#and steven did not disappoint why is he so . gestures

[lady-lostmind]

Jeffrey & Marie

for Stobin Month prompt: Middle names

Thank you @oh-stars for betaing this!

WC: 1117 | Rating: T

ao3 link

Robin flops into the passenger seat, slamming her door in a huff. “Steven Jeffrey Harrington. I told you to be here at seven. It is seven twenty-two!” 

Steve scrunches his nose in disgust. “My middle name is not Jeffrey.”

Robin shrugs. “I was going for disappointed mom, but I don’t know your middle name so I guessed.”

Steve looks over at her, completely offended. “And you went with Jeffrey? Do I look like a Jeffrey to you? Do I give off Jeffrey vibes?” 

Robin rolls her eyes. “Like you’d do any better for me. What do you think my middle name is, Steven?” 

Steve’s brows cinch together for a minute and then he snaps his fingers, and points at her. “Marie.” 

Robin makes a bleching noise like she’s throwing up. “What am I, a ninety year old grandma?” 

Steve throws his hands up. “You put me on the spot!”

Robin scoffs. “You took like two minutes to think about it! And the best you could come up with is MARIE?” 

“MARIE IS A NICE NAME! WHAT’S WRONG WITH MARIE?”

Robin side eyes him. “Wait a minute. That girl you took out last week! HER NAME WAS MARIE WASN’T IT?”

Steve’s face slackens before scrunching in confusion. “No–no. It was…Oh fuck.”

Robin smacks his arm. “You named me after a girl you can’t even remember!”

Steve shakes his head. “Hey– I remember her. I just…forgot her name. Momentarily. We went on one date, Robin.” 

Robin crosses her arms. “I am thoroughly offended, Steven Ray Harrington.”

Steve looks at her with his mouth dropped open. “RAY?” 

“It’s better than Marie.” Robin mumbles under her breath. 

–

Steve leans against the counter at work flipping through a magazine, waiting for Robin to clock out since he’s technically been off the clock for the last two hours. 

Robin groans, fighting to pull the ancient vacuum cleaner out from the supply closet. “STEVEN JAMES HARRINGTON! COME HELP ME!” 

Steve shakes his head and flips to the next page. “I am not currently an employee of Family Video. I am just the friend of an employee of Family Video.”

Robin huffs, swearing under her breath when a loud crash rings out from her direction. Steve drops his magazine and rushes over to the corner of the store where half the contents of the supply closet are now scattered on the floor of the store, Robin sitting in the middle of them and looking up at him.

“This is your fault.” She gestures at the mess around her. 

Steve scoffs. “How is this my fault? I wasn’t even over here!” 

“Exactly! If you would have just helped me in my moment of need th–”

“I’m off the clock! You want me to just work for free?” 

Robin shrugs. “I’m just saying. If you helped with the closing duties we could be out of here by now.”

Steve puts his hands on his hips. “I will not take the blame for this, Robin Ann. This is not my doing.” 

Robin holds her hand out so he can help her up, crossing her arms over her chest as soon as she gets to her feet. “So you’re not going to help me with this, then?”

Steve rolls his eyes and huffs. “Damnit.” He stoops down and untangles the vacuum from the pile of crap on the floor. “You put all this shit back. I’ll vacuum.” 

–

“ROBIN ROSE BUCKLEY! YOU OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW.” Steve pounds on the bathroom door, holding the scraps of his Hawkin’s high swim team shirt in his hand. 

“NO!” Robin squawks from the other side of the door.

Steve rests his forehead against the door, grumbling under his breath. “This is ridiculous! Why did you even do this! It’s like having a toddler! Do I have to take away your scissors?”

Robin chuckles from behind the door. “Just put it on, Steve.”

Steve holds the shirt up in front of him. It’s not even half as long as it used to be. “I might as well walk around with no shirt if I’m going to wear this.”

Steve can practically hear her roll her eyes. “Steven Cornelius Harrington. Why do you never trust me?” 

Steve’s brows cinch together, his mouth popping open in disbelief. “CORNELIUS? What the fuck? That’s the worst one yet, Robs.” 

Robin laughs, clearly pleased with herself, before snapping again. “JUST PUT ON THE SHIRT, STEVEN!”

Steve groans, pulling his polo off and slipping the now very cropped shirt over his head. Steve looks down to where his entire belly is on display and rolls his eyes. “I look ridiculous, Robs.” 

Robin opens the door and squeals, a huge grin pulling across her face. “You look great!” She goes to pull him in front of the mirror when they hear the front door open. 

Steve tries to push her out of the way so he can hide in the bathroom, but Robin snatches his polo out of his hands and  blocks his way, laughing maniacally as she shuts the door in his face and locks it again. 

“Hey guys are you–”

Steve turns, his face flushing bright red and he wiggles his fingers in an awkward wave at Eddie who is standing at the end of the hall with wide eyes and his mouth dropped open. 

Steve clears his throat, tugging uselessly at the bottom of his shirt. “Uh– Hi. I’m just going to go uh– change.” 

Eddie swallows and nods. “Right, uh- yeah. Change. That’s– you should.” 

Steve hears Robin snort behind the bathroom door before he dashes up the stairs to find an actual shirt.

–

Robin grabs a fry off Steve’s plate and he swats at her hand. “Hey! You have your own fries, Robin Lee.” 

Robin pops the fry in her mouth, and holds her plate out of reach when Steve tries to take one of hers in retaliation. “Yours are better!” 

Steve rolls his eyes. “They’re the same. And if mine are better then it shouldn’t matter if I take one of yours!”

Robin snaps at his fingers as he tries to reach around her, completely ignoring his own plate. Robin’s eyes shift down to the table and she starts chuckling. Steve looks over at his plate, gasping when he sees that all his fries are gone. 

He lets go of Robin and crosses his arms, glaring across the table at Eddie who looks back at him with an innocent smile. “Edward Dean Munson. Did you really eat all my fries?” 

Eddie’s face scrunches together. “Dean? My middle name isn’t Dean.” 

Robin snorts and cracks up, swatting Steve’s arm as he tries to stifle his own laughter. Eddie just stares at them like they’re insane.

Stobin month prompt list by @lavenderstobins

[romanarose]

Under Pressure

Marc Spector X GN!Reader (no mentions of gentiles or pronouns but this is slightly based on gender roles but not strictly that.)

Based off a request by @howaboutcastiel

A/N: Listen. I answered this here instead the ask bc I want to answer the specific ask with the smut specific part. I'll be honest, this fic kinda got away from me. Please read the tags I don't want to trigger anyone.

WARNINGS!!!!: Insecurity, mentions of fat shaming, mentions of abusing relationship, mentions of manipulation in sex, I would call this mentions of sexual assault, but I don't go into details but remember, if they have to manipulate or coerce you into sex, it isn't consent. No smut actually happening but there's leading up to sex, sexual touching, nakedness.

*************

You were frantically trying to cook and clean at the same time, you wanted everything perfect for when Marc came home, but before you knew it, the familiar sound of his key in the door stirred you from your worry.

Oh fuck, he was early. You rush over to the door to greet him, stopping at the mirror to check your hair. Growing up, your mom was a housewife and although that made her happy and you were sure it made plenty of people happy, you had always hated the idea. You found your calling in a career you loved, but somehow found yourself still trying to play career professional at work and perfect partner at home, trying to handle everything. It wasn’t that Marc, Jake, and Steven didn’t do housework; that was part of the problem. They were always trying to do the dishes, cook for you, clean the apartment. Every time you saw him take out the trash, a pang of guilt shot through you, kicking yourself for not getting too it first. So you had taken to spending the approximately hour and a half between when you got home and when he got home to try and clean the entire apartment and cook dinner.

“Hi honey!” You greeted him at the door with a kiss.

“Hello baby” From behind his back, he pulled out flowers. “For you.”

For a moment, you were simply focused on the sweet gesture. “Oh Marc, thank you!” But then that familiar feeling sank in. He was perfect. He did everything for you. And what did you do for him? What did you offer him? Why was he with you?

“Anything for you.” Marc planted a kiss on your forehead. “You got dinner started already?”

You nodded, smiling at him, eyes hopeful for his approval.

Marc, as always, gave it readily. “Thank you baby, it smells fantastic. I’m so lucky to have you.” He tilted your head down to kiss the top. “Give me 10 minutes, I’ll shower and then take care of the dishes before we eat, okay?”

You nodded, watching him walk off, taking a peak at his ass. Quickly, you stirred the risoto, then went to do the dishes.

True to his word, Marc emerged 10 minutes later in a tee shirt and sweats, wrapping his arms around your waist. “Whatcha mak-” He stopped when he saw the sink clear of dishes. “Honey, I said I would do those” The sound of disappointment in his voice broke you. 

“I’m sorry” You turn around to face him.

He saw your distressed face and changed his tune. “Don’t be sorry baby, I just want to help, but thank you for taking care of me.” He smiled when he saw your face light up again. Something was going on. You had been running yourself ragged for weeks, hardly allowing him to do so much as vacuum. Marc knew you struggled with insecurity and anxiety, wanting so bad to be perfect at everything. “Honey, you know we both work, right? We can share the house work, it doesn’t all have to be you.”

You look away from him, cutting up more onions to throw in the food. “I like doing it Marc!” You lied. You hated doing many chores. Laundry was a personal enemy of yours, but for them? For your boys? You’d do anything. 

Marc eyed you, not believing you, but he dropped it.

Dinner was amazing, Marc showering you with compliments “God baby, this is fantastic” and “Mmmm. MMMMM, amazing” Marc was trying to reassure you, to build you up, but his compliments only served to solidify your resolve. You thrived on praise, specifically their praise and they knew this. They always showered you in compliments when you cooked for them, made them something, or they were buried between your legs.

As you stood up to get the dishes, Marc beat you to it, grabbing all the dishes. “Aht, nice try baby.”

“Marc! Let me do it!” You tried to take the dishes from him. 

He held the dishes above his head, but you were taller than him and could reach. “What is going on with you?” He said, perhaps with a slight edge he didn’t intend.

You drop your hands, pouting, fighting tears.

His heart dropped at the sight, setting the dishes on the counter and taking you in his arms he tried to coax out what was wrong. “Baby, is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine.” You lied. His arms usually comforted you, but today you didn’t feel worthy of his comfort. “I just want to take care of you.”

Marc insisted that you do take care of him, and insisted on doing the dishes.

Later that night, as you lay in bed, his hands roamed your body, attempting to show you how much he appreciated you. You were simply not in the mood. The stress of the day, hell, the last few weeks had left you tired, anxious, and unable to focus on the feeling of his hands appreciating your body the way you usually do. You were unable to lose yourself in him. Marc began to move down your body, intending on going down on you until you understood that there was nothing Marc wanted more than to spend his life buried inside you. You stop him.

His eyes immediately flicked up to you. “What’s wrong?”

You shake your head. “Nothing.” You lied. You kiss him deeply, attempting to make everything seem normal, attempting to show him you desired him. “Just want you in me, please?” You cant your hips up at him, feeling his painful hard length in his sweats. You give him your best pleading look.

Again, Marc scanned your features for signs of distress. But you were a good liar.

He nodded, kissing you tenderly. “Okay baby, whatever you want.” He continued touching you in the ways he knew you liked before rubbing you over your pants, still taking his time to work you up. Slowly, he undressed the two of you, muttering praises at your body you couldn’t help but feel were lies. Marc knelt between your legs, hands rubbing up and down your torso. As much as you were not in the mood, you couldn’t deny how insanely gorgeous Marc looked in the dim light of the beside lamp, firm muscles prominent in the shadow of the light.

Marc’s eyes were all over you, and despite the adoration, you couldn’t help but shy back at his gaze, wishing somehow your body looked different. Looked better. Compared to the sex god knelt before you, you felt so much lesser than he deserved. You’d do anything to keep him. He was perfect, he was everything, he was your world. You wouldn’t lose him simply because you couldn’t manage to do dishes or didn’t want to have sex sometimes. Not again.

“Fuck baby, you look amazing” Marc muttered, lust-addled brain barely able to make a sentence. But when his hand slipped between your legs, he snapped back to reality. “Honey…” Something was wrong. Very wrong. You were not turned on, at all.

Dread flowed through you, manifesting in a red flush on your face. “No! No Marc, I do!” You drew him towards you, feeling his weight on you as he gently touched your face.

“Baby, it’s fine, we don’t have to if you don’t want to, you know that don’t you?” Marc couldn’t help feel slightly wounded. He thought you knew this, he thought you knew he would never force you or pressure you. But he had a feeling this wasn't about him. Someone did this to you.

You tried to get him worked up enough to move on. “Marc, I want to! Please?”

Marc shook his head, kissing your forehead. “No, you don’t want to have have sex, I can tell.”

You flop your head back. “Fine, I’m not exactly in the mood, but you are” You referenced his aching erection.  “You clearly do, so just do it and take care of yourself, it’s fine.”

Marc’s face looked painfully strangled. He pulled away, putting his sweat pants back on and covering you. “Honey… I don’t want to have sex with someone who doesn’t want it, you know that.”

You turn away from him, clutching the blanket to your chest. “You have needs.” You mutter.

“My needs aren’t more important than your consent.” Marc took your hand. “Can you please talk to me? You’ve been acting strange lately, we’re worried about you.” When you didn’t answer or look at him, he continued. “You know you don’t have to do everything right? You don’t have to earn our love.” He kissed your forehead, his free hand turning you face to him with a touch so gentle you almost cried. “Did someone make you feel like you had to do this? Did someone make you feel like you couldn’t say no?”

When your eyes finally met his, his brown eyes and soft smile made you feel so safe, you could open up to him. “My previous boyfriend. He said I didn’t do enough around the house, that I was lazy, that I was fat, I didn’t deserve him.” Despite the anger Marc felt, he let you continue. “It wasn’t that I felt I couldn’t say no, but… he’d say I was holding out on him, so I’d just let him get off. When he broke up with me he said it was because I wouldn’t put out enough.” You only realized you were crying when Marc whipped a tear from your eyes. “I don’t want to lose you guys like that.” You broke down in tears, all the frustration and exhaustion for the few months coming out.

Marc took you in his arms, trying to keep his shaking rage at bay. He was going to kick his ass. He was going to find out who did that to you and make sure they never dared do that to anyone ever again. But that was for another day. Tonight, he was with you. When you calmed down as he stroked your hair, he spoke. “I'm so sorry that happened to you, but I promise we are not like that. There is nothing you have to do to keep us, no food, or cleaning, or money, or sex. And you never, ever have to have sex if a single part of you doesn’t want it. We don’t want to have sex like that, that’s not who we are.”

Your voice was so small in his chest, he almost didn’t hear you. “I don’t want to disappoint you. You’re so good to me, I want to be good for you.”

“Sweetheart.” He kissed your forehead tenderly. “The best thing you can do for us is to be honest. When you tell us you don’t want to have sex wouldn’t disappoint us, quite the oppisset. We’re honored that you trust us enough to be honest, and we’re proud of you when you tell us what you like and don’t like. And as for the housework, we want to take care of you. It makes us happy to do our share. We love you, so much, nothing can change that.”

“I love you too baby. I’m sorry.”

Marc squeezed you in a tight hug. “You don’t have to apologize. Can we talk to Jake and Steven about what you told me tomorrow? I think they should know, but we can wait if you’re not ready.”

