doing ever since that first 2008 doll streaks with gold embroidery floss rooted using a toothbrush handle with the needle inserted by melting over a candle.

Guess this is kind of my brand. ¯\_(◡‿◡)_/¯

On Friday, I walked Lily briefly and found a big bin bag that was someone's chest of drawers emptied so I sorted it into clothes, recyclable and rubbish put it all in the correct bins and left the clothes and accessories for others to go through after picking out a few gorgeous scarves, a brand-new djellaba in bronze cotton, a lovely stained cream jumper (sweater) that i'm going to dye: it had a snagged loose knit - crochet looking but done by machine - back that just needed re-knotting/rethreading (what ever the word is for when you use tweezers to weave the yarn back through its original pattern and knot it down), a machine knitted snood to frog/unravel, some glitter body lotion and a notebook.

*I found the glue at another bin next to a bunch of tools (including a stainless ratchet wrench 😍 with accessories I couldn't carry 😥) thought I'd grab the glue in case there was a chance you could get some out by using a pin through the top as I'm currently waiting for superglue in the mail. Score: It's not jammed at all.

Loctite powerflex is pricey (€7 for 3g when you can get 20 x 3g liquid superglue for €4) and takes about double the time to set (hold tight and count to at least sixty not thirty) but it is magical stuff: not only does it go where you direct it to, you have a window to wipe off any excess without it leaving damage and it holds really well without cracking on flexible surfaces like vinyl, shoe soles, headphone wires. It's got superglue in it but also some kind of rubber base solution. It's one of those fancy glues you want around for the special stuff while having a backup of bog-standard superglue for basic repairs.

*I keep sleep and symptom notebooks to keep track of any circadian rhythm disruptions, migraines, gastrointestinal issues so I can circle back to a particular food or activity. I'd been using these cute panda shaped accounting notepads and stocked up but as with all things good, they got discontinued. I tried other notepads but it wasn't quite right: it needs to be lightweight, easily replaceable if I drop water on it, as unobtrusive as possible. This merch pocket book with the 5mm squares is just right when unbound into 6.

/// I learned this trick as a kid, someone showed me how different books were bound and how to salvage thrown out school exercise books, remelt crayons, use carbon copy, properly wash brushes... that kind of stuff. I think it was a free summer art class where you turn up and there are all sorts of different people and even if you end up just drawing ye olde square house, you absorb a bunch of history or techniques and get to watch other people: how they sketch, how they observe, I think that was the first time i'd seen cross-hatching and then couldn't unsee it in illustrations. I'm so glad my parents dropped me off at the various council, museum and church free events as a kid: some are really rigid and you get in trouble if you don't assemble the pompom bird exactly as instructed, others are an occasion to bond with some grandpa who'll show you how to whittle or learn and learn. ///

Why not go digital? because you don't want your phone on: you'll forget what you were supposed to do and go down a rabbit hole. Besides, half those things come with weird reward systems that make me feel obligated or guilty, or worse: diet propaganda. So that lil find has me set for the next year, I transcribed my current messy too big notepad into two pages and voilà! (well i still have a couple of symptoms to add now that i look it over)

*After working with yarn for a while, you start to get a sense for the type that doesn't pull apart when brushed or tugged and it's rarer than you'd expect so I took the snood despite not liking the green tinge to the mustardy colour: it doesn't make clawdeen's skin tone pop for example. So it's the right fibre with a light enough base for some dye experiments.

*it has taken forever and it's just a start (50+ more) but I have listed 12 more dolls on ebay!! there are reroots from before I got injured and deglued dolls i'm really proud of. If you're interested, I'd much prefer to sell in bulk to the EU, will happily sell at cost instead of those higher ebay prices and have a ton of doll heads and partially finished projects if you repaint or reroot.

[kirk-says-wah]

𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞 - 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟓

Pairings: Kirk/Lars, James/Dave, Rob/Jason

You can also read it here

There’s something wrong.

Kirk can feel it as soon as he gets home. It’s in the way the air thrums, the way the temperature drops as soon as he steps foot in the house.

He tries to ignore it; he’s used to feeling on edge these days. Nothing seems to be going the way he wants, and his anxiety has a habit of crawling up his spine and sinking its teeth into his pulse point.

He makes himself some pasta, puts aside a bowl for James before snuggling up on the sofa to a rerun of Suspiria. It’s not unusual for James to be late from work, and it’s even more common for him to drop by the bar afterwards. It’d be nice though once in a while to get a text from him.

So Kirk stews in his silence for a few hours, tries to not let the anxiety cascade into a complete meltdown, but ultimately, as soon as it turns 11pm, his nerves win out.

He usually would’ve gotten a call by now from Jason or Rob to come and pick James’s sorry ass up off of one of the bar stools, but his phone had remained silent, so instead he takes matters into his own hands.

