#and if you haven't heard: i'm away! taking a break from social media!

[thetomorrowshow]

blood on your hands

empires superpowers au masterlist (note: the masterlist is not currently being updated)

ough angst. takes place about two weeks after the end of ‘poisoned rats’.

cw: violence, mild gore, abuse, flashbacks, vomiting, death (of an oc)

~

“Oh, little bird,” Xornoth coos, and Jimmy stares blankly at their feet.

He’d messed up. They had given him a command—they’d wanted him to hurt the bystanders to send them away—and he hadn’t obeyed, leaving Pearl to escape.

He doesn’t know what the punishment will be. He hopes he has the strength today to accept it.

The doors to the meeting room burst open—two guards dragging a handcuffed man between them enter, hold him in a standing position, even as the man sways dangerously, blood dripping down the side of his head. Xornoth stands, pulling Jimmy up with them.

The man is middle-aged, balding, his button-up white shirt stained with his own blood. His eyes blink rapidly, his teeth chatter and lips tremble as if cold. Or maybe it’s a symptom of the severe stress he’s probably under.

“What’s your name?” Xornoth asks the man, who noticeably swallows back his anxiety before answering.

“K-Keith, I—sir.”

“Do you have a family, Keith?”

Keith’s face pales. “You—you leave them alone, they never did anything—”

Xornoth smiles, a repulsive sight. “You’re a construction worker, is that right? You have a pet dog. Your daughter has just developed powers of her own and you mean to celebrate this weekend.”

Dumbfounded, Keith nods. Quick as anything, Xornoth pulls Jimmy right up to them by the chin, forces him to look into Keith’s eyes. Jimmy sees terror, confusion—though maybe it’s just a reflection of himself.

“See, pet? Keith here is a person with a life, one that he loves and wishes to return to. He has a family, a favorite food, and people who love him.”

Jimmy stares blankly at his master, some sort of emotion stirring beneath the surface. He doesn’t know what he feels. But he has a sinking suspicion that he knows where this is going.

He’s right. With a flick of their wrist, there’s a tentacle worming its way out of the ground, crawling up Keith, up his throat, up his chin and over his lips to his nostril, where it squiggles inside. Keith shouts, even as another tentacle rises up and slowly squeezes around his throat.

Jimmy gags instinctively, tries to turn away—he doesn’t want to see this—but Xornoth’s hand on his collar is enough to keep him in place.

Keith is begging, begging even as blood drips from his nose and mouth, even as he chokes on nothing, begging for anyone to help, and it’s horrible and suddenly Jimmy is screaming as well, begging for his master to spare a man who’s done nothing wrong—

Keith’s body slumps as the first tentacle exits through his mouth, bloodshot eyes rolling back into his head. Jimmy gags again, nearly vomits but for the emptiness of his stomach.

Xornoth pulls Jimmy by his hair, their mouth pressed against his ear, and their breath is foul when they speak.

“Keith’s blood is on your hands, pet. He died because of your disobedience. Obey me next time, and we won’t have to have a repeat incident.”

Then they throw him to the ground, into a pool of Keith’s blood. He falls hard, his bad hip popping out on impact. The next couple of minutes are blurry with pain as Jimmy gathers what little strength he has and rolls, popping it back into place.

Once he’s recovered enough to take in his surroundings, he finds that his master is gone. The guards are gone. The door to the room is shut.

It’s just him and the body. The body of a man with a family, loved ones, a career, a belief system. . . .

Who will tell his spouse that their husband is missing? Who will tell his daughter that her dad is never coming home? Will they know? Will there be a body to find? Or is Jimmy doomed to be the only one to know of Keith’s fate, never to make it out of here and find his family?

All because he’d been a bad pet. He’s a bad pet. It’s all his fault, it’s always his fault, this is just another person’s blood that he’s responsible for and there’s so much, there’s always so much pain. . . .

He gathers enough courage to approach the body after an hour, crawling toward it with cuffed hands to gently close Keith’s eyes. Then he backs away quickly, because even though it’s just a body he still wants to vomit just being in the same room with a dead person, especially one so brutally killed.

He makes his way to the opposite corner of the room, where he can only see Keith’s lower half between the table and chair legs, curls up in the most comfortable position possible with his screaming hip, and sobs drily into his hands. He’s shaking badly enough that he could break apart at any second, and there’s someone dead in front of him and he killed them, it’s his fault they’re dead. . . .

He stays there, waiting, praying that someone will come get him and take him to his cell, where he can wash his hands of this as best he can, where he can tuck the image of Keith’s head bursting from the inside that’s burned into his retinas deep in the recesses of his mind, never to be seen again.

No one comes.

They leave Jimmy alone with the corpse for two straight days.

-

Jimmy jolts up in bed, running for the bathroom before he even knows where he is. He barely makes it in time, vomiting his guts up practically before he can lift the toilet seat.

He wipes his mouth when he’s done, blows his nose to dislodge any chunks, flushes the toilet. His stomach is rolling, throat burning, and he can still hear Keith screaming like it’s still happening.

He’s too tired to get back up, too shaky to even consider standing. So instead he presses his head against the cool porcelain of the bathtub (it feels so nice against his flushed cheek, he’s so tired and everything is so fresh and raw) and falls asleep.

-

“Hey, can you wake up for me? It’s Lizzie, I’m here. . . . I’m here, Jimmy, can you wake up?”

Jimmy blinks awake, looks up at the blue-haired blob leaning over him. He blinks a couple more times, and that blob reveals itself to be his sister.

"Hey," he croaks, and her face twists in concern.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

He sits up, groans at the stiffness in his limbs from such an awkward sleeping position. For a moment, he’s not sure where he is. Then he remembers the previous night, the flashback-nightmare, running to the toilet. He groans again.

“Bad night,” he manages, grimacing at the sour taste in his mouth. Lizzie takes notice and helps him up, where he can lean against the sink and brush his teeth.

He doesn’t want to think about the flashback. He doesn’t want to think about it at all, but every time he blinks he sees it happening. He sees blood, he sees bulging eyes, he sees. . . .

He gags, pulling his toothbrush away from his mouth as he leans over the sink. He killed a man. He killed him.

Lizzie makes some noise of disgust as he spits out a bit of bile, nothing else in his stomach to throw up. He cringes automatically, one hand darting up to cover the scar on the back of his neck.

“How about you go lie down, yeah?” she suggests, stepping out of the way of the door. She surveys the room with a slight wrinkle of her nose. “I’ll clean up in here. Just go lie on the couch, grab a plastic bag or a bowl or something.”

Jimmy follows her directions robotically, taking a moment to rinse out his mouth before shuffling off to the living room, stopping to get a plastic bag from the bag of bags. He’s been laying on the couch for a full minute before he realizes he still has his toothbrush clenched in his fist. He keeps hold of it, not sure where to place it.

A few moments later, Lizzie reappears, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him. She’s still in pajamas, Jimmy notices, her short hair tangled and eyelids heavy with sleep. She must’ve just woken up to find him on the bathroom floor.

Just lying there. Like he was dead. Like Keith. Like all the others.

There’s a lump in his throat and a sour taste in his mouth and his eyes itch really badly, but he can’t cry. He can’t cry when he survived, he made it out intact, while so many others are dead by his hand.

“I’m sorry,” he rasps, swallowing several times. “I—I don’t know—”

“It’s all right, you’re not feeling well,” Lizzie cuts in, running a hand down the side of her face. “I can call in to work, say I’m sick. Or I can call Scott or Joel to come take care of you while I work, but if you’ve got a bug I’ve probably got it as well. . . .”

“I’m not sick,” says Jimmy. When Lizzie fixes him with a disbelieving look, he adds, “Really. I just—I just had a bad dream. A . . . a flashback.”

The look turns to one of sympathy, and Lizzie moves as if to rub his arm, but holds herself back. “Do—do you want to talk about?” she asks awkwardly.

He shakes his head. There’s nothing they can do. Lizzie will just tell him that it isn’t his fault, that maybe he should talk about it in therapy, et cetera. More coping, no doing. No real owning up for his actions.

At least, that’s what Scott would do. Lizzie’s quite a bit more pragmatic than Scott.

“Well, maybe,” he says slowly.

She holds back a sigh, he notices. One of relief or frustration, he can’t tell. But he forges onward anyway, because this is not just something he can drop. 

He decides to just cut to the chase. “I killed people,” he says. Blunt, perhaps, but Lizzie doesn’t flinch.

“I know,” she says drily. “Believe me.”

She’s blunt too, of course. Jimmy swallows, then forces himself to go on.

“Four by my own hand and choice—at least, recently. Because they told me to.” He takes in a shuddering breath. He can do this. “Five others because of me—I think. I’m not sure. I don’t know. Maybe more. They—they killed people, to make me behave sometimes, and it’s my fault still, their blood is still on my hands because I knew what the punishments were like and I still—I still fought back. And . . . my actions had consequences. And too often, innocent people suffered them.”

Jimmy stops, overcome. He presses the heels of his hands into his eyes, breathes in and out. He needs to confess this. There’s been guilt gnawing at his stomach for so long, long enough that he didn’t even realize it was there. He deserves punishment, he killed so many people, and hurt so many others. . . .

“I didn’t know them,” he manages. “I didn’t even know them. But because—because I misbehaved, they got pulled in and I had to watch them die. I was—Lizzie, it was my fault they died, they didn’t deserve it and—I don’t—”

He cuts off, tears choking his throat. He can’t look at Lizzie. He can’t bear to see the disappointment, the disgust, on her face.

Closing his eyes doesn’t help. Behind his eyelids all he can see is blood dripping from everywhere, places he never thought possible, eyes and ears and nostrils and cheeks—

He grabs the bag, just in case. He doesn’t think he’s going to vomit again, but it’s always a possibility.

It wasn’t just Keith, of course. There were others. Four others before Keith, four lessons ignored until the fifth finally stuck. He doesn’t know their names, their occupations, their home lives. He doesn’t know if that makes it better or worse.

“Jimmy,” says Lizzie eventually. “I doubt that you’ll believe me right now, but anything that Xornoth did is not your responsibility.”

But it is. Those people would still be alive if Jimmy had just behaved. He could’ve been good, he could’ve been good and everyone would have been safe, but he acted out and it hurt him and others time and time again.

“They had their agency,” Lizzie continues. “They made the choice to do that, after subjecting you to inhumane conditions. That isn’t on you. You were just trying to survive.”

Maybe, somewhere deep within his mind, that comes as a relief. For some part of him, that’s exactly what he needed to hear.

It still isn’t enough.

“If that’s true, why does it feel wrong?” Jimmy asks, sniffling. “I feel—I feel like I ought to be punished, still. I knew there would be consequences, and I still chose to—I still—”

“‘Chose’ is not a word that applies, I think,” Lizzie says. “And really, that’s a very common abuse tactic. Imagine—say, imagine a man who gets angry at his wife—for, er, not cooking dinner right—and he throws a vase at her. Then he says that it was her fault the vase is broken since she made him angry. Is that an okay thing to happen?”

“No,” Jimmy admits after a moment. “But—it’s different.”

Lizzie sighs. “Scott is so much better at this,” she mutters. “I really don’t see the difference. Why would you—er, ‘misbehave’, as you said?”

Flashes of all the times he wilfully disobeyed a command zip through his mind. Every time, he did it—

“To stop someone from getting hurt,” he says, looking up. Lizzie’s watching him, chin propped on her hands. “I thought—I thought I could handle getting hurt, if someone innocent was all right. But then—it wasn’t always me. Who got hurt.”

“Don’t you see? You had good intentions, Jimmy. You just wanted to help people. Xornoth had no right to treat you so horribly, and when you tried to save others from getting hurt, they would turn your good heart on you.”

She’s right. If he wasn’t so tired, it would be easier to see. The guilt doesn’t go away, but the knot in his chest loosens a little.

“That’s exactly what Scott would say,” he mumbles. “I thought you’d be on my side. Instead I got therapized.”

Lizzie snickers. “It’s unfair how good Scott is at that. I would have called him, but it’s like, three in the morning. Did I at least help?”

“Yeah,” Jimmy says. “Sorry. It was—” he shudders, seeing it all over again— “It was a really bad nightmare.”

“Well, if that’s solved, I’ll head back to bed,” says Lizzie, getting ready to stand. “How are you feeling, though?”

Guilty. Like a monster. Like he needs to be punished.

Something on his face must betray that, because Lizzie pauses, offers him a sympathetic smile.

“Just because it isn’t my fault—I guess—that—that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve help,” he says. “Is there something I can do? For their families?”

“Maybe,” Lizzie says. She nods a little bit, her expression turning thoughtful. “I’ll call your boyfriend, see if he has any contacts that can figure that out.”

Jimmy groans. “Just—he has a name, don’t—”

“We’ll see what your boyfriend says!”

-

It takes time, but eventually a charity is set up for the families of Xornoth’s victims. However, after only two weeks, Lizzie silently hands Jimmy a list of ten names. At the top is Keith Rowland. He doesn’t know how she got the names. He doesn’t ask.

Jimmy makes his reparations in the best way he can think to. He leaves envelopes of cash with apology cards in their mailboxes, rings the doorbell, then runs. He stalks the families online, makes sure that they have everything they need at the moment, are comfortable and all set to continue their lives.

He doesn’t stop feeling guilty, exactly. There are moments when his heart clenches, when all he can see is gruesome death that he knows is his fault.

But there’s nothing else he can do. For the most part, he’s content. And every day, it gets a little bit easier to separate himself from the evil that Xornoth forced upon him.

[barcaatthemoon]

atlas || ingrid engen x mapi leon x reader ||

mapi and ingrid help you relax after a rough week.

minors dni, 18+, smut ahead.

the physical and emotional weight of your workload was dragging you down. mapi was the first to realize it, and once she did, the first person she went to was ingrid. ingrid had a way of relaxing you that mapi knew she couldn't pull off. the woman had a tendency of being a little too energetic for that. however, it seemed that this time, ingrid couldn't really help you either.

they both hated it, but mapi and ingrid had no choice but to wait for all of you to be on a break to bring it up. a lot of things had been happening at barcelona, so you were very busy as social media director. your promotion had seemed like a blessing at first, especially since it meant that you could travel with your girlfriends everywhere that they went. however, all of that travel really cut into the time you had to organize everything else.

"i miss her," mapi sighed as she watched you fast asleep on the couch. it was obvious that you hadn't meant to fall asleep like that with your laptop and several notebooks open. you had been working, despite ingrid and mapi's insistence that you come with them out for the day. they had tried to have a good time, but mapi couldn't knowing that you were still in the apartment.

"it's been hard, especially on her. i mean, look at her," ingrid said as she nodded towards you. mapi let out a little whine as she looked at you. even in your sleep, the stress of your job was evident. they knew that this was temporary, mapi remembered when she first signed to barcelona years ago when you initially had been brought in as an intern. you always had a bit of a struggle starting out, but eventually, you'd find your footing.

"i could cry," mapi muttered quietly. ingrid had just barely heard her. if it was anybody other than you, ingrid would have been deleriously jealous of the way that mapi loved and cared for you. she knew that while mapi had been dating her for longer, you had been in her life longer. you were one of mapi's best friends first, and so, ingrid knew what to expect.

"we can let her sleep, and then do something special for her tonight," ingrid suggested. mapi nodded as she let ingrid pull her away from the living room. you slept the entire day away, waking up only when mapi physically picked you up and carried you into the dining room. you were still very tired as you ate, but the food did a lot to energize you a bit.

"what's the occasion?" you asked, not missing the way that both of your girlfriends were dressed up a bit more. mapi shrugged the question off as she tried to pretend that everything was normal. ingrid, however, was more than happy to give a reason for the little show.