You nod. “Yeah, I think that would be good. Jake can’t kill him though.”

Marc laughed, and you joined him. “No guarantees, sweetie.”

**********

Hope y'all liked it and it wasn't too dark.

Reblogs help a lot, and comments mean the world!

[dingertdongert]

Chapter 9

Content warning: One mention of sex, that's it.

The first thing you saw as soon as the gift shop area came into view after walking through the large, open doors of the museum, was Steven leaning over the desk, expectingly holding his hand out.

Rolling your eyes, you reached inside your bag and pulled out the Tupperware. You ignored his open hand and walked behind the desk, placing it next to him instead causing him to respond with a playful frown.

'I've been looking forward to these all weekend' he said giddily, already popping the tub open. 'Do you not want to at least savour them?'

'Well, I forgot to have breakfast' he mumbled, food already in his mouth when you were mid question.

'I'm going to choose to ignore that, though I'm not pleased' you said sternly, pointing a finger at him, 'a more important question is how are you so early?'

'Well I was just so excited obviously' he said with a beaming smile, clearly trying to make you forget about his self neglect. It very nearly worked as well, until you remembered Steven always made his lunch in the morning.

'Did you even pack a lunch for today?' he paused mid chew, eyes widening. 'Oh bugger, I completely forgot about that'

You laughed 'God how do you continue to survive?' Steven nodded in agreement and replied 'I think I'm a scientific marvel to be honest with you'.

'Clinical trials and studies do pay a fair bit, just saying' you teased. There was truth to the matter though, from you've been told by him, he doesn't sleep, and he barely eats. How he has the energy to be standing is an amazing feat, let alone work a 9-5, travel everyday, and stay up afterwards. You worry about him each time it's brought up, but if Steven is content joking about it, then why ruin it for him by being serious.

'Did you remember your lunch for today, huh?' He interrupted your train-of-thought by playing you at your own game, staring at you demandingly for an answer. Now it was your turn for your eyes to open in horror, realising that you failed to pick up the second container of food in your fridge, which was next to the one that was now sat on the desk. Your lack of satisfaction instigated rage has now left you without food for the day. Your shoulders dropped and you let out a heavy sigh.

'Ha, gotcha' he quipped, with almost too much glee for your liking, and you responded with a firm scowl. 'Something's up with you today, I could tell as soon as you walked through those doors' he said, squinting at you with suspicion.

'And?' you replied cattily. 'Aaand' he answered, gesturing at you with both hands, a dough-ball pinched between two fingers, trying to summon an answer from you. You folded your arms and lifted an eyebrow at him in response. He rolled his eyes 'And, I'm waiting for you to tell me what's got your knickers in a twist'

You scoffed. The nerve of him, to even dare mention knickers. It's almost like he knew, the crafty bastard. 'Come on, tell me what's wrong, please? You're getting me worried now' he probed, looking at you with those big, dark eyes.

'I'm fine Steven, really'

'Really?'

'Yes, just a little... frustrated. The morning didn't start the way I wanted it to'. He nodded in understanding, though his mornings not going to plan probably took on a different meaning to what had actually happened in your scenario.

'I know what to do to cheer you up'

'Oh yeah?' you said, beginning to smile.

'Yeah, there's a mexican place, about a 10 minute walk from here. Honestly mate, their burritos are banging, I swear to you. Let me surprise you with the filling, okay?'

'Okay' you nodded, trying not to show a look of solemn disappointment on your face. It was ringing through your head.

Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.

At least he was making it clear from the get go, you didn't have to embarrass yourself by asking him any questions about Saturday. Did you have fun? How are your books? Do you like me? Was it a date? Would you consider having sex with me?

He'd made it all so much easier now, clearly he didn't feel any particular way at all. About that day or you.

Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.

Steven continued to ramble on about this restaurant to you. In all honesty you couldn't hear what he was talking about. All sounds around you had become dull and quiet as your mind carried on ringing that one word out over and over again, like a bell.

Mate. Mate. Mate. Mate.

'Hey, Y/N!'

'Huh?' you shook your head, trying to clear your mind of the sudden fuzz. 'Yeah, what's up?' you tried to give Steven a smile. It probably came off as a more pained grimace, but he seemed to fall for it.

'You don't have any allergies, right?'

[gardens-light]

Friends With Benefits

Trying to balance museum employee by day, vigilante by night, and squeezing in a social life in between hasn't been easy for Steven. Love life? That's pretty non-existent for the poor guy. Dates seem to go well, (when he hasn't forgotten, or got dates wrong) but once things gets steamy... Not so much...

Being a little hung up of being ghosted by his recent date. Steven decides to catch up with his long term friend. To see where he's going wrong and perhaps could help. Well... he got more than he bargained for...

Content- Just some cutesy fluff.

"Tell me everything!"

You placed your drink down upon the surface of the small cafe table. The loud grinding of the coffee beans, gave Steven the few moments hesitation before he spoke.

"Well... me and Amy met up for our third date, last week on Wednesday. We went to the Italian place that you suggested. The convocation was going great, there was a connection between us-"

"Was there a connection? Or was she being polite, while you bore the shit out of her with your rambles?"

"Hey!-"

"Dude! You thought that... um, what's her name?... Chrissy! Chrissy from three months ago. You thought you two had a 'connection.'"

Steven frowned, feeling offended. "Me and Amy did have a connection! We had similar interests and talked passionately about them."

You nodded in approval and gestured for him to continue, as you took a sip from your drink.

"She loved the flowers. I treated her to ice-cream. A-And..."

You were on the edge of your seat. Gazing at him with deeply invested gaze. "And!"

"And she suggested of watching a movie back at my place. So... during the short walk to mine, her hand kinda... didn't stop rubbing my ass-"

"Details man! Give me details! Did she squeeze you? Was it a playful spank?- Most importantly, did you want it?"

You couldn't help but smile, as Steven's face turned red as a beetroot.

"U-Um... yes! I liked her squeezing my ass. It was... firm but not a hard squeeze. When we got to the door to the lobby of my building... sh-she kissed me-which felt so good! But..."

"But what?"

"I panicked when she touched my crotch. So I gave her a quick peck... and said 'goodnight' closing the door behind me." Steven placed his face into his hands.

While you sat back in your chair, feeling defeated and disappointed for his date. "What? Steven!-"

"I-I know! I was such a fool! But she was so beautiful! And smart! And fun! I-I just... couldn't help but freeze and panic."

More like you wouldn't let me help. Marc hissed in Steven's head.

Steven frowned and muttered to himself, "what 'help' could you provide?"

Idiot! I was married! What did you think we did during that whole time? Play Monopoly?...

You took another sip from your drink, before placing it back on the table. "Oh gees man. No wonder why she ghosted you. Wait! Is that the recurring problem during your dates?."

Steven's silence and awkward smile explained everything. You leaned over the table, trying to get a little closer to him. Speaking loud enough just for both of you to hear. "Can you... y'know?"

Steven's cheeks turned even more red, "what? O-Of course I can!"

"Then what's the problem?"

A heavy sigh left him, as he leaned back in his chair. No longer smiling awkwardly, just playing with his fingers. "I... get nervous..."

More like you won't let me take over!.

"I feel like that if... I do have intimacy with someone..."

They'll enjoy it?

"That I could be too rough. And hurt them."

A sweet smile spread across your lips. "Aww, Steven. You're a complete softy. You couldn't hurt anyone, even if you wanted to."

Steven's worried gaze looked up at you. If only you knew otherwise... his sad thought wondered.

Seeing him stare off into space a little. You cleared your throat, snapping Steven back into focus, before he could get lost in his own thoughts.

"How about I help you out?"

Steven pulled a puzzled expression. "H-Help?... How?"

"Simple. We go on a pretend date and you fuck me." You boldly spoke.

His jaw met the floor. Blinking in multiple times in confusion. He even shook his head a little, to make sure he didn't daydreamed. "Wh-What? But you're my friend!"

You simply shrugged your shoulders, "yes and?..." A little sigh left you. "Steven... I can see you get a little more and more insecure, every time a chick ghosts you. You're a sweet guy, and my best friend. I don't want to keep seeing you getting hurt."

"Y/N! Really! W-We don't have to!-"

"Steven. Seriously, I don't mind it. I'm simply just being a good friend and helping you solve your problem. Unless... you don't want too."

He could feel his cheeks feel a little warm. "Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I-It's just... you're my best friend, Y/N. What if it gets a little weird between us afterwards?... or... we ugh... become no longer friends?..."

A soft chuckle left your throat, as a sweet smile spread across your lips. "There's nothing to worry about. Your performance in bed can't be that bad. How about we meet up back here tonight?"

"T-Tonight?"

"Yeah. Y'know the pretend date, I just mentioned? We'll act like we've never met- kinda like we met on Tinder or something. Does six o'clock sound good for you?"

"Y-Yes! I'll be my normal self. Normal 'date Steven'. Not the 'best-friend-I've-almost-known-my-whole-life' Steven..."

Six O'clock. Jamie's Italian.

"Act like we never met. Act like we never met." Steven repeated constantly as he rocked on his heels. Holding a bouquet of your favourite flowers, while fumbling with his tie in another.

You gotta let me out tonight.

Steven turned to his right, facing his reflection in the window. Marc stood with his arms crossed in the glass.

"No. This isn't a normal date-"

Aren't you supposed to pretend it is? Besides what's the worst that could happen?-

"That I could lose my best friend forever because of your screw up. Like you've screwed up everything else in my life.-"

Or we could have such a great time. That the soulmate we've been looking for, as been in front of us the whole time.

"That would never happen- oh sweet Jesus."

The sight of you came into his view. Steven's jaw hung open a little as he gazed at your appearance in awe. A cute red cocktail dress, outlined every curve of your silhouette. The sweetheart neckline showed off your cleavage nicely. You felt Steven's eyes wonder up and down your frame, as you sweetly smiled.

"Steven, right? Thanks for waiting. Sorry I'm late." You spoke in a warm tone.

It took him a good solid minute to find his voice again, and hand you the bouquet. "Th-These are for you!" was all that could stumble out of his mouth.

"Thank you. You remembered." You tried to hide your smile behind the bouquet, as you personally found Steven's awkwardness amusing.

He continued to rock on his heels. Only stopping and becoming as stiff as a board, when you reached out for his hand and held it in a gentle hold.

"What's wrong? A little shy?-"

"You're so fucking hot."

A confused expression wiped away your teasing smile, taken completely by surprise of Steven's sudden boldness. He immediately slapped a hand over his mouth, feeling embarrassed and ashamed by Marc's sudden outburst of words.

Don't screw this up! I beg of you! Steven pleaded Marc. As he adjusted his tie and cleared his throat.

"Oh dear! Oh my! I-I don't know what came over me. I completely apologize! I-I mean... you look so beautiful..."

"Thank you?..."

It took you a moment to shake off the awkward and sudden complement from Steven. Before you allowed him to lead you into the restaurant. The waiter lead you to the table, the waiter pulled out your chair before the thought hit Steven. Tucking yourself in and with Steven following, the pair at you gazed over the menu in silence. Only talking when announcing your order and giving each other small smiles.

More moments of small talk and brief awkwardness passed, before things got better and an actual convocation was flowing between the pair of you. Topics varying from interests, work and career goals. To personal and lifestyle goals.

"I honestly didn't think I would find myself at the gift shop at a museum." Steven admitted. "I've always wanted to be a tour guide. Or work on the artifacts and display them."

"Really? I thought you just took the position cause you wanted a job." You spoke in interest. "I honestly thought your interest in Egyptian history was more of a hobby."

"Well... who else learns to read hieroglyphics?"

You raised an eyebrow, "you can read hieroglyphics?"

"Ye-Yes, is that-"

"Fascinating? Yes! I never knew that! Why didn't you ever tell me about this hidden talent?"

Steven felt himself a blush a little, "I-I thought it would bore you. Cause y'know... you sometimes say 'not to mention nerdy stuff.'"

"Yea. 'Nerdy stuff' like rambling on about forgotten Gods and how the mummies were made. But being able to read hieroglyphics? That's awesome! You, sir! Are way to qualified to work at that gift shop."

A sweet smile came to his face, "r-really? I've tried to tell that to my boss Sarah. But she keeps dismissing me. My application aren't even taken seriously whenever a new position comes up. And it frustrates me, when they hire someone new, who clearly Googled stuff on their phone before the interview.-"

"And bullshit on their resume? Babe, I've got someone exactly like that at my job. So I can completely understand where you're coming from."

Babe?... S-She called me 'babe.'

Your meals shortly arrived at your table. But you kept asking about other interests or hobbies that Steven may had, that you didn't know about.

Steven felt good- great in fact. The way everything flowed so effortlessly between the pair of you. Similar interests and goals surfacing through convocation, that you both honestly didn't know about one another. His warm and geeky smile fluttered your heart, every time you looked at him.

This... is actually more fun than I admit. An honest thought swam through your head. Maybe... we should do this again sometime...

After finishing your meal, and splitting the bill. You and Steven left the restaurant, sharing moments of laughter as you sub-constantly begun to walk back to his place. It wasn't unusual for you guys to head back to his place after meeting up, but reality dawned on Steven as he approached the lobby door.

"We're...here. At my place..."

You hugged him from behind. "Yeah. Guess we got carried away talking. Let's go inside, maybe you could warm me up."

You felt his body stiffen, as Steven's mind lingered on your last three words. Placing a hand upon his cheek you made him face you. "Steven... we don't have you to, if you don't want to."

"Trust me Y/N. I-I want to... Tonight has been so great. And I've been nothing but comfortable with you this whole time. It's just... I'm worried that I might ruin things."

You gazed into his puppy-dog eyes, "how could you ruin things?."

"I-I don't know... Just... worried. That's all..."

Pulling him closer to you. Steven held his breath as he felt your breasts push up against his chest, your free hand playing with his tie as you leaned in close. His lips quivered as both of your eyes closed, and fell into a sweet, soft kiss. You could feel his nerves through his body language. Each kiss returned was paused by a slight hesitation. His hands fixed on your hips, afraid to move anywhere else. While you played with his curly locks and tie.

As you pulled away, your hands sliding down his torso and gently holding onto his belt. A sweet smile upon your lips, as Steven smiled sheepishly while blushing.

"W-Would you like to come inside?" He nervously asked.

You answered with a simple nod. Following Steven into the lobby and walking towards the lift. As you stepped inside and he pressed the button for his floor. Steven went all stiff again, as he felt you hug his arm, your breasts gently nudging his forearm with gentle bounces, as the lift jolted from floor to floor.

"Y-You have to meet my fish, Gus" his nervous tone blurted.

The awkwardness made you laugh under your breath, "really?"

"Yeah. He's a Goldish, but has one fin. I know 'Nemo' might of been better, but he's not a Clownfish. Gotta name pets appropriately."

Again you simply nodded, and continued to smile sweetly.

By the time you both reached his flat, Steven was nothing but a bundle of nerves. His eyes wandered all over your perfectly framed form, as you walked around in your little red cocktail dress. His heartbeat drumming in his rib cage, every time you bent over his desk to get a closer look at something. His cheeks redden every time you caught him staring, but flashed him a teasing smile. As you hiked up your dress a little more, or pulling the bodice down to expose more cleavage.

For the love of Ra, she's fucking gorgeous!

