#and most desks have a storage problem from where I'm standing...

[neganium]

you know, I kind of miss my neo-atom ask blog. you know, the one based off of that one arc in the manga that was never fully translated into English, but was set after Atom flew into the sun at the end of the original series. unfortunately I don't really remember all of the lore for that premise, or even for the blog itself; I never got to finish the last ask on it bc the file was on the laptop, and idk if it's recoverable, or if it even still exists after what I tried to do to fix it (which was a reset to before I updated the OS, p much; ig it doesn't work the same way on Kubuntu, or maybe even the laptop itself). I had vague ideas of what I wanted to do with it, plot-wise; since time travel was a core component to the original story, and both interplanetary and interdimensional travel are not only canon to the original series as a whole, but conceptually can tie into time-travel pretty well if something fucks up bad enough (space-time continuum, I believe they call it), it was going to heavily revolve around crossover plots. basically, it was not unlike my Cobalt isekai concept, except with fewer constant companions (or at least, I think so, anyways), and with an actual, concrete reason as to why this was happening, and to what end.

unfortunately, as I said, I can't remember all of the more salient plot points for that arc (I'd probably change some of them, anyways, but I still gotta know them first), nor can I remember the canonical appearances of the relevant characters (Atom's canon colorscheme, tho much as in the old posts of the blog I'd probably tweak or alter some of that anyhow; and Spica's, which I feel like was drastically different from what I was originally expecting for some reason- I learned these from images of rare vinyl toys I found a picture of online once, which also featured a third character that I'm not sure is related to their story or not, but was, I think, a grey anthro rabbit-like character in a spacesuit sort of getup). I think I might have some of these pictures buried on my blog somewhere, tho, either the main or the sideblog, so I might go looking for it some time.

part of this is relevant bc I was asked to draw a portrait of Atom, but I didn't like what I initially put down. I might still finish him, anyways, since I did still put in a lot of work; but I was thinking of ideas to make a better one, and this version of Atom came to mind. the problem is that Atom is not a terribly detailed character, and I'm not very good at adding detail to his design, like some people are. also, I'm kind of bad at drawing human-shaped characters, anyways...

[hedonistpoet06]

What If The Storm Ends? - Part 2 Five Hargreeves x Female OC

'What if Five's time during that first apocalypse was slightly different, what if he wasn't alone for all those years?'

Chapter synopsis: Still slightly stunned by the presence of another human being in the apocalypse, Octavia decides to mediate the tension by offering Five food back at her base. Despite both obtaining superhuman abilities, Five couldn't be more different from this bubbly stranger he happened to stumble across. Five finds himself in a complicated predicament as he naturally gravitates towards Octavia's warmth but he cannot forget his most important priority, getting back to his family. The two decide to strike up a deal beneficial for their survival, after all, strength is in numbers, right?

Authors Note: I don't know if this work is showing up on any of the tags i've listed it under. Is this a common problem for anyone else? I've never posted on tumblr before so I'm still trying to figure out the ropes ;w;. Let me know if this is appearing under any tags for you guys.

Nevertheless, enjoy this chapter!

Word Count: 7197

☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°☆

ii. 𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫

After almost an hour of walking, Octavia had guided Five to where she had been staying for the past two years. The walk was pleasant but mostly silent. Octavia would try to ignite some form of small talk whilst Five kicked a rock along the ground to keep himself entertained.

In reality, Five was still processing the fact that he was no longer the last man on earth after the destruction of the apocalypse, a notion which he believed to be true for almost two entire years. Yet here Octavia was, another superhuman survivor. She wasn't just an apparition of his malnourished delirium, she was real and warm to the touch as Five had evidently felt earlier that day when he took her hand in his.

The pair had finally reached what Five had presumed was her dwelling. It was located amongst the outskirts of the city and consisted of the remains of a decent sized concrete building with the roof intact, it had to have been no larger than a small street front store.

"Welcome to my humble abode. It's not much but it does the job." Octavia pulled back a large sheet of metal which acted as her front door. Five followed her inside and was met with the insides of her shelter.

It wasn't gloriously spacious by any means but it was just big enough to fit a mattress, a few milk crates where she kept her belongings in and a small wooden desk, like those you'd find in a classroom.

"This is where you've been living this whole time?" Five noticed the scarcity of her settlement and although his own was far from luxurious, he felt somewhat uneasy at the bareness of her space.

Five couldn't find it in himself to judge however, especially if it had helped her survive against the past two bitter winters.

"Yeah. I think it used to be some storage shed for a high school. It survived the impact well enough... it gets kinda cold during the winter but it gets the job done." Octavia explained and Five agreed, it had most of its four walls and a roof which was rare considering the demolished state of the city.

"It's practical. I like it." Five complimented and Octavia smiled proudly before walking over to one of the plastic milk crates. She knelt in front of it and began to rummage for the tinned goodness she had promised Five.

"Why thank you." Five regretted inflating her pride any further but remembered that she was the one who offered him food so he bit his tongue.

"Here, catch." Octavia retrieved a small metal tin of baked beans from the crate before standing up again and tossing the can to Five.

Octavia was secretly impressed by his abnormally sharp reflexes as he retracted a gloved hand from one of his pockets and caught the can without fumbling.

"Thanks." He said curtly but the boy couldn't ignore the intense rumbling that erupted in his stomach as he saw the dusty label that read "Original Baked Beans In Rich Tomato".

Five hadn't eaten anything since the previous morning when he mistakenly decided to test the myth of Twinkies lasting forever, turns out it was just in fact a myth and they too have an expiry date like most edible things.

"I only have one fork and a mildly bent spoon so take your pick." Octavia walked over to where Five was standing in the middle of the room and gestured to the two utensils she had clasped in her hand.

"I'll take the spoon." Five said although he really could not find it in himself to care as his hunger started to overwhelm him.

Five watched as Octavia made herself comfy on her bed, which was really just two old mattresses put together with a pile of some tattered blankets on top. She pressed her back up against the concrete wall and began to open the metal tab on the can.

She then looked up at Five, who was staring back at her awkwardly with a can of beans in one hand and a disfigured spoon in the other.

"You can sit down, you know? I don't bite." Octavia chuckled and patted a spot on her makeshift bed.

"I'll take your word for it." Five decided that he would rather sit comfortably then make a spectacle of himself eating whilst standing up. He sunk down on the old mattress but ensured that he still kept some distance between him and Octavia, who was still a stranger to him.

"Bon appetit, Five." She said as Five opened his own can eagerly. His mouth salivated at the sight of the beans drenched in sauce and immediately began to shovel the food into his mouth.

Five was never a fan of baked beans, his mother often prepared it as a side dish at breakfast time but he always refused it. Now, Five was going on more than 24 hours without food and he did not care about his usual disdain towards the food.

He was forced to put that picky part of himself to bed a long time ago when survival became his top priority.

"Damn. Someone's hungry." Octavia stifled a smile that began to grow on her face as she watched the boy next to her chow down on the canned food in an almost feral way.

"And you're not?" Five replied, he then brought the sleeve of his jacket up to his lips and wiped the leftover residue away.

"Oh, I am. I just haven't lost my table manners two years into the apocalypse, that's all." Octavia let out a small giggle at her own remark. Five paused his eating to glance over at the girl next to him, he noticed the calm and poised manner in which she held her fork. Now Five just felt embarrassed.

He cursed himself for growing flustered so quickly, after all why should he find it in himself to care? It was the apocalypse and the table manners which his adoptive father incessantly drilled into him had completely left his mind.

"How are you so... perky?" Five asked, he was genuinely intrigued how someone who had survived as long as he had managed to be so giggly. It was borderline infuriating and slightly unexpected for Five.

He always was a cynical person, even before the apocalypse. Five knew he was smarter than his own siblings and often gloated about it. He had a natural inclination towards mathematics and physics thanks to the nature of his powers but his intellect only heightened his ego.

"What do you mean?" Octavia lowered her fork, taken aback by his question. She knew that her lively attitude did not correlate to their situation; however she found it completely futile to adopt a pessimistic mindset when everything else outside was crumbling.

"I mean you. You're so bubbly for someone in our predicament." Five explained and watched as Octavia's brows furrowed at his words. He felt his cheeks turn warm, he hated how he sounded like one of his siblings who would often imbue humour with their respective powers. "That pun wasn't intentional." He insisted and Octavia gave him an unconvincing look.

"Well, I guess I kind of always have been. Don't get me wrong, I certainly wasn't jumping for joy when the whole world ended but I guess I quickly realised that there was no good just wallowing in my own despair. I just had to keep going..." Octavia explained as she picked away at the remains of the cans label.

Five watched her nimble fingers scratch away the adhesive sticker and started to dwell on what she had said. Despite the morbid context, Five secretly admired how her bright attitude had remained continuous.

"Just had to keep going, huh?" He asked. The ambiguity of her words had reminded him too much of himself.

"Yeah, I always did kind of hold out hope that I'd see something or someone and that would reassure me that I wasn't completely alone out here." Octavia looked over to where Five was situated on the other end of the mattress.

"And yet when you did you thought it would be a good idea to trap me in your bubble?" Five teased.

"You had a gun! And besides, stranger danger still applies in the apocalypse." Octavia exclaimed and threw her hand towards the direct of Five's rifle which he had propped up against the wall.

"I mean, I'm technically still a stranger to you." He stated truthfully.

Although Five had only met Octavia that day he concluded that they gravitated towards each other so comfortably because of their mutual connection through their powers.

"As am I." Octavia retorted confidently and Five softly rolled his eyes, a smirk tugged on the corner of his lips as he continued to eat his beans less feverishly now.

"How old were you when your powers first manifested?" Five spoke up.

The surrealness of the day had begun to catch up on him and the boy had to remind himself that he was in the company of not only just another living person, but a person with superhuman abilities much like himself. Only Octavia wasn't like himself or his adoptive siblings or even the other mysterious children who he shared a birthday with, she was an entirely different entity. She existed outside of his world and time and Five found himself increasingly fascinated.

"I was four." She admitted.

"And how did it happen?" Five pried further.

"You're asking a lot of questions." Octavia smirked, giving the boy a taste of his own medicine.

"You're the first person I've seen in two whole years and you expect me to not ask questions?" Five declared and this caused Octavia to chuckle softly again.

"No, you're allowed to be curious. But does this mean I get to interrogate you next?" She abandoned her now empty can of beans to the floor. She then crossed her legs in an attempt to get comfortable and shifted to face Five.

