#and he offered to buy me subway

[cherrymangos]

.

[christinesficrecs]

It's the time of the year where I sneak holiday fics into all my recs. 🤶🏻

Scent Left Unsaid by bleep0bleep | 2.5K | Mature

In a society where werewolves are second class, Deucslist is an alternative werewolf network (similar to Craigslist) where humans and werewolves offer (mostly sexual) services. Derek is a long-term client of an anonymous human omega whose scent is just perfect. He never expects to meet him, until it happens.

Derek has slept with that faded red hooded sweatshirt every night since he got it in the mail. It’s calming, that scent; it’s everything to him. So it’s strange now that Derek is smelling it wafting from the end of the subway car as it careens towards the L line, lights flickering on the passing platforms.

My World Is Filled With Cheer And You by bleep0bleep | 10.8K

In which Derek and his daughter are displaced just in time for the holidays, matched up with Stiles and his young son in a government protection program.

Sidequest  by bleep0bleep | 11.4K

Agent Derek Hale has been working up the courage to ask his partner Stiles out on a date (finally!) when he heads out on a solo mission—without Derek. Eager to provide support, Derek arrives in Beacon Hills, only there is no mission, and Stiles’ dad thinks Derek is Stiles’ boyfriend.

Well. It could be worse.

The Kiss Doctor by bleep0bleep | 3.5K

“That’s me,” Derek says. “Are you, um— the Kiss Doctor?” “Stiles,” is the reply, and the guy grins. It’s charming.

i wait for you like a lonely house by bleep0bleep | 4.5K

Derek isn’t sure why he buys the house. He doesn’t need the space, that much is certain. While it’s not as big as the one Derek grew up in, something about the cheerful yellow paint and the wide staircase (with banisters wide enough for children to slide down) draws him in.

affettuoso  by bleep0bleep | 13K

Derek mentally kicks himself for just standing there like a lovestruck fool, but it’s been exactly forty-six days since he saw Stiles, and he still remembers the taste of his skin, how Stiles feels underneath him.

The Gentleman And The Fox by  bleep0bleep, Inkforwords | 15.7K

Derek doesn’t expect much from his arranged marriage. When his inattentive husband, Lord Stiles Stilinski, tells him he’s free to look for a lover, he doesn’t know where to start, until a dashing bandit named the Red Fox catches his eye.

All's Fair in Orgasms and War by bleep0bleep | 63.2K | Explicit

The one in which (almost) everyone is a porn star, and Derek just wants to curl up with his fluffy blanket and watch the Hallmark channel, but work and falling in love gets in the way.

nom de plume by  bleep0bleep | 3.9K

There are no more chapters. 22 is the last one. Derek groans in despair. He has to know what happens.

Five Times Detective Stilinski and Fire Captain Hale Had Sex In Public, and One Time They Did It In A Bed by bleep0bleep | 32.8K

“Did you say–” Stiles starts.

“What?” Derek growls.

“We’re not a couple!” they both retort in unison.

“We’re not together,” Stiles insists.

Lydia coughs pointedly. “An incident report filed by 87th Precinct Captain Erica Reyes. March twenty-fifth, eight p.m. Came back to the precinct to grab my coat, only to hear Stilinski banging his new boyfriend in the holding cell.”

i wanna dance with somebody (who loves me) by bleep0bleep | 10.5K

Derek gets in an accident and loses a few years of his memory; suddenly everything is different— he’s not a freshman loser anymore, but a popular senior, captain of the basketball team, a shoo-in for prom king, too, and he should have everything he’s ever wanted— except he doesn’t seem to be friends with Stiles anymore.

Mauve by bleep0bleep | 7.3K

It’s been ten years since he’s seen Derek Hale, but Stiles would recognize that ass anywhere.

remember my love by bleep0bleep | 23.3K

Stiles wakes up and suddenly the war is over, he's no longer a penniless mage, and living in an exquisite manor married to the man he's been in love with for far too long.

“It’ll be fine,” Stiles says gallantly. “I am certain I will just fall in love with my husband all over again, and I will find plenty of joy doing that.” He winks at Derek for good measure. Derek blinks.

of course, of course by bleep0bleep | 12.9K | Explicit

Derek swallows, watching Stiles mull over the paperwork. “Are you sure about this?”

“Absolutely,” Stiles says, licking his lips. He signs with a flourish and pushes the contract back at Derek.

Derek knows every word of the contract by heart, but his heart stutters anyways when a sentence jumps out at him. The client acknowledges that any bond created during the heat session is temporary.

[disciplined-cornfed]

Rome wasn't built in a day

Alex had never expected his college life to take this kind of turn. He’d moved to New York for school, planning to live on campus like most students, but when he found a better deal on an off-campus apartment that financial aid would cover, he jumped on it. The apartment was in a decent neighborhood, close to the subway, and the landlord didn’t ask too many questions. Seemed like a win.

What he hadn’t planned on, though, was Frank—his new roommate.

Frank was… something else. The guy was like a time capsule from a decade ago, straight out of Jersey Shore. From the gelled-back hair, the deep tan, ridiculous yelling at football and ufc matches every weekend, the flashy chains, to the relentless love of tank tops and gold watches. Alex wasn’t sure if Frank was for real or if this was just an elaborate, extended joke.

But here’s the thing: despite his douchey exterior, Frank was actually a pretty nice guy. Sure, he blasted club music at ungodly hours and flexed in the mirror every time he passed it, but Frank was always chill. He’d offer Alex food whenever he cooked, made sure the apartment was clean, and always gave him a heads-up when he had people over. Plus, Frank clearly knew what he was doing in the gym. The guy was shredded, and Alex had to admit, Frank’s discipline when it came to his diet and workout routine was impressive.

It didn’t take long before Alex’s curiosity got the best of him.

One day, after weeks of seeing Frank pound protein shakes and head to the gym religiously, Alex asked him for some advice. He had always been a casual gym-goer, but seeing Frank’s dedication made him wonder if he could up his own game.

“Yo, Frank,” Alex said one afternoon as they sat in the living room. “What do you usually eat for those gains, man? And how do you stay so consistent?”

Frank grinned, pausing the DJ Pauly D remix playing on his speakers. “Bro, it’s all about focus foods and the right lifts. Stick to lean meats, eggs, beans, lots of veggies. And you gotta hit the weights hard. No shortcuts.”

Alex nodded, scribbling down some notes on his phone. “Got any recommendations? Like content or something I can watch?”

Frank’s grin grew wider. “Oh, for sure. I’ll send you some stuff. There’s Dom Mazzetti, Vinny Guadagnino—some good shit, bro. But hey, I’ll send you my playlist too. Got a WAV file I use at the gym that keeps me hyped.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “A playlist?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Frank said, waving his hand dismissively. “It’s got some fire tracks. Also, I threw in some personal affirmations underneath it, helps me stay focused during my lifts. You probably won’t even notice them, but they help, bro. Trust me.”

Alex wasn’t really buying into the whole “subliminal affirmation” thing. It sounded like some weird self-help nonsense. But Frank was shredded, and if these little tricks worked for him, maybe they were worth a shot.

Later that evening, Alex plugged in his headphones and hit play on Frank’s WAV file. It started with “Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Me”—a male cover that felt oddly calming. The song transitioned into upbeat remixes like “Fireball” and other club tracks that seemed to pump adrenaline into his veins. Somewhere in between, Sinatra’s smooth voice made an appearance, bringing a strange, nostalgic energy to the mix.

As the playlist played, Alex caught faint whispers beneath the music—barely noticeable. “You love the gym. You crave the weights. Tanning makes you feel amazing. You rep the Italian pride with every lift.”

He chuckled to himself. This subliminal shit can’t be real, he thought. But, whatever—Frank swears by it.

The playlist ended with “Lucky, Lucky Me” again, and as Alex dozed off that night, the tune echoed faintly in his head.

The changes didn’t happen overnight, but as the days went by, Alex began to notice subtle differences. It started with his workouts. He’d always been someone who worked out occasionally, but now there was something different. One morning, as he walked past the gym on his way to class, he felt an urge—a need to lift. It wasn’t just about getting in shape anymore. Something about the weights called to him, pulling him in.

He ended up inside, grabbing a set of dumbbells and diving into a full workout. By the time he finished, he was drenched in sweat, but instead of feeling exhausted, he felt exhilarated. There was a rush—an energy that coursed through him, leaving him wanting more.

From that point on, the gym became part of his daily routine. At first, he didn’t even realize it was happening. He started following Frank’s tips—lifting heavier, focusing on compound movements, and pushing himself harder with each session. His muscles responded quickly, growing faster than they ever had before. His shirts started to fit tighter, hugging his chest and arms in ways they never had before. Every time he looked in the mirror, he couldn’t help but flex, admiring his progress.

It wasn’t just the gym either. One afternoon, Alex caught himself in front of the bathroom mirror, noticing how pale his skin looked under the fluorescent lights. Without thinking much of it, he booked an appointment at the tanning salon down the street. After his first session, he looked at himself in the mirror, marveling at the golden glow on his skin. It made him feel good, confident—like he was stepping into a new version of himself.

Tanning became part of his routine, just like the gym. He started looking forward to that golden glow, the way it made his muscles stand out more, and how it just felt right.

One weekend, Alex found himself wandering into a clothing store, drawn to a section of tank tops with bold prints—Italian flags, American flags, vibrant colors that screamed confidence. He picked up a few without thinking twice, the fabric feeling perfect against his newly defined arms. When he got home and slipped into one of the tanks, he stood in front of the mirror, flexing his biceps. The tank hugged his body in all the right places, and as he admired his reflection, a grin spread across his face.

Damn, I look good.

It wasn’t just the clothes that made him feel this way—it was the pride, the feeling of representing his heritage with every lift, every flex. It felt right.

The most surprising change came with his voice. At first, it was barely noticeable—a slight shift in his accent, a few new words slipping into his vocabulary. But as the weeks went on, the transformation in his speech became undeniable. His voice took on a thicker Jersey inflection, and words like “bro” and “yo” started slipping out naturally, almost without him realizing it. He spoke with more confidence, more swagger, his words carrying a weight that hadn’t been there before.

He even noticed how loud he’d become, but it wasn’t obnoxious—it felt like he was owning the room. His friends started to comment on it, but Alex didn’t mind. It felt like the way he was supposed to talk, like his voice was finally matching the rest of his transformation.

One night, Alex found himself scrolling through YouTube, where he came across a Dom Mazzetti video. He clicked on it, expecting to laugh at the over-the-top persona, but something else happened. As Dom joked about gym culture, diet, and lifting, Alex found himself nodding along, relating to the lifestyle. The gym wasn’t just a place to work out anymore—it was part of who he was becoming.

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Alex’s days revolved around the gym, tanning, and repping his heritage with pride. He found himself following more content creators who embodied the same mindset—guys who lived for the grind, the lifts, and the pride in who they were.

His roommate Frank noticed the changes, too. “Bro, you’re looking jacked,” Frank said one afternoon as Alex flexed in the mirror before heading out to the gym. “You flexing the gains hard now.”

Alex grinned, running a hand through his hair, which he’d started gelling back every morning. “Yeah, man. It just feels right, you know?”

Frank clapped him on the shoulder, a proud smirk on his face. “Told ya. Once you get in the groove, there’s no going back. You’re one of us now, bro. Tanning, lifting, and heritage. Welcome to the crew.”

Alex chuckled, feeling Frank’s words sink in. Wasn’t just about the workouts or the diet no more. It was the whole package—the attitude, the pride, the way he carried himself. He’d become confident, bold, and unapologetic. The gym had become his temple, and every flex in the mirror, every perfectly tanned muscle, reminded him of how far he’d come.

He spoke with more confidence now, his voice carrying a thick Jersey accent that seemed to come naturally. Words like “bro” and “yo” slipped out effortlessly, and he found himself embracing the louder, more assertive side of himself. Even his walk had changed—there was more swagger, more presence.

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

A few weeks later, Alex and Frank were sitting in the living room, scrolling through profiles of potential new roommates. Their lease was ending soon, and they needed to find someone to fill the third room. Frank leaned back in his chair, sipping a protein shake as he swiped through a list of candidates.

“Yo, check this one out,” Alex said, pausing on a profile. “Marco Ricci. Italian last name.”

Frank raised an eyebrow and leaned in, studying the screen. “Oh shit, an Italian? That’s promising.”

They opened Marco’s profile, but instead of seeing someone flexing or rocking a tan, Marco looked... pretty regular. He wasn’t out of shape, but he wasn’t exactly lifting heavy either. Pale, with a pretty average physique, he was the kind of guy who didn’t seem to spend much time at the gym. His shirt was plain, and his expression, while friendly, was far from the confident swagger Alex and Frank had come to expect in their circle.

Alex chuckled, nudging Frank. “Dude’s kinda pasty, huh?”

Frank smirked. “Yeah, bro. Definitely needs some work. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know? He’s got the Italian blood—that’s what counts. We can mold him.”

Alex nodded, his mind already racing. Marco might not be there yet, but with the right guidance, who knows? The guy had potential. He just needed some direction.

“Yeah,” Alex said, swiping right on Marco’s profile. “We’ll get him there. If he’s down to move in, I have the perfect playlist in mind."

Frank chuckled deeply, shaking his head. “Bro, he won’t know what hit him.”

Alex grinned, flexing in the mirror nearby. “Hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?”

Frank laughed again, raising his protein shake in a mock toast. “Damn straight, bro."

WANNA BECOME A GUIDO FOR REAL? Try this subliminal:

Guido Subliminal (Accent, Mindset, Discipline, Extreme Confidence)

[miawastaken]

Sir?

synopsis : boss!Grayson x secretary!reader

Reader's last name is mentioned for my brain's sake (its 2 am I need sleep)

tw: none

【🎱　🪐　🎸】

ty @lyrakanefanatic / @lyrakanefanaticwriting for the idea

Most kids get jobs working at an ice-cream parlour or walking dogs over the summer.

Me?

I was interning at The Hawthorne Foundation. For a Draco Malfoy knock-off we call Grayson Hawthorne.

I thought, going into the job that I wouldn't come out alive.

And to my surprise I was wrong.

Grayson Hawthorne.

The second Hawthorne brother, heir apparent, and second oldest grandson to Tobais Hawthorne.

He wasn't exactly meant to be the friendliest person, but you'd think being his secretary I'd know the truth huh?

Wrong.

The bastard barley ever spoke to me.

In all fairness I'd been told to keep my head down and mind my business. Because how could an 18-year-old girl look Grayson Hawthorne in the eye?

