#and that seems to be his entire arsenal
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vera-dauriac · 6 months ago
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Consider this a formal petition to the opera companies of the world.
Reblog this is you, too, want to stop Brian Jagde from ruining another La forza.
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prlssprfctn · 4 months ago
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The first time, Tim notices someone observing them from afar, it is when they are all settled for a brief dinner together. It is the middle of the week, and Bruce gathered all of them together to... relax. Which is strange but not unwelcome. Everyone is so involved in chattering and bantering that they don't notice a lingering gaze through the window; they don't, but Tim does.
It takes him a few seconds to figure out that it is Jason.
He is not sure if Bruce reached for him to invite, and Jason just declined, or there was no offer to begin with, but Tim knows for sure Jason lurkes behind windows for a few minutes before disappearing in the night.
And the funniest thing? Tim understands him.
He thinks he is not Jason's replacement — never truly was, despite what the other thought — but in a way, they did swap their places. Because in the past, it was Tim, who hid on the rooftops, staring at Bruce and his family, listening to the snippets of their conversations. And now it is Jason.
It is still different, of course. Tim had a choice, and it was his... enthusiastic project, if anything — Jason doesn't really. But if anyone understands the feeling of standing far away from everyone, it is still Tim.
That's why the next time in happens, Tim reaches out.
It is after the particularly easy mission, when Tim spots the red motion on the rooftop. He slips away from Nightwing and Robin, who debate about something with Batman through the comms, and finds himself standing behind Red Hood.
The way Red Hood taps his fingertips on the balustrade makes Tim remember that he is not included in their comms anymore. He wonders how lonely it is, to hear the voices of his brothers, but never being able to grasp the whole conversation they have.
'Hood,' he calls for him.
To Jason's credit, he doesn't scramble in panic, even if it seems that he is surprised by his appearance.
'Red,' he mutters back, instantly defensive. 'What, came to mock me?'
Tim rolls his eyes; he wishes things would be easier with Jason, but they are not, and he can't really blame him for that.
'Had I ever mocked you?' He copies his stance, arms folding in the chest. When Jason tilts his head, almost asking, "Really now?" Tim rolls his eyes again. 'Okay, I did a few times. But it mostly were jokes about your death.'
Jason chuckles.
'Good one, punk. It changes everything.'
'You like jokes about your death,' Tim protests. 'And