Steven looked at Marc in the nearby reflection of the kettle. Y/N is right there! Flirting and being playful. And what are you doing? Standing in the middle of the kitchen like a fucking idoit!.

"She's always been gorgeous. Her lovely personality, and how she laughs. All I need is her smile to make my day-"

Then what's holding you back?

"Th-There's so much emotion and thoughts going around in my head. I-I honestly don't know what to do."

You slowly turned your attention onto Steven, as he didn't realize he spoke out loud.

Listen. We have always loved and cared about her. You were too nervous to say or do anything still now. If Y/N wasn't comfortable with this idea, she wouldn't of offered. Plus she's flirting and being teasing- literally!.

"B-But how is sex supposed to improve or change things?"

"Steven?... Are you alright?"

You're overthinking! That's it! I'm taking control!

"What? No! No, you're not!"

You pulled a puzzled expression. "Steven. It's alright. Nothing will happen unless you want it to."

"Everything will be ruined-"

Shut the fuck up! You look completely ridiculous! Let me out!

A small gasp left your mouth as Steven collapsed onto his knees, his head slightly tilted back as eyes rolled into the back of his head. You quickly approached his side and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Steven! Steven, are you alright?"

His body posture straightened as he knelt against the hard wooden floor. His eyes fluttered open and slightly shaking his head. His gaze met your worried expression.

"I'm sorry" Marc spoke, trying his best to mimic Steven's voice. "I guess the alcohol went straight to my head.-"

"We don't have to do anything. I'll go home, there's nothing wrong in that-"

"Trust me. Letting you leave would be a deep regret. You're so lovely and ravishing right now, I honestly can't control myself. A... part of me, is so concerned that everything between us would be ruined. That it... 'overrides' the part of me that wants to just simply fuck you and make you mine. And I don't just mean tonight."

Again the sudden boldness' caught you off guard. You gazed at Marc, blinking in multiple times in confusion. He swivelled around on his knees to face you, making it easier for him to cup your face.

"May I kiss you?" Marc asked.

This time it was your turn to blush a little. As you nuzzled against his nose a little. "You said you wanted to make me yours right?" your sweet voice teased.

Marc gently pulled you a little closer. "If we start... I might not be able to control myself."

You sweetly bit his lower lip, "are you going to make me yours, or not Steven?"...

[stevensavage]

One Piece: Long Live The New Flesh

(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, Steve's Tumblr, and Pillowfort.  Find out more at my newsletter, and all my social media at my linktr.ee)

Unless the rock you’re hiding under doesn’t have streaming, you know that Netflix did a live-action season of the famous anime/manga One Piece.  I found this a curious choice because of the cancellation of Cowboy Bebop.  Ditching a retro space adventure for an over-the-top tale of superhuman piracy felt like choosing a pretty heavy lift.

Of course, I had to check it out, if only for morbid curiosity.  To get me invested One Piece would also be a heavy lift.

One Piece is something I tried to get into several times, across several dubs, and through an issue or two of the manga.  Despite its popularity - and my own love of fun weirdness - It never reached me, and it’s hard to say why.  One Piece should have checked several of my boxes, but apparently left its pen elsewhere.

So, I sat down, watched a few episodes - and found myself really enjoying it.  I dare say I was charmed by it, enough I was disappointed when I had to stop watching.  What was it that made me appreciate this show but not other incarnations?  Beyond, you know, having over two decades of episodes and a wallet-endangering amount of manga?

I realized it was the fact it was live-action and the actors were into it.  There were other reasons, but over and over I kept coming back to the cast.

Iñaki Godoy’s take on Luffy, the ever-cheerful elastic protagonist is charming and sincere - you aren’t sure how much he’s acting.  Emily Rudd’s Nami is relatable, the sane woman among a demented piratical sausage fest.  Jeff Ward’s theatrical pirate Buggy the Clown steals every scene, a sort of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia take on the Joker.  Everyone in the cast does great, embracing their roles with a gusto that suggests a scenery-intensive diet.

I realized that, for me, One Piece worked better live action.  No offense to the fine voice actors associated with it, nor Oda’s manic creativity.  The manga and animated One Piece didn’t connect with me on a human level.  I suspect it was a mix of the art style and over-the-topness were a barrier to me feeling connected to the work.

The live-action One Piece was different.  Gody’s little expressions and accents made Luffy a person.  Mackenyu’s Zorro, the I-hunt-pirates-but-these-are-my-friends bounty hunter projected amusingly straight-faced deadly cool mixed cold befuddlement.  Jacob Romero cries a single tear in a scene that says more than his motormouth character Usopp could say with words.  These weirdos were alive and I was enjoying it.

There is something about a good actor whose voice, expressions, gestures, and postures let them become a character.  The cast seemed to be channeling the characters, making them flesh.  For me they became people.

I’ve often wondered how different media work when translated to others, but would argue animation is perhaps the easiest medium to transfer a creation to.  Seeing One Piece I’m left wondering if that’s always the case, and find myself rethinking assumptions about what form fits what kind of works.

I’m only a few episodes in.  The show has room to disappoint me - but the cast and characters certainly didn’t.

Steven Savage

www.StevenSavage.com

www.InformoTron.com

[prittyvenus]

The Medium and the Nameless Ghouls

Case file 003-4 Terzo file the haunting

After getting the bishop’s name from Dewdrop, the cops began the investigation. Omega and Phil are both willing to help but Phil’s past life is beginning to unravel along with phantoms of the past. Can Sara help solve the crisis that’s plaguing him?

Sara heard a loud shriek that woke her up in the middle of the night. Then she saw the phantom ghost of Primo sitting on a chair next to her bed. She was afraid at first but then she calmed down when she realized who it was. "Grandpa?" She says as she gets closer to the phantom. Then he gave a warm smile to her as she traced his face with her hands.

Footsteps came to her door and loud banging came out. "Sara wake up! We have a ghost problem!"

"Hold that thought." She told him. "I’m coming!" She yelled at the door.

When Sara opened the door, a terrified Thomas was out of breath. "Sara, a ghost has the officers held hostage."

"That's funny, I thought you guys don't want me because, and I Quote 'The Demon of the Police Force'. So, why should I even help you?"

"Look, don't start shit," Thomas yelled. "Just help us out, okay!"

"You're not my superior officer," Sara told Thomas. "So, you can't say shit, and after that fiasco at the meeting, why should I help you?"

"You fucking bitch."

"Feelings mutual, ass hole." Sara shuts the door, and a very disappointed Primo stares at Sara. "What?"

He hands gestures to Sara. "Signorina, no. You don't disrespect your colleague like that."

"I'm not disrespecting him. I'm just giving a good dose of karma." Primo folded his arms and gave a stern look on his face. "Look grampa, I know that you want what is best for me, but you're not my dad, and I'm not going to apologize."

Then Detective Stevens started to yell. "Sara, we got an aggressive spirit on our hands. Can you negotiate with it?"

Primo continues to sternly look at Sara and starts to tap his foot. "Urrr… fine, I'll do it!" Sara opens the door. "But I'm still not going to apologize." Primo smiled and followed Sara. Sara went downstairs and yelled, "Alright where is it?" She found a group of seven officers shaking in a corner and a phantom Secondo in his papa attire staring down at them. "Really? You guys are the toughest men out there, and you can’t even handle one ghost." Secondo turned around and looked at Sara. "If I talk to him, you guys better give me an apology after this." Secondo began to analyze her. "Sorry, about that, my name is Sara, and…"

Secondo grabs her chin and pulls her closer to him. He sees the pentagram in her left eye and carefully analyzes it. "Questa è una vera maledizione? Come l'hai presa?"

"Excuse me? I don’t understand…"

Secondo interrupted Sara. "The curse in your left eye, how did you get it?"

"From a high-level demon. It’s a long story."

One of the female officers shouted from the right-side banister. "There’s a headless man in the bathtub!"

Sara told Secondo. "Hold that thought." Then she marched up the stairs and asked "Where is it?" The officer pointed her at the open door of the hallway. She looked inside and saw a headless man lying in the bathtub filled with blood and water. The officers were too scared to go inside. "Really? You guys never handled a crime scene before?" The officers are shocked "I swear you’re all a bunch of rookies!" she yelled in a harsh voice. "Get me the rubber gloves so I can handle this!" Sara got the gloves and puts them on, and then she takes pictures with her phone, then she goes to the rack and grabs a small towel, and then she goes to the drain. "I don’t feel anything suspicious,” She puts the towel around the drain and slowly releases the plug. "The water should come down and then we can check for evidence." Soon she spotted some black hair floating around the water. "I think I found the head." She grabbed the head by the hair, then the body grabbed Sara by the arm then pulled her in close to the tub. Sara punched the body in the stomach and it leaned towards the head. She pulled the body back and then grabbed the head and pulled it out of the water. All of the officers screamed and ran away. "What a bunch of rookies…" She says with embarrassment "Well, at least you’re out of the water, Terzo."

Terzo opened his eyes and said, "Grazie, amore mio." Then he winked and smiled at her.

Sara took a deep breath and said "Damn, I hate my job." Then Sergeant Jackson appeared at the door. "I think we need to retrain the officers on how to handle a crime scene," she said as she put his head back into the tub. "Close your eyes and hold still." She said as she got out her phone.

"Make sure you get my good side," Terzo said to her. Sara snapped some more pictures from different angles. Then she noticed that the body was out of place, from the previous photos.

The officers peeked into the bathroom and Sergeant George looked at the door. "We are going to have a meeting about this." He said in a stern voice. "Tomorrow morning in the war room. Sara, can you send me the pictures when you are done."

"Of course, sir." She said as she rearranges Terzo's body to make it look like it was in the first set of photos. Then she reshoots the photos and she puts away her phone. "Okay, thank you for your time, Terzo." She said as she puts Terzo's head on his body.

Terzo said "Grazie" Sara helped lifted his body out of the tub and then she heard footsteps from behind her.

"Please, allow us to take care of Master Terzo," Omega said as he helps Terzo to his feet and out of the bathtub. Phil rushed in with a bathrobe and silk pajama pants and started to dress Terzo in them.

Sara went downstairs and sees Secondo and Primo arguing in Italian. "Come potevo sapere che è tua nipote!" Secondo gave him the hand gesture. "Hai parlato a malapena di tua moglie anche dopo che ti ha lasciato!"

"Se n'è andata perché ha trovato la famiglia che sta crescendo nostro figlio e ha detto che non tornerà finché non sarà con lei." He points his finger at Secondo. "Non mi metti mai quel tono di voce. Non dimenticare che sono stato io a crescere te e Terzo dopo che papà ci ha abbandonati, Secondo."

"Is everything okay grampa?" Sara asked.

"No, piccolo mio, everything is fine." Primo looks at Sara. "What happened to your clothes, mio figlio?"

Sara looks at her shirt. "Oh, I was playing crime scene with Uncle Terzo." She shows the pictures on her phone.

"Perché hai messo uno straccio intorno allo scarico?" Secondo asked.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Sara asked, "I don't understand the language."

"What? You don’t speak Italian." Terzo asked as he was going downstairs. Secondo and Primo were shocked that he was still in flesh but was bleeding from his throat.

"Omega can you and Phil get the first aid kit for Uncle Terzo?" She asked. "We don’t want him making the house, to look like a crime scene."

Terzo looks confused. Then he looks at the small masked ghoul before he vanishes. "Wait, what?" Terzo looked at Sara.

"Why won't we sit down and have ourselves some coffee," Sara told the three men. "there's a lot to discuss."

Case file closed

Case file contents

[sungtaro]

ok ok i'm running to pack for REAL HOWEVER!! of course with u i associate. park jihoon (x2), the yeppis, being THE number one treasure promoter, the color pink, gas pedal and the crabs in general, sleepovers both virtual and in person, and a steadfast commitment to leave things better than you found them, creating a sense of community and belonging. MWAH ily imy <3 i will send u the photo steve just sent in universe pms hang on

it's like no matter how many times i see park jihoon (x2) it never becomes less comical / less peak eri JKDGJB 😭 continues down the list all so true and great (swerve to the left now gas pedal gas pedal gas pedal UGH) and like, still can't believe that irl megeri sleepover really happened let's do that again asap because i miss u toooo ! 🫂

tell me what you associate with me !

[phantomspiderr]

Petrichor - Part 1/6

Pairing: Steven Grant x reader, established Marc Spector x reader

Word count: 865

Summary: a little story of falling in love. Meeting you for the first time doesn't exactly go how Steven dreamt it would.

Warnings: a little fluff, a little disorientation and confusion on Steven's part and if you squint non-verbal Steven

a/n: little run down of the series here, if I'm missing any warnings or there are any problems please let me know. Please enjoy and be kind🤍

･☆: *.☽ .* :☆

Why am I here?

Steven looks around the aisle he’s found himself in, disoriented by being pulled out to front the body and not being able to communicate with Marc right now isn’t helping with his confusion. He pats down his pockets in search for any indication of why he's standing in the middle of canned goods aisle.

You really couldn’t have stopped for a second to write a shopping list?

Steven sighs, ready to give up and just go home, he can ask Marc about what happened later, but then there you are walking towards him pushing a shopping cart. An adorable grin gracing your face when you lock eyes with him and he’s frozen.

“I found that almond butter you really like!” Your hand threads through his hair and he has to turn away from your gaze, instead staring at the soup on the shelf in front of him, “did you find what you were looking for?” If he thought he couldn’t breathe before he definitely can’t now that you’ve placed the most delicate kiss to his cheek. He can feel the red hot blush spreading already, this is definitely not how he wanted your first meeting to go. Steven's thoughts are racing, the person he’s been silently pining after is standing right next to him, combing their hand through his hair and smiling up at him. Since the first moment Marc had mentioned you, Steven had been lovestruck. Marc would share stories of dates he’d been on with you and he’d even ask Steven for advice, not that he thought he had much advice to give about relationships, and Steven would only find himself more drawn to you with each mention of your name. Steven’s only been co-conscious a handful of times when you’ve been around, he’s never fully fronted with you and he’s freaking out a little.

“You okay?” Steven finally rips his unfocused eyes away from the soup, moving to look at you again. Your face is furrowed, concern plastered all over it, “Marc?” Your hand has slipped from his hair to gently rub his back, he knows he has to say something he just doesn’t know what. He tries to open his mouth to say something but nothing comes out and your face relaxes, “it's okay honey. You don’t have to talk. Um, we’re at the store right now, y’know the one just down the road from the house. We’re picking up some groceries but we can leave if you’re not comfortable.” The sharpest ‘no’ slips past his lips and you smile, “Steven?” His gaze shies away from you as he silently nods a little. “Well hi, we haven't met before but Marc talks about you all the time,” you pull your hand away from his back and hold it out for him to shake and he chuckles a little at the gesture.

“Hi,” Steven slips his hand into yours and you shake it a little with that adorable grin gracing your face again. Steven can feels the anxiousness falling away, already feeling comfortable in your presence, almost like he’s been around you his whole life.

“So, you wanna finish shopping with me?” You drop his hand, much to his disappointment, and reach into your pocket. You pull out a piece of paper and hold it out to him, when he opens it to see a very organised shopping list he almost squeals. He even thinks he might love you already and he only met you a few minutes ago. “Why don’t you check off the list and I’ll push the cart?” You pull a pen out of your pocket and he accepts it with a smile. He appreciates the way you don’t require him to verbally communicate, happily starting to walk a little further down the aisle with Steven closely walking next to you.