"Depends on if I'm feeling nice enough." Five said vaguely, keeping the aloofness present in his voice. The truth was he didn't know what to tell her, his situation wasn't exactly the easiest to explain.

Five was positive that Octavia would recognize his affiliation with the academy if they both lived in the same city despite the years between them.

"Well if you must know, I made my first forcefield because I didn't want to take a bath." Octavia revealed.

"Pardon?" Five had choked on the last bite of food which he had mistakenly put in his mouth.

He was caught off guard by the unserious nature of Octavia's statement. He was not expecting that. Five watched out of the corner of his eye as Octavia tried to hold back a smile from forming at his simultaneous struggle of choking and chuckling. She thought the humorous sight before her was almost endearing.

"Let me elaborate, when I was younger I used to run circles around the living room hiding from my Mom because she would chase me to take my nightly bath. I wasn't a dirty or unhygienic child, believe me." She started and Five found himself grinning at her words.

"Sure." He quipped back, eyeing the state of her dirtied jacket. In all fairness, he was not exactly the pinnacle of hygiene at the moment.

"Watch it." Octavia said menacingly before she continued to speak, "I just didn't like bath time because I knew that bedtime would be straight after and I didn't want the day to be over yet. One night, my Mom was chasing me and I turned my head to look back at her. I could see the horror on her face as I ran straight towards the dining table. I should have split my head open on the corner of the table but I didn't. I braced for the impact but I never felt any pain. And when I was brave enough to finally open my eyes, I was surrounded by a soft purple sphere of light." Octavia's eyes softened as she narrated the memory, a mixture of both nostalgia and melancholy lacd her voice.

Five listened attentively to the recollection of her memory as he compared it to his own and that of his siblings.

"So it sounds like they first materialised as a natural consequence of self defence." Five assumed based on the information she had provided.

"I mean, I guess? That's a very fancy way to put it." Octavia tilted her head, shrugging her shoulders as she looked at him. She had never really thought about it in that regard. Her powers were always a part of her, like her cells and DNA, her power was hardwired into her very being and she knew it was what made her different.

"What did your parents do, when they found out that is?" Five asked.

"Panic probably. But after they got over the initial shock that they had a super human baby, they tried their hardest to keep everything discreet and give me a somewhat normal childhood. My mom was an elementary school teacher so she left her job to homeschool me during those years when I couldn't quite keep my power under control. They were always scared that I'd accidentally slip up and show my power off at school and then the government would hunt me down and do research on me like some kind of lab rat." Octavia explained and she felt a complicated smile grace her face as she remembered her youth.

Octavia knew that her powers had to be kept a secret, but she was never kept a secret herself. She knew that her parents loved her an immense amount and they proved that through their actions.

"Seems like they made quite the sacrifice to keep you safe." Five replied, his voice slightly solemn which surprised Octavia.

Five couldn't deny the familiar feeling of jealousy that washed over him at Octavia's description. It was the same bitterness he felt when he'd walk past a park and see children playing or when his siblings and himself would go on missions and reunite hostages with their families. He was resentful of the way the parents would weep and hold their child as if they were never going to feel them in their embrace ever again.

"They did. I'm eternally grateful for how much they gave up for my benefit. But don't get me wrong, they didn't deprive me of a normal childhood. I wasn't on house arrest my whole life because of what I could do, my parents were just cautious. Cautious of who came to the house, cautious of how my temperament affected my powers and such. But other than that I had a pretty normal childhood." Five tried to subdue the envy that coursed through his being as Octavia spoke.

"Is that so?" Five asked, curious by what she meant exactly. He knew that being home schooled wasn't a part of the typical American nuclear family checklist, Five wondered to himself if Octavia had also felt the same isolation which he had.

"Well, every summer when dad could take time off work we'd drive out of the city to my grandparents farm up north. We'd spend every summer there with my cousins and I could just let loose and be a kid." Octavia watched as Five nodded softly at her response, he was absorbing every detail that she gave him and tried to picture it in his mind.

Five tried his hardest to imagine what her childhood would have looked like in stark contrast to his own, the rural nature of the farm and the company of her family sounded almost heavenly to him.

Although Octavia felt slightly embarrassed at her mindless rambling at this point, she was also appreciative of how he let her speak so freely, how he listened so diligently. His snarky demeanour that she had gotten well acquainted with since they met only hours ago was gone and was replaced by something almost curious.

"Sounds like you had a good life before all this." Five forced himself to bury his jealousy deep within some dark cavern of his chest and tried to conjure a genuine response.

"I really did," She said, her voice mellow as she began to reminisce on the nostalgic details of her youth,"My cousins were all older than me and they knew about my powers. It was our big family secret. Although, there was only one strict rule enforced which was absolutely no force fields allowed on the farm." Octavia chuckled at her recollection of her grandmother's authoritative voice.

"I don't blame them, they're not exactly pleasant to be trapped in." Five huffed in amusement and Octavia shot him a playful glare before continuing.

"My family used to have this joke that I'm our great-something-grandma reincarnated from the Salem witch trials and I'm here to enact my revenge." Five chuckled as she tried her hardest to sound wicked.

"A witch reincarnated, huh?" Five had to admit he found the inside joke slightly comical.

"I wish. As cool as it would be to be related to a witch, I think I'm just the anomaly in the family." Octavia sighed and Five was painfully reminded again of how different their separate lives were before the apocalypse started.

"I wish I could relate to that sentiment." His voice was barely above a whisper but Octavia managed to hear it clearly.

"What part, being the witch or the anomaly in the family?" She asked and Five instantly regretted opening his mouth to respond.

"The latter." He silently prayed that his dry tone would encourage Octavia to not poke any further, unfortunately it had the opposite effect.

"You have a big family?" She questioned, eager to know what the boy meant.

"We aren't talking about me here." Five dismissed her quickly.

"You said you'd tell me about yourself once I opened up." Octavia recalled their agreement they had made only moments ago.

"If I was feeling nice enough." Five replied quickly, making a heavy vocal emphasis on the 'if' at the start of his sentence.

"And are you?" She queried.

"I'll decide once I finish eating, bubbles." Five smiled at himself for the genius nickname he endowed on her and grinned even harder when he saw her jaw clench in annoyance.

"Hey! Don't call me that!" The blonde girl exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well don't call me Cinco!" Octavia let out a melodramatic groan and rolled her head back against the wall in defeat. Five let out a small huff of irritation at her childish behaviour however his smirk was still plastered on his face and didn't seem to be going anywhere.

"You are vexing, you know that?" Her head was still resting against the wall however she tilted it slightly to look over at Five.

"I'm surprised you know what that word means." Five hurled back.

"Dickhead." Octavia mumbled but Five didn't take her profanity to heart, "You know when you're homeschooled it only takes about two to three hours maximum to complete the assigned work." She stated and Five tried not to scoff again at the irony of her words. He was no stranger to the concept of homeschooling.

"I'm aware." Five for once was being truthful. Although the academies teaching regions were mostly tailored towards their superpowers he also had to complete traditional academics.

"Well then you should know that with that abundance of spare time that I had the opportunity to indulge in literature, meaning I have developed an extensive lexicon." Octavia proclaimed and Five chuckled at her confidence.

"And you called me the nerd?" He mocked Octavia's earlier sentiment when he was attempting to explain his power in a sophisticated way.

Octavia's face flushed at Five's remark, however she quickly mumbled some curse word under her breath before changing the subject.

"What about you?" She asked, obviously deflecting Five's previous taunting.

"Hm?" He pressed his lips into a thin line, not exactly sure of what she meant by her question.

"How old were you when you found out you had powers?" Octavia elaborated and Five shrugged his shoulders in a casual manner.

"Not entirely sure, our powers have been ingrained into me and my siblings' lives since before I could even remember-" Five began to speak but he was quickly interrupted by Octavia's exclamation.

"Ah hah! So you do have siblings!" Five let out an irritated sigh and rubbed his eyes.

"Shit." How had he let that slip so easily? Especially after all his effort trying to shift their earlier conversation away from his past.

"I knew I could make you crack." Octavia laughed and Five was absolutely furious with himself. His hands tensed around the empty can of beans in an attempt to conceal his annoyance at both himself and at her.

He wasn't directly annoyed at Octavia exactly. He was enraged rather by the fact that she had so subtly maneuvered the conversation to make him open up which he so desperately tried not to do.

"Damn it! Fine! I have a family, six other siblings if you're dying for specifics." Five said, the defeat evident in his voice.

"Wow, that's a whole village. And you all have powers too?" Octavia asked, attempting to put some of the pieces of information together herself.

"The majority of us do, I guess you could say it runs in the family." He answered.

"What are they?" Octavia knew her chances at prying any more information out of the boy was slim but she still wished to try.

"That's all you're getting." Five had pulled the plug in this conversation.

"Five, please!" Octavia insisted and Five noticed how she shuffled her body to face him. In doing so, she had effectively moved a few inches closer to Five, something which he was now incredibly aware of.

"No." Eventually, after half an hour of annoying Five she finally gave up.

Their empty cans of beans were long forgotten on the floor. The rigid yet fresh tension that surrounded the pair since they first met had started to melt away as they talked. It was a bizarre predicament that neither of them expected to happen when the day started. Both Octavia and Five had woken that morning believing that they were each most likely the last person on earth, only now to find themselves amongst each other's company.

Octavia was still bewildered by the fact that she had met this boy only a few hours prior and here she was in her own base, sharing a meal with him and letting him sit on her bed and talk to her.

Of course she didn't want to believe the terrifying prospect that she really was alone, but the possibility of someone else being out there felt inconceivable.

The pair talked about a myriad of things, mostly apocalypse related but some not.

Five told her the story of how he was forced to eat cockroaches for a week during the winter because he was so short on food. Octavia gagged at his vivid narration of the memory but she had to admit that she had also done her fair share of disgusting acts in the name of survival. Octavia relaxed as Five spoke, resting her head against her hand as she laid across against the worn mattress. Five was still stiff and alert however, sitting upright on the mattress with his back up against the wall, but his arms were loosely crossed over his chest which Octavia had interpreted as being his attempt at relaxing.

Their conversations were still filled with some witty remarks but their topics of discussion flowed very naturally. Octavia didn't expect it to be so alleviating to talk to another person after two years of solitude, it was like a boulder-sized weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

A small girlish part of Octavia had forgotten about the current obliterated state of the world outside. For a slight fraction of a moment, she had discarded the reality of the apocalypse. She imagined what this conversation between us would have been like if the two of them didn't meet this way. Octavia couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if they had met at school, maybe they two of them would be be academic rivals turned unlikely friends, and she would invite Five over to her place to work on a project, only that the pair would find themselves on Octavia's bedroom floor, talking rather intimately, much like how they are now.

