#and a whole bunch of really annoying conditions

[tuttle-did-it]

😳Wait

what? 😳

You’re telling me someone besides Mike Farrell read my article?

I’m happy

I’m confused.

Happy to know it’s had some good impact! That’s so lovely. Thank you. It means a lot to me that someone actually enjoyed it. 🩺⛑️🚁🧸

One of hundreds of letters sent to CBS after “Abyssinia Henry” aired 50 years ago today on March 18th, 1975. Many of them were from young children.

Last summer I started working on a project with these letters where I tracked down and spoke to many of the children who wrote them (now in their 60s). The project is on hold until I finish this school year, but I leaving cryptic messages on the answering machines of America's boomers resulted in some of the best conversations I've ever had. I'll keep you updated. I chose to share this image as the letter writer is anonymous.

Photo by me, “Letters from viewers regarding the death of Henry Blake.” Box 22, Folders 4. M*A*S*H Television Show Collection, 1950-1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. https://sova.si.edu/record/nmah.ac.0117/ref359?s=0&n=10&t=C&q=NMAH.AC.0117&i=0

Edit: follow @dearmash1975project for updates

[eveningepiphany]

only would happen to us | H.S oneshot

summary: you and harry just got stuck up on the tower bridge in london and it’s clear sometimes feelings are just too hard to ignore

warnings: smut! bandmate harry, fluff, heights, unplanned confession, making out, trying to hide it from everyone, REALLY CUTE CAR SCENE, tension, fingering, dirty talk, vague reference to choking, protected p in v sec, talk of unprotected sex, frat boy harry just being too hot.

a/n: this is a longer smutshot with a bit of plot, took me MONTHS of coming back and forth from this draft, but it’s so so cute I think you’re gonna love these two!

not heavily edited, may be some typos, just want to post it so bad and its 2am HAHA

———

A deep, almost shaky exhale passes through your lungs and out past your lips. Your own numb hands coming to your waist underneath the thick knitted sweater that hung baggy over your frame, meeting the tight harness fitted over your jeans. It was so cold outside that with each breath out, there was a pale cloud that got puffed out with it. The kind you’d see on a crisp morning while walking to school as a kid, and pretend you were exhaling a long drag of a cigarette.

It’s weird to see something such as the air from deep in your lungs in a way you never normally do. Something that is typically invisible, in the exact right conditions, can be suddenly tangible. The air you exhale always there, regardless of whether you can see it or not. But on a night like tonight it’s no longer able to be ignored.

How one individual might perceive it can be starkly different to another. What is perhaps an annoying reminder of the cold to one person— is a thrilling reminder of their state of aliveness to another.

You believe in the latter. Despite it highlighting how freezing cold you feel, it makes your heart sing. Right now, you’re alive, living in this very moment. Your breath is the very proof that you’re here, experiencing something few other people understand.

The mosaic of London city lights can be seen all around you, reflecting on the swell of water that consumes the far drop below your feet.

Gratitude floats through your mind at the tight harness wrapped around your middle, attaching to the safety line behind you. Otherwise just looking down would make you loose your balance, and that's not a fall you want to experience.

Filming music videos, you’ve learnt, is no joke. Considering you’re 200 feet in the sky above the river Thames on London’s most famous bridge.

“M’pretty sure I’ve just frozen my balls off.” Louis shivers out, earning a snort from Liam who has his hands shoved under his arms— in attempt to warm them up— beside him.

The camera crew have filmed the shots planned, and a few extras for behind the scenes footage, but everything that needed to be taken has now been ticked off, and the rest of the team are beginning to get ready for the band to come back down.

“And here i was just thinking how surreal it is to be up here,” You sigh out with sarcastic whimsy, “Louis sure knows how to put it into words…”

Niall pipes in, “Best view in the whole city and Louis is talking about his junk.”

Everyone up there let’s out a belly laugh at Niall’s quip. It’s an oddly touching moment. Just the six of you feeling like you’re on top of the world, laughing at a joke about Louis dick.

A very fitting theme for a bunch of still-teenagers, you think to yourself. Heartwarming in its own odd way that makes you smile. Eyes flitting from the skyline in front of you back to the band, attempting to take in every small detail that’s painting the wondrous view ahead of you.

You’re glad you went up first, it means you can see all their faces at once when you look to the left. The toothy grins, lit up eyes, and red, wind kissed cheeks.

Especially Harry, who beside you, looks absolutely elated to be up there. The glimmer in his eye's is possessing an emotion in your chest that's admittedly different tonight in comparison to any other.

Maybe it was just your surroundings, but you’re convinced this is the most beautiful he’s ever looked. His brown curls were tousled back from the breeze, lips flushed from the cold. The big khaki jacket cast over his broad shoulders is bundling him up, yet he was still shivering slightly.

Somehow now— even in London's coldest months—his skin still appears tan. Like if you reached out and touched it, it would thrum with the warmth of his blood. A heat you want to settle into with your entire body and soul.

Forcibly, you have to tear your gaze away from him. Reminding yourself that he is your bandmate, and one of your best friends. Not someone for you to be staring at as if there was something to be entertained.

Besides, you’ve spent months gaslighting yourself into the belief it’s simply because you work together so closely. Of course your brain is trying to tell you that there’s something there!

Hell, you’ve heard the horror stories from your girls back home. Problematic shit almost always happens when they fuck around with male colleagues at their jobs. You’ve even said to them, “Is he hot, or is it just because he’s a guy at your work?”

And while your relationship with Harry is arguably a lot more personal than just two colleagues, surely the theory still applies— you’re only so attracted to him because you both work together. That’s it…

Not at all the fact he is definitely the most gorgeous person you’ve ever seen.

Shaking your head— as if the physical movement will stop the internal battle between the voices in your head, you focus your eyes back to the city. Trying to memorise this beautiful sight instead, and commit each red set of break lights, and every yellow glow of someone’s window to the mental picture you’ve taken.

You wish you could know how many people are looking at the Tower bridge right now. If they have any idea that there’s 6 idiots up the top of it. It casts a familiar, deep set of wonder over you.

Are they cooking dinner, watching tv, or staring out at the world just like you? who are they with, why are they with them?

Just the notion that all the people in that city are out there, living a life as shockingly intricate, and beautiful as your own makes your heart clench. It’s a feeling you want to hold forever.

Harry notices from next to you the look on your face. He sees this look often, he knows how deep of a thinker you are. When your lips part in the slightest bit, displaying that sense of earnest shock— and your big eyes search the scene in front of them as if it might disappear on the very next blink.

You do it at airports, in every new city you visit, and onstage too— you do it almost everywhere, come to think of it.

His own mouth slants into a warm smile, even Niall has glanced over and shared a quiet chuckle at your ability to just slip into your mind every time something unreal happens to the six of you.

“Alright— we’re gonna get you guys down one by one!” A crew member's call pulls you out of your trance. Harry is almost sad to see the captivation on your face get snapped away in an instant, making him divert his attention away from you so he doesn’t get caught staring.

Given that you were the first of them to go up, you’d be the last to be lowered down. Zayn however was the last to go up, and arguably the hardest of everyone to convince to get up here.

Despite looking like he could conquer anything, and any challenge, he is scared easily of new things. Like going on a plane for the first time, or being lifted to the top of tower bridge and held by only a harness.

“Thank god—“ he sighs a chuckle, running an anxious hand through his hair as he slowly starts to shuffle along the narrow edge you’re all standing on.

“People pay good money t'do stuff like this, is the real kicker.” Liam nudges him, earning a playful eye roll from Zayn at his dig.

“Don’ get me wrong, s’beautiful, but im out of here. Back to solid ground where I belong.” He points to the mechanism that will lower him back down to the platform underneath where the crew is, hand then coming back to cling to the X shaped beams behind you all.

From what you were all told, it’s actually for maintenance… a large steel cage of sorts. One that’s clunky on the way up and down, and can’t carry more than two bodies a time— at best.

You hear the sigh of relief Zayn lets out as he steps onto the solid metal— sliding the carabiner out of the cable holding you all to the bridge. Waving a hand down to the crew to lower the lift, shouting down to them, “good to go, thank you lads!”

Once it’s back up, Liam goes down next, smiling pridefully as he gets onto the platform. Everyone knows this is a night you’ll all never forget.

Next is Louis, who does a salute to you all, “see you all on the other side,” leaving with a wink as he unclips himself once he’s in the cage.

Niall cleared his throat to shout, “Goodnight London, I bloody love ya!”

However, this is where things start to go awry. Because the platform doesn’t come back up as you and Harry had both been anticipating… causing you to both share a confused look as the final two up on the bridge.

“What the fuck…?” The two of you hear a worker cuss in annoyance, clear to you a slight commotion is going on below. It’s a very faint murmur of concerned, and also annoyed voices, that you’re straining to hear over the wind.

But suddenly Niall can be heard, loud and clear. Whatever it is can’t be that serious, because Niall is giggling? You and Harry both are leaning your heads to try and hear properly. Eventually he sounds like he’s having a full laughing fit, followed by a loud bellow of his amused tone that echoes all the way up to the two of you, “…So they’re stuck up there?”

Your heads snap to one another, locking eyes as you realise why the platform hasn’t come back up yet. Your cold hand comes over your mouth in shock trying to cover up your dropped jaw, warm breath ghosting over the red tips of your fingers.

“Fuckin— there’s no way…” Harry frowns, shaking his head, “He has to be tryin’ t’pull one over on us.”

"Gave the team 10 bucks t'act like its broken..." He murmurs to himself, pursing his lips as his head shakes in disbelief.

A part of you wishes that was the case, but your gut is telling you that its not. That sensation confirmed when your phone starts ringing in your back pocket.

Carefully, you pull it out of your pocket and glance to the screen, gesturing it over to Harry. Georgie, a part of your management team was calling you. He was a short, wiry red-haired man in his late thirties, who had a really lovely husband that would bake the band cookies with their son, Thomas.

With a sigh, you answer the call— putting it on speaker and shuffling closer to Harry so he can hear what he says.

Shoulder to shoulder, he leans his head down to listen, curls brushing the top of your head.

“Hello?” You say as you hear shuffling behind the phone, biting your bottom lip with your teeth as you wait for Georgie to actually talk to you.

Finally you hear him clear his throat with a short apology, “Okay— Y/N, Harry?”

He asks this as if it weren't abundantly obvious you were the only two people up there for him to be speaking to. It makes Harry palm his forward with a slight roll of his green eyes, “Georgie, what’s goin’ on?”

Annoyed look good on him, you thought. The way his brows pinched together and his lips formed a harsh line, jaw clenching tightly.

“Don’t panic but—“

“Oh, fucks sake, we’re gonna die up here, aren’t we?” You immediately interrupted, free hand coming up to your mouth as you take the nail of your thumb between your teeth.

“No, No!” He repeats, and you know he’s down there tapping his foot on the ground like he always does in conversations.

He’s either genuinely confident, or doing a really good job at faking it as he states, “All is well— just a minor inconvenience, is all…”

Harry and you say nothing though, waiting for him to fill the silence with an explanation of what exactly is happening down there.

“The cage lift has… uh,” his tone falters as he tries to find a way to explain the situation, “It’s had a bit of an issue. It’s not going up— we’ve got people on the way to fix it, so don’t worry.”

“They think it’s a combination of the cold night and the fact it’s not been used in a few weeks… but I promise we’re doing everything we can to get you guys down.”

Niall and Louis can be heard laughing in the back, and you feel at ease knowing the bridge isn’t about to collapse under your feet. You’re safe, just stuck up there for a little longer than planned.

“Wait till the media gets a hold of this,” Harry shakes his head, but a tiny relieved smile cracks now he also knows what’s going on— and likely at the boys cackling through the line.

“For now, just hold tight. I know it’s cold but atleast there’s two of you up there—“ you both shoot each other a confused look, “And I’ll call you when the blokes with their big tools are here to fix the lift and send it up…”

“Right… so in the meantime we just stay up here. On the top of a 200ft ledge?” You clarify, stupefied at the situation you've landed yourself in.

“Uhm, yep… I’ll call you guys back when I know more.” He replied curtly, before bidding a quick goodbye and hanging up.

Given the height you’re situated at, you don’t waste any time tucking your phone safely back into the pocket of your jeans. Glancing over to Harry who is smiling out at the city, “At least you’ve got a bit more time to try and memorise all this, hey?”

“Or we’re living our last hours up here before we die of hypothermia…”

A chuckle comes from him, where he nudges your shoulder with his, “C’mon Y/N, I think they’d airlift us off the bridge before it came to that point.”

"Now that would be a news story about us," you slant your gaze to him, his hands stuffed into the pocket of his jacket, “And that's at least true, I'm just being dramatic considering the situation.”

His lips curve into a smile, shaking his head with amusement, “We’re gonna get the biggest I told you so from Zayn.”

The wind blows your hair in all directions as it randomly pushes a strong gust against you, making you reach up to try and tame it back down.

“Whose fucking idea was it to leave my hair down,” you complain, despite it actually being your own. Harrys own hand comes to try and brush it out of your squinted eyes, quietly humming, “y’shivering, love.”

The way he is so gently pushing the hair from your face, paired with the hushed pet name makes you look up to him, “And so are you…”

Internally, you are cursing. Cursing right now whatever greater force has planted your ass in this set of circumstances. Stuck up here, in arguably the most romantic spot you could be put into. Together. Right at the time the resolve you've tried so hard to maintain that Harry is 'just a friend', is starting to crash and burn.

“C’mere.” He says, the lilt in his accent is deep from the crisp air, casually wrapping an arm around your middle, pulling you towards him. Just the action alone makes your whole body heat up, and your praying your cheeks are already red enough to hide the blush that's creeping hot up your neck…

Your cheek meets his shoulder, nose bumping his collarbone as he tucks you in the space between his arm and his side, the hand around your waist splaying over the knit of your sweater. He smells so good, masculine… the scent woodsy, but with an undertone of warm spices. You try not to draw in an obvious inhale against the collar of his shirt.

You adored how close a connection two of you shared, but you also hated it. Hated it because there’s no hesitancy in the way his hand curls around your side and lets your body lean into his. The this is just what friends do mentality. Especially in a situation like this, where the action can simply be justified by that, and that alone. It kills you feeling him like this, warm and gentle against your cold body, and trying to pretend like it isn't currently making your insides squirm.

“If this ledge weren’t so bloody thin, I’d wrap you up with m’jacket.” He admits, looking down at you.

He cant help but unknowingly make it worse for you.

Lips forming a thin line, you try to bite back the smile that's forcing it's way onto your face. The image playing off in your mind no matter how hard you try to wipe it. Stood here, arms slid around his toned middle, meeting together at the small of his back. oh god...

Your own hands have unconsciously braced themselves on the outer edge of his jacket, gripping it for dear life as you try to calm your racing heart.

Eyes veering outwards as you look at the scene in front of you, “it’s okay... its cold, but at least its beautiful.”

His own eyes are trailing the profile of your face, heart thrumming underneath his chest as an almost welcome heat spreads through him. He’s made a mistake pulling you into him, he should’ve known he’d bitten off more than he could chew. That he’d want more, to feel more of you than he already is.

When suddenly nothing is more appealing than leaning down and nudging your nose with his, to let your head tilt for him, so he can press a warm kiss against your mouth.

“So beautiful,” he quietly parrots, but he’s not thinking about the view.

Forcing his eyes away from you, he clears his throat carefully. A tiny chuckle escaping in the silence that had enveloped the two of you as you stared out at the city.

“Only this would happen to us.” He suddenly says, and you feel him draw in a deep inhale. Confused in what context he means it, you turn your head to look up at him with a puzzled smile, “What do you mean?”

“I can almost bet a thousand bucks we are probably the first and only people t'ever have this happen t'them. Somehow I find it fitting.”

“Pretty special... if you think of it like that.” You mutter, nodding slowly.

“No one can even see us, and there's a whole city out there—“ he gestures out with his finger, “that doesn’t know we’re up here.”

A morbid laugh bubbles from your throat, "I know were not gonna die up here, but if we were, I can't really imagine what the last thing I would want to do would be." You feel his chest rumble with a chuckle, and he's shaking his head at you.

His voice is completely normal as he ponders the thought, "Well... we’re kind of limited with what we can do because of these." His hand finds the hem of his white t-shirt, peeling the material above his belly button. It's intention to gesture to the harness flush around his middle. Your eyes however... they veer to the tan skin of his stomach, and the dark tattooed ferns that adorn his hips and bracket the dusting of hair that trails up from the band of his Calvin Klein briefs. Only graced with the sight for a few fleeting seconds before it disappears behind the white fabric once again.

You almost about choke on nothing. Having to force your throat to swallow before a bout of laughter rattles out of you without you able to stop it, "The harnesses?'

Your obviously answered question makes his brows furrow, and mouth quirk into a confused sort of smile. It only makes you laugh more, hand coming up to scrape down your face as a desperate attempt to ground your brain.

But, fuck— what he just said, you're banking it was an entirely innocent comment, and that's exactly what is causing the confusion at your disheveled reaction. But he quite literally doesn't realise what insinuation you thought he was making. And that you are imagining all kinds of depraved scenes without ability to stop.

A parallel of you only a minute earlier, he begins, "What do you—"

The pang of realisation hits him.

"...oh."

His words die where they were in his voice box, stomach churning the second he clocks onto your almost guilty laugh. The sound drips with warmth as it enters his ears.

He rolls his eyes, but suddenly his cheeks feel hot as a blush spreads across them no matter how hard he tries to will it away, "That is not what I meant! Of course you would think that."

Your jaw drops in feigned offense, knocking your elbow against the side of his ribs, "What are you trying to say about me?"

You've taken a small step back from him, hand coming to your chest as a mimic of your fake shock. You know how dangerous this is getting, and quickly at that. Breaching into uncharted territory.

"That your head is stuck in the gutter." He mumbles, blinking fast as he avoids meeting eyes with you as if you'd be able to simply see the thoughts plagued in his head now.

"It is not, you're the one that worded it weird!" You tease, arms crossing. It is truly like the rest of the world has fallen away, and like you are the only two people alive right now.

"Is so," he argues passionately back, "So far in the gutter, in fact, tell pennywise i say hi."

You burst out with a laugh, trying to tuck your cold hands between your upper arm and ribcage, "Gross, Harry. I fucking hate clowns."

"And mind you, I said nothing! You came to this conclusion on your own."

"Okay Y/N, What conclusion is it tha’ I'm coming to, if y'would be so gracious to enlighten me." Checkmate.

He's smiling now, you are red, embarrassed or worked up, or perhaps a heated mixture of both.

The ball is back in your court, and you struggle to get your mouth to move properly, "I— You cant— Don't turn this back on me!"

Suddenly, he tumbles his own inner thoughts out of his lips before he can halt them, they sound with a rasp, "Darling, you're the one having deluded n’dirty thoughts 200ft up n'the sky."

God. Does this count as foreplay to the mile high club? And fucking hell, his voice sounds too deep right now. The way his thick accent rolls the words out. Its making your head hurt.

Your earlier resolve is officially gone. It's thrown itself off the ledge of this bridge and is falling the very far drop to the bottom. And you know what, pretty sure your self respect is going with it. Between the two of them, it will be loud enough to probably hear the impact they make when they hit the water at full force.

"Probably the first person to be doing that up here, too." The words are gritted out of you as your heart pounds in your chest.

You hear the inhale he takes, deep— as if he's trying to ground himself, hold back whatever is transpiring right here, right now.

"Do have even half the idea of how badly I want t'kiss you right now?"

Your head snaps from where it was, tearing your eyes from where they'd locked onto the city skyline in attempt to distract yourself from the trouble you're about to get into. A part of you deep down realises how bad this could get quickly, how absolutely irreversible this conversation is.

And that regardless if something or nothing comes of it, you are never going to function the same. Laying in bed staring at the celling you'll see his face, next time you're on stage you'll feel your stomach drop when he looks at you, when you're in a room with him you'll cease to be able to function.

His green eyes have literally pinned you where you stand, wind toying with your hair as your lips are parted in shock.

"You don't mean that..." you stare at him, shaking your head slowly. Trying to back out of this, attempting to give him a moment to throw the blanket back over what he was uncovering.

He frowns, almost offended, as if doubting him is the worst thing there is in the world. Taking a brief step forward to fully face you, "Y/N, I would have you backed up against these beams if I wasn't literally restrained from doing so."

"What— Harry, what about—" At this rate, you're mustering up any excuse to rationalise what is happening right now, "I'm pretty sure there's strict rules against this in our contracts— you know?"

"Fuck the contracts." He immediately replies, disregarding that as a point entirely. His hand coming up to brush the brown curls that have been blown in front of his intense gaze, "Could care less 'bout them, not like we haven't broken a million other things in them."

True. You can think of several things between you and the band. You're still employed, if that says anything.

"The things I would do to you if I knew no one would interrupt" He takes another step closer to you, close enough you can reach out and touch him, "then well see about me not meaning any of this."

His voice, the absoluteness in his tone makes your head spin. Resolve slipping, cracking, completely dissipating from where it was being grappled in your palms two seconds prior to this conversation starting.

You feel like you're floating outside of your own body as your hands find the bottom of his white shirt, lifting it until you can wrap your fingers around the black harness taut around his middle. Slowly, you pull it until he is forced to step closer to you.

His heart stutters at the action... it's arguably the hottest thing a girl has ever done to him— beating a tug of belt loops or a belt by a mile. This was personal.

"This is still a problem, as you said earlier." You drawl quietly. Tone void of any indicative of emotion, the only thing he gets any intel from being the blush that's deepened on your cheeks.

There's a few ticks of silence when his chin dips to follow the action that's led your cold hands underneath his shirt, the way he stares the only point of physical contact between the two of you. But god, when your stare flickers up to him and he meets it with his own— his stomach jolts. Eyes squeezing shut as his forehead drops down, hesitating before pressing ever so slightly against your own, "Y'are too much, love."