"we are celebrating you, and all of the hard work you've been doing lately," ingrid said softly. she got up to carry your plate into the kitchen for you, kissing the top of your head as well as mapi's as she passed.

"i'm sorry if i haven't been very attentive," you apologized. mapi shook her head as she took your hands in hers. "i've been busy, and i know that you hate being left to your own devices. you need me too, not just the club."

"it's okay, i understand, i do. tonight, don't think about any of that. let ingrid and me take care of you, please bebita." if it wasn't for the way that mapi as looking at you, you might have gone back to your work for the night. "you've been working so hard."

"i'm so tired of it," you admitted. you sounded like you were on the verge of tears, so mapi did what she knew would help you calm down. she dropped your hands to grab your cheeks, pulling you in gently for a kiss. you kissed her back, moaning into it as you felt her deepen it. you sat forward in your seat, like you were prepared to crawl into her lap at any moment. the two of you could have kept going forever like that until ingrid interrupted you.

"come on, let's move this to the bedroom." ingrid guided the two of you away from the table. you broke the kiss with mapi once you were in ingrid's arms, turning your attention to her instead. ingrid picked you up and carried you into the bedroom, walking strong despite the kisses you were pressing to her neck. mapi followed behind ingrid, taking the opportunity to feel her up on the short walk to the bedroom.

ingrid laid you down on the bed gently, and mapi moved around her to get behind you. almost immediately, you could tell how the night would go. it was rare that they both focused solely on you, but you were grateful for the distraction. it wouldn't last forever, but they'd be taking a good amount of the weight of your work off from your shoulders from the night.

mapi's hands settled on your hips, squeezing gently as she peppered the side of your face in kisses. ingrid was laying between your legs, effectively pinning you against mapi's body as the two of them kissed you. it was a lot, but you were more than happy to just go along with whatever they wanted.

you trusted both women with your body completely. they knew the things that you liked, and sometimes, you swore they knew what you needed before you did. on your own, you would have tried to rush things, but they were taking things so slow with you. even mapi, who had a tendency to get a little ahead of herself in these situations.

they took their time undressing you and themselves. the feeling of their skin against yours made it hard for you to think. mapi could tell that you were having a hard time keeping up, so she backed away just enough for you to focus on ingrid. the taller woman kissed you slowly, but it wasn't without an almost overwhelming amount of emotion.

you didn't know how she did it, but ingrid always kissed you with her entire being. from every little peck as she left the apartment to the way she'd completely take your breath away. you swore that you could feel the love and concern ingrid had for you as she kissed you. it was enough for you to get a little lost in the feeling of her lips, but still gentle enough for you to easily slip away if you needed it. ingrid wouldn't judge you, knowing that occasionally you weren't up for this sort of thing when you were stressed.

"you look so pretty kissing ingrid," mapi whispered in your ear. she turned towards ingrid before she spoke up again, "you're taking such good care of our bebita, ingrid."

"i want more, please," you told them. mapi took that as her cue to come back a little more. her hands moved along your sides until you moved them onto your breasts. mapi's fingers teased your nipples as your hips ground against ingrid's thigh. ingrid bit her lip as she felt how wet you already were from just kissing them. it was going to be easy to get you to cum for the first time, and while ingrid wanted to spend all night between your legs, she wouldn't push you any further than what you could handle.

"do you want my fingers or my mouth, bebita?" ingrid asked you. she was usually adamant about not speaking spanish in the house, but that pet name had always stuck. technically, mapi had been calling you her bebita long before either of you had figured out your feelings for each other. ingrid remembered her hesitation about seeing mapi because of you, and in hindsight, she felt a little ridiculous about it now.

"mouth please," you answered. ingrid gave you one last kiss before she moved down to lay in between your legs. mapi turned your head towards her, pulling you into a gentle kiss as ingrid's hands came up to rest on the insides of your thighs.

unlike ingrid's kisses, mapi's rarely ever managed to stay as gentle as they started. the press of mapi's lips against yours quickly turned into something much firmer, not that you minded. you nipped at mapi's lip a little, which earned you a slightly rougher pinch to your nipple than before.

"mapi," ingrid warned. mapi's cheeks heated up at the warning. you bit your lip as she moved around your body to press a kiss to where she had just pinched you. ingrid watched as your hips bucked forward at the contact. she shot mapi a look, one urging for the tattooed woman to stay there until you pulled her back for more kisses.

"do you want this bebita?" mapi asked you. you could still feel enough of mapi's body behind you to feel safe and comfortable, but that need was quickly being replaced by the feel to feel both of their mouths on your body.

"please," you whined. mapi didn't need to be told twice, and she mvoed back in with her mouth at the same time as ingrid. mapi peppered your breasts with kisses as her fingers teased your nipples. ingrid's tongue was making lazy figure 8 motions in between your legs, just barely grazing along where you wanted her to. the two of them worked together well, almost perfectly in sync despite not having had to talk one another through anything.

"shh," mapi cooed softly as she lifted her head a little. the noises you were making quickly began to jumble together. you were whining and whimpering as you started to move more. ingrid didn't want to grab your hips and pin you down, so mapi took it upon herself to kiss you to calm you down. your nails scratched against the side of her face a little, but mapi didn't let it distract her from swallowing up every moan and whimper that threatened to escape from your lips. "you're doing so good, it's okay. let ingrid do her thing."

"fuck, fuck, fuck," you repeated again and again. mapi felt your body tense on top of hers, and that was when she knew you were gone. as loud as you could be while being fucked, you always went dead silent when you came. ingrid began to back away, stopping only when she heard you and mapi talking to each other. the little confessions of love after sex were secrectly mapi's favorite. if she was ever asked, you knew that she'd say something cocky about the way you looked cumming on her fingers or strap, but truthfully, she loved the way you curled into her as the two of you showered each other in love and adoration.

"rest now," ingrid said as she took the spot next to you on the bed. mapi slipped away to get something to clean you up with as you and ingrid lazily made out on the bed. you were so tired, enough so that you were ready to fall asleep right there in her arms. ingrid kept you awake and distracted enough for mapi to clean you up and pick out some clothes for all of you to wear to bed.

"thank you, i think i needed this," you mumbled against ingrid's chest. this time, ingrid laid in between you and mapi, both of you with your head resting against ingrid's chest. ingrid had one hand on mapi's back and the other in your hair, both of them scratching lightly. "i love you, both of you."

"we love you too," mapi told you. she reached over and twirled a strand of your hair around her finger.

"whenever you need us, don't hesitate to ask," ingrid said. you glanced up at her and smiled. you couldn't help it, there was rarely ever a time you could remember not smiling when you saw ingrid. "we'll always be here to take care of you, in whatever ways you need."

[dilfscvm]

Fitzgerald Grant x Female! Reader

Hi! This is my own work, I wrote it and I much don't like to have it posted in other social media flatforms without my permission.

WARNINGS : This contains smut, if you don't like such content please skip it and don't read it. Vulgar words has been used also. Do excuse my grammatical errors and typos, correct me nicely or else I'll block block you. English is not my first language:)) Enjoy reading!<33

Special thanks to the owner of this gif<3

“I told you to stay away from him!” Fitz yells at you, he's in the pit of rage and you know you just crossed the line.

Making him jealous because you wanted to make him pay at what he did to you a week ago. He thought you got over it, but looks like his naughty wife has a better plan. And that is to make him angry. What's on his mind right now?

I'll get you bend over this dining table, fuck you and breed you.

That's what his brain tells him to do. You're his property, you're his and he doesn't like to share. And you absolutely knew it. That's why you make everything on planned.

"I'm sorry, but you really need to stop working." Fitz firmly stated, you're shocked at his sudden statement.

"W-what?" you scoffed.

"I said... I want you to stop working." he repeats as he slowly strode over you, like a lion ready to attack its prey. His eyes tells he craves. You stumped in front of him, face to face, nose almost touched. Eyes raged.

"I. Won't. Stop. Working." you said what is to be said, "I love my work, Fitz, I love working as a professor and you know how much I love my work and you can't just barge here in my office to tell me to resign and stay with you at the white house and fulfill my duty as a first lady. How did you get in here anyways?"

"You don't need to know how I get here, what you need to do is to get all your things and sign these resignation papers and let's go at the white House." his frown deepen, but you can see his eyes averting from your eyes to your lips, his breathing getting heavy as you argue with him.

"I won't resign just because you're jealous of my colleague who haven't done anything but to do his job." you continued. He scoff, he backs away a little shaking his head.

"Believe me, you will." and that's the last thing he said before he walks out your office. You stared at the door where he just walked out of, jaw drop, can't believe that your husband can do such things.

Well he's the president of the United States after all.

You're at his birthday party, talking with some guests. Not paying attention at your husband who's been such a attention seeker for you.

Since he made you sign those resignation letter you give him silent treatment that he deserves. He can't just manipulate you just because he's jealous.

“Dance with me?” you heard a voice from your back making you turn around. It's your colleague, the man Fitz don't ever want to see.

“Well why not.” you giggle and took his hand that been waiting for you to take.

You wanted him here. His name is Race, and he's a colleague, a married man but it's a private marriage. Fitz were a fool, he doesn't even let you explain it, and now, you will take advantage of it.

Race lead you to the dance floor where there's already some people who's dancing, including your husband who's with a old lady which you can recognise as the 40th president's wife.

Well watch me turn the tables around, darling.

“So, I bet he still doesn't know.” he smiled at you which you returned with a naughty smirk.

“This is a lesson, he has been fooling himself. You know that I would never cheat on him, I love him too much to break his heart.” you factly stated. He sighs as he slowly sway you, syncing with the music.

“I know that you cheeky minx.” he whisper that makes you both laugh together.

Both of you continued to dance and talk about random things up until Fitz finally notice, well actually you've seen him, he got his eyes on you. Watching you dance with the man he despise right now, and all he wanted to do were to yank you off him and take you right in front of everybody, specially him. You're playing with fire.

“Ma'am if you'll excuse me.” he politely smiles at the woman who nods with a smile. As soon as he turns around, his face contorts into a deep frown, raging eyes glued at you.

He walks with power, greeting every person he walk pass with a smile then immediately turns back into a frown as soon as he looks at you.

“I think that would be great, I like it and I know-”

“Mind if I steal my wife for a while?” firm, and low husky voice. Fitz says as he folds his arms across his chest. His face shows it all. Anger, rage, jealousy... Lust.

Well you were about to say that you like race's idea to surprise his wife for her birthday.

“Why sure, Mr. President.” race politely agrees as he smiled at the man, not paying attention to fitz's face, looking like he's ready to punch him.

Fitz did not waste anymore time as he possessively pull you away from him by your waist. He then pressed his lips on yours, taking you by surprise. Race sealed his lips containing his evil grin. Success.

You on the other hand, didn't give what Fitz wants. You did not kiss him back making him pull inches away from your lips.

“You like him don't you?” Fitz slowly said. You stared at him, slowly, a smile formed in your lips, mocking him. You know it makes him more hungry for you, and you like every bit of it.

Knowing your husband, he loves you so much, he's a very territorial, possessive, and obsessive at you. Well because you're his wife, and he needs you to know it.

“I love you.” you smiled at him. He'll say it back. No matter how he's mad at you. You know he will.

“I...love you too.” he whisper, as he look down on your lips, almost looks ashamed. I know you too well.

“Dining room.” you whisper at him before pulling away to walk out of the room.

“What?” he asks confusedly. His brows knitted, his signature look. You smiled evily, seductively bit your lower lip as you said;

“I know you like it anywhere, baby.”

Fitz is a kinky man, you must declare.

A knowing smirk were now plastered on his face making you giggle.

“Meet you there, baby!” you turned around and walk off.

Did he waste more time? Of course he didn't. He quickly walk off the room full of guest and walk towards dining room, where you waited there. Wearing nothing but a pair of black lingerie and a black stocking.

“Y/N-” his breath caught above his lungs as the view in front of him completely astonished him. “What's all of these?” he asks, as his eyes continue to hungrily Starr at your body up and down.

You hop ontop of the table and crossed your legs. He slowly walk towards you.

“A lesson.” you simply said when he's already standing right in front of you and tries to open your legs.

“A lesson for what?” he looks confused. You smirk and parted your legs, you hooked him with your legs on his hips and forcely pull him using it.

You put a finger on his lips and it just parted for you, “You know what you've done, Fitz, and now I'll teach you.. A.. Lesson.” you lean closer to him, he thought you will kiss him, so he lean forward to reach your lips but you pull back. “Ah, ah, darling... You need to be taught and punished—”

“Screw you.” that's all he got to say before he slam his lips on you, you tried to pull away but you're too intoxicated at his taste and scent. He kissed you hungrily, both hands on either side of your cheeks. Both with heavy breathings, both were panting, and moaning in each others mouths, as their tounge collide, exploring the insides of it adding more heat down your womanhood.

Fitz grab ahold of your stockings and rip it apart making you gasp into his mouth. But keep on kissing him still anyways. He pushed your legs more apart and start to kiss your neck. His hands were now roaming you body, specially down your area.

“F-fuck, Fitz.” you moaned as his kiss went down your cleavage, to your stomach up until he reached where you wanted him to be. He place a kiss on your lingerie, as his eyes stilled on yours.

“You can't punish me. I will punish you... For being such a brat, for ignoring me, for teasing me, you think you'll get away with it? Think again...” he snarled. You scoff at him. He just smirked. That devil smirk he always does when you both on bed. It turns you on.

“Fuck you.” you smile and press your lips on his kissing him ever so roughly as your hand went to his belt and undo it. He slapped your hand away and grab a hold of your ass and yank you off the table and put you on your feet as he turn you around, panting as he retrieve his breath, as well as you. He continue to kiss on your neck as he unbuckle his belt and push his pants down.

“Fuck you, you mean.” he chuckles, he ripped your panties and thrown it on the floor leaving you gasping. There's nothing can make you more turned on than you are now.

He latched his lips again on your neck as you grab ahold of his head pushing him more to it, moaning as you did. Fitz let his mouth open while he teased your hole with the tip of his enormous cock. Confusedly you is when he put his hand tightly on your mouth, but it didn't take long when he rams his cock inside of you with a guttural groan, trying to contain his own sounds.

You swear if he hadn't covered your mouth, you would scream. You never got used to his cock, up until now.

“I will never get tired fucking this sweet, tight pussy of yours, Y/N.” he whisper erotically in your ear, while you left there moaning in his palm, grinding your hips with his as he thrust slow but you can feel the roughness.

“Now tell me, my sweet, does teasing me satisfy you?” he asks as he slowly fastening his thrust, breathing were getting more heavier. You shook your head. “Liar.” he grunts, he let's go of your lips and push you down the table, making you lay your front to it as he grab onto your hips and continue his bruising pace. He pause a little when you began to moan, as much as he wanted to hear it, you must minimise your moans so no guest will get traumatised, “Please do be quiet for me, sweetheart, there's people outside. I don't want them knowing I'm screwing my bratty wife while I have party to be at. Wouldn't want to look disrespectful yeah?” he whispers at your ears. You only nodded, panting. “Good.” he smirk before he bit your ear gently. He then suddenly pushed in roughly making you squeal and him shushing you.

Fitz won't let you dominate him, we'll at least not now. He doesn't have much time for you to tease and edge him. But he will let you do that later, when no one's in the house.

He spread your ass to watch his harden cock penetrate your wet cunt, he couldn't help but whimper looking at the beautiful view. He sure is won't ever get enough of you.

No one can ever make his cock this alive, only you, his wife. You always turn him on even in small things you do. Like the way you walk, you talk, your smell, he gets turned on easily, if it's you who'll make him.