However, Octavia was brought back to their unfortunate reality by Five asking what time it was. She quickly stood up and walked over to the sheet of metal that substituted a front door.

"Oh shit. I lost track of time, it's completely dark out." She cursed as she was met with the lack of light outside.

"Damn it. You're right." Five stood up and walked over to where she stood, examining the dark landscape from over her shoulder. He let out a small sigh at the sight.

Five should have known better than to lose track of time and Octavia felt incredibly guilty for forgetting the desolate wasteland outside.

"You can't just teleport back home?" She asked and although it was a valid question, Five's abilities didn't exactly work like that.

"I told you I don't teleport! Besides, my powers are more effective when jumping smaller distances." It was true, the reliability of Five's spatial jumps began to dwindle when he tried to cross farther distances.

Then there was an awkward silence between the two of them and Octavia's mind began to race as she tried to find an appropriate way to articulate her solution.

"Five." She spoke up.

"Yes?" He looked at the girl who was only a few feet in front of him. He admired the way some of her hair had become loose from their braids as they spoke, it made her look like a little kid who was ready to succumb to the comfort of sleep.

"Do you wanna maybe spend the night? I don't want you walking back to your base in the dark. I have enough bedding and I can set it up if you'd like?" She proposed her idea and Five felt his brain effectively shut off in that very moment.

Did she mean what he thought she meant?

"Uh..." Five had been rendered speechless for the first time in the whole six or so hours that Octavia has known him.

"We're not sharing a bed you weirdo! I've got a spare mattress you can take and even a blanket. " Octavia exclaimed and rubbed her temple in dismay.

"I wasn't insinuating that!" Five's face reddened for what was probably the tenth time that day.

"Get your mind out of the gutter." She replied with a small smirk as she walked past him, bumping his shoulder,"Or do you want to risk getting killed by god knows what while walking home in the dark?"

Five's stomach tightened as he felt her shoulder brush his with enough pressure to be forceful but also playful.

"Oh shut up," Five muttered, his tone unfortunately betrayed him and revealed his slight embarrassment and frustration. He grumbled for another moment before he spoke again. "Fine. I'll stay the night."

"See, you didn't have to make it weird." Octavia called out teasingly as she began to look for the spare bedding that she kept in one the milk crates. Five huffed again, and even though Octavia wasn't looking at him she could feel the agitation emanating from his body. She then dragged the secondary mattress she used to elevate her bed across the floor and to the opposite side of the room.

"There you go, now you won't get cooties." She said jokingly as she looked back at Five. His hands were shoved into his pockets and his face was softly illuminated by the oil lamp she kept on the nearby milk crate.

Octavia felt her snarky remark fall back into her throat as she admired his sharp yet ethereal features for the millionth time that day. She just had to remind herself that this was probably just a combination of her isolation and the start of her pubescent hormones. He was just a boy. A boy who was sleeping in her home, only a few meters away. But he was also the only boy Octavia had seen in two entire years.

"Thanks." He said softly, "For this and dinner." Five gestured to the cans that were abandoned on the floor.

"No worries," She said and began to unlace her shoes in preparation for bed, "Goodnight Five. Thanks for not murdering me." She smiled and Five did as well.

"Anytime Octavia... 'night..." Five began to strip his shoes and jacket off and tried to make himself comfortable in the makeshift bed Octavia had provided for him.

It took Octavia a little longer than usual to fall asleep that night.

She was suddenly hyper aware of the boy's presence who was sleeping only a few feet away from herself. Perhaps it was just the fact that she wasn't used to coexisting with another living, breathing person in two whole years. Or maybe she had truly become accustomed to the silence after all her time in solitude.

She found that her ears were extra sensitive to the sound of his tossing and turning against the bedding, he was obviously struggling to sleep as well.

Octavia woke that morning to the sound of Five's feet pattering against the concrete floor of her base, as if he was pacing around softly.

"Good morning, sunshine." Octavia said sarcastically as she sat up. She reached her arms up in an attempt to stretch out yesterday's stiffness from her back.

"Morning," He responded, his voice slightly softer than normal, his voice still laced with the residue of sleep.

"How'd you sleep?" She asked as she got out of bed. She noticed Five was already dressed in his jacket and his boots were fully laced. Octavia began to question if he was just extremely eager to get out of there and away from herself.

"Fine, until you started snoring." Five teased. Octavia didn't actually snore at all that night, the sound of her breathing made it hard for Five to drift to sleep but he simply wanted to provoke her.

"I do not snore!" She exclaimed, sounded very offended and Five mentally celebrated his little victory.

"Oh really? And who has told you otherwise?" Five enjoyed how riled up Octavia was getting over this, it was extremely amusing to him.

"Who's to say that you don't snore?" Octavia began to gather some clothing that was folded in a nearby crate.

"Well, did I?" Five asked as he watched her turn her back to him.

"Take a guess." She called out and Five rolled his eyes at the aloofness of her words, "Now can you do me a favour and step out while I change. Or are you going to get weird about that too?" Five groaned at her successful shift in their banter.

"How are you so good at pissing me off?" Five asked, more so to himself than to her directly.

"You're very easy to piss off." She answered him anyway, "Besides, I grew up as the youngest of my cousins, my word is my best weapon." Five could somewhat relate to her explanation even though he would never verbally agree with her.

"Very amusing." He said dryly and stepped out to give Octavia some privacy to change into whatever spare pair of clothes she had the fortune of having.

When Octavia gave him the all clear to come back into the concrete shack, Five was surprised to see her packing a backpack.

"Are you gonna help me scavenge for breakfast or are you just gonna huff and puff in here all day?" She asked as she shoved a water bottle into the bag.

"Alright, fine. Let's get breakfast," He said firmly, his tone slightly reluctant as he tried to brush off her previous teasing.

— -- —

The pair had returned to Octavia's after a successful food run and Five immediately got to work taking out the cans of food and setting them on the dusty floor. He eyed each of them silently before he began to mutter about how much protein was approximately in each can and how the two of them could stretch them out to last them as long as possible.

"Rationing there, are we?" Octavia questioned as she removed her backpack, leaving it by the door.

"We have to, smartass," He said matter-of-factly, "Rationing is how we get the most out of the food we have, to make it last longer. Christ, how have you survived this long?" Octavia grimaced unpleasantly at the comment, feeling as if it was completely unnecessary.

"I know that, Five. I'm just pointing out the fact that I did only ask you to stay the night yesterday and now you're speaking as if you intend to stay for longer than I anticipated." She crossed her arms and looked down to where Five was situated on the floor.

Five's heart dropped at the gravity of her words. He couldn't believe that he had taken it upon himself and assumed that this wasn't just a temporary thing. It wasn't everyday that you meet a fellow survivor in the apocalypse, Five only thought it was a smart decision to stay together.

"That's not what I meant-" Five shot up quickly and started to defend himself.

"Hey, it's fine. I was gonna bring it up earlier anyway but you were in such a foul mood before breakfast." Five quickly forgot about his previous embarrassment and quickly became defensive at Octavia's accusation.

"I was not in a foul mood." He stated.

"Yeah and the sky is purple." Octavia taunted, crossing her arms.

"Oh shut up." He grumbled.

"What I was trying to say is that... what if we don't part ways, what if you don't go back to your base and I don't stay at mine. I mean strength in numbers right? We've gone these past two years alone and thinking that we were the only people left on the planet... it feels counterproductive to split up, no?" Octavia tried to formulate her words in a cohesive manner and Five was stunned that she too had the same idea as him.

Five didn't respond. He was consumed by his own thoughts which for the first time in his life, felt illogical.

"I mean if I really do annoy you so much that you would prefer to choose a life of isolation then be my guest. But I want you to know that I'm thinking about survival for both of us." Octavia insisted.

"No, no, it's not that-" He started but was quickly cut off.

"Then what is it?" Octavia asked. She didn't know whether to feel offended at the boy's hesitancy or dismiss it as his lone wolf ideology he had adopted after two years of solitude.

Five couldn't exactly label this unwelcome feeling that gnawed at his bones, and his lack of knowing only contributed to his irritation. His answer was so obviously yes, he didn't want to leave her, not when he had spent this long being alone. And yet he couldn't find the right words to say.

"If you don't want to, that's fine, after all its double the worry, double the supplies and double the effort, but I thought for both of our sakes and sanity, survival in numbers is always safer, you know like you see in those apocalypse movies." Octavia continued, substituting Five's silence with her rambling.

"That is a horrible and inaccurate comparison to make." He rubbed his temple at her passing mention of those cheesy apocalypse movies which were over sensationalised and not at all a reliable source of information.

"You know what I mean." She shrugged, obviously defeated.

"Fine, let's stay together." Five agreed, although he didn't actually need much convincing unlike what Octavia thought.

It's not that Five didn't want to stay with her, he was taken aback by how badly he did want to stay with her. But Five couldn't ignore what he had been working so tirelessly at ever since the apocalypse started, finding a way to get back to his family.

Five was scared that involving Octavia in this hypothetical equation would only further complicate things. However, the benefits of her company seemed to outweigh the minor hiccup which was that Five technically belonged to the past.

"Really?" Octavia was almost startled at how quickly the boy had agreed to her proposition.

"But we're not staying here." Five added as he looked at the small structure of the building Octavia had called home.

"Thanks." She said bluntly, offended at his choice of words.

"No offence. My place is a lot more developed, there's more space and resources. I think we'll both be a lot more comfortable there." Five justified.

"If you say so." Octavia saw no reason to argue.Her place wasn't exactly the pinnacle of comfort and she could only assume how the lack of space would be inconvenient and uncomfortable.

"So I guess we're going to have to lay some ground rules." Octavia declared and Five raised a brow, curiosity forming in response to her statement.

"Ground rules, what are we? Roommates?" Five was only teasing at first however the reality of the situation had just occurred to him, they would indeed be sharing the same space and living alongside each other.

"Well, kind of. It's just like you said earlier, we only ever had to think for ourselves until now. We have to learn to coexist with another person and keep enough supplies going to last between the two of us." Five watched and smirked as she spoke with her hands.

"Right, what were you thinking?" He stepped forward and brought himself closer to Octavia.

"Well, the first thing that comes to mind is food. Obviously we need to make it last. Do you want to scavenge for our own food or scavenge together and share what we have." She counted on her index finger before looking back up at Five.