His hands sliding up to meet your jaw, your low voice echoes out a plea, "Well, it would be a waste if we didn't."

Referring to the kiss of course, it does feel like it would be a missed opportunity to surpass right now. As, in all fairness you'll never be able to have a first kiss with Harry in a more memorable place. So even if the idea is stupid, It could be justified by that alone...

You feel his chest rumble with a deep chuckle, his lips pulling into a smile, "We'd regret it... if we didn't."

"We’d always wonder.” You nod, tone bearing on certainty as the two of you knowingly come to the biggest reach of a justification you could.

His fingers coil around your jawline, and you can feel his warm breath gently panning across your skin. It makes your eyes flutter closed, feeling his thumb ghost over your bottom lip. Eliciting a shudder that runs straight up your spine, making him smile with pride.

Tipping your chin up, he brushes his mouth over the corner of your lips. Catching them just slightly, “I’d always be thinking about what your mouth would feel like against mine,”

“And then you’d just end up kissing me anyway,” you chuckle quietly, “just in a probably less cool place.”

“Mhmm,” the low hum of agreement rumbles from his throat as finally he bears his mouth down against your own. The press of warm lips against yours making your whole body sing.

Cold was no longer a feeling in you, there was only a hot tingling sensation that’s shot through your limbs as his mouth lingers in hesitation for a moment before moving to kiss lightly against the fullness of your bottom lip.

He nearly groans when you regain enough control over yourself to actively kiss him back, leaning into his touch.

The excitement spreads through you both like wildfire— you’re kissing each other on the top of a world famous bridge. Cars below, and mentionably the crew members also underneath, have no idea. No idea the fact your hands are skating up his white shirt further until you’re palming the hard slabs of muscle over his abdomen. Not even a clue that one of his hands has taking sanctuary on your hip bone, tugging your body into his.

Your mouths work against each other, tongues suddenly getting involved when he squeezes a hand along your ribs making your lips part. His warm tongue gliding into your mouth just enough for you to taste him slightly.

“Harry,” his name is whined against his mouth, nails clawing over the skin of his chest.

“Fuck—“ he bites out, tongue lulling against your bottom lip, greedily trying to taste more of you.

The action alone is enough to make your knees nearly give out, “I need—“

Your desperate words are cut off, the sound of your phone ringing bringing you both to an instant halt.

There’s a shared look, both taking in what you’ve done to one another. Left standing here with eyes half lidded and lips swollen— looking entirely, wholeheartedly, fucked.

A tortured sigh comes from you as he promptly leans back down and kisses your mouth. If it had anything to do with you, you'd let the call ring out just to have more of this. He is more sensible than that, clearly. As his hand comes to the back pocket of your jeans, sliding your buzzing phone out into his palm.

Wanting to whine when he pulls away, a part of you is battling all your logic and is begging to stay up here with him. For how long? You don’t care, forever as far as you’re concerned. Fighting the urge to just grab your phone and throw it off the ledge, purely so his hands can busy themselves on your skin again.

Harry clears his throat before tapping the accept button, hoping to god he can muster a normal sounding voice.

Georgie’s voice comes through first, less shuffling on his end of the phone this time— indicating some higher level of organisation in comparison to earlier, you assume.

“Harry, Y/N! Platforms on its way up you two, everything okay?”

“Yep, Georgie,” he nods, pursing his lips as his eyes find your to pin you with a stare, “things are good.”

A small laugh and he replies, “Well— I can’t really tell if you’re bein’ sarcastic but I’ll take it.”

“Anyway, once it’s up there we’ve been told strictly to keep it one at a time to come down just to be on the safe side so it doesn’t malfunction again.”

“Very reassuring…” Harry drawls with slight grimace, glancing over to where the metal cage is rising up.

“Don’t be so pessimistic,” he scolds playfully over the speakers, making Harry roll his eyes— but a playful smile falls on his lips.

“See you soon, thanks for saving us Georgie, I owe ya one.”

You finally lean towards the phone, “I second this, thank you.”

“Not a worry, didn’t want that much paperwork on a Friday night.” He teases, before ending the call with a quick ‘see you soon.’

Harry’s eyes return to you. Your lips part and draw in a hushed gasp as he leans back into your space. Hands slowly sliding around your middle. Making that same breath catch in the middle of your throat as he pulls you in, slowly, almost sensually as his eyes drop to your lips.

He lingers against you, a tease, you already know it.

Proving you right, he deposits your phone back safely into your back pocket, applying a few gentle taps to the swell of your ass as he leans back again.

"H." is all you can say, and at this point it comes from you as almost a whine. But it saying exactly what you want without having to even tell him.

A grin is plastered on his handsome face at the blush that’s already torn its way back through you. His bashful smirk mirroring that of two teenagers that have sneaked a kiss before going back to their friends or family.

Which is exactly what he does, struggling not to smile against your mouth as he presses warmly, firmly against you. Giving you exactly what you wanted.

Allowing you both as much time as reasonably possible to soak in the feeling before he starts to pull away, your body almost instinctually following his movement— leaning further, pecking against his mouth until he steadies your shoulders with his hands.

A soft chuckle breathily escaped him, heart nearly melting inside his chest as your wide, wild eyes stare up at him. A tiny, smile on your own mouth now, one he reaches up to thumb delicately over.

The touch is earnest and makes you nearly sink into yourself— or better yet, sink into him.

A light hum of pleasure, and then he pulls away, turning to start walking along the ledge.

Carefully, you both shuffle to where the platform is now fully stationary. As he takes a step onto it, feet planting solidly onto the metal, you see a sense of relief on his face. Hands working to unbuckle the carabiner, and his eyes flitting back to yours.

You’re staring at his hands… the way they seamlessly open the clasp. You’ve always been drawn to them, the firm tendons that run into his fingers. He catches you doing this, and whether or not he knows you’re ogling the stature of his hands, the smirk on his face is all consuming.

You roll your eyes bashfully at him, pursing your lips and crossing your arms all in an attempt to be normal about this. But struggling to come across to him as unaffected by this whole ordeal.

He is having none of it.

“M’not done with you, love. Not even close.”

And that’s the last thing he said before the platform started the trip back down. Suddenly you are alone up here once again. The moment of solitude very sobering in a situation as such.

Unbelievable to consider that if you told yourself two hours ago that by the end of the night, you had made out with Harry up here, you would’ve believed sooner that you were having hallucinations than actually thought it were true.

Your brain is going over it and over it, like a flashbulb memory, all you can think about is him, and what you’d just done.

“Fuck sakes.” You cursed, hand coming up over your eyes in attempt to quell the thoughts.

It was closest to a face palm. Your palm immediately clapped over your eyes. It’s to no use though, as even behind the darkness of shut and covered eyelids you could still see him, still feel him. The sensation of his fingers softly grazing over the skin of your ribcage, slipped tentatively underneath the knit of your sweater. The heat of his tongue lulling gently into your mouth.

M’not done with you, love. Not even close…

The sound of his voice, even if it’s simply the imagination of it in your own head, it reignited the heat in your stomach— if it ever truly went away— making it churn with heavy desire. Almost worse than earlier, now that you had to stand here and suffer through it stationary.

Dragging your heavy hand up to take place in your hair, you push the loose strands out of your face, and tug at its roots.

With now open eyes, the city stared back at you. Supplying you with a mocking silence. As if to imply, I saw what you just did. Watched you kiss someone you shouldn’t, and not even just once by any means. You went back for more even after it stopped. Got your hands and feelings involved.

You attempted to smooth your hair down, annoyed that your guilt has conjured into the city of London taking over your internal monologue. It was messy as you combed your fingers through it, but whether it was Harry or the wind, you’re hoping that— and the rest of your disheveled appearance— can be attributed to the cold and wind entirely.

Which suddenly, that cold felt so much harsher now Harry was no longer up there with you. Either it was his body heat pressed against you that heated you up, or kissing him had that much of an affect on you. Tragically, you’re ball parking that it’s a torturously attractive combination of them both.

When the platform thankfully returns up, you steal a final glance out at the Thames and London. Definitely a sight you’ll have burned into your mind for the rest of your life.

Stepping onto the platform, you felt equal parts relief and anxiety. God forbid people can sense something is different between you two… and this is not a situation you���ve ever been in before. Who knows your own capacity to hold a convincing lie about something like this.

The second you’re down all the way and the platform meets the ground, you’re greeted with a flurry of workers and people from the crew. All chorusing questions of ‘are you okay?’ to you as if you’d been up there for days without food or water.

Tamara, one of the women on the styling teams, rushed up to you with a thick black coat, shawling it over you and rubbing your shoulders, “here lovie, y'shaking like a leaf you poor thing... this’ll warm you up.”

Her lower lip pouted out in sympathy for you, her dark curls of hair casting over her eyes as she spoke “Gosh, you look so cold, the wind up there must’ve been so chilly… your cheeks are all red— and your hair's all over the place."

At least she was attributing it all to the cold wind, and wasn't immediately aware you'd just snogged with your bandmate up there. Either way the slight shake to your hands was the last of your worries, and your gaze has landed on Harry— but he was already looking at you.

His stare said it all really, the look of we have unfinished business all over his face. The tiny curve to the corner of his mouth that may go unnoticed to everyone else but you. Possibly because you had his tongue in your mouth less than half an hour ago, but still— you pick up on it all the same.

Georgie is fussing over him currently, and Harry takes a second to break the eye contact the two of you held, pausing to let out a breathy laugh as he turns to Georgie, “And surely after all this excitement we get to go back to the hotel room— no more crazy behind the scenes to film?”

Tamara’s ears perk and she overhears him, nodding as she rubs your shoulder, “we’ve already got a car down there to get you back to the hotel."

You thank god for the bridge being closed to traffic, entirely unable to imagine trying to trudge through hordes of tourists and potentially fans just to get back to a car.

Several people escort you and harry down the stairs to where a black car is parked opposite to the exit.

Tamara opens the door for you both, and you share a look before scooting into the backseats. Georgie gets into the front passenger seat, greeting the driver politely. Already clued in on the mishap on the bridge, they waste no time having a relieved laugh about you both getting down in one piece.

The heater is already cranking in the black car, heating your skin. Harry pats the middle seat with his hand, giving you a look. It lingered like an unspoken sentence in the glimmer of his green eyes, and the tiny upwards tilt to the corner of his mouth.

Next to me, it said.

Like it was less question, and more that he needed you next to him more than anything else in the world right now.

And as you’re coming to realise, this look on his face can pretty much get you to do anything. It’s only telling how far that alone could take you. So you silently settle into the middle seat, pulling the seatbelt across yourself. Buckling it in, feeling Harry’s thigh gently press against your own.

There are so many unspoken words floating in the air between you two. Things you want to say, things you want to do, all suspended above you. Making you wonder if Georgie— who is rugged up in the front seat and is apparently accompanying you both on the ride back to the hotel— can sense it too.

However, he seems oblivious despite your expectation for him to be the opposite. He pays no additional mind to you both, other her than the slight dart of his eyes to your body taking up the middle seat instead of the window seat behind him.

Your teeth are working over the skin on the corner of your lower lip as you’re driving back towards central London. Delmar, the driver whose name you’ve overheard in passing as Georgie and him acquainted, is weaving back into the thick of the cities traffic as you’re off the closed bridge.

Harry’s eyes are cast outside the window, but his hands are deciding to play a dangerous game. Simply at the fact he cannot help himself. He’s aware that Georgie is distracted, and is taking the opportunity to innocently flex his knuckles against your knee. Breaching the gap from where his hand rests atop his own. The warm city lights are cutting a deep shadow across his jaw, outlining the smirk on his side profile.

It conveys his need to touch you, that your body filling up the space next to him is not enough. Although you have to hold back an exasperated sigh at his actions, and how he is only making this worse for you, you end up sliding your hand down your thigh, slowly and carefully.

It's likely that you're just as bad as him, because you brush your hand against his— Nothing but your pinky stretched out, grazing his. Both of your eyes shifting upwards to lock with each other, then back to Georgie. A silent acknowledgment at how careful the two of you have to be right now.

Slowly, you link your pinky around his own, catching his ring finger too as he curls them against you. The delicate touch is somehow a head-spinning mix of sincere and beautiful, but also so insanely attractive.

He's smiling, a wide grin that his free hand attempts to cover as his elbow rests on the car door. Covering the dimples you wanted to take in, allowing you only the sight of slightly crinkled eyes from how hard he's smiling underneath the palm of his hand. To put it simply, right now he looks like an art piece. His chocolate curls over his forehead, and the smile on his face you know that you're the cause of. Hands brushing together, hidden between the both of you— all in the back of a car, trying to hide it like true teenagers.

It's sudden when you realise you are in the exact same state, struggling to disguise the curve of your mouth from not only Harry, but the other two people in the vehicle. Trying to press your lips together as he plays with your fingers. Hands soft and warm against yours, your eyes casting down to where they're joint together between the two of your knees. Just barely. Small enough a move to ensure you're the only two that know about it, but also enough to make your stomach churn with need.

I want his mouth on mine again, your brain chimes.

Before your brain can send you spiraling back into the memory of you two kissing, the sound of your name from the front seat cuts through it.

"Y/N, You were up there, tell Delmar what it was like!"

Snapping your gaze back to Georgie, he serves a unintentional reality check for you.

"Oh, uhm—" Shaking your head as if to clear your thoughts, you endeavor to form a coherent sentence. Harry's hand gently, and as discretely as possible, slides out of yours, taking its place back on his own thigh. If you were to look, you'd see that the smile on his face has somehow gotten wider, as if the aspect of being nearly caught out in the backseat of the car is the most amusing thing in the world.

Amplified by him listening to you stumble over your words, that too is endearingly hilarious. A true gentlemen.

However, you're now unable to find the words for what happened up there that don't relate to having someone kissing you over and over again.

"Well, you can imagine it was beautiful," A tiny, pained chuckle comes out of you, "London is... massive— from up there, y'know?"

God. You sound like such an idiot, you already know that.

The driver laughs and nods at your attempt to tell the story, voice warm and sincere as he replies, "Some things can be hard to put into words, I understand."

You take a moment to realign your thoughts, come up with anything better than 'London is... massive'.

Finally smiling back at him, you draw in a breath, trying to articulate the feeling prior to getting distracted up there with your bandmates mouth, "Well, the city lights are kind of like a warm sky of stars... Hard to believe that there's so many people in London when you look at it from that high up."

He hums at your much better description of the sight, and of course— just as anyone would, he curiously asks a few more questions.

Such as 'how long were you up there? were you scared?' All of which Georgie unfortunately does not swoop in on to steer the conversation again, as he too wants to hear the experience from you.

Delmar does eventually cast his attention to Harry's broad frame in the rear view mirror, quizzing him on his own outlook on the event, making you thankful to have a second to breath and not be skirting around the fact you made out with the person sitting currently right next to you.

He handles the questions with tragic ease— or at the very least it comes off that way— but you can hear how he is still trying not to laugh. And the way he's knocking your thigh with his every chance he gets when the eyes in the front of the car aren't on either of you.

The streets and the traffic within them get busier as the hotel the band is staying at draws close. Delmar weaving into the back lot so you can both get inside discreetly, not forgetting to thank you for the pleasurable chat. His kind words you both smile, and Harry isn't shy to also gives his gracious appreciation, "Drive was a dream, thank you mate, 'ave a lovely rest of your night."

His hand comes to open the car door, allowing him to slide out— But once he's standing, he gestured out his palm for you to take as your feet come to the asphalt below. The smirk on his face as you take it is enough to make you roll your eyes, trying to downplay the effect it has on you.

He leans discretely down to your ear, speaking only loud enough for you both to hear, "I know I will."

A wink to you, and it feels like your knees are going to give out simply where you stand. He gives it a squeeze before breaking off to shut the car door, and walk over to where Georgie is standing.

“Tamara told me they’ve got hot chocolates prepared in the foyer for you two.” Georgie informs you both, typing quickly back to Tamara on his phone before leading you both in through the back entrance of the hotel. Harry’s hands are tucked into the pockets of his jacket as you walk beside him, likely to stop himself from caving and trying to grab your hand or arm in his as you walk behind Georgie.

The air is contrastingly cold compared to the warm car, which brings another bout of relief when you to get back into the heated hotel lobby.

Surely enough, a short, older lady comes out from a kitchen area upon you all entering. Promptly walking up to Georgie with a tray with 3 large cups filled with the sweet beverage. He gasps in excitement as she approaches, remarking sweetly that "Tam even got me one, what a sweetheart!"

"Bet thats the real reason y'came back with us." Harry teases, then nods in greeting to the lady holding the tray of drinks, "Thanks for these, love."

Even she looks up at him with a big grin. Reminding you of the way the elderly ladies talked about the boys when you were filming earlier for this music video. Harry— and all the others— just have that charm about them. Clearly it lacks a generational age limit. And you know what, you cant even blame her. She gets it.

"Not a worry darling's, buzz us if you all need anything else,” You give her a smile as she reaches to pat your arm, “it should warm everyone up.”

“Thank you so much.” You affirm as you clasp the hot cup from the tray.

Heading towards the posh elevator, Georgie presses the up button and is talking to Harry about tomorrow, how he has a fitting for a suit. Something about an awards show. You're struggling to pay attention, as you know all three of you are headed to the same floor. Not only does Georgie have to think you're going back to your respective rooms for the night, but if any of the other boys waited up for you two, there is no way you're going to get to be alone tonight.

Harry is busy entertaining Georgie's itinerary as you step into the elevator, his hand reaching for the '32' button on the control panel. The descent up each floor feels like it drags on forever, anticipation for how this is going to play out genuinely killing you.

When the large silver doors open to the 32nd floor, all of you walk out in tandem onto the tiled hallway. Your rooms are all pooled together at the start of the hall, meaning there’s hardly any further to walk once you’re out of the elevator.

Your own keycard for your room is in your phone case, so you reach to pop the case off and slide it out as you come to a stop outside the large white doors of your room.

"Well," You clear your throat, eyes darting between Harry and Georgie, "Glad we all survived that ordeal, I’ll see you all bright and early tomorrow."

A small buzz sounds from the sensor as you hold the card over it, a small green light flashing.

“Mhm, tomorrow.” Harry affirms casually, casting a sly nod your way from where he stands on the opposite side of the hallway. Standing outside his own room, fishing out a keycard from deep in the pocket of his jeans.

Georgie, who is happily and unknowingly pushing open his own door, chuckles at your comment, "Definitely glad, see you two in the morning."

With a small smile, he makes sure to squeeze in a a final reminder to Harry, "H, half ten tomorrow, don't forget."

The two of you have both slid inside your respective hotel rooms as Harry laughs quietly, replying to him, "Wouldn't dare."

Waiting, your free hand clutches the door. Admiring his face in the warm glow of the hall lights, and the way he keeps his eyes trained on the room Georgie was disappearing into. As you watch, you’re taking a sip of your hot chocolate when his gaze finally darts to yours as the click of a door sounds up the hall.

Now you’re just looking at each other, tension in the air thick and warm. He’s smiling as he mimics your behaviour, taking a leisurely drink from his own cup without breaking eye contact.

Given the few seconds of silence, you are certain that no one is going to disturb you, and a sense of relief washes over you. Finally. Other than the pounding of your heart in your chest, everything around you is quiet. You peak your head around the smooth rim of the doorframe, all the doors were shut, and the rooms were hushed.

By some grace of god, not only has one of your managers gone to bed without any hunch as to what’s going on, but the rest of your bandmates too. And it really is just the two of you.

Harry’s gaze is burning into with an equal grin when you look back to him. Revelling in the privilege he feels watching you step quietly back into the hall, turning your body to very gingerly tug your door closed again.

You cannot be closing the gap between you both fast enough, you’re practically running across the hall, shoes lightly clacking against the tiles to reach him before this perfect opportunity could be interrupted by a single soul. Pursing your lips as you step across the threshold of his door and the hallway, forcing back a laugh that’s bubbling in your chest at the situation.

Not wasting a second more, you invade his space. Leaning into the curve of his body where his arm is braced against the door he’s holding open.

“Hi…” Your hand reaches up to meet the back of his neck, where it cranes to look down to meet your eyes.

“Hey, baby,” he rasps, eyes fluttering as he takes you in. The black of his pupils have blown out over the mosaic of emerald green surrounding them, dilated in what can only be described as sheer anticipation. Conveying the want and need he feels without having to speak more than a word. That alone is something you can’t handle for half a moment longer, because suddenly your hand sinks into the soft curls at his nape, and you’re pulling to tug his head further down. Moulding your lips together in a single, rushed movement.

There’s no words that can do justice the feeling that explodes in your chest. Little buds of heat bloom and flower in there faster than you can keep up with, kicking your lungs into a pant as his tongue can’t help but get involved immediately— lulling over the fullness of your bottom lip. The firm press of a single kiss had promptly melted into a plethora, one after the other as your lips show no mercy against one another.

You have to physically focus to keep the cup from slipping from your grip. A nearly impossible feat when his tongue is invading the gap between your top and bottom lip, gliding into your mouth with a hum from his throat at the taste of you. Warm and chocolatey, a flavour he wants to sink in.

Harry too tastes of the warm drink, a sweet contrast to earlier— when your tongue tingled from the spearmint on his breath. Your body leans into his. More, more, more, your brain is practically begging. Naturally it causes him to stumble back as your chest is arching to press against his own. The softness of your body makes him want to groan, and his hand almost instinctually leaves its hold on the doorframe to meet the dip of your waist. Supporting your stature as he pulls you to follow each step back he takes.

With a loud slam, the door falls shut, eliciting a slight flinch and laugh from you both. Like you didn’t expect it. As if natural consequences don’t exist right now, and the world around you is falling away with every press of lips against skin. There is no actions causing reactions, except the ones happening solely between the two of your bodies.

“Oh god—“ You sputter a strained laugh, hand stroking along his jawline as your eyes dart to the now shut door. It’s thrown the room into darkness, except for the faint glow London’s city lights have provide from his window on the opposite side of the room. “So much for being discrete… and quiet.”