Maybe they forgot to call him. Maybe James isn’t that drunk after all.

The phone rings out a few times before Jason finally picks up.

“Hello?”

Kirk takes in a shuddering breath, tries not to let the panic overtake him.

“Hey it’s Kirk,” he says, tries to keep his voice even. “Is James there?”

The line is quiet for a moment.

“No. He’s not been in since yesterday.”

Dread sinks like lead in Kirk’s stomach, and his throat goes dry.

“Are you sure?”

“Let me just ask Rob,” Jason says, before Kirk’s thrown back into silence again. He chews at the skin around his thumbnail, bobs his knee up and down, praying to god they just hadn’t seen James sitting at the other end of the bar.

The only thing is, James is pretty hard to miss. He’s tall, blonde, good looking. Has a presence about him that makes taking him to a gig hard without behind hounded by the girls.

Ha. Kirk huffs a laugh to himself. If only they knew.

Jason’s voice sifts through the quietude, concern rifling the ends of his words.

“No, man. He’s definitely not here.”

Kirk pinches the bridge of his nose, tries to keep his breathing even. He can’t loose his shit. He can’t.

When he doesn’t say anything, Jason asks “is everything okay?”

And well, no. Everything’s shit. Kirk just wants to cry.

Kirk bites into the meat of his bottom lip, wills himself not to make this into a bigger situation than it is.

“He hasn’t come home,” he finally says, embarrassed at the quiver in his voice.

“From work?”

“Yeah,” he breathes, runs a hand under his nose. “I don’t know where he is.”

“Have you rang him?”

Well, Jason has got a point there. Maybe if he rings James, he’ll just say he’s out with work friends or something. Not that James has any work friends. But still, the idea rings true that James might just be one phone call away. Still, Kirk can’t help but feel a little lost, because he knows James’s would’ve told him if he was doing something different than his usual go to work-get drunk after routine.

“No,” he finally replies. “But he would’ve called. He would’ve told me if he was gonna be out this late.”

“I’m sure he’s fine Kirk,” Jason says, tries to sound reassuring, but with every passing second Kirk is starting to really lose his shit.

“D’you think you can come over?” he asks, voice small.

Jason’s sigh sounds tinny on the phone.

“I would but it’s Friday night, man. The bar’s packed, I can’t leave Rob alone with this.”

Of course, the one time Jason is actually working at the bar is when Kirk needs him the most.

“Okay,” Kirk squeaks, tears off the quick of his finger. Blood instantly pools into his nail bed but he hardly notices.

“I can come by when I get off. But I’m sure you’ll find him by then.”

Kirk nods, squeezing his eyes shut, desperately trying not to cry. He knows this could all be solved with a phone call, but his heart is telling him there’s something wrong here.

“Okay,” he says, when he finds his voice, his grip tight around the phone.

“He’ll be fine, Kirk,” Jason says, but he doesn’t sound all that convincing.

“Yeah,” Kirk says before hanging up, instantly pressing on James’s number.

He presses the phone back to his ear, a mantra of pick up please pick up pick up you stupid son of a bitch pick up falling from his lips as he listens to the line ring out until finally it hits voicemail, James’s drunk voice telling him to stop calling you’ve hit voicemail for a reason.

He quickly redials but it just ends the same. He finally lets the panic overtake him and he claws at his hair, tries to think straight. Where could he have gone?

The only other place would be Lars’s but James would’ve at least text him. He trusts him enough that he would.

Still, he can’t help but scramble to the kitchen where he finds a halfhearted scrawl of numbers taped to the fridge door.

He hastily dials the number, messing up a few times as his hands shake. He doesn’t know if this is Lars or Dave’s number, but he hopes at least however it is knows where James is.

It rings out twice before he’s sent straight to voicemail.

This is Dave. You know what to do.

Of course it’s Dave. They’ve hardly spoken to each other but Kirk just hopes that he’ll at least be helpful. He has no one else to call.

He waits for the beep, raking his nails into the back of his wrist.

“Hey, this is, uh, Kirk. James’s friend. Um, James hasn’t come home,” he pauses, anxiety making it hard for him to find the right words.

“I was just wondering if he’s with you. Or Lars. If you could call me back and let me know that would be great.”

He finishes it with a squeaked thanks before he hangs up, dropping his face into his hands.

He doesn’t know what to do, alarm bells are ringing in his head, and he knows something’s wrong. James seems to have completely disappeared. Hell, Kirk doesn’t even know if he made it to work this morning.

James just hasn’t been himself lately, and Kirk’s anxious that he’s done something drastic. He doesn’t want this to be another rerun of bailing James out of jail. He already told him he wouldn’t do it again (even though he would. Of course he would).

He just has visions of James drinking himself into a stupor, wondering around the streets in the dark, doing god knows what.