“Fuck, Fitz, I'm close.” you quietly moan, Fitz was too lost in pleasure. He wrapped his arms around your waist and pull you against his chest as he thrust up to help you cum for him. He's nearing, as much as he doesn't want this to end, he has visitors to entertain.

“Darling, I'm gonna cum.” he whisper against your skin. His eyes closed, mouth open, eyebrows were knitted, pleasure takes over him. “I know you want to cum too. Cum hof me.” he place a kiss on your neck.

“Fitz..” you moan, almost out of breath. His hand went to your breast and squeeze it tightly as he left his other arm wrapped around your waist. “Ah! Fuck!” your walls clamped around his cock that enough to edge him, and leave him moaning as you cum.

“Oh God, you feel so good.” he groans through gritted teeth. He continues to thrust in you as he breed you, filling you with his cum—wait he breeds you?!

“Fitz!” you yell at him. He frowned at you.

“W-what?” he says panting.

“You finished in me!”

Not to be rude but you both talked about having another baby and he said it's not the right time yet to have another one, and you agreed with it.

“So?” he asks confusedly. He's still inside of you, still thrusting very slowly as he just reached his climax. “You're my wife, I have the rights to do so.” he said, he slowly pulls away making you bite your lip. You turn around to face him.

“Yeah, but I thought you don't want another baby yet?” you ask, he sighs and pull you closer to him as he wrap his arms around your hips.

“Jerry's not a baby anymore, he's four—well he'll still remain our baby but I miss having a small human in my arms,” he chuckles. He place a hand on your cheek, a finger in your lips and continues; “I want to have another baby, I know that you also want another but I choosed to deny you. I'm sorry.” he whisper, your eyes were glistening as he rub your cheeks.

“Thank you, and I love you.” you smiled at him, which he returns.

“I love you too.” he says back with a chuckle. You giggle and tiptoed his lips. Kissing him deeply and passionately.

It didn't last long when he lift you up again and sat you on the table before he push you on your back. He pulls away with a smirk dancing on his lips.

“Fitz!” you giggle when he pulls a chair and sat on it before he pulls you by your tighs to the edge of the table. He smirk at you making you part your lips.

“What? I'm hungry.” he teasingly said before burying his head between your tighs leaving you breathless as you throw your head at the back, moaning as you did.

[skzhua]

Request- Hyunjin having a really bad day during comeback and so his members call y/n to come pick him up and he just breaks down in front of her from the stress and gets taken care of 🥹💞?

Night Breeze and Hot Choco

MASTERLIST

Pairing: Idol!Hwang Hyunjin x Non-Idol!FemaleReader

Genre: Idol!AU, angst, fluff, imagine.

Word Count: 2,257

Warnings: Stress, crying, mental breakdown, sad Hyunjin.

A/N: Just for our birthday boy~ And y'all know by now I am Hyunjin biased...

"Woah, there!" Minho yelped as someone almost bumped into him as he left the stage.

"Sorry." Hyunjin quickly muttered and hurried to the waiting room.

Minho exchanged glances with Han, but the younger boy shrugged his shoulders. The rest of the group followed and they change back into their clothes. They chatted about their performance and laughed about whatever stupid comments Seungmin was coming up with. However, Hyunjin was in his space, not participating much into the conversation. Chan looked at him worriedly, but didn't ask questions.

"Hey, Hyune. I'm getting some snacks later, if you want to come with me." Minho nudged at his younger friend, but his expression remained blank.

"Not tonight." he simply said before leaving to go to the washroom.

The members followed his figure as he walked away, and then glanced at each other with knowing looks.

"Do you think it's because I messed up the dance?" Jeongin asked, but the others were quick to deny.

"I'll check on him later, he seems to want to be alone for now." Chan sighed.

The ride home was silent as nobody dared to speak. Hyunjin had been staring out the window and biting his upper lips from time to time. Jeongin had offered him a candy from the ones he had brought with him, but he refused to take it. This only made the youngest member worry. Hyunjin would never refuse food, especially after a schedule.

Back at the dorm, the moment Changbin opened the door, Hyunjin took off his shoes quickly and ran straight to the comfort of his room. Perplexed, the 3racha men were left alone at their entrance.

"Okay, this is not normal." Han exclaimed. "He hasn't eaten anything since this morning, and he's acting up. I'm going in there and I'll-"

Chan lift his arm to prevent Jisung from moving. "You haven't eaten either. You two can order something, I'll go talk to him myself."

Reluctant, Jisung hesitated. As Chan gave him a pleading look, he nodded before going to sit down with Changbin. The leader made his way to Hyunjin's room and knocked softly on the door. There was no answer, so he repeated the action. He managed to hear a small hum coming from the other side.

"Hyune? We're ordering food if you want something."

"I'm good, thanks." he heard him mumble.

Chan wasn't sure if he was supposed to insist more, or let go of it and hope it's nothing too serious. However, one thing he hated was seeing his members in suffering, and Hyunjin was clearly not okay.

"Hey." he knocked again. "Can I come in?"

There was a small pause after his question. As he was about to ask again, Hyunjin finally spoke. "I rather stay alone for a bit if that's okay."

Sighing in defeat, Chan walked back to the others. Changbin was on the phone to order some chicken while Han was scrolling through his social medias. Upon seeing Chan coming back, he put it away and looked at him expectedly.

"So?"

Chan shook his head as he sat next to him. "He wants to be alone."

"Did he fight with Y/N or something?"

They've had barely a break since their comeback. Promotions here and there, lives to entertain the fans, filming SKZ-Code, already starting to prepare for their next album... They were insanely busy. Y/N has always been understanding of their career and never got mad at her boyfriend for cancelling dates and such. Nonetheless, people have their limits. Assuming this might be the cause of Hyunjin's mood, it made sense Jisung came up with this conclusion.

"Maybe." Chan shrugged. "Do you think we should call her?"

"It's none of our business, technically." Changbin joined in, after ending his call with the restaurant.

"I get that, but I don't like to see Hyunjin feel like shit without helping."

Jisung grabbed his phone back and was quick to compose Y/N's phone number. After a few rings, she answered sounding completely normal.

"What's up, Ji!" she exclaimed joyously.

"Hi, Y/N! Do you happen to have fought with Hyunjin?"

"What do you mean?" she replied, confused.

"No? I don't know what's with him, but he's not doing so good right now, and we are kind of worried." Jisung explained. "Are you busy right now?"

"No, I'm not. He's at the dorm?"

"Yeah, it'd be great of you come to maybe help him think about something else. I don't know, just distract him from whatever he's thinking."

"Of course, no problem. Has he eaten yet?"

"Right, that's another worry of us..."

Jisung didn't need to add any more details for Y/N to hang up, get her coat, and leave her flat to head straight to their apartment. Luckily, she didn't live far from them, but the drive seemed to take forever. When she finally got there, she ran to their door and knocked agressively. It immediately opened as Changbin greeted her with a sad look.

"He's in his room." he said, opening the door wider to let her in.

"Thank you." she smiled, and made her way to her boyfriend's room.

She knocked carefully, and waited for a response. Instead, she heard sniffles. It broke her heart, but she knew he'll feel better once he sees her. Right?

"Chan, I said I wanted to be alone." Y/N heard him say.

"It's me, Jinnie." she said in a worried voice.

Instantly, the door was opened, revealing Hyunjin in an oversized shirt with sweatpants. As she checked him up and down, she didn't see anything much different, apart from his red-ish nose and swollen eyes. He had definitely been crying.

"Baby..." she let out a breath.

"Hey." he said shyly.

There was a small pause. Y/N didn't know what to say, nor how to react. She had seen him in similar states, but he wasn't even smiling. This was definitely a rough patch for him.

"How about we go for a quick stroll?" she ended up suggesting. "Then, we can go to my place and cuddle, and then sleep?"

Hyunjin hesitated. He had more schedule coming the next morning, and he wasn't going to miss it, it was too important. Nonetheless, he did miss his lover. In fact, not having seen her for weeks had deeply affected him. He did owe her a date, after all.

"Alright. Let me just check with Chan?"

The girl nodded and stepped aside to let him go to Chan. They talked for a bit, and it ended with Hyunjin getting the approval he could go. He put on his coat as he let Y/N leave first, following closely behind.

Night walks were among the girl's favourite things to do. She liked the breeze and the quietness of the night. Mostly, she loved the view. The pair had not said a word since they left, and it was more than okay for Hyunjin. As they approached the Han river, Y/N led the idol to a bench so they could admire the view.

After sitting in silence for a couple of minutes, Hyunjin finally talked. "I could paint this."

"I'm sure it'll be pretty." she smiled. "Anything you create will be perfect."

Hyunjin only sighed as an answer. The comfortable silence was back. They stayed like this for a while, until the man claimed to be tired. With that being said, they got up and made their way to Y/N's car. In the vehicle, Hyunjin was still quiet as he observed the view through the window. At some point, Y/N thought she heard him sniff. She wasn't sure if she heard correctly, so she didn't question him.

At home, they got ready for bed as soon as they stepped inside. While Hyunjin went to brush his teeth, Y/N prepared a warm hot choco for the both of them, and didn't forget to bring warm blankets. When she arrived in her room with her stuff, it was the first time she saw Hyunjin give her a small smile since the beginning of the evening.

"You're too sweet."

She shrugged her shoulders as she positioned herself cozily next to him. "I just hate seeing you so... off."

To that, Hyunjin froze. He knew she was going to bring up the subject soon or later, but he really didn't want to put his problems onto her shoulders. Since the start of their relationship, he swore to himself that his work would never affect them as a couple. He still believed it should stay this way.

"Don't worry about me, baby." He forced a smile, but the woman was not buying any of his act.

"You know I'm here for you, right?" she asked carefully.

He took her hands and rubbed her skin softly. "Of course, I know."

"Then, what is it? I know you hate to complain to me about your issues, but I am your partner. I care about you and I absolutely despise how you've been on the verge of crying since the moment I came to pick you up."

Hyunjin hadn't even realized tears started to roll down his cheeks by then. He had tried so hard to not let it happen in front of the others, but he was seemingly weaker in front of her.

"It's..." he started, but paused to think about how he could phrase his thoughts. "I think this is the first time since debut that I hate my job." he finally admitted.

The moment the words left his mouth, he knew there was no more restraining from crying. So he cried. He broke down in front of the person he loved the most, completely exposed. Completely vulnerable.

"I thought I was doing good with stress, but it looks like I don't. I keep fucking up since our comeback. I fuck up the dance, I forget lyrics, I lose focus whenever the guys tell me something. Fuck, I even forget to text you goodnight because I can't fucking catch a break." he sobbed some more.

Y/N stayed quiet as he continued to rant. She rubbed his upper arm in reassurance. She knew how hard it was for him to be honest and transparent with how he dealt with his career. To be honest, she didn't know if he ever told her so explicitly what he was going through.

"Today, I almost crashed into Minho. I was so scared I was going to break his bones. Yes, I caught myself in time, but imagine the damage I could have done. Some fans noticed and went online. Am I such a burden for the group? I keep trying so fucking hard and yet..." His crying had taken over as a hiccup interrupted the end of his sentence.

Y/N took this moment to bring him into her arms, and the man just fell into her. The sobs increased, but she continued to rub his back, whispering sweet thoughts to him as a way to calm him. It took some time, but he managed to eventually breathe normally again. Eyes swollen, he pulled away a bit from the girl and looked into her eyes. How did he get so lucky?

"I'm sorry for being a failure." he mumbled sadly.

Y/N shook her head vigorously, taking his face with the palm of her hands. "Never say that again. You are far from being a failure. Heck, Hyunjin, you're in one of the most famous kpop groups. Is this not enough of a sign of how much you have done? And don't tell me you're a burden to the boys either. They care so much about you that they always ask me to check on you when you're sad."

Hyunjin frowned from her claims. "They do that?"

"Yes, baby. Do you know why? Because you're so fucking precious and lovable. As for the stress, it's absolutely normal that you're close to a burn out. You've been working nonstop for weeks, of course it affects how you deliver your performances. Did you even ask the company if you could take a break?"

He shook his head. "I can't let them down..."

Y/N scoffed in disbelief. "They don't care about that. They want you to be happy and healthy. I want you happy and healthy."

By then, the tears on Hyunjin's face came back. Only this time, it wasn't because he was worried with work. It was because he was overwhelmed with the love he was getting. One thing he wasn't good with was seeing his worth. By some magic, Y/N always found a way to remind him how loved and talented he was.

"You're right." he finally smiled. "I should ask Chan for a break."

"There you go." she smiled back, giving him a peck on the lips. "My Jinnie is back."

He chuckled at how cute she was. "I love you so much. Please, never leave me?"

Y/N brought him into a long-lasting kiss, and then hugged him tightly. "Never. You're too fucking precious to let go."

He hummed quietly. "Are you talking about yourself now?"

She pouted at him. "Let me compliment you!"

"I've let you do so for straight up 15 minutes, my turn." he grinned.

They cuddled for a while, not forgetting to enjoy the hot choco the girl had previously made for themselves. Hyunjin was finally feeling some sort of peace after a long time. His comfort home was her, and he enjoyed the moment as much as he could.

"Now, how about we watch the drama of your choice before sleeping?" she suggested, putting away the empty mugs.

"I'd like that very much."

taglist: @lenilla15 | @muddy-waters | @nanaspalette | @nattisbored | @popcatx0 | @vanblack95 | @aestheticsluut | @thanxxskz | @minhoino | @taetertotsv

Copyright © 2023 skzhua. All rights reserved.

[tihgnari]

ꕤ 28. stop being naive, ayato!

tw: mentions of classism / wc: 645

dinner alone with his mother isn't anything new to ayato, but the slight feeling of awkwardness and the pressure to fill the empty silence is always heavy on his shoulders. oftentimes he'd break the suffocating silence with small talk about business, getting his mom to talk about her impressive feats as the president and giving ayato the advice he needed to meet the same standard of business ethics as her. but tonight is not about the company nor the sky-high expectations burdening ayato's shoulders.

the metal utensils harshly meet porcelain plates. a reaction he's been expecting, but ayato winces nonetheless.

"what do you mean you don't want to marry aoki? this is your grandfather's wish. you know that."

of course, he does.

"i don't love her."

"we can attain anything in this world, move mountains with our wealth, but your idea of love and happiness is a luxury far too dangerous and hardly worth risking. stop being naive, ayato!" his mother clears her throat, reeling back her composure. "your grandfather just wants a competent spouse for you. i'm sure you haven't even spent much time with aoki, right? i heard she's an amazing girl with the same interest as you in cars. should i make the arrangements to remedy that?"

"i can't love her when i already love someone else!"

ayato has heard from many people that he took after his mother the most, a carbon copy as they playfully say… and he's sure the look of surprise on his mother's face is mirrored on his own because what the actual fuck? why did he say he loves you? does he really? or is this just another case of him getting carried away and speaking before he thinks?

too caught up in his crisis, he fails to notice his mother's change of demeanor.

his mother, kamisato kayo, mutters under her breath, shoulders deflating. "did you meet them in university?"

"yes, i did. her name's yn. she's ayaka's best friend and her secretary in the council. someone very smart and kind, she's very diligent in her work, and i feel like i'm on top of the world when i'm by her side. please, mother, convince grandfather to call off the engagement. i want to be with this person. i'm begging you."

in a low voice, she speaks. "you know what happened to your dad, don't you?"

ayato blinks confused. "yes. he died from an existing brain condition some months after you had ayaka. after that, grandfather replaced him with another man–the "father" i have now who's conveniently absent once again."