【🎱　🪐　🎸】

I walk into work and I see a blur of a person standing in front of my desk.

He's tall, he's wearing a suit, he's blonde, he's-

"Grayson Hawthorne?"

He's staring at me now. Its like I'm on trial for something.

"Ah, Ms. Caddel!"

"Can I help you... sir?"

"Yes, Mr. Rabbit seems to be out of office today, I'm the only one working on this floor and no one, including Oren has the keys."

"Well I'll have to apologise sir but I'm afraid I don't have them either." I apologise.

He looks once at the door and then back at me.

"Well, no matter, I'm sure the 3rd floor has a master key, I'll find it."

"Oh I can do that for you sir-" I offer.

"No, no, it's no trouble, and please call me Grayson."

"Ok uhm... Grayson, are you sure it's no bother?"

"Yes quite, thank you,"

He turns around towards the elevators and turns back last minute.

"Nice pants."

My eyebrows shot up.

"Thank you, sir."

"Grayson!" He calls back.

"Grayson." I murrmer.

【🎱　🪐　🎸】

I hear footsteps down the hall and see someone approaching.

"Ms. Caddel?"

"Yes, sir?" I ask upon realising it was Grayson.

"What're you doing in office this late?"

"I could ask the same, sir."

The corner of his mouth twitches and he says:

"Finances don't manage themselves. You?"

"Uni tuition doesn't pay itself."

He raises a brow. "You're a student?" He asks.

"Yes, well, I've gotten into NYU but I was offered this job for the summer and I wasn't about to pass up money I desperately need."

"What about your parents? Can't they help?" He asks.

"Sir please dont take this the wrong way but not all of us have families that could buy the Empire State Building."

He shrugs. "Fair enough."

There's a moment of silence before he speaks again.

"May I walk you to your car?"

I nearly laugh.

"I don't have one."

"How do you get around then?"

"I either walk, take the subway or taxi."

He seems to be appalled by the idea of me going home by any of those means of transport at 11 pm at night.

"I'll drive you home." He offers.

"Sir I-"

"Wasn't a suggestion sweetheart, come on."

【🎱　🪐　🎸】

"So what're you studying at NYU?" He asks.

"Political Science and Philosophy."

He seems taken aback.

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm,"

"They're both very tough subjects."

"Really? Didn't notice." I reply.

He smiles at that as he pulls up next to my apartment.

"Well, this is me." I smile at him. "Thank you sir."

"It's Grayson, sweetheart."

"Grayson... thank you Grayson."

【🎱　🪐　🎸】

Thanks for reading, feel free to give me feedback! <33

[sweetiesicheng]

jongho - orchard

word count : 934

-

"so why am i helping you again?”

"because you keep breaking apples on tv.”

you hear jongho sigh while you laugh in response. he holds a ladder while you pick apples off of a tree.

you work at a local garden and have a lot of work to do today. the most important task is harvesting a bunch of apples and bringing them to one of the nearby buildings. you had gotten your boyfriend to help you on his day off. it doesn't seem like he wants to help you, but you hear him sing a few times as you two go through the orchard together.

"hey, babe," jongho calls for you. you look down. "do you want me to go ahead and drop these off?" he asks, holding a basket of apples.

"i think we have enough to bring over, so we can go together after i’m done," you say to him. he nods and puts the basket down so he can hold the ladder again.

you finish picking apples and start climbing down with a basket in tow.

"i'll take it," jongho says when you get close to the ground, holding his hands out to take the basket from you. you hand him the basket and step down to the ground.

you two walk to the four-wheeler with your baskets and put them down on a small trailer that's attached. jongho moves the rest of the baskets onto the trailer while you check a clipboard and mark some things off.

"ready to go?" you ask jongho.

he nods, "yea."

you climb onto the four-wheeler with jongho sitting behind you, hugging your waist even though you drive slow. you drive to a nearby building, where the staff sells the produce to customers, and park by the front doors. you and jongho take the baskets of apples off of the trailer and rinse the apples using a hose that is attached to the building, just in case any debris from the trees and nature had gotten on them.

"could you bring them in?" you ask jongho.

"yea, no problem," he says to you and takes a basket into the building. you finish rinsing off the apples and bring a basket inside.

you and jongho bring all of the baskets inside except for one basket.

"alright, here's your payment for a day of work," you say with a laugh to jongho.

"what am i supposed to do with a tub of apples?" jongho questions you as he holds the basket. he puts the basket back down on the ground and picks an apple up.

"it's for when you have to break more on tv," you say and start laughing right after. you can see jongho rolling his eyes at you but softly smiles afterwards. "i'll bring them inside, but i'm taking some for myself, " you say to him.

jongho breaks an apple in half and starts eating one half. "i'll buy some," he says, "and i'll bring them to the guys." he hands you the other half of the apple, and the two of you sit down on some empty crates that are nearby.

"thanks for helping me today. i'm sure you wanted to do something else today," you say to him.

"it was fun," he says to you. "i'm just glad i got to see you today," he mentions. "it's fun when you come to performances with me, but it's fun getting to go to work with you too," he says with a smile.

"well, you're welcome to come help anytime," you reply. the two of you finish your break and bring the last basket into the building. jongho packs some up for both of you while you work behind the counter for a bit. you can see him roaming around out of boredom, but you also see him talk to a few customers and staff a few times.

—

once the orchard closes for the day, you and jongho leave together and head to the nearest subway station. jongho carries a small crate of apples while you carry your backpack that has both of your belongings inside. the station is quite a bit away, but there’s a nice view of the approaching town as you walk.

"i can carry it," you offer to jongho as you walk into town so he can have a break from holding the crate.

"it's alright, don't worry about it," he says to you.

"jongho, let me carry it."

"it's not even heavy," he immediately replies and lifts the crate up and down, "see? not heavy."

you sigh, "alright, whatever you say."

eventually, the two of you get to the subway station and soon get onto the subway that will take you to the station where your apartment is. the train is a little bit crowded, but you manage to find a seat. jongho lets you sit down, and you hold the small crate of apples on your lap.

"you look cute," jongho suddenly comments, holding onto a metal handle above him as the subway starts moving to the next station.

"what do you mean?" you ask him.

"you just look cute with all of the apples," he says, "my cute girlfriend."

“and you’re my handsome, apple-breaking boyfriend,” you reply. jongho instantly rolls his eyes again at you with a huff.

“how long are you going to keep this up for? years?” jongho asks.

“i’m sorry, i’ll stop,” you say in the midst of laughing.

jongho sighs but smiles. he leans in and kisses your forehead, “well, if it’s you, i guess you can say it.”

[loveysloveclub]

forever and always - luke hughes

in which, it is ally and luke's first and last moments together.

tuesday, 16th of june 2023

"yes, mom. i told you i'm fine." ally grumbled into her phone as her mother gave her a new list of things to worry about. earthquakes, car insurance, expired milk.

the list continued to grow every time she called, and ally had only been living in new york for a month. "mom, i know it's a big city- yes! i have a map! it's called google maps."

if she had been paying attention to the bustling street of new york instead of her mothers concerned voice ringing in her ears, then maybe she would have saw the stranger who was also engrossed in a phone of his own coming straight for her.

but in true ally fashion (as her over bearing mother liked to call it), she hadn't realised until she was on the floor and her phone was being run over by an oncoming truck.

"no, no, no." ally mumbled to herself frantically as she jumped to her feet and ran to retrieve her phone, only for an arm to wrap around her waist and pull her back to the somewhat safety of the sidewalk.

"i'll buy you a new phone, but please, don't kill yourself because i broke it."

ally had completely forgotten about the other half of the collision that had occurred moments beforehand. looking up at the stranger who had saved her life, ally was sure she had met the love of her life.

the unknown man was exactly her type. almost as if he was crafted for her.

"it's not the phone," ally began to tell him, "it's the constant 'i told you so's' i'm about to get from my mother."

a small smile graced the face of the stranger before her as he let out a breath of a laugh.

"i'm sorry about your phone."

ally simply waved him off, "don't be, you honestly were doing me a favour. my mother was about to begin her daily lecture on how to take the subway safely. mind you, she's never stepped foot out of oklahoma."

"still, they're sort of expensive."

ally shrugged her shoulders, a devious smile tugging at her lips, "eh, at least a cute stranger offered to buy me a new one."

and with that, the girl turned on her heel and began walking down the street. "i only said that so you wouldn't dive into oncoming traffic!" the boy yelled after her, but she pretended not to hear him as she continued on her way. "do you really think i'm cute?"

this caused ally to halt in her steps as she turned to face the boy, narrowly missing the people pushing passed her as she shrugged her shoulder, "guess you're gonna have to find out."

janurary 11th, 2024

"i don't understand." ally shook her head as she looked over at her boyfriend, tears streaming down her face.

her and luke's relationship had been in a bit of a rough patch ever since around thankgiving. she had no idea what had caused it, and honestly, neither did he.

they just weren't clicking anymore. they weren't working, and this was obvious to both of them, but luke seemed to be the only one bale to admit it out loud.

hence the situation they were both currently in.

luke had offered up the idea of a break, which ally knew meant to break up. which had led to a remorseful luke and a crying ally standing in the hallway of her two bedroom apartment.

"i'm so sorry, al," luke began, his hands instinctively cupping the girls face and wiping at the tears. the tears which he caused. the tears that would keep him up at night.

ally placed her shaky hands over his, holding them there for a minute as she closed her eyes and revelled in her last moments with him.

she knew it. luke knew it. hell, even jack knew it when luke left their shared apartment earlier that evening.

opening her eyes once more, ally shook her head and pulled away from luke's touch. "i thought you- you said you loved me."

"i do, i do love you. but we both know this isn't working. and until we can figure out why, i don't think we should be together." luke rebutted, almost offended that the girl would even suggest that he wasn't head over heels.

ally sniffled, but nodded her head regardless. she knew there was no avoiding this like she had been the obvious issues in her and luke's relationship over the past couple of weeks.

so, the girl bit her tongue as she watched the boy lean down and give her one final kiss on the cheek before walking out the door.

god, she wished her mother had a lecture about this one.

[dira333]

Neon Kitchen - Sakusa Kiyoomi x reader

From My Haikyuu Request Game - Requested by M.

It’s hideous. Absolutely atrocious. He feels his eyes melting at the sight of it.

But you’re grinning from one ear to the other, pulling him by the hand as you skip, yes, skip through the apartment.

“Look, it even has a little balcony.” You swoon and point at the little door leading out from the kitchen.

The kitchen, that is painted in a whirlwind of bright pink, eyewatering green, and neon, yes, neon yellow. 

“What about the kitchen?” He asks when you walk the little balcony and measure with your eyes and your hands.

“It’s big enough for the table I currently have on my balcony.” You tell him excitedly. “And we could plant something during summer.”

“Did you see the kitchen?” He asks again, pulling you into his arms as you try to sidestep him on the way back into the apartment.

“I did.” You say. “It’s an open concept like you wanted.”

“It’s neon.” He emphasizes the words, fully aware that he’s sounding a bit whiney right now.

“Oh, baby.” You bring your hands to his face and hold it, squishing his cheeks a little in the process. “We can totally paint over that. But you have to agree that everything else is just like we wanted it.”

“It is.” He agrees, but it doesn’t come out as convinced as it should be and you lower your hands to get a better look.

“Baby?” You ask, your voice soft. “What are you thinking about?”

He wants to say that it’s nothing, wants to brush over it with the excitement he knows he should feel. 

But over two years in a relationship have taught him at least this much: It’s better to speak his mind than stay silent.

“Are we really doing the right thing?” He asks, his grip on you tightening.

“I don’t know.” You offer with the honesty that pulled him to you in the first place. “But we spend most of our time at each other’s places, it makes sense to move in together, don’t you think.”

“Yeah, but what if you get annoyed by me? I have a strict cleaning regimen that I do every Sunday and-”

You kiss him, silence the worry with a quick peck on the lips.

“Breathe.” You tell him. “You’re in your head again. I know your cleaning regimen. Nothing about that will change. I cook, you clean. I buy the groceries, you do the laundry. We’ll just see each other every day without having to drive over first. Just think about that. Coming home and I’ll already be there.”

So he does.

He thinks about the times he’s come home to a cold and dark apartment, tired from training, mind agitated by the crowds on the subway and Miya’s teasing.

He thinks about how much time he loses cleaning up and having a quick dinner first before taking the train again to meet you at your place. Your work usually runs later than his and he hates the thought of you coming home to an equally cold and dark apartment.

“You won’t be here when I come home.” He reminds you softly, kissing your temple. “Your work still runs later than mine.”

“Sure, but I can basically walk home and you only need to take one train instead of two to get here. There’s a Combini down the road for almost everything we could need and I think Onigiri Miya is right around the corner.”

He laughs at that. 

“I should have known that having your favorite restaurant close by was going to be your winning argument.”

“I can’t live without these Onigiri.” You whine, knowing it’s the one thing that will always make him laugh.

.

They celebrate moving in with Onigiri in the stupid Neon Kitchen. It looks less hideous with your belongings mixed in with his and when he sees your coffee cups next to his water bottles in the morning, he can even smile about the bright background of it all.

.

One month into living together you bring home color charts to pick from and a bottle of your favorite wine.

The color chart is quickly forgotten when you stumble across his yearbooks, giggling over his frowning face in every single picture and kissing the newest frown off his lips right after.

.

Six months into living together you unearth the color chart once again, hounding him with questions about his favorite colors and comparing different sets of whites.

“I don’t mind the color.” He admits when you’re sitting on his lap one evening, thumbing through the colors yet again.

You’re a warm weight that’s grounding him, curled into him like he was made to fit around you.

“Really? You said it hurt your eyes.”

“It makes you happy.”

You look up, surprise evident on your features and he smiles, shrugging as if he could care less about the blooming blush on his face.

“Your face lights up every time you step into the kitchen. It’s cute.”

Something blooms in your smile, something warm and sweet and comforting, that’s smoothing over the ripples of his insecurity like a breeze over open water.

He pulls you closer to kiss the top of your head and you giggle.

“What?” He asks, immediately fearing the worst.

“Does that mean I can paint the bedroom Karasuno-Orange? Hinata showed me some pictures for reference.”

“Absolutely not!”

My Kofi if you want to tip me

[fujoshirat]

+Strawberry Magic! ♡ 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!♡+

Chapter 6: Okaasan

Summary: When virgin Pro Hero Shouto turns 30, he gains the magical ability to read the minds of people that he touches. After finding out that his personal assistant has a crush on him, everything changes and Shouto finds himself lost in the stressful game called love.