This lighting bought the sharp shadows back onto his face, but this time you can finally touch them— revel in them.

“You’ll be more worried about quiet later, darling.” His voice comes low against your cheek, hand on your hip. Guiding you backward until the small of your back meets the cool countertop of the kitchenette.

His words bring that familiar, pleasure-filled roll into your stomach. Drawing out a tiny whine from your throat as he smirks against your flushed skin. Placing a peck against your cheekbone, he lingers for a few seconds. Letting the warmth of his lips burn a mark into the very nerves they touch, before pulling back to take a swig of the hot chocolate between his hands. Using his free one to now guide your own cup towards your mouth.

As your big eyes look up to him, he breaks his lips from the lid to speak, “drink s’more, it’ll be a cold chocolate by the time we come back to it.”

Chuckling around the edge of the cup, you press your mouth to it and let the sweet and warm liquid trail down your throat. He watches intently, the way you swallow it down— knuckles coming to run from the base of your throat upwards, tracing along the hook of your jaw.

He has to stifle a groan at the sight of you, the way your throat bobs with your red cheeks and messy hair. It translates instead through the clench of his jaw, and fluttering shut of his green eyes. The expression makes your stomach flip, not only warm from the hot chocolate, but from the arousal that’s sparking heat in every part of your body it can tangibly reach.

“Fuck— H,” you say, turning to push the takeaway cup on the counter behind you, “You’re so fucking beautiful, look at you.”

Finally, that groan escapes him simply at your words. Furthering into something more as now both of your hands run up his white shirt. No longer stopped by the barrier of a body harness, you skate along the taut, firm muscles of his abdomen in one long stroke.

“Fuckin’ Hell…” he curses, eyes darting down to meet where your hands have slid up his shirt— again, for the second time tonight.

It’s a much more heated parallel of earlier, one he takes no hesitancy to act on. Leaning into your touch, he turns briefly to place his cup adjacent to yours on the bench top. Feeling your nails scratch along his abs, he is quick to move so he’s facing you again, planting his lips back on your own and reigniting the fiery kiss.

With two free hands now, he runs them up your hips, firmly pulling you against him as he walks you away from the kitchenette. Your feet stumble along with his long strides, brain struggling to pay attention to anything other than the drag of his hot kiss against you.

It’s clear all resolve is lost to you both, and when the backs of your knees hit the edge of the cool comforter… “Im gonna wreck you, love… if you’ll let me.” The depraved words are whispered against your lips.

His body presses you down, you have to sit now, thighs meeting the bed and your lips disconnecting. The sudden distance causes you to whine, “Harry—“

“You’re going to have to tell m’too stop.” He rasps, the heat of his palms travelling up under your sweater. However this time, they traverse higher than just your ribcage— ghosting over the sides of your breasts.

The sight is obscene on its own, despite all articles of clothing still being on. The tension around you both is crowding the air to the point your lungs are heaving to bring any oxygen left into them.

Finally, your brain manages to string a sentence together, “I won’t. I wouldn’t. I don’t think you realise what you’ve done to me.”

The urgency held in your words starkly highlights how fast your need for him has snowballed. You’ve gone from wanting just his lips, to wanting every inch of him. Needing his body pressed against yours, pressed into you. You grasp his hips and tug him to stand between your parted legs.

Once you’d done that, if that hadn’t thrown your last handful of caution to the wind, your fingers now reach for the hem of your sweater.

This was a greenlight. It was a go ahead to cross a line that you both knew shouldn’t be crossed. As it was no longer just words. Not just strung up whispers that imply a want, it was an action that affirmed it. One that drags a growl from him once your hands have shucked the knit from your body, leaving you in just bra and jeans, “pretty little thing y’are.”

“We’re making a mistake, probably,” you pant out, reaching your arms up to his shoulders, grabbing the collar of his jacket to slowly slide it off him. The thick fabric hitting the floor with a gentle thump, “but I don’t fucking care.”

“Mistake is already long done baby, we made that hours ago when we first did this.” He finally cranes down again, pressing a wet kiss against you, making you almost moan.

“Fuck it,” I rasp, “I need you Harry, I wanna do this. Don’t care how stupid we are for it.”

Breaking away from the kiss, his eyes bore down at you as his jaw forms a hard line, “You want this? Need y’to say it…”

His sentence trails off, allowing you a moment to verbalise a yes. A seek for certain consent turns you on even more.

“If it’s not already obvious,” your response comes out in a breathy, almost tortured chuckle, “I do, H.”

It’s like his expression flips. As if his gaze darkens, and now all he wants is to make you feel everything he possibly can, “Right, darling— gonna have to be quiet tonight, though.”

Tonight. God— in your head this implied a want for this to go on for more than just one night. That it’s not just a one and done situation. Your body reels at the imagery it creates in your head.

The picture that shows more than tonight, the two of you sneaking around all over again. Fucking him in his dressing room before soundchecks, in dark hotel rooms, climbing into his bunk on the bus…

And right now, somehow that’s all you want for your future.

“I can…” you nod, “I’ll be quiet if it means I get you, please.”

Your own voice sounds foreign to your ears, the plea so desperate that it comes from you in a tone you’ve simply never heard before. In response, his hands make quick work of your bra as they skate up the skin of your back to meet the clasp— shedding it off your body with a gentle groan.

He lowers you down with his arms, letting your back meet the mattress as he closely follows with his mouth on your neck.

“Already being so good for me,” he rumbles, voice so deep it has you nearly seeing stars, “will y’let me turn the lamp on baby? Want to see you, properly.”

Your heart jumps in your chest, eyes fluttering shut as you nod. He wants to revel in your body, see every reaction it has to offer— and that’s enough to have goosebumps rattle up your skin.

However, your nod alone doesn’t satisfy him.

His hands run up your waist, skirting up your ribcage as his lips instead move down. Mouthing over your clavicle, “Words, love…” making you whine out when his sucks lightly over the skin.

“Need to hear you say it.”

“Yes… yes turn the lamp on…” The words almost shudder out your chest, evoking a smirk from him against your collarbone.

“Good girl.”

His words are foreplay enough on their own with the way his sweet accent twists them out. They replay over and over again as some part of your brain registers the sound of his feet walking across the floor, and the lamp flicking on. Casting a warm glow across the room.

“Want to see you too...”

The sentence comes out of you airy, as if you’re floating. When turns around to come back to you, he audibly groans just at the sight of you. The way your skin is peppered with goosebumps and nipples perked from the cool air of the hotel room.

His steps take him quickly back to you, your eyes big as they stare up at him, hair fanned across the duvet. He reaches a hand to run lightly over your hip, “God, you are fucking divine.”

Shyly, you smile. A part feeling so out of place as you watch him looking at you. Knowing Harry is perceiving you right now— your body from the chest up entirely naked— seeing you in a way he never has before. In attempt to even the playing field slightly, you reach for the white tee that’s fitted across his chest, tugging the hem of it so he gets the hint.

As he peels it off his torso and you want to cry. The abs on his chest are in front of you, along with every inch of tan skin that’s littered in the dark ink. Secretly, his tattoos have always been something you’ve wanted to trace your tongue over. An urge you’ve been denying since he got the first one, and it’s only grown since… the idea of re-carving the lines of the butterfly that sits in the middle of his abdomen with the heat of your mouth… or perhaps lower over the laurels that bloom from the band of his jeans.

“You look so good… so beautiful, H.” Is all you manage to groan out. Your legs part instinctively as you spew out compliments, letting him step between your thighs again. Filling the space like the piece of a puzzle, he slots perfectly between them.

Wasting no time before taking his lips to your breast, kissing over you and making your back arch. Hands coming back to the dark curls on his head, lacing into them as his mouth works delicately over you.

The whimpers that are echoed around the room are enough to drive him insane. Tiny whines and pleas of his name coming from you as your hands tangle further into his hair— pulling at the soft roots. Your body is reacting to his touch like it’s lighting a fire inside of you.

“Harry— fuck—“ when he looks up to you, he sees your flushed cheeks and screwed shut eyes. That paired with the slight upturn of your brows as your hips suddenly— and desperately— grind into him is enough to make him nearly loose it. He’s unable to take it anymore, and seeing you like this is utterly corrupting him.

His kisses work a trail back up your neck and jaw, meeting your eager lips before muttering with hot breath against you, “Y’are unbelievable, love. Gonna completely ruin myself in you…”

His hands are nearly shaking as he presses his hips flush to your core.

“Ohh—“ your voice croons out as you feel him, the hardness snug between your legs. It’s incomparable to anything you’ve ever felt. Your whole body practically gives out just from that simple action alone.

He is truly going to ruin you and himself in the process.

And happily, you’ll let him.

His fingers ghost down your stomach, over your naval to pop the button of your jeans open with a single hand. Watching his plump bottom lip come between his teeth as your hips instinctively rise upwards to help him slide the tight fabric down your frame.

“That’s m’girl,” he murmurs, patting your exposed hipbone as he slips yours jeans off you. The way his pupils have blown out as he peels them below your core, eyes meeting the fabric of your panties.

“What’s all this?” Once your pants are stripped from your legs, his fingers take place gently to press between your parted thighs. Delicately drifting over the wetness that’s seeped through your already thin pair of underwear.

“T-the panties, or the state that they’re in?” You manage to croak out in amusement, tone tight as he touches over the most sensitive parts of you.

“Because arguably, both are for you.”

“For me…” He hums, “Skimpy pair of panties, and the fact y’ve wet them all the way through… both of those things are all f’me, love?”

His finger plucks underneath the seam of your underwear, yanking the lacy material forwards before letting it snap back into place. Only making you moan aloud, “Fuck—“

“It’s been—“ his thumb runs against you, firmer this time, breaking your voice, “it’s been a long night—“

To your admission he only smirks, unbuttoning his own jeans— again, all with the talent of a single hand. As his other is busy with the ministrations it’s working over your clothed core.

“Mm, wouldn’t want to drag it out any longer, hey baby?” His playful voice making you practically clench… “or should I make you come a couple of time first…”

Suddenly, he’s shucked his own jeans off and kicked them over into the haphazardly made pile of other clothes on the floor. And the simple but absolutely mouth watering pair of CK briefs is all he’s left in. His hard cock filling up the space in them, making it abundantly clear he’s working with a lot tonight.

He leans back into your ear, feeling your legs wrap around the backs of his thighs like you’re trying to mould the two of you together, “Could work over your pretty pussy with m’fingers, get it nice and wet.”

The filth from his mouth only makes you moan, tightening your legs and finally feeling the length of his cock back against your cunt.

There’s few layers between you now, and his hands meet your hips to hold you in place flush with himself, “fuck—“

“Could play with you using my mouth for a bit—“ he bites out, already struggling to regulate his breath, “reckon you’d loose it the second I got m’lips around your clit.”

Jesus Christ.

“H— please—“ your words are desperate, voice growing louder.

“Or does my pretty girl just want my cock? Is it too much for you to wait before y’have me— y’just need to be filled up now?”

You rub firmly up against him, a long drag that has him muffling a groan into your neck— teeth grazing the skin of your ear as he revels in the feeling entirely.

“Want it now,” you conclude, “can’t stop thinking about you just stretching me out.”

“God— you are such a fucking tease, y’don’t even realise it,” he growls, kicking back into action as his rough hands travel down your side to hook into your panties.

“Laying here, begging for my cock like a good girl.” The rasp in your voice only makes you more turned on… and the pet name— that in itself is enough to keep you here all night. All things he’s about to witness first hand as he steps back so he can work your underwear off your body.

“Lift y’hips up, dove, let me see your pretty cunt.”

He moans at the sight.

Your panties aren’t even off you and he’s moaning like he’s a starved man.

“Fuck, baby.” There’s a desperate sound to him as he sees your swollen cunt, green eyes raking over the wetness that’s pooled between your legs. Unblinking, scared as if you might disappear.

His own moans kick you off too, making you whine out your own plea, “God— Harry, please…”

He manages to get the panties off you, and now he’s able to spread your legs and really look at you. Hands coming between your knees to part them.

You’re a mess.

A complete and utter mess.

“Hiding this gorgeous cunt from me for so long, never knew you’d get this wet f’me.” He groans, fingers coming to your cunt and spreading you open, “puffy clit looks like it’s been wanting attention for hours, darling.”

The sensation ripples through you body, washing up your spine with a chill that he can almost see, “I— shit…” your voice shudders, “feels like it.”

“Kills me thinking you were this ready for me when we were in the car, or god— on that fucking bridge.”

He swirls his thumb over your clit, your arousal glistening on the pad of his finger. You’re begging before you can stop yourself, backs of your legs tightening around his as you groan, “Harry, please, don’t tease me.”

This pulls a chuckle from his chest, rumbling as he flicking over you gently, “M’not teasing y’baby, just enjoying you.”

His finger slowly dips inside of you, “S’this better, this what my girl wanted?”

“Fuckk…” you roll against his hand, feeling him work a second one into you at your reaction. Relishing the feeling of you around his fingers, the wetness he can’t believe he’s managed to be the cause of.

Never in a million years did he imagine the two of you would be in a situation like this, yet here you are. Breath panting out of lungs as he smirks down at you, watching your brows knit together with every slow curl of his long fingers.

Suddenly, he verbalises this, “Never thought I’d get you under me like this, that I’d get to see you all worked up for me.”

“I—“ you bite your lip as his thumb comes back to gently stroke your clit while his other fingers ease in and out of you. The pace excruciatingly slow, considering you just wanted him to flip you over and fuck you senseless— but is causing a deep winding in the pit of your stomach.

It’s another moment where your mouth and brain struggle to match up, but finally, you push out a reply, “I’ve always been denying that I’ve wanted this… but fuck.”

“Mm?” He hums, cocking a brow and urging you to keep talking with a quicker thrust of his fingers, “Care to tell me more, love, about these thoughts of yours?”

“Always pretended I didn’t, but fuck I’ve wanted to have you—“ he hooks his fingers, “B-but— fuck, Harry— I’ve wanted your cock for so long…”

His mouth is suddenly on yours, a rough and messy exchange— tongues running over lips, teeth grazing already kiss swollen mouths. It’s a kiss that you’re both groaning into, yours perpetuated as his fingers slide out from between your core.

An unwelcome emptiness to your body, especially given the pleasure it was slowly building up for you.

However, this is no longer an issue when he leans to your ear, “I have condoms, baby— just say the words.”

“Yes, yes, please—“ you croak out, hands running up his bare back before he doesn’t waste any time breaking away from you.

Trying to make it quick as you lie there awaiting his return, a hand running between your own legs in the meantime.

He comes back with a small square packet, stopping dead in his tracks as he sees the sight of you. When he thinks there’s no way his cock could get harder, he’s proved wrong when he catches glimpse of your own fingers pushed into you.

“So desperate,” he almost growls as he walks over, pushing boxers down his thighs without a second thought. A moan escaping you at the sight of his thick cock springing up, lust driving the both of you now— its deep hooks sunk into you in their entirety.

“They don’t feel the same though, do they?” He asks, eyes dark as his hand runs down the middle of his stomach to come wrap around his length and slowly stroke over it, “don’t hear you moaning like you were five minutes ago.”

“Fucking hell,” your hips feel like they’re on fire, another roll against your own hand but he’s right, “no, nothing is as good…”

“I have a feeling we’re going to fuck ourselves up here,” he pauses, taking the wrapper of the condom between his teeth and tearing it. Hand rolling it over his length— his teeth sucking his bottom lip between them at the sensitivity. His nose sighs out a breath after a moment, glancing back over to you, continuing on from what he was saying a moment prior, “tha’ no matter how hard we try we’re always gonna want this.”

His hands gesture between the two of you, and despite how many problems that idea alone could spell you, you nod feverishly, “I’ll have it… I’ll take it that way if it means I get to have you.”

With that, he’s stepping forward and taking the space between your thighs, “guess the damage is already done, anyway.”

His breath is laboured as he pulls your ass forward, cock pressed against your core.

“You tell me baby,” Harry sighs out, leaning his body over yours again from where he stands at the edge of the bed, lips grazing your cheek in a soft but heated movement, “tell me just how you want it.”

There’s an element of tenderness and care in the way the hushed words fan warmly across your face. Intimate with the way the two of you are pressed together… almost as close as you can get. One step away from being two halves that form some kind of messy, beautiful whole.

Your hands embrace the moment, sliding between your chests to cradle his jaw. A tiny laugh coming from you as his gaze flickers down to your breasts, and how they’ve pushed together from your arms. As a silent acknowledgment of your giggling at him, he rolls his eyes in faux annoyance.

And oh god, he is beautiful.

Nothing could’ve prepared you for this.

Plain and simple, the words come from your hushed voice, “Want you just like this, H.”

His lips part, looking at you.

“Want you close, just want you to fuck me.”

And how could he ever say no to that.

A hand wrapping around his cock, he carefully lines himself up with you, leaning back to kiss you as he slowly, so very slowly, pushes into you.

There’s a gasp that immediately comes from you, and a moan that rumbles from him. Shared between the fraction of space between your lips, opened both in shock and pleasure.

“Fucking hell—“ his voice is so deep as he leans his forehead to yours, hair messily cascading over it, “so tight ‘round me.”

“Harry— f— shit…” you can’t even complete a sentence, even with the litany of profanities that are echoing in the chambers of your head.

“That feel good?” He asks, hand coming to your waist as he slides further into you, finally reaching the thick middle of his cock.

“Mmm…” only able to nod, your hips are rolling on their own accord now. The slight pinch of him stretching you out, paired with that pleasurable fullness that neither of your fingers could come close to.

His body straightens up at the buck of your cunt against him, “D—fuck—dontfuckingmove—“

It feels like all the blood in his body has deviated in two directions. Firstly, into his head, making him feel so lightheaded the room is nearly slanted. And secondly, straight to his cock, pulsing inside of you so hard you can feel it.

You moan at the sensation, and at the rough clamp of his fingers around your hips— attempting to still them, “baby, don’t… just— just need a moment, or I’m gonna come before I can even ruin you…”

“Already ruined,” you pant, eyes coming to his as sweat starts to dampen your skin— a light sheen over your glowy complexion.

“So fucking filthy.” He mutters, looking down between the two of you.

His cock half pushed inside you he’s certain is the best view he’s ever seen. Better than any view from the top of a bridge, a mountain, or any other landmark in the world.

Your swollen, glistening cunt wrapped around him, already leaking arousal more arousal now he’s got his cock in you. Reacting as you’ve never been touched before.

Slowly, he manages to get himself fully inside of you, and is starting to make small thrusts— hips gently hitting against yours as he draws in and out of you. A low, intense groan escaping him with each movement. And it’s good to know it feels just as insane for him as it does for you, because right now— even with just his length rutting at such a gradual pace inside of you, you’re already melting.

Every inch of your body is tingling as his name comes from your lips in the form of a desperate moan, “Harry….”

A harder thrust, and your hands are wringing the white comforter as you legs wrap tighter around his middle.

He wants to imprint the shape of your body on this duvet, and frame the scrunches from your curled fists like art pieces. Just to know that what he did to you, and how it made you feel was entirely real. Not something he dreamed up. That the words leaving your lips are no figment of depraved imagination.

“I'm so fucking wet… I’m sorry— I'm making a mess.” You whine, body shaking. You feel out of control, every reaction coming from your body that of a primal instinct you can't wrap any element of authority over.

The sweet cadence of your voice as you shift beneath him... that in itself makes him feel like if he blinks, he’s suddenly going to wake up. Alone in a hotel room, in need of a cold, cold shower. Making his head spin, and it effortlessly swindles his sense of reality from him.

His hands splay on your hips, the hint of possessive nature in him you felt as they coil and tighten around the skin there. Anchoring where you lay as he cements himself in reality.

“No baby—“ he scolds at your apology, “y'dont 'ave to apologise. Being such a good girl f’me… feel you clenching me so hard already.”

An unbridled moan tears from your chest as he takes it upon himself to pull almost all the way out of your cunt, and then swiftly drive back into you.

“Fuckkk!” It’s a high pitched moan, the exact thing he wants to hear more of, even though the two of you should be trying a lot harder to be quiet. It still manages drags out a groan of him in response.

“Have to— shittt… have to be quiet darling…” he reminds, head tossing back as he suddenly picks up the pace between your legs.

“Feels so good, H… your cock is filling me up feels so fucking good—“

“N’ya takin’ it so bloody well,” he slaps lightly at your ass, suddenly grabbing it to cant your hips upward, “never been fucked this good, have you?”

In truth, you haven't. Never has it felt like every nerve-ending on your body is tingling, and like any more from him and you would simply break.

“N-no, Harry.” your head physically shakes, arms using any strength you have left to come behind you, and prop yourself up onto your elbows. Desperately, you want to see him inside of you, and what he's done to you.

He smirks at this, watching your eyes meet where he's stretching you out between your legs. The way your eyes flutter shut and roll back just at the sight. A visual accompanying the feeling is almost too much for you to process.

"Tha's it baby, take a look... see what I'm doing, how my cock is making y'feel so good."

A clench around his cock, and he grunts with another deeper thrust into you. Its sudden and abundantly clear that he’s starting to loose himself in you, unable to stop his mouth from spewing every dirty thing his brain produces, “C'mon, love. Beg me for it.”

“Tell me you don’t want me to stop.”

Your core is fluttering around him now, succinctly timed to each press of his cock, “Harry—“

The words however don’t come, only whines and moans as his cock pushes deeper into you with each stroke.

“Don’t make me get rough.” His tone is a sweet contradiction to his words, and he only juxtaposes them further with the feather-like touch of his fingers against your breast, "Or is that what my girl wants, wants me to get rough? Use you a little. Let me be selfish with this pussy and take it how I want.”

Curling his fingers around your breast, he squeezes gently, making you bite down on your lip to stifle the cry that was threatening to come out.