"your dad was born and raised in a middle-class family. always top of his class, that man. i even got annoyed by him because he'd always take the top spot in the rankings, but you know what they say, the more you hate the more you love and this man made me experience things i have never before.

your grandfather drilled into me that marriage was a duty, not something borne off romantic interests. but your dad beg to differ and i loved that about him, he was never afraid to speak his mind.

long story short, i pleaded to marry him after graduating and miraculously, your grandfather blessed our union.

but a love that can conquer the world is but a daydream. i underestimated the brutality of the high-class society and your father got so fed up that he said marrying into the family made him feel downright alienated, ayato. that's what he said to me moments before he died. and now, i have to live with the burden of our foolish actions when we were once young and in love.

so i ask you now, are you willing to possibly subject this girl to the same thing?"

LOWKEY » previous : masterlist : next

a kamisato ayato social media au

summary — it was only recently you found out kamisato ayaka was, in fact, not an only child after all! seeing ayato for the first time gave you the severest case of the butterflies but according to ayaka, he’s off limits, especially to you as her most treasured friend. well, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt, right?

notes — just wanna say their mom started using 'kamisato' as her surname again after their dad died and ayaka and ayato followed suit. also for the peeps in the taglist 2, pls tell me if u received a notif of the tag 🫡 thanks hehe just checking somethinggg

🏷 i. @rinrinchin @nejibot @mich-cola @viiolettee @katsumikumo @kaz3yo @starryeyedkoko @xingqiusliegee @selenshinitai @boxdisappeared @lovelyycherries @ferumie @love6cks @kiyowoir @luvvmeilin @blackberri-jelli @moonlightbqe @kazooms @tricethecharm @lynnforever @kaedear @xiaoisahawtie @crowbird @apotatouwu @xinii @euryrue​ @aequha​ @nuttytani @plinkuro @choco-rei @aixaingela @milesluvrrad @windasteriaa @cherrytomato2 @zannivrs @k4miyato @eishtar @wccycc @ceylestia @sweet-almonds @ayatobro @animewolflover278 @queenaveryrules @veyu002 @ittakestw0totango @ventis-dandelion @adeptusx @x-xxiaos @loveyoutothestars @ssalamanderr

[thelittlewriter]

I Wish

Pairing : Kuroo x Reader

"Let's break up."

He was the one who said those words. He was the one who broke up. But he didn't mean it, he didn't mean to. It was a stupid fight and he got angry. He loved you so much, he loved you too much and it became terrifying. His hands were shaking from the amount of emotions rushing into his body. You were crying in front of him, trying to explain why he was wrong, how he was wrong. And he knew he was. And he wanted to fix it, more than anything, but it seemed beyond fixing. He was feeling too much, and you were too.

It was all too much.

That's why he said it. He didn't want you gone, he needed space. He worded it the wrong way. But you smiled at him. A genuine smile. You nodded.

- Yeah, it's the best decision. Maybe we can go back to being friends.

He saw your smile and he couldn't just go back anymore. It was what you wanted. Friends. You two used to be friends, until he confessed. Maybe you loved him too much to refuse, just like he loved you too much to say take his words back.

So he tried. You two were drifting apart, it was inevitable. You texted from time to time. It was only the ordinary "how are you ?" but never more.

He needed to admit it to himself. You just didn't care about him anymore. So he moved on. He moved on with someone else. She was sweet, maybe a little too much. He didn't feel the way he felt about you, but he would learn to. He would give it time.

You (11:04 am) : Hey ! I haven't been hearing for you lately. Are you ok ?

He saw the text right away but he intentionally waited a day before replying.

Kuroo (2:15 pm) : I've been good.

Kuroo (2:16 pm) : And spending time with my girlfriend.

It had been a month since the two of you broke up. It wasn't like the two of you had been dating for a long time anyway.

He got over you.

He did.

But a part of him just couldn't stop thinking about you. He would give everything to take back what he had said that night. If only. If only you could feel the same.

He sent you a picture. It was him and his girlfriend during their date the day before. You answered almost right away.

You (2:19 pm) : She's pretty

He smiled. Did you regret it too ? Did you wish you could go back too ?

You (2:19 pm) : I'm glad you're happy

Maybe you didn't. But maybe he still had a chance. Or maybe he should move on and seriously get into this relationship.

He went on more dates with her. Spent more time with her. And posted more on social media. He wondered if you saw it, if you were jealous. A part of him wanted you to be. But you never seemed to look at it.

- Are you lost in your mind again ?

He looked at his girlfriend. All he had been thinking about was you lately. He smiled at her and answered :

- Yeah... just work stuff.

She smiled.

- Let me go get you something to drink.

She sat up and walked to the store nearby. He was sitting on a bench in a small park. It had become their spot. They would come here often and just talk together for hours. She was nice and interesting but just... not you. He closed his eyes. He needed to stop thinking about you.

- Kuroo ?

He looked up.

- Y/N ?

You were there, in front of him.

- How are you ? he asked.

You smiled. It was a genuine smile. One he hadn't seen in a long time. It reminded him of the day you two broke up. The day he made a big mistake.

- I'm great ! And you ?

- Yeah, me too. What are you doing here ?

You shrugged.

- You know... just walking.

You looked around.

- It used to be our spot, you said softly. I'm sorry I ruined that.

Yeah, it used to. And now he was coming here with his new girlfriend. He wondered. Were you upset he had replaced you that easily ? Were you jealous ?

- I bought you water, he suddenly heard behind him.

He turned to his girlfriend, then back to you.

- Nice to meet you ! you said with a bright smile. I'm Y/N.

- I'm Sora ! she answered.

She had a small frown but she forced a smile, Kuroo could tell. His girlfriend was jealous. But were you ? It was as if there only was the two of you. He could finally say what he had been wanting to tell you this whole time.

I wish I could go back in time.

I wish we could be together again.

I wish I had apologized that day.

I wish you would tell me you love me again.

I wish you wanted me back.

I wish...

I wish...

But you spoke first.

- I wish you well.

And you walked away with a smile. The same smile you had that night. A smile of relief, a smile full of happiness. And he realized you wanted to break up with him that day anyway. That you never were jealous, that you always had been happy for him.

That you had moved on already.

It hurt. But maybe it was time for him to finally do the same.

Voilà ! I'm very happy I wrote this and it's all thanks to the kind anonymous person who sent this ask ! Thank you very much for allowing me to write this ! I hope you liked it and that you are having a great day !

[smolwritingchick]

Smol Brainstorm/drabble: ARMY, I'm OK!

Author's note: For the request of Jennie doing a live to reassure ARMY she's ok after the boys enlist. Brainstorming.

------

'Lisaaaa have you heard from BTS' Jennie?!'

'When was the last time you hung out with BTS Jen?'

'I miss Miss Bangtan and your cute photos with her. Is she ok?'

Blackpink's Lisa read the many comments from ARMY on her Instagram Live regarding Jennie. She smiled and spoke, "Jennie is OK. I hope she posts again soon. I hung out with her a few weeks ago."

----------

Buzz Buzz Buzz

Lisa: ARMY was on our Instagram Live asking about you. Hope you're doing OK! Luv uuuuuu! Call me when you're free!

Seated on the couch of her apartment she shared with Jungkook, Jennie read Lisa's message in surprise. This was the 5th friend that had told her this. It had been well over a month, about to go into 2 months since she was last seen on social media. Since she had said goodbye to Jungkook and Jimin who enlisted together. Since all 7 of the boys were officially away from her. She deleted all social media for a while, only keeping in touch with her friends and family via phone and text and any work-related stuff via email. She just couldn't do it as every post she had seen was about the boys. Especially the adorable JenKook videos she would come across. She missed them dearly. 

Immediately calling Lisa via Facetime, she answered on the third ring with a huge smile.

"There you are! Hi~!" Lisa beamed.

"Hey! How are you?"

"I'm well! I've been attending these fashion events. It's been so fun. But how are YOU? I hope you're ok. I know it's been hard..."

"I'm ok! I promise that I am. And I am so sorry, I hope ARMY didn't spam you. I had planned to come back on social media soon but I just didn't want to see any posts about the guys until I could pull myself together,"

"Not at all! I understand! ARMY loves you and wants to know that you're okay. You should talk to them. Do a live. They want an update from you. I'd be worried too if we haven't been texting,"

That got Jen to think. She should do a live. She missed ARMY and it would mean a lot to them to reach out.

Miss Bangtan nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Okay. Tell Jennie, Jisoo, and Rose I said hi! We gotta hang soon,"

"Absolutely! I'll see you, soon. Love you, Jen!"

"Love you, too, Lisa! Bye!" she hung up and let out a sigh. 

Redownloading all of her social media apps, she went on Instagram and started a live while she sat on her couch. 

"Hi," she smiled softly, watching the comments flow in at a rapid rate while the viewership instantly went to the millions. "How are you guys? I know I've been a little MIA. Sorry,"

'Jennie~!'

'OMG you're OK!'

'WE MISS YOU!'

'How are you holding up!?'

'Im about to cry, you're here!'

"I'm ok! I'm ok! I was going through it but I'm feeling better. My friends told me you guys were in their comments asking about me. I just had to take a break. I hope you understand. I had deleted social media for a bit. It was just...it was a little hard seeing their faces all over social media when they're not physically here with me, y'know? It has been hard to adjust to this but I'm getting by,"

She received a lot of crying emojis and comments about understanding how she felt. Jennie began to feel happy to be with ARMY as their comments were comforting.

"I keep in touch with them of course but it sucks they aren't physically there with me. I miss them all and I miss my husband so much...we've been a part before but this here is different. I sometimes wear Jungkook's shirts and hoodies at home since they still have his smell and make me think that he's hugging me. Like he's right there next to me...I miss you, ARMY. You are helping that loneliness that I feel. I promise to be more active and to keep in touch."

'What are your plans while the boys are enlisted?'

She read the comment. "I'll be back working soon. I'm going to go back to America and see my family and friends. I got stuff cooking with Nike. I'm excited to show y'all the next collection! And yes, JW 3 is coming. I hope you look forward to the album. It's too early but I do have some other plans regarding music. Announcements will be revealed soon. We're going to be OK ARMY. 2025 will be here before we know it. For now, I will remain strong. I will remain strong for us and we will get through this. The boys will be home soon. Let's take it one day at a time, okay?"

[lucy90712]

Angst! Pedri breaks up with Reader and they haven’t seen each other in months until he sees her and realizes she’s the one :)

wc: 2500+

After a horrific few months where I was just so sad after a break up the last few weeks I have finally got back to my somewhat normal self and been enjoying life again. As I've been in a relationship for the last two years I never got to fully enjoy living in Barcelona and going out with friends so that's what I've been doing and it's been fun. Going out to clubs really wasn't my thing before the break up but since I've tried to push myself out of my comfort zone and live my life a bit more so I have been a few times since. I've definitely enjoyed being out with my friends and seeing them have fun but I hate having guys come over and try to flirt with me because they are always drunk and I just don't want to be talking to any guys at the moment. 

Tonight my friends want to go out and I agreed to go with them but for some reason I'm just not looking forward to it. Something deep inside of me is telling me not to go but I don't see any real reason not to so I'm going to ignore the stupid feeling and enjoy myself. To help get over the bad feeling I have decided to get dressed up extra nice for tonight so I put on my favourite dress and did my makeup and hair all glam. Looking in the mirror after I was finally ready I felt good about myself for once I didn't have any negative thoughts in my head which stem from social media comments. Now that my relationship is over and I don't have people criticising everything about my appearance I feel like I've got a new found confidence which I really like as I've never had a huge amount of self confidence but now I'm building that. 

After some final touches to my makeup and outfit I was ready to go so called an Uber to take me to the club we had agreed to go to because I want to drink so don't want to leave my car overnight. The Uber luckily was quick and so I met my friends outside and we all went into the club together as we always stick together when we go out just to be safe. Like always the club was loud and dark but I've grown to like the atmosphere a bit as sometimes you can hide away and go unnoticed for most of the night which can be quite nice. As we walked in my friends saw some people they knew so I was dragged with them to go and say hi but along the way I thought I saw someone familiar too but I tried to forget about it. 

It took all of 5 minutes for me to realise why my gut was telling me not to come out. The realisation hit when I saw Gavi my ex Pedri's best friend who would definitely not be here without Pedri. I tried to tell myself that it was just someone who looked like Gavi but when he was stood just a few feet away from me at the bar and we caught each other's eyes I couldn't deny it anymore. Panic started to flow through me as I haven't seen Pedri at all since the night we broke up which is pretty hard when his face is plastered all over the city but now we may come face to face. 

The whole break up was really hard on me as Pedri and I had been together for two years and got together not long after he moved to Barcelona so we went through a lot together. He was the one that was there for me in some of the hardest moments of my life and I was there to support him through his early days at Barcelona. In the end he broke things off to focus on football just as the latest season was starting and as much as I have been trying to avoid it I've heard that things have been going well for the team and Pedri. Not only did the sudden break up hurt but knowing that Pedri really is doing better without me feels like a knife in my chest as I can't help but feel that I was holding him back all that time without meaning to. All of that makes the thought of seeing him make me feel sick but I agreed to come out and put a lot of effort into my appearance so I feel like I need to stay and enjoy myself.

Pedri's POV

Going out wasn't my idea but everyone was going so I felt the need to go with them even though for some reason my gut was telling me not to. When we got here everyone sat down and talked for a few minutes before sending Gavi off to go and get drinks as he missed his chance to get himself out of it. After he'd been gone for over 5 minutes I started to get worried that something had happened and when he came back that feeling didn't change because he was giving me a look which I knew meant something was wrong. Instead of just telling me what was up he dragged me off to a more quiet corner of the club and then just stared at me which didn't at all help the anxiety I was already feeling. 

"What's going on?" I asked 

"Umm well y/n is here I saw her while getting drinks and it was definitely her because I looked her right in the eyes" he explained 

"Was she with anyone?" I asked 

"Only her friends I didn't see any guy with them" he said 

"If you want to leave I'll come up with some sort of excuse to tell the others" he offered 

"No it's ok I was always going to have to see her one day" I said 

As much as I said I was going to stay I don't really want to because I don't know if I can deal with seeing her again even if the break up was completely my decision. It was such a stupid decision breaking up with y/n because it was supposed to be for me to focus on football and sure I've been playing well but I haven't been truly happy since. No win and no goal really mean anything anymore because y/n isn't there to celebrate with me like she always was before. It's hard to get motivated every morning when she's not there when I wake up and won't be there when I come back either. My life just hasn't been the same without y/n but I was the one that broke up with her for a completely selfish reason so I don't think she'd even want to talk to me again which I completely understand because if someone did that to me I wouldn't want to talk to them either. 

After taking a minute to think I went back to the table with everyone else and tried to enjoy myself but I really ended up just sat there. While sat down I happened to see y/n from across the room and once I did I couldn't take my eyes off her. She looked so beautiful her hair and makeup were done and she had on her favourite dress which I used to love as it gave her more confidence. She was smiling and laughing with her friends and just seeing her smiling again broke my heart because I used to love seeing her smile it always made my day and being the one to make her smile was even better but I'll never be able to do that again as I made a stupid decision. 

The more I stared at her the more I realised just how dumb I was to break up with her. I had the perfect girl and I stupidly let her go because I thought I would be better off without her when in fact it's the exact opposite. When we were together I knew I loved her but now that we are apart I realise just how much I loved and still love her. Over the course of our relationship I never thought too much about the future because everything with football is always about the present  so I never thought much beyond that but now it's all I can think about. Now that it's too late I realise that I wanted a future with y/n I wanted us to get married, have kids and grow old together bit now she's clearly moved on and will want those things with other people. 