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Warnings: Aged up characters, MHA SPOILERS!! (there are mentions of the Todoroki household drama and the later happenings of the manga), minor reader POV but mainly Shouto's POV :)

Once you felt confident that you were alone in your apartment, you immediately slumped down on the ground. Hiding your face in your hands, you muttered,

"Crap."

You fumbled so badly. Horribly. That was more embarrassing than when you tripped over the stage stairs at university graduation! He would never reciprocate your feelings. Thank goodness for the weekend. That would give you 2 days to think of an excuse-an apology-for the "mishap" and "poor word choice."

.

.

.

Monday came way too fast.

At 7:21am, you notice a message sent to your phone. As you open it on the subway, your heart dropped to your stomach.

Good morning L/N-san

You do not need to buy my coffee today,

I will be coming into the agency a little

later than usual

-7:21am

♡♡♡

 "This cafe is so adorable! Thank you for taking me here, Shouto."

Café Amour, a quaint yet renowned coffee shop in the heart of Hosu City, is hidden away on a quiet street. This was also the coffee shop where Shouto would ask his assistant to get his coffee from. Looking back at his mother, he hums softly.

"It's no problem at all, okaasan. Thanks for accepting the sudden invite."

The cafe worker places their coffee order on the table and swiftly leaves to serve other customers. Bringing his iced coffee to his mouth, he takes a sip and speaks up.

"Sorry that I haven't visited in a while."

"It's alright! You visited us for Christmas and New Years. Did you get the birthday gifts from dad and I?"

"Mhm, thank you."

The snow-white haired woman brings the hot cup of coffee to her lips and blows it gently.

"I received news from your father that Touya can now partake in rehab at the prison. He will still be serving a life sentence until further notice, but he's accepted the offer and is making an effort to get better."

The good news that his mother shared made Shouto smile. Slowly, his elder brother was getting better.

One day at a time.

"Ah, but... I have a favor that I'd like to ask of you."

"Hm?" Rei looks at her youngest curiously.

"I need advice."

"Of course, Shouto. Is everything okay?"

"What... what does it feel like to fall in love?"

Rei pauses, her facial expression faltering. It was no secret that "love" was a struggle in the Todoroki household. Though the familial love (and mutual toleration *cough* Natsuo and Enji *cough*) increased in the past few years, there was still the undeniable rift from the years of discord.

Especially between his parents, Shouto (and a few others) knew that there was a lack of "love." It was no secret to the world that the marriage between Rei Himura and Enji Todoroki was arranged, especially after Dabi's revelational broadcast all those years ago.

Before he can say a quick apology, however, his mother speaks up.

"Falling in love with someone feels like floating. The first person I fell in love with was Touya."

Shouto's mouth closes, clearly off-guard. Rei notices this and clears her throat.

"Ah, well, I fell in love with all of my children: you, Touya Fuyumi, and Natsuo. The first one was Touya, obviously because he was my first child," she clarifies. "But if I may ask, why the sudden question?"

Shouto hesitates for a second, but takes a deep breath.

"There's this girl," he explains, "She likes me a lot. I'm not sure if I feel the same way. I care about her since she works with me, but I'm not sure if it just stops there. How do I know if it's mutual love?"

Taking a few seconds to think, Shouto's mother wipes her mouth daintily with her napkin.

"What do you like about this person?"

"Pardon?"

Rei takes a sip of her coffee.

"Why do you care for her?"

‘Y/N has a beautiful smile. Y/N has a nice laugh. Y/N looks gorgeous. Y/N works hard. Y/N is attentive to everyone around her.'

"I feel... comfortable around her. She's genuinely kind-and her smile, she has a beautiful smile. Her laugh too, it's so attractive. She's also not afraid to try to make me laugh. She's always so thoughtful too. She knows my coffee order, she checks on the interns at work daily, she's so attentive to the area and people around her."

Rei nods thoughtfully, a smile growing on her face.

"Do you enjoy her company?"

Shouto nods confidently. "Yes, yes I do."

His mother puts her coffee down on the table and looks at her son.

"You shouldn't keep a girl waiting," she teases.

Shouto looks at her confusedly, wondering what she meant. Rei clears her throat and continues.

"It seems to me that you're in love with her."

.

.

.

...

"Thanks for walking me to the station, Shouto."

The dual-toned man shakes his head.

"It's the least I could do, okaasan. Thanks again for today."

The white-haired woman smiles. "It was nice catching up with you again! I hope I was able to help you."

"Yes, okaasan, I really appreciate the advice."

Rei reaches up to hug her tall son. 'Shouto really has grown so much. I hope that he stays happy.'

When she let's go, she waves at him with a smile before heading down the subway stairs.

However, she pauses in the middle and looks back at him.

"Shouto?"

"Yes, okaasan?"

The corners of Rei's eyes crinkle slightly as she smiles gently at the grown man in front of her.

"I'm glad that you're happy."

Thank you, okaasan.

A/N: I'M BACK :DDD Sorry everyone, I locked in hard for school this past week >< It's very late but here's chapter 6!! I'm so happy that I got to incorporate Rei Todoroki. She is personally my favorite female character in the series so <3333

As always, thank you so much for reading this series! I cannot believe how far it has come already OwO Writing this chapter was super fun and made me tear up in the end ToT If you want to be added to the taglist, lmk! Chapter 7 is lowkey halfway done hahaha so it shouldn't take as long to finish and upload (unlike this chapter).

~entire fic and notes written by me: fujoshirat!

Taglist (TYSMMMM): @boogiemansbitch, @bleedingwhiteroses222, @atashiboba

[mamieishere]

Heat me

MDNI

disclaimer : fuff, making love, missionnary, unprotected sex (burrito guys BU-RRI-TO) breeding kink, dom/sub?, no name mentioned

Where you were from, windows were covered by interior curtains and shutters on the outside, all this to prevent the heat in summer and cold in winter.

When you woke up this morning, you were surprised and blinded by the light.

- "Aaaaah... I really need to buy some curtains to prevent the morning light", you grumbled as you drag your feet to the kitchen downstairs.

The building was a medium one, only 4 dorms and a little rooftop apartment which seemed to be intended. You happily sign the contract after cautiously reading every details. Even if, the cost was medium (probably due to the weather exposition), the charges were more as acceptable, not to say cheap in comparison of your native.

However, a thing caught your attention We are extremely sorry because the neighbors are loud at night time. We hope it won't be a problem. They are out most of the time. But we'll have to met them to make some update about the different bills : electricity, gaz, light, cold and warm water.

"It's okay, I usually work at night time, because I'm dealing with local artists", the landlord looked reassured and the contract was signed the following second.

Fortunately for you, the previous tenant had leave some furniture including the bed, the kitchen and The armoires. You unpacked your things, clothes, art supplies, music supplies and the decorative items to picked here and there.

That was a first day but it feels like home already. Now, funny thing : groceries. You took the subway with individual caddie and made the ladies jealous. So much so that most sellers offer you discounts to promote their shops. Your Korean was harsh and unpleasant to hear but you guess that everybody was too happy to met a stranger trying to speak their language that they decide to not notice.

that's how you went home with plenty of various products. You laughed a bit to the situation. Then processed to make a dinner. You sort veggies, fruits, meats...

- "MEATS??? WTF?", you shouted of surprised before adding a little sorry.

Anyway, sauces, power, flour, juice. Ha Jeez, they didn't joke about gift. But there's something missing... a beer and a pizza. So, you grabbed your wallet and jacket to run down the next 7/7 near buy. you took yourself a little banana milk and a taro drink.

Putting the fresh groceries on the counter, you prepare the rest, washing the veggies, the fruits and drop them off in a cute basket. Then meats and liquids were put in the fridge.

You turned on the TV, and started to watch The Moving Castel. The pizza heating in the oven faisait spread a delicious smell and you open you beer.

You sat up from the sofa heating to the kitchen, took out the pizza, sliced it in several pieces before heading back to your place with your food.

*knock knock*

Oh noooo you sight, put the movie on pause, putting on a hoodie and you sadly answer the door.

- "Hey Hello ! I'm one of your new neighbors"

-... you opened the doors "Good evening?"

- "Excuse my curiosity but i smelt a delicious odor and then i all freak out because one of my favorite movies was playing somewhere.", the boy was black haired. "excuse me, it's very impromptu but would accept me to watch it with you?"

- "Oh huh, yes I guess?"

- "COOL ! i'm H/N btw"

- "Y/N"

- "So nice to meet you! hold on, wait for me, I'm gonna grabbed some snacks!", he run away before being back seconds later. "Let's watch it!"

You both jumped on each side of the sofa. The movie started to run. As the minutes passed, the clother you became. At the end, snacks and pizza empty, we were absolutely glued one to an other. It was late and you felt into sleep on the shoulder of your new friend.

- "Hey Y/Nnie you need to go bed", you grumbled "bulama good yoa arms", He sight. "Okay, guide me to your room".

He grabbed you princess style and lean to your bed, help by your lazy finger.

- "Here you go, good night sweet dreams", he whispered.

- "Stay with me pleeeease... it's a new town and I'm lonely."

No-one will ever know why he stayed. November was a cold month, specially at night. "Heat me up please. I'm freezing." Your host turn around and wrapped his legs and arms around you.

- Is it better now? ", he asked. But your body seems to keep shaking. So He tightened his grip around you. Your nose in the little of his neck permits you to inhale his fragrance. Oh boy, he smelt heavenly.

one thing leads to another, both of you find their shelves kissing each other. The kiss was light and passionate.

his arms went to keep you tight and his lips intensified the connection. As this happens, you were in awe, this man is wonderful, muscular and sweet in the same time. How to say no?

His hands cupped your chin and your legs opened as he positioned himself on his knees. He looked at you for your consent and nodded shyly.

- "Jagiya, don't need to be shy with me okay?", his hands went to brush the garnement of the tank top betraying your erected nipples. His touch were soft, teasing the flesh and keep starting to add more pressure. Your first moan escaped your mouth but the second were caught by his own lips.

Everything was sweet and slow he removed your panties gently while keep cheesy smiling to you. You didn't know what was in his eyes, was it love? nuh unfortunately, lust ? hum carrying? yes, looked like it.

He layed down, leaving pecks here and there. Then he reached your private part, kissing, licking, sucking like his life was in game. You tried to touch him.

- "No sweetheart, the pleasure is mine. You no move and stay still. You don't want to be punish little thing?"

He grabbed your knees and left his dick spend free. He's was beautiful, tanned skin, define muscles and his cock.. wow hard, proud, brown-ish and leaking with precum.

- "Lemme lead", tonight is about you, you only ", he whispered lightly in your ears. You shivered, hard. He let you heading on the mattress.

- "Please, lift your hips", he said as he placed a pillow for a better leverage.

He ran a finger all the way down before entering his 2 digits. He was no the first man you had sex with. But boy, he was good. He covered you and praised sweet nothing into your ears. When your orgasm started to building up. He removed his finger, cutting you off a moan.

- "Ssshhh baby, it's going to be okay.", he lifted his hips and slowly penetrated you.

- "S-so big aaahh~" and he bottomed out. "For suck sake you're tight!", His length was big enough for you, you felt absolutely everything, his pulses, his tips kissing your cervix. " I'll start to move sweetheart", and moving he did.

His pace was slow, deep but firm. He encaged you between his arms.

Blank, everything is blank, sounds, odors only remains the slapping sounds skin under skin and the heat increasing at each second.

- "hhha hahahaha~ you so big. f-fuck", you were a mumbling mess.

- "You're so soft, so kind, offering me your sweet little pussy... but", he gripped your hips and sending you head down, ass up. "Baby, you did so good to mount you, making you mine and no one else."

His pace became barely impossible to follow. You found yourself trying to absorb his cock. He grunted and suddenly shot his load. Hot, long and copious spurs filled up your cunt.

You collapsed from exhaustion.

- "Tsk tsk tsk baby, get up, I'm not done with you yet. I came yes, but you no. So, be prepared for one of the longest night of your life".

[mewhenimanangel]

spiderboy, miles morales x reader

part 1 ʚɞ part 2 ʚɞ part 3 ʚɞ part 4 ʚɞ part 5!

pairing: earth 1610! miles morales x reader

chapter 5 synopsis: Miles takes you on a beautiful date at a gorgeous restaurant in downtown Brooklyn.

wc: 3.1k

warnings!: cursing, kissing, violence, awkward teens in love

translations: hola hermosa - hello beautiful, querida - dear, extremadamente bonita - extremely pretty, cariño - honey, amor - love

You were walking down the street on the way to school, it was Monday now and you could hardly wait to see Miles again. You've never looked forward to a weekend more, Zoya offered to take you shopping on Friday after school for an outfit.

You walked into the building and head to your locker and soon enough Zoya and Peter walked up to you. "Finally you guys are going out" Zoya squealed. "Yeah Miles been talking about you like crazy for the last month" Peter admitted. "Really?? Why didn't you tell me anything?" Zoya snapped her head to him. "I wasn't gonna snitch on my guy like that. Plus I knew you would've told n/n" he answered, Zoya rolling her eyes.

You giggled and went back to your locker, eyes landing on Miles making his way over to you. Zoya followed where you were looking and smiled "We'll leave the two of you alone." she said grabbing Peter's hand and walking away.

"Hola hermosa" Miles said coming up to you. "Hey you" you smiled, closing the door. "Lemme walk you to class?" he asked taking your books from your hands. "Oh you don't have to do that." you said about to take them back. "I want to. Let me do things for you, querida" he said turning so the books were out of reach. "Yeah but that textbook is heavy" you sighed. "Not for me remember" he said raising an eyebrow. "Yeah whatever spidey" you whispered the last part.

Later in the day, you invited him and Ganke to sit at your table at lunch. He sat in the middle of you two with Zoya, Maya and Peter on the other side. He was talking about whatever with Peter and Ganke when you felt his thigh touch yours, you smiled internally when he didn't move away. It was silly how excited you got, considering you were sitting on his lap with your tongue in his mouth not two days ago.

🩰

The rest of the week went by like that with him walking you to class, holding your books and small touches here and there. Now that he admitted he was spider-man, you caught on to his 'spidey sense' activating, his random disappearances and thirty minute bathroom breaks.

On Wednesday you got your hair braided, getting black goddess braids. You went home after school on Friday to change into a pair of jeans and a black tube top. You threw your puffer jacket on and grabbed the money your mom left on the counter for you. Zoya met you on your block and you walked to the subway station.