“Rough, be rough… can take it.” You pant out, arms giving out again as your back hits the mattress. Unable to support your weight, but still managing to reach up and tug his face to yours. He folds his body over yours to comply with the pull of your hands. Chest to chest, his cock is starting to slam harder into you, deeper— hitting places you were unaware of as his pelvis stimulates your clit from this new angle.

Turning to mush, the moans are bubbling out faster than you’re able to hold them back, your mouth resting parted against his cheekbone. His ears hearing each and every sound with complete pleasure.

“Shh, such a loud girl.” He says, but its hardly a scold or instruction to quieten down. It speaks more like an invitation, to let him hear more of you, no matter the consequences it could bring after the fact.

Infact, his own voice is beginning to sound strained, like another rough clench of your cunt and he's would to come straight into the condom wrapped around his cock.

You want him to come desperately. Your body perhaps wants it even more— doing things to tip him closer and closer to the edge you're both teetering on without even consciously noticing it.

Legs tightening around his waist, arms holding him as close as physically possible, nails clawing at the firm muscles of his back. As if there were a way to fuse the two of your frames together.

“God… it’s so fucking good… I feel so good.”

“Pretty girl, about to come all over my cock." He grinds out, feeling you pulse around his length, "About to wake the whole floor up, aren't you?"

The sound of him fucking you is enough— each slide of himself into your slick arousal that’s soaked both your cunt and his cock is louder than the next. But god, oh god, its hand that slowly wraps around the column of your neck that completely undoes you.

He doesn't press down, the touch is actually quite tender. But even the semblance of control it represents in your mind rips a moan from you as your core tightens, a hot budding sensation in the pit of your stomach. His slender fingers gliding up slowly— a stark contrast to the pace he's taking between your legs— thumb stroking the hook of your jaw with just a tad more pressure behind it.

Your impending orgasm feels like a pot that is just about to boil over the edge. It's making your whole body shake, "Sh— Shit! Harryyy, im gonna—"

"Mhm, baby, it's okay, i know," He whispers hoarsly into your ear, "Dont worry, y'can come, let it all go around my cock."

"Ohh— Oh god!" Your syllables draw out as you moan, eyes screwing shut as suddenly all the pressure between your hips explodes, "come with me."

The plea spills from your lips as your body clenches around him, making him moan with you. In an instant response to your words, you feel his thrusts turn messy and harsh inside you. Your name a loud drawn out whine that echoes around the room as he gives into your ask without a single question.

The two of your moan completely in sync as a shared blanket of ecstasy and euphoria casts over you both. The moment maybe lasted a minute, or really no more than two. But it felt endless, as if time and reality ceased to exist when you both finished with each other. His cock released into the condom, but his thighs stuttered against yours either way, as if he were filling your cunt with his orgasm. A groan rattling from him when your legs wrapped tighter around him, pulling him flush to you. You know he knows that's exactly what you were wishing were happening right now. Playing along with it to satiate the sick craving for it within you as you still pulsated around his length.

Expletive's are the only things coming from your mouths other than whines. Your orgasms gradually subsiding from the heated high that was all consuming to a low hum that lingers in your bones. Still, you're holding his hips to yours as if to keep him inside of you.

Logistically, a condom was the appropriate thing to do for first and very unplanned time together, but of course right now you wish otherwise.

"Fuckkk, dirty girl," He growls out finally, pressing a hot kiss to your smiling mouth, "Acting like im filling you up?"

Hand sliding up to your cup your jaw fully now, he cranes his thumb out and is pulling on your lip, waiting for your brain to slowly start working enough to generate a sensical reply.

"Is that wrong?"

"Fuck, no. it's so hot." His voice is low as he kisses you again, letting your mouths work against each other again in a sensual kiss.

"Can't help it, H," You try to justify anyways, "cock feels so good inside me, was wishing I got your come..."

“Didn’t know you wanted it angel,” he whispers in a pant.

“Mhm, neither,” you hum against his mouth, “till I just realised how good it made me feel imagining your finishing inside of me.”

"Gonna make me hard again..." He sighs out with a shake of his head, "'Nother night baby, can fill you up anywhere y'like."

Anywhere. God.

Images of his cock filling your mouth makes you shudder with need. A thing you are keenly interested in trying… and since clearly he’s insinuating this could happen again…

"Want this again?" You ask, a slightly serious tone taking over your voice as he slowly peels off you, feeling your legs loosen from around him as his cock softens.

A smile blossoms on his lips at the way your big eyes gaze up to him, "Again, and again."

"If it wasn't obvious already, love."

A blush was conjuring on your cheeks out of nowhere, "I— Okay... good. Because I do too."

"Who knows—" He begins, pausing with a slight wince as he slides out of you. There’s a lull in what he was saying for a moment, when he leans down to kiss your cheek, walking over to a bin to dispose of the used condom that was just wrapped over him.

He also goes and grabs the two take away cups from the counter, wasting no more time before coming back to you. Finally resuming his prior conversation, “Drink this and then maybe we can squeeze another round in before we have t'sneak you back to your room."

"Think we woke anyone?" You giggle, sitting up to take the cup from his hand thats gestured out to you.

"Wouldn't rule it out." He snorts, "we can worry about what lie we'll tell later, if anyone asks."

"But," he takes a small sip from his cup, still staring at you, "either way, right now, i dont care."

"I want you." His voice is certain, "So, rest of tha' is irrelevant to me."

"C'mere," Hand wrapping around his bicep, pulling him onto the bed with you. The mattress sinks with his weight on top of it, his firm frame that was only just on top of you moments before... You lean forward and peck his mouth with yours. One he doesn't want to end as soon as it does, his mouth chasing yours as you pull back far too soon for his liking. Clearly, you're in the same boat as him, unable to find it in yourself to care about anything other than him. That in this very moment as you have him, real and in front of you, he is yours. "Fuck, then. Lets just do it."

"Think we already did, love." He chuckles, letting the innuendo come out with a rasp. Unbelievable, he is.

You can only shake your head, suppressing a grin as you bring the once-hot hot chocolate to your lips. The liquid is lukewarm at best, but somehow nothing has ever tasted better— except maybe his mouth.

———

a/n: hope you guys enjoyed, this has been in the works in my drafts for SO long. pls let me know what you think! ily, thank you for your support and hopefully will post some more writing soon lovelies🤍

[sethsclearwater]

synopsis: based on this request from @raxwrites where paul imprints on reader but she’s already in a (very shitty) relationship. paul convinces her to spend one night with him and reader realizes just how quickly he’s making her fall for him.

warnings: smut, dom!paul, sub!reader, cheating(?) (on a shitty guy lol)

word count: 5.49k

…

you and leah had been friends since childhood. you two were more or less attached at the hip and it was one of the many reasons why leah had decided to fuck with sam’s head and tell you about the shapeshifters. fortunately for everyone, you had taken the news quite well and actually found the whole thing rather funny considering how annoyed you had the opportunity to watch sam get when he heard she broke the news. 

shortly after the news broke, embry had made an off-handed joke about you being paul’s imprint - yet another thing you were unfamiliar with. despite the death stare embry got from paul after saying that, he stumbled out some half-assed explanation of it which left you more confused about the whole thing than ever. 

after both leah and embry had given you the world’s vaguest explanation of it, you had decided to just drop it and go back to focusing on the fact that leah and her entire “friend group” were a bunch of massive wolves. 

all of this led to today where you and your boyfriend were in a heated argument over his night out with a girl who he had repeatedly told you not to worry about. “for fuck’s sake josh! what part of you two spending the night together was platonic?” you yelled, angry tears streaming down your cheeks as you got up from your spot at the kitchen table to find your keys and phone. 

you two had been going at it for over 2 hours now and were making absolutely no progress so you figured now was as good a time as any to get the hell out of your apartment. 

“we literally didn’t do anything! i don’t get why you have to make such a big deal out of everything! you seriously need to work on your jealousy issues because you sound crazy right now!” your boyfriend yelled back, making sure his voice was louder than yours in some weak attempt to assert his dominance over you.

at the use of the word ‘jealousy’ you decided this was it and grabbed your phone and keys before quickly getting out of the apartment, sprinting down the steps to your car despite the sub-freezing, snowy conditions currently happening all around you.

as you turned the ignition on and began pulling out of your parking spot, you could faintly make out josh at the top of the steps yelling some slew of obscenities at you. you ignored him, using the back of your hand to wipe the tears off your cheeks before you were driving over to emily young’s house where leah supposedly was according to her last text a few hours prior.

after hearing that your boyfriend decided to spend the night with another girl (who he adamantly claimed was just a friend), leah let you know that she’d be over at emily’s for most of the day if you needed her or a place to stay for the night while you cooled off.

the drive over to emily’s was only about 10 minutes but ended up taking nearly double that thanks to the snow-covered roads. as you pulled into her driveway and quickly got out of your car, you neglected to realize that the only car in her driveway was one of the boy’s. 

in your haste, you ran up to the door, knocking rather hard when you finally felt the chill from the 20-degree temperatures outside. it didn’t take more than a few seconds for the door to open and reveal paul lahote.

he looked just as confused as you imagined you must’ve but you couldn’t have really cared less, just desperate to get out of the cold at this point, “where’s leah?” you asked with a sniffle as you pushed past him to get into the warmth of emily’s house.

paul stepped back, quickly shutting the door behind him to keep the heat in, “she’s on patrol- or work, fuck, work-” he stumbled out, watching your crying figure as you kicked your shoes off and tossed your keys and phone onto the entryway bench. 

“are you okay?” he asked after a moment, his voice softening as you slumped down in one of the kitchen chairs with another round of tears rolling down your cheeks. you’d seen paul on occasion, mostly in group settings with the rest of the pack but he did drive you home a few times when it was too rainy or snowy for you to walk back so you weren’t total strangers.

you paused at his question, looking up at him pleadingly with tears rapidly streaming down your cheeks. you imagined you must’ve looked like a hot mess. you’d gotten out of the shower just before your boyfriend arrived home so you hadn’t had time to do anything with your hair and were only wearing a pair of old sweatpants and some oversized t-shirt you’d pulled out of the back of your closet.

“do i look okay?” you asked, letting out a weak laugh as you reached your hands up to palm away the tears that couldn’t seem to stop streaming down your cheeks. paul frowned, watching you carefully as he pulled out the chair next to you, slowly sliding down into it as he tried to figure out what on earth to do with you.

“sorry,” paul mumbled after a moment, “he didn’t hit you, did he?” he asked, voice hesitating for a moment before he ended his question, clearly unsure if he was overstepping or not by prying into your personal life despite how little the two of you knew each other. 

you let out another breathy laugh at his concern, shaking your head with a sniffle, “jus’ cheated on me,” you managed to get out, a heavy sigh leaving your lips as you pulled your legs up to your chest and wrapped your arms around them, still not meeting paul’s gaze. 

every ounce of dignity you had was just shredded thanks to the current state you found yourself in but paul didn’t seem to mind your emotions too much, “you wanna talk about it?” he asked softly, his frown deepening when yet another round of tears came spilling over your waterline and down your cheeks. 

shaking your head, you finally worked up the nerve to peek up and meet his gaze for a moment, “not really no,” you admitted, voice barely above a whisper, “i hate that fucker,” you added after a moment, both you and paul letting out quiet laughs at your comment.

“can’t say i like him too much either,” paul reassured, cracking the tiniest bit of a smile which had you letting out a heavy sigh of relief. something in you just felt unbelievably better knowing that someone was able to sympathize with your pain.

“you want some water?” he asked after a moment, offering you a small smile when you nodded. while you attempted to dry your cheeks of your tears, paul got up and quickly got you a glass of water to stop you from crying even more and hopefully lessen the severity of the headache both of you knew you’d be getting in a few short hours.

he handed you the glass, your fingers brushing for just a moment too long, “thank you,” you whispered, taking the glass and sipping on it to give yourself a moment to shake the insatiable feelings you were now realizing you’d definitely been having for the poor boy for months now. 

paul gave your upper arm a gentle squeeze before he was grabbing his phone, “you wanna sit down in the living room? emily’s got the pullout couch in there if you wanna get some sleep,” he asked as he quickly responded to whatever text he had just gotten a few moments prior. you thought about his proposition for a moment before humming and nodding.

“with you?” you asked, raising your eyebrows at him as you looked up at him, your small smile coming in stark contrast to you puffy, tear-stained cheeks.

paul rolled his eyes, “won’t make it weird,” he reassured, “just don’t want you getting all worked up again,” he added, and this time you rolled your eyes, hardly able to contain the small smile on your face as you got up and made the incredibly short trek into the living room. 

while you grabbed your phone to see if leah had responded to any of your texts, paul got the pullout set up so the two of you could sit down there and hopefully just throw on a movie or something, “emily said leah is gonna be back in a few hours,” paul broke the silence with after a few moments as if he’d read your mind or something. 

you hummed and nodded, smiling softly when he offered you his hand so he could help you onto the makeshift bed. your hand slid into his as you got into the pullout, pausing for a moment when he slid his hand onto your lower back to help steady you. 

paul noticed your pause, gently squeezing your hand when you peeked over your shoulder to look at him, “everything okay?” he asked, watching as you finally allowed yourself to actually look at him.

your boyfriend or ex or whatever the hell he was must’ve clouded your vision way more than you thought because you’d never really paid any attention to paul or the way he looked at you before. but today, you finally saw how he’d been watching you this whole time, something much softer in his gaze than anything you’d ever seen with your boyfriend.

you’d never seen a man look at you like that before and weren’t looking to lose it anytime soon. before your mind could catch up to what your heart was planning, you were tightening your grip in his hand to pull him closer to you and smashing your lips against his.

paul must’ve seen it coming from a mile away because he didn’t waste any time before he was melting into you, untangling his hand from yours so he could slide both hands down to your hips and pull you closer to him. 

your hands were on his chest, desperately running them down until you found the hem of his t-shirt so you could slide your hands underneath, “fuck,” paul groaned against your lips when he felt the way your palms flattened out against the expanse of his abdomen, your hands sliding up his chest so you could tug his t-shirt up.

paul already understood what you meant, parting his lips from yours for a moment much to your dismay. he let out a breathy laugh as he pulled his shirt up and over his head when he saw the pout that had quickly formed on your face, “c’mere,” he murmured as soon as he had tossed the shirt to the side, sliding his hands back down to your hips so he could pull you closer to him and press his lips against yours again. 

his fingers toyed with the thin material of your t-shirt, “can i take this off?” he murmured against your lips, letting out a breathy laugh when you quickly nodded pulling back so he could help you take your shirt off. 

in your haste getting out of the shower earlier, you’d apparently neglected to put a bra on which left your bare chest exposed to him. paul sucked in a sharp breath when he saw the way your nipples were already hardening as they were exposed to the cool air, “fuck me,” paul groaned, “lay down-” paul ordered, not giving you a moment to process what he was saying before he was manhandling you down onto the squeaky pullout mattress, conveniently wedging himself in between your legs so he could have better access to you.

he didn’t waste any time, latching his lips around your nipple, swirling his tongue around the sensitive bud while he massaged your other boob with his hand. “paul-” his name fell off your lips so easily, moaning and whining as he rolled your nipple between his finger and just barely grazed his teeth over the other one, “paul please-” you whimpered, desperately reaching down to pull him up so you could touch him in all the ways your body was begging you to.

“‘s wrong?” he asked with a breathy laugh, already knowing you were definitely more than okay but the sudden whining from you had him a little bit concerned he was being too rough with you.

you just shook your head, desperately reaching down to his sweatpants, “i need you-” was all you were able to make out as you dipped your hand below his waistline, immediately wrapping your hand around his now fully hardened cock. 

paul dropped his head against your collarbone and let out a low groan when he felt your fingers wrap around his length.  “i’ll fuck you in a minute,” he reassured, sliding his non-supporting hand over yours to gently pry it off of him so he could finish prepping you for him.

you let out a disgruntled sigh which had paul laughing again, shaking his head, “you got it,” he mused, dropping down to press a soft kiss to your lips. you were happily reciprocating the action against his lips, running your fingers up his chest so you could snake them around his neck and knot in his inky hair to pull him closer to you.

paul was all too aware of just how you needed him, making quick work of sliding his hands down to dip below your sweatpants, toying with the thin material of your panties for a moment, the frustration leaving you whining against paul’s lips.

he paid little mind to your whines, taking his time dancing his fingers along the outline of your panties, barely brushing his fingers over your covered clit, chuckling to himself when he heard the mewling that left your lips at the sensation, “paul-” you whimpered, tightening your fingers against his hair so you could hold him closer to you.

paul allowed you to hold him close, pressing his lips to your neck, “‘m comin’” he reassured, dipping his fingers below your panties so he could swipe them through your slick folds. you were muffling your whines against the crook of his neck, untangling your fingers from his hair so you could wrap your arms around his neck, a rather loud moan leaving your lips when he finally pressed down on your clit.

“there you go,” he murmured against your neck, slowly circling his pointer finger around your little entrance while his thumb continued to toy with the sensitive bundle of nerves between your thighs, “breathe princess,” paul reminded as he lifted his head from your neck so he could get a better look at you, hardly containing his laugh when he heard just how fast your heart was beating from your lack of oxygen.

you nodded, sucking in a deep breath as you ran your fingers across his shoulders, dancing them along his chest while paul allowed you a moment to catch your breath, “there you go,” he mused, slowly dipping his pointer finger into your canal, the muscles immediately fluttering around him as you took the intrusion. 

“deep breaths for me princess,” paul murmured as he began curling and uncurling his finger inside you, working at stretching you out for his cock, “such a good job,” he cooed as he watched the way you followed his instructions, your little whines and moans as he continued to toy with your clit letting him know all he needed to know.

once he felt your walls beginning to relax around his finger, he slowly added a second finger to your channel, dropping his head down to press a soft kiss to your lips when he heard the low whine you let out at the stretch, “breathe princess,” paul reminded, his lips leaving yours for only a moment before he was melting into you again, slowly scissoring his fingers as he stretched you out. his thumb gently rolled your clit, the pleasure and paul’s lips against yours serving as a pleasant distraction from the stretching. 

once he’d decided you were no longer tense, he began curling his fingers inside your delicate walls, smiling to himself when he felt the spongey tissue of your g-spot, the sudden hitch in your breathing followed by a low moan letting him know he definitely needed to continue the action. 

he continued curling his fingers against the sensitive tissue, parting his lips from yours to pepper your neck and shoulders with delicate kisses. as soon as he felt your walls beginning to tighten around his fingers, he began working at marking up your collarbone.

“paul-” you whined, flattening your palms against his biceps, a heavy sigh leaving your lips as your head dropped back into the pillows as you felt the coil in your belly beginning to tighten. you had never cum with your ex before, always finding yourself needing to take care of yourself on your own time because he couldn’t be bothered with it. so paul managing to have you nearly cumming on his fingers within just a few minutes was forcing you to rethink why the hell you hadn’t gotten with him sooner. 

“cum on my fingers princess,” paul murmured against your collarbone, continuing his steady pace as he stroked your g-spot and rolled your clit.

you whimpered, desperately working to meet your orgasm and come undone on your imprinter’s fingers, “nice and easy,” he murmured when he felt your walls tightening around his fingers, well aware of just how close you were to cumming, “there you go kitten, let go for me,” he encouraged, keeping all of his actions steady, his words sending you right over the edge as you finally complied and let go.

your orgasm washed over you, your walls desperately throbbing around paul’s fingers while he continued to lighten his touches, helping you work through it without overstimulating you too much. you were sucking in heavy lungfuls of air, eyes fluttering open as you worked at getting your heart rate down to a reasonable bpm. 

you wrapped your splayed palms around paul’s shoulders to pull him down for a tight hug. a soft laugh left his lips at your action, slowly pulling his fingers out of your soaked channel, “deep breaths princess,” he cooed, pressing his lips to your hairline while he allowed you a few more moments to compose yourself. 

“there you go,” he chuckled when he finally heard your breathing and heart rate even out to a reasonable level, “you think you can take my cock?” he asked as you loosened your grip on him a bit, allowing him to lift his head so he could get a better look at your expression.

you nodded, “please,” you whispered, running your hands across his shoulders and biceps before sliding them down his chest, looking down to the ever-prominent tent in his pants from you. your cheeks were heating up to a bright pink when you realized what an effect you were having on him, quickly lifting your gaze away from the bulge to look back up at him.

paul chuckled, “i’m all yours,” he reassured, failing to hide his smirk when he saw how flustered you got at the thought of him being yours. you’d been so oblivious to him for over a year now, too invested in your own problems to ever realize just how he looked at you or see how he always managed to be there for you at the perfect time. 

you slowly nodded as you processed his words, blushing an even deeper red when he got out from in between your thighs to get up and tug his sweatpants down. his hardened cock was quick to stand at attention, the tip a fierce red with droplets of precum pooling.

paul smirked again when he saw the way you were staring at his cock, leaning down to hook his fingers around your sweatpants and panties to he could tug them down and toss them to the side as well, “all mine?” you asked after a moment, finally pulling your gaze from his cock to look up at him.

“all yours,” paul confirmed as he got back on the pullout, “get on your hands and knees for me, yea? gonna show you who you belong to,” he added, barely holding back his laugh when he saw how flustered you continued to get every time he spoke to you. 

as you processed his words, paul slid his hands down to your hips so he could help you get onto your hands and knees, the poor pullout bed making all sorts of pathetic squeaks as it desperately tried to stay up while you and paul fucked. 

“such a good girl,” paul praised once you were settled on your forearms and knees, one of his hands remaining on your hip to steady you while he spit into the other one, quickly spreading the saliva across his cock to help lubricate him so you wouldn’t have too much difficulty taking his length. 

paul was by far the largest man you’d ever been with, something paul had managed to figure out by himself when he felt just how tight you were clamped down on his fingers a few minutes prior, “deep breath for me princess,” paul ordered as he slid his hand in between your thighs, dipping his finger into your channel for just a moment to make sure you were still ready to take him before he was pulling it out and replacing it with the tip of his cock.

at the feeling of his cock prodding at your entrance, you reminded yourself to breathe, letting out a slow exhale, and relaxed your hips so paul could pull you back onto his cock, “so fuckin’ pretty,” paul groaned, both hands tightly gripping your hips as he tugged your hips back to impale you on his cock, “keep breathing princess,” he reminded, keeping a firm grip on your hips as he felt the way your walls were desperately working to accommodate the intrusion that was your imprinter.

you were whining, resting your forehead against your hands as you tried to relax yourself enough to make room for paul, “‘s really big paul-” you whimpered, moving to pull your hips forward but paul’s hands remained firm.