"Share." He said swiftly, not thinking twice about it.

"That's surprisingly generous of you." Octavia was caught off guard by his response.

"I don't need any potential arguments to start because of a lack of food." There was the traditional survival logic that seemed to justify all of Five's decisions.

"Fair point." Octavia clicked her tongue, agreeing with him.

"So food will be a team effort. And as far as living at yours, do you have enough bedding? Or are you expecting me to carry my mattress across the city?" The question was a genuine concern but Five chuckled softly at the image he conjured in his mind of forcing the girl to drag her mattress across the miles of debris and rubble.

"I have more than enough at mine. You'll be fine." Five confirmed and he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Anything else you want to lay on the table?" Octavia asked.

"Yes actually. I'm curious about how we're going to coexist with each other." Five had been thinking an awful lot about their pleasant conversation from last night.

Although their conversation was mostly free from bickering and teasing, Five found that he could speak to Octavia in a way that he couldn't with anyone else, not even his siblings. He had strangely enjoyed talking to her for such an elongated period of time and seemingly forgot about the world outside.

"What do you mean?" Octavia wanted to know more about what Five had meant. She was worried for a moment that the boy believed her stranger danger paranoia might get the best of her when he least expected it.

"As appreciative as I am of human company during the end of the world, I still require some degree of privacy." Five thought about the old library which he now inhabited and the equations that were painted across the remaining walls.

Just because he knew he wasn't alone anymore didn't mean he was ready to give up. He needed to get back to his family.

"Come again?" She asked and Five had to think carefully about how he was going to phrase his next few words.

"To put it bluntly. I'm working on something to do with my powers. An equation of some sort." So far, so true.

"Why?" And there was the very response he had anticipated.

"I believe that not only do I have the ability to jump between tangible spaces... I can also jump through time." Now that was a blatant lie. Five knew for a fact that he could jump through time, it was the very reason he got stuck here in the first place.

Five had tried to tell himself that it wasn't a complete lie, he was simply obscuring the truth. After all, if Octavia was going to live with him she was bound to have questions about what he was doing and why. He was simply just feeding her a watered down version of the truth to keep her from asking anymore questions.

"It's a hypothesis. If I get the numbers right, I believe I could time travel back to before the apocalypse even started. Maybe change one small link in the fabric of time to prevent it from ever happening at all." This was probably the most truthful thing he had said yet.

"Are you fucking serious?" Octavia's jaw dropped slightly. She couldn't believe the words that had left his mouth.

Even though Octavia was no stranger to superhuman abilities the very concept of time travel seemed incredibly far fetched and next to impossible. Yet here this boy was, standing in front of her and insisting that it was possible. She didn't know the technicalities of how it all worked but the very prospect of being able to go back in time before any of this had happened lit a warmth within Octavia which she hadn't felt for a very long time.

"I haven't stopped trying since the moment the apocalypse started." Five said, averting his gaze from Octavia, who was very much still gawking in disbelief.

"So, what does this have to do with us? If you don't mind me asking." She fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke and looked at the boy in front of her.

"All I ask is that I require my privacy whilst I'm working on my equations." Five stated. The hard part for him was over.

"Sure, I've been alone for this long. I'm sure I'll fill in the time doing something." Octavia complied, not wishing to disrespect the boy's boundaries.

"You'll be pleased to know I've settled down in the remains of an old library. And surprisingly, plenty of books are still intact." Five remembered the piles of books which he had collected in his own dwelling and smiled when he saw Octavia's face light up instantly.

"I'm sold." She blurted.

"It doesn't mean I don't want you to talk to me. All I ask is that you understand my request, it's been a long time since either of us have had to live with anyone else." Five continued, he didn't want Octavia to think that her presence was going to be an inconvenience for him. There were just some things that were safer for her to not know.

"Well, how about this? During the day we can do our separate things but every night after dinner we have our designated 'us time'. Time when we can interact and socialise and not think about apocalypse or survival shit, like what we're going to eat tomorrow or if we're going to freeze to death. We can talk about anything or not even talk at all. We just need to keep our socialisation up without stepping on each other's toes. And also to help us from going completely insane of course." Octavia had come up with her second great proposition of the day.

Five didn't find it in himself to argue with her, he didn't want to. Her very idea sounded somewhat actually pleasant to him.

"I can work with that." Five said softly.

"Sounds like quite the beneficial agreement." Octavia concluded and he nodded his head in agreement.

all images above were sourced from pinterest!

[bigmandiego]

SELF PARA | SELF INVESTIGATION

It had taken him a few days to figure out how to deal with this situation. Most of the time he couldn't help but think that G was just doing this for their own amusement. That G didn't want them to find anything. That G didn't actually care what had happened to Greer at all. But in the end it didn't really matter, if it got him information on what could have happened to Greer. He didn't care about G or their stupid plan. He cared about Greer.

So, Diego had called on Mari for help, with a promise that he would let her in on whatever it was that he would find. They set up a reason that the Student Council to meet in one of the conference rooms in the Administration building. It was the end of term, there were a lot of things that needed to get done before spring break. Problem one, find a reason to be in the Administration building without anyone questioning him specifically solved. Problem two, there was probably security and he needed to make very sure that no one saw him rifiling through the Dean's things. There were people suspicious enough of him, and that was the last thing he needed.

This part Diego had googled: "How to jam a door without anyone realizing". Thank you google. He spent most of the time in the conference room fiddling with a paperclip as the Student Council went over agendas, and plans for next term. Once they were all settled in Diego spoke up, "I'm going to go and make copies of these schedules, okay?" He informed the group, excusing himself from the room and heading out the door. It took him an awkward amount of time standing in the hallway covering the paperclip in glue and carefully using that to jam the lock closed so it couldn't be opened from the inside or outside. He jiggled the handle after a moment, pretending to return from his xerox journey. "Oh, shit, guys I think the door isn't opening," he called into the room, looking through the side glass window to the discontent on the faces of his fellow student government members. "I'm going to go get security to help. I'll be right back!"

A quick jog to the security desk informing the guy there that there was a jammed door that had locked most of the student council away, when they really should be studying for their exams the next day. You should really hurry you don't want to see a bunch of over achievers get angry. He watched the guard head off, and figured that should give him a good window of time. And if security got into the room faster than he expected Mari could distract him for just a bit longer.

Finally Diego made his way down into the storage area, making a b-line for where he'd been informed that the Dean's things were being stored.

He didn't think he had all the time in the world, but he set his watch to give himself a good twenty minutes of searching through every inch of the basement storage. He'd been told to look around in particular for anything that had to do with Greer, as if that was something he wouldn't have done in the first place. Well, he had no time to waste. He focused on files that had been organized into boxes, opening cabinet doors to see if anything had been left behind inside of them on accident (or on purpose). He didn't know if there would be something so obvious labeled with Greer's name that the police would have left behind, so he looked for more subtle signs. Initials or accounts of things he knew she had been at or involved with.

He didn't like or trust G, but there had to be something, right?

[roosterforme]

The Deployment Diaries Part 16 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley talks to Mav, and it helps him see things a little clearer. And you know exactly how to make Bradley feel special on his birthday.

Warnings: Smut, swearing, fuff

Length: 5300 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

This was written to accompany my series Is It Working For You? along with a bunch of my one-shots! Check my masterlist for the reading order!

The weekend trip to La Jolla had been one of your best ideas ever, if Bradley's opinion counted for anything. He kept thinking about how much fun the arcade had been and how good you looked playing skee-ball in your bathing suit. Plus, you and he had fucked almost nonstop all weekend long, to the point of exhaustion. 

He had woken you up late on Sunday morning and told you it was almost time to check out of the hotel. You'd responded by riding his face until you came and then getting on all fours for him. When you finally checked out of the hotel, looking like two disheveled messes, the woman at the front desk just smirked. 

You had both slept most of the afternoon at home on Sunday, only waking up in time to take Tramp for a nice long walk before dinner. Bradley and Tramp were perhaps a little too similar; the way they both looked forward to family walks was a bit ridiculous. Your laugh in response to he and Tramp both running to get the leash lit Bradley up from the inside.

On Monday afternoon, Bradley got flagged at work to test out the software update that your team had patched for the Super Hornet fleet. He got to take notes and attend a meeting which included you and a bunch of other engineers. 

He was so good about keeping his hands to himself at work. He'd been a model citizen, really. Except for that one time in your office. And that other time in the storage closet in the tower. But that didn't prevent him from needing to adjust himself a bit when you gave a thirty minute presentation to everyone in attendance. 

Bradley was trying his best to pay attention, but there were two problems. First of all, you were way smarter than him when it came to the technical stuff about his aircraft. He was trying his best to follow along, but you lost him a few times when it came to software calculations. 

And second, he knew which bra and underwear set you were wearing under your uniform, because you had gotten dressed right next to him this morning. It was a light pink set that he was particularly fond of. He adjusted himself again. He couldn't wait to get home. 

But that's when the trouble started. When he parked the Bronco in the driveway and walked up the porch steps, you were coming out the door with two huge shopping bags full of stuff. Your hair and makeup were done up and you were wearing a dress and heels. 

"Where are you going, Sweetheart?" he asked, brow scrunched up.

You kissed him hurriedly on his cheek. "I need to go to Oceanside for a few hours. I'll be back in a little bit," you told him, rushing to your car and throwing the bags in the trunk. "You can have leftovers for dinner, or maybe see if Mav is around? Bye, Roo!"

Bradley was still standing on the porch steps as he watched you pull out of the driveway. What the hell was up in Oceanside? And why were you all dressed up?

Bradley found himself bored and lonely after about twenty minutes in the house. He changed and tried to watch a show with Tramp, but he ended up calling Maverick, who was still on base and agreed to swing by with a pizza.

"Where's the missus?" Mav asked when he arrived. "I got the toppings she likes. Assumed she would be here."

Bradley shrugged and made a face. "She ran to Oceanside for some kind of errand or something. I'm not sure." He grabbed two beers from the fridge and opened the pizza box on the island. 

"Everything okay?" Maverick asked, accepting a beer. 

"Yeah, I think so?" Bradley said before taking a bite of pizza, but it was more of a question than an answer. 

Maverick hummed. "I know you said she had an incident with that guy while you were deployed and I was away with Penny. I wish I'd been here, Bradley. I really do."