"You're staring man" Gavi said taking me out of my thoughts 

"She was the one and I let her go" I said 

"If you really think she's the one then you should go and talk to her and try to win her back because the longer you leave it the more likely she is to move on" he encouraged 

"I'm going to do it but if it goes wrong I'm blaming you" I said 

Your POV 

All night I've been glancing over at Pedri as I can see him from across the club and I don't even know why it's like I'm still drawn to him. He looks as handsome as ever with his shirt unbuttoned at the top showing off his chest and his beard that I always loved growing in. I so desperately wanted to be sat with him and for him to have his arm around my waist again like he would always do when we were in public together but he broke up with me for a reason and I can't have him back. Only once we were apart did I realise how much he meant to me and now seeing him again it's bringing back all of those thoughts I've worked hard to block out. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him and I still can't imagine being with anyone else but at some point I'll have to move on or else I'll be alone forever. 

When my friends noticed me staring at Pedri they made me face the other way and gave me another drink to help distract me although it didn't really work. I tried my best to not think about Pedri but he kept crossing my mind even when my friend were pointing out other guys in the club I found myself comparing them to Pedri. Eventually I decided that in advance to move on and so I started paying more attention to the conversation and actually talking to my friends. Just as I was starting to enjoy myself again I felt and hand on my shoulder which without looking I knew would belong to a guy wanting my attention which usually I would ignore but tonight I need a distraction so I turned around. As I turned around I saw Pedri stood behind me and I nearly fainted but somehow I managed to hold it together and smile at him. 

"Hey" I managed to say 

"Hey I get if you don't want to talk to me but can I get you a drink for us to catch up over?" He asked 

"I wouldn't mind that" I replied 

He gently took hold of my wrist and brought me to the bar with him where he ordered my favourite drink and paid for it before taking me to a table for just the two of us. Once we sat down neither of us talked for a few moments before he asked me how I have been. To begin with things were kind of awkward as we haven't spoken in a few months but as the conversation continued we both got more comfortable and started get back to how we used to be. He talked about the team and how they have been playing really well and I told him about my recent promotion at work which I was working toward when we were still together. We talked about most things but avoided the topic of relationships but from what he was saying I got the impression that he wasn't seeing anyone else which made me happy as it meant there was still a chance for us to get back together. 

"I'm going to be honest with you y/n I really regret breaking up with you life just hasn't been the same since I haven't been anywhere near as happy as I was with you" Pedri admitted 

"I've missed you a lot too it's been hard hearing your name and all the things you've achieved without being able to celebrate them with you" I said 

"Then what are we doing I realise now that you are the one for me and I don't want to be with anyone else so if you are willing to would you want to give this another go?" He asked 

"You're the one I want to be with too and I want to get back together but I want to go slowly and build the relationship again so we don't have any problem" I said 

"Of course we can do whatever you want I just want you back" he said 

"You've got me back but don't ever let me go again I don't think I'll survive breaking up with you again" I joked 

"I'll never let you go ever again" he said 

Just like I was wishing for earlier he slid his arm around my waist and I rested my head on his shoulder just enjoying being back in his arms. We probably looked like weirdos to anyone else in the club but I was more than content just being with Pedri now that he’s mine again. We sat together for a little while before he took me over to his friends who were all glad to see us back together especially Gavi who didn’t hesitate to tell me all the things Pedri has been saying while we were broken up which had Pedri blushing but I loved to hear it. 

Eventually I was ready to go home so went to get and Uber but Pedri didn’t let me instead he said goodbye to his friends and we went to his car so he could drive me home. The entire way Pedri had his hand on my leg rubbing gently circles on my knee like he always used to which had both of us smiling from ear to ear. Once back at my place he walked me to my door and put both of his hands on my waist to pull me closer to him. I looked into his eyes for a few moments before we both began to lean in and finally our lips met in a kiss that was just like our first full of love and passion. He gave me one last kiss before leaving me in my apartment thinking about his a bad night turned into the best because I got my everything back. 

[buckyismybicycle]

I don't know how terrible this quality will be on Tumblr, but the higher resolution/original can be found on AO3!

Title: swim for the music that saves you Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers Tags: ShrinkyClinks, Social Media AU, WIP/teaser Summary: It all started when he sent a video singing Happy Birthday to his sister, not knowing that she would post it on her social media.

Now, JBuckyBarnes has millions of followers all hearing his story, following his recovery, listening to him sing. Little does he know, he's going to change the life of one follower in particular.

Steve Rogers, chronically ill and spending most of his days inside, has to live vicariously through others. He longs for adventure, trying new things, feeling the sun on his face. A/N: This fic has been sitting in my drafts for some time now... Thanks to @buckybarnesevents: Alternate June-iverse giving me a little kick, I've decided to post an excerpt/the beginning and the rest of it will come in due course.

“Hiya folks… Well, it was, uh.” The brunette on screen pauses and then smiles sadly. “Alright, you know I can’t lie to you. I wanna say it was fine and dandy, but it was honestly rough. That’s why this video’s a bit late, sorry ‘bout that, by the way. It took longer than I thought it would to edit so I honestly kind of gave up.”

He lays his head in a propped up hand, resting against his piano. 

“So, I got home Sunday afternoon and crashed. I don’t even remember getting into bed. Didn’t sleep through the night, of course. I never do. But! That’s just me, my body’s not a fan of the meds. I was feeling crummy — you know when you’re so hungry you’re nauseous but you can’t eat ‘cause you’re nauseous? Anyway, so that for like, six hours. Finally got to sleep when the sun was risin’ but only managed about an hour or so. You lot haven’t heard Brooklyn traffic.”

Steve can’t help but smirk at that because he has, and he is in fact listening to the god-awful Brooklyn traffic outside his window. He could always move his desk away from the window, but he needs some sort of sunlight from time to time.

The YouTube video plays on his phone while he takes a break from work, stretching and wincing as his joints crack.

“So, it’s like, ten in the mornin’ and I decide I’m gonna get something to eat. Nausea won that round, unfortunately, so by three o'clock I am starving. I was cranky for the whole day, and I don’t wanna make cranky videos for you guys. So, that’s enough rambling from me. My brain’s been a little all over the place so I haven’t written anything in ages, but how about a cover of the best of the best? Thanks for sticking around! Hope you like this one.”

Steve watches as Bucky lifts the cover of his piano and stretches the fingers on his prosthetic. Today, it’s the metal titanium one, with its beautiful plate work and a small Hydra Industries logo on the forearm. 

You gotta swim… Swim for your life

Swim for the music that saves you

When you're not so sure you'll survive

You gotta swim… Swim when it hurts

The whole world is watching

You haven't come this far to fall off the earth

The currents will pull you, away from your love

Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave begging to tear down the dawn

Memories like bullets, they fired at me from a gun

Cracking the armor, yeah

I swim for brighter days, despite of the absence of sun

Choking on salt water, I'm not giving in, I swim

You gotta swim… through nights that won't end

Swim for your families, your lovers, your sisters, and brothers and friends

Steve listens to the beautiful voice fill the empty space of his studio apartment, caught up in the soft yet powerful melody. What really hits him are the words, though. 

Bucky’s life is no secret — except maybe his real first name because there’s no parent on this planet that hates their kid that much. Steve doesn’t know exactly how Bucky had started off, but the channel was a newer discovery for Steve. 

Well, there it is. As always, thanks so much for tuning in! Hope you liked the song, and maybe I’ll see you guys next time with something original, huh? Bye!” 

[harryfeatgaga]

thinking about dating harry for a while and you're so madly in love with each other but then things get really hard, with him on tour and you staying behind for school it's just awful and all the stuff you see in the media daily is just too much so you tell him you need a break. and you're both devastated and crying through the whole conversation but it's just truly too much for you and ofc he respects your wishes and he'll do anything for you even if it's the exact opposite of what he wants 😔 then a few months later he's home and you haven't spoken at all, knowing it would just be too painful since you still love him so much but you're not sure if he feels the same 😔 then your girlfriends make you go out with them to try and cheer you up and you all get veeeery drunk, and after someone puts you in a cab and you get home you're calling harry without a second thought 😔 you're literally sitting on the floor in your kitchen, your makeup a mess and your hair falling out of the fancy updo but none of that seems to matter because you just miss his voice 😔

when he gets the call he's very surprised, he hasnt heard from you since you broke things off and he's been trying so hard not to look at your socials (even though he has checked a few times, even though you never seem to post any more) but it's been miserable for him too, so for a second he considers not answering because he can't go through getting his heart broken again 😔then he starts to sorry that maybe something is wrong, it is almost 2 am afterall, so he picks up 😔 he hears you you take a little breath and you say "hello?" and his heart drops when he realizes how much he's missed you 😔 he says "hi-" and he has to bite his tongue to keep from calling you love or any other pet name, and finally he just settles on your name. you sigh and tip your head back on the cabinet and say "I've missed your voice" and he's already feeling choked up when he says "me too" 😔 it's quiet for a minute before you say "I ended my chemistry class with an A" and he's not sure where that came from but he's starting to get the hint that maybe you're not quite sober so he just decides to go with it, you can hear the smile in his voice when he says "that's great, I'm so proud of you" and you can't help but smile, you say "thanks... you just put a lot of hours into helping me study so i figured you deserve to know" and his chin is literally wobbling he's so close to tears 😔

he tries so hard to keep his voice steady when he says "I appreciate that" and you hum softly, then you're both quiet again before he says "where are you? are you alright?" and you let out a big sigh before you say "I'm sitting on my kitchen floor eating grapes" and he can't help but snort out a laugh, he glances over at his alarm clock and says "at 2 in the morning?" and you shrug even though he can't see you, you say "girls need snacks" and he laughs for real at that 😔 but you know what he was really asking so you say "to answer your other question no I'm actually not alright" and a tear slips down Harry's cheek, he brushes it away quickly before he says "no?" and you say "no... i miss you, harry, I miss you so much it makes my chest hurt, and it makes me feel sick to my stomach and it keeps me up at night and I'm miserable all the time because I miss you so much and it's my own fault I don't have you anymore" and his eyes are wide, his heart rate is going up with each word you say and he sits up in bed, hugging his pillow to his chest he says "you do?" and he sounds almost in disbelief, you say "of course I do... you're all i think about, all the time, and it's ruining my life because I can't have you" and he takes a shaky breath before he says "why can't you have me?" and your voice is smaller than he's ever heard before when you say "because you don't love me anymore?" and he literally has to hold back a sob 😔

he says "I do, I love you so much... you're all i think about too, all the time, and all I want is- is you, and I know that's not fair, I know it's really shitty timing, and I know it was hell for you when we were together and I know i'm selfish for wanting you but I can't help it because i just do, I want you so bad it makes my chest hurt" and your brain is just trying to process everything he just said, everything feels very tense and you're a bit stressed so you say "you stole my line... that chest hurting thing, I said that first" and he can't help but laugh again, he says "well it was a very poetic line, i apologize" and then you're both quiet for a moment, then you say "harry?" and right away he goes "hm?" and you pause for a second before you say "will you come over?" and he's already getting out of bed 😌

you're saying "i know it's late and if you're in bed you don't have to i just- I miss you, and I want to see you so bad but if it's too much-" but he clicks his tongue and says "I'm already heading out the door, I'll be there in 10" and you haven't felt happier since before you broke up 😌 you say "will you stay on the phone with me?" and he scoffs "of course I will, I'm not leaving my girl again" and you're quiet for a second before you say softly "I'm still your girl?" and he absolutely melts, he pauses with one hand on his car door and he says "of course you are, you've always been my girl and you always will be"😔 on his short drive to your place neither of you speak much, you can hear the radio playing quietly through the phone but that's about it. when he pulls up to your apartment he lets you know and you say "I'm in number-" and he says "I know which apartment you are love, how come you think I forgot all about you while I was gone?" and you say "I don't... I'm just worried that maybe you did" and he sighs softly before he says "I could never forget anything about you pretty girl" and before you can even respond there's a knock at your door 🥹 you're clumsily jumping up from your spot on the floor and running to open it, and as soon as you see him you drop your phone and launch yourself into his arms 😔 he walks you inside and shuts the door behind you and you're crying already, you manage to say against his chest "I missed you so much, please never leave me again i just want to stay with you okay?" and he's nodding, he has his face in your hair just inhaling your scent that he's missed so much and he says "i promise, I'm gonna stay with you forever and ever" 😔 after a good long hug when you both feel so much better he pulls away to look at you, you're saying "no no don't look at me I look horrible right now" and he just smiles softly, he says "you don't, you could never look horrible" and he leads you to the bathroom to help take your makeup off 😔

he lifts you to sit on the counter and gets the wipes out, holding your chin between his fingers to tilt your head so he doesn't miss any 😔 you reach up to hold his face in your hands because you've missed that so much, and now that you're so close you can tell that his eyes look a little red and puffy 😔you say "were you crying? are you okay?" and he gives you a little smile, he tosses the used wipe and says "i am more than okay now that I'm with you again" and he lifts you up again, you wrap your legs around his waist so he can bring you to bed 😔 he kisses all over your face while he walks and nearly runs into a few walls but he manages 😔 he drops you on the bed and then says "what pajamas tonight?" and you don't say anything but he sees you eyeing the hoodie he's wearing 😌 he rolls his eyes playfully and says "I'm back here one day and you're already robbing me blind" but he's taking it off as he speaks 😌 he hands it over to you and reaches to help unzip your dress and pull it off, then you slip the hoodie on and you're all good 😌 he climbs in next to you and you get settled against him, his arms tuck around you and you both relax right away, and it's like no time was lost at all because you were just made for each other 😔

HOLY SHIT.............OH MY GOD THIS IS LIKE A WHOLE ASS FIC RIGHT HERE WHAT THE FUCK!?!??!?!!? IM OBSESSED AND IM SO SAD THIS WA SSO CUTE IM GOING TO SOBBBBJNBFHUJNHB OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDD 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[killemwithkawaii]

[The stickers and pets really do help 🌼🍓🌈]

Hi everyone, it's been a minute! 👋^^

I took a little unannounced break from social media in the last week or so to focus on IRL stuff. I've done some recharging, reflecting, and, thanks to the support of my IRL partner, family, and friends (and Sally!) I started taking steps to make some much-needed changes in my life. The first big step for me is FINALLY saying enough is enough and finding a new day job.

I haven't mentioned it here lately, but the job I've had for the last three years has been getting increasingly stressful and has slowly been wearing away at me mentally and physically. You ever heard the metaphor of the boiling frog? Well, I've been feeling like frog soup for a looong time now. I've only stayed where I am because I've gotten so attached to my crew and was terrified to let them all down. However, I'm realizing now that if people value me (and not just what I can do for them), they will understand if I need to jump out of the pot when I can no longer stand the heat (and it also helps that half the staff is about ready to jump out with me lol)

I'm going in for my first training shift at a new (much smaller and quieter) place tonight! While I'm pretty nervous to make a good first impression, I know I'm more than cut out for the new position and will pick things up quickly once I get started. I'll have a pretty full schedule until I've fully transitioned to the new job, but if things go as I'm hoping, I'll soon have a lot more spoons to spare outside of work for art and fun stuff (like hanging out with all you beautiful horny bastards on my blog! The break was needed, but I missed being here so goddamn much aaahhhhhh 😭💕💕💕)

Thank you to everyone who reached out to me while I was gone, and thanks to the rest of you for sticking around while I get my shit sorted out. You guys are awesome and I'm super lucky to have such great fans and friends 🤗💖💖💖

[requiesticat]

Wait, you're in danger of not having insurance anymore? Why are your followers not more concerned about that?? I haven't seen anyone respond to this post /734109435883143168

I'm in the process of getting the situation resolved. I've been approved for Medicaid and submitted everything for state insurance, but the ones who run it keep telling me I haven't filled something out correctly and it's taking a long time as a result

That's effectively been my experience using tumblr and twitter ever since I joined. People have started communicating with me more, but only last year. I didn't receive messages prior to 2023. Everyone on here gets to communicate on a daily basis, without fear of participating. I got harassed by the a/atwt portion of the a/ce att/orney fandom on twitter to the point of taking breaks because of how much stress it was causing. People said I didn't play the games and denigrated my art behind my back; I've been playing since 2017. My first aa fanart was drawn in 2013. Longer than half of these individuals have been in the fandom, but to them it doesn't matter. My work based on Pocket Mir/ror is popular, somehow. All the asks in my inbox to date have been about it. I've stated that I would rather talk about other media, but some of the senders ignored that.