“breathe princess,” paul reminded, “i’ve got you, yea? not gonna hurt you, just need to stretch you out on me, okay?” he added, gently rubbing his thumbs in circles against the fatty flesh of your hips.

you slowly nodded, peeking over your shoulder to look up at him, immediately feeling way better when you saw how confident he looked in his promise, “you want me to hold you? might help you feel better,” he suggested, smiling when you quickly nodded.

“c’mere,” he cooed, sliding his hands down to your ribs, slowly pulling you up. as he helped you up, his cock pushed further into your channel, “you’re okay,” he reassured when he heard your whining. he wrapped his arm around you, coming to rest just under your breasts as he pulled you up so your back was flush with his chest.

“just a little more,” he murmured, wrapping his other arm around your abdomen so he could hold you steady as he pushed himself the rest of the way into you, “such a good girl,” he mused, pressing his lips to your head when he felt you finally relax into his arms, allowing your head to rest against the crook of his neck.

while he allowed you a few moments to process the feeling, he pressed gentle kisses to your hairline, murmuring quiet praises. once your walls stopped desperately clenching around him, relaxing just enough to accommodate him comfortably, you were letting out a soft sigh, lifting your head up to peek over your shoulder up at him, “feels okay?” he asked, pressing his lips to your temple when you hummed and nodded.

“that’s my girl,” he praised, muffling his chuckle against your hair when he felt your walls flutter around him at the praise, your heart skipping a few beats as you processed just what you were doing with him. you nuzzled your nose into the crook of his neck in a weak attempt to hide your blush from him, your hands hooking around his forearm to hold yourself steady.

paul decided against teasing you about it, suddenly becoming much more aware of just how badly he wanted to cum inside you when he felt your walls clenching down around him, “you let me know if you want me to slow down, okay?” he asked, waiting for you to nod before he was drawing his hips back, his cock dragging along your walls in the most delicious way possible before he was plunging himself back inside you, not wasting a moment before he was setting a rough pace, one hand holding you up while the other held your hips in place so he could snap his against yours.

you let out a loud whine at the first thrust, dropping your head back against his shoulder again, eyes closing as pleasure began flooding through your system yet again, “just needed my cock in you didn’t you?” he asked with a chuckle when he saw the way you were desperately nodding, loving how much pleasure you were so easily able to provide each other.

he slid one hand down to your abdomen, splaying his palm across the smooth skin so he could keep you steady but also drop his thumb down to toy with your clit. “oh my god-” you whimpered when you felt the pleasure coursing up your spine, forcing your brain into a fuzzy mess as you tried to comprehend all the sensations and emotions spilling through you.

“my cock feel that good? makin’ you feel better, isn’t it?” he gritted out, his thrusts getting rougher when he saw just how quickly you were coming undone on him. he held you up, supporting you as he continued to fuck you as you desperately nodded.

“so good-” you whimpered, “all yours,” you added softly, just loud enough for paul to pick up on it. hearing you admit he owned you just as much as you did him snapped something inside him, suddenly every fiber of his being telling him to make sure everyone knew you were his.

“this pussy is all mine, yea? all mine,” paul repeated, his grip around your chest tightening when he felt the way your walls were suddenly desperately fluttering and clenching around him, both of your emotions going haywire at the connection.

you hummed, squeezing your hands around his forearms in a weak attempt to stabilize yourself, “not giving it to anyone else, you understand? you’re mine now,” paul ordered, pinching your clit between his fingers when he realized you weren’t responding to him. 

a loud moan escaped your lips at the sudden jolt, “not giving it to anyone else-” you breathlessly repeated back, able to form a somewhat coherent response by some grace of god. you weren’t used to being made such a mess from a cock, desperately trying and failing to keep some shred of control as paul continued his ruthless thrusts. 

“that’s what i thought,” paul pushed his hips into yours, the tip of his cock kissing your cervix to send his point home, the action taking away any control you might’ve had as you fully surrendered in his arms, trusting him to support you, “gonna fill you up so everyone knows just who owns you and you’re gonna take it all like a good girl, aren’t you?” he asked, his rhetorical question sending your brain into a tizzy as you desperately nodded, not trusting yourself to form a coherent response.

paul let out a dark laugh when he saw your nod, your approval being all he needed to pick up the pace until he had your breasts bouncing atop his forearms with each thrust, your moans and heavy breaths filling the silence of emily’s living room as your orgasm rapidly began approaching.

“paul i’m gonna-” you started, gasping when he rolled your clit between his fingers, the action having you dangerously close to cumming without his approval and, based on how dominant he had been with you tonight, you’d imagined he wouldn’t take too kindly to you cumming before he let you.

“such a good girl,” paul praised, “make a mess on my cock for me,” he added, rubbing circles against your clit while his cock continued to stretch you out with each thrust, the small bulge in your belly with each snap of his hips sending him over the edge at the same time as you.

the knot in your belly snapped as paul shot his release into your walls, both of you holding each other as tight as you could as you rode your highs. paul’s thrusts stuttered as his cum spilled into you, the feeling of your walls throbbing around him as you came having him pushing his hips as close to yours as he could, “paul-” you whined when you felt the way the tip of his cock was prodding against your overstimulated cervix. 

“not yet-” he responded breathlessly, “let me fill you up,” he added, holding you close to him as he spilled his release in you. you nodded, relaxing back into him as you came down from your high, both of your breathing heavy and ragged as you came back down to earth. 

you gently squeezed paul’s forearms, lolling your head to the side so you could nuzzle your nose against his collarbone, “there you go,” paul murmured after a few moments, slowly loosening his grip on you so he could pull his cock back enough so he wasn’t overstimulating you to the point of annoyance, “you’re staying here for the night, yea?” he asked, pressing his lips to your hair as he waited for your response.

you let out a soft laugh and nodded, “you can have me in the morning if you want,” you added teasingly, squealing when paul snapped his hips back against yours at the comment, a lewd squelching sound from all the fluids pooling between your thighs. 

“i’ll be holding you to that,” paul agreed, giving you one more squeeze before he was slowly letting you go and pulling himself out of you so he could get you cleaned up. as he helped you lay down on the couch, you intertwined your fingers with his hand, tugging him down so he could lay next to you.

paul complied, allowing you to pull him close to you, “still gonna have to clean you up in a minute,” paul reminded, opening his arms so you could get between them wrapping them around you to hold you close once you got settled. 

“just wanna lay with you for a minute,” you whispered, tossing your leg over his hip to hold him even closer to you as paul got a blanket over your naked figures. your comment had his heart doing all sorts of things he’d never felt before so he settled for just pressing his lips to the crown of your head while you cuddled up with him.

before paul’s mind could get the best of him, you peeked up at him, “i’ll break up with him,” you reassured, smiling when paul let out a heavy sigh of relief, nodding. 

you snuck a quick kiss against his lips, smiling when you saw how flustered you managed to make him over the action, quickly burying your face in the crook of his neck so you could get comfortable and allow him a moment to get it together.

paul gently ran his hand up and down your side, holding you close to him as the two of you just soaked each other in. before he could come up with a response to your promise, he heard your breathing begin to even out, quickly realizing you’d definitely fallen asleep in his arms.

“just a few minutes,” he mumbled to himself, holding you close as he also let the fatigue take over him as well.

bonus: leah, emily, and some of the boys coming back to find reader and paul’s clothes thrown all over the house with the two of them passed out on the pull out couch - all of them can’t stop laughing about it and never let reader and paul live it down.

[piss-pumpkin]

🌼Proof of existence🥝

Douce amere epilogue, (older)Dipper pines x reader, ~4.2k words masterlist Prev

One year. One full year. You swallowed hard as you drove the streets of Piedmont. It wasn’t like you hadn’t heard from him, or talked to him, but like… a full year. It felt like a long time, even though it wasn’t. Last summer could’ve been a lifetime ago. And last summer had a lifetimes worth of memories. 

Your old cheap car shuddered at each pothole, and you pursed your lips. The car wasn’t what you worried about. Just chill, you told your heart rate. It refused to listen, and kept high and thundering. Whatever. He’s still your boyfriend. Even though it’s been a full year. Ugh. 

And you had plenty of time to catch up on everything that didn’t make it into messages and text on the road trip. Normally, Piedmont to Gravity falls was a day trip. A handful of hours, not too bad, but annoying for a bus. But nowadays, you actually had a car and a license. 

It really worked out in your favor. Your school ended a couple weeks before the twins, so you had time to hangout with friends, take a trip down and around, and eventually end up in Piedmont to pick him up. And the final destination was the mystery shack. All you had to do was grab him and go. And make some stupid stops along the way.

The conditions of your ‘new driver’ license were weird though. Legally, you could only have one non family passenger. As much as you ignored that rule with friends back home, crossing state borders and big cities breaking the law seemed like tempting fate. So you could only take one twin. You weren’t entirely disappointed about that, though…

You pulled into the school parking lot, scanning the sign. This was their high school. You’d seen photos, but in real life it felt like the set of a movie. 

Your foot arched on the brake, and your hand glided to shift into park. Deep breaths. School wasn’t out yet, you were early. You had time to hype yourself up. As you shut the car off, you pulled out your phone to text him and say that you’re here.

Wanna come in actually? I’m just in history, He responded.

You blinked a few times, pursing your lips. Why, you typed and sent. Walking into his classroom randomly and interrupting things didn’t seem like a good idea. And in front of a whole class? Bad plans. You already were feeling weird just sitting in the parking lot, like a creep. 

He was typing. The three dots of the messages popped as you waited, feet on the dash. So I can prove you exist long story, he sent. 

You stared at the phone a moment. That seemed dumb. Dipper must have realized that was ominous, because he started to type again. 

We didn’t even have a lesson today cuz it’s the end of the year you’re fine to come in we’re just hanging out. 

You sighed. Will it be awkward? You asked. 

He typed for a moment, then stopped. Then started again, and said no. 

Ugh. To proof you exist? What did that even mean? Ugh. Fine, you sent, hopping out of the car and locking it behind you. Do I need to like check in at an office or something to go in?

No just you can just walk up, he sent.

Your brow crinkled. Fr? You asked. That seemed… somewhat weird if anyone could just walk in. Even if you were a teenager and seemed like you were in the right place. 

Dipper was typing, It’s not a great school.

Fine, whatever. You started for the door. Around the school was far from empty, despite the fact that class was supposedly still on. People sat around on benches, or just the ground chit chatting. A bunch of them had yearbooks to look through and sign. 

You looked at your phone to avoid making awkward eye contact with any of them. What’s the room? You asked Dipper. 

He gave back a number and said it was on the second floor. The only problem was, this school was massive. Stepping inside the main door to the foyer, it alone was huge. It led and tapered off into a cafeteria on one side, and in the centre was two stairways that led to a balcony, more stairs, and halls on the second floor. 

You frowned, and started to type as you scanned the room, Dipper you shitbag more specific direct- then you saw somebody sitting alone. Everyone else was dispersed around in groups, so a loner seemed the most approachable. 

“Um, hi,” you started, doing a little wave as they looked up from their phone. “Could you direct me to room,” you checked Dippers text, “twenty-two oh-four?”

Their long brown hair parted as they stood up and nodded, “I’ll take you, I have to grab my stuff there anyway.” A mask was covering the bottom half of their face, but their eyes seemed friendly enough. 

They started for the stairs, and you followed behind as they navigated around the people. As you passed classrooms with windows facing in, you saw so few people actually doing lessons. You smiled as you looked in. Summer break was literally ten minutes away, everyone knew it. You were so close to getting back to Gravity Falls. 

“You don’t go here, right?” The person leading you asked, glancing back at you. 

You laughed nervously, “uh, no,” you said, shaking your head. “Just picking somebody up.”

They nodded along, “Okay, for a second I thought I was really stupid and just never noticed you.”

You fought the urge to make some joke like how could anyone not notice me. That would be super awkward with somebody you don’t know.

”But like how could anyone not,” they laughed, turning back to you for a moment. “Like, in a good way, I love your fit.”

Oh wow, that’s literally what you were just thinking. They must be psychic. “Uh, thanks,” you smiled, “you too, and I love the hair,” you said, pulling a strand of your own hair for emphasis. 

You followed them to a classroom, and just through the windows you could see him. Dippers back was turned to you as he sat on a desk and chatted with some people, Wendy’s hat resting on his head. Probably with friends. You swallowed. It was weird seeing him with friends you didn’t know, now that you thought about it. The closer you stepped to the door the more it felt like worlds colliding, that you were just for summer, and don’t belong with his year-round friends. 

“You know him?” Your guide asked, brow raised. You could almost hear a slight twinge of distain in their voice.

Shit. Your head whipped back away from the windows. They must have caught you staring. You stepped half a pace back as you laughed, “uh yeah, my,” you hesitated. Why hesitate? It’s true? “Boyfriend… the guy with the hat.”

”Oh,” they said quickly, brow still raised. The mask hid half their expression, the reaction was hard to gauge. “What’s your, uh, name?” They asked casually, pointing at you. 

You swallowed. This was weird right? “Y/n,” you said.

They smiled. Or at least looked like they did, with their eyes. “Well, that explains it,” they said. They must have considered that bit of conversation over, because they started reaching for the door handle, leaving you standing there, a little confused. “And for the record, I always knew you were real,” they added, slight sigh in their tone. 

Again with that? Your guide opened the door, and slipped inside, offering you a little wave as they walked away while you hesitated. They seemed to know people, chatting and saying bye to a few people as they found a chair with a backpack under it. They seemed nice. If, a little weird. 

Sighing, you twiddled your fingers trying to work up the courage. He’d mentioned the names of his and Mabel’s friends, but you hadn’t really seen faces. You’d only been in school a few weeks prior, but seeing the classroom you felt like an alien. A whole other school. The slight differences made all the difference. It was a whole other world, and weird to think that other people had their whole lives here, the same way you had yours back home. 

Deep breaths. Be cool. You pushed open the door, and tried not to look awkward as you made your way through the classroom. Relax, you told yourself. But still, the creeping feeling that this was a world you weren’t a part buried itself in your spine. Somehow, weird monsters in the woods seemed less scary than your boyfriends friends. 

You pursed your lips, and came up beside him, playfully hitting him in the arm in between sentences he was trading with friends. Trying not to be awkward. Or interrupt.

Dipper turned towards you, and his face lit up. It was almost enough to calm any nerve that you might have. He grinned, taking your hand, and his friends took the hint to pause the conversation. Or maybe his friends could tell Dipper was focused on something else now. That made you feel a little better. “Oh man, I can’t believe you’re here,” he laughed. 

His friend snickered, “yeah neither can I,” he muttered.

You weren’t sure how to respond, so you didn’t. Lucky for you, Dipper filled the gap. He scooted so his body was facing you, “okay, so,” he started, waving his free hand in the air for punctuation. “There’s just-“ he gestured his head at his friends- “a few people I want you to meet, then we can head out, yeah?”

“Uh, sure,” you said, glancing again at the people watching this interaction. Two boys and a girl looked at you, all with slight smiles you could only guess were formed in surprise. 

Dipper turned back to them, “this is Y/n,” he announced proudly. 

“Holy shit, it’s like meeting a celebrity,” one of boys laughed.

The other one hit him on the side as he giggled, “Like Miku.”

The girl chimed in next, “Or Jesus,” she snickered under her breath.

They giggled while Dipper shook his head. One of them, a boy, looked at you with a lopsided smile. “I am… shocked that you’re here,” he said lightly, sounding friendly. 

“Uh,” you managed, glancing at Dipper.

Another friend glanced at Dipper, then back to you. She laughed lightly, “yeah, I can’t believe this,” she said. She turned to the last friend, “what do I owe you?”

You stood silently with lips pursed as they did, waiting for the conversation to be over. 

One rooted around in her backpack for a wallet, and they started to trade money. You awkwardly side eyed Dipper, and he seemed to take the hint. He hopped off the desk, “alright, we’re going,” he said waving as he turned around, “Bye guys.”

They waved bye to both of you. 

Dipper turned around way easier than you. Maybe you were still reeling from that interaction. Dipper laughed under his breath, and turned you around by the shoulders, and gestured at the door. Blinking, you shot him a look, glancing between him and his friends. A light blush dusted his cheeks, but he nodded. Maybe that meant he’d tell you later. 

You waved at the friends, and followed him out.

“See ya, Y/n,” the person with the mask said on your way out, with a little wave. 

You smiled, “See you!” 

Now it was Dippers turn to shoot you a look. He raised his brow, and glanced once between you and your… friend seemed like a stretch. Acquaintance. He did a double take between you and your newfound acquaintance. 

It was busier outside then when you walked in. Way more people were hanging out, waiting for buses or just standing around skipping class. You pursed your lips. That made it far more annoying to drive. 

“Okay so, Dip, what was that?” You asked, shaking your head as you made your way to the car. You fiddled with the keys in your hand as you walked. “Why am I apparently like Jesus?

Dipper sucked a breath in through his teeth and smiled, though it looked half pained. “okay so,” he started, “Nobody thought you were real.”

”What?”

He shook his head cheekily at the floor, “Well, I mentioned you once, and so they asked…” he looked up, as if to make sure you were still following the plot. He started animatedly taking with his hands. “And I accidental said you lived far away… and you know the whole ‘my girlfriend goes to another school’ lie people pull… so everyone just kinda… assumed.” Dipper was shaking his head, “because they suck.”

You paused before you unlocked the car door to take that in. Your head tilted to the side, “couldn’t Mabel just… tell them otherwise?”

Dipper winced. “Yeah, she sure could have,” he said wistfully.

You smiled, “but she didn’t?”

”Nope,” he added quickly.

You snickered as you slipped into the drivers seat, and Dipper the passengers. “And you didn’t just… I don’t know, show them pictures?”

Dipper sighed, rubbing his temples, “the answer to any question you might have is that Mabel sucks, trust me. I showed pictures once, and she convinced people they were AI generated.”

You shook your head. “Damn bro,” you said, pushing the key in the ignition. “For the whole year?”

He sighed, nodding.

You laughed, “How have you never mentioned this?” 

Dippers face fell into his hands as he groaned, “ugh, I don’t know,” he complained. “Embarrassing?”

You smiled, playfully hitting him across the chest, and holding your hand there a moment as he lifted his head. You started out of the parking lot, careful around the crowds of people walking around and laying very little attention to surrounding cars. “You totally would do that, though,” you snickered. “Lie about something like that.”

Dipper scoffed, “One, no I wouldn’t. Two, I don’t know why people think that, or why Mabel had such an easy time lying.”

You laughed as you escaped the parking lot. “Because it’s pretty easy to believe, to be honest. Like, in another life you totally would.” The open road ahead of you, and the easy conversation was lifting the weight off your shoulders. “In another bitchless life,” you giggled. 

Dipper groaned in disgust as you giggled. “Whatever,” he said, arms folded across his chest. “Now you have to tell me how you know Sal,” he questioned.

”Who? Also do we need to stop at your place to get your stuff?” 

“Yeah,” Dipper said, “Sal’s the one who said bye to you as you left.”

”Oh,” you blurted, “They showed me to your classroom, they seemed nice.”

Lucky for your gas tank, Dipper didn’t live far from school. You were already turning down the suburb streets, where all the houses looked very same-y, but one do them was his. You went slow as you scanned for his address. 

“They are nice,” Dipper confirmed, “But I got scared for a second, they do not like me. Remember when I said I had an ex that I totally screwed over?” He asked sheepishly, offering you a small smile. “Also I’m a few streets down, keep going.”

“Ooooh,” you said. “Yeah they were weird when I was looking at you,” you confessed. 

You caught up on the… somewhat small town drama. The way Dipper talked about Piedmont made it feel small, despite its population. Maybe a consequence of being Mabel’s brother was knowing everyone. 

The twins mom invited you in, made very lovely small talk. Unfortunate that Mabel was out with friends. But you’d see her again in a day or two. You were grinning at the thought. 

And you were gone, off into the somewhat known unknown when Dipper came back downstairs with his luggage. 

                                      …

The road to Gravity falls was a murder road. Winding, dark, covered in trees, and a villainous aura. It had gotten dark the more you drove, and the more stops you made along the way at the horrible tourist attractions that all had nothing on the mystery shack.

But you were tired, and Dipper couldn’t drive. So camp time it was. 

Oh perfect. You slowed down as you spotted a small concealed logging road in the dark. You pulled the car onto it, and drove carefully along the rocky ground and potholes. 

“Dude, this is a stupid idea,” Dipper said, wiping his eyes as he scanned the shadowed forest. 

You were scanning too. “Aha,” you exclaimed, your eyes settling on a little parking space-like nook off the road. “This is a spot,” you claimed, steering the car into it.

”no the fuck it is not.”

You grinned as you put the car in park, and shut it off, and unclipped your seatbelt. “Yes it is,” you argued, opening the door. 

The outside was warm, despite the late hour. Summer nights, you supposed. The trees were tall overhead, shadowing the dark blueish and starry sky. A light wind was blowing through, and the atmosphere might’ve been ominous and scary if this was Gravity Falls, but out side of its paranormal borders, it was peaceful. 

Dipper got out with you, and even in the dark you could feel his judgmental gaze from the other side of the car. “So now what?” He said, unimpressed. 

“Well, we brush our teeth, and set up camp,” you instructed, pointing at him over the car roof. Your eyes were adjusted enough to make out his deadpan face in the moonlight. 

He sighed, diving back into the passenger seat to Ricky through a bag. “Did you… bring camping stuff?” He asked, muffled by the car door. 