Steven follows you around like a little puppy, he almost feels like a child when he preens at the praise you give him for finding the spaghetti that was on the list. Telling him he did a good job as he crosses it off the list and moves on to the next item with a smile. He likes when you call him ‘honey’ again after thanking him for pulling another item off the shelf for you but he especially likes when your hand returns to rubbing his back while you stand at the checkout. Steven wonders if it’s something you do with Marc, whether it’s something you do to comfort him or even yourself. You do it so absentmindedly as you people watch, waiting for your turn to be severed and Steven loves it. The domesticity of it all warms his heart but he wants more, more of this, more of you. The thought scares him a little, you're Marc’s partner and he’s sure Marc might be a little mad if he tells him about these rapidly growing feelings. But he’s pulled out of his thoughts when your hand gently grips his to tug him along, “come on, our turn.” And he’s back to just enjoying the domesticity, of being with you while he can, he’ll think about how to talk to Marc later.

series masterlist

[yikesitskennawrites]

Transitions- Chapter Eighteen: Chatting With An Acquaintance

Series Masterlist

Previous Chapter

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Pairings: Steven Grant x (platonic) Reader, Marc Spector x (platonic) Reader, Jake Lockley x (platonic) Reader, Layla El-Faouly x (platonic) Reader  

---

“It’s nice to meet you again,” Layla says as she holds out her hand and smiles at you. You grasped her hand with your own and shook it awkwardly.

“It’s been awhile hasn’t it?” You reply and she hums in answer as you let go of her hand. “We really need to stop meeting like this.” You gesture towards Jake who stood next to you and Layla. He adjusted his flat cap so it wasn’t covering his eyes. “Twice now that we only met because of the boys.” The three of you stood in Stevens and Marcs apartment, you still wore your work uniform and your feet were still aching from the five hour shift you did. A suitcase with wheels rested next to the sofa, you assumed it was Layla's. 

“They’re always up to something,” Layla adds and crosses her arms over her chest. “Y’know the time before last, I had to track Marc down to Cairo; at least Jake tells me that he needs help with something.” 

“Jake asked for your help?” You raise your brow and give her a questioning look before shifting your gaze to the man in question. He didn’t seem fazed at all, but rather expectant of your confusion and slight anger. “I’m surprised that he asked.”

“He didn’t directly ask, but told me that he had a job for me.”

“And that's babysitting me,” 

“Looking after and house sitting,” Layla corrects. 

“Same thing. It’s just a polished sentence so I don’t feel babied.” You wave her correction away. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s no fucking way I can take care of myself up against a cult especially after what happened last month-”

“What happened last month?” 

“-But, I’d rather call this house-sitting what it actually is rather than putting kind words on it.”

“What happened last month?” Layla repeats her question and you share a look with her. 

“Jake didn’t tell you?” You ask and she purses her lips before you both look at Jake. “You have the audacity to ask her to babysit me but you haven’t told her the reason why?” He doesn’t answer and you scoff, raising your arms into the air as you make the gesture of flipping a table. “Typical. Right, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Jake has been fronting since last month when Marc and I got attacked by a group of insane cultists. He told me multiple times that he only plans on being in the driver's seat until his job is complete and then he’s going to disappear.”

“Are you serious?” Layla scoffs. 

“Deadass.”

“What?” 

“I’m serious.” You tell her. Of course the older generation wouldn’t understand the slang, that’s been the third time it happened. “I thought that maybe he would tell you a little more than he let me in on but I was wrong.”

“You were attacked by a cult and neither of you told me?” Layla says. She frowns and glares between the two of you. The glare almost made you take a step back and rethink your decision of not telling her. The look in her eyes reminded you of your own mother when you got in trouble for skipping school once. She grounded you for two months after that and you had to listen to a long lecture about her and your fathers disappointment in you.

“What was I supposed to say?” You gave her a look of disbelief. “I was attacked and attempted to be kidnapped; but hey, that soup I ate for dinner was good? Besides, I didn’t know that I could have talked to you.”

“Yeah. You were supposed to tell me that.” Layla says. “I literally told you to call me if you needed anything.”

“I thought you were just being nice!” You defend yourself. “I thought it was just something you were telling me because that’s what people do.”

“I wasn’t telling you just to tell you that. I was being genuine.”

“Okay, well that’s nice to know for future shit-shows.” You say. “Be angry at Jake for not telling you all the details because from my understanding, the two of you have talked enough to have a relationship.”

“Acquaintanceship.” Layla says and pinches the bridge of her nose. She turns her anger towards the man that the two of you were brought together through. “You had an entire month to tell me.” She states. She sounded pissed and disappointed in the man. You cross your arms over your chest and watch the argument unfold.

“It’s not your problem.” Jake replies. He didn’t look concerned or scared, not one bit. Instead, he gave a nonchalant vibe by studying his gloves and frowning when he noticed that one of the crescents on his knuckles were scratched. You rolled your eyes. You weren’t surprised at his emotional state, he really didn’t give two shits about you.

“It is when you bring Marc and Steven into it.” Layla hisses at him. Her hands curled into fists. “You brought a kid into this shit.”

“I’m sixteen.” You say and she shoots you a glare. The sight made you keep your mouth shut for a few moments. 

“I didn’t bring them into anything.” Jake defends. “Your ex-husband and his buddy brought them into this the moment that they invited them for dinner.”

“But you continue to let them hang around even with your Moon Knight bullshit,” Layla says. You press your lips together as you listen to her suck in a breath. 

“They’re better off around me than they are without.” He says, “You don’t know what Harrow's cult has planned.”

“And you do?” You raise a brow. “You won’t even tell us what you’re doing or where you’re going; and you’re implying that we need to trust you just because you want Steven and Marc happy and safe.”

“God, you’re just like Marc.” Layla groans. You blink and turn your attention to her and back to Jake. He didn’t seem to have a reaction to that statement. In your opinion, Marc and Jake weren’t exactly the same. Marc was definitely more likely to try for a relationship unlike Jake who is there one moment and gone the next. You frown at the woman. You don’t understand how she reached that conclusion, but you knew that she was once married to Marc so she knew much more than you knew about him. The tension in the room felt suffocating. You didn’t like the silence coming from Jake and the frustration flowing out of Layla. 

“He’s not like Marc,” you say, causing the two of them to look at you. “Jake looks like a toad.”

“De vuelta a esto, ¿eh?” Jake mumbles and throws his hands into the air. You give him a small smile since you weren’t sure what he was saying was good or bad. He’s probably threatening to beat you up at this rate. He adds, “After this trip, you won’t have to worry about Harrow's followers or me.” 

“So, you’re going somewhere to destroy Harrow's cult?” You ask. He doesn’t say anything and you’re satisfied with the silence. “See? Was that too hard to say?” He doesn’t answer and you sigh. You decided to try to push your luck by asking him the length of time he would be gone. He doesn’t answer but instead he walks towards the dining table and picks up a duffle bag before swinging it over his shoulder. You quietly watch him stride to the entrance and swing it open before shutting it behind him. Layla throws her hands up and you frown at the sight of the door. You didn’t know if you should let him go as peacefully as he could or demand answers that you knew you would never receive as long as he is in the driver's seat. Of course, you had a reputation of annoying him today, might as well follow through with it. 

“I’ll be back.” You tell Layla as you speed walk to the door and open it before shutting it closed. Jake was already at the elevator, his eyes were on the rising numbers above the door as you approached. 

“So, you’re leaving just like that?” You say as you close the distance between the two of you.  “Without saying goodbye?” You stop a few feet away from him and place your hands on your hips. He gives you a look. “You better come back,” You warn. You don’t know why you say it, he made his intentions clear on the drive to the apartment complex. He’s not doing this for you but rather his alters. 

“I’m pretty pissed that you’re leaving me in the dark- and stop giving me that angry glare, I’m not going to push your damn buttons right now since I know you’re not going to answer any of my questions.” You huff out. “Just…be careful.” He doesn’t answer and you don’t expect him to. He was the brooding person you always knew since day one of meeting him. 

“Stay safe.” Jake says in return and you both hold a stare between the two of you. Just like you don’t know why you said what you said moments ago, you lift your arm into the air for the promise-shake you did with Marc and Steven over a month ago. He looks between you and your arm. “What?”

“I want a promise.” You tell him. “A deal that you will come back.” 

“What are you nine?”

“Sixteen actually.” You say. You know that he made the jab just to try to get underneath your skin, but you couldn’t care less about it. You add, “You should already know that if you’re keeping tabs on me and anyone I work with.” You don’t lower your arm, you were determined to at least get this deal from him since you couldn’t get any other answers besides the fact that he was going to go destroy Harrows cult.

“Pinky promise like we’re children?”

“Surely you were around when I made Steven and Marc make a deal with me that they would tell me anything that had to do with my life?” You say with a raised brow. You can’t tell what expression he was wearing in the dim light of the hallway. Your building really needed to get better lighting. But, the noise of him releasing a groan caused you to internally pump your fists into the air in victory. 

“I can’t promise you that I’ll come back,” He says. “But I can make a deal with you that Steven and Marc will.” And that was good enough for you. He raises his own hand and clutches your arm and you return his grip with your own hand. You both shake once before he lets go as if you were too hot to touch. You lower your arm and you both stand in silence for a minute until the noise of the elevator dinging interrupted the peace. You shift your eyes away from him and to the sliding metal doors of the box. This might be the last time you see Jake Lockley. Well, it might be the last time you see the body of Marc, Steven, and Jake if they don’t come back at all. Jake steps into the metal death box and you watch as he presses the button to the lobby floor. A little past him, decorating the walls were mirrors. 

Your reflection stared back, bags were underneath your eyes from sleepless nights and your collar bones showed a bit from underneath the collar of your shirt. You didn’t look well and you definitely still felt like shit from how little you took care of yourself. You looked half-dead. For a moment, you wondered if Marc and Steven were staring back, this was the sight that would have greeted them whenever Jake visited. How were they doing? It’s been awhile since you last heard of them from their alter, he’s been too wrapped up in whatever he’s been doing to not stop by. You raised your hand to stop the doors from closing and looked at Jake. He looked like one of those cartoon dad characters that don’t know how to express their emotions well with his bushy brows and mustache growing above his lips. He adjusted his flat cap to rest better on his head as he waited for you to do whatever it was you were about to do.

You wet your lips before you ask, “How are they?”

“Pissed,” Jake says. He looks at the mirror to his right and narrows his eyes at the sight. In the glass, you saw the reflection of Jake glaring at himself and your half cut off reflection of yourself from where you stood in the entrance of the elevator. You guessed that he saw the other men. “Steven says you need to eat more and get more sleep.”

“Is Steven really saying that?”

“Well, are you surprised? He’s been mommying you since day one.”

“Oh, fuck off.” A British accent says, causing you to step back in surprise. You watched as Jake loosened temporarily into a slumped posture before his back straightened once more and he had a resting bitch face. You raised your hand back up to stop the doors from shutting as you stared at him. That was the first time you ever saw another alter forcibly take control for a split second. The transitions between Marc and Steven were smooth whenever they switched, but this was completely the opposite. 

“What…?” You breathe out. Jake looked more pissed than usual.

“Let go,” He says and gestures to your hand holding the door. You didn’t know what to say, you were too stumped over the sudden and forcible switch you just witnessed; and besides that? You just heard Stevens' voice for the first time in a month and you didn’t realize how much you missed it until now. The sooner you let Jake go, the sooner you would get Steven and Marc back. So, you removed your hand from the elevator to let the third alter leave. You hoped that he would keep his end of the deal as the elevator doors finally shut and the floor numbers began to tick down to the lobby. 

You stared at the descending numbers until the screen showed a L. Behind you, you heard a door open and close before there was a jingle of keys. The noise was what caused you to swivel on your heel and walk back to your neighbors apartment. You watched your other neighbor, the girl who thought you were having a lover's quarrel with Steven keep her head down as she passed you and made her way to the death trap box. You haven’t talked to her since then, you both were too awkward to communicate since the admitted assumption that Steven was your sugar daddy made things weird. The thought grossed you out and caused your stomach to churn as you opened the door to his flat and closed it not a moment afterwards.

Layla was sitting on the couch as you entered the apartment. Her eyes trailed to you as soon as you locked the door behind you. The television was playing a BBC News broadcast of the weather and the short spike of a heatwave in the middle of this week. You didn’t like the heat, the last time there was a heatwave you were a puddle of sweat on the floor of your living room.

“Steven said that you’re a junior in high-school.” Layla says as you cross the room and awkwardly sit on the other end of the couch. You bring your legs up onto the cushions and hug your legs to your chest as you watch the broadcast switch over to one of the main ladies at the desks and they begin to talk about the upcoming summer bank holiday. 

“I’m a senior now.” You reply. “School starts back up in September. I should be graduating in early June next year.” You were glad for the summer break the United States schools offer, but honestly you just wanted to wrap up your schooling now so you wouldn’t be stressed about passing your final year while working full time.

“Steven said that you planned on working after you finish school.” 

“Yeah.”

“You don’t have any other plans?”

“I don’t think I could make any other plans.” You admit. “University isn’t an option anymore and traveling isn’t much of one either.” She hums and you both watch the television for a moment. 

“Are you excited to finish school?” She quietly asks. “Yeah,” You shrug. “I’ve been looking forward to wrapping up my basic education since I entered high-school.”

“I remember graduating.” Layla says. She had a look on her face as she stared at the television. It was clear that the two of you were using it for background noise and neither of you cared to pay attention to it. “I was in the class of 2014. After I completed school, I went on many trips with my father to the sites he was digging at.” She looked a little sad as she finished.

“How was that?”

“It was fun.”

“Did you find anything cool?”

“Plenty of fossils and ancient antiques.” She shrugs. “I found an old vase from the Han Dynasty period.”

“Which was?” You remember learning about the time period in middle-school but you don’t remember much of the history. You mainly remember learning school shooting drills and something about the Aztecs in history class.

“Around two-hundred and twenty common era.”

“Oof, wow.” You say. Your eyes became wide in awe. “How was it preserved?” You would think it would be cracked from the thousands of years and probably not that good.

“It was in a good condition, not a single crack or chip. The paint was kind of faded but that’s to be expected from over a thousands of years of sitting on a shelf.”

“Where did you find it?”

“It was in the Han Empire area.” She states. You give her a confused look. “Eastern side of China.” Your mouth makes an O shape as she continues, “The place where I found it was underneath an abandoned rich person's home, kind of in a basement like room. The room was hidden away…” She trails off and you stare at her. “Art was very privileged and a sign of wealth, especially back then.”

“What did you do with it?”

“I kept it.”

“You kept it?”

“Yep.” She pops the P and smiles at your awed and incredulous look. Her eyes crinkled at the corners and her teeth were showing.

“You didn’t sell it to become rich?”

“Some things I want to keep for myself.” She shrugs. “Besides, what would I say to someone when they ask where I found it? I can’t exactly tell them that I trespassed into an abandoned area and took something. I would have gotten arrested for that and be put to death. Especially in China. Over there they take thievery much more harsher than the United Kingdom or States do.”

“What the fuck?” You breathe out which caused her to laugh. “Steven did say you work dangerous jobs. I just didn’t expect this.” She was kind of like Lara the Tomb Raider.