"Nah, don't say that. You were on vacation! And things have been good since we talked. This past weekend was... it was great, actually," he said, thinking back to pouring champagne all over you and cuddling in bed with you while you giggled. Bradley tossed his half eaten slice of pizza onto his plate. "How do I know if it's too soon to propose?"

Maverick looked at him, completely gobsmacked. "I....well, Bradley, I don't know if you're asking the right person, actually. I've been on and off with Penny for decades."

Bradley ran his fingers through his hair. "But you're serious with Penny now. You have been since Halloween. I just don't know how to do this shit correctly half the time. I never really dated anyone too seriously, I just messed around. And I never intended to fall in love, because it was so distressing to me as a kid, the way my mom was lonely for twelve years. But like how the fuck am I supposed to live like this?" Bradley held his hands up in the air before letting them drop back to his sides. "Part of me is terrified of marrying her and having kids with her, knowing I could burn in one day. Every time I think about that, I convince myself to wait a little longer. But the other part of me, the part that is obsessed with the way she makes me feel.... well, that part thinks we should get married tomorrow."

Maverick studied Bradley, took a sip of beer, and studied him some more. "I wish I could be of more help here, I really do. All I can tell you is that your dad was set on marrying your mom the same day he met her. He said those exact words to me. And they got married after six months together. Six months to the day, actually. And I have no doubt they would still be married now. So no, I don't think it's too soon for you. And if fear is what's holding you back, then you need to decide if you love her enough to trust that she's all in, no matter the outcome."

Bradley felt his eyes stinging. "Fuck. This is so hard, Mav. My mom would have loved her though, I know that much. And I can't run the risk of hesitating and losing her, but that's selfish when she's more likely to lose me. I just wish this was easier."

"Me too," Maverick replied. "It's not fair that Goose isn't here for this conversation. He would have known exactly what to say. But it sounds to me like you're ready, and she is too." Bradley let Maverick pull him in for a quick hug before they returned to the box of pizza. 

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

"Where the fuck is mommy?" Bradley asked Tramp. He kept checking the time on his phone. It was nearing 11 o'clock, and Bradley was getting a little worried. When he had texted to make sure everything was okay, you simply replied with Yep!

He had also been looking up flights from San Diego to Norfolk and eating cold pizza. God, this house was just sad without you in it. Did you feel this way when he was deployed? Shit. If so, he was never going to leave again, because this was awful. 

He channel surfed and fed pizza crust to Tramp, and about twenty minutes later, he finally heard your car in the driveway. 

"She's home!" Bradley and Tramp both ran to the door to greet you. Your hair was a mess now, and you were wearing different clothes than when you left. "Where did you go, Baby Girl? We missed you."

You hugged him around his waist. "I just needed to take care of something. I'm sorry it took so long. Let's get ready for bed." And that's all you would say about it.

Bradley pushed it from his mind. He focused on work during the day and spending time with you at night. When he brought the mail inside on Friday evening, he opened a thick, cream colored envelope with his name on it. He smiled as he took it over to where you were currently making pancakes for dinner in your tight yoga pants and one of his shirts. 

"Feel like buying a fancy dress, Baby Girl?"

"For what?" you asked, turning the music down on your phone. 

Bradley held up the invitation to the ceremony and reception at which he would be promoted to lieutenant commander. "It's in four weeks, and I'm allowed to bring a date. Please don't make me take Tramp."

You laughed. "Tramp would look adorable in a little tuxedo! But I'm going. I'm definitely going! It's going to be fancy as hell! Better than a wedding! You lieutenant commanders and captains and admirals get all the good stuff."

Bradley wrapped his arms around you from behind and kissed your cheek. "You could just wear your dress whites like me, if you want to."

"No!" you shouted, scandalized. "Absolutely not, Roo! I'm buying something fancy! I can wear my uniform for my own promotion. Maybe I'll go shopping for a dress when I go back to Oceanside tomorrow morning."

Bradley frowned. "Why do you have to go back to Oceanside? I thought we were going to spend the day together."

"I'll be home in the afternoon," you told him, flipping over the pancakes. "We can do whatever you want. And then Sunday is your birthday!"

Bradley let go of you so you could plate the food. "Can I come with you in the morning? I can help you look at dresses."

You frowned. "I'd rather you didn't. I promise I'll be back right after lunchtime."

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

Trying to get out of the house on Saturday morning was made very difficult by Bradley who was actively trying to keep you in bed. "One orgasm isn't enough for my girl. Let me give you another one," he said in his raspy morning voice from where he had his head between your legs. You were still riding out the first one when he looked up at you with hopeful eyes. 

You had told the photographer you would be there at 9:30, but thankfully the photographer was Maria's sister's roommate, and she would probably understand why you were running late if you showed her a photo of your boyfriend without a shirt on.

"Two would be nice," you told him as you tried to catch your breath, and he was immediately grinning and crawling up your body. He was too good at this now. You'd been having sex with him for more than nine months, and he could read you like a book. You wanted him slow and steady right now, and you knew you wouldn't have to tell him that. He would just do it, exactly how you wanted him to. 

And that was how he got orgasm number two to come screaming out of you after twenty minutes of slow fucking and a little dirty talk. 

Bradley looked pretty smug as he strode into the bathroom behind you on your wobbly legs. He kissed your neck while you brushed your teeth, and then you pulled your hair up as neatly as you could. "You definitely made me late," you informed his reflection in the mirror as you put on some lip gloss and mascara.

"Well, since you won't tell me where you're going, I don't feel bad about it. I also gave you a nice hickey right here, so I hope that's not going to be a problem," he said, running one beautiful finger along the side of your neck. 

You turned your face to the side to check out the pink mark he had given you. "Naughty. Don't make me withhold birthday sex."

Bradley's eyes went wide. "You wouldn't."

You just smirked and walked back into the bedroom.

"Sweetheart! I'll be good the rest of the day!"

You ran your fingers along his abs and nodded. "I know you will be."

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

An hour later you were apologizing to the photographer, Flora, as she handed you Bradley's birthday present. You opened the calendar up to January and almost dropped it as you slammed it shut again. 

"Oh, my God. I can't give this to him! I just... oh, my God!"

Flora just laughed softly and gently took the calendar from your hands as you shook your head. "I get that a lot with this kind of photoshoot. But I can guarantee your boyfriend is going to go bananas over this," she promised, tapping the calendar with one finger. "Here, start with September. You've got a good amount of clothing on in that one, and it's taken from behind."

You took a deep breath and looked at the glossy photo of yourself. In it, you were turning back to look over your shoulder. You were wearing a tiny black skirt and black stockings with seams up the backs of your legs. You had on red heels and one of Bradley's white dress shirts, pushed down to reveal your bare shoulders and upper back. 

"Oh, that looks pretty good," you agreed. Then Flora flipped to April, and it was the photo of you wearing cutoff jean shorts with Bradley's aviators. You were covering your breasts with your hands. 

"This one is great, because your smile is so genuine," she told you.

"I was almost laughing in it, because he had no idea I took his sunglasses with me."

Flora flipped through the entire pin-up calendar with you. You saw the photo of you wearing the red bustier and matching thong that Bradley favored. There was also one of you on your knees with your hands on your thighs, pulling up the hem of your white nightie. One of you in your own flight suit had made it in there, and so had one with garters, stocking and lots of lace.

Then there was one of you laying on the bed with your back arched. It looked a lot like the photo you had sent to him that one time you and he were out to dinner with the other aviators. That evening had resulted in back seat Bronco sex, so perhaps you didn't have anything to be scared about. 

The photo for next June was perhaps the most intimate one. Your hair was purposefully messy, and you were completely nude, tangled up in a sheet with your left breast just peaking out. And your golden necklace charms were visible in almost all of the shots.

"Okay, I think you're right. I think he'll like it." Flora just laughed as you added, "You did a great job, honestly. You can barely see the cellulite!"

"Oh stop, I hardly had to do any touch ups. Some of them just needed a little color saturation. I'll tell you what, if your man doesn't lose his mind, come back and I'll give you a refund."

So with that, you took the calendar to your car and went to find a formal gown.

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

As soon as you got home, Bradley was snooping in the garment bag. "What does your dress look like? Are you going to try it on for me?"

"Maybe," you replied with a wink. But you did try it on for him, and he stood in front of you speechless, rubbing his chin.

"Shit," he rasped. 

You looked down at yourself and back up at him. The form fitting, dark blue satin dress was insanely formal for most things, but it seemed perfect for his big day. Plus you figured he would appreciate the slit up your left leg and the low cut front. "Do you like it?"

He nodded his head vigorously. "You look amazing. I can't believe I get to have you there with me." He started reaching for you, but you backed away. 

"This dress is delicate, Bradshaw! Delicate!"

"I can be delicate," he whispered, running his fingers along the enticing fabric as you started to undress. 

You rolled your eyes good naturedly. "I'm saying your birthday weekend starts right now. So what do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

He helped you out of your dress as he told you, "Have sex with my girlfriend, walk our adorable dog to the ice cream place that gives out doggie treats, eat dinner, and have sex with my girlfriend again."

"You're going to give me more orgasms today? Is it your birthday or mine?"

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

Bradley couldn't believe he deserved you in his life. That perfect weekend away with you in La Jolla had been enough for him. More than enough, really. But here you were, on his actual birthday, waking him up with a blowjob. He felt your wet, hot mouth on his length, and he opened his eyes to the most glorious sight. 

"Oh, hey," he rasped, smiling at you as he propped himself up on his elbows. 

You popped him out of your mouth, kissed his tip and said, "Happy birthday, Roo," in your sweet voice before sliding him between your pretty lips again. He watched your tits swaying, just getting harder and harder for you. He was aching in your hands and mouth as you sucked and licked him so well. 

When he was almost there, you opened your mouth wide and set him down on your plush tongue. He watched himself paint your mouth with his cum while you gently squeezed his balls in your soft hand. 

"Shit, sweetheart. You look so pretty like that," he told you, caressing your cheek. He really wanted to take a picture of you with his dick in your mouth and his cum everywhere, but he didn't know how to ask you for that. 

Bradley watched you swallow him down and lick your lips. Then you crawled up his body and kissed him. "I'm going to make you breakfast, birthday boy."

Bradley followed you into the kitchen and watched you put on your I Love Meat apron over your naked body. He stood behind you as you cut up vegetables and cracked eggs into a bowl, squeezing your bare ass and kissing your shoulders.

"This is already the best birthday I have ever had," he mumbled against your skin. He so badly wanted to be selfish. Marry you and be with you forever. The deployments sucked, but if that was the worst thing you had to deal with, you'd both manage. He couldn't control anything beyond that. 