So you tell me. I honestly have no idea, anon. It feels like I've been branded somehow and that makes people stay away. Noone supports my personal projects. I've considered stopping my webcomic entirely because there's no audience. It seems like everytime I mention it, people say "that's cool" and move on. I have to create scripts for every interaction I engage in on these sites, or there's no reply on the other end. Meanwhile other users say the most ridiculous things with no filter. I can't search my username on tumblr anymore because anons took a forum post I made out of context and have attacked me over it, leaving horrible things under the hashtag. My close friends aren't helping me, either- they've offered no support. I haven't heard from some of them in years.

I wish I could leave social media entirely sometimes. Sick of being treated like this, with everyone just acting like it's totally fine.

[yanderelovlies]

✨Galaxy Anon ✨ here!

*sees requests are open and slams hand down* Vivi! I want a order of that one prompt that I made that time of reader in love with Joseph and Joseph dates them only for reader to find out Joseph only done it for peer pressure, reader saves him and dies, reader recarnted and Jack appears through tape and tries to win reader love but reader knows it’s Joseph and refuses. Optional if Jack finds out later or when they meet reader again immediately if he finds out reader old identity years from years ago when he was Joseph. Angst and Fluff endings included. * fixes table* sorry for the rash action it’s just a rare opportunity for me. But take your time on this one I know it’s a long one. That’s also why you don’t have ten requests from me right now lol.

Vivi don’t make me cry! You’re gonna make me cry waterfalls!

Yeah I felt the same, I felt there was something maybe it lacked but nothing to that degree that it had a fucking hashtag. I hope so too and we gotta respect sauce decision not to go after those people since they don’t want that and wants to leave it behind.

Pfft that would’ve scared me since unless they looked and acted so good and sweet I wouldn’t ask since I be petrified to seem stupid.

Makes sense, old habits die hard and I’m living proof of that. Happy to make your goal achieved!

I felt more it was like I couldn’t talk to my mom about it and I was very naive so I wondered what happens on social media and I got into my first serious phase fandom that time and wanted to talk to people about it. Yeah I made some mistakes and glad they never truly bit me in the butt to this day though it could’ve have easily been otherwise. Same we both swimming in our tanks, with horrible memory that fails us.

Oh yeah, I heard of those friendships. They sound bad and unfortunately knowing how long you been friends for until breaking it off yeah I can see why it take a toll on you. Yeah I’m glad you rejected it though you need to stay away if they’re affecting you that badly. I can feel you on friend trouble just I was the expendable one. It felt more like I was an outsider looking into a group of friends rather than my own. It really affected me later in life and why I was so scared and even clingy to people I made friends with online since I was scared to be forgotten. Vivi you’re making me blush awww!

Galaxy my love you can send as many as you would like I don't mind 💕 I'm having a bit of writer's block, and seeing everyone's prompts really help me 💕

Would you like some hugs?? I love giving hugs 💜.

IT HAD A HASHTAG?! THE FUCK?? I don't like that at all. Aaahhh poor Sauce! Criticism is one thing, but to make a hashing??

She was one of that cool teachers who was strict when she needed to be, but most times she didn't care as long as your work was done.

Oh trust me too. 💕💕

Young me took advantage of the that I didn't have parents around. Along with my older siblings being bad influences. I saw things a child shouldn't have, and other unfun things. It never bit me too hard, but it did leave an impact. Also it's a good thing we have a spacious bowl! .....I think.

I know that feeling too well. When we got out of high school we had plans to move in together, but thanks to bad decisions I had difficulties getting a job to help pay for it. So without talking to me they got the apartment,and moved one of their brothers into my place. After that it never felt like I was their friend anymore. I was just watching them have fun. I have to remind myself that people don't wanna talk to me 24/7. I haven't balanced it out yet but I'm getting there. Being forgotten is my second biggest fear. It gives me panic attacks.

I'm only telling the truth 💕

[wolf-na]

« Silent Love »

Charles Leclerc

SUMMARY : you’re invited to Monte-Carlo for the summer break and things start changing between you and your best friend Charles.

Word count : 3.2k of soft Charles because I do whatever I want

You hadn't been to Monaco in over six months after moving to London for a students' exchange program. But your exams were finally over and you had planned to take a few months break before deciding which path to take for your career. And this little break included spending the first few weeks in your hometown with your childhood best friend, Charles. You two had grown up together but, soon, Charles' career made your time together almost impossible to plan as he was constantly travelling for races.

You still vividly recalled crying yourself to sleep at night when you were around fifteen and thinking your friendship would never survive the distance. You could still feel the intense twisting and crushing of your insides whenever you two would see each other after a few months, wondering if you just didn't belong in his life anymore because you didn't fit in the glamorous lifestyle that came with Formula 1. But the moment you always dreaded -Charles giving up on you, never happened and, in fact, your friendship grew stronger over the years.

Because, for the "Pop Star" of Formula 1, you were exactly the one he needed to stay grounded. You were like a breath of fresh air at the end of a suffocating and painful day. More than any of this, you weren't just someone to rely on when he needed to laugh or to feel better, you had just become his favorite person in the whole universe because you had never hidden behind a mask to impress him or keep him by your side. He had been there through all your highs and lows, just like you were there for his, and he was purely and simply in awe at who you had become after all the trials life had put you through.

You walked past the gates of the Monte Carlo train station and dropped your sunglasses from your forehead to your nose to protect your eyes from the bright sun as you squinted when you realized it was shining and flashing all around you. Quickly, you understood it wasn't the sun but cameras flashing from all over the sideway when you recognized Charles stepping out of his car with a huge smile on his face. He squealed in happiness and ran in your direction before crushing you in a hug and spinning you around.

"Finally!" he let out loudly, "I'm so happy you're here!"

The boy put you down and squished your cheeks before pressing a kiss on the tip of your nose causing you to giggle and push him away in embarrassment, "It's been so long! You haven't changed one bit."

"Same for you, still as beautiful as always!" Charles replied as he grabbed your suitcase and bag before walking towards his car.

You bit your lip and looked down, feeling your body getting warmer at the compliment. You swore you even heard some fans scattered all around -explaining the camera flashes from earlier, swooning at Charles' words. Some of them actually called your name and you waved and greeted a few of them before sitting inside Charles' car as you patiently waited for him to take some pictures and sign autographs.

Being a familiar face in Formula 1 was never once on your mind when you were younger. You were certain that Charles would be, at some point, but you never saw yourself in the equation. Probably because you never thought that being best friends with an F1 driver would bring any attention. You had underestimated the influence of social media and the power of a strong friendship. You couldn't count how many times you had stumbled upon videos of you and Charles on YouTube titled "Charles Leclerc & (Y/N) being freaking adorable for ten minutes straight", or how many fan accounts in your honor had been created on Instagram as you kept constantly gaining new followers on the platform even though your page consisted on uploading what you called "dumpster posts". They were basically collections of moments that you loved, including ugly photos of you as well as your friends, and that you just wanted to share because you liked them. And, you didn't understand why at first, but it made the entire F1 community love you even more. Because you didn't fit in the "mold" of F1 and you couldn't care any less.

Charles finally joined you in the car, making the engine roar with a childish smile painted on his face. He patted your thigh, "So, what do you wanna do?"

You frowned, "You didn't plan anything?"

He opened his eyes wide, suddenly feeling like he was a bad host and should've prepared your visit more carefully. You started laughing and he gave you a confused look as he started driving away from the train station.

"I was joking, you silly!" you said, "Let's go for lunch, I'm starving."

The rest of the day consisted in you two going to your favorite pizza place where you used to go all the time with your families when you were just kids before going back to his place and chilling for the rest of the day as the boy played some soft music on the piano for a few hours.

When you opened your eyes, you realized you had fallen asleep on the couch. You tapped on your phone and gasped at the clock. It was already 6pm and you couldn't believe you had wasted your first day back in Monaco sleeping on Charles' couch. You jolted up and looked for your suitcase. You knew you were invited to a barbecue with Charles, some childhood friends as well as a few F1 drivers who decided to spend a part of their summer break in Monte-Carlo and you hadn't changed. You noticed Charles sitting behind the kitchen counter, his phone pointed at you as he laughed uncontrollably at your frantic behaviour.

"Look who's back!" Charles said, confirming he was actually filming you.

"Where's my suitcase?" you asked seethingly, "And get that camera off my face."

Charles flipped the camera, looking at his phone as if he had just been scolded by his mother before shooting you a quick look, "In the bedroom, where else?"

You stormed off as Charles cackled at his phone, knowing this Instagram story would drive many fans crazy, "I think she's already done with me."

. . .

When you arrived at the 'event', you felt underdressed. Well, the men didn't put too much effort into their outfits as they were all wearing a shirt with trousers or jeans. But for some women, on the other hand, it looked like they were attending a wedding or prom. They wore gorgeous dresses, some wore such fancy jewellery that one simple look in their direction could blind you for days. And it all looked absolutely wonderful but it made you feel extremely out of place. You were quite literally wearing vintage denim overalls with a red bodysuit under and a bunch of colorful jewelery.

You could see Charles was about to melt into the crowd of people so you grabbed his arm and he instinctively turned around to face you, his hand covering yours, "What's going on?"

You couldn't deny the constant care he had for you was making you feel extremely soft on the inside. You knew the place he held in your heart wasn't one of simple platonic best friend. It had always been more than platonic on your side. And it all came from these small gestures, the longing looks, the real interest he had whenever you would tell him all about your day when the two of you were apart.

You pushed those thoughts away and stepped back, "I didn't know we had to dress up, I... I feel weird here."

Charles frowned, "It's a barbecue, (Y/N), nobody's dressed up, look!"

You sighed in defeat and gave him a small smile, nodding in agreement before recognizing Pierre's voice calling out your name as he jogged towards you both before giving you a warm hug, "Long time no see! How've you been?"

"I know right!" you replied, "Well, I officially graduated so I guess my real life starts now!"

"Yeah! Let's celebrate!" Pierre cheered as he pulled you and Charles towards the bar, ordering beers for all of you. "Gonna work in England or stay in Monaco?"

You shrugged, "I don't know yet. I got a few job offers in the UK but I turned them all down, I really feel like a break will help me pick."

"Well... I already know I'd have to pick this one up from the floor if you ever moved permanently in the UK," Pierre said, pointing a finger at Charles.

"At least he'd have someone to do that," you said with a small laugh as Charles pouted at the simple idea of you living so far away from him, "But, I didn't make any decisions yet so..."

You spent the next couple of hours enjoying your time with the boys, catching up with Daniel and Max as well, eating and drinking as you tried not to pay too much attention to all the women gravitating towards Charles every now and then, trying to engage a conversation with the Ferrari driver.

You knew something like this was bound to happen, especially during parties. The Formula 1 world was highly coveted for its glamorous side and it often involved PR stunts with models, social media influencers and overall high class women. In a sense, it benefited both sides but the relationships rarely lasted long and it looked like an endless circle as you constantly witnessed the same game unfolding during events involving F1 drivers.

Charles was never really one for PR stunts. He did date some gorgeous women coming straight out of magazines in the past but he never looked fully committed and soon the excitement would fall flat out on both sides, leaving Charles with the reputation of being the "hopeless romantic of the Paddock" unable to find the one who would make his heart skip a beat. Sometimes, you secretly wished it would be you.

You gulped when you saw Charles looking over at you and you quickly turned away, finishing your beer as you tried to focus on the discussion the boys were having. But the task was difficult considering Charles' knew you by heart and had probably sensed a ting of sadness in your eyes when he caught you staring.

You let out a small sigh, causing Pierre to look at you and raise an eyebrow knowingly, "(Y/N)..."

"What?" you spluttered.

"Nothing's gonna happen with this girl," Pierre informed.

This phrase caused Max and Daniel to stop talking as they smirked at you, making you regret being so easy to read.

"Also, he's been staring at you since you got here," Max pointed out as Daniel nodded.

You shrugged, trying to ignore the tingly feeling erupting inside of your chest, "Yeah, he's just making sure I'm having a great time, that's all."

Daniel rolled his eyes, punching your shoulder slightly, "Nope, that's not that."

You shook your head, not liking where the conversation was heading, "Whatever. I need another drink," and you got out of your seat, walking towards the bar as you heard the boys chuckling at your reaction.

But once you were in front of the bartender, you didn't want another drink anymore, you wanted to go home. The night had turned sour and you almost regretted saying yes to come in the first place. You felt out of place once more and dreamed of rubbing that feeling off of you as quickly as possible. So you decided to tell goodbye to the boys, who pouted and begged for you to stay, but you knew you would most certainly hang out with them the following days so they quickly let you go.

You let out a refrained yelp when you bumped into Charles on your way out, "Fuck, you scared the hell out of me!"

He protectively placed a hand on your arm and squeezed it, "I'm sorry."

You chuckled, relaxing, "It's okay."

"You having fun?"

"Hm... I'm actually leaving."

Charles' face changed and he suddenly looked worried, "Why?"

"I'm just tired, it's okay," you said, "Don't worry about me, I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Hell no!" Charles blurted out, "I'm going home with you."

"No! I don't wanna ruin your night," you gulped with guilt, "I'm okay, really."

Charles pointed a finger towards his friends, "I see them all the time. You? It was six months ago," he explained, "Let's go now."

As you two walked out, Charles didn't hesitate and grabbed your hand, entertwining your fingers as you silently walked towards his car. But your eyes caught a small park where you used to come and play when you were younger, "Charles, look! We used to come here almost everyday before, remember?"

And Charles tugged you towards the empty park as your fingers lingered against his touch before you went exploring the place that brought back so many memories. You spotted a wood bench painted in blue where you caught Charles crying when you were probably around eight. A kid from his class had made fun of him because he was wearing a bracelet and had compared him to a girl. You recalled asking him who he was and slapping him when you caught him the next morning. It had gotten you a severe punishment and from that moment on, Charles was never once hurt whenever someone would try to mess with him at school.

A little further, you recognized the tree under which your two families would gather to have a picnic on Sundays. All of your siblings would be there and you would be the loudest in the entire park but it didn't matter because it filled the place with joy and echoes of loud laughters, especially when you and Charles would end up rolling around in the grass to see who would reach the opposite tree first.

Walking towards that tree brought you to the swing set which was yours and Charles' favorite place. You would spend hours swinging around, hoping to go as high as possible to have the nicest view of the sky when your trip to the park would last until sunset.

Charles popped next to you, "Remember how I used to push you?"

You nodded and were quick to stand on the swing as you were now slightly taller than Charles who, instead of walking behind you to push you, stayed planted in front of you with a smile painted on his lips.

"You're not gonna push me?" you puzzled.

"You're not gonna tell me what happened earlier?"

You faltered, "What do you mean?"