“I brought a car,” you offered. 

His sigh cut the light he forest air and you giggled. He shut the cat door again, this time with a water bottle and his tooth brush. Smiling, you grabbed your brush, plus the toothpaste. You tossed his the paste, and he tossed you the water.

The two of you brushed your teeth in the dark, spitting toothpaste as far out from the car as you felt like venturing. 

Dipper muttered with his toothbrush in his mouth, “we are so gonna die in the woods…”

”Are not,” you said, rinsing your mouth out. 

When you finished, it was camp time. You may not have had a tent, but you had blankets and your pillows. And extra clothes to pad it out. You smiled when you saw Dippers skeptical face through the dark. You popped the trunk, “boom, camping,” you declared. 

He sighed, “We’re dead, goners.”

But he still helped you oh the blankets down on the trunk floor, and pull the seats back to make it… somewhat more like a bed. 

                                        …

The car bed was expectedly not great. But wiggling around you were able to find a comfortable position, curling your legs at the back of the trunk. The windows were steamed from breath and body heat, and you and Dipper were inches apart in the close quarters. 

The surrounding woods were nearly dead silent. You should be thrilled. This is your boyfriend, who you haven’t seen in months. But instead you were… quiet. Maybe anxious. Almost too scared to reach out and touch him. But you mustered the courage. Timidly, you reached your hand out to grab his between you. 

“So,” you started. “Did I miss anything good during the school year?”

You couldn’t see it, but by his little exhale you could tell he smiled. “I think I told you everything interesting,” he said.

You twiddled your thumb around his hand. “Well, clearly not everything, finding out you made me up was new.”

He snickered, “Okay, I told you everything good besides that.”

You smiled, but fell into another silence. Not exactly an awkward one, it was hard to feel too awkward when you were that close, but it wasn’t exactly nice. Every once in a while the tree branches blew in the wind overhead, and what little you could see from the rear view mirror shifted around. You pursed your lips and looked down, though there was little point to that in the dark 

Dipper cut through the quiet. “I was actually kind of nervous to see you again,” he said awkwardly, stumbling over each syllable in that… usual way he does. “I thought it might be easier around my friends, but they… kind of suck.”

You smiled, nodding slightly. “Yeah… I was trying to hype myself up in the car.”

He snorted, “But your always hype.”

”Well… not always,” you said, nestling your head further into the pillow and blanket pile. “Is it really that different being back together?”

Dipper did the same, flipping a pillow over to the cold side, and scooting it the smallest bit closer to you. “I dunno,” he said. “It’s not usually any different.”

”Well, we don’t usually feel awkward and… stuff”

He laughed a little, lifting his hand to cover his mouth. “Speak for yourself… I always do,” he said. “At least with you, that is.”

Of course he did. You grinned. How he was this endearing, you weren’t sure. “Really?” You asked, smirk creeping into your lips. “Widdle ol’ me?”

”Ugh,” he groaned, probably rolling his eyes if you had to guess. “Yeah, widdle ol’ you. It uh, usually takes a couple days to get used to you again,” he admitted. “I don’t know, maybe it’s different now that we’re…” he trailed off. Of course he did. You could almost feel the heat from his blush. 

You smiled, and playfully punched him in the chest with your free hand, and then left it there to linger. More touch. “It’s been weird being long distance,” you said. “Maybe that makes it different. It’s been like, a year since we’ve even been in the same city.”

He nodded, “Yeah, a lot does change. You look kind of different from last summer, it doesn’t always show in the pictures, like-“ he paused, about to reach his hand out to you, you could see in the silhouette, but stopped. “Uh, you head,” he said, tapping his forehead for emphasis, “may I?”

You nodded.

He gently brushed the hair off your forehead, and ghosted his hand over your scar from last summer. “It’s different in person, it’s healed really well,” he said, fingers tracing its edges. You smiled as he did, feeing the callous on his fingertips on the parts that could still feel well. “It kind of looks like a star, actually,” he smiled, “We’re matching,” he said, tapping his own forehead.

Aw shit. A grin made its way onto your lips, and you felt a heat on your cheeks. “A star… and the Big Dipper?” 

He brushed some hair back to cover his birthmark. A star and a constellation. “Yeah, I think so.”

Sighing, you scotched closer to him to close the gap,  trying to keep the comfortable position you found. Closer, like you usually were. “Dip, I think that even if things are a little different, that’s fine as long as I still love you,” you smiled, then hastily added, “Which I somewhat obviously do, but I figured I’d specify in case that wasn’t clear.”

”I- also you that-“ he sputtered, wrapping an arm around you to hold you closer. 

You giggled, “yeah? You’re sticking by that one?”

“I guess so,” he snickered, resting his head against yours. He once against swept the hair from your face, and this time you smiled as his lips met the softer skin of the scar with a little kiss. 

You tried to suppress your grin, but it didn’t work. Fuck. He’s too sweet. You giggled some more, brushing your thumb against his jaw. “Good spot, but I have an improvement, get this,” you said, like you were selling a pitch. 

You utilized your hands to find his face, brushing over his lips with your thumb. Target located. Smiling, maybe still with butterflies, as juvenile as that felt, you brought your face up to his to kiss him. Somehow the first since reuniting. You could feel the smile on his lips as you did, and the small twitch of his fingers on your back where he held you.

First kiss of the new summer. Far from the last, if all went well.  Your mind almost laughed at you. When did things ever go well?

You giggled as he pulled you in for another kiss, and complained about the discomfort of the trunk. He was too tall to employ your strategy of curling into the trunk. 

Things always went well enough. Nobody died, and you had each other and the gang. And a car. You could think of literally nothing else you needed. Gravity Falls was a day away, and it seemed like your scar had healed. Matching stars. 

Next

I’m torn there a lot I wanna do with this fic like use other characters more, or pay off things I mentioned or set up earlier, or even just write random ass episode one shots. Or a backrooms horror story too Angsty to be canon. But I also wanna be done with this and it’s a complete story so I totally could be. I dunno.

Taglist: @phobo-ss @cipheress-to-k-pop @dead-esque

[animementrash]

Sigh too much

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x Reader

Tags: Fluff, she/her pronouns for reader, they/them pronouns for Hange, implied canonverse scenario, Levi is DENSE

A/N: Heya! This is my first time posting my drabbles, I made my New Year resolution to get out of my comfort zone and post what I write, so any comment/feedback is really appreciated! Hope you like this short drabble! ♥

Levi’s heavy footsteps echoed through the hall as he walked towards the meeting room turned into office at the end of the hall. Without knocking he opened the door, his frown deeper than usual.

“Erwin, I want to switch offices. Now.” His raspy voice sounded annoyed and almost desperate.

“Pardon?” Answered Erwin as he looked up from his paperwork and towards the angry Captain at the door.

“I know you heard me. I need that done now.” The tone in his voice made it clear he wasn’t negotiating but demanding that action.

This whole situation surfaced after all the higher ups from the Scouting Legion were asked to evacuate their offices due to a much-needed renovation; thanks to the latest expeditions and the success on capturing not one but two titans, the Scouts had regained popularity among citizens and this leaded to a rise in their government subside which was eventually used to renovate the headquarters, starting by the offices.

“Levi, I understand your new office isn’t as neat or big as your previous one but…” His words were cut short by a loud snore coming from the desk next to his, there laid a sleepy Hange, pen still in hand and a bunch of papers scattered across the desk. “What I mean to say is, we all made sacrifices for the sake of the renovations…” Erwin looked at him with a blank stare, not intimidated by the enraged stare from the captain.

“You can send four-eyes in my place” Levi offered, still fixed on his target.

“Hange must remain next to me, for they are the next in command after me. And you know it.” Erwin was still unfazed by Levi’s persistence. Levi groaned and slammed his fists on the desk with an angry look. “I can’t work under those conditions” He mumbled still upset.

“What conditions?” A sleepy Hange spoke while they sat up and fixed their glasses.

“Enlighten us Levi, what conditions are you talking about?” Erwin added and leaned back into his chair.

Levi removed his hands from the desk and fixed his uniform before speaking.

“She, she sighs too much…” He spoke in almost a whisper, his attitude totally different to the one he had when he entered the office.

“I’m sorry what?” Said Erwin confused. “Sigh too much? What are you even talking about shorty??” Added Hange with a chuckle.

“You heard me! She sighs too damn much, it’s distracting” Levi’s voice sounded desperate and somewhat confused, was he really complaining about a sigh?

“Levi, do you have super hearing or something? Because honestly, I have a hard time hearing people talk, let alone sigh!” Hange barked a laugh, it was obvious this whole thing was very entertaining to them.

“Levi, I don’t think sighing is a problem as big as you see it” Erwin finally spoke as he tried to hide the smirk this whole situation put on his face.

“But it’s annoying and distracting! Also, she always has this silly smile on her face and her dumb perfume is too sweet...” The more Levi spoke the more stupid he felt. Why was he complaining about this?

“There, I sighed! Did you hear it, Levi?” Hange said still laughing, Levi didn’t even bother on looking at them, his piercing gaze fixed on the Commander. “So, I will have to just deal with it?”

“Levi, I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do regarding this matter…if you want, we can maybe…” Erwin couldn’t even finish his sentence before an enraged yet flustered Levi left the room.

Again, his heavy footsteps echoed as he walked away, Erwin let out a sigh and cleared his throat before continuing with his paperwork.

“So, how long until he finally understands why he’s hyperaware of all her movements?” Asked Hange with a soft voice.

“Not sure, but one thing I do know and that is that putting them both in the same office was the best decision to speed up whatever there is between the two…” said Erwin with a chuckle.

“Hope she manages to take the first step before Levi comes here again complaining about the way she breathes…” Added Hange and both chuckled before returning to their tasks.

[stickofcha0s]

‘Walk in’ Doug Remer x Reader

Doug Remer x afab reader

A/N: I don’t ever post stuff like this so idk if it’s even good. I wrote this over a few days and didn’t really do a read through so it might be messy If u want a more explicit pt2 lmk bc I have ideas.

word count: 2209

warnings: slight smut?? Reader Slapping Doug. Slight Perv Remer. I think that’s it. I’m not too sure how to tag these things yet so sorry if I’m missing something.