“What did you expect?”

“I don’t know. Maybe some protection job like a police officer or a bodyguard. That would have explained why you had a gun that night we met.”

“No,” She chuckles. “I collect items and sell them on the blackmarket or to any wealthy human willing to buy.”

“Wow.” You state and shake your head a little. You wouldn’t have thought that was Layla's choice in career, but of course you were wrong.

“So, quick question…” She starts. You raise a brow at her. Man, you hoped that she wouldn’t ask you something to kill this mood.

“Shoot.”

“Is it true you stole a table?” She asks.

“I thought it was free.” You state, your cheeks flushing red in embarrassment. She lets out a boisterous laugh. 

“At least Marc tells the truth about that.” 

“Why wouldn’t he?” You frown at her statement. What was that supposed to mean? She doesn’t answer but the smile she had slowly falls from her face. Whatever Marc lied about obviously caused her some pain.

“What time do you work tomorrow?” She asks instead of answering.  You wanted to know what had her so worked up over Marc and his lies, but you decided not to push her on the subject because if it was you, you wouldn’t want to be questioned about it either. Layla was much like Marc in that regard. She’ll tell you eventually.

“Seven to three.” You say. “Usually it’s nine to five or nine to two, but the manager is going on maternity leave soon and they need me to help fill in the schedule.”

“We’ll get you there on time.” 

“How are we going to get there?” You ask. “If we’re taking the bus I’ll have to set my alarm a little earlier.”

“I have a Vespa.” She says and waves your worry away. “Don’t worry about it.” The sound of the news cutting to break made you turn your attention back to the flat screen. A commercial for dog food was playing. You don’t know what else to chat with her about, but you had one thing on your mind other than whatever Marc could have lied about. How did Layla know Jake enough to be called over to babysit you? Was Jake slipping over to Layla's home during the days that he was gone? Was Layla invited on one of his sketchy trips of doing whatever he does? You wanted to know how well Layla knew him.

“It seems like you know Jake.” You start. 

“We had a lovely chat when he returned to London,” She says. You raise your brow, when did he leave London? Which is exactly what you ask her. “Those first few days when Marc and Steven disappeared. He visited me shortly after you called about his return.”

“How do you know he left London?”

“He mentioned it.”

“Just casually?”

“He slipped up.”

“Jake never slips up.” You state with a frown. “He has a soft spot for you.”

“Bullshit, he held a knife to my throat.”

“You too, huh?” You reply and you both look at each other. She looks pissed at hearing how he threatened you. “Jake never slips up.” You repeat quietly. “He refuses to tell me where he goes and what he does. He goes missing for days to a week, and now longer than that. He won’t tell me where he’s going or where he went. His mouth is like a bank vault, but for you? He tells you he left London.” You shake your head gently. “He did that on purpose, Layla.” She seems more concerned about the same thing he did to you as he did to her.

“He threatened you with a knife?” She asks quietly. You figured that she was going to hear all about it from Steven or Marc whenever they find out what Jake did, so you might as well tell her from the source.

“Threatened to slit my throat like Khonshu wants him to.” You tell her and she looks more upset.

“But, you’re just a kid.”

“So, I’ve been told.” You say. “Didn’t stop him from threatening me…” You trail off and bite your cheek. You weren’t going to lie, you were still upset about the threat but overtime you’ve become less wary of Jake. He was a mysterious man and you don’t trust him a hundred percent just yet, but he did keep you safe like he promised he was doing for his alters. “He, uh, kind of made up about it when he saved me from getting kidnapped.”

“What?”

“Yeah. The, uh, cult last month.” You mumble. You could feel yourself slipping away into a dreamlike state when you begin to think back on it. “I was getting dragged away by some guy and Jake cut his arm off.” The words sounded distant coming from you. You wouldn’t have guessed that the words came from you if it weren’t for the vibration in your throat and the horrified look of concern written on Layla's face.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m good?”

“No- that’s,” Layla starts and shakes her head a bit, her brown curls bouncing lightly against her forehead. “That's traumatic for someone to go through. Did Jake ask you about how you’re feeling?”

“No.”

“Well, how are you feeling?” She asks. You don’t say anything, mainly because you don’t know where to begin and you don’t feel comfortable trauma dumping on a stranger. Sure, you know her name but you don’t know her well enough to be able to tell her how much you were truly suffering. How each night you woke up screaming and/or in tears. She was probably going to figure it out when you accidentally wake her with your cries over the next few weeks until Marc and Steven returned, but for now you didn’t want to tell her about it. “Y’know that everything I said about how you can talk to me about anything still applies here, right now.” You nod once and swallow. 

“You want to watch a movie?” You say instead. She purses her lips and just like that, lets go of the subject, much like you did earlier.

“What do you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. Something free on YouTube, I guess.”

“I think Steven has a Netflix account...” Layla trails off as she flicks through the settings on the television to see if there's an app downloaded for the media site.

“I don’t know if he’s signed in or not.” You say as she finds the app and presses down onto the remote to select it.

“There’s only one way to find out.” She says and briefly glances over to you. “You want to go pop some popcorn?” 

“You’re trusting me with cooking?”

“Right. Marc said you nearly caught their kitchen on fire.”

“It was only once.”

“I think I can trust you with using the microwave?” She raises a brow at you. 

“I can handle it.”

“I’ll teach you how to cook later,” She says. You both let out a cheer as you watch the screen on the television load to select an account. There was one for Steven and one for Marc. Marcs had the generic smiley face, which didn’t suit him in your opinion while Stevens had the panda. “Unless you want take-out?”

“No,” You smile at her as you push yourself off of the couch and begin your walk to the kitchen. “I need to gain some cooking skills.”

“Great because I’ve been craving some kebabs.” She says. “And I know the perfect recipe to teach you.”

---

Taglist:

@letugulus , @only-roaches , @jvdethirlwall , @xennityxen , @astrobuzzsstuff , @nub-the-stub , @em-asian , @yawn0-0 , @80pairsofcrocs

[wwinterwitch]

Congrats for your 1k folls, i just wondering about the angst 5, where the reader is the one who make the mistake and want to make up but Steven u know like in the prompts.

thank you darling, this truly was heartbreaking to write but hopefully you like what I had in mind

prompt used: "Just give me one more chance." "I can't." pairing: steven grant x gn!reader word count: 926 warnings/what to expect: angst, cheating, break up, crying.

a reblog and/or comment on my posts really help me out as a content creator so thank you in advance if you take the time to do either!

1k celebration | masterlist | AO3  

Steven was sitting on the couch, not a single expression could be read on his features. He was static, petrified, absent. The wall in front of him has to be the most interesting thing at the moment by the way he just looks ahead, focusing on nothing but the maroon bricks.

"Please, say something," you say, tears falling down your face as you sat on the floor right in front of him. The fact that he wasn't saying anything made everything so much worse.

He finally turned to look at you, still looking extremely lost. "What do you want me to say?"

You sobbed. "That we can talk this through? That we're...that we're okay?"

"But we are not okay," Steve points out, shaking his head. "We're not, you– you cheated on me..."

"No, it wasn't like that!" you immediately reply, tears continue to pour down your cheeks as you try to make him understand. "I didn't know what I was doing, okay? I had too much to drink, and I didn't– I couldn't–"

"You had a choice," he insisted. You noticed the way his face started to show emotion. He was confused, sad, and disappointed. "You had the choice not to, and you did it anyway."

You felt awful. Last thing you ever wanted to do was hurt someone as kind, sweet and caring as Steven. He's truly a dream come true, being the best partner someone could ever hope for, yet there you were ruining everything over some stupid mistake you wish you never committed.

Other people would keep their mouth shut after cheating on their significant other, but the guilt was so strong you had to sit down with Steven and tell him right away. You couldn't continue your relationship with him if you didn't confess. It didn't feel right, and Steven didn't deserve that.

"Did I...did I do something wrong?" he eventually asked, looking more confused than ever. He was thinking it was his fault. That he did something that left you no other choice but to cheat on him. Like he was not enough, you had to look somewhere else for something he wasn't giving you.

"No, no. Steven, you did nothing wrong," you quickly replied. "This is on me. It's all my fault."

"Why did you do this? What– what happened?"

"I don't...I have no idea why I did it. But I regret every second of it, I swear. You believe me, right?"

Steven was quiet for a few seconds, which only made you more anxious as you waited for an answer. You tried to reach out for his hand, but he gently rejected your touch, moving his hand away. The gesture made your heart break into tiny little pieces, making you cry even harder at the realization that he didn't want you touching him anymore.

"Right?" you insisted, feeling hopeless.

Eventually, Steven nodded. "I believe you regret it," he agreed, giving you some kind of hope that he would understand how guilty you felt. "But that doesn't mean I can forget something like that."

"What? What does that mean?"

You noticed it was getting harder for him to speak, his eyes filling with tears as he finally said what you were dreading to hear. "It means I don't know if I can be with you after all of this."

"Wait, no. Don't do this," you pleaded almost immediately. "Steven, I'm so sorry. I promise, it didn't mean anything, it was...it was stupid! I was stupid! You know I would never...that's not me!"

He really wanted things to be different. That he could forgive you and trust you again. That you're still the same person he fell in love with and thought that would never in a million years do something like this to him. But you're not that person anymore. You're a stranger now, someone he thought he knew but it was all just an illusion.

You are not who he thought you were, and after this there's no chance for the two of you to fix this. Not this time.

"Steven," you called after him, desperation evident in your voice as you watched him stand up from the couch. He was heading towards the front door of your shared apartment, with every intention to leave. "Steve, please! Just give me one more chance."

That was it. The last opportunity you had to make him change his mind before he walked out that door.

You could tell this wasn't easy for him, a part of him wanting to stay with you because you are all Steven knows. His safe space, his sanctuary, his home. He has no one else besides you and his mom. And he hates changes so much, already so used to how his life is...but it's impossible not to look at you and remember what you've done.

"I can't," he mutters, barely able to look back at you, shifting uncomfortably in his spot as he tries to hold back the tears. "I wish I could, but I can't be with you anymore."

That was the very last thing he said before leaving the apartment, leaning against the now closed door as he covered his mouth to muffle the cries leaving his mouth the second he was out of the apartment, knowing that place and the person inside are no longer his home.

You broke down on the floor, holding onto your body as you cried. This is all your fault. You lost the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to you. And now he's never coming back to you.

[shades-of-stony]

ABO Stony AUs!

Celestial Navigation by  sabrecmc

Summary:  18 year old Omega!Tony finds himself Bonded to Captain Steve Rogers. He isn't happy about it until he is.

Note: Does it need any explanation? This fic is an all time classic and favorite in the Stony fandom!

Object: Matrimony by BladeoftheNebula

Summary: Omega Tony Stark craves adventure and an escape from the life his parents have planned for him in New York. He places a listing in a marriage catalogue to seek a match with an alpha out West, and Sheriff Steve Rogers answers his advertisement. But finding a nice alpha doesn't mean it's all smooth sailing from there..

- A Mail Order Bride AU -

Note: A 10/10! This has all the splendid elements of ABO with an added twist of a West setting and time! 

 The Team Omega by AngeNoir for PhenomenalAsterisk

Summary:  Steve Rogers is thawed, stressed, and not quite sure what Director Fury wants with him. Giving him a unit of all alphas, even if most of them Steve had fought alongside when the alien menace had nearly wiped out the entire city of New York... The thing is, more than four alphas wouldn't work in a unit with one another, not for long. Everyone knew that. Steve knew that, intimately, with the Howling Commandos.

Which was why Director Fury had, apparently, assigned them an omega.

Frustrated at the inability to even choose his team, let alone choose the omega that was supposed to keep the peace between everyone, Steve storms back to his unit's assigned quarters. There, he meets Tony Stark, grandchild of Howard Stark, clearly unhappy with his position and just as clearly unwilling to break contract with the U.S. military complex. So why was someone like Anthony Stark here, in Steve's charge?

And how could Steve even act upon his genuine attraction, with the power imbalance clearly in place?

Note: I admit, this has one of the best takes on ABO I read in a while! It’s a good read!

 If You Love Me I'll Love You Too by Carsonian

Summary: Starrk hands Steven a knife, leatherbound and strong, to fulfill the rite. The Alpha must go first. Steven takes Anthony’s hand, slices a clean line across the palm.

“And in the sharing of blood, I am become yours.” Steven recites.

Anthony takes the knife and returns the favour.

“And in the sharing of blood,” He looks up, eyes dark and unfathomable, “I am become yours.”

Note: A well-written ABO Stony fanfic with a dash of arranged marriage and Middle Ages (though the time period wasn’t exactly specified). It takes on how Steve and Tony navigates through their forced marriage and how they learn to care for each other!

Tribute Given, Treasure Gained by sphagnum

Summary: “Steve,” the Captain said, hand over his chest.

Tony licked his lips. Was he supposed to give his name, or remain silent until he was asked a direct question? The Captain--Steve, apparently--already knew his name, he had to, it had been included on the settlement he and Stane had signed. Was this a test? Time was passing and Steve was still waiting with his hand on his chest but Tony had to figure out the right answer fast or when Steve moved he might--“

Tony,” he blurted.

“Tony,” Steve repeated. He hadn’t come any closer. He said something short that might have been pleased to meet you or you look good on your knees. Tony had no way of knowing and he wasn’t going to risk echoing it. He kept quiet. See, Howard? I do know how to shut up when my life depends on it.

Note: A nice ABO with Warlord!Steve! This is a great read, with the steamy smut on the end being a nice cherry on top!

While We Pretend to Sleep by Typo66

Summary:  Tony pretends to be an alpha. Then he forgets he had been pretending. One thing he remembers is Steve. Steve tries to help out in his old fashioned, ethically strict way. Tony likes making big gestures. He has never been subtle.

Note: Another Stony classic! This is a great take on ‘Tony denying his nature’! A deifinite 10/10 read!

Rockabye by BladeoftheNebula

Summary: Cute alphas didn’t appear out of nowhere to help ruined omegas. That was a widely accepted fact.Tony Stark had always known his life wouldn’t be easy as a genius omega in an alpha’s world. But not even he predicted getting knocked up and forced to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Note: A fun read where Firefighter!Steve lend a hand to pregnant Tony! It also takes place in a Small Town kind of setting, which is an added bonus!

In the middle of the night by defenceless_stark

Summary:  In the past, alphas used to only mate with other alphas and maybe the occasional beta or delta. Omegas were seen as useless and scum to alphas. Omegas would only stay in a pack if they could keep up and they were only protected if they were the head alpha’s offspring. Over time, alphas soon discovered that omegas were useful for producing offspring, due to their high fertility rates and weaker genes, so, in most cases, only the alpha’s genes will pass on. Alphas soon evolved to an omega’s scent, making them possessive and dominant over omegas which led to an increase in abuse and mistreatment. Steven Rogers was expected to be an omega, but much to everyone’s to surprise, he was an alpha.

Anthony Stark was expected to be an alpha, but much to his father’s disappointment, he was an omega.

Like any omega, Tony had his fair share of omega abuse and harassment. But unlike any other omega, he wasn’t one to sit around and take it.

Note: If you are avid ABO fan, this is a Stony fanfic that you wouldn’t want to miss! 