"I love you, Roo," you told him, turning your head to kiss him briefly while you made him an omelet. That was it, he would buy a ticket to Norfolk tomorrow.

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

You took Bradley on a lunchtime hike and picnic that ended at the cliffside beach where you and he had played dogfight football so many months before. You ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and laid out on your beach towel, and Bradley tried to convince you to take a week off this year and take a vacation with him. In theory that sounded great, but work was going so well for you right now, it would be hard to take any time off. 

After baking in the sun for a while, Bradley said, "It's fucking hot out now. Feel like jumping in the water to cool off?" 

"In our clothes?" you asked, but he was already taking his tee shirt off and pulling his shorts down.

"In our underwear, Baby Girl."

You glanced around the beach, which wasn't crowded at all. You bit your lip before unbuttoning your jean shorts and sliding them down over your hips. The smile on your boyfriend's face was instantaneous. You glanced around again before pulling your tank top off and leaving it on the towel. You hoped your blue sports bra and green underwear were providing enough coverage for that old guy walking his dog to refrain from yelling at you.

Bradley pulled you to your feet and you ran into the water with him. "It's cold!" you complained, but he had already scooped you up into his arms. You clung on to the front of him, legs around his waist and arms around his neck. "Oh my God, don't go out any further! It's freezing!" But Bradley walked out until the waves were crashing against your back. "Bradley!"

He just chuckled and kissed you. "We'll get used to it." 

You threaded your fingers through his hair and kissed him back. His hands splayed along your back, keeping you warm against the onslaught of the Pacific Ocean. You thought about how many millions of times you must have kissed him since that first time in this beach parking lot. Thought about everything that had happened since that day. Falling in love, and almost losing him, and Tramp, and Josh, and how much you loved Bradley.

"I love you," you whispered against his mouth as he devoured you. "I love you so much."

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

It took a bit of coaxing, but you finally agreed to let Bradley carry you up the rocks for old time's sake, even though you were wearing perfectly sensible shoes this time. Bradley listened to your laughter as he climbed with you on his back. Your wet underwear had soaked through your clothing, and so had his. You were both a sandy, sweaty mess by the time you got home. 

Wordlessly, you led him to the master bathroom and turned on the shower. Tramp came to investigate what was going on as you peeled Bradley's damp shirt off and let it fall to the floor. The fabric was replaced by your hands and lips on his chest and abs, and Bradley's head tipped back. Your hands were gritty with sand as they worked down to his shorts, and the sensation had him panting for you. Soon he was naked and you were stroking him.

"Baby Girl," he whispered, and you looked up at him expectantly. He kissed you hard, both of his hands in your messy hair, his front pressed to yours. He lived for these moments. Everything with you was so pure, it was almost painful. "You're mine, Baby Girl," he told you, and you moaned. 

Bradley ripped your clothing off, tossing it across the room and scaring Tramp back into the bedroom. You both stumbled into the steamy shower, hands and mouths everywhere. He had you pinned against the tile wall, one hand wrapped around your neck, the other thrusting two fingers into your pussy until you were soaking wet for him. The steam swirled around your bodies, and the little noises you made were echoing inside the glass shower. 

Then he thrust his cock into you, running his thumb up and down along the side of your neck. He could feel your shallow breaths and gasps as he sped up. When you wrapped your leg up around his hip and whispered his name, he was too close to the edge. He pulled out of your pussy and sprayed your belly and hips with his cum before dropping to his knees in front of you. 

"Mmm," you moaned when his mouth met your clit and you started grinding against his face. He worked his tongue, steadily getting you there as his cum mixed with the water from the shower and trailed down your body. You were his birthday present. He wanted the same present every year for the rest of his life. 

You were still leaning against the wall catching your breath when Bradley got the soap and started to wash your body.  You let him do your hair too, because now you were exhausted from all of the day's activities, and you still had to make his dinner. 

A few hours later, you were perched on Bradley's lap eating Marry Me Rooster and listening to some music. "Thank you," he whispered, and it struck you once again that probably nobody ever did anything special, just for him, from the time his mom died until he met you. It made you want to keep doing it and doing it. 

You checked the time on your phone as Bradley happily twirled his second serving of chicken and pasta into his fork. "I hope you're almost ready for dessert," you told him and he just grinned at you. 

"Oh, I know what that means." But then he jumped a bit when someone started pounding on the front door. 

The smile on your face gave you away. "What did you do?" he asked, but you just laughed and told him to go open the front door. 

"Holy shit," Bradley said, as Phoenix thrust a dozen balloons into his hands and made her way inside. She was followed by Fanboy, Payback, Bob, Hangman, Maverick and Penny. Coyote was missing, as he was currently deployed, but everyone else greeted Bradley while you put a pie and a chocolate chip cookie tower on the dining room table. Penny popped a few bottles of champagne, and everyone started eating dessert. 

When you stuck a glittery pink candle into the top cookie and everyone sang happy birthday to him, Bradley pulled you against his side. And when Fanboy told him to make a wish, Bradley grinned at you before blowing the candle out.

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

After everyone finally left, it was pretty late. Tramp was already in his bed, exhausted from all of the attention he got. Bradley had watched Nat feed him four treats in a row, and when he said something about it, she told him, "Mind your own business, birthday boy. This is between me and my god-pup."

So by the time Bradley noticed you shifting nervously around the kitchen, cleaning up after everyone, he had already had an epically wonderful day.

"Leave it, Sweetheart. I'll clean in the morning before work," he told you, gently taking your hands in his. "Now tell me why you're being weird."

You sighed. "I got you a birthday present. It's in my dresser drawer." you said, staring at his chest.

"That was nice of you. Can I have it?"

"Yeah...." you trailed off, heading for the bedroom and rooting around in your drawer. "But I'm really nervous to give this to you, so please be kind." You thrust a wrapped box into his hand and backed away a few steps, chewing on your lip. 

Bradley started to unwrap and open the box, brow furrowed about what could be making you apprehensive. But then he dropped the wrapping paper and box to the floor as he read the front of the calendar in his hands. 

Rooster's Calendar starring Baby Girl

"No fucking way," he whispered, meeting your guarded eyes before flipping it open to January. He almost fell over. "Oh my God," he almost yelled, briefly waking up Tramp. 

There was a high quality photo of you wearing a sheer champagne colored lingerie set, and you were laying on your back with your legs up in the air. You had on your bright red high heels with your ankles crossed and you looked like a fucking dream, your tits practically spilling out of the sheer top.

Bradley's jaw was hanging open as he flipped to February. He didn't know how things could have possibly improved, but somehow they did. You were wearing his favorite color, the red bustier and thong. "Shit, Baby Girl," he whined. His dick was plainly hard in his jeans, and he was gasping for air, but you looked nervous as hell now.

"Do you like it?" you asked softly, eyes wide, chewing on your thumbnail. 

He just stared at you with his mouth open, blinking, trying to formulate words. He glanced down briefly at March to see you in a black string bikini he had no idea you owned. You looked sinfully good, and now Bradley was throbbing. 

"Don't look at that one. You can see my love handles," you told him, reaching for the calendar, but he held it up high, out of your reach. Then he tossed it softly onto the dresser and grabbed you.

"Don't talk about my future wife that way," he growled, baking you up to the bed. "She's perfect." He reached down and yanked your shirt off and then your bra. "That calendar is the fucking hottest thing in the world, and I only saw three months," he groaned, grinding against you. "It's safe to say, yes, I like it."

You moaned as he touched you. "You said you wanted it."

"Yeah, I did. Thank you, Sweetheart," he whispered against your neck, placing kiss after kiss there as he worked his hand down to the front of your shorts. "Best gift ever."

"How are you going to thank me for this wonderful idea?" you asked, running your fingertips along his scarred cheek.

Bradley pushed you down on the bed, and you rolled over onto your belly to make room for him. He eased himself onto the bed and straddled your ass, rubbing his hands down the smooth planes of your naked back, making you arch your spine. You moaned and ground your ass up into his dick and balls. He was picturing your nipples straining against lacy fabric, and he was so hard he thought he might explode. And here you were writhing and moaning under him after a few touches.

"I'm going to thank you like this," he told you, grabbing you by both hips and popping your rear end up into the air. He pulled your jean shorts down your legs and tossed them aside, and he ran his finger over your thong before removing that as well. He kissed along your ass cheeks and listened to you moan as he palmed you with his hands. He eased his face down to your pussy and gave you a nice long lick, collecting your sweetness on his tongue. 

"I love it when you do that," you huffed between groaning and whining his name, face buried in a pillow.

He teased your clit and ran his fingers through your soaking wet slit, pumping them into your pussy a few times until you were thrusting back again. Then he let his fingers trail up a bit further until he was gently caressing your other hole. 

"Oh!" you gasped and froze. 

Bradley placed a soft kiss on your thigh and then one on your lower back. "Is this okay?" he asked, and he stopped moving his hand until he heard you gasp out an answer. 

"Yes, I think so."

Bradley groaned as he let his fingers trail along once more, the moisture from your pussy making everything look slick and even prettier. "Can I lick you here?"

"Okay," you whispered, and Bradley ran his tongue back and forth across your asshole a few times, fisting his cock in his hand. He'd never done this before, and it sounded like you hadn't either. 

"Do you like this, Baby Girl?" he asked before pressing a little harder with his tongue, licking up all of your essence that he had brought there with his fingers. You were wiggling your ass a little bit for him as he placed another kiss there.

"I don't hate it. God, your mustache feels good everywhere. I think it made my pussy even wetter for you, Roo," you gasped, and Bradley was immediately in position, thrusting his dick into your warm pussy. He could feel your walls gripping him almost immediately. Everything felt too good. You turned him on beyond belief. 

And when you were both ready for bed, and you had yourself draped across his body, you whispered, "I love you, birthday boy." 

You yawned as he wrapped his arms around you. "Can I have this same day every year for my birthday? Just like this, me and you?"

"Absolutely, Roo," you muttered, snuggling against him and dozing off to sleep. 

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

Happy birthday, Roo! SO MANY OF YOU ASKED FOR BUTT STUFF, SO HERE IS A BIT OF THAT FOR YOU! Thanks for reading!

PART 17

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[foone]

I closed the cell door behind him. The handcuffs were gone again, of course, but we'd long since run out of real pairs and zip ties we had on us, and didn't particularly feel like exhausting the storage room's supplies. Davis started giving him the talk about getting a phone call and all and the perp suddenly says "Look" with the kind of loud voice you can hear in your teeth.