When you got to the mall before you started to shop, you bought a cinnamon pretzel at Aunty Anne's. "Okay you need something that's like sexy but elegant." Zoya said scrolling through dresses until she landed on one. Her mouth hung open picking it out. "Y/n this is literally it this is so it!" You turned around and saw her holding a black sleeveless mini dress with pink lace trimming at the top and the bottom.

"Ohh my god. I need this!" you squealed, practically running to the dressing room. It was a perfect fit, you stood in the mirror admiring the way it hugged your waist and the way it fell at the top of your thighs. You stepped out for a second to let Zoya see it and she squealed. "Oh my god, you look so good bebe!" she shouted grabbing your hands as you squealed.

After purchasing the dress you decided to do some more damage to your wallets and continue shopping, you were already there so might as well. You both buying more clothes, jewelry, and makeup.

It was getting dark, and your mom came to pick the two of you up. You pulled up to her building and she got out kissing you goodbye "I'm so coming over tomorrow to help you get ready. Goodnight Ms. L/n" "Goodnight sweetie!" your mom called out watching her enter the building. "Are you excited for your little date" your mom squealed playfully biting her tongue. "I am! Miles is really really sweet" you said smiling. "He seems like it. I'm so happy for you baby"

🩰

It was six pm and Y/n went to the bathroom and did a thorough skincare routine: rose clay face mask, eyebrow threading, cleansers, lip mask. You got in the shower and shaved until you were practically hairless. When you got out, you mixed baby oil and rose scented body butter and applied it all over your body. When you were getting into your underwear there was a knock on your door, Zoya bursting in.

"Ughh baby's first date. I feel like a proud mom" she exclaimed putting a hand to her face, wiping fake tears. "Oh shut up" you giggled.

She quickly got to work on your hair, tightly pulling your braids back into a strategic messy bun. She laid out edges into a simple slick look. She smiled admiring her work, before getting started on your makeup. Adding the finishing touch of a pink nude gloss she turned your chair to face the mirror. "Oh my god you really got me right!" you exclaimed.

You grabbed your dress and she helped you get into it, avoiding any contact with the makeup on your face. You checked yourself out in the mirror before adding your gold dior necklace with dangling gold earrings and strapped up a pair of black open toed heels. "Okay what perfume for the occasion?" Zoya asked going through your perfumes. You decided on the Coco Mademoiselle parfum you had gotten for your birthday.

"Oh my god you look amazing!" she said grabbing her digital camera and making you pose as she took a bunch of pictures of you. It was 7:44 now and Zoya said her goodbyes. "Goodnight bebe. I hope you have so much fun! Tell me everything." she said leaving the apartment. "Baby you look beautiful" your mom said holding your face. "My little girl growing up, going on dates" her lips in a pout. "Mommy don't cry" you laughed. "I won't I won't! Just let me get some pictures" she said grabbing her phone.

There was a knock at the door and you took a deep breath before opening it. Miles stood there wearing a black button down shirt with matching black dress pants, a big pu leather jacket and black loafers. He had a bouquet of pink roses and a small white box in his hand and he smelled really really good. "Hi" you greeted, big smile worn on your face. "Hi" he said smiling back at you "You look so so beautiful, querida. Extremadamente bonita" he said checking you out. "Goodnight Ms. L/n" he said realizing your mom was standing behind you in the kitchen. "Hi hun!" she said back, before easing away.

"These are for you, y/n" he handed the flowers to you. "Aww oh Miles you shouldn't have" you pressed your hand to your chest. "And I uh bought this for you" he said handing you the little white box. You smiled and opened it to find a gold locket with a floral engraving. "Oh my god. Miles this is beautiful" you smiled, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you like it." he smiled at you. "Help me put it on?" you asked as he turned you around and latched it.

"Mom, we're ready to leave!" you called out, grabbing your purse. "Wait! Let me get a picture of you guys. I've to show Rio." You both laughed as Miles snuck his arm around your waist and you laid your hand on his chest, posing for the picture. "Bye guys! Stay safe and have fun! Miles you better have her back by eleven" your mom said playfully squinting her eyes at him. "Of course Ms L/n" he chuckled.

When you closed the door, Miles interlocked his fingers around yours as you head to the stairs. "This place is really nice. My parents went here on their first date and they took me one time for their anniversary " he told you, helping you ease down the stairs in your heels. "That's so adorable, m'very honored to be taken there" you said squeezing his hand.

You walked to the subway, hurrying as best you could to catch the train. "Here come on my back!" he picked you up effortlessly as he trot down the last set of stairs and into the train, just making it. He put you down carefully as to not make your dress ride up too much. You wrapped your arm around Miles' and wrapped a leg over the other as you found seats by the door.

Getting off at your stop, you and Miles turned the corner to the restaurant. It was near the Brooklyn bridge, string lights lit around the trees in the night. It was definitely upscale and on the more expensive side. He led the way into the building and the inside was even nicer with dim lighting, beautiful decorations, and nice furniture. "Uh Morales, table for two" he told the lady at the front. His dad told him what to do and was actually the one who made the reservation, but you didn't have to know that.

He kept his hand around yours the whole way there and pulled your chair back for you. "Aww you're so sweet" you said resting your jacket on the back of your chair. "I'm glad I could finally take you on a date." he said smiling at you, you smiling back. He finally let go of your hand to take a look at the menu. "You can get anything you want. No budget" he told you. And he meant it, Miles loved doing things for you, especially if it meant he could see your gorgeous smile.

A waiter walked up to your table and pulled out a notepad. "Goodnight, can I get you guys anything to drink? Any appetizers?" she asked. Miles ordered a virgin cocktail while you got a strawberry lemonade. Since you were both ready to order your food anyways you went ahead and did that. He got salmon over rice that was topped with their signature gravy. You got creamy garlic buttered lobster tail with fettuccine pasta.

You and Miles talked while waiting for food. About everything in general and also nothing at all. You talked about what films were good, what books were good, favorite colors, how it was for him to be spider-man and take on such responsibility. You talked about what you would do after high school and where you would go. He opened up about his uncle Aaron's death and you opened up about your father's significant absence throughout most of your life.

When the food came you both rambled about how good it was, spoon feeding each other your meals. You ordered a strawberry cheese cake to share for dessert and asked for the bill. You grabbed your purse to take some money out. "Aye, cariño, you gotta let me do stuff for you" he sighed pushing your hand with the money away. "But Miles that's a lot of money" you whined. "I can handle it ma don't worry" he said giving the waitress his credit card, adding a tip.

You stacked the plates, making your waitress's job easier before grabbing your jacket and purse making your way out. He opened the door for you and you guys began your walk back home. "I had a really good time tonight, Miles" you told him, staring into his eyes. "I did too" he smiled. You both leaned in, pressing your lips against each other, hands held beneath you. He pulled away from the kiss first "Y/n, do you thi-" he cut himself off, tensing up. Just then an explosion broke out, a building catching fire.

Everyone around began freaking out and running around. "Get somewhere safe please, I'm gonna take care of this!" he told you, making you head in the direction everyone was running. He pulled his suit out from out of nowhere and making sure no one saw him he ran over to where the explosion came from. It was then, an oversized mutant gorilla on two legs appeared on a rooftop. "Come get me spider-man! I wanna be the one to finally kill you!" the villain roared.

Everyone halted in their path upon hearing that, looking back. Miles, Spider-man webbed over to it, landing a kick on the side of its face. The gorilla grabbed his leg and threw him to the ground. You gasped and covered your mouth watching the scene before you, but Miles got up to strike again. The gorilla threw fists in Miles' direction, him dodging effortlessly. He shot webs at his face to throw it off its balance, falling on its back. He jumped on top of the gorilla before it got up and threw him against a wall.

He quickly got on his feet, throwing a punch at the gorilla. The police arrived at the scene opening fire at the gorilla. Miles used his webs to trip and pull the gorilla to its feet, slamming his head to the pavement. Getting angry, the gorilla sprung to its feet and grabbed Miles, pounding him into the ground. He then picked him up with his enlarged gorilla hands and choked him out.

You kicked off your heels, looking around you found a dad and his son holding a baseball bat. You grabbed it, quickly yelling a 'sorry!' as you ran to the side of the building where Miles was fighting. You knew it was stupid to get involved in something so dangerous as this but you didn't want Miles to get hurt, or worse. You ran up the fire escape as quickly and quietly as you could, before hoisting yourself up to the very top of the roof trying as hard as you could to not fall right back down.

"I'm gonna kill you with my bare hands you damn bug" it growled. Miles was trying to claw away at his hands to get him off. While it was distracted holding up Miles, you eased up behind them. Bringing the bat back behind you as far as you could, and swung at its head as hard as you could. Its grip loosened around Miles' neck as it looked back at you allowing him to slip out and catch his breath. "Ohh what's this" it chuckled. You swung again as hard as you could before it grabbed your hand lifting you off your feet.

It angered Miles seeing the way he was toying with you. "Hey you big fucking monkey put her down!" he shouted. The gorilla moved closer to the edge and threw you down. You screamed as your distance to the ground rapidly got closer. "Noo!" Miles screamed out running to catch you. He shot a web down around your waist and hauled you back you up. "You okay?" he quickly asked, you nodded. He gently threw you back against a wall, protecting you and getting you out of the way. He jumped up and kicked at the gorilla's face throwing it down.

He quickly wrapped webs around its ankles picking him up with his hands and slamming him down. He threw a web to at the bat that had fallen earlier, taking it in his hand and repeatedly hitting against the gorilla's head. He kept hitting until he saw blood pooling from its nose and it lost consciousness.

He threw the bat and wrapped his webs around and around the gorilla's body tying a tight knot and dangling its body down to the police. They all ran over to grab it and take it in their police cars. "Thank you Spiderman!" one of them called out. The people on the street shouted out cheers and thank yous. "Anytime!" he called back down.

He turned around and you ran to him, engulfing him in a hug. He tightly wrapped his arms around you and covered his face in your neck. He quickly pulled away to look at you "Why did you do that? You could have really gotten hurt" he scolded. Tears welled up in your eyes "I just didn't want you to get hurt. You could've died!" you retorted. "You could've died! I don't know what I would've done with myself if that happened." he exclaimed. He wrapped his arms back around you, you crying lightly into his shoulder.

"Y/n" "Hm?" you mumbled. He lifted your head off him and pulled off his mask. "Do you think um...Do you think...Will you let me be your boyfriend?" he quickly blurted the last bit. You breathed out and smiled watching his eyes. You held his face in your hands "God I thought you'd never ask" you smiled, smashing your lips into his. Your lips moved in sync, him using an arm to bring you closer and deepen the kiss. He smiled against your lips "Is that a yes?" "Of course it's a yes" you giggled.

"You might wanna change out of that. I've gotta go give that guy his bat back...and get my shoes" you told him. "Yeah okay, I'll be right down" he gently put you down on the ground and you rushed over to the man. "Here you go, really I'm sorry about the...blood" you told him. "No problem...I saw you take these off, so here you go" he hand you your heels. "Oh my god thank you. Have a good night."

You looked around for Miles, when he tapped your shoulder, back in his dinner clothes. "Hey..girlfriend" he smiled. "Hello boyfriend" you smiled back, him giving you a peck on the lips.

You were now standing in front of your apartment door saying your goodbyes to Miles. "Are you sure you're okay?" he said taking your hand in his. "Yes, I'm alright" you giggled. "Just glad you were there to protect me spiderboy" you joked. "Goodnight, amor" he said wrapping his arms around you. "Goodnight" you said taking his lips on yours. "I really like doing this" he giggled. "Me too" you said kissing him again.

Just then the door opened, and your mom appeared. "Oh!" she yelped, the two of you quickly moving away. "Don't pretend I didn't just see what I just saw" she laughed. "Hey Miles, thank you for getting her home safe." she smiled at him, hugging your shoulder. "Of course, goodnight Ms L/n" he said "Goodnight Y/n" he smiled, walking away.

You entered the apartment behind your mom, you really had a lot to tell her.

[ravetillyoucry]

PUPARIA

Chapter 8 - Rain

prev - chapter 1

"Huh." Hosah stood over the dirtied, coffee-stained notebook page that sat in-front of him.

His assistant leant in uncomfortably closer, his brain left to wonder what the hell it said for far too long by now, "Well, can you make it out?"

The shifter kissed his teeth, unsure whether to tell the truth and have to read all what it said out loud, or if he should keep the team waiting until somebody else had interpreted and written it up in an email.

"No, no yeah, pretty much." To be fair, he wasn't sure of a couple of ink-smudged words, but as long as he got the gist of it, that would be enough to move the case forward.

As eyes of anticipation bore into him, Hosah realised now was probably the time to start reading. With a heavy sigh, slightly contemplating what he'd gotten himself into, he began;

"You fucking vermin. You don't know me, and frankly, I don't really know you either, but I know enough to come up with the conclusion, that you're all, fucking leeches. People worry about the rats that scurry all around the city, in the subway station, in the trash and down the dark alleyways, but the real fucking rats are right in front of us."

Eugh. Cliche. Boring. All the other adjectives Hosah couldn't quite think of right in that moment,

"But, I've found myself growing fond of you. Watching you from afar. I find myself both loving you, and hating you. The lines have blurred by now. I understand you are human, or at least, that is what you parade yourself around as, but honestly, I'm not too sure you're anything at all. Completely devoid of life. Just an empty pit of nothing hiding in a cold, flesh shell. I see you sitting alone at bars on a Friday night, and I have to really stop myself from sitting down next to you, buying you a drink, taking you home with me, keeping you forever. But I'm not that selfish. Maybe later. You make me furious, because I love you. And I shouldn't, that's what you want, after all, you act cute and helpless, vulnerable and fragile, that's what draws everyone in, you've got that ginger prick hanging on your every word, and look at you. Hot and cold, nothing that you say is what you really mean, you work people up just to run away when they start to act on feelings they thought were returned. It's cruel. But, I can be crueler. We would've made the perfect pair, if you didn't drive me so crazy. You're going to be the death of me, Hosah Seung Levi. And the death of many, many others. I don't know, see how I feel once this gets to you. Let's talk more over drinks next time, though."

Ew. Was this really the type Hosah attracted? Serial killer stalkers? I mean, sounded about right. Some of the note seemed pretty heartfelt, some downright offensive, and some offensively corny. If the whole murder aspect wasn't the main thing that put him off, it'd be the cheesy way they spoke about him.