His phone buzzing breaks him out of his thoughts, and he grabs his phone, squints at the screen.

Here’s Lars’s number. Ring him.

Kirk blows out a breath. This could go either way. Either James is with Lars and there’ll be nothing to worry about, or he’s pulling Lars into a situation he’d rather deal with alone.

Or would he? He’s already asked Jason over because he can’t stand the thought of having to find James by himself, but the notion of contacting Lars means he’s going to be back in his life again. It means Lars is really here, means he’ll be sucked back into a life he left behind years ago and Kirk’s not sure if he can do that to him.

At the same time, he thinks about Lars, about how he’s always been the level headed one in their relationship, had always been the one to not panic straight away. And that’s what Kirk needs right now. He needs someone to take the reins. He can’t do this by himself.

He dials the number, all thoughts flying out of his head when he realises the ultimate goal. He needs to find James.

He holds the phone up to his ear, clenching his teeth as it rings.

It goes to voicemail after a while, but Kirk won’t give up. He needs help. And Lars is his last hope before he starts calling the police.

He dials the number again, impatiently waiting for the inevitable voicemail, only instead the line picks up.

“Hello?”

Lars’s voice is soft, sleepy. Kirk wonders if he’d woken him up.

“Lars?”

Lars is quiet, and Kirk guesses he’s trying to understand why the hell Kirk would be calling him.

“Kirk?”

Kirk doesn’t know how to answer, not when his heart is in his throat. He just wants to find James. He doesn’t want to deal with all the feelings that are tailing behind him right now.

“Are you okay?” Lars asks when he doesn’t say anything.

“Something’s wrong,” Kirk says, doesn’t really know how to put into words that their best friend has gone off the radar.

“What do you mean? What’s going on?”

Kirk sighs, tries to swallow the sob clawing its way up his throat.

“James is missing.”

Well, at least he thinks he is. Unless of course he’s with Lars.

“What do you mean?” Lars asks, so no, he’s not with Lars and oh god if James isn’t there then where is he? Has he got into an accident? Is he dead?

“Kirk! Kirk, for fucks sake answer me.”

Kirk zones back in with a quiet sob, tears finally falling from his eyes.

“I need you,” he says. “I need you I can’t do this alone.”

He doesn’t know why he says it when he knows he won’t be able to handle the rejection right now. But it’s true. He needs Lars more than he needs anyone. They used to have each other’s backs through everything, and Kirk knows that if it was Lars calling him he’d drop everything.

Lars is quiet, and Kirk nearly hangs up in embarrassment, wiping at his cheeks with the palm of his hand.

“Do you still live…” Lars trails off. He’s obviously insinuating that Kirk might still live in the house they shared. And of course he does. Where else would he be?

“Yeah,” he breathes, his voice shaky and raw.

There’s the sound of shuffling before Lars says “I’ll be there in ten,” and hangs up.

Kirk throws his phone onto the couch next to him and smothers a scream into his hands.

This situation just keeps getting worse by the minute, and he just can’t understand why James isn’t home already. There’s nowhere else he could be. Absolutely nowhere.

He waits, the police on speed dial as he bobs his knees up and down, nervous energy spiking through him so that when the doorbell rings he’s just ready to have a complete meltdown.

He opens the door. Lars is there, hair sticking to his sweaty face, panting harshly, cheeks red as the porch light casts a halo around him.

Kirk lets him in without a word, not trusting himself to speak. Lars strips off his jacket, breathing heavily as he steps into the living room.

“Did you run here or what?” Kirk says after a moment, confusion overlapping his anxiety.

“Yep,” Lars says, rubbing at his forehead. “I don’t have a car do I.”

“I’m sorry,” Kirk says, shame heating his cheeks. He can’t believe he made Lars come all this way just because he can’t keep his shit together.

“Hey,” Lars says, stepping forwards, placing a hand on his shoulder. The contact makes Kirk dizzy, but he tries his best not to lean into it. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

Kirk breaks a smile, and Lars squeezes his shoulder gently before letting his hand drop.

“So what’s going on?”

“James hasn’t come back from work,” Kirk says, dropping down onto the couch, his throat feeling tight and his eyes becoming wet. “I called the bar and he’s not there either. I thought maybe he was with you but he’s not so I don’t know where he is.”

“Okay,” Lars says, nodding, sinking onto the sofa next to him. “Okay. Maybe this isn’t as bad as we think.”

“You don’t know that,” Kirk cries, rubbing a hand over his chest when it start to feel tight. God he could just throw up right now. He lets out a long breath, covers his face with his hands.

Lars sits a bit closer, hovering, like he wants to reach out. Like he wants to hold him. Kirk wishes he would, but he doesn’t know if that’s overstepping.