He pulls out a locket from under his shirt (didn't Davis already search him? Why am I surprised...) and holds it up to the bars. "Look here, and listen."

I step forward and look at the odd object. It looks uncomfortable to wear against your skin, but I was never much one for jewelry anyway. No one was much surprised the tomboy became a cop, after all.

It's a crystal shape, like two pyramids attached together. It's a sort of shimmering black color with a tinge of red around the edges. But in the middle...

I look closer. There's a circle, beige, with wispy lines of white and orange mixed through it, like a badly mixed coffee with way too much milk. I momentarily get the feeling like I'm looking down from a great height.

I shake my head. Davis is asking what it is. The suspect shakes his head and puts it back under his shirt. "Just tell your boss this: Where is Venus?"

Weird little creep.

You go back to your work, trying and mostly failing to explain how that arrest went. You're pretty sure an official support shouldn't use the phrase "somehow" and "apparently" that many times. You're certainly going to have to explain this one, no way is this going to be accepted without further review.

Your near-antique desk phone rings. It's the chief. "I just got off a very stern phone call. I need you to let out the prisoner in cell 13 immediately. Don't worry about procedure, I'm sending this as an order in writing, just give them any shit you confiscated and show them the door. And I mean immediately. I'm coming down there now to sign the release papers that were just faxed to me, I want them out of the building in less than 5 minutes. Is that understood?"

You gulp. "yes sir. I'm on the way over now."

You're not even surprised when you unlock the cell that the fucker is in there playing on his phone. You personally confiscated that, you're sure. Maybe the geek had a couple phones, and hid one of them? You did a pretty comprehensive pat-down... Ew.

Davis walks up with the goods bag, but he's got his usual confused look twice as bad at the moment. Before he can even say the problem, you can see it from what he's holding. Or rather, what he's not. The transparent bag is empty, the seal is still in place.

Before you can even explain that you've somehow lost his stuff, the perp is standing up and telling you not to worry about their stuff. The Chief is still on the way and he's supposed to be here for this, but from that phone call it sounded like he didn't want any delays. You turn the key in the lock, and the mechanism engages, automatically sliding the door open.

Your oddest arrest of your career (and there has been some competition!) walks out the door, tugs at his shirt, and says a quick dismissive thanks, before heading down the hall towards a glowing exit sign.

The Chief finally shows up as he's walking away, and is visibly out of breath. You hand him the clipboard with the papers to sign, and he wheeze out a thanks, after a coughing fit that leaves him buckled over and giving you the most marvelous view of his shiny, shiny bald spot.

"so who was it who called to spring that jerk, if you don't mind me asking?"

"it was a conference call. That was the director of NASA and the President"

"of... NASA?"

"no, of the country."

"oh, my. Can he order the release of a prisoner?"

"I mentioned exactly that while I was on the phone, and I'm not sure of his exact wording but it was something like 'shut up, do it now, or there'll be a Black Hawk dropping a squad of marines in your parking lot in 15 minutes, and they'll do it for you.'"

"Jesus!"

"so I said 'yes sir, will do'. He said the DOJ will figure out the justification later."

"This isn't over, is it? We're gonna be doing paperwork and lawsuits over that little fu... freak for a while, aren't we?"

"probably. But get this: The president himself told me not to mention this to anyone, but since you were there I think you should know. Besides, I haven't signed anything yet... Remember how the director of NASA was on the line too?"

"yeah, that was odd. What's this guy, some renegade astronaut who's late for his flight or something?"

"no idea. But apparently his magician talents don't end with pulling rabbits from hats and escaping from your handcuffs. They think he somehow palmed the planet Venus."

You blink slowly. "what"

"yeah. Whole damn planet is gone. NASA is not happy. The military is very worried."

"about Venus?"

"No, more about what else he can do, I imagine. If he can grab a planet out of the sky, what could else can he do? Borrow a tank? Steal a nuke? Drop the moon on DC?"

"I see their point."

Your walk-and-talk comes to its end as you arrive back at your office. You look at the big windows, and you can see the strange man still crossing the parking lot. He pauses by a squad car, then looks back at the window, before giving you a big thumbs up.

The Chief has to stop you from running after him, as he opens the door to your car and drives off. "Don't. We'll figure this out, I'll get you another vehicle. I am not getting an angry call from the dang president TWICE in one day."

You're never going to finish the paperwork from today, you can feel it in your bones.

[lil-papaya-tifosi]

Masterlist

Word Count: 3777

Summary: Things rarely happen during the night shift, but tonight, it seems like the whole world is ending. Well, only according to my neighbor.

It was a night like any other. After 1am people rarely came into the small shop to get anything, be it food, drinks or other things they found here. Therefore I often had some peace until the end of my shift, which wasn’t until morning at 6 o’clock. It was exactly the same now. I had just said goodbye to the last customer and let myself fall on the small stool that always stood behind the counter. A quick look at the small digital clock next to the cash register told me that it was just after 1. If someone stormed into the store now, the world really had to be ending. And by that I didn’t mean a miniscule storm, but something bigger. Like a nuclear war between Trump and North Korea or the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse.

For a short moment I closed my eyes and enjoyed the silence. As long as you could call the buzzing of the refrigerated counters and the quiet music coming out of the speakers silence. I had become so accustomed to the constant background noises that they almost had a calming effect on me. Every now and then the flickering neon tube above the candy shelf attracted my attention. Not a soul was to be seen far and wide. The view I had from around the heated counters for the baked goods, onto the small side street confirmed this. At this time of day a lone car rarely drove here and if one ever did, then mostly only to avoid the idiotically operated traffic lights of the main streets.

I sat down normally again and dug out my papers to study. I did that almost every night shift I had. One of the reasons why I really couldn’t understand why each of my colleagues avoided the night shift. Unlike during the day, it was always quiet, because exciting things rarely happened during the night shifts. I was almost always able to concentrate on learning, and I hardly ever had to deal with annoying customers or noisy children. Usually they brought up the argument that I could also learn at home and should spend the nights sleeping. But the big difference was that I wasn’t paid at home also I didn’t sleep at home anyways, when I was spending the nights learning. Besides, a student knows no sleep during the Finals week. It’s basically an unwritten law. Thus this argument was also void. Therefore I preferred to be paid for learning. >Okay, let’s have a look.< I thought to myself before I buried my nose in my anatomy book.

The loud ringing of the bell above the shop door, which had been violently torn open, tore me away from my notes. Frightened, I flinched and automatically looked at the small digital clock next to me. The small display showed shortly after 3. At this time there really must have been a nuclear war outside or the zombie apocalypse must have broken out, otherwise I couldn’t explain the heavy steps and heavy breathing, which echoed through the shop. I could hardly see anybody from my position. This was also due to the fact that the heated counter blocked my view of most of the shop. The unknown person seemed to have stopped because the steps had ceased. But now the whirring of one of the refrigerated counters became louder, a sure indicator that he had opened one of the doors. Slowly the situation scared me a little and I hoped that I would not be asked for the entire contents of the cash register in a few seconds. But wasn't there a first time for everything? A very loud >>Fuck! << let me flinch again, the fridge door being slammed in annoyance. Cautiously I got up and peered as well as I could over the shelves, while from the back of the shop an indefinable long strand of curses came floating towards me. So if one really intended to rob me now, whoever it was, was on the completely wrong side of the shop, since all you could find back there was milk in every variation. On the other hand though, if he really intended to steal milk I would definitely worry about the average salary of our society, because milk was really not expensive.

I timidly took a step out of my cover and continued to spy across the shelves. Apart from a black mop of hair I couldn't see anything. Gathering all my courage, I spoke up, not leaving the protection of my counter. >>Can I help you in any way? << Surprisingly, my voice trembled less than I expected. Quite contrary to my hands which were shaking uncontrollably. The black head shot up jerkily and looked over the shelves at me. I resisted my initial instinct to jump behind the counter again to hide and took a step forward to make myself more visible. >>Y/n? << It suddenly came quite confused from the unknown gentleman. My heart was racing now. Although I knew the voice, I couldn’t immediately identify it because of my nervousness. My instinct took over when the stranger came out behind the shelves and let me take another step back behind the desk.

A wave of relief washed over me when I saw who had stormed into the store. >>Jungkook? << I asked just as confused as he was while leaning against the shelf behind me, completely ignoring that I had just successfully knocked over everything on it and exhaled deeply. >>My God you scared me. Can’t you come into a shop like a normal person? << I grumbled at my neighbour and raked my hand through my hair. However, it didn’t seem to interest the black haired guy in any way that he had just almost given me a heart attack, because he came running towards the counter with quick steps and almost threw himself over it to reach for my wrists. A little surprised by the sudden contact I stiffened briefly, but he didn’t even seem to notice that. >>Y/n...I have a problem. A very big problem even. << Almost automatically my eyes wandered to his crotch. So either his problem wasn’t as big as he said or his sweatpants did an extremely good job of hiding it. I felt the heat rising into my cheeks as he put his hand on my cheek and gently stroked it. >>It’s really important that you help me with this, ok? << he spoke now as his eyes wandered over my face. However, his tone of voice irritated me a little. If he really wanted me to suck his dick, he should stop beating around the bush about it.

A snap in front of my face brought me back to reality. I felt my face take on the colour of an overripe tomato. >>I have no time for your thirsty ass because my ass is thirty too. << he exclaimed not making the situation any clearer for my brain. >>For Banana milk! <<< he groaned at me, this time visibly tense. Either he could read my mind or I had just undressed him with my eyes. Since I strongly doubted the former, I had to be satisfied with the latter. Much to my embarrassment. At that moment I wished for nothing more than the ground to open up and devour me. I would even prefer the zombie apocalypse. I would even voluntarily throw myself into Zombietrumps arms and present myself as a willing victim to get out of this embarrassment. A little confused, I blinked at him, while Jungkook moved from one leg to the other. >>Do you still have any in stock or not? << he asked with a little more emphasis and nodded his head towards the fridges. >>What do we still have in stock? << I asked more confused than before and looked at him like a deer in the headlight. >>Banana milk! << he almost yelled now, leaning over the counter even further, if at all possible. In the meantime he had placed his hands on the counter top to support himself a little further while his face was hovering a few centimeters in front of mine, his eyes looking at me insistently.>>Please Y/n...<< his voice was now nothing more than a pleading whisper. With big eyes he looked at me. Under normal circumstances, I would now ask the customer to keep a little more distance, but under my neighbour’s intense stare I couldn’t get a single useful word out. For a few seconds we just stared at each other, while I, for my part, tried to reconnect my tongue to my brain, and him obviously waiting for an answer. Just as I was about to open my mouth again to tell him that if there wasn’t any left the fridge I would have to look in the stockroom, since my brain was thank god already that far, the bell above the shop door distracted me again. Jungkook didn’t move an inch when I tried to look past his extremely muscular, broad form. >>Y/n? << a voice I knew all too well called out. >>Are you there? << I looked back at the black haired one in front of me, who still stared me down with an unaltered forceful gaze. Steps echoed through the store and approached the counter. >>Jimin? << I asked mentally thanking my brain for re- establishing the connection to my vocal chords in time. I was given a relieved breath as an answer. When he finally appeared in my field of vision he stopped abruptly. >>Do you know him Y/n? Is he bothering you? << my fellow student asked anxiously and came a little closer. Typically Jimin.