"I've never even told anyone my middle name." The shifter's voice shook, clearly disturbed by the contents of the letter, despite not wanting to admit to being so.

Teddy leant back in his chair, hands rubbing his face in disgust, not saying a word, just groaning endlessly.

"Man." The giant pushed himself forwards again, eyes fixated on the paper, "Got ourselves a next level freak."

If you were to listen closely, a small, unsettled 'Hmm' could be heard from the tiny man sitting before the sheet. There was so much information to rack his brain on. Hosah hadn't even been to the bar in weeks, meaning this killer had been at the whole stalking game for a while now. He wondered if it was just the fifteen they were guilty of, or if years worth of unsolved homicides were all on their hands. Maybe he'd have to take up the offer to chat over drinks, just to pry all of this information out of the twisted individual with his bare hands.

He wondered about what specifically he’d done to attract this kind of attention. If anything, the shifter thought he’d been keeping his head down lately, staying out of trouble, but it seems the more he tries to avoid these kinds of people, the more attracted to him they become.

The contents of the note echoed in his head, everything else becoming white noise. Vermin he could handle, Rat he’d heard a million times before, but there was something far, far more hurtful about the brutal reality of the situation;

Whoever wrote this, was completely right.

Thinking back to how he’d previously behaved, his cold attitude towards Teddy for no other reason than he felt threatened that there was an off chance of him opening himself up to someone again. It was all true. Sure, Hosah wasn’t a serial killer of any kind, but god did he have it in him to be cruel.

Hit with an unexpected punch in the gut from a little something called shame, the shifter couldn’t help but hang his head down, letting out a troubled sigh,

"Should send this all off to the police. Let them know about the painting and shit. Report the stalking. Get a protection order of some kind. I don't know.. Anything, nothing, I.. I'm just tired to be honest." Hosah sat, cross legged, burying his face in his hands, brushing through his hair as he usually did under stress.

Teddy agreed, "God, yeah definitely, shouldn't reported the painting yesterday. Shit. Well, they'll be over later in the day, can lay down the basics then." In all honesty, nobody knew why they didn't come the day prior, it's not like Jeanne didn't try calling, unlike that useless security guard, so the reason for their no-show was seemingly a mystery.

God, as the days went by, Hosah felt more like Fred Jones rather than any Sherlock Holmes, all he needed was a talking dog and a brightly coloured mini van.

As the shrunken man lost himself in his thoughts, a finger reached over, giving him a gentle rub on the back. The touch almost made the shifter jump out of his skin, but it only took a split second for him to melt into it. Surprisingly, it did its job pretty well, easing Hosah's mind, just a little.

"I'm glad I can be of help for you. Keep you safe and stuff. Just not sure if your secret admirer is all too on board," the giant teased, although it wasn't the best of times to be cracking jokes.

Hosah didn't care to get offended, or to laugh either, instead focusing on making the most of what little physical contact he'd gotten to receive in months. He was too tired to care, really. The whole ordeal tuckered him out. Just the thought of being where he was, working for another few hours, almost lulled him straight to sleep. Sure, being stalked by someone that had a kill count possibly in the twenties was probably about as interesting as his life was ever going to get, but Hosah really didn't have any damns in him left to spare.

Thinking back to his dreams, he wished he could be at a little cabin on the lakeside. Spending his days fishing, collecting firewood for his makeshift oven and heating system, his evenings cooking his catch of the day, and his nights watching the stars, skidding rocks over the surface of the crystal water, looking at the moon in its clear reflection. Summers could be spent riding his horse companion around the forest, herding the sheep on the mountain side, making sure they weren't eaten by any wolves when the sun went down. That was the life he was destined for. Maybe he could spare a couple days of the year to paint such a scene, although it'd have to wait until he could safely return to his own apartment.

Teddy rested his head in his folded arm on the desk, much closer to the shrunken figure, with a much better view of him. He looked tired. At least, more than he usually did. The pronounced fat under his eyes always gave him that sort of sleepy look anyway. The giant felt very, very bad for him. The kind of sympathy you feel guilty just for feeling towards someone. Pity was probably a better way to put it. He was sure Hosah could carry himself as well as anybody else in the building, but his assistant just wanted to crawl inside of his brain and figure out just about everything there was to know. What secrets he kept, what he dreams about, what he thinks of everyone he meets, the songs that get stuck in his head.

Teddy seriously had no idea how anyone could miss just how blatantly human the tiny man is. Maybe the killer had gotten their names mixed up, because it was the 'ginger prick' that felt as though he were a dark, endless pit of nothing, using a human shell to disguise himself.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, this was just about as close as he could get to opening up Hosah's skull and crawling in, and he'd take what he could get.

The shifter shrugged, burying his face deeper in his knees, "This dream I keep having." , he waited for Teddy's 'Hmm?' of approval to continue, "Living by lakeside, never having to work again, spending every day fishing, or painting, reading, just thinking.. It's been my dream ever since I could remember. To do nothing."

"Fishing, painting and reading doesn't sound like nothing."

"You know what I mean, not paying my way in society, living off the grid," Hosah sighed, satisfied with the idea. "Would you come with me? Once this is all over, at least."

Yes. Of course, a thousand yes's. "Haha.. We'll see"

-~-

The rest of the day, Hosah spent on edge. Not that he wasn't constantly in some state of fear anyway, but the whole devocoale had sent him down a spiral of anxiety. In the taxi back to Teddy's place, he convinced himself the car behind them was following him, a creek in the old apartment buildings hallway must've been someone scoping the place out and preparing to break in, the people sitting out on the benches outside must be waiting for him to come out so they could grab him. In summary, Hosah was not having a fun time.

As the shrunken figure sat at the windowsill, watching out of the cracks in the blinds, his eyes squinting to make out any activity in the poorly lit streets, he wondered what kind of person had written him the letter. Obviously, he knew what they were roughly, a monster capable of causing large scale tragedy for the likeness of New York's shifter population, but on the surface, it had to be someone he himself wouldn't peg as such a threat.

He thought about everyone he'd ever interacted with, or at least, within the past month or so. Cashiers, strangers on the tube, people in cars giving him the right away to cross the street. Anywhere he could find any sort of answer, Hosah thought about intensively. The shifter felt his breath shorten as he got himself more and more panicked, he'd felt fear before, the kind of fear that the breath you'd just taken would be your last, but nothing like this. The kind of fear that comes before fight or flight, the lingering feeling that something is extremely wrong. His heart in his throat, Hosah reluctantly closed his eyes, trying to steady his readily increasing heartbeat and his uncontrolled breathing.

"Hey. All good there?"

The voice took him out completely, the shifter momentarily feeling his soul come out of his body as he frantically gasped for air, "FUCK, don't.. sneak up on me like that.." Hosah clutched his chest with one hand, the other wiping he sweat that had built up on his brow, "Scared the shit out of me."

Teddy didn't quite understand the gravity of the situation, as he laughed instead, "Sorry, sorry. You looked lost in thought," the giant leant in closer, his elbows at either side of the man before him, "Something bothering you?"

'Oh, nah, just the fact he'd learnt he was the victim of intensive, violent stalking', was what Hosah really wanted to say, but he didn't want to make any more enemies after learning such a fact.

"Just that note. Trying to remember everyone I've got bad blood with, s'all.." If that was all, he wouldn't be such a ghostly white colour right now, starkly contrasting his usual sienna-adjacent tone.

His assistant turned, lifting himself up to sit on the window sill besides the tiny man, "Never really thought you were the type to go around making enemies," Teddy commented.

"God, not now, no.. But definitely in my early twenties." Ah, the good old days, as most would put it. For Hosah however, these were probably the worst years of his life.

The shifter had tried his best to keep everything he got up to around this period a secret, but of course once he'd gotten settled at his first position when first joining the agency, Jules had to and spread exactly the kind of things he got up to around the office like wildfire. 'Just to break to ice' , as she put it.

He winced at the memory, adding, ".. You've probably heard it around work. Always resurfaces every couple of months. Everyone in that place is so fucking bored man, I mean, isn't homicide enough for them?"

"I haven't heard anything, actually. If you don't want me to know, I'm okay with that. Sucks to have your dirty laundry aired out. I know the feeling." Teddy's eyes lingered on everything else that wasn't the shifter besides him, although his hand seemed to inch closer and closer by the second.

Maybe the two were more alike than they'd initially bargained for.

Hosah shrugged, despite knowing he wasn't being looked at, "It's not that bad. I was just a bit of a.." his hand brushed through his hair, pulling on the strands just a little, as he tried to think of the best way to both vaguely and accurately put it.

"A twenty year old? Hah, we all did shit we regret back then. I'm not gonna judge you for any of that, I know I'm not the same person I was like, five years ago."

Not wanting to push the topic any further, the shrunken figure moved himself directly in front of the hand, leaning over and resting his upper body against it. All he could mutter was a quiet, almost unheard, 'I'm tired,' , his eyes instinctively closing once more. He was definitely going to struggle to get a good nights sleep after the day he had, but it was worth a try.

It turns out, going through emotional turmoil does in fact tucker oneself out, as Hosah seemed to have slipped into unconsciousness right then and there, only now awaking after a night filled with the type of dreams he could only assume to be bad omens.

The dream that awoke him however, was one he recalled clearly, although this time, there seemed to be a twist.

None of that mattered though, as Hosah was back to his full height of five foot seven. The only problem is, he must've stripped off as he was so used to doing whilst in a between state of both awake and asleep, leaving him with no size appropriate clothing.

There was only one option for the shifter, unfortunately.

"..Teddyyyyy,"

The yell was immediately met by a creak in the bedroom door, as if his assistant had been stood outside of it this whole time, waiting for the OK to enter.

Teddy covered his eyes as he walked in, making his way straight towards the wardrobe and throwing the first things he grabbed at the shifter.

"I know, I'll go over and get some of your stuff in a few minutes. Just.. put these on for now whilst I make breakfast."

Ew. Hosah didn't get it. Beautiful people should wear clothes that are of the same level as beauty as the individual, but, in all honesty, the guy dressed like shit. The tattered t-shirt only just hung on to the shifter's slender shoulders, and the pants were a complete lost cause. Instead, he opted for the classic 'My shirt will cover all it needs' look, wandering his way into the living area, where he could smell something cooking in the next room over.

The, for once, regular human sized man peaked over the hollow door frame, watching as his new found roommate flipped the final pancake onto its uncooked side, listening to the sizzling of the mixture against the hot pan rather than starting any kind of conversation. He wondered if things would be different, now that they were on equal grounds to each other.

It didn't take long for Teddy to feel the eyes boring into the back of his head, turning to greet his single audience member, "Morning," He froze for a second, looking Hosah up and down.

Teddy knew he was taller than most, but he didn't expect the shifter to still be so small even when at his regular size. Not only was he much shorter than himself, but he was also much thinner, his knobbly knees poking out from each side of his legs, and his collar bone extending all the way out and to his shoulders where it stuck out like a spike of sorts.

Still, the stark difference in his height from what Teddy had grown used to was definitely going to throw him off. He almost found himself reaching his hand out, the same hand the shifter once lounged in less than a day ago, comparing it to his current size.

"Smells good," Hosah commented after a brief moment of silence, whilst his assistant took in the change of perspective.

It took him a second to get his words out, his train of thought being halted by the sudden spark in conversation, "Yeah, thanks. Should be done by now. Then I'll go and pick up some of your clothes."

He tried his best not to look the shifter in the eye, as he felt his face become progressively redder with every word that came out of his mouth.

Hosah, more casual than ever, just propped himself up on the countertop opposite his assistant. "Cool."

As his eyes fixated on everything else in the room, Teddy couldn't help but compare the countless trinkets and decorations he kept laying around the place to the, once tiny, man.

As the day went on, he found himself seeing Hosah in all different kinds of places. A butterfly resting on a flower as he walked past the park, countless erasers lying around on his desk where the shifter sat not so long ago, without even realising it, Teddy had been staring at his hands for the last five minutes. He should really get back to work.

"Here's what I'm caught up on, how the fuck does this guy know my middle name? It's literally only on like.. My legal documents. That's it."

The shifter's words took Teddy out of his trance, "What?"

"The note." now leant against the desk, Hosah sighed, "I'm just thinking about who would even have access to any of that stuff. Jules is the only one with the skeleton key for all the filing cabinets and shit,"

"Is it on your ID, maybe?"

Eyebrows furrowing, the shifter thought about the question for a second, ".. Shit. I don't know. Maybe? Fuck, yeah, since in the note it said about the bar.. But I don't even get ID'd anymore"

"I don't want to scare you but.. Could be premeditating for longer than you'd think." Teddy instantly regretted the words as soon they left his mouth, "Maybe. It's just an idea. Might be wrong too."

He looked at his hand, then back at the shifter, and then back and forth a few times more, not really listening to whatever was being spoken at him. The clothes on Hosah's body hung loose on his frame, despite them being his own, maybe this wasn't his full height after all, or maybe he just hadn't had the chance to get more form fitting options for a while. Something about the bruises Teddy had noticed scattered across the shifters legs, and the fact he could now see his sunken features much clearer, evoked an urge to protect him.

Hosah had made it clear to him that he was in no need of protecting. Just watching him make his way around the apartment when he was a mere three inches tall solidified that fact, but that still didn't stop the assistant from wanting to help him. He could want all he wanted, despite the fact it's not what he necessarily needed, which sort of made Teddy feel better about pitying the man.

Instead of focusing on Hosah’s chatter, his assistant couldn’t help but reach for the phantom weight in his pocket. There used to be someone in here, but now he’s not, and that hurt Teddy’s heart, just a little.

".. Anyway, I'm gonna go see my doctor tomorrow. Im due a visit. I'll meet you back at your place, if... if you still think it'd be better if I stayed." The uncertainty in his last few words concerned the assistant slightly, only just know focusing back into the conversation.

"Yeah, yeah, no I don't think you should risk staying at your own place for a while. At least not alone, anyway." Teddy reached his hand out for Hosah's, trying to give a reassuring touch, but instead, he became focused again on his size change.

The hand that once held his entire form could now only wrap around his wrist, and that Teddy did. He didn't even realise it until Hosah commented,

".. What are you doing?" the shifter asked, arm raised as the hand gently grabbing it had pulled it in closer.

Noticing the fact, he let go, muttering a quiet 'Sorry' , his face now burning up.

Fortunately for the assistant, Hosah did not take offence, or get annoyed at, the action. He didn't even lower his hand, instead, he just smiled.