In A Rut by rougewinter

“You don’t have to do this, Tony.” Pepper said as she tightened her white knuckled grip on the clipboard in her arms. “I’m sure we can find someone else.”

“Yes. I do.” Tony said, surprised that his voice came out steadier than he expected.

Or the one where Steve goes into an Alpha Rut and Tony is the only one who can help.

Note: A short but sweet-well, not sweet since it has that dose of great smut! make sure to check it’s sequel where Tony is in heat! (Heat Up by rougewinter for avengemehamlet)

Please don’t (give me what I want) by masterlokisev159

Summary: After the events in Siberia, a new law is declared and Steve and Tony's newly reformed relationship is torn to pieces.

Then Tony goes into heat. And Steve is adamant to save it.

A post-civil war story where Tony is put in a position where he cannot consent to anything at all. Steve, the strongest alpha of all time, is furious.

Note: For those Stony shippers that wants a bit of angst! 

Perfect Man for the Job by Ilearnedtoreadforthis

Summary: After his ordeal in Afghanistan, omega Tony creates the Stark Housing Initiative: Executive Level Development (or S.H.I.E.L.D., for short) to provide housing to returning veterans. When alpha Steve Rogers applies to manage S.H.I.E.L.D., it turns Tony's life upside down.

Note: This is a cute employee/boss story with a dash of ABO! 

World Acclimation by Del_Rion

Summary:  When an unexplained phenomenon washes over the entire planet, the Avengers are left to struggle along with the rest of the population. Chains of command, relationships and friendships alike are put to the test as new biological imperatives take hold, and only one thing is certain: the world will never be the same.

Note: This is one of my favorites! It has a unique take on ABO that I don’t see often. And well, Am still hoping for the next installment. Though, read the tags carefully!

You Are Not Broken, Just Bent. by NazakiSama166

Summary: He won't break!

No matter how much he was tortured, no matter how much he was beaten, starved, threatened... He won't, he won't, he won't!

Until he did...

--- When Shield uncovers a hidden sub-basement in the house of Obadiah Stane, they find a tortured omega and his pup. Everything went down the drain when that Omega turned out to be Tony Stark, Howard Stark's son that went missing six years ago.

Note: Anyone in the mood for angst?

WIP: 

Finding Pack by Naferty

Summary: In a world where pack means everything from status to fame to survival and to family, newly pack-less Tony Stark is trying to survive after those he once trusted betrayed him, and starting over by searching for a new pack to take him in, but with his age and status weighing heavily on his shoulders finding someone to take a chance on him might be easier said than done.

What pack wanted an old infertile omega in their ranks? Certainly not the famous Avengers pack led by the equally famous Captain.

Note: This is a bit of a slow burn Stony fanfic that ticks all ABO boxes! It’s an all-time-favorite and classic! 

Secrets Don't Make Friends by sayah1112

Summary: Tony Stark has a secret. Several, in fact. Outed to the world as an Omega, he finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. His only hope at salvation rests upon the strong shoulders of a certain Captain Steven Rogers. The problem? Rogers hates his guts.

Note: Another favorite of mine! This is a great hurt/comfort fanfic centered on stony!

This is just part 1 guys! I’m kind of a big fan of ABO so I have a few more to recommend!

[daydream-disposal]

Wormhole

Steve is laying on his bed wearing his pyjamas, his eyes droopy and his mind hazy with tiredness but still, he insists on texting his friends. A normal tuesday, it appears.

Until suddenly, a big blue ring light starts to shine out of nowhere in the middle of his room. Steve sits on the bed, eyes wide. Suddenly a person gets out from inside the light. A boy about his height, his big honey eyes hiding behind his dark hair that was covering almost all of his freckled face. He was wearing black pants, a white button up and a coat. He looked drenched but still, he looked very handsome.

Is Steve too sleep deprived? Is he dreaming? Is he imagining this? He doesn't know.

"Oh thank god, it's you" the boy holds Steve's shoulders and kisses his cheek quickly, dropping a little device on the bed beside him.

"Um. Hello? W-who are you?" Steve freezes, trying to understand what just happened. He's not imagining it then, since the kiss felt very real. He would've blushed if the situation wasn't really scary.

"What? It's me. I guess I might look a little different, I've been traveling around for a while. Ugh my clothes are gross. I'm just gonna change real quick, okay?" the guy rambles walking to Steve's closet and opening the door. He searches for something, getting all his clothes out of the way. Steve frowns. What the fuck is this dude doing?

"Did you move my stuff again?"

"I literally don't know what you're talking about." Steve slowly gets up and walks towards the door.

"C'mon Steve, stop messing around, they were right here" he half laughs and keeps searching. A shiver goes down Steve's spine. He knows his name. Is he a spy? An alien? Is he here to harm him? Steve grabs his bat carefully and places it on his neck.

"I'd appreciate if you stopped messing with my stuff and left. I don't know who you are and why you're here! Just leave me alone!" he says with a rough voice.

Eli turns to face Steve, ready to laugh and ask 'what is this, a prank?' but his smile drops as soon as he sees Steve with the bat and a serious expression.

"Steve, calm down! It's me, your best friend, Eli Pepperjack. Do you seriously not recognize me?"

"Wrong! My best friend is Jim Lake and everybody knows that. I've never seen you before in my life!"

Steve and Jim being best friends??? Something is definitely Not Right. Eli looks around in disbelief. Now that he notices, Steve looks... younger. The room looks different too. It's the same style, but the colors are all wrong. He peeks outside the window and the street is slightly different too. Oh my god.

Did he just travelled to a parallel universe? One that Steve doesn't know him? He knew the wormhole could do that, but only on command! How did it malfunctioned so badly??

Steve adjusts his hands on the bat, getting Eli out of his thoughts.

"Wait! Wait! I can explain! I can prove that I know you!"

Steve considers, still not moving from the position he's in. The boy seems scared but somehow his eyes are shining, inviting. Steve sighs.

"Ok. Go on." he raises an eyebrow, curiously.

"Your favorite color is blue. You favorite food is pancakes. You can't have spicy food. You had a crush on Claire Nunes"

"Those are really basic and you could easily be lying. Or spying on me! And everybody had a crush on Claire!" Steve shouts, losing his patience.

"Okay, look." Eli reaches for his back pocket, taking out his wallet and handing Steve a picture of them hugging and smiling, doing the Creepslayerz hand gesture to the camera.

"You like nerdy movies like Gun Robot and Earth Invaders in secret because you don't want people to know. You don't know basic math but that's alright because you're a really great actor and you're very good at sports. Sometimes you let your insecurities get to you and that's why you act like you're superior to everyone else. But you're actually a really nice person. You care a lot about people, so much that you saved my life a thousand times before. You're funny and brave and I love you for that" Eli blurted out without even thinking.

"Wow, okay, that's scary. How is all of this possible?" He puts the bat down and stares at the picture, not believing what he's seeing.

"It's possible because I was traveling through that thing" Eli points to the wormhole device on the bed. Steve reaches it and throws it his way.

"Thanks. It's a wormhole, it's extraterrestrial technology. I've been living in another planet but I try to visit as much as I can. It malfunctioned this time. I'm guessing I ended up in a parallel universe" Eli says matter of factly, clicking the device on his hand. A blue hologram appears in front of them. Steve doesn't recognize the language on it.

"Hold up, are you telling me I'm dating an alien?"

"I literally just told you I'm from another universe and you decided to focus on that?"

"Well yeah" he shrugged.

Eli sighed, smiling.

"No, I'm human. I'm Earth's ambassador on the planet Arkiridion-5."

"Ok but are we dating...?" Steve blushes at him.

"Yes. We are."

"Oh sweet! Point for the Palchuk!" He punched the air. Eli laughs through his nose, shaking his head but still focused on the device.

"Can I ask you some questions?"

"Yeah, go on"

"How did it happen... How did we even... do it?" Steven didn't know how to ask this, but as if he was reading his mind, the brown haired boy answered quickly.

"Well, when we started getting close people just assumed. But our families are okay with it, if that's what you're asking"

"Cool. Alright." Steve knew he was bi for a long time now. He was just afraid of telling his family and friends. What if they got disappointed? What if they couldn't love him? What if he was left behind?

"How will I know if they're like this here too?" Steve asked in a quiet voice after a few seconds of silence and just the bleeping of the device.

"I'm pretty sure they love you in every universe. I know I do." Eli sinceraly stated, not even looking up. Steve had a hard time believing someone cared about him and loved him enough to say something so soft like that. He looked at the picture on his hands again. They were sharing a smile so genuine, their eyes meeting in such a sweet way, like they meant the whole world to each other.

"And how did we meet?" he leaned on the closet, crossing his arms. Eli just kept clicking away.

"At school. We didn't like each other at first, but we figured it out" he exhaled. "Took a while, but we did."

"Why? What happened?"

Eli thought about the years his Steve used to be mean at him and shove him into lockers. It was sad, but he knew there was good in him. Maybe this Steve could do it differently.

"Just... be nice."

"I am nice!" Eli stopped what he was doing, raising an eyebrow on Steve's direction. "Alright, I'll be nicer."

"Good. What year is it?"

"2018"

"Woah, okay, I'm so far off." he clicked a few more times, the big blue ring light popping up in the middle of the room again.

"Wait, you're leaving already?"

"Yeah. My Steve is waiting for me at home."

"But I still have so many questions!"

"Don't worry, it's gonna be alright. Nice to meet you. I hope I see you soon." And with that, he disappeared with the light, leaving Steve alone in his room. He looks down to his hands, still holding the picture strongly. He smiles.

"I hope so too."

Steve didn't remember his name. He tried to think back but at the time he was panicking at the thought of "CUTE BOY IN MY ROOM!" and focusing too hard on the fact that said boy was from another universe. So of course his ADHD brain would forget his name.

But this didn't keep Steve from looking. He was never this excited to go to school before. He started paying more attention to his surroundings, hoping he would spot the mysterious boy somewhere.

Instead, he spotted a fight. "Just be nice" he thought. The older boys being mean to the smaller ones does seem like a good moment to be nice. Also, it was just not fair.

"Hey, why don't you pick someone your size?" Steve approached the bully, tapping him on the shoulder with his eyebrows pinched.

"Ugh. Why do you always have to ruin the party, Palchuk? You had potential but you insist on being on the wrong side" he tries to push Steve, asking for a fight. Steve scoffs and holds the boy's wrist.

"Just let them go. You know you can't win against me." The bully grunts and shakes his wrist from Steve's hold. He nods to his friends and they leave, muttering amongst themselves.

Steve turns to help the other boys out of the ground, offering a hand. The first boy refuses, getting up fast and running away. And that's when finally, Steve sees him. He looks smaller than the boy in his room, his hair is shorter and he was wearing nerdy glasses. But it was definitely him. He would recognize that smile and those eyes anywhere.

"Thanks. Steve, right?" the boy said, holding his hand and getting up. Steve was at a loss of words. He nodded, smiling.

"That was very nice of you. I'm Eli, by the way." he shook his hand. He was real and he was right here, holding hands with him. Ok, this is happening!

"Nice to meet you. That was no problem really, if you ever have any trouble with them again just tell me" Steve blunted out nervously, scratching his neck. Eli smiled, picking up his books and leaving.

"Again, Steve?" the teacher asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm starting to think you're not even trying. Go to detention!"

Steve sighs, walking with his head down in shame. But this time, when he enters the classroom he sees someone that make his eyes light up.

"Eli! Hi!" Steve sits on the table behind him, excited.

"Oh, hey Steve"

"What are you in here for?" he asks confused.

"I was breaking in. And you?" Eli says as if it's a normal occurrence.

"Woah what???"

"I was trying to study at the lab during recess."

"I didn't know that wasn't allowed"

"Well... I kinda was using their equipment to try and communicate with aliens... Which isn't allowed..." Eli says a little embarrassed.

"Oh" Steve laughs, finding the story very endearing. "So you like space, huh?"

"I do. Imagine if I got to do it. It would've been so cool!" he exclaims, and Steve has to hold back the urge to tell him about the parallel universe.

"It really would. Don't lose hope though" he winks at his direction.

Eli smiles and keeps working on his assignment.

"Y'know, I didn't expect you to be here. You're very... um... nerdy?" Steve admits after some minutes of silence.

"Oh so we're doing stereotypes? Alright, jock. Why are you here? Got into a fight?"

"What? No. I'm a nice person! I just didn't do my homework. Again."

"Because you didn't want to or...?" Eli asked confused, tilting his head. Steve had a genius idea. He felt like those cartoons when a little lamp lights up.

"I'm having a lot of trouble, actually. Are you any good with math?"

"Of course. Why?"

"What do you say you help me with homework and I help you by staying on look out when you're in the lab?"

Eli considered, as he heard the bell ring. He gathers his books and hands Steve a piece of paper before leaving.

"Sure. Text me later so we can talk about it"

"Sounds good" Steve smiled. If this went anything like he wanted to, he better start cleaning some space in his closet.

[young-dumb-and-vaccinated]

Cult Girl: Doctorate (Hannibal x Pregnant!Female!Reader) pt. 12

Cult girl deals with an unexpected and unwelcome guest.

@wisesandwichshark @pearlstiare

Trigger warnings: pregnancy, emotional manipulation, emotional abuse, infidelity, threats of violence

Step three: kill Anna

So maybe there was an understanding that the pregnancy was to be kept secret from Anna.

The withdrawal of Archie and Max from the picture left a hole in the plan. Just when it looked like you had secured that much-needed victory, it shriveled up and died right before your eyes. That much was certain. Everything else was a big question mark.

Ever since he felt the baby kicking, Hannibal became even more hopelessly enamored with the idea of being a father. He never mentioned it, of course, but it was there. It was there in the way he cooed at your stomach and how his hand lingered after he felt a kick. He was in heaven.

For a few days, it looked like the downward trajectory was beginning to flatten. Then you remembered your favorite line from Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool:

"Life is an endless series of trainwrecks with only brief, commercial-like breaks of happiness." You repeated to yourself as your phone flashed Theresa's call icon.

It took you a minute to remember that Theresa in your phone was actually Anna, because you hadn't bothered to change it. In a way, it was symbolic. Theresa was the head you cut off, and Anna sprouted up in her place. All in the pursuit of making your life unbearable.

You pulled the toothbrush from your mouth and placed it next to the sink. Lazily, you brought the phone to your ear. "What?"

"Hey pretty girl!" Anna said, using her most transparently fake cheery voice. "How's it going?"

Then it clicked. You felt kind of stupid that you didn't see it coming. In the world of cults, this was known as 'lovebombing'; a manipulation tactic in which the cult leader showers their target with affection, compliments, validation or anything that would make them associate good feelings with the group. In any other context, it would be called 'ass-kissing'.

You narrowed your eyes in skepticism. "What do you want?"

"Jeez, who crapped in your corn flakes?" She scoffed. "Can't a girl just call her little sister to say hi?"

It would have been one thing to say 'cousin', which, despite your bad blood, would have been technically accurate. But 'sister' was crossing a line. The blood that binded you and Anna together was thinner than water.

"We're not sisters, Anna." You corrected. "Why are you calling?"

"I just wanted to let you know that all is forgiven." She said, slipping back into that phony cheerful tone. "That little fiasco at the funeral, it's water under the bridge."

What Anna didn't know was that the water under the bridge was never water, but gasoline. Every drop that flowed under that bridge only created a more dangerous blaze for when you finally burned it down.