I had met him during one of my lectures. At that time we had sat next to each other for almost half a year, but none of us had made any attempts to start a conversation. Until the day I had fallen asleep on the table completely knocked out. The two nights before that had been spent with studying only so I had been running exclusively on coffee. Apparently I had complained in my sleep about the curriculum. Jimin, the angel he was, had fortunately woken me up before more people around us could hear my ramblings.

How it became us suddenly going out for a coffee every day after university and then spending the afternoons or evenings together, I hadn't quite figured out yet. Regardless, because I liked him I didn’t worry too much about the how. At some point he had started to visit me at night on my shifts, after he had found out about my job. Most of the times he payed me a visit we used the time to learn together or just to talk a little.

I just pieced together an answer as Jungkook cut me off this time. He whirled around and looked at the blonde. >>No Hyung! Nothing is ok! I have a serious problem! For days I haven't been doing anything else than learning and now the worst of all emergencies has happened: << he took a short break and inhaled deeply. >>I don’t have Banana milk anymore! How am I supposed to study now? << Now I was completely confused >>Wait...you know each other? << I asked no one in particular. Jimin nodded before he looked at Jungkook urgently. >>When was the last time you slept? << he asked, honest worry etched into his features. Jungkook looked at him as if the older one had just suggested a Threesome on the counter. I wouldn’t say no to that, since both men looked extremely good even though it would take a little bit of convincing. >>Is it important when I slept the last time? << he avoided the question. >>I currently have a much bigger problem. I. Don’t. Have. Any. Banana. Milk. Left. << he said and spoke each word accentuated slowly.

Jungkook turned back to me. By now he was looking like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. Jimin’s face, on the other hand, showed a mixture of deep concern and pure amusement. At least he looked exactly like I felt inside. >>I’d have to go to the storeroom to see if we still have any left. << I finally said what I had been trying to say for a good few minutes now. >>Were there no more on the back shelf? << I asked the standard question. Although I was very aware of the fact that he probably wouldn’t be standing here in front of me, begging to get the milk if it was still on the shelf, it was just a habitual question. Now Jungkook looked at me as if I had just told him that I liked Jimin’s unspoken orgy idea.

Looking for help he turned to Jimin who was too busy trying not to laugh. >>Don’t you think I would have disappeared into my study hell long ago if I had found some in that damn refrigerated shelf? << he groaned quite desperately. I bit my lower lip to stifle a smile and shook my head. >>Y/n...please...it’s really important. Otherwise I can’t continue studying and if I don’t study then I fail and if I fail my parents are incredibly disappointed in me because they would have expected something better and if my parents are disappointed in me I don’t know what to do anymore and... << His flood of words was interrupted by Jimin looking at him with his eyebrow raised. >>Now take it down a notch, Kook. You act as if the whole world is going down because of your banana milk. << He only got a sulking Jungkook as an answer. I just nodded silently and quickly disappeared to the back of the store.

In the storeroom I shook my head laughing. He probably just exaggerated the situation. It was a bit amusing what some finals could make out of us poor students.

I quickly managed to find what I was looking for, finishing the trip to the storage room. With the desired milk on my arm I went back to the sales room. Jungkook was running restlessly up and down in the counter area, while Jimin sat relaxed on the counter top typing on his mobile phone. I decided to let my stressed neighbour fidget a little longer and hid behind one of the shelves. A few seconds passed in which Jungkook continued to run up and down until Jimin was fed up with it. >>You look like you’re about to have a complete breakdown and your last resort is this stupid banana milk. << he deadpanned and looked at the black-haired guy over his phone. Jungkook glared at the blonde. >>That’s easy for you to say. I know you’ve already finished your finals. But maybe I should ask Y/n what you look like when you’re close to  them. << he snapped at the older one and I bit my lower lip to avoid giggling. Jungkook wasn't completely wrong. Jimin could look a lot worse when we were close to the finals. To be honest, I’ve never seen a person who could be so stressed over a test like Jimin was. Well, except Jungkook. >>Where do you know each other from? << Jungkook asked changing the subject. He dropped himself cross-legged to the ground. Apparently he had given up trying to demolish the floor. Jimin shrugged. >>She sits next to me in my main lectures. At some point she fell asleep on the table and complained very energetically about the subject matter. I finally woke her up before the whole course heard her tirade of abuse. << Jungkook chuckled quietly. >>And you? << Jimin asked him the counter question. Jungkook leaned back, supporting his weight on his hands. I was able to see his biceps flexing under the short sleeves of his shirt. >>She is my neighbour. << he answered briefly. The only thing that made it clear that the young man was still under tension was his restlessly wobbly leg and his eyes that were continuously darting in the direction I had disappeared before. >>How long does it take her to find this damn milk? << he grumbled, now and stretched out a little hoping to get a better look through the open storage room door. Again Jimin shrugged. >>When was the last time you had sex? << The blonde suddenly asked bluntly. Jungkook looked at him completely stunned and also caught me off guard with the question. Jimin meant his question completely seriously, since no mockery could be found in his voice. Almost synchronously both Jungkook and I raised an eyebrow. >>Honestly, sex is my least concern at the moment. If you haven’t noticed yet, I’ll write my finals next week, haven’t slept for 3 days and live on banana milk and coffee. << Now Jimin also raised an eyebrow. >>As long as you don’t pour the milk into the coffee. << My neighbour remained suspiciously silent for a few seconds. >>Why do you even ask that so bluntly? << he asked after a few seconds and looked critically at Jimin, who only gave a slight chuckle. >>Forgot that I'm a med student? Sex helps to reduce stress and helps to relax. You need both badly. You could also masturbate, because what counts in the end is the orgasm. << The blonde took a dramatic break. Jungkook looked at him a little disparagingly. I, on the other hand, couldn’t resist a grin. It was so incredibly typical for Jimin to come up with ideas like that, even if he was not wrong this time. The endorphins the body released during orgasm really helped with stress relief and relaxation. Jimin continued carefree despite my neighbour being visibly unhappy about the topic. >>But it’s more fun with two people. << he finished and wiggled his eyebrows, a shit-eating grin on his face. My neighbour snorted unamused before reaching into the shelf behind him and threw the first thing he could reach for at Jimin, in this case a chewing gum container. The blonde man caught it with playful ease.

>>I would prefer it if the goods would not get wings. << I finally revealed myself, while it cost me some serious self-control not to laugh out loud. The incredibly annoyed expression on my neighbour’s face turned into a wide beam when he saw the boxes in my arms. >>Before anything breaks here. << I finished my statement and put the boxes on the counter next to Jimin. >>Is that enough? << I turned back to Jungkook who jumped up nodding gleefully. >>You are the best Y/n! << he exclaimed cheerfully and embraced me impetuously. Since I hadn’t expected it, I stiffened reflexively briefly, which he didn’t seem to notice in his euphoria. I couldn’t resist a smile as I wrapped my arms around his narrow waist to return the hug. However, he seemed to see it as a kind of invitation to wrap his arms a little tighter around my form, which only elicited a suffocated sound from me. Classic case of underestimating one’s own strength. A squeak escaped my throat as he suddenly lifted me up just to hug me tighter. A quiet giggle echoed from the counter, which could also have come from me, if my neighbour wasn’t busy squeezing any air left out of my lungs. I had never experienced so much enthusiasm about a few bottles of banana milk.

Instead of just putting me back on the ground, he still kept me firmly pressed against his body. Meanwhile I had put my hands on his upper arms to stabilize myself a little. I could feel his muscles tense under the fabric of his T-shirt. It had not remained hidden to me that the young man was 80% pure muscle, since I had met him too often in the morning, when he was on his way to the gym and I was on the way to my flat. Besides, I really wasn’t blind. Although, feeling the muscles under my fingers was certainly not an unwelcomed experience. >>Thank you! Thank you Y/n. You're saving my finals. << he said. If we were now in one of these cheesy romances he would kiss me now. Also something I wouldn’t complain about. But we weren’t. I became painfully aware of this when he put me back on the floor and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. A little disappointed inside, I went back behind the counter and pushed Jimin, who sulked at me, down without further ado. >>This isn’t a seat you dingus. << I said drily and let the black haired man pay for his banana milk.

Suddenly a strange silence laid over us. We looked at each other a little awkwardly while Jungkook grabbed his boxes. >>I’ll go then...<< he mumbled into the silence and nodded giving us a friendly smile before he left. >>Don’t forget what I told you earlier. << Jimin called after him causing the younger one to turn around. The blonde pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek and made the corresponding hand movement. Jungkook shook his head snorting before he disappeared through the door with a loving >>Fuck you Park! << . Bewildered I looked at my friend and hit him on the arm. >>Not everyone is such a fucking nymphomaniac like you! << I exclaimed outraged and made Jimin burst out laughing. Rolling his eyes, I brought the chewing gum container back to its place, while in the meantime, still giggling quietly, he was roaming through the shop and grabbing some snacks from the shelves. >>I just desperately hope he doesn’t really pour the milk into his coffee. << he said when he came back to me. I shrugged and scanned the things he had put on the counter. >>I don’t think we’ll ever know. << Jimin laughed quietly as I pushed the card reader over to him. >>But during the finals your brain is totally strained, so I wouldn’t be surprised. I don’t have to remind you what you do when you’re stressed, do I? << I teased him a little. The blonde just grumbled as he took the bags. >>See you tomorrow? << he asked before turning to leave. I nodded approvingly. He said goodbye and with that I was alone again. Grinning I looked at the clock. Shortly before 4. I sighed quietly and let myself fall again on my stool behind the heated counter. At least I could still use the last hours for studying.