"It's ok. It's weird right?" the shifter spun on his heel, leaning over Teddy in his seat, placing his hand down next to his assistant's resting one, "Just yesterday, I was right here. Aha."

It's almost as if he took pleasure in seeing the seated man become progressively more and more flustered.

As Hosah's fingered inched closer to the other person's tightly closed fist, he also began to think about the shift in perspective. He also thought about telling a white lie the next morning, making it out that his shrinking had been just so unpredictable lately, forcing him back into the same hand that rest besides his own.

No, not yet, at least. He had stuff that needed to be done at this height still. Besides, he hadn't pulled that trick since he was much younger, when he wanted to spend the day home from school, or to get out of any kind of family gathering he wasn't particularly bothered to attend. Those were the days. Lounging around on his dad's shoulder, spending the day doing nothing at all productive. Just hanging out, sometimes not even speaking, and enjoying the silent presence of each other.

Ah, there's another thing he had to do, call his dad.

"Well," Hosah stood back up to his full height, his hand now moved to pat his assistant on the shoulder, "Back to work."

Right, work. The shifter still had about an hours worth of security footage to try and make out. Why Scotty wasn't doing this, he had no idea. Hosah always seemed to get saddled with the short end of the stick when it came to big investigations like this one, even if he himself was a highly regarded target to the killer.

So far, there was nothing. Almost as if the package just appeared out of thin air. The fact the computers ran at what seemed to be a frame-per-second wasn't helping either. Rewinding took a whole minute, then the footage would buffer like crazy. He should've really just brought a notebook to jot these things down in, as Hosah thought of a new objective that needed to be met; complain to Jules about the dated technology they were saddled with in the shifter specialised unit.

As he sat, staring at the forever spinning wheel that was the computer loading screen, Hosah could only think of one thing, just how badly he wished to be tiny again. The thought had never crossed his mind before, but now, being reintroduced to the feeling of being held in a single hand, the shifter found himself longing for that touch.

He knew he should’ve just kept his guard up, stuck to what he knew and kept Teddy at an arms length, but Hosah always found himself in these kinds of situations. Finding love and warmth in all the wrong places at all the wrong times.

And when you have a crazed killer out to get you, you should probably avoid becoming distracted with meaningless things like touch deprivation. After all, there are bigger things to focus on, and, despite his height, Teddy was not one of them.

[retrosabers]

i am nothing if not a ghostface!steddie truther so let me set the scene

thinking about ghostface!steddie who somehow get away with it. there’s next to no physical evidence that can connect them to the string of murders in your small town. the only thing hawkins p.d has? their confession to you. their sadistic, twisted confession where steve detailed he was tired of being the perfect golden boy and that eddie was simply just “living up to other people’s expectations.” the town’s been calling him a “freak” for years, might as well give them a freak, right? they stare back at you with sinister grins, knowing they have you cornered like a mouse. you know they won’t kill you, they’re too obsessed and too far gone. but you also know no one would believe you if you told them. steve’s parents had the police department in their pockets and he was a master manipulator. your word against theirs meant nothing. with no other choice, you pack up your apartment and hop on a train to the city the next day, leaving the place you grew up, and all of the blood and gore behind.

new york city is where you found sanctuary. it’s a city swarming with millions, bringing you some peace of mind that they will never find you here. you practically left town without a trace, reluctantly offering your parents a note as a goodbye, claiming that you needed to take space and find yourself. except, you would never be coming home.

you change your hair. you buy a gun. you start working shifts at the new york public library. you start casually dating the guy across the hall of your apartment complex. for a while, things seem safe. normal.

you’re taking the a train home after a long shift. your eyes are drooping with exhaustion, body slumping against the pole of the subway car. the train slows to a stop as the next station platform approaches, just one shy of your stop. people impolitely squeeze past you, rushing out to get back to their own homes. you rub your eyes with the back of your and and look out the window and nearly scream.

steve and eddie are standing there. or boys who look like them at least. once your eyes focus, you notice the metalhead isn’t nearly as tall as eddie or adorned with as many tattoos. the preppy boy’s hair is too short, and too unkempt. you breathe a sigh of relief as the doors close, and the subway sends you towards your proper destination.

you can’t help but walk back to your apartment with your keys between your fingers, free hand clutching your purse tightly. it’s approaching the one year mark since the murderers back home, and you find yourself on edge more than normal. once you’re back in the safety of your apartment, you can relax, maybe drink a glass of wine in the bathtub and light some candles. you quicken your pace as you reach your stoop.

the door to your apartment is unlocked.

your breath hitches in your throat. you curse internally for stashing your gun in your bedroom, far away from the door. you open it just a crack; enough for you to get through without the door making the same creaking noise it always does. you tiptoe into your foyer, snatching up the vase from the table. slowly, you creep into your apartment, eyeing any signs of an intruder. your living room looks untouched. completely identical to the way you remember it from this morning. all of your appliances are in their respective spots, your walkman that you stupidly always leave on the coffee table still where it was before. the door to your bedroom is wide open. the window is closed.

there isn’t a single sign of a break in.

you let out a heavy sigh and slump into the couch, massaging your temple.

“jesus christ” you mutter, leaning your head back against the edge.

your blood goes cold when you hear an all too familiar chuckle.

“you really need to stop being so uptight”

eddie’s teasing tone ties a knot in your stomach. you hear the door to your apartment click shut, confirming your fear. this isn’t a horrid dream. this is your worst nightmare happening in real time.

you turn around and find two sets of emotionless brown eyes boring back into yours. steve smirks, and eddie offers a taunting wave.

“miss us sweetheart?”

[stupidsagestars]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈-𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒

𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 here

[𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐔 𝐌𝐈𝐘𝐀]

𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈-𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐔 who's having the best time of his life being injured. The two of you have moved into a stunning mansion off the coast. It had your own tennis court, a gym, a volleyball court of course,indoor and outdoor bar, 3 balconies, 4 garages and many, many rooms. Although Atsumu had previously been super upset about not being able to play volleyball, this time around he was happy to spend all day with you.

𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈-𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐔 who can't stop smiling at you when you wake him up in the morning with breakfast in bed, it was quite cold outside so you made him hot chocolate with alot of marshmallows on top- just how he liked it. You give him a small kiss on the cheek, telling him you're leaving to start buying furniture and home decor and also some other things. He quickly jumps out of bed and begs you to wait for him since he doesn't just want to be at home alone.

𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈-𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐔 who does rock-paper-scissors with you to choose which car to take. You ultimately win and decide to take your sleek, white bentley instead of his high speed, red ferrari.

"So we're going to Ralph Lauren first because you need a new wardrobe." You say.

"Huh??? I've got clothes babe, I don't need anything from Rachel Larence!!" He says looking at the shirt he had been wearing for the last 5 days.

"Again, it's not Rachel Larence it's Ralph Lauren and yes you do need new clothes."

𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈-𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐔 who's quietly admiring you as you argue with a company on the phone whilst eating lunch with him in a lovely café. You hang up the phone and complain to him about one of your 3 companies not getting as much revenue as you'd hoped. He just listens and smiles.

"why are you just smiling, you haven't touched your food."

"it'd taste better if you fed it to me." He hums smirking at you.

You roll your eyes at him, "so we're going to Louis Vuitton because we need new suitcases for your trip next month."

You drag him by the hand and he quickly leaves the bill on the table before you can contest.

"babe just let your husband of 5 years and 3 months pay for you it's no biggie." He says as you both walk over to the car.

"but you always pay." You reply, pouting at him.

"you can pay next time, let's go to Lewis Vetton to get suitcases or did you forget already??" He sings as he opens the car door for you before rushing over to the other side.

"im not even gonna bother correcting you this time."

𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈-𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐀���𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐔 who notices an amazing black Porsche infront of your car in the traffic and immediately gets jealous. He scans it quickly, and immediately realises it's a new model. He tuts and decides to take a detour. He reverses the car and goes in the opposite direction.

You pinch him annoyed, knowing exactly what he was doing as he had done it many times before.

"WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER CAR."

He exaggerates the pinch, making an upset face.

"we do!! It's like how you sometimes have this thing where you don't wear last season clothes, I need new cars." He reasons and you sigh, fine, you wouldn't ruin your husband's fun evening it meant spending a ton of money.

𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈-𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐔 who's tired and hungry when you two finally get home.

"finally we're home." You groan placing a bunch of bags on the floor.

" what do we eat." Atsumu hums, his arms around your neck as you walk over to the kitchen.

"I can make some spaghetti?" You offer.

"Sounds great, I'll turn on the TV."

𝐌𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐈-𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐔 who's playing subway surfers on his phone when he notices an email from a friend over in Las Vegas. It's an invitation to attend an opening for a new hotel. Vegas was always a great experience for both of you as knew had to have a good time, you were the life of the party. Flashy limos, glasses of champagne, fancy hotels and you both knew a few dirty dance moves that caught eyes.

"BABE!" He shouts

"WHAT'S UP??" You shout back, sprinkling some seasoning onto the spaghetti.

"WE'VE GOT PARTY IN VEGAS."

Finally, you walk into the "living area" with a tray and bottles of red wine in hand.

"When?" You ask, you place the tray on his lap and the wine on the table, you bend down to grab two glasses.

Atsumu's eyes move from his phone screen to your body. His eyes light up at the sight of your ass displayed infront of him, just waiting to be toyed with.

"Next week Saturday." He mutters, contemplating whether to satisfy his urges now or later.

You stand up with the two empty wine glasses and take a seat next to him. "Oh fuck we can't go, you're meant to go back to training."

"Shit, you're right!" He's expected to be fully recovered by now. Ugh, how annoying was that.

"Can I not just skip so we can go."

You scoff, "well we could. But Sakusa would kill you as soon as you stepped in to training." You hum and he rolls his eyes.

"What's going on with everyone currently?" You say slowly chewing the food.

"Uh, Oikawa opened up a new hotel, 'Samu's got a new restaurant too, Kiyoko and Tanaka opened up a spa, and uh Sakusa, well he's crazy as fuck, he's opened up like a thousand different things, he's a trillionaire." Atsumu exclaims, chugging each glass of wine he filled up.

"As if you aren't crazier, with your sports cars and your designer shirts." You taunt and he stops for a moment and makes an agreeing face .

"okay maybe you're right."

"we should think about opening another gym. It's going really well " You note to which he nods.

"Yeah it's a great business plan but I can think of something better." He mutters, looking at you with lustful eyes. He places your plate onto the table and moves closer to you.

"We do?" You say, playing along, letting his hands roam your body.

"Well, me and you have some business we need to sort out don't we?" He says leaving a trail of wet kisses down your neck.

"I think we do." You pull him close to you, twirling your fingers around his hair.

He quickly slips off your dress, throwing it on the floor and latches his tongue into your breast.

"fuck- I love how soft they are~" Atsumu moans. He could feel his cock about to burst out of his trousers.

"ah- you say that all the time." you reply.

" 'cause it's true babe." He says, finally making his way down to your lower body.

"i think I've reached the height of the business. " He says, tracing his fingers on your panties.

"don't tease." You beg, and he chuckles softly.

"I would've thought you'd be used to it by now." He retorts, finally shoving two long fingers into your tight cunt.

You can't muster up any words, instead all you can do is gasp and moan as his fingers stretch and twirl inside your pussy.

"are you going to cum for me babe, seal the deal." He says, watching you eagerly as he feels you clench around his fingers.

"Fuck yes." You moan. Atsumu can't help but lick your cum clean of his fingers, it tasted so sweet, it was dirty but he didn't care, not in the bit, in fact it turned him on even more.

You crawled onto him, indulging in a long,sensual kiss before unbuttoning his shirt.

"I think it's my turn to take over." You say, tracing your hands over his amazing body.

"I am fine with that." He says giving you a toothy grin.

---★---★---★---★

As you and Atsumu cuddled in your shared bedroom. Under an mountain of blankets and a silky duvet.

"I can't help but feel like we've missed something." Atsumu mumbles.

"I won't be surprised, considering the amount of detours we've taken." You yawn.

His eyes widen when he realises the meeting he missed.

"Oh fuck. I was meant to meet with the coach and Sakusa today, oh fuck." He groans and you laugh softly.

"Well knowing him he's not gonna let it go for a while." You comment to which he groans even more. Sakusa probably called him a thousand times, he was probably seething.

---★--- this is not proofread 😭 but I hope you enjoyed it, please like the posts and follow me for more! Keep updated for more of the series :D

[siddyyyyyyyy]

pairing: re4r Leon Kennedy x reader, no outbreak au

warnings: your mom being embarrassing, no y/n used

wc: 2.6 k

a/n: I'm not normal about Leon Kennedy, he's in my mind, in my sketchbook and now even in my dreams. And be warned, this is total cringe, it's embarrassing and I don't even want to post it, but here we are.

Even though it was easter holiday and your parents invited your family to your home to celebrate, it didn't stop you from hanging out with Leon. You've been friends since you can remember and you're pretty sure he doesn't remember anymore how you two met again. But besides that, your relationship with him is very strong, no one has seen you two without the other before and some are even saying that you guys are together. Which isn't exactly wrong... you both just decided it's best not to make it public yet, so no one really knows.

Since your home is now filled with your aunts and uncles and your grandmother, you thought it would be better if Leon and you went out today instead of celebrating easter with your family. Leon's foster parents didn't mind, knowing that you two are 'just friends' and are only hanging out today, like every other time. So, there you are, with Leon hand-in-hand, going about the park not too far off your home and enjoy the luke warm weather. It's nice to finally be able to walk around without a winter jacket again, no icy roads and no rain or snow at the moment. You enjoy the walk around the park with Leon while looking at the colourful trees and bushes, aswell as the pink and yellow tulips around the park. You both sat down on a bench after buying each a subway, eating your sandwiches beside eachother in comfortable silence.

»What did you order again?« He asks after taking his first bite out of his sandwich.

»Chicken Teriyaki.« You answer back with a full mouth,enjoying the sandwich you bought and don´t bother to look at Leon while talking for now. He just stares at you, seemingly waiting for you to look at him and probably say something more. You do eventually, after swallowing your bite and speak up.

»What?« You ask him back, not sure what his problem is.

»...can I take a bite?« He looks at you with his most innocent eyes he can muster, hoping you will give him a taste of your subway sanwich.

Just a little bite.

»No, you'll eat the whole thing. I know you.«

You say back to him, knowing where this will go since it happened countless of times before. Leon glances at your sandwich before he looks at his own again, trying to be more convincing.

»I swear, I'll only take one bite. You can eat some of mine too.«

He offers you and even hands you his sandwich, his eyebrows slightly raised while he waits for your answer. You look at what he ordered for himself, it being something with bacon.