"Awesome." You said, flatly.

"I also wanted to say, 'may the best woman win'." She jeered. "I don't want to alarm you, but Liam and I have been fucking like bunnies."

You gagged. "I'm not alarmed but I certainly didn't need to know that."

"I've been keeping track of my ovulation," She disregarded your objection and continued the conversation she wanted to have. "And I even put child locks on the computer so Liam can't watch porn. Can't spare even a drop, y'know. It's too crucial."

"I will literally let you have the entire inheritance if you please just shut up right now." You said through gritted teeth.

"Oh?" She perked up. "Come on, don't give up. Don't make it too easy. Winning is just more fun when someone else loses."

She was growing into her Theresa shoes quite well.

"Seriously, though," You raised your eyebrows. "If it means I never have to see you again, by all means. Take the damn money."

"You know I love you, right?" Anna blurted out, pretending to be offended. "You may not think so, but I love you like a sister."

Again, you fought the urge to feel bad for her. Her model of sisterly love was Theresa. She could use the word to invoke sympathy, but would never know what it meant. It hit your ear exactly the same as when fundamentalist christian strangers said they loved you and that's why they were harassing you. Just an empty annoyance.

You rolled your eyes. "Goodbye, Anna."

"Wait!" She shouted as if she was about to die.

You threw your head back in exasperation. "What?!"

"I wanted to give you a little good-luck gift." She said.

You were slightly interested. "Oh?"

"Yes." She answered. "Can I swing by and drop it off later?"

You sighed. "Whatever. As long as you make it fast."

You were most certainly noticeably pregnant, but a fluffy robe obscured any misplaced curves just enough. You just hoped she wouldn't ask why you were wearing a fluffy robe in July. Anna arrived at the house, with Liam, who was holding a small basket of colorful jars and bottles.

You waited a minute to see if she would just leave the basket on the porch, but she didn't. You resignedly opened the door.

"[F/N]!" She shouted with that hyper-enthusiastic smile. You cringed, trying not to let her presence trigger your morning sickness.

The smile disappeared from her face. "Jesus H, you look like hell."

You desperately wanted to inform her that it was the strain of growing a human inside your body, but you held your tongue and thought of an excuse.

"I'm hungover." You said. Yeah, that would work.

"The usual, I see." Anna snipped at you under her breath.

You eyed the basket. You didn't even bother to mask your disappointment when you realized it wasn't food. "What's this?"

"Oh, this?" Anna said as if she were starting a sales pitch. "This is my olive branch. My exclusive DoTERRA fertility rejuvenation kit."

Your brain refused to process that Anna had been sucked in to an MLM, as it was really only a matter of time. You just didn't think it would take this long.

"Dude, you're twenty-nine and I'm twenty-six." You narrowed your eyes at her. "What on earth are we rejuvenating?"

She pointed to a collection of little bottles. "So these are for the initial cleanse. Put a few drops of this in your food, and some of this in your bathwater-"

She rattled on with practiced certainty about the fictitious health benefits of thyme and geranium oils, how they promote fertility and whatnot.

"Thanks, Anna." You cut her off, reaching for the gift basket. You didn't intend to use any of it, but you could pawn it off on some struggling hunbot for less than they would buy it new.

Anna pulled the basket out of your reach. "Oh. I wasn't giving it to you."

Nothing surprised you anymore, and this was no exception. "I thought you said it was a gift?"

"Oh, god no." She shook her head. "This whole kit costs, like, five hundred dollars."

You grimaced. "So you came here to show me your snake oil collection?"

"I came here to tell you in person about this amazing business opportunity." She said, returning to her fake smile. "For just $1000, you can be part of this amazing company-"

"Anna, what am I studying right now?" You cut her off.

She looked at you with round, clueless eyes. She looked back at Liam for help. He tapped his head to give her a hint.

"I want to say..." her voice trailed off. "...brain surgery?"

You shook your head. "No. Liam?"

"Clinical psychology with a specialization in cults." He answered. "You want to be the next Steven Hassan."

Anna didn't deserve Liam.

"So you're saying you're too smart for me?" Anna said, crossing her arms. "You're too busy going to your fancy college, living with your fancy boyfriend to support your own sister's hustle?"

"I'm saying you're in a cult." You countered. "A pretty obvious one, at that."

"Oh, when your only solution is a hammer every problem looks like a nail." She scoffed. "You think everything is a cult. Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"I'll be happy for you when you accomplish something that isn't built off the backs of people you fucked over." You said, allowing yourself to finally snap.

Anna's jaw hung open. "Do I even need to gesture to this house? Those clothes? That degree? All paid for by your rich boyfriend."

It's time.

You stepped on to the porch and shut the door behind you. "Liam. I have something to tell you."

Liam handed the basket off to Anna and approached. "Alright."

"No she doesn't, Liam." Anna objected. "Don't listen to her. You know she's a liar."

"Liam." You said, looking into his eyes. "Do you remember Nathan Sparks?"

"Anna's ex from college?" Liam folded his arms and looked at his wife. "Vaguely."

Anna gritted her teeth at you. "I swear to fucking god, [F/N]-"

"Anna, stop." Liam cut her off. "Let her speak."

"Anna continued to see him for two years after you got together." You smirked.

Liam's dial-up internet brain sputtered to life.

"Oh my god." His mouth hung open. "...is he 'pineapple'?!"

"Nope." You said. "You are."

"Is this true, Anna?" Liam said, in the overlap between denial and anger. "Did you keep seeing Nathan after we got together?"

Anna threw the basket on the ground, jars shattering, releasing a noxious cloud of concentrated snake oil. She was too busy glaring daggers at you to answer her husband.

"Fine. Don't tell me." He spat, turning back to you. "I'll hear it from you, [F/N]. You're the only one in this family who's been honest with me."

"She only wanted to get with you because your uncle is CEO of that publishing house." You added. You felt bad for essentially rubbing salt in the wound, but he was right to assume he wouldn't hear it from anyone else.

He placed his hand over his head as if to nurse a migrane. "How could I be so stupid..."

"Liam-" Anna said, her voice jumping a few octaves.

Liam put up his hand. "I don't want to hear it."

"I'm sorry, Lee." You offered. Even though you loved seeing Anna caught, you felt bad for every person she victimized along the way. Liam was no exception.

He dropped his shoulders and sighed. "Thank you, [F/N]. I'll be out of your way, now. Anna--"

He stopped himself, presumably to avoid saying something he would regret. "...find your own way home."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away, leaving Anna with you.

"Thanks for coming." You sneered at her, feeling around behind you for the door handle. "I'd call an uber if I were you."

"You twisted bitch." She scowled, hands hovering in your direction. "You just get off on ruining people's lives, don't you?"

"Oof, that's some serious projection, Anna." You said, unconsciously untying the belt of your robe and pulling it off your shoulders.

"You're-" She sputtered, her eyes growing to the size of personal pizzas. "You're fucking pregnant?!"

Shit. You thought, cycling through whatever braincells you had left for an idea of how to play this off as if you meant to do it.

"Surprise." You shrugged. Yeah, that would work.

"That's impossible!" She stammered. "You're- you're not even married!"

"Grandma never said anything about marriage." You grinned.

Anna struggled to find her words. "That is unfair!"

"So now that you're not winning, the game is unfair?" You raised an eyebrow.

She pursed her lips and pointed at you. "You aren't going to get away with this."

"Just like you didn't get away with cheating on your husband?" You taunted.

"I'm serious, [F/N]." Anna said, backing down the porch steps. "I will destroy everything you love just like you did to me."

For a half a second, the voice in your head told you to beware, that the threat should be taken seriously. Upon remembering it was coming from Anna, you pushed the thought from your mind.

You shouldn't have.

[shania-twain]

au. the met.

She caught his eye from across the way. He was leaning against a column, looking at her curiously.

Used to men staring at her, she quirked a brow at him and he shook his head slightly, looking away. His cheeks were pink from embarrassment. She found that a little endearing. Usually men didn't give a shit if they were caught ogling her.

Amanda is enthusiastically greeted by her friend Lara with a kiss on the cheek and a friendly hug. Over Lara's shoulder, she spots the tall man again. He's turned slightly and she takes the opportunity to study his side profile, her interest piqued. A quick glance to his hands to check for a wedding ring and she's excited to find it bare. His hair is gray, but she likes the silver fox look. Face clean shaven, body lean and a lopsided, closed mouth smile.

"How are you liking the gallery so far? Isn't it neat?" Lara interrupted her thoughts and Amanda tried to focus on her friend. "Find any pieces you like?"

"I like most of 'em," she answered with a small shrug. Her first time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City was uneventful, as she wasn't the biggest fan of art pieces. Though she chalked it up to never having been to a real museum like this and her parent's lack of interest in taking her and her sister anywhere cultured.

Her friend Lara dragged her here with a promise to return her to her hometown in Georgia "a sophisticated lady." She had scoffed at that, but agreed to go, glad to have a reason to dress up nicely.

With it being her last night in New York, she wanted to have a nice dinner and then maybe a bar afterwards with a group of her friends from college. They had been at the museum for nearly an hour and she was ready to go. She could use a drink after another full day of activity. She was really dreading the flight home tomorrow.

"Hey," Lara told her, taking her out of her thoughts. Her friend probably sensed her discomfort by the way she had her arms crossed, but really she was just chilly. "Let's go say goodbye to Steven and then we can get an early dinner. Sound good?"

Amanda nodded, smiling pleasantly as Lara began to lead her over to a friend of hers she had been introduced to earlier. Catching the gaze of the stranger again, she watched him curiously this time. He doesn't look away, even goes so far as to send her a small, friendly grin, dimples in his cheeks. She thought he was damn adorable.

She briefly wished she was alone so she could approach him without ditching her friend.

She watched him try and smoothly break their gaze by pretending to be interested in a painting nearby. She let out a laugh as he placed his large hand on his chin, feigning contemplation on the artwork. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, seeing her smile flirtatiously at him. He swore his heart jumped at the sight.

She was beautiful. Sexy in every way. Her long legs were accentuated by red heels. She wore a white dress that complimented her figure and hugged her curves. His eyes didn't miss the plunging neckline either. Her hair was golden, styled on her head and flowing in waves down her back. She was elegant, classy, and had a smile as bright as the sun.

Noticing that she seemed to be leaving with a girl friend, he felt himself moving toward the exit. He hoped to have some sort of interaction with her, somehow.

He found her outside the museum, shivering, her friend nowhere to be found. Taking a deep breath, he casually walked up to her.

"Hi," he said, trying not to sound too eager. He was shoulder to shoulder to her, though she was a tad bit shorter than him in the heels.

She glanced up at him, a surprised look on her face. He felt his own face flush at the delighted smile on her lips. She detected an accent from him, a smidge different from the regular New York one she had been hearing for days. "Hi," she said.

She had a deep southern accent. It may have been the first time he ever thought it was adorable. He may already be a little biased, though.

"Did you friend ditch you?" He looked around and didn't find the other woman she had been with.

"Nah, she's still inside," she said, gesturing behind her to the building. "Ran into someone. I told her I'd wait out here."

He smirked at her slightly bouncing in place, clearly freezing. "Ya regrettin' that?"

"I'm fine," Amanda defended, rocking on her heels now.

Sonny found himself taking off his jacket and offering it to her. She raised both eyebrows so high, he almost laughed.

"Thanks, but you're a stranger."

He held the jacket over one arm, holding out his hand to her. "I'm Dominick, nice to meet you."

When she took his hand and shook it, she shivered for a different reason. His hold was light, hand warm, his eyes gentle and soft on hers. "Amanda."

Letting go of her hand, he offered his jacket again with a dimpled grin. "Now we're not strangers. Take it while you wait, it's fine."

She still looked doubtful but she did grab it. She was shivering in front of this handsome man and it was embarrassing. "I didn't know it could be so cold in April." As she slipped the large jacket over her shoulders, she gave him a look. "Sure you're not a serial killer?"

At his nod, she left the jacket on, eyeing his professional suit underneath. His blue tie had polka dots on it and she got the sense that he wasn't like the guys she was usually attracted to. "I'm a criminal prosecutor."

Impressed, she lifted a brow again. "So you've been in the room with serial killers?"

He laughed and she found herself mesmerized with the sight of his eyes crinkling. "Not very much, I usually prosecute sex crimes."

"Oh, wow," she said in surprise, "that's gotta be a damn hard job."

"It is," he said honestly. "What do you do?"

She tugged his jacket closer to her, smelling the cologne inside of it. "I'm a social worker. I help kids in difficult domestic situations at home. Among other things."

Her eyes held something dark in them, he noticed, as she told him this information and he thought maybe she could find the same darkness in his. She stepped closer to him, excusing it for the body heat and not the way he smelled and the way he looked at her. Like she was something more. As if she could offer something more than just a body.

"That's incredible," he smiled, "you must be a hero to those kids."

She shook her head humbly. "They're amazing kids. It's wonderful to see kids in awful situations thrive despite the odds against them."

Amanda couldn't believe she was opening up in any way to this man. A stranger, no less. But she figured he could understand, as he's probably seen troublesome things in his own line of work.

"Anyway," she tried to lighten the subject, "back home people don't believe in these kids enough. I want to help them as much as I can."

Smiling softly at her, he asked, "where's home?"

"Georgia," she answered, waving her hand, "small town."

"Amanda!" A voice called out and she turned to see Lara waving at her from the entrance, the person she had been talking to still at her side. Amanda waved back and turned her attention back to Dominick.

"I think she wants me over there," she told him. She started sliding the jacket off but he stopped her.

"Keep it," he said, "I have plenty, trust me."

"Oh, no, I'll be fine," she reassured. He was about to tell her again not to worry about it when her friend walked up.

"Hey," Lara said, looking him up and down. "Who's this?"

"Lara, this is Dominick," Amanda introduced, "we kinda just met."

"Oh," Lara blinked, then when she realized Amanda was wearing the man's jacket, the woman's eyes widened. "Oh!"

"Yeah," Amanda deadpanned, slightly amused. Lara caught the hint Amanda was giving with her eyes and gestured back to her friend. "I'm gonna - forgot to tell them something."

Dominick watched her friend walk away, also amused. He didn't catch Amanda taking something out of her red wallet.

"Hey, so," Amanda said, capturing his attention again. Her eyes were gorgeous. Light, bright pools of blue he could drown in. "I'm actually leaving for Georgia tomorrow."

Ah, damn.

He couldn't even pretend to hide his disappointment. He really thought he might have had a chance with her. Or at least even one date.

"But," she said, pressing her lips together to keep from smiling at his obvious disappointment. "I'll be coming back for a visit pretty soon. Maybe you can show me around?"

Grinning widely at her, Dominick enthusiastically agreed. Amanda could feel butterflies swarm inside her at his excitement. She had never encountered a man quite like him before.

"Amanda, you ready?" Lara called again, from a distance, this time alone. Amanda sighed as she had to part with him, wanting to know more about him but she had made plans already with others.

"It was great meetin' you," she told him in her charming accent.

"Yeah," he stumbled over his words, not quite ready to let her go yet. But he knew he had to. "Yeah, definitely."

She smiled brightly again, taking his jacket off and handing it to him. He took it numbly. "Call me." He watched her walk away, hips swaying, heels clacking against the pavement as her and a friend got into a cab further down the street.

It wasn't until she was out of his sight that he realized he didn't have her number. Cursing to himself, he pinched the bridge of his nose. Why didn't he get her last name? Why?

How many Amanda's in Georgia could there be?

Grumbling, completely irritated, and feeling like a moron, he put his jacket back on. He harshly shoved his hands in his pockets when he felt something in his left pocket. Taking it out, he noticed with extreme delight it was a business card.

Amanda Rollins - Social worker. With a phone number at the bottom.

He smiled.

[bigbangbaby-itsacrashcrashcrash]

Sail Away, Jackie

Jackie decides to leave Point Place and is stuck next to the last person she wanted to see. They have a conversation that leads to understanding, empathy and closure.

She grabbed her bags tightly as she walked towards her section. Tension, fear, anger, and disappointment ran through her body, but it was a familiar feeling. It’s what she felt for the last four months and she just couldn’t take it anymore.

She had lost everyone. Steven, Donna, Fez, Kelso, and even the Forman’s. They had each one by one replaced her for the blonde bimbo that made the love of her life’s lap, her throne now. And just like that, Princess Jackie was replaced by the evil witch. Or maybe she was never a part of them. Just another delusion of hers.

It was the day Steven had bought his wife flowers that she knew this was over. Never in their three years of dating had he gotten her flowers. Yet, the woman he doesn’t even remember marrying seemed more worthy of a simple romantic gesture. It angered her how much that affected her. Because she knew Steven wasn’t big on gestures, so that small action was bigger than the bimbo could even realize. “Stupid bitch” Jackie mumbled to herself.

But she refused to sit and watch, and continue to be tortured by the scene and words thrown at her. Fuck that. So she started to look into schools, jobs and apartments miles and miles away from Point Place. The only good thing about that dreadful day was hearing from her dad’s lawyer and learning that her untouched trust fund was completely available for her to use, and very much loaded. Just what she needed.

Jackie walked inside the plane and found her seat. No one knew where she was going, or the fact that she was even leaving. None of them deserved it, and frankly she didn’t owe them anything. The only thing she did do was leave things they had each given her at some point. Donna’s Heart record was back in her box, Fez’s lucky goat foot that he insisted she carry, Kelso’s mirror that he believed made them look even more beautiful, and lastly, Steven’s Led Zeppelin t-shirt. She packed lightly, donated and sold some of her stuff, and tossed the rest. Luckily she had told Fez she was moving to her parents house a week before it all transpired, so it was easy for her to just pack up and leave.

Jackie was woken from her thinking as she heard a familiar, annoying voice next to her. She looked to her right and there was the catalyst to her life coming down in pieces: Sam.

Sam looked at her with a confused and annoyed look. “What are you doing here Jackie?”

“Oh nothing, just sitting inside a plane, what about you?” Jackie said sarcastically with a smile. Sam rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“Well yeah, I know that, but why are you here? Where are you even going? Let me guess, running away again?” Sam smirked. Any other day, this may have pissed Jackie off and she would have been very tempted to rip her blonde hair, but then she decided to stay zen. But staying zen reminded her of Steven, and she no longer wanted any part of him. So she decided to be genuine. To feel, to be true to herself.

“Running away would imply I have something or someone to run from, which I don’t. I’m just leaving.” Jackie said with a small, but genuine smile. Sam was taken aback by her sincerity and lack of venom. The plane began to take off, which made Sam sit and think about the small moment she just had with the girl she envied, and the girl her husband still loved.

After twenty minutes of being in the air, Sam decided to talk. To actually have a conversation without insults flying. “Where are you going? Is it just for a vacation or forever?” Sam asked quietly.

“Why? Are you going to miss me? Don’t tell me you’re in love with me Sam!” Jackie said seriously, and then began to genuinely laugh. Sam looked at her incredulously and began to laugh too.

After a small bit of comfortable silence, Jackie began to think of how to explain it to her. She had nothing to lose in confiding to Sam, plus she didn’t know where she was actually going.

“I’m leaving Point Place forever. I have nothing left for me there. And while at first I was blaming you for all of it, now I just realized that maybe I never had anyone or anything there. Everything has changed, the gang isn’t the same, and well, I just need to start fresh somewhere new. Where no one knows who I am, my familial ties to the town, my past. Where I can be genuinely myself. I have a friend I’m meeting up with and I’m either staying in his town or somewhere else.” Jackie explained to Sam. She could tell Sam was feeling guilty over it all, considering how much she changed everything. But Jackie decided she didn’t want Sam to live with that guilt. The hurt and pain began before she came into the picture.

“And before you say anything, it’s not your fault. I know I haven’t been the nicest, and for a while I did blame you, but the hurt and disconnect started way before you came into everyone’s lives. Me and Donna have been friends, but it never felt like it was completely reciprocated. I know I’m shallow, mean and bossy, but I was there for her through thick and thin. Yet, she treats me like I’m just an annoying rich girl, and never has my back. I guess it’s true that she doesn’t know why she’s friends with me, because maybe we never were. Kelso and Fez are the least of my problems, they’ve always been perverts, and Steven…” Jackie paused to think about how she’d explain their relationship to his wife.

Sam understood where Jackie was coming from and was now both curious and guilty for interfering in an already fragile relationship. She got her answer when Jackie spoke up again.

“Steven is, was….the love of my life. I never knew love the way I felt it with him. We were good for a while, we knew our deepest, darkest secrets. We were essentially best friends now that I think of it. He was my confidante even before we got together! But there was also an underlying, and ultimately deadly jealousy and insecurity of Michael, which led to our demise. Like the time I said get off my boyfriend, the time he saw me comforting Kelso because Fez had a sex dream about him” Jackie looked at Sam, who had a disgusted face and Jackie scrunched up her nose at her too, while they both laughed softly.

“That’s probably the last thing I need to know about those two” Sam shuddered, laughing at the description of the dream.

“Yeah, that was something else. Anyways, he cheated on me after that, then I put him and Kelso against each other as my way to get revenge, and didn’t take him back for a while because then he decided to screw that biker chick. Eventually we got back together, and things were great.. until I started to pressure him about marriage and growing up. I just had a lot going on and wanted to make sure he was going to stick by my side. That I wasn’t going to be alone. Then we broke up again because he couldn’t give me an answer, got back together for the dumbest reason, all for me to give him the most stupid ultimatum ever. And well, I’m sure you know what happened after that” Jackie sighed. While it drained her to think about what happened, it felt oddly comforting to talk about it out loud, ironically to her exes wife.

Sam had been quiet throughout their whole conversation, nodding, laughing, but most importantly, sympathizing with Jackie. She truly, truly felt sympathy, not only for her relationship ending so badly, but the loss of friends and family the girl went through. She could relate to that, more than Jackie could understand.

[katelyn--renee]

Jealous Heart

Title: Jealous Heart

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Characters: Alex Karev, Reader, Meredith Grey, Christina Yang, Izzy Stevens, George O’Malley, Malcolm Ramsay (OC)

Pairing: Alex x Reader

Words:  ± 1600

Description: Alex’s jealousy leads to something interesting.

Created for @anyfandomgoesbingo​ Square Filled: Jealousy

Rating: Rated M for Mature.

Warnings: Nothing really; maybe a bit of fluff. A bit of bullying/teasing.  Author’s Note: There is no beta and this is my first Grey’s Anatomy fic. I hope you enjoy! Please comment your thoughts and share the love! Your feedback gives me life! :)

A shout out to @writeyourmindaway​ for the amazing dividers! Thank you!

Interested in more of my work, check out the link below.

Masterlist

“Careful, Evil Spawn, your jealousy is showing. People might actually think you’re human.” Christina Yang taunted, teasing her colleague and tossing a piece of popcorn toward him. It hit Alex in the arm and dropped to the floor beside the wheelchair he occupied. He glared at the assaulting food as the other interns snickered and smirked, their laughter filling the empty hallway. 

Karev scoffed and rolled his eyes at them, sneering at Yang. “Yeah. Whatever.” He grumbled, gripping the handles of the wheel chair a little tighter, and swiftly turning away from the other interns. He heard them muttering and giggling behind his back, and so he turned back, face red with annoyance. “I just - I don’t get it, what does that guy have, that I don’t?” He argued, gesturing wildly behind him toward the entrance of their hideaway. “The dude is a tool!” 

The four other interns exchanged thoughtful looks, very much enjoying their antics. “Good hair,” Izzy chimed in first with a shrug, stating the fact as if it should have been obvious. She smacked George in the arm, who nodded in agreement, “Great hair, actually. Like, it’s always just so perfectly, well-groomed…” Izzy made a few hand motions for added effect, touching her own head of blonde hair. She made a few more side comments about his rugged good looks and broad shoulders.

“Talented hands.” Meredith added to the list, but then quickly corrected herself before anyone got the wrong idea. “He’s a world-class surgeon.” She shrugged, glancing at Alex who shook his head, feeling betrayed. He scoffed again.

“A heart.” Christina stated bluntly, stealing a laugh from Meredith who shook her head and instantly tried to hide her smile for Alex’s sake. “A soul. Decent human emotions.” She continued, the laughter bubbling up again around them.

Alex had heard enough and he stood up, “Screw you guys.” He grumbled, storming off in the opposite direction. This only made Christina laugh even more, mocking him with a pouty lip and fake teary eyes.

“I’m sure he doesn’t give people syphilis either!” George called out after Alex, who replied with a few choice words of his own, flashing him the finger over his shoulder.

He couldn’t believe them. They were supposed to be his friends! They were supposed to be on his side and agree with him, not make him feel worse about the whole situation. But maybe they were right? What chance did a guy like him have against a guy like that? 

As if the universe were mocking him, a portrait of Dr. Perfect stared down at him at the end of the hall. He sneered at it before turning down the next hall, heading for the lobby at the front of the hospital.

He paused at the main nurses station, collecting a patient’s chart in an attempt to distract himself with work. He looked over the information and tried to make sense of the numbers in front of him. But, no matter how hard he tried to focus, it did little to ease his racing mind and jealous heart.

With a huff of annoyance, he closed the chart and put it back into the slot, clenching his jaw. He scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to force away his frustrations. He scratched at the stubble accompanying his jawline. What the hell was he doing? He shook his head, annoyed and angry with himself. 

A familiar, adorable giggle reached his ears and seized his heart; it was a sound he’d recognize anywhere. He followed the beautiful sound and glanced in the direction of the grand staircase, spotting (Y/N) standing near the bottom of the steps with none other than the tool himself, Dr. Malcolm Ramsay; Dr. Perfect. 

Alex watched their exchange from afar and his lip curled with anger as the jealousy bubbled up inside of his chest, making his blood boil. It coiled and twisted inside of his stomach, making him feel sick. She looked so excited and bubbly and happy and it pissed him off knowing that it wasn’t him who made her feel that way. How could he?

He watched with disdain as the man touched her arm, affectionately squeezing it. She giggled and scrunched her nose up, making it crinkle cutely. Alex clenched his hands into fists at his sides, his jaw set. He had to look away, his stomach - and heart - couldn’t bear to watch anymore. 

Leaving the nurses station, he rounded the next corner and paused, making a decision. He couldn’t wait any longer, he needed to know; for his own sanity, he needed to know why she felt the way that she did and why it had to be him.

He waited impatiently for her, pacing the small section of hallway and earning himself a few odd looks from nurses and passing doctors. He would turn expectantly at every passing set of footsteps, only being met with disappointment. One particular set of footsteps caught his ear and when he turned to confront them, he was met with the (Y/E/C) that he adored so much.

Grabbing her by the arm gently, yet firmly, he tugged her into a nearby supply closet and shut the door with a loud bang. “Alex, what the hell?” (Y/N) gasped with a confused expression on her face. She rose a curious brow at the other intern, his back still to her. “Alex, what’s going on?” She asked again, hesitant to know the answer. Something was wrong.

“(Y/N) we need to talk.” Alex finally spoke, his voice agitated and a bit shaky. He turned to face her then, his expression hard and serious. He had his hands on his hips and his breathing was erratic, his chest rising and falling quickly, but he said nothing else.

(Y/N) made an impatient face as the silence built between them and she folded her arms under her breasts, sighing “Okay?” She questioned, dragging out the word with annoyance, “Alex, you’re being weird. What the hell is going on?” She asked with a huff, her lips pressed into a solid line. “Look, Alex, I’ve got work to do. Bailey is going to kill me if I don’t get these charts finished. Spit it out.” 

His stomach was in knots, doing cartwheels in his abdomen. His tongue felt like concrete in his mouth, too heavy to move. Fuck. Man up! Talk to her! “Why do you like him?” Alex blurted out suddenly, his brow pinched together and his eyes stern.

(Y/N) frowned heavily at him, “Excuse me?” She asked, confused and slightly offended by his assumption. “Like who, Alex? You’re not making any sense.” She rolled her eyes at the man.

“Don’t act like you don’t know. I saw how cozy you just were with him, giggling and doing that nose scrunch thing you do.” He stated, gesturing to her nose and face, clearly upset. 

“What?” (Y/N) scoffed at him and shook her head, her (Y/H/C) swaying with the motion. “You’re being ridiculous.” She muttered and moved to step past him, but he stepped in her path. “Alex.” She huffed, annoyed by his antics. 

“Answer the question; why do you like that tool? I need to know.” Alex insisted, his eyes searching hers for an answer. 

“Alex, move.” (Y/N) tried again, but Alex kept his stance firm and planted his feet. It became very apparent to her Alex wasn’t about to let this go any time soon. She looked away from him, her tongue making an annoyed clicking sound in her mouth before she huffed, giving in. “He’s not the one I like, Alex.” She admitted, forcing herself to look into his eyes.

Alex frowned at that, his confusion only growing stronger. “W-what, who then?” He asked, his tone not as harsh as before. He crossed his arms, trying to rack his brain and figure out who this mystery guy is. His face was scrunched and pinched between his brows, straining.

(Y/N) rolled her eyes, her expression softening a fraction. She studied his face, her eyes wandering over his handsome features and eyes full of so much emotion. “Do you really not know, dummy?” She stated, the softness of her voice catching his attention. There was another drawn out pause. “Do I have to spell it out for you?” She smiled a little at him, raising her brows in an attempt to silently fill in the blanks for him.

Everything began to click into place and his face began to relax at the realization. Alex swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat with her confession, his eyes falling to her lips briefly before meeting her eyes. A hint of a smile hitched up the corner of his mouth before he closed the distance between them, his hands cupping her face. Their lips met, hard and desperate to taste each other. They’d been dreaming of this day, the pair of them dancing around their feelings for months and now… now it was actually happening.

Alex’s heart was racing inside of his chest, pounding so hard he thought it would burst from his chest and flop onto the floor. He had to break away, but didn’t go far, their foreheads still pressed together. He smiled and laughed softly, sounding a bit breathless. Her hands were on his chest and he wondered if she could feel his heart pounding there. He rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs, his fingers cradling the back of his neck. 

“Does that answer your question, dummy?” She muttered and laughed softly, her lips connecting with his again in an affectionate peck. After a moment, she laughed again, “Wait, were you really jealous of Dr. Ramsey?” She questioned, teasing him with a raised brow. 

Alex rolled his eyes playfully, “Shut up.” He replied, silencing her giggles with another kiss.

Thanks for reading!!