"I know you lied," Charles said as he stepped forward to be a little closer, "Did I do something wrong?"

You furrowed your eyebrows, "What? No, absolutely not!" and placed your hands on his shoulders as he made eye contact with you, "Why would you think that?"

He shrugged, "That look you gave me. When this girl was talking to me," Charles said, "I've seen you look this way before but... you never looked at me like that."

When you said people could read you like a book, truth was, Charles could better than anyone else. And, even if it was scary at times, just like right now, it just proved how deeply connected you two were.

"I just felt out of place," you confessed, "You know... sometimes I wonder how you still want me in your life. I'm not like them, I'm... normal. And I know it's not bad but you're Charles Leclerc, you can have everything you want and I'm just this girl who doesn't like fancy events, I don't know what I wanna do with my life and it shows cause it's a mess."

Charles tried interrupting but you were so deep in your rant that he had no choice but to stare and listen.

"But, but I like this mess! It's who I am," you chattered rapidly, "But I'm just scared that one day you might wake up and realize you just don't need me in your life anymore."

"You need me in your life?" Charles asked with a tremble.

You fluttered your eyelashes rapidly, feeling your heart racing in your chest at the tone of his voice, as if he was suprised you cared this much about him. Gently, he placed his hands on your hips, as if he wanted to reciprocate the physical contact you had initiated with your hands on his shoulders. As if he held you, as if you steadied him.

"Yes, of course," you breathed.

A few seconds were spent in silence as Charles wanted to see if you would ask him the question in return. But he could tell he had pulled a sensitive string tonight and his eyes caught your bottom lip shaking ever so lightly and your fingers tensing on his shoulders as he realized you had probably caught him staring at your lips.

He would do that often, whenever you smiled brightly, whenever you laughed or whenever you spoke. Everything was an excuse for him to stare at your lips. He often wondered how they would feel pressed against his neck, against his chest or simply against his own lips. He had had goosebumps all over his body thinking about your lips near his ear, breathing heavily. But you had never noticed these looks, never until tonight.

He breathed out and made eye contact with you, "I know you're not gonna ask but I need you in my life too," he confessed.

He shifted slightly before speaking once more, "Actually, it's not just that I need you... I want you in my life, (Y/N)."

These last few words had made your heart stop entirely for a few seconds. Time froze on the spot and your grip on his shoulders relaxed, now letting your fingers travel from his covered shoulders to his exposed neck, feeling goosebumps covering his warm skin as you touched him. It caused Charles' grip on your hips to tighten unvoluntarily, a breath getting stuck in his throat as your hands found their way to the back of his neck, playing with his hair as you used your thumb to lift his chin towards you.

Charles had never seen you look at him this way before. Your eyes glowed and he had never felt more desirable than right now, under your lustful gaze and against your burning touch.

You kissed him. Slowly and deeply. You didn't hesitate, not anymore. Your ragged breaths filled the quiet and empty park and you melted against Charles when he wrapped his arms tightly around you, pulling himself closer even if it meant lifting his head even higher to keep kissing you on top of the swing.

When you pulled away, you were both smiling like idiots and Charles carefully lifted you before putting you down as you ruffled his hair, laughing when he pressed kisses all over your face.

"I'm glad I left the party, not gonna lie," you confessed with rosy cheeks.

You caught Charles biting his lip as he hid his face in the crook of your neck, "Me too..."

You giggled when you felt him tickling you on the hips and you let out a small shriek as you got out of his grip before grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" Charles asked, confused.

You swiftly turned around and smirked, "Home... Do I have to explain why?"

Charles gulped and you laughed as he was now the one tugging you out of the park and towards his car.

[multistan-kpopwritings]

Let Me Love You

➟ pairing(s): Han & Reader

➟ genre(s): Angst and Fluff

➟ word count: 892

➟ warnings: None

"Has anyone talked to Y/N today?" Han asked looking up from his phone. A chorus of 'nos' sounded from his friends. "Yesterday then?" Again, no one spoke to you. He scrolled through social media and was disturbed by your lack of updates. "When was the last time they called anyone?" he asked the room.

"I'll ring them up," Bang Chan said, "they're probably holed up and making kissy faces with their boyfriend." He typed in your phone number, not needing a saved contact. Crinkling his nose he left you a voice message. Felix tapped his friend's leg and showed him an updated photo. Your boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend, posted a photo with his new partner. "Oh, shit," he said to himself.

"Maybe that's why they aren't answering," Felix thought. Chan agreed and called you a second and third time.

"What do you want Chan?" you rasped into the phone the fourth time he called. You sniffled and wiped tears from your face. Something was wrong, and he knew it. You never called him Chan.

"I just wanted to check on you," he said softly. "We were worried about you. Haven't heard from you in a few days." All the boys huddled around Chan and his phone as he increased the call volume, making it easier for them to hear.

"I'm great Chris," you lied. "Why wouldn't I be ok," you gasped, "Because I got dumped like yesterday's trash? Because he moved on after 2 days?" Your chest contracted every passing second and it was harder to breathe. "I'm so tired," you sobbed into the phone, unable to control it anymore, "I'm so tired of breaking down and having to pick myself back up. I'm tired of being the second choice. I'm so, so tired Chris."

The sound of you crying on the other end of the line broke everyone's heart. No one knew what to say. Chan looked around at the somber faces surrounding him. "Where is Han?" he asked. Everyone swapped glances and shook their head.

You flung your phone to the other end of the room and pulled your blanket over your head. Curling into yourself, you groaned and tried to ignore the knock on your door. Sadly, the longer you ignored it, the louder it got. Suddenly, it stopped, but you heard keys in your door and footsteps in your house. A few minutes later, there was a light knock on your door.

"Y/N," you heard a voice call, "Are you sleeping?" Even though every fiber of your being wanted to tell him to leave, you pulled the blanket from your face.

"I'm awake Ji-Sung," you said. He sighed in relief and opened your door gently. You turned on your bedside light and rubbed your eyes. "I only told you where that key was in case of emergencies."

"It was an emergency," he tried to lighten the mood, "I brought you ice cream. " Taking one look at you, his heart broke. "Hey," he said softly, sitting at the end of your bed. "Wanna talk?" Tears stung your eyes and he could see your lip tremble. He stretched his arms out and you launched yourself into them. Cradling your head against his shoulder, he rocked you side to side.

"What's wrong with me?" you cried into his shirt. "What is so wrong with me that I can't be loved?" He pulled away and cupped your face, searching for some sign that you were joking.

"What are you talking about?" he whispered. "Why do you think you're not loved? Do you not see how the guys look at you? You are their literal sunshine. Our day doesn't start until you arrive." He swept the tears on your cheek away with his thumbs. "Do you not see how I look at you?" His voice was so soft and nervous. You brought your eyes up to meet his.

"How," you asked, "Like a clown? I'm so pathetic."

"Why can't you see yourself the way I see you," he said, smoothing your hair behind your ear. "So what, you hit a rough patch. You are smart and successful. Beautiful and funny. You're not pathetic."

"Sounds like you've given this a lot of thought," you laughed dryly.

"Only since you walked into our practice room, with Chan. Your laugh was so infectious," he admitted. After three years of loving you from a distance, he decided this was the time to shoot his shot. "I was so jealous. I wanted you to laugh with me like that. All I could think was 'Wow, how do I get someone like that'?"

"You don't want someone like me," you told him. He pulled your face closer to his and touched his forehead to yours.

"Oh," he sighed, "But I do. I do. I want the person that makes everyone laugh. I want the person that looks effortlessly beautiful. I want the person that kicks my ass in video games. I want the person that holds me while watching horror movies. I want that person. I want you."

"Sungie," you muttered, "You don't want me. I'm broken, no good."

"Let me pick you up. Let me help you put yourself back together," he pleaded. "Let me love you."

"I don't even love myself," you admitted. "How can you?"

"Because I see how marvelous you are, even if you don't," he told you. "I'm not going to give up on this. Give me a chance, Y/N. I'm not going anywhere." He brushed his lips against yours and to his delight you didn't pull away.

"Han Ji-Sung," you chuckled, "You are a fool. This is probably the worst idea you ever had." He smirked and kissed you again.

"Or the greatest idea I ever had," he countered.

[helloalycia]

teenage dirtbag [three] // wanda maximoff

summary: Wanda's boyfriend continues to be an aggravation in your life, causing some distance between you and Wanda

warning/s: none

author's note: i really appreciate the feedback you guys gave in the last part – it’s always motivating to read your reactions/comments 🥰

part one | part two | part four | part five | masterlist | wattpad

Sorting things out with Wanda made everything return to normal in no time. So much in fact that she decided I was worth inviting to her and her brother's birthday party.

Never in a million years did I expect the most popular girl in our grade to know who I was, let alone invite me to her birthday party, so to say I was surprised was an understatement.

"It's not a big deal if you can't make it," she said when she handed me the invitation in class. "I mean, I'd love it if you could, but yeah, no pressure."

I was in awe, accepting the invite and reading it quickly. It must have been a pretty expensive party if she was giving out special invites, that's for sure.

"You want me to come?" I asked, still unsure whether this was a joke or not.

"Only if you want to," she said quickly, eyes darting around the room and anywhere but at me. "Like I said, you don't have to. It's not a big deal and– I– yeah." She pressed her lips together and stopped rambling, offering me a small smile.

"Thanks," I said quietly, slotting the invite in my notebook. "I'll, er, I'll think about it."

She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and faced forward, nodding. "Yeah, sure, no rush."

After that awkward conversation, I discovered she'd also invited Y/BF/N, the two of them developing a little friendship the more she'd hung out with me. He didn't mind going, but only wanted to do so if I went.

"I feel like I kinda don't wanna go," I admitted to him after school as we were studying in the library.

"Oh?" He rose an eyebrow. "And why's that?"

I played with the pencil in my hand. "I don't know, it's just– it's gonna be full of all of her other friends. And they don't really like me. Plus, her dick of a boyfriend is gonna be there. I just think she might have invited me to be nice. Like she might have felt like she had to because we sit together, y'know?"

"I think you know that isn't true," he said knowingly. "Maybe, just maybe, she actually wants us there, wants you there, to celebrate her birthday."

I chewed the inside of my mouth, giving it some thought. But the idea of going to Wanda's house party and seeing a bunch of people I didn't care about getting pissed wasn't comforting. Besides, even if I went, I'd probably see Wanda once before she'd get scooped away by Nate. What was the point?

"Nah, I don't think I'm going," I decided. "She won't notice. I'll just get her a present instead."

Y/BF/N sighed, clearly not impressed with my answer. Nonetheless, he said, "Okay, suit yourself."

"You can go if you want," I added, knowing his presence wasn't linked with mine.

"No Y/N, no party," he said with a dismissive shrug, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Such a good friend," I said teasingly, but there was truth to my words. And I knew he knew that. 

When I saw photos and videos of Wanda and Pietro's party all over my social media the day after, I knew I'd made the right choice in not going. It was the same visuals of everyone getting drunk, doing stupid shit and making a mess. Call me a loser, but that wasn't really my scene. Pietro and Wanda both seemed to enjoy it though, judging from the pictures.

Instead, I bought her a birthday present, knowing I didn't have to but I kind of wanted to, and planned to give it to her when she turned up to class. It was her birthday today, despite throwing the party over the weekend, so I hoped it would make up for my absence (thought I doubted she noticed).

She showed up and settled beside me as I was writing the date in my notebook, making me look up to see she'd made an extra effort to dress up for her birthday, looking fancier than usual. I couldn't help but smile at the giant '18' birthday badge pinned to her jacket.

"Happy birthday, Wanda," was the first thing I said when I saw her. "You look amazing."

A bashful smile appeared on her lips. "Thank you, Y/N."

"I hope your party went well," I said, giving her my full attention whilst trying not to drool over how beautiful she looked.

Surprisingly, her smile faded and her eyebrows knitted together. "Yeah, it did... could you not make it? I tried looking for you and– yeah..."

I opened my mouth to speak, admittedly a little embarrassed that she'd caught me out. I was sure she wouldn't notice – the pictures made it seem like there were loads of guests, I'd definitely have blended in if I were there – but clearly I was mistaken.

"I just thought–" she began, before shaking her head. "Never mind."

"Sorry, I thought–" I started, but like her, didn't know what to say. "Parties aren't my thing," I admitted truthfully. "But it looked fun. You enjoyed it, right?"

She nodded, a small forced smile on her lips. "Yeah, right. It's cool. No biggie."

I swallowed awkwardly. It seemed like a biggie and now I felt bad.

"I, er, got you a gift," I blurted, hoping to change the subject. Reaching into my backpack, I pulled out the terribly wrapped present and held it out nervously. "I hope you, er, like it."

Her eyebrows raised as her eyes flickered between the present and I. "Oh? You didn't have to. I wasn't expecting anything."

Was it hot in here or was it just me?

I pulled my collar away from my neck, hoping to circulate some air. "I wanted to. It's not a big deal."

She accepted the gift, fingers brushing mine and making me even more nervous, before opening it up. Her eyes sparkled with delight as she revealed a brand new leather paintbrush carry case.

"The one you always carry around is tattered and falling apart, so I thought I'd get you a new one," I explained, feeling like I had to. "I mean, unless the other one has some sort of sentimental value, then in that case, I can just return this."

"Are you kidding? I love it!" she exclaimed, looking to me with a grin. "It's beautiful, Y/N. I don't even know what else to say."

My shoulders relaxed, a relieved smile tugging at my lips. "Good. Th-that's good. I'm glad you like it."

Without warning, she moved forward off her stool and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pulling me in for a hug. I was startled, unable to think straight with her body pressed so close to mine and her floral perfume wafting into my nose. Why did she have to smell so good?

"Thank you," she muttered, pulling away but not quite letting go. Her eyes were glowing as they watched me carefully, accompanying her weak-in-the-knees smile. I was sure I'd melt. "It means a lot."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak for fear I'd say something stupid. I resisted the urge to look down at her lips, which were pulled into a small, appreciative smile. She let go of me, looking to the case again and unravelling it. I caught my breath meanwhile, my senses still on override as her perfume lingered.

She was just so damn beautiful.

—

"Okay, how about this – robotic or organic aliens. Which would you rather invade our planet?" Y/BF/N asked.

I chuckled at his question. "Definitely haven't thought about that one, but let's see..."

We were hanging in the bleachers out near the football field as we waited for football practice to end. Y/BF/N had a Film project to do and needed to film the field, so I offered to help like the good friend I was.

"Probably organic," I answered as I balanced on the bleachers, standing up and tiptoeing down them like steps. "At least we could reason with them if they tried to kill us because they'd have a conscience. Robotic aliens would just be programmed to take over and that's it."

Y/BF/N seemed against the idea as he played with his camera. "Yeah, but if they were robotic, all we'd have to do is launch a missile at them and they'd explode. You can break metal. It's harder to break organic matter."

I stifled a laugh. "You've given this much thought, I see."

He gave me a knowing look. "You telling me you don't think aliens exist?"

I stopped tiptoeing and stood still as I looked down at him with humoured eyes. "You know I know aliens exist."

He waved his hand like that was enough reasoning. "There you go then!"

I laughed, wondering how he thought of this stuff, then continued to balance as I walked down the bleachers. Probably the wrong choice as when I heard a voice call me, I looked up, saw it was Wanda, then proceeded to miss a step and fall onto my arse.

"Oh God, Y/N, are you okay?" she asked, moving forward to help me.

My face heated up as Y/BF/N laughed his arse off beside me. I accepted Wanda's hand and let her pull me up, before letting go immediately when I could handle it myself. Her presence always made me nervous, but this was just terrible.