Eventually, you shrug and let out a small sigh before you swap your sandwiches. Now Leon is beaming with a smile and takes a large bite out of your order while you take a normal bite out of his. You look over at him and stop chewing, seeing how much he just ate. Leon's still eating the large bite he took off and doesn't look your way, just happy to be able to taste what you ordered for yourself. He nods before he looks over at you.

»Not bad. But mine's better.« He tells you as he takes his sandwich back from you and hands back yours. Finally, you can talk again and scold him like every other time.

»You just ate half of my sandwich. You promised me to only take one small bite.« Leon can't help himself but smile slightly at this, being amused at you.

»Sorry.«

»No, sorry isn't enough.« You say back as if you're really hurt and take another bite from your own sandwich, looking the other way. He leans in and gives you a peck onto your cheek before he scoots closer to you on the bench, wrapping his arm loosely around your shoulder while continuing to eat. This was enough for you to soften up, resting your head against his shoulder for a moment before you both are just eating in peace. The sun shines down on you both and the park, making everything look so full of life after months of snow and cloudy skies. If it wasn't for the insects that are also deciding to come out, you wished it stayed like this forever.

After eating your small lunch at the park, you both walk around the city and explore some new things around. It's not very often now that you can hang out with Leon, since you both just got freshly into college, but it's holiday now and you're trying to spend as much time as possible with eachother. Leon spots a shop with many bracelets and drags you in, not that it took a lot for him to do that, since you almost ran into the shop once he told you about it. The shop is rather small but cozy with many different beads and jewelry stands in it, making it possible for costumers to make their own bracelets in here. You're ecstatic at this, making yourself a bracelet while Leon stands by and watches you.

The bracelet you're making has baby blue beads with silver accessories in it, mixed with some smaller white pearls. The kind worker helps you tie it off once you were finished and you aren't able to wipe the small smile off your face. You want to pay for it but Leon insists he pays, so he does... after a few moments of discussion between you.

»Don't you want one too?«

»No, I'm not really into bracelets.« Leon answers you once you're out of the shop, holding hands again.

»Your loss.« You shrug, teasing him a bit during the walk back to your home with him.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

Once home, you're greeted from your mom from the kitchen, the guests not noticing you two for now since they're in the living room.

»Hey honey, how was the hangout?« She asks, only now noticing that Leon is also there, greeting him with a smile and a small nod.

»Good, we had subway. And I got a bracelet for myself.« You extend your arm for your mom to see the bracelet around your wrist, the beads shining beautifully in it.

»Oh, that's awesome.« She smiles and examines the bracelet a bit more before she speaks up again. »Do you guys wanna join us? We were about to play scrabble.« She offers and looks at you both, waiting for the answer even though she can already guess what it will be. Scrabble is a fun game, but you'd rather not play it now with your family since you just want to relax with Leon at the moment.

»Hm, I'm not sure...«

»Well, what about you Leon? Do you wanna come and play with us?« Your mom looks at Leon, while he stands beside you, not sure how to answer that. He doesn't want to be rude to your mom but also doesn't want to destroy your plans in just relaxing for now, innerly conflicted about this.

»Oh, who do we have there?« Someone from the living room saw you three talk near the kitchen, most probably your grandma.

»Who's this handsome man? Isn't this Leon?« She caught the whole attention of the others that are now glancing your way, suddenly all the attention on you both. Leon smiles politely at her and nods a bit, glancing over to you.

»C'mon, let's go and just say hello to the others.« Your mom nods towards the living room, no longer asking about the game and decides to just let you both greet the family. You sigh softly while she is on the way to the room, Leon nudges you softly.

»I'm sure it won't be that bad.« He tells you quietly and encourages for you both to walk into the living room, his hand on your lower back.

Once in the living room, he lets go of you and just smiles politely at the aunts and uncles, aswell as your grandma and dad at the table. Your mom, Christa, squeezes Leons shoulder softly and introduces him to the rest.

»This is Leon, her best friend. You remember, right?« Your two uncles nod slightly, aswell as your aunts, seemingly having forgotten who he is for a moment since they don't see him as often as your parents or your grandma.

»Oh, yes, he's a handsome young man. Very well manners at that too. You don't see that every day.« Your grandma adds with a nod, seemingly proud of him. You intervene, patting him on the back while speaking up, knowing where this would go.

»Yeah, he's very nice, grandma. But he's just a friend.« She groans at that and rolls her eyes dramatically, turning more towards you both to look at you properly.

»Oh, but look at him- he's perfect! Why aren't you two together yet?« She means it in a good way, definitely not teasing but seems to want to get you two to say something more than you're both just friends. Leon chuckles slightly at that and looks at you, being overall amused at this whole thing and wants to see how you handle it.

»No, we're just friends. I know he's perfect, but we aren't together.« You tell her, hoping to reassure her but it just did the opposite.

»See? Even you're saying he's perfect and you're still not together. I don't-«

»Okay, I think they get it. I think they'll figure it out on their own, no?« It's your dads turn to speak up, glancing at you both while some of the others chuckle silently at this whole thing. Your grandma still wants to talk more with Leon and try to get him to say something more, almost being more interested in him than her favorite game of scrabble.

Eventually, they give you both a plate of cookies to eat on your own, letting you guys alone for now. Now in your room, Leon can't help but chuckle some more at what just happened.

»I think your grandma likes me.«

»Oh, you think so?« You sit down at the edge of your bed and place the plate of cookies on the night stand, crossing your arms while looking at Leon.

»Yeah, maybe she thinks I'm handsome. It's just a theory though. « He shrugs slightly and sits down beside you, being sarcastic about it. Now it's your turn to chuckle a bit and lean against him, relaxing against him more.

»I'm just glad my dad could stop her from talking more. It always happens.« He wraps his arm around you and rubs your side softly, glancing down at you.

»Well, at least they like me. It could be worse, you know?« He tries to cheer you up even though you just feel embarrassed about them and didn't expect this to happen in the first place.

»Let's just watch a movie, I'm tired.« You mumble and make yourself comfortable on your bed, laying on the inner side of the bed, while he lays down close to your side and turns the TV on. While Leon is busy picking a movie to watch, you're cuddling onto his side and tangle your legs together. It's comfortable and warm like this, him having his arm around you too after he put on a random movie and mindlessly plays with a strand of your hair for now. You're both cuddling in peace while the movie plays in front of you, getting very cozy and tired after some time too. Leon's hand still plays with your hair a little while you're cuddle up to his side, eventually having your eyes closed and being sleepy for most of the time.

So, Leon is just watching the movie by himself for now. But he doesn't mind. He enjoys this time with you, wishing it could stay like this forever and be with you for way longer. Leon can't help but stare down at you, his hand stroking your hand softly and as gentle as possible so he doesn't accidentally wake you up. His hand travels down the side of your cheek and and settles there, his thumb carefully brushing your soft skin.

A knock at the door interrupts this peaceful moment and catches his attention, making him look behind him to the door and let go of your cheek. Christa peeks through the door after opening it up only slightly, seeing him laying on the bed with his back facing her and how you're cuddled up beside him. She can't see you fully but she can clearly see how you're both cuddling.

»Oh- sorry. I didn't want to interrupt.« She apologises quietly and wants to close the door quickly before she decides against it.

»Just wanted to know if you two wanted cake?Or is she asleep?«

»She's... very asleep.« He whispers back after glancing back at you for a moment, seeing how your face is nuzzled up against his chest and how you don't seem to notice anything. Christa nods and closes the door silently, smiling to herself as if she just saw the greatest painting of all time. She always secretly hoped that you would end up together and teases you for daily basis in hopes something would happen. After a longer while, you finally wake up and need to remember where you are again before you're fully awake. Leon's already looking at you and rubs your back gently, having an amused smile on his face for some reason.

»Morning.«

»Evening .«He greets you back and glances away, not sure if he should tell you what happened earlier or not. You lean up a little and look at him, resting your hand against his shoulder while he's still laying down.

»What's so funny?« You ask him now, smiling yourself a bit at him. He shakes his head but looks at you, being so close to just telling you what happened earlier. But he knows how embarrassed you'll probably be.

»Nothing.«

»Did I sleep funny?« You question again and tilt your head, leaning a bit closer to him just to get some reactiom out of him.

»No.«

God, you hate how her so secretive out of nowhere.

»Be honest. What was it?« He continues to look at you, his expression being an amused one but still, he's hiding something.

»Your mom walked in.«

Speechless. When did that happen? What did she say? What if she... no, that's a joke, right?

»What do you mean?«

»She asked me if we wanted cake. But she saw you were asleep, so she left.« He shrugs and watches your reaction, not wanting to miss out on how you react. His eyes study your face, seeing the suprised look and how your eyebrows immediately shot up after he told you.

»Are you okay? You're kind of red.« It's a question but it sounds like he's teasing you. He leans up too and touches your cheek with the back of his hand, feeling how warm your skin is now. You shake your head a bit, still not sure what to say.

»Was she... okay with it?« You ask hesitantly and bring his hand off your cheek before gripping onto it while you wait for his answer.

»I guess. I think she's okay with it, yeah.« He reassures you and squeezes your hand softly, giving you a sweet smile. You sigh out, not wanting to imagine what your mom thinks, even though she's most probably right about her little 'theory'.

[welldonebeca]

It' s a Bad Idea, right? (13)

WC: 1k words Warnings: Mafia AU. Secret identity au. Fluff. Flirting. 

Masterlist

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Steffan was the one who picked Betty’s outfit to go to Coney Island, something she could be comfortable in – a nice pair of jeans, with walking shoes and a cute shirt, nothing too fancy. 

She had never been to Coney Island before and had never been particularly interested in amusement parks. However, when he suggested the trip, his eyes sparkled with excitement, and he looked genuinely thrilled about the prospect of being by her side for her first visit to Coney Island. 

In those two weeks together, she had learned a very important thing: very few things made Steffan’s eyes sparkle in excitement, and she wanted to see more of that. 

He knelt to the floor to tie up her shoes, very careful as she watched him silently. 

It made it impossible for her not to smile. He was so gentle. 

He was tying her shoes!

What other man in her life had tied her shoes before? None. 

Her dad had bought her Velcro shoes when she was little to prevent her from tripping, but he had never tied her shoes because she didn't have laced shoes until she was old enough to do it herself.

When he was done,  he took a moment to adjust her socks and looked up at her with a gentle smile on his lips.

"How's your mood now?" he asked in a soft voice.

Betty exhaled slowly. She couldn't completely hide that her day had started off poorly.

"Better," she replied.

He set his eyes on her face, resting his open hand on her knee with his palm up. 

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he offered. 

She did. But not with him, no. 

Betty knew very little about Hydra, but Steffan was absolutely in a higher position than the Malicks. Anything she said could have a negative impact on them, and she didn’t want anything to happen. 

“I went to church in the morning,” she exhaled. 

Steffan’s face softened. 

“Did Mrs Malick see you?”

A little smile tugged on her lips. 

“Yeah,” she nodded. “She always asks why I don’t go much, but it’s enough to stop her from asking questions.”

She placed her hand on his, and he gently caressed the skin of her palm.

"Hiding who you truly are is the most exhausting thing someone can do," he said, looking into her eyes. "I...”

He paused, watching her face carefully. 

"I can't begin to imagine how that affects you," he continued in a soft tone, "but I'm really sorry you have to do that to stay safe."

Betty observed him, uncertain. There was something in his expression, something she couldn't quite grasp. But it felt like he genuinely understood, and that meant more to her than words.

She puled his hand up and kissed it, and Steffan smiled, pulling her to stand with him. 

“Ready?” he asked gently. 

Betty exhaled. Coney Island, there she went. 

He raised his hand to her cheek and pressed a kiss to her lips, pulling back and looking into her eyes. 

"It's going to be fun," he assured her, his thumb gently caressing her skin. "If it's not, well... you get to choose your prize."

And that was how she ended up in his car, with his right hand holding hers as he drove off and Taylor Swift played in the radio, and the thirty minutes were quite peaceful, honestly. It was a bit weird, going places by car. She was so used to just taking the subway, this was strangely comfortable. 

Oh, if he broke up with her, it would suck to go back to not being able to drive around. 

“Did I ever tell you about the first time I’ve been to Coney Island?” he asked. 

“No,” Betty shook her head. 

He thought silently for a moment. 

“I visited the US as a boy when my father got a job opportunity but it wasn’t that good, we were living a little tight,” he told her, facing the road. “And I had this friend, this… boy, he was my age. James. He was very patient, he taught me a great deal of English.” 

Betty watched him quietly, listening quietly. He looked a bit nostalgic as he spoke. It sounded like something very important. 

“We scrapped all the money we had, together. Anything we could get delivering newspapers… it was the 90s, parents weren’t worried about us getting kidnapped yet,” he chuckled.

Betty couldn't help but laugh along with him.

“So, we saved all the money we could get for two weeks, and we went to Coney Island,” he told her. “It was my first time there. I don’t think I’d ever had so much fun in my life.”

Betty smiled warmly. 

“It sounds very nice,” she told him. “Are you still friends?”

Steffan hummed, reflecting on the past. 

“We still talk,” he told her. “But I moved back after a while.”

Betty nodded in understanding. 

"I'm hoping I can make your day just as fun," he said, squeezing her hand. "Do you trust me?"

She smiled and leaned back in her seat, her eyes fixed on him. 

"I do," she replied. "My fun is in your hands."

He parked the car and unbuckled his seatbelt before giving her a serious, yet playful look.

"I'll open the door for you," he teased with a grin. "You have to start letting me."

Betty chuckled. Yes, he had this charming habit, and yes, she was still getting used to it. She remained in the car, unfastening her seatbelt, and observed as he walked around to her side and opened the door.

"Thank you," she giggled when he held the door open, and she stepped out.

After closing the door and locking the car, Steffan paused for a moment. He took her hand, gently squeezed it, and pulled her a little closer. Their lips met in a sweet, gentle kiss, and he smiled warmly at her.

"Ready?" he asked.

She sighed contently. 

"Ready," she replied with a loving peck on his chin and then his lips. "Let's go."

…

“it’s a Bad Idea, right?” was posted on my Patreon in September 2023. To have early access to it (and lots of other stories), consider subscribe to my page! It’s just $2 a month, and I know you won’t regret it!

…

Bad Idea: @peaceloveancolor

[dragonfries12]

Y’all ate up my last Regretevator posts, so here’s some more!