“Kirk, he’s been fine before. I’m sure he’s okay.” Lars tries to sound reassuring, but it just makes Kirk’s emotions go haywire, like he’s being electrocuted, all of his emotions just pouring out of him like blood from his nose.

"You don't understand,” he cries, a sob ripping through his throat. Well, he’s definitely losing it now.

“He never stops drinking. I'm the one who has to stand by and watch to make sure he doesn't kill himself."

It’s an admission he’s never made before but it’s true. He’s the one that’s been keeping James afloat, especially lately, and since Lars has come back he feels like he’s been off his game

"And the one time I don't go with him to the bar, he falls off the face of the earth."

He knows that’s not fair. He doesn’t always go with James to the bar but usually there’s isn’t such a high chance that James has nosedived into the Sacramento river.

“That’s not fair,” Lars says, knocking his knee against Kirk’s. “You couldn’t have known this was going to happen.”

"I mean, what if he's threw himself over a bridge or something?" Kirk says, wiping at his nose. Lars’s hand snakes his up his back, and Kirk immediately sinks into his side, hides his face into Lars’s shoulder with a whimper.

"I don't think James is that dramatic,” Lars says, tries to lighten the mood, hand slowly soothing up and down Kirk’s back.

"What if he's driving drunk?” Kirk sobs, wetting Lars’s tshirt. “He's got the truck."

"What makes you think he'd do that?" Lars says, stiffening against him, hands stopping its movements.

Kirk sucks in a harsh breath, peeks up at Lars from under his chin.

"It's not the first time."

Lars blinks at him as though he’s not heard him right, before he brings Kirk in closer to him.

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” Kirk says, voice thick and wet. He supposes he should feel awkward, pressed up against Lars like this, but truthfully it just feels like home. Like this is what he’s been missing all these years. Even the heartbreak and the anger feels like years away now that he’s finally in Lars’s arms again.

“Have you tried his work?” Lars asks, leaning away to look at Kirk’s face.

Kirk looks up at him, eyes glazed.

“They’re closed,” he says, sniffing, pulling away lightly to be eye level with Lars.

“Does he still work for Cliff?”

Kirk nods, finally shifting upwards, rubbing away the wetness under his eyes. Lars’s arm doesn’t leave him.

“Don’t you have his number? You can call and ask if James was okay when he left?”

See, this is the reason why he needed Lars. He needed his level headedness otherwise he would’ve called the police already. Not that that’s not on the cards.

“Okay,” Kirk sniffs, reaching over the couch to get his phone.

He dials Cliff’s number, Lars’s hand falling to the side.

It rings a few times before Cliff picks up.

“What?”

“It’s Kirk,” Kirk says, voice shaky. “Did James come into work today?”

There’s a big sigh on the other end of the phone.

“Yeah.”

“He’s not come home,” Kirk says, tries not to sound like he’s pistoning headfirst into a panic attack. Lars shifts next to him, a tentative hand coming up to smooth over his knee. Kirk eases into the contact, even if he knows in the back of his mind that he shouldn’t.

“I know,” Cliff replies, sounding bored, but is probably high. He always seems to be high, even when he’s at work.

“What? What do you-“ Kirk cuts himself off with a shuddering breath, bringing a hand up to drive the heel into his eye socket.

He won’t cry again. It’s already bad enough that he’s made Lars come over when he probably has better things to do. Like sort his flat out. Or sleep.

“He came to work this morning, moping. And proceeded to quietly get drunk until he couldn’t even stand anymore so I took him home.”

“And you didn’t think to call?” Kirk cries, can’t quite believe what he’s hearing. James got drunk on the job? It wouldn’t be the first time, but usually Kirk would just get a call to pick his trollied ass up. Kirk doesn’t know how James still has a job, especially as his alcohol problem seems to be getting worse.

“Hey, I’m not his chaperone,” Cliff bites back.

“So he’s okay?” Kirk asks, feeling his nerves settle a bit now that he knows James isn’t dwelling in the cop shop for drunk driving.

“He fine.”

Kirk lets out a strangled laugh, tilting his head upwards. Wow. He feels like an idiot.

“I’m gonna come and get him,” he says, feeling Lars squeeze his knee gently.

“Suit yourself,” Cliff yawns before hanging up.

Kirk swallows, lets his hands drop.

“I can’t believe him,” he says. He’s not sure if he’s referring to Cliff or James.

“At least he’s okay,” Lars says, pulling his hand away.

“I’m sorry I made you come. You can go if you want.”

Lars scoffs, shakes his head.

“I’m not going anywhere. I can’t leave you like this.”

Kirk smiles. He feels a pull downwards and he flicks his gaze to Lars’s lips. Oh, what he’d do to just lean in and kiss him.

But then, now that he’s not so anxious over James, all of his past emotions, mostly betrayal spring up and he scoots away, stands up before Lars can even say anything.

“Cmon then. Let’s go pick him up.”