"Yeah, I'm good," I said, glancing at her and freezing at her piercing gaze and suppressed smile.

"You sure?" she asked, glancing at Y/BF/N, before trying to hide her own laughter.

Fuck me, why was I such a mess whenever she was around?

"Very sure," I said, though my back began to ache from where I hit it. "What's up, anyway?"

Y/BF/N finally shut up, to my relief, and Wanda minimised her laughter before scratching her head.

"I'm waiting for practice to end so I can take Pietro home," she said, nodding to the field. "I saw you both sat here and thought I'd say hi. Are you guys watching practice?"

"Not really," I answered, before tilting my head to Y/BF/N. "We're just waiting for it to end so Y/BF/N can film for his project."

"Ooh, that sounds interesting," she said, intrigued and looking to him now. "What's that about?"

As he caught her up on it, I found myself checking Wanda out without realising. She was animated as she listened to Y/BF/N talk about his assignment, eyes giving him all of her attention, and a permanent smile was fixed on her lips as she listened to him. Though it wasn't directed at me, I felt butterflies swirling a storm in my stomach and clutched it, hoping they'd go away. I loved and hated the feeling all at once.

Breaking me from my reverie, a football flew past all three of us and hit the bleachers, startling us all. We looked in the direction it came from and saw the football team looking back at us, some laughing and some disgruntled. Two players ran towards us and when they got close enough, I made them out as Pietro and Nate.

Nate was laughing as he looked between us all, before his gaze fell on me. "It's Y/N, right? I feel like I'm always throwing that thing at you. Sorry about that."

But his constant laughing and lack of guilt refuted his words. I merely clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes his way, not that he seemed to care nor notice. I was a mere fly in a world that revolved around him. He'd never notice.

"Babe, I'm sorry, I didn't even know you were over here," he added, looking to Wanda. "You okay?"

Wanda crossed her arms and seemed frustrated. "I'm fine, Nate. Just get your ball."

He shrugged and grabbed his ball. Before leaving, he pressed a kiss to Wanda's cheek which made me wince, but she made no attempt in enjoying it. He didn't seem to care as he took off running back to his team. Pietro smiled apologetically at the three of us.

"I'm sorry," he said genuinely. "He can be such a dick sometimes."

That was the understatement of the century.

With that, he turned and ran back to his team to finish up. Wanda sighed, running a hand through her hair, as Y/BF/N and I exchanged glances.

"I should get the car running," she said awkwardly, pointing a thumb over her shoulder and towards the car park. "Good luck with your assignment, Y/BF/N. And I'll see you tomorrow, Y/N."

Waving goodbye with an awkward smile, I watched her leave and wondered the same thing I always did whenever Nate decided to make an appearance in my life.

How could she be dating such a dick?

—

Apart from the birthday party I didn't go to, I'd never been invited (or had a reason to go) to Wanda's house. I'd seen it, rode my bike past it, but never actually been in it. So, when she invited me to her place to work on a project we'd been assigned in class, I was unsure how to feel. She was adamant though and I had no reason to say no, so the only thing left to do was say yes. Even when she offered to drive me there after school.

"This is your car?" I asked with disbelief.

I knew absolutely nothing about cars, but I wasn't blind. Hers was a gorgeous deep red colour with a convertible roof that was currently lowered so anyone in it would feel the sun on their back and wind in their hair.

"Yeah, you like it?" she asked as she got into the driver's seat.

I gulped and sat in the passenger's seat, throwing my backpack at my feet. "It's so nice. You sure you don't mind me drinking in this?"

I had a Pepsi bottle in my hand and was deathly afraid of opening it now in case I spilt it and the cleaning bill would be more than I made in a year at the pizza parlour.

She laughed, already pulling out of the car park. "Of course. Don't be silly."

I glanced in her direction, trying not to get distracted by how good she looked in the driver's seat. She was wearing a red leather jacket, funnily enough, matching the exterior of her car, and she had dark eyeliner around her eyes, accentuating the shape and colour of them and leaving me speechless whenever she looked my way.

"There's CDs in the glove compartment," she was saying as she focused on the road. "Or you can mess around with the radio. It's up to you."

"CDs?" I asked, it piquing my interest. I reached into the glove compartment, adding, "What is this, the 2000s?"

She rolled her eyes playfully, accepting my teasing, as I flicked through the small stack of albums.

"I don't know, I guess I just like having the physical version," she said with a shrug. "It's kind of like a collection."

I chuckled at her need to explain herself, watching the way she rubbed her neck nervously, smiling with embarrassment. Looking back to the albums, a particular one grabbed my attention and I plucked it out with raised brows.

"Oh my God, you like Paramore?" I asked, looking to her with surprise. "Now it's definitely the 2000s."

Her cheeks flushed as she grew flustered. I nudged her in the side gently, getting her attention briefly.

"I'm kidding," I reassured, tilting my head her way playfully. "I actually love Paramore. They're my favourite band."

"Really?" she asked with surprise as I put the CD in her car. I hummed in response, to which she continued, "Have you ever seen them live?"

As For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic played quietly in the background, I nodded my head. "Yeah, once. It was a few years ago, but the tickets were shitty and I could just about make them out on stage in the distance."

Wanda laughed, the sound making my heart skip a beat. "No, that's so sad!"

I chuckled in agreement. "Yeah. It was, but oh well. They have a tour coming up this summer, right? Maybe I can get better tickets this time 'round... what about you? Have you ever seen them live?"

She hummed, making a turn at some traffic lights and chewing her lower lip as she focused on doing so. It was definitely the wrong time, but I found myself admiring how attractive it was, especially when her jaw tensed and her defined jawline was on display.

"Yeah, I saw them a few times," she finally responded, pulling me from my stupor. "Some really good seats, some really shitty ones." She giggled at the end, making me smile. "Maybe we could go to that concert in the summer. If you're up for it?"

This seemed like one of those times where you made plans with a friend that you knew would never happen, so to not cause an awkwardness in the conversation, I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, maybe."

She glanced at me and I mirrored her smile, the flash of excitement in her eyes knocking me breathless.

When we reached her house, I was awestruck at how big it was from the inside. I mean, it looked huge from the outside, but the inside was even better. Her family were rich, I knew that, but this was some other level of rich.

"Here, c'mon, I'll get you a drink, then we can go into the dining room to start," Wanda said, failing to recognise my amazement and instead leading me to the kitchen. "We have tropical juice, apple juice, water, Sprite, Cola... which d'you want?"

I settled at the island, taking a seat and subtly admiring her kitchen. "Er, apple juice is fine with me."

She smiled brightly before pouring me a glass, whilst pouring herself some Sprite. Standing opposite me, we both took a moment to have a drink, but didn't get chance to exchange words as her mum entered the room and noticed me instantly.

"Y/N, it's so lovely to see you again!" she said kindly, patting me on the shoulder before heading to the fridge. "You girls hanging out? Studying?"

"We have a project," Wanda filled in as I nodded in agreement. "We alright to claim the dining room?"

After grabbing some water from the fridge, Wanda's mum pressed a kiss to her daughter's cheek. "Sure thing, sweetie. If you need anything, just let me know." Smiling once more at me, she said, "It's good to see you, Y/N."

"You too," I said with a friendly smile before she left.

"Come on," Wanda said, motioning for me to follow. "We have tons to do."

The next hour and a half was spent with Wanda and I planning out our project, our work sprawled along the dining table messily. We were making progress, until she got a call suddenly. It seemed serious as she gave me an apologetic glance and excused herself. I let her go and leaned back in my seat, wondering what I could do as I waited for her to return. That thought was resolved quite quickly when Pietro popped his head in the doorway and spotted me.

"Y/N! What an honour to welcome you to our humble abode," he exclaimed, entering the room fully. "What brings you here?"

Pietro's presence always brought an amused smile to my lips. "Wanda and I are working on a Chemistry project. She's just nipped out for a phone call."

He tutted dramatically, crossing his arms. "Well, well, well. We can't have that! Wanda needs to learn to entertain her guests. C'mon. I was about to head to the gaming room and could use the company."

I was visibly surprised. "You have a gaming room? Dude, that's awesome!"

He laughed. "C'mon."

Joining Pietro, the two of us headed to this so-called gaming room and I was not disappointed. There was a huge TV with a PlayStation and Nintendo Switch connected to it, a snooker table, a foosball table, a dart board, some old arcade games – it was amazing, any gamer's biggest dream.

"What you feeling, princess?" he said with that flirtatious smile of his.

I rolled my eyes playfully. He was being overtly flirty, more so than his sister was – was it a Maximoff personality trait or something? – and I wasn't sure whether he meant it or was just being his usual self.

"Are you flirting?" I deadpanned, tilting my head curiously. "I can't tell."

He pocketed his hands, swinging back on the heels of his feet. "That depends. Is it working?"

Despite my lack of interest in him like that, I felt my face heat up at the attention. "Pietro, I must tell you that any moves you attempt to make kind of won't work."

"And why's that?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the snooker table with a cheeky smile on his lips. "Am I not your type?"

"Unless you change into a girl, then no," I played along, making him flush with embarrassment. "Hate to break it to you, but I'm gay."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense," he mumbled to himself, before sighing and meeting my eyes. "We can still be friends, right? Or is that forbidden since you're already friends with my sister?"

I laughed and approached him. "Friends works. I don't think Wanda will care. I certainly don't."

He grinned. "Awesome! Well, d'you wanna play a round of foosball?"

"Sure," I said with an amused expression. "Bet I can kick your arse."

He pushed himself off the table and feigned surprise. "Oh? Game on, Y/L/N."

I didn't realise how long Wanda had been on the phone until I managed to get through three rounds of foosball and was in the middle of a snooker game with Pietro.

"You may have beat me at foosball, but you're terrible at this," he pointed out with stifled laughter.

I'd missed my third shot and it was more funny than it was embarrassing.

"Your talking distracts me," I said dismissively, before lining up the next shot with my cue.

He watched as I tried to take my shot before sighing loudly. I glanced at him with a quirked brow.

"You have a thought you'd like to share?" I asked playfully.

He hesitated, moving forward to correct my posture. "Look, if you just aim it like this–"

"Don't even think about it, Romeo," I said jokingly, standing up straight and pushing him away gently. "I know what you're thinking."

He laughed. "What? I was just going to help you aim!"

I gave him a knowing look. "So holding me close is just a bonus?"

"Fine, take your shot without my help and see what happens," he said dismissively, waving his hand.

"I'll do just that," I said with confidence, before bending down and taking my shot. The ball hit the other and neither were pocketed, which was an achievement as I'd got the cue ball in several times before, but still pretty shit as I didn't score any points.

Pietro smiled with satisfaction, leaning on his cue. "You happy with that?"

I held in a laugh as I looked to him. "Shut up."

He chuckled before bumping me out the way. "Now for the professional."

Bending down to take his shot, he pulled back his cue before hitting the balls. They rolled around on the table and one ball was about to go in, but I quickly grabbed it before he could get the point.

"Y/N!" he shouted between laughter. "That's cheating!"

"Technically we didn't establish rules," I pointed out, before moving backwards as he tried to grab it from my hand. "What do you say to calling it a draw and playing something else?"

"I say that's a childish way to admit you've lost," he responded, before moving forward quickly. I dodged his attempt and he pursed his lips. "Y/N."

"Pietro."

He smirked. "Seriously?"

I grinned.

He tried to grab it again and ended up chasing me around the room as I avoided giving in. Taking the piss out of Y/BF/N enough times had prepared me for moments like this, so I was able to avoid Pietro long enough to run into whoever walked through the door.

"Shit, Wanda, I'm sorry," I said between laughter, steadying both me and her.

She smiled with confusion, about to speak, but Pietro caught up to me and lifted me up, throwing me onto the couch before I could protest.

"No more cheating," he said sternly, as I lifted my head from the pile of cushions on the couch to look up at him.

"You're an arse," I said, pushing myself up off the couch.

"And you're a sore loser!"

We had a mini staring competition before the two of erupted into laughter.

"You're not half bad, Pietro," I complimented as he helped me up.

"Thank you, princess," he said, the flirtatious smile on his lips again.

I shoved him in the shoulder playfully before looking to Wanda, who was chewing on her lip as she looked between Pietro and I with an unreadable expression.

"So, what prompted you to leave Y/N alone for an hour?" Pietro asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, making me shove him away. He grinned at me before looking to Wanda.

"Nate called," Wanda responded carefully, arms crossed as she continued to look between us. God, I hoped she didn't think Pietro and I liked each other. That would be embarrassing.

Pietro scoffed from beside me, making Wanda sigh with annoyance.

"Don't start, Piet," she said and gave him a look which he seemed to understand.

By the sounds of it, Pietro didn't seem to like Wanda's dick of a boyfriend either. That was strange since wasn't impressing the brother the first part of being in a relationship with someone? And they were on the same football team, so I figured he'd at least tolerate him.

"Are we alright to get back to studying?" Wanda asked, directing her stare to me. The annoyance she held for Pietro was still present in her eyes and I suddenly felt nervous when she looked my way.

"Yeah, of course," I said, before giving Pietro a half-smile. "Rematch at snooker next time. Sound good?"

"Try to keep the balls on the table and we'll see," he teased, before nodding to Wanda. "You should get back to your project before Wanda kills us both with her deadly glare."

I smiled awkwardly, looking back to Wanda as she was indeed glaring at her brother. Clearly there was some sibling rivalry going on here, and I definitely didn't want to get in the middle of it, so I headed to Wanda, signalling I was ready to leave.

The two of us headed back to the dining room in an uncomfortable silence. I felt like I'd done something wrong and she was giving me the silent treatment which was strange. Then I figured it was probably something with Nate that made her annoyed, so didn't question it too much.

We sat back down and I looked at what we'd done so far to try and pick up where we left off, but then she spoke out of the blue, taking me by surprise.

"Do you like my brother?"

It was so abrupt that I took a moment to acknowledge it, blinking. "What?"

"Pietro," she clarified, saying it with such dismissiveness like it wasn't a big deal. Her attention was on the books before us as she continued, "Do you like him?"

I tried not to laugh as I shook my head. "No, Wanda. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's a great guy. But yeah, no, I don't like him like that."

She chewed her lip, nodding, but I swear I saw a hint of a smile on her lips. I hoped it wasn't the thought of Pietro and I that made her annoyed. I wasn't that bad, was I? I know she cared about her brother and was probably overprotective, but me being his girlfriend couldn't have been that bad, right?

We got back to work in no time, getting a lot done. I didn't realise how late it was getting until Wanda's mum poked her head in, asking if I wanted to stay for dinner.

"Dinner?" I asked, eyebrows raising with surprise. I checked my watch and realised how long I'd been here. "Damn, maybe I should head back."

"Nonsense, you must stay," her mum insisted. "Y/M/N won't mind. A daughter of hers is a daughter of mine."

"You can even sleepover if you want," Wanda offered, and I almost choked on my own spit. "It's getting pretty late."

I shook my head, forcing a small smile so they wouldn't get offended. "Honestly, it's fine. I can head back."

"Please?" Wanda asked with a hopeful expression. "It's the least I can do. I kinda wasted your time for an hour earlier..."

"I should ask my mum," I said, chewing on the inside of my mouth.

"Oh, I'll ring and let her know," Wanda's mum said breezily, before looking to Wanda. "D'you think you can clear your things up? Your brother is gonna set the table."

"Sure, mum." Wanda smiled her way as she left, before looking to me. "I've got clothes and a spare toothbrush you can use tonight."

I smiled awkwardly, nodding. Sleeping over at my crush's house wasn't how I thought I'd be spending my Wednesday evening, yet here we were.