Party Beetle Fanfic (Title Pending) - Part 1

Blue text is italics, red text is Folly being creepy (bold), pink text is dreams/flashbacks.

Pest leaned against the wall of the regretevator with his arms folded. Across from him, a white-plated robot was fiddling with some piece of technology foreign to him. Music was playing quietly, backed by the hum of the elevator as it traversed the infinite expanse of floors. Pest wasn’t headed anywhere in particular. On days when he had nothing to do he’d see where the regretevator took him and go from there. Today was one of those days.

Ding! Pest turned his head as the elevator doors slid open to reveal the very subway he’d come from only a half an hour before. Tunes from the nearby jukebox wafted into the elevator for a moment before being interrupted by the distinct sound of a party horn. God damn it. As expected, the noise was soon followed by the appearance of a fluffy-haired robloxian in a party hat.

“Poob!” The robot exclaimed as they entered the elevator.

“Hi Prototype!” They replied, walking over the far corner next to Pest’s, “Happy National Cheese Day!”

“National Cheese Day? That’s today?”

“Mhm!” Poob nodded their head eagerly, “I’d offer you some to celebrate, but I guess you can’t eat, can you? You can though!” Pest winced as Poob turned to him and offered up a tupperware full of various cheeses. “Want some?”

“I’ll pass,” Pest hissed.

“Alright!” Poob placed the cheese back in their sticker-covered bag, unfazed.

“I didn’t even know there was a national cheese day,” Prototype said, “and I have a database for basically everything!”

“There’s national days for pretty much everything,” Poob replied, “Tomorrow is national donut day. I need to go buy some today, then I’m meeting Infected for his anniversary of getting his apartment!”

“Oh wow! How do you remember all these dates?”

“I try my best for my friends. Also I have three calendars.” Poob turned to face Pest once again, “Speaking of anniversaries, it’s our meetiversary tomorrow!”

Pest scowled, “Our what?”

“Our meetiversary!” They shouted, “The anniversary of when we first met, silly! Remember when you-”

They were cut off as the elevator slammed to a halt with a loud crash. Red light bled in as the doors slid open and Pest cursed under his breath.

“Hello.” The voice slithered into the elevator as the entrance was blotted out by an enormous shadow. The dream parasite, Pest thought with disgust. The figure — Folly — gripped the edges of the doorway as she pushed herself into the elevator, black fog trailing behind her. She took her place in the remaining corner of the elevator, claws folded neatly behind her back, and surveyed the now silent group with a glowing, red eye. Her gaze bore into Pest as it passed over him and he held it in defiance. You don’t scare me, parasite.

“U-um, happy National Cheese Day!” Poob stuttered, “Do you want some cheese?” Folly’s eye slid over to them, then down to the platter of cheese.

She chuckled, “A National Day for a simple food? How charming. I’m afraid I don’t consume things the same way you do, though.”

“Oh, okay then. . .” Poob replaced the cheese in their bag, avoiding Folly’s burning gaze. The elevator dinged once more as the doors opened to a mansion of cardboard. “I think this is my stop,” Poob said quickly as they started towards the doors.

“I thought you were going to the infected one’s apartment?” Folly asked with mock confusion.

Poob stopped and looked back with concern, “Um, how’d you know that?”

“You dreamt about it last night.”

“I don’t really like when you do that. . .” Poob mumbled as they shrank back into their corner.

“How else am I to get answers?” Folly inquired. “Of course,” she took a step forward, “you could always provide them verbally. Or perhaps,” she took another step, towering over Poob, “I could pry them out myself.”

Pest shifted a step to the right, placing himself in Folly’s peripheral. Instantly, her gaze sliced through the air and stabbed into him, sending a shiver down his spine. Though she had no visible mouth, he could see a grin in her eye.

“However, I’ll refrain,” she said as she stepped back into her corner. Pest slid back into his own corner, ignoring the glances Poob was casting at him. A suffocating silence settled over the elevator for a moment until Prototype finally broke it.

“If you like learning things,” they offered tentatively, “my friend sells floppy disks with all kinds of information.”

Folly turned towards the robot with an unnaturally casual demeanor, as though Poob wasn’t still shaking across from her, “Ah yes, the computer. I’ve perused her wares, but I much prefer books.”

“Oh really? Why’s that? I’ve heard some people like the smell. . .” Pest tuned out the rest of their conversation, instead turning his focus to Poob.

“Why’s she so obsessed with you?”

“Oh um,” they sputtered, “I dunno. . .maybe all my parties and stuff are really attention grabbing?”

“Hm,” he hummed and turned away. Pest knew there had to be more to it than that, but if Poob really was hiding something, they weren’t going to reveal it.

Folly and Prototype’s conversation continued for a few more floors until the doors opened to what appeared to be a volcanic island.

“Well,” Folly spoke, “this is my stop. So nice chatting with you all,” she paused, halfway out the door, and her slitted, yellow pupil landed on Pest, “See you soon.” The doors shut just as she poofed into a swirl of dark fog, though her laughter echoed in the elevator for a few moments after. Great, Pest thought sarcastically. Folly’s last statement had been more than a goodbye; it was a promise.

* * *

Pest opened his eyes to an inky abyss. He’s known since Folly left the elevator that he wouldn’t be getting a good sleep that night, though the void still unnerved him. Sure enough, he was greeted by a familiar voice, echoing from behind him.

“Hello, bug.”

“What do you want?” He spat.

“I think you already know,” Folly teased.

“I’ve already told you, I don’t know any more about them than you do, so leave me alone.”

“Oh, but you could know things, if you wanted to. They trust you.”

A low hiss escaped between Pest’s gritted teeth as he turned to face the giant, red eye he knew was floating behind him, “Yeah, well, I don’t want to, so piss off!”

Folly’s disembodied voice chuckled, “Is that so? You seemed so worried about them today. . .”

Pest’s anger rose, as did his voice, “I could care less if Poob keeled over tomorrow, but I’ll be damned if I let you be the one to do it. What were you even doing in the elevator? I know you can just appear wherever you want.”

“Don’t you like to people-watch sometimes?”

Pest’s anger gave way to exhaustion, “Fine. Whatever. Go make everyone uncomfortable. But I don’t have any information, so you can go invade someone else’s privacy.”

“Don’t be so sure, bug.”

Pest’s ears began to ring and he lunged towards the eye, “Don’t you-” the ground disappeared beneath him and he was suddenly falling deeper and deeper into the abyss.

Pest carefully gripped the windowsill as he slipped into the dark house. It wasn’t often he robbed a house — he much preferred pickpocketing — but he needed more regretevator tickets and this was the best way to find them in bulk. Gently sliding the window shut, he crept into the house’s living room and began rummaging through drawers.

Without warning, the room suddenly exploded with blaring music as Pest stumbled over a stereo.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, sh-”

“Hello?”

Pest slowly turned to see a bleary eyed person in starry, purple pajamas staring at him in confusion.

His heart sank as tried to stutter out an excuse, “Th-this isn’t what it looks like!”

“Really?” The person accused, “because to me, this looks exactly like you’re throwing me a surprise party!”

All of Pest’s panic was instantly replaced with confusion, “What?”

“Don’t play dumb!” They scolded, wagging a finger, “I know a party when I see one! Oh, I guess I just spoiled the surprise part though. That’s okay, now I can help set it up! I’m Party Noob by the way, but you can call me Poob! I guess you must already know that, actually, if you’re throwing me a party.”

Pest slowly shook Poob’s hand, still dumbfounded, “I’m. . .Pest. . .”

“Nice to meet you Pest! You want something to drink? What’s your favourite? I probably have it.”

“Uhhh, tree sap?”

“Oh, okay, gimme one minute!” Pest watched them rush away through the house as he stood in the middle of the room, still in shock. How did I get away with that? He thought incredulously. After a moment, he began to wander the room, taking in the unique decor. On one wall, an absurd amount of pictures were hanging, each depicting Poob with different people. Are they friends with literally everyone?

“I’m back!” Poob shouted, “Here you go!” They held out a glass of thick liquid, which was also coating their hands. They actually got me tree sap? Pest took the glass and stared down at his reflection. He squinted at the image, there was something off about it — something red glowed behind him. Something that looked like eyes and sounded like vicious laughter.

Pest’s eyes flew open. He lay still on his stolen mattress, processing his surroundings. Slowly, he collected his thoughts and his anger began to boil once more.

“God damn parasite,” he muttered. He pulled himself out of bed and stared at his clock: 5:48am. The subway would still be empty at this hour. Grabbing a cigarette and a lighter and throwing on his hoodie, Pest slunk out of his home in a forgotten room of the subway and made his way towards the platform where the regretevator was located.

When he arrived, he slumped down on a bench and lit his cigarette. He took a slow, deep inhale, then watched the smoke swirl as he breathed it out. As much as he pretended it didn’t bother him, he missed being able to sleep without a dream demon invading his mind. Maybe one day she’ll run out of memories to sift through and she’ll finally leave me alone.

Crunch!

Pest whipped his head around, looking for the source of the sound. No one should be at this stop this early; there weren’t any trains until 7am. Just as he began to get up, an arm wrapped around his neck and pinned him against the bench. Panic ignited his nerves and he bit down on the arm as hard as he could. He heard a shout from behind him and turned to see his attacker, only to be met with a fist. Air rushed past his face as he flew back. His head slammed against the ground and pain exploded in his skull. The edges of his vision blurred as he watched a shadowy figure sprint away, Pest’s wallet in hand. The last thing he heard was the ding of the regretevator before slipping into darkness.

* * *

Pest awoke to a throbbing headache. He slowly peeled open his eyes and let them adjust to the dim light. Where the hell am I? He carefully rolled over and took in his surroundings. He was on a couch with a foldout table in front of it, surrounded by striped wallpaper. Poob’s house?! Pest pushed himself up too quickly and had to lean back for a moment to let the pounding in his head subside to a tolerable level. He put his hand to his head and felt a bandage on his forehead.

“Oh! You’re awake!”

Pest leaned forward — slowly, this time — to look at the person who had just entered the room, “Poob?”

“Oh good, no amnesia then.”

“Why- how did I get here?”

“Oh, um,” Poob set down the cup and plate he was carrying on the table, “I kind of. . . carried you.”

“What? Why didn’t you call Dr. Retro or something?”

“Oh. I didn’t really think of that. I saw you bleeding on the ground and panicked a bit. What happened?”

“Got mugged,” Pest hissed, turning his empty pockets inside-out.

“Oh. . .” There was a moment of heavy silence until Pest finally looked at what was on the table. There was a plate of buttered toast and a glass of water.

“That’s for you.”

“I gathered that,” Pest sneered. He picked up the glass and downed half of it, then took a bite of the toast. “What time is it?”

“3pm.”

Pest nearly choked, “3pm?!”

“You were unconscious for a really long time,” Poob laughed timidly, “I was starting to get a little worried.”

Pest swallowed the last of his toast and began to push himself up off the sofa, “Whatever, I’m going home.”

“Wait! Careful!” Poob’s warning came too late. Pest instantly became light-headed and stumbled on the Twister mat on the ground. Poob hooked their arms under his elbows as he fell back, guiding him back to the couch. “You should maybe rest for a bit.”

“Yeah,” Pest grunted through gritted teeth, waiting for his headache to become manageable.

“Maybe I should call Dr. Retro. . .”

“No, I’m fine,” Pest protested as Poob reached for a phone, “I just need a minute.” The last thing he needed was someone else knowing he had been found knocked out in the subway by Poob of all people.

“Okay. . . if you’re sure,” Poob said hesitantly, “but I’m still gonna get you some medicine.”

Pest listened to them rummage through cupboards while he leaned back with his eyes closed. Poob handed him two pills, which he swallowed with the rest of his water.

“Do you wanna watch a show or something?” Poob offered.

“Sure.”

“Okay. . .” Poob picked up the remote for the TV sitting across from them and slowly sat down on the opposite end of the couch, “What do you wanna watch?”

“I don’t care,” he said with exasperation. He hated that he was here, forced to sit on a couch with the most annoying person in the world. Even so, if Poob hadn’t been there, there was a good chance Pest would be dead. Whatever, I only have to be here until my headache goes away. I can tolerate them for that long.

The time began to slip away from him, however, as they sat watching episode after episode of a surprisingly good show. Pest only realised that the medication had long since kicked in when Poob pulled a pizza out of the oven for dinner. He thought about getting up to leave, but the smell of the pizza held him in place. No point in passing up free food.

“Here you go!” Poob said cheerfully, setting a plate of cheese pizza in front of him.

“Mmph,” Pest grunted through a mouthful of mozzarella. They watched another episode while they ate, then had sugar cookies for dessert. When he was finished, Pest was about to leave when something occurred to him. Poob had found him in the subway at 5am. What the hell were they doing at the subway that early? Pest turned to Poob and asked.

“Oh, um. . .” Poob twiddled their thumbs, “looking for you. . .”

“What? Why?”

“Today’s our meetiversary, remember?”

“No,” Pest grumbled, getting up from the couch, “Anyway, my head feels better. I’m leaving.”

“Wait!” Poob stood up, “Are you sure?”

Pest turned back in confusion, “Yes? I’m not collapsing, am I?”

“Maybe we should call Dr. Retro. You might have a concussion or something.”

“I’m sure I can make it home and call her just fine from there.”

“But wait, what if-”

“But what?” Pest snarled, “Why do you keep making excuses?”

Poob fidgeted with their hands for a moment, then said in a voice that was barely audible, “Because I don’t want you to leave. . .”

Pest stood there for a moment, taken aback. Then, he stomped toward Poob until he was close enough to grab them by the collar.

“Did you drag me all the way to your house for some playdate?” He spat.

“What? N-no!” Poob sputtered, “No! I really did wanna help! It’s just, now that you’re here. . .I really like spending time with you.”

Pest stared down at them with disgust, “Really? Every time I see you, all I do is ignore you and you want to hang out with me? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I- I just-”

“You what?” Pest yanked Poob up until they were standing on their tiptoes, “Spit it out!”

“I like you!”

Pest loosened his grip, staring in shock, “What?”

Tears had begun to form at the corners of Poob’s eyes as they looked away nervously, “I like you. A lot.”

All ability to speak abandoned Pest. Poob chanced a glance back at him and he could do nothing but meet their gaze. Though much looser now, he was still clutching Poob’s hoodie, holding their face less than a foot away from his. The paused TV flooded the room with purple light. Pest tightened his grip on Poob’s collar once more and pulled him in so their faces were only inches apart.

Then, he kissed them.

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