summary: Doug Remer walks in on you changing after a long day at work

~~~~~~~~~~

You had been roommates with Doug Remer and Joe Cooper for a while now. They were the only two idiot stupid enough to offer you the lowest rent in the city. With a price of course.

You had been hanging out with the boys after a game sitting on the porch out back drinking beer and talking about how you had just been unfairly evicted.

~~FLASHBACK~~

“I’ll let you stay for only 400 a month.” Remer had offered kicking his legs up in the Adirondack chair.

Your eyes widened. “Are you serious!?” You asked sitting up, clutching the neck of your beer tightly in your hand. 

He snorted taking a sip of his beer. “Yeah on one condition- if you let me and Coop see your tits” he smirked from behind the bottle.

You scowled at him. Remer had been trying to get you to flash them for a while now. He had some weird thing for boobs. He was a creep- not in a weird way though. You had basically grown up with him so you guys bickered about this stuff back and forth. And I mean, No one else was gonna offer you a deal like this, and it’s not like they’d be the only guys who’d have seen them.

You sighed standing up.

Coop looked up at you “he- what are you doing?” He asked leaning forward in his chair. 

“Getting my $400 a month for rent you shrugged. 

Remers mouth dropped open as you started to lift your shirt. 

“No fucking- ahw my god.” He groaned sinking back into his chair, his eyes fixated on you as you flashed them.

“Take a good look, this is the last time you’re gonna see them” you stated coldly.

Remer sat back in his chair sucking his teeth, his hazel eyes burning holes into your chest. 

You dropped your shirt. “Happy?” You asked annoyed.

Coop sat wide eyed looking between you and remer unable to speak. 

“Mi casa es su casa” Remer chuckled softly outstretching his arms. 

~~END FLASHBACK A YEAR LATER~|

You had just gotten home from work. You hated the long hours you were scheduled, you felt like you weren’t getting paid enough. 

The job caused your whole body to ache. Your body was tense and you had a bunch of anger pent up from dealing with stupid customers all day. 

You stripped yourself out of the faded black jeans replacing them with comfortable fleece shorts. You reached for your top pulling it over your head searching your drawers for some over sized t-shirt.

“Hey (y/n) I don’t see any pizza bites left in the-“ 

The door swung open as Remer entered the room not bothering to knock. 

“Doug!” You cried going to cover your torso with a sheet. You had a bra on but you still felt uncomfortable with him seeing you exposed like this. 

His eyes widened and he put his hands up in defense. “Woah woah calm down. I’ve seen chicks boobs before, no biggie” 

He stood there, door wide open behind him like this was normal. You rolled your eyes at him. “Doug, get out” you pointed towards the door. 

“Hey I’m just sayin’” he let his eyes wander down your body, drinking in the sight before him. You took a book from the night stand throwing it at him. He dodged it, a shit eating grin making its way on his face. 

“Fine whatever I’ll leave” he said with attitude. “I was just gonna ask if you bought pizza bites while at the store” 

You scoffed. “Remer it wasn’t my turn to go to the store today” 

Remer shut the door behind him mumbling something about what he was supposed to eat if no one went to the store. You sighed pulling a shirt over your head.

You headed for the kitchen a little while later deciding you would see if you could find anything to satisfy the pains in your stomach. Doug was on the couch watching tv. You were surprised he didn’t have cable porn pulled up, beating himself in the middle of the living room. 

You dug through the panty finding pasta and sauce. You put a pot on the stove to boil. 

“Can I have it?” A voice asked from behind you. 

Your turned around to see Doug leaning against the counter.

“Have what?” You asked annoyed stirring the water as an encouragement to boil faster. 

“You know.” He shrugged.

“No Doug. I don’t know actually” you turned away from him. You heard his feet against the tile as he moved closer.

He leaned against the counter next to you, stupid gap toothed smile plastered across his face.

“Your bra” he grinned. 

“Doug, shut up” you said giving him the shoulder. 

“Is that a no?” He asked. You turned from the pot, your mouth open. 

“Are you fucking serious?”  

“Well you’re wearing one of my teams jerseys it’s only fair I have something of yours” He protested.

You didn’t say anything turning away again. 

He leaned down whispering in your ear. “Please?”

You had no idea what he wanted it for but it was probably for some perverted personal fantasy of his. 

“It doesn’t have to be the one your wearing” he tried to compromise. 

“Remer, I’m gonna hit you if you don’t back up” you warned not making eye contact. 

You could feel the smirk playing on his lips without him uttering a word. 

“Cmon, I know you’ve got a ton of them that drawer” he purred 

“Doug.” You warned. 

“what about that green one…or the lacy black one that has the matching panti-“ 

Before you could think your hand had swept across his face slapping him.

“Son of a bitch- did you go through my drawer?!” You yelled demanding an answer. You felt bad but from after the long day you’d had you were bound to have had snapped at some point. 

He was holding his jaw looking offended.  “Ouch” he mumbled rubbing his jaw. “Y’know you should join the team, you’ve got quite the arm.” 

You were infuriated with him. Of course he would go through your drawers like that. Him and Coop had quite the reputation or stealing panties from house parties they went to, keeping them like trophies. Almost never were they actually taken from off the girls themselves. Why would you an an exception.

“Fuck you, fucking freak” you murmured from under your breath. 

“Look, I’m sorry” Remer came up behind you, his chest grazing against your shoulders and back. 

“The drawer was halfway open and I just couldn’t help myself” he mumbled. 

The pot was boiling as you added the noodles to the mix not saying anything to the curly haired boy.

He hugged you from behind leaning down to whisper in your ear. “ ‘m really sorry. I promise it was a one time thing” he mumbled into your ear. 

You huffed and rolled your eyes.

“Want some spaghetti?” You asked him disregarding his apologies. 

“Please..” he mumbled again hands tightening around your waist.

Your heart fluttered in your chest at his touch. You were used to Remer being touchy like this, the occasional hug, kiss on the forehead, or cuddling on the couch to watch a movie. And that accidental drunk hookup a few years ago..

“You smell good..” he said into your shoulder. 

You scoffed. “I smell like work”

He stayed there with his head forced into the crook of your neck. 

“I’m sorry for asking that, I just let my imagination get the best of me..” 

You hummed in response still a little annoyed but you felt bad for hitting him, you had reacted without thinking 

“Lemme make it up to you” he said muffled by your skin. “Stop the stove and I’ll give you a massage, I can feel how tense you are.” 

You sighed. Maybe he was right. You didn’t want to be a dick to coop when he came home too. Plus with his huge hands, he gave the best massages. You turned the dial, moving the pot off the stove. 

“Go lay on my bed, you can take your shirt off, I’ll wait” he told you.

You obeyed his orders going to his room and pressing your bare chest to the sheets. While you waited you looked around. His room was messy. It was always cluttered. Knickknacks covered the shelves and there was dirty laundry on the floor. 

Remer came in a few moments later with a bottle of lotion.

“MmKay just relax” he said squirting some into his hands.

You pressed your face into the mattress as his hands got to work. It felt so good. Remer was so good at finding all the tense knots and working them out. 

“Mmm” you hummed into the mattress.

“Feel good?” He asked his hands gliding over your skin.

You nodded and he chuckled in response.

You let out a soft moan as he worked out a knot in your upper shoulder.

“Doug, how’re you so good at this” you sighed into the sheets. 

You could feel his hot breath on your ear as he leaned down. “I’m just good with my hands” you could sense his grin even though you couldn’t see his face. 

“Is that so?” 

“Mhm, but you wanna know what I’m even better with?” He asked his hot breath in your ear.

“What’s that” you turned your head to the side to look at him. There was that gapped tooth grin. 

“My mouth” 

You grinned a little shaking your head. 

“Wanna see?” 

Your body stiffened a little as your heart started to pick up its pace. Last time something intimate happened like this between you two you were both shit faced drunk. Without alcohol in your system your heart beat rapidly against your rib cage like it was trying to break out.

He lowered his lips to your shoulder and started leaving hot open mouthed kisses on your skin. 

“Doug” you started to protest.

He ghosted his lips against your shoulder until he reached your neck, kissing at the sensitive skin. 

You shivered at the feeling, nipples starting to harden.

“Doesn’t it feel good?” He hummed against your skin. 

You didn’t respond, trying to focus on something other than his mouth exploring your body.

He took that as an invitation to keep going. Open mouthed kisses soon turned into sucking and nipping at the sensitive skin.  You lifted your neck and in the process causing your sensitive buds to rub against the rough sheets. 

You let out a soft whine trying to muffle it with the mattress.

He tsked “don’t be embarrassed now” 

His attacks against your neck became harsher and before you knew it you were turning around to face him.

He looked down at your bare chest “well hello there” he smirked. 

“Doug..” you weren’t sure if it was a rebuff or a plead for more.

He gave you a goofy grin before wrapping his arms around your lower back pulling you closer as he attacked your neck again.

You tilted your head back giving him more room to work with. He trailed hot kisses down your collar bones, occasionally lingering to suck deep purple marks into your skin, until he reached your chest. When he got to your breasts he took a nipple in his mouth sucking softly. 

Your hand shot up to tangle itself in his mess of curls as he started to roll the bud between his tongue.

“Doug..” your breath hitched as you tugged softly. 

He hummed against the skin, the feeling going straight to your core. 

You used your hand in his hair to guide his mouth around your breast. The coolness of his glasses pressing into your chest as you pushed his face further in. 

“God..” you breathed out softly. 

He let his teeth graze over or causing you to whine. 

He lifted his head coming up to meet your eyes.

“I told you I’m good with my mouth” he said leaning in closer.

“Y-you’re not bad” you responded trying to blow the situation off. 

“I could show you more if you want, that was just the beginning.” he offered a smirk on his face. 

“Yeah?” 

“Mhm” he nodded his curls bouncing as he glanced down at your lips. 

You leaned forward going to meet his. 

“You couldn’t begin to fathom the kind of pleasure my mouth brings” You could feel his hot Breath on your face as he spoke, his eyes half lidded.

“Who’s making pasta?” A voice called from the other room.

You jumped back from Remer, and rushed to grab your shirt. 

“Shit Coops home” you stood up shrugging your shirt on, completely forgetting about your bra lying on Remers messy floor. 

“Awe c’monnnn” Remer groaned throwing his head back. 

“Remer I’m not letting Joe catch us, the last thing I wanna do is make him uncomfortable.” you said heading for the door.

“God well leaving me like this is uncomfortable..Fucking cockblock” he muttered under his breath. 

He watched you leave the room as he cursed to himself tucking himself in his waistband going out to join you and Coop. 

He took a mental note to flush the toilet the next time Joe was taking a shower. 

——————

Pt. 2 here

[trashytoastboi]

Could I request a pregnancy and parental headcannon for killer I loved your others and killer is one of my favorite. I love your writing!😍😍

Heyya! Of course bean ^^ so sorry for the late reply and long wait, hope you enjoy~

Headcanons: Killer x F! S/O - Pregnancy and Parental 

(Female pronouns) 

Killer

Pregnancy

🍜 Honestly, probably some of the most unexpected pieces of news Killer ever anticipated on hearing. He had been preoccupied with survival and grandeur dreams of elevating Kid to be the pirate king. While navigating the craziness that was the grandline and the new world. So hearing {Name} tell him the news of her pregnancy was very unexpected. She waited, hoping to find an opportune moment but one never arised, so in perhaps a little more casual manner than she wanted, she delivered the news over sharing a bowl of pasta.

🍜 Well after the initial choking on his noodles, Killer had to take a moment. He gathered his thoughts, being the worry wart he weighed the pros and cons of the news. {Name} knew Killer, so his outright lack of a reaction was expected but still anxiety inducing nevertheless. “Are you sure?” Was Killer’s first words, {Name} confirmed once again and explained being checked three times by different doctors who all confirmed the news. Truth be told, Killer felt so out of depth but still he concealed a smile beneath his mask. 

🍜 Killer is the pique of information, he knows every good food, bad food, and expected symptom. Everything, in fact he was so involved that he developed morning sickness. The condition is better known as sympathetic pregnancy. Killer becomes a bit overbearing and tries to restrict {Name’s} contact with anything dangerous and begins to think in extremities. {Name} does calm him down, explaining that all that information is very vital and his concern is valid, but she knows her body as well. Sometimes all it took was placing his hand on her stomach to feel those over energetic kicks to really calm him down. 

🍜If he could, he would literally carry her everywhere. {Name} refuses, but Killer still offers all the time. To make up for this Killer does frequently insist on giving {Name} foot massages, knowing that her feet will hurt after too much walking and standing. The rest of the crew also got a tad annoyed by Killer’s baby proofing of literally everything on the ship. Or accidentally neglecting duties because he is too distracted reading all those parenting books. 

🍜Had roped Kid into preparing a whole bunch of stuff like toys, a crib and even a mobile. The crew honestly got so excited thanks to Killer that there was a silent war over who would be named the official godfather. Though Killer had already dubbed them all the uncles. Killer also grew insanely adept at sewing because he made a majority of {Name’s} maternity clothes and some babygrows, one in just about every colour. 

Parental 

🍜 Killer had been imagining the moment when he would first see and meet his child. He never knew what he would feel, or how he would react. Newborns admittedly looked a little uglier than he expected. He couldn’t fathom how such a tiny and fragile human existed. Killer never once sat and thought about how everyone started as babies, it’s not one of those things he thinks about but seeing his child and just how tiny they were, they could practically fit in the palm of his hand. 

🍜 So hesitant and afraid to hold the tiny baby. Takes a lot of encouragement and reassurance from {Name} before Killer feels secure enough to hold his child for the first time. He remembers being nervous, but also excited. The soft bundle of warmth that made some weird noises while remaining fast asleep in his arms. Much like {Name} the process of learning to be a parent was an arduous one, Killer was more afraid of accidentally hurting them than anything. 

🍜 10/10 Killer would do anything for this tiny human, no questions asked. The feelings of being a parent was not just the anxiety, the questions of if he was doing it well or even regretting mistakes where he could have handled it differently. It was an inexplicable and sometimes overwhelming feeling of love and joy even from the most mundane things. Looking forward to seeing them grow but at the same time being sad about it, a bittersweet feeling. 

🍜 In terms of how Killer tries to shape his parenting is a little on the strict side. He explains the best he can, to a level that could be understood by a child for the rules he enforces. He is permissive at times when it can be afforded and does indulge and encourage curiosity unless it something that could be detrimental or dangerous for them. On some things he is immovable and stubborn. A fair example was when he put his foot down, not allowing his babybean to eat too many sweets in fear of them getting stomach aches or cavities. Killer was devastated when they said that they hated him though. 

🍜 Before making any big decisions or needing some form of council he always fell to {Name’s] wisdom, she always explained things in a different way or could see things differently. Sometimes he didn’t know if he was doing this whole dad thing right, he felt insecure in himself despite always trying his best. He knew that sometimes his intentions couldn’t easily be conveyed or could be misunderstood. Killer truly wants the best for babybean, and constantly tries to work to achieve that.

[aleksanderscult]

In your post about the Darkling where you listed your opinions of him (first impression, impression now, favorite vs least favorite thing, etc) you said how if you had to choose a least favorite quality it would be his grumpiness (especially in RoW). Since I refuse to touch that cursed duology if it’s okay, may you explain what you mean? I know we get some of the Darkling’s POV but that’s pretty much all I know. Could this entire trait of his be a product of Bardugo’s retconning habit or is it something more?

Aha. I see you're practicing self-care too, dear anon. 😌

Here are some examples:

From his POVs we can see that Aleksander is very pragmatic but also bad-tempered and bitter but that's completely understandable.

He has just been resurrected and:

1) Encountered a Saint that he detests.

2) Found his country to be in the worst state possible. Flanked by enemies and ready to attack.

3) Oh and let's not forget that devastating blight! ☝️

4) His captors have treated him like shit and put him under inhuman conditions.

5) Saw the woman he loved live a life that she doesn't deserve, being a shell of her former self and married to a man that he hates and considers worthless.

6) He's all alone. No Baghra, no Alina, no allies, no soldiers. He has to start from all over and has found himself surrounded by idiots (but even so he feels the need to protect them).

The fact that I find his grumpiness kinda annoying is because I as a person have been surrounded by grumpy people all my life so I can't help but find it unattractive and bothersome.

But then again, Aleksander has a really valid reason for being this way. It's very possible that he took this sarcastic attitude from his mother. After all, they had spent so many years together that Aleksander really adopted most of her traits, unwillingly or not. But I also believe he's that way because he has lived for too long.

He's immortal. He has done everything and seen everything, has seen people being kind and cruel, predictable or unpredictable. His experiences have only made him more bitter but that's also because he hasn't seen any positive changes or results from his constant battle against the persecution or how Ravka and the Grisha have no regard for him or don't notice his efforts at all.

Anyway, he's bitter about many things. In RoW he's that way for the reasons I explained in the beginning but, as a whole, he's resentful for a bunch of reasons that include his immortality and its consequences, the loss of people he loved, his strive to be seen and appreciated and the horrors he has witnessed.

[everydayyoulovemeless]

FNV Companions (+Yes Man and Benny) Reactions To Being Taken To The Sierra Madre

➼ Word Count » 0.9k ➼ Warnings » Dead Money spoilers ➼ Genre » Platonic/Romantic

Boone hates it there. All the bomb collars remind him of what the Legion did to his wife and he hates the way his hands start shaking because of it. Out of all the places you could've gone and this is where you decide? He'll be on edge the entire time, aiming whatever gun he managed to find at anything that moves. He refuses to die in a dump like this, and, as much as he blames you for taking him here, he's not gonna let you die on him. Not like this, at least. Boone genuinely hates everyone there and, if you asked him, he'd say that you both should just kill them all and leave. The mutant disgusts him, he doesn't trust anything Dean tells him, and Christine's in the Brotherhood. He couldn't care less about the gold bars, by the end of it, he just wants to get back to the Mojave as soon as possible and forget any of it ever happened.

Rex gets really confused when he can’t touch the holograms and is really scared when they start attacking him. He's helpful against the ghosts but he has a habit of running straight into areas that set off the collars. Not much changes with him beside him being a little more frightened and jumpy than usual.

Arcade starts to panic a bit at the beginning, the whole situation makes him nervous. He gets along surprisingly well with the other companions, he helps Dog/God out with his condition, matches Dean's snarkiness, and can even decipher Christine’s movements relatively well. Besides a few minor clashes with Dean, you could probably save all three of them, Arcade makes it pretty simple and his skills in medicine make him incredibly useful to have along.

Lily isn’t too excited about it. Leo is especially strong here and she can feel his urge to go maul Elijah. Although, she and Dog/God get along well enough due to their similarities. If she has any to spare, she’ll offer some of her medication to help him out a bit. She’ll end up adopting him, but having two mutants back you up was extremely helpful as you wandered the Villa and, eventually, the casino.

Cass hates Dean the second she meets him. She’s met people like him before and gets super defensive over you because of it. She’ll constantly be arguing with him and he’ll 100% try to kill you guys once you make it to the casino. She’s honestly just so annoyed the entire time, she hates being controlled and will kill Elijah the first chance she gets. (She’d also help you grab all those gold bars, ain’t no way she’s leaving empty-handed after everything you’ve had to deal with).

You can’t bring ED-E here, his radio frequencies cause the collars to go off.

The entire place reminds Raul about what happened in Mexico. He's scared and angry and just wants to ensure you both make it out of there. He's really good at picking up on the multitude of traps that have been laid around the Villa and is especially good at scavenging for supplies. He'll honestly help so much with keeping the both of you alive. He just wants to leave after it all, anything in the Mojave is better than this.

When you wake up, Veronica won’t even be there. Elijah would’ve had Dog take her to wherever he is so that she wouldn’t have to experience any of it. She’d ask a bunch of questions about where you went and why she's there, enough so that he ends up releasing you. She’s gonna feel so betrayed, especially when she discovers Christine is being held here as well. She’d reluctantly kill Elijah at the end, not wanting any of the gold or tech you both came here to collect in the first place, she just wouldn’t be in the mood for it anymore.

Yes Man’s positivity is a drastic difference compared to your harsh surroundings. He tries to get along with the others but his passive aggression makes it hard. He’s not all too worried since he can’t die, so he takes it upon himself to defend you at any cost. If you decide to kill Elijah, Yes Man will take control of the hologram monitor thing and you’ll both end up taking ownership of the Sierra Madre by the end.

At first, Benny sees it as an economic opportunity then gets really pissed when they take his suit. Especially since he's forced to wear these dirty rags now. In the beginning, he and Dean would get along well enough with their shared opportunistic personalities, but over time they start to clash. Dean gets very insecure around Benny and will try to kill him when he's not looking so that there's less competition for him to deal with. Once the two of you make it to the casinos, he'll just want to sit and gamble. He's so desperate to finally catch a break in this place and poker is something so familiar to him, that he almost gets nostalgic for The Tops. The two of you will end up sitting there for way longer than you probably should have and Dog ends up about one step away from setting the place on fire. You both also spend way too much time in the vault trying to decide how to successfully take everything back with you. Most of the others assumed you guys had already died, but once you agree on what either one of you should take, you sprint out of there, not even worried about killing Elijah anymore, you’re both too caught up in the fact that you successfully pulled off the greatest heist in America.

[post-maester]

I bought a pretty circlet today. My husband says it makes me look like an elf :)) I love it!

I also bought a Jester's cap. It is Black&White and has annoying bells and I will be wearing it to Dungeons & Dragons sessions!

Been reading a book over the last few days called 'How To Think Like A Woman' by Regan Penaluna. I've never been so inspired and also angered by someone else's writing before. I feel so inspired by Penaluna's writing and memoir, as well as the stories of the women she's recounted so far as I've read. What upsets me is how blind I've been to 2000+ years of nearly every major philosopher you've ever heard of being a massively misogynistic prick, and how that's affected civilization as a whole. No matter how much good they may have done for philosophy, politics, etc, what's been hidden from history classes are their vitriol-saturated opinions of women. Despite being hidden from modern eyes in order to keep the good moral image of these philosophers in proper condition, they still had massive impacts on the culture of their day and decades or centuries into their future. For my whole life I had this kind of blasé attitude to Philosphy like it was just a bunch of dudes theorizing about the nature of life, and while it is that (simplified), it is also very dangerous because these philosophers (VERY OFTEN MALE) would hold wide influence over many and their ideas became the basis for communities and civilization moving forward. Their grand plans for humanity and their ideals that humanity should strive for were really only meant to prop up the egos of men, and to keep women subservient.

One of the things that stuck with me and bothered me most was this notion that seemed to be a commonality between many of these "great thinkers", which was - "It is virtuous for a woman to be silent, but not for a man, a man should always speak his mind."

That one kinda killed me a bit. To shared that near carbon-copied sentiment over the course of centuries, misogynist philosopher begeting misogynist philosopher for 2 millenia and some change. It kills me a bit inside. It makes me angry.

What does it mean to become radicalized?

[blackjackkent]

OK, time for another boss battle report, Cazador Szarr edition. This one got pretty elaborate. XD

Opening state of play:

Enemy list is Cazador plus two ghasts (labeled "Fallen Gur Hunter," upsettingly), four werewolves, a skeleton named "Chatterteeth," and six bats. The bats have one hit point each but I'm making no assumptions at this point.

Cazador starts out with seven stacks of a buff called "Ritual Sources" - corresponding to the seven spawn currently being held in magical fields around the arena - which gives him 70 temp HP, 7m extra movement speed, and extra necrotic damage. He also gets an individual unique buff for three of the spawn (For "Yousen", he gets an extra 2-16 hitpoint regain every turn, for "Violet" he gets a +5 to AC, and for Astarion himself, he gets an extra bonus action.)

All of this also means we are shorthanded by one person because Astarion is currently being used as a power socket. (On the bright side, despite the cutscene, he still has all his armor and stuff on, so maybe we can get him back into the fight and let him get the killing blow.)

Cazador can apparently use Call Lightning for ten turns without using a spell slot, with which he immediately beats the shit out of Jaheira on his first turn.

He can turn into vampire mist and run around the arena which makes him immune to non-magical damage. "This status is removed by sunlight," says the description of the form. Well, this at least is good news, because guess what Jaheira has:

The spawns themselves all have a "sacrificial lamb" condition which states: "If Cazador draws power from all the spawns bound this way three times, he will ascend." So we're on something of a time limit.

By the way Cazador has 270 hit points, including the 70 temp HP he's getting from the spawns. O.O;

We do get a bit of a hint to kick things off.

"Those runes," Karlach says. "Cazzy's using them to suck the power right out of those poor fuckers."

"If we can reach the glowing sigils, maybe we can redirect that power from him to us," says Hector.

First of all, I love that Karlach calls him "Cazzy". Second, I can't imagine Hector is much more thrilled about taking that power for himself, even temporarily, than he is about Cazador getting it, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I think our top priority here is as follows:

a) Get everyone onto one of those sigils (ideally Astarion's? maybe we can get him back into the fight?) to start disrupting Cazador's power sources. b) Get Daylight cast on as much of the arena as possible. c) ????? we'll figure it out from there.

Let's go.

-----

Combat report:

Getting Karlach onto one of the sigils on her first turn passed one of the "Ritual Sources" buffs from Cazador onto her, so that seems like a good start. The problem here, though, is that stepping back OFF the sigil immediately gives the buff back to Cazador. So the utility here seems a bit limited since most of our squad is kinda up close and personal.

Not entirely clear on whether I am supposed to be trying to kill the non-Astarion spawn, although that does seem like it would certainly remove the buff more permanently. They're basically resistant to everything so it doesn't seem like a GREAT use of our time, but options feel really limited.

The ghasts are surprisingly annoying as they all run straight at Hector and cast Stench to make him nauseous, meaning he can't take actions. He's so powerful tho that he kills one of the werewolves with bonus actions alone.

Karlach meanwhile gets surrounded by all five bats and bit a whole bunch and Jaheira gets downed by the second round of Call Lightning. This is off to a great start.

The one spore zombie that was still following Jaheira around from the fight earlier misses every single one of its attacks in this fight, bless its heart.

Hector manages to take out all the ghasts by turn three but is now the only good guy conscious on the field as Karlach has gotten bitten into unconsciousness. More bats have spawned at the start of the round. Cazador has managed to avoid starting his turn in the Daylight spell repeatedly so he has not yet taken any damage from it yet. All the bats have now come over to surround Hector instead. This is going terribly.

DISCOVERY: When Jaheira's spore zombie kills something (in this case, a bat) it turns into a new friendly spore zombie! That's nice! Everything else, however, is terrible.

At this point, Cazador ascends. All of the spawns, including Astarion, explode into a giant pile of wet meat. Astarion's personal quest is marked complete. I sigh, very heavily, and reload. Yeesh.

Attempt 2!

I feel like there's a trick here that I'm missing, but the second pass does start off much more optimistically; Hector and Karlach are able to take out all three ghouls immediately and Jaheira gets Daylight up again.

Once again Jaheira gets wrecked at the top of the second round when Cazador gets his next turn. She really is squishy as fuck and I am not sure why I suck so badly at playing her. :( I love you, Jaheira, I'm sorry I keep getting you killed.

Eventually I got frustrated and sent Hector over to just whale on Cazador, and he's such a battering ram that he did manage to get him all the way down to 100HP. However, it was on turn 3 and so Cazador promptly got up afterwards and turned everyone into marinara sauce.

Realistically, Hector and Karlach are powerful enough between them that I'm pretty sure we can cheese this fight but just going straight to Cazador on turn 1 and beating the shit out of him; however, I would kind of like to figure out how to do this fight the "correct" way. Reload.

Attempt 3!

New strategy - what if we ignore all the enemies and just run all three of us onto three of the sigils immediately? (Specifically, the three sigils for the spawn that are giving him extra buffs. Unfortunately, they're of course the ones furthest away from us but we have dash actions for a reason.)

With this in mind, backing up an extra save and doing some pre-work. Jaheira gets the Misty Step amulet back, ritually casts Longstrider on everyone which will give them extra movement speed until long rest, and precasts Conjure Elemental, Conjure Woodland Being to get more bodies on the field, and Heroes Feast too, why not (immunity to the Stench poison for one thing), then casts Protection from Energy on herself to help offset the fucking Call Lightning that's wrecking us right out of the gate.

While I'm doing this, @ryssabrin comes in clutch with some advice in the replies in my previous post, pointing out that we can use the Help action on Astarion to pull him out of the ritual and back into the fight. "cazador will focus fire on him but he won't do the ritual." This is HUGE because that three-turn limit was what was really fucking things up.

So that's our new priority. Jaheira and Karlach go to stand on two of the sigils, and Hector books it towards Astarion to free him. Ryssabrin also pointed out the utility of Sanctuary in this case - presumably to put on Astarion if Cazzy is gonna focus fire him - so I have Hector load that up too, and cast Protection from Evil and Good on himself.

Heroes Feast is fun. It also gives us a big hamper of camp supplies in addition to all the buffs. Please fill in your own joke:

Mad prep, let's go:

OK let's give this another try. I'm not scared, what are you talking about.

In addition to all the buffs, we also luck out here somewhat in that on this run, all three of the team get top initiative (second only to Cazador himself). Jaheira's concentration on Protection from Energy gets broken INSTANTLY but she does take less damage than she did previously.

Jaheira misty steps onto Yousen's sigil, stealing Cazador's per-turn heal and one of his ritual stacks (and casts Daylight). Karlach goes to Violet's sigil and steals Cazador's extra AC and another ritual stack (and rages for extra DR). Hector as planned beelines straight for Astarion, Help-actions him into the fight, casts Sanctuary on him, and barrels towards one of the other sigils. Cazador is now down to four buff stacks and no special buffs, and cannot ascend. QUICKSAVE.

"YOU ARE GOING TO SUFFER FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID TO ME!" Astarion bellows, and then I have him stand absolutely still and not do anything, because he can't be targeted by attacks in Sanctuary but only while he doesn't attack anything. I like to think he is debuffing Cazador with the pure power of his ANGRY GLARE, though.

Jaheira once again gets fucking trounced immediately but at least her unconscious body is on top of the sigil so it's still debuffing Cazador.

Round 2 - Cazador's out of mist form and I could keep Hector on the sigil removing the extra stack from him - but realistically the dangerous ones were the two that Jaheira and Karlach are on. Hector is best served barreling straight at Cazador and battering ram smacking the shit out of him. So that is what he does. For a total of [does quick math] 183 DAMAGE! :D Cazador lost Call Lightning concentration too. Big moves from Team Juggernaut and this is all looking much more manageable. (For insult to injury he still had enough movement left to go and stand on the nearby sigil again too. XD )

Karlach hurled two separate health potions at Jaheira, using up both of her actions, and neither of them did anything useful for some reason. Very annoying. So now I just sit here while the 513451345 enemies on the field take their turns and hope for the best.

Time for some roleplay choices. Cazador is down to 65 HP and still prone, which means Astarion can get a sneak atack on him. So I make the executive decision to SCREW SANCTUARY because Astarion needs this killing blow.

Jaheira dies. Again. And, again, from a story perspective, we are pretending this didn't happen. XD

Round 3 - Cazador once again mists up, so I spend Hector and Karlach's turns taking out some of the adds. Astarion tries to take a stab at the mist form just to see if it works. It doesn't.

Round 4 - Hector flattens Cazador down to 13HP and positions himself to give Astarion sneak attack. Karlach stares menacingly at everyone...

And Astarion gets the killing blow.

And then we killed the 113451324 bats that had spawned during this whole process. Victory!

[beedlemania]

this week has been really exhausting and i’m just stuck all sad at my house 😭 could you spare any thoughts about lil davy’s before-bedtime routine? I need cute sleepy monkee stuff <3

Of course!!

Davy’s bedtime routine can go one of two ways; either he’s super calm and sleepy and ready for bed or the exact opposite.

Davy’s bedtime is a whole production so usually Mike will give an allowance of an hour to get Davy down to sleep. He has to give Davy a warning to finish up whatever he’s doing, which will always be met with a protest. Davy always claims he’s “not tired!” even if he’s falling asleep on the spot. Micky has the job of taking Davy down to the beach if he’s still full of energy and chasing him around until he’s good and worn out. The only issue Mike has with this is it usually means Davy needs a bath before bed.

Mike usually tries to fit Davy’s bath in in the morning but sometimes it has to happen at night. Mike will make it as warm as possible in the hopes it lulls Davy to sleep. Mike will wash him then leave him alone for a while to play with the bath toys and usually by the time he comes to get him out, Davy’s eyes are all droopy.

Mike helps Davy into his pjs after. If he doesn’t need a bath, mike will put him in his pjs long before bedtime and that a signal to everyone that they’re not allowed get Davy worked up. It also makes it easier later on when Davy’s too tired to lift his arms.

Davys favourite part of bedtime is when Peter pampers him. Peter will give him lots of cuddles and brush out his hair and either Peter or Mike will help him brush his teeth. Peter will wash Davy’s face gently with a wash cloth and make sure he’s nice and clean and relaxed. When it’s hotter outside, Peter will braid Davy’s hair back so it wont annoy him or make him too hot when he’s sleeping.

Bedtime of course means bedtime stories! If Davy still has a bunch of energy, Micky will come in and act out a story for him and make it super exciting to wear out his brain. If he’s already nodding off, Mike will get in bed with him and read him a story calmly. Davy always falls asleep before the end because Mike’s so warm and cozy.

In the summer, it’s a lot harder to get Davy to sleep. He refuses to sleep if the sun is still up and it makes him feel restless in bed. The summer always means Davy will be put to bed then reappear every ten minutes. He also finds it hard to sleep because of the heat (hes from England, hes not used to it). When they can afford the electricity bill, they’ll fill the downstairs bedroom with fans and air conditioning for him. The heat makes Davy cranky at night time and he often asks mike to tell the sun to go away.

If its not too hot, Peter will sometimes get into bed with Davy and hold him for the night. It comforts the both of them and will stop Davy from falling out of the bed. Peter always has bruises on his shins because Davy kicks in his sleep.

[anomalys-bane]

I dunno if it's appropriate or not but... One of your replies about how so called feminists, even in radfem spaces, are unable to be critical of women romanticizing/sexualizing female subjugation through fanfics and books aimed to a female audience did a thing on me lol It was so brilliantly written and you was able to touch the main topic so well: that the books and fanfics who glorify female subjugation, even though not comparable to let say, porn, it's still an issue? A lot of girls read hardcore bdsm even after getting proper sexual education and these kind of stories actually HELP to condition them to embrace female submissiveness as an integral part of real sexual pleasure. All that BEFORE they understand what sex is.

Like you, I also got really disappointed with some replies not only normalizing such issue but ACTUALLY DOWNPLAYING THEM. Things like “actually women don't really write about sex*al ab*se so often” and whenever I see these arguments, I know so well those women have no idea how badly the whole thing is. Unfortunately, the biggest advocate of things like bdsm online ARE WOMEN and even young girls are deeply into that. I'm both a reader and a writer and I get genuinely shocked with the book most women and young women read: a bunch of crappy stories were women is nothing but an object that men possess. But wait, we shouldn't talk about it because it's just women exploring “dark themes”, it has nothing to do with the male supremacy structure we live on. And as someone who genuinely enjoy dark themes, that's so annoying how the genre is used as a cheap excuse to romanticizing women's subjugation...

Both men and women live in a male supremacist world, and the way this structure was built would have been IMPOSSIBLE without women upholding their own dehumanization. That's a basic feminist analysis. So, why some women get so defensive when fiction written by women replicate the same old misogyny? Because they aren't definitely helping women to embrace sexuality in a healthier way, they are just accepting that the misogynistic version of sex is sex itself. And shouldn't feminists be critical of it? And then, these women pretend they don't understand why so many women fight against their own interests irl... 💀

this isn't inappropriate at all!! actually pls message me or smth cuz literally no one else sees it the way we do 😭🙏

i feel like there are a few main responses:

1. women are already so controlled and criticized they should be able to write and read what they want, besides its just fiction and fantasy and. no one's stopping that though, and a niche radical feminist criticism of tropes isn't gonna take down ao3. this is such a choice feminism answer, and i'd understand if normie feminists were saying this but radfems? our whole thing is analyzing, dissecting and reconstruction of patriarchal structures which are seen everywhere, includes relatively benign actions as well as greater harmful structures. i don't get why fiction made by women for women suddenly becomes exempt from our analyses and reconstruction, or our deep sexual desires. 2. women are just consciously exploring and interacting with patriarchal dynamics in a safe space, which is a very common justification for bdsm and shit, again, at best it doesn't help us as a whole from a radical feminist perspective and at worst it pulls us down deeper into the system we're criticizing. its rather shocking to see radfems advocate for this without also encouraging breaking out of it. and also 3. real life men are never as good as book men (💀men in books be ~sexily~ violating the geneva conventions on the daily).

and idk its like, some radfems encourage this but don't know how bad it actually is out there, like 'men in romance books are so thoughtful and kind and real men are pissed off about it' and a great deal of the popular romance/smut/fanfics if not most have abusive and controlling tropes and its treated as something completely normal, fun, and sexy. and we can say that 'just because they consume it in fiction doesn't mean they want it irl' and, you'd NEVERR say that if a man was consuming that shit, we'd rightfully feel suspicious and uncomfortable. men consume far worse shit that causes tangible harm and push that harm outwards, but consuming the written form of that shit made by women for women isn't the best option, and the taking of harm inwards instead is not the healthier option either. we know the harms of even passively consuming content. we know how it inadvertently reinforces misogynistic structures. we criticize it everywhere else in media except when women make it for women, as if its suddenly cleansed of all underlying misogyny and harmful models.

this isn't to say STOP consuming and making all unfeminist media, as many will take it to mean. its to say, we NEED better models for sex and sexuality and sex in fiction, and for that we have to change what we consume and make, not just for yourself but for all women. and radfems understand that reconditioning ourselves out of female socialization in incredibly important to us. this includes reinventing female sexuality under patriarchy. this includes questioning and analyzing the basis for deep sexual desires and reconditioning ourselves into better models. and it is nott easy, especially with how deeply wired sexuality is, and i know very well what its like because i'm struggling with it too. its all very complicated and difficult but if we don't question and analyze and reinvent how do we even call ourselves radfems?? or even just feminists??

[randomidiocyncrazies]

still obsessing over 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim... i think the game is really good at leaving just enough blank space for you to imagine what could've happened, but establishing enough that you have the core components of how things tie together. I think about the characters and the silly scenarios I can put them in a lot tbh...

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE GAME!!

a whole bunch of silly nonsense coming UPPPPP ATCHA

(i'm not joking this is a lot of dumb yapping)

(about dumbass scenarios i personally find interesting)

(okay? okay.)

so, I think it would be really funny if Miura finds the logs of 2188 Miura gushing over how *~absolutely awesome~* it'd be to live during WWII, and has to come to terms with his genetic predecessor's rose-tinted glasses about the conditions he and his friends lived through in the simulation. (because "wowee I sure would love to live in Japan during WWII with the firebombs and fascist regime and starvation :D :D :D think of how the war shaped our technology" would probably hit very differently for people who actually had to live in those conditions. not that any of the characters really reflect on that part of their history but. you know.)

other fun scenarios involving the kids finding logs of the 2188 crew after waking up on RS13-alpha:

1) Okino finally seeing the log that Hijiyama saw, confirming 2188 Okino was copying code from a kaiju survival sim of all things for UC; being both annoyed at the extra work he had to do to save their asses thanks to 2188 Okino leaving enough traces of the kaiju sim code to be hijacked, and admitting that they'd have done the exact same thing in their genetic predecessor's shoes (and also being jealous of the relationship 2188 Okino had with 2188 Hijiyama, since his Hijiyama-kun still raises a fuss about holding hands)

2) Iori finding out that she's genetically the mom of this kid who's the same age as her and who she never actually met until everything was over (iirc Iori and Okino never actually crossed paths in the sim, with the only time they interacted being in Nenji's mindscape, before waking up in the real world)

on a similar note, Tamao Kurabe reacting to having a grandson who is her age and also not actually related to her at all could be kinda bittersweet—like, we see people end up in romantic relationships with fellow compatibles, but what if someone had an NPC sweetheart, y'know? Does Tamao wonder what sort of guy she might've married if they weren't 15 kids living in a simulation? is she curious about how this nice kid who is kind of meek but apparently fights like a monster ended up as her grandson? does she feel cheated that she never got to know him in the sim?

3) the kids finding out that there are other probes from Prof. Morimura and Takamiya's log, and piecing together that the clones in the other probes are trapped in a never ending cycle of death and birth—after all, they were only able to break the loop due to some crazy coincidences and careful planning by the people from previous loops. statistically i think it's possible that there are other survivors, though it'd be a tiny fraction of the total amount of probes sent out.

however, it would be really funny if the RS13-alpha crew isn't actually the first group to break out, and they get an interstellar message from the descendants of another group of clones after settling on RS13-alpha for a while. learning about the other group's completely different approach to break out of the simulation and the baffling interpersonal relationships they had with each other could be fun (like. what do you mean Ida and Okino had a soap opera trashfire love affair. wdym Nenji is Juro's most loyal follower. wdym Tamao tried to kill Chihiro multiple times. wdym Gouto is Natsuno's brother. wdym Hijiyama landed both Megumi and Ei. and so on...) the beauty of infinite possibilities is that I can come up with total crack and try to make it work

((brief breakdown of the above proposed connections, because I can't resist making up bullshit about AUs:

in the game, Shu thinks Okino (in their female uniform) is a "cutie" and Okino is visibly pleased at Shu's compliment—this suggests that they both find each other attractive on a physical level, and given Shu's reaction to Iori thinking he was dating Juro, I don't think it's out of the question that he could be bi. It's also not a huge stretch that Ida and Okino, both being brainy and comfortable with tech, could be working together under different circumstances—hell, current loop Okino worked with -1 Ida to put the Sentinels together in the game; it's very possible there's some world where they are colleagues in the same age/loop.

As for the relationship kiiiiinda being a trashfire, we see the worst iterations of Ida being obsessive/possessive towards his love interests and has a hard time taking no for an answer while manipulating others with their feelings for him, and Okino seems like the kind of person who intentionally distances themself from having a genuine 'in the moment' emotional reaction (not to say he can't get emotional, but they tend to prioritize a logical or a teasing response from what we've seen, especially in emotionally vulnerable situations) and can also be manipulative with using other people's feelings for them. both Okino and ida also seem reluctant to give up control. imo their relationship is fantastic when they get along/have a common target, but when they're on the outs it gets downright vicious.

Nenji being Juro's underling is mostly just there because I think it's funny based on the versions we know, but I can see Izumi saving Nenji or someone Nenji cares about, and Nenji deciding to repay the favor while thinking Izumi is the coolest guy ever. From the bits we see of Izumi in the game, he (and 426) seemed very determined to see things through, and isn't afraid to take action at great personal cost. It's not hard to imagine Izumi being a big damn hero to Nenji. also I think Nenji might end up with Yuki in this version of events? idk

ngl Tamao trying to kill Chihiro is there because I think it's a shocking scenario. it'd take quite a lot for Tamao to actively try killing someone, so I think Tamao is manipulated by someone from the previous loop and acting under the assumption that Chihiro is responsible to the kaiju attacks/the mass disappearance of everyone. Chihiro is probably a pawn of the opposite faction that Tamao is working for, and eventually the two work out that the anti-kaiju force composed of remnants from the previous loop aren't necessarily working in their best interests, and team up to find a way to get out of this alive.

Gouto and Natsuno being siblings is mostly because I wonder what it'd be like if two compatibles were raised as siblings, and they had very little interaction in the game so it's uncharted territory (and I can do whatever I want). perhaps a Gouto from a previous loop placed his current loop self into the care of the Minamis in order to easily keep an eye on both compatibles? they are probably raised to think they're twins, and kind of goes through a "we've always been together but now we're starting to lead different lives" coming of age plot in addition to whatever else is going on in their respective routes. I think it'd be kind of funny if the revelation that Gouto is actually a few months older than Natsuno is a huge twist in one of their stories, though I think Natsuno would be genuinely upset that it was a lie, and while Gouto isn't necessarily surprised, he finds himself more affected by the revelation than he'd thought.

like the Nenji thing, Mr. Himbo landing both Megumi and Ei is mostly just because i think it'd be funny. But I can see why Megumi could fall for him, since Hijiyama is pretty protective and courteous towards girls, and she used to dream about getting swept off her feet by prince charming. I can imagine him being very sweet and sincere with her, and I think she'd find his old-fashioned mannerisms charming.

As for Ei, I think it could work if Hijiyama is the person who consistently demands him to do better and strive to be his best self—the Ei we know "hates [him]self," and if this tendency carried over to another clone, I think having someone who isn't blind to his shortcomings but also sees him as more than the sum of his flaws and challenges him to be better with the full sincere belief he could do it would be important to Ei.

I think Megumi and Ei also appreciate each other: Ei is very cool and capable with that 'lone wolf with a soft center' energy, which i think would appeal to Megumi, while Megumi has a core of steel and is willing to stand her ground+fight when push comes to shove, which I think Ei admires and respects.

Takatoshi meanwhile is sort of in the dark about both of them liking him and is in denial about being in love with them both, especially Sekigahara, who is a very handsome and dependable man. Eventually Megumi and Ei team up to get their oblivious guy since Hijiyama keeps on not making any moves.))

[nikatyler]

Zeph: Honour Run

Uhhhh I got distracted

You know how I was confused why Empy hasn't tried to hit on Zeph yet? Yeah, that was because I hadn't explored his old hideout yet.

Zeph kindly declined (but couldn't hide their disgust, oops), and I was surprised how chill Empy actually was about it.

They actually would, Ethel 😅

Believe it or not (I certainly couldn't at first), we dealt with Ethel in two rounds. I have never enjoyed arrows of Ilmater more.

OMG

Annoyingly, somehow Oskar lives. But a nice little guide on honor mode told me you can just fly to the top floor of the house from the outside and skip all the annoying poltergeist business, so this went super, super smooth.

And we got a portrait for Astarion!

✅ Met Jaheira's fam ✅ Helped a kid with necromancy ✅ Fought a bunch of kobolds in the graveyard ✅ Got a Shadowheart thing I've never seen before?? ✅ Killed the Steel Watcher outside of the Foundry ✅ Stole all the smokepowder at the firework shop and killed everyone 😌

Pookie's art collection 🥰

Did the Iron Throne! Three Gondians didn't make it. Literally not my fault. They weren't the smartest tools in the shed. Ome and Wyll's dad saved, of course 🥰 Oh yeah and don't mind Karlach, she got lethargic from the potion of speed on the last round, whoops 💀

My game got a little weird after returning? Among other things, when we entered the foundry again and did the fight with the Banites and the watchers, Scratch was there on the stairs…but I didn't summon him?

Thankfully, all went back to normal after a long rest.

💜🌩

Steel Watch DOWNNNNN! This was beautiful. First we prepared a lot of water surfaces from hiding, used some flashblinders, then Zeph and Gale annihilated the other watchers with Chain Lightning on potion of speed and damaged the Titan a lot too and Astarion finished the job.

This was ten times more satisfying considering that on my Myri run (tactician), I just couldn't destroy it at all. Don't remember how well it went on Ross 2.0 run (also tactician) but probably not that well either.

This went much easier than my first two runs on lower difficulties. Beautiful.

So, in case someone is interested in my HM progress, this is what we still have left.

Gortash Sarevok Orin House of Hope Dribbles pieces Ansur Cazador Shadowheart quest Newspaper crap

This is not the order I'll be doing it in, I wrote it down as it came to me 😅 I've got a whole to do list on my ipad, but it's handwritten and kinda messy so you don't get a screenie.

I think I'll do Gortash next, I'd say he's pretty easy if you're lucky on your first turn, so yeah.

Not a clue how to safely and quickly do Ansur (yes I'd use globe of invulnerability but still) so barrelmancy will come handy there.

Caz, I really hope he'll go down the same way he did in my Myri run 😂 I'm still laughing at these conditions, big scawwy vampiwe wowd got a nauseating dance fever 🥺💀

I love how everyone's in their best armour and Gale is just serving thighs and chest hair 👑

[jaxteller87]

fireworks

Kim’s POV

The invitation to the SAMCRO 4th of July party had arrived, promising a long weekend of fun, festivities, and a bunch of alcoholic and herbal party favors. Amber had flown in from New York, which sweetened the whole pot even more. Tim and I were watching our so-called “kids” interact, even though they were in their mid to late twenties.

“What are they laughing at?” Gemma asked, chuckling as she walked up beside me.

Both boys, Jax and Opie, were perched on Jax’s motorcycle, making exaggerated faces while Donna snapped pictures. It was brutally hot out, as the early July sun does not take any prisoners. Opie was wearing a tight muscle shirt, and Jax was just wearing blue jeans. It almost reminded me of one of those fireman calendar photoshoots where the good-looking, hard-bodied men pose with different gear and vehicles. 

Suddenly, the kids burst into laughter when Opie playfully grabbed Jax’s chest. Everyone else laughed, seeming surprised by the notion, but from where my head was, it just played into everything, except for the fact that the PG photoshoot I was watching just went a little more PG-13. I can proudly say that I feel no shame in admitting those boys were looking pretty handsome. I took a sip of my drink just as Jax flung his hair around like a valley girl, playing into Opie’s flirtatious gesture. It caught me off guard, and half my frosty beverage sprayed out of my nose, which made everyone else laugh harder. It was a good day— we all needed days like this from time to time.

As I stood there, watching my daughter Amber and her friends, along with her boyfriend, enjoy themselves, Gemma’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“You know, we’re going to be in-laws one day,” she said, her eyes twinkling.

“Yes, we are,” I replied, glancing at her before turning my attention back to Amber and the others. Tim joined us, a beer in hand. He watched as Jax gave Amber a tender kiss on the forehead. “He really does love her, doesn’t he?” Tim remarked.

“He does,” I said, quickly wiping away a tear before anyone could notice. Jackson had done so much for my daughter, helping her come out of her shell and enjoy life beyond her books.

“Amber, we can go home for a while, then I’ll bring you back for the fireworks if you need to take a break from the heat,” Jax said, wheeling her over to us. Amber’s condition made the summer heat challenging, as it could trigger seizures in her legs.

“I’m fine, babe. I promise. I just need to cool off inside the clubhouse for a while,” Amber smiled, placing her hand on his.

So, we all followed them inside, watching as Jax fussed over Amber. It was cute to see, and I know Amber enjoyed having someone gush over her, even if she pretended like it annoyed her from time to time. With the tough road that she’s had, she deserves someone like Jax. I guess to the outside world, it looks a bit strange, but I never viewed that boy as anyone or anything other than what he showed us. 

As a matter of fact, I was at the grocery store last week when a friend of mine approached me, and we got to talking. After a while, she hit me with a question that I never thought I’d need to answer.

“Why do you let your innocent little girl run around with a ruthless motorcycle gang?” she asked. Then she went on to point out how she watched a special on bike clubs the other night and there were a few SOA members behind bars that were on the TV. “Murderers, thieves, and gun runners— that’s what they are. And your poor, sweet Amber…” she continued. I gave her a piece of my mind and then left— the altercation had me so hot that I drove to another grocery store in the next town over to finish my shopping.

I almost couldn’t believe what my so-called old friend had said to me, but later that night, I mulled it over, and I guess it all made sense, at least from an outsider’s perspective. SAMCRO never showed Tim and me anything but love, and we’re the type of people to judge on what we see with our own eyes not what we hear from others.

“Here, a cool rag,” Jax said gently, placing it on Amber’s neck and then doing the same for himself. I know he was probably fine, but every now and then he would do the same for himself that he was doing for Amber— I assumed it was just to make her feel less excluded. I remember a time when Amber couldn’t make it to her cousin’s birthday party because of a migraine. Shortly after, Jax suddenly had a stomach ache and had to stay at home with her. I think the boy was fine, but he didn’t want her to feel like they missed the party on her account.

“What?” they both said in unison, finally noticing our amused expressions.

“Oh, nothing,” we all replied, giggling at the sight of their mutual care.

We settled around the large table, enjoying the cool break from the heat outside. It was nice spending time together, all of us.

Amber’s POV

I was the happiest I’d been in a while. It was finally dark outside, and the temperature dropped a few degrees. It was still pretty hot and humid, but it was far more tolerable without the sun’s rays beating down on my skin. I was excited for the big show as everyone was starting to set off fireworks. When I say “they,” I mean Jax and Opie. They had stayed somewhat sober during the day to handle the fireworks safely, or so they said. Those boys can drink so much booze that it’s hard to tell when it actually affects them. I’ve noticed Jax can put it away pretty well, and then at some point, he just finds a bed and passes out. So far, though, he seemed coherent enough. I had smoked a blunt about 20 minutes ago, so perhaps I wasn’t the best judge of character at the moment.

The day had been pretty tame by SAMCRO standards, probably because some of the rowdier members had other obligations to tend to. I was nervous about having my parents at the clubhouse, but Jax had told Gemma to ensure the usual craziness was toned down, and for the most part, it was. Gemma could be a cunt sometimes, but she was generally an excellent host. I could tell she was going out of her way to make my parents feel welcome, and it was nice. She didn’t even seem put out by it— almost like she enjoyed it. My parents knew a bit about the biker life, but they weren’t ready for the violence and the crow eaters. Not yet, anyway.

“Hey, Mom, look how—” I turned to see my parents had already gone home. I checked my phone and saw a message from them:

“Hey, sweetheart. We didn’t want to disturb you. Have a good time tonight, and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

They must have left when I sparked up the blunt with Juice and Piney. It didn’t bother them any, but it was getting late, and it was a long day. If anything, my parents were probably a little overstimulated.

The next morning, Teller and I were curled up in his dorm room. We had planned our own little fireworks show but ended up too tired. The heat had taken it out of me, so we settled for naked cuddles instead.

“Morning, darlin’,” he smiled his face inches from mine.

“Hi,” I replied, smiling back.

“You gotta go home later. Can’t you stay another day?” he asked, wrapping me in his arms again.

“Honestly, I’ve been thinking about calling in sick,” I chuckled. “It’s been so nice the last few days.”

“Well, what are you doing next weekend? Maybe I can come up to New York.” That had been our routine— one weekend, I came home, and the next, he visited me.

“Donna mentioned something about getting our nails done,” I said, kissing his chest. I let my hand wander down between us, wrapping it around his cock. I looked at him for consent.

“Please,” he smirked. I smiled, kissing him as my hand worked its magic.

I did call in sick. I wanted to stay another day, not just with Teller, but with my parents.

“Mom, what is it? You’ve been staring at me all day, smiling. So has Dad. It’s creepy,” I chuckled as we sat in the shade on the back patio.

“You’re happy, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I’m hanging out with you,” I chuckled.

“Smartass,” she replied, laughing as we sat together.

Just then, I heard the old pickup truck pulling into the driveway. My smile grew even bigger—my badass biker was here. He knocked, and my mom waved him in. Jax joined us on the back porch.

My mom asked him to stay for dinner, and he kindly accepted. I told him we were having one of his favorites: roast with carrots and potatoes. Once dinner was ready, we all sat down at the table. My parents thanked him for inviting them to the club the day before. I just sat back, watching them interact. I was so glad they got along. After dinner, I walked Jax out to his truck.

“Thank you,” I smiled, wrapping my arms around his waist and looking up at him.

“You’re welcome, my love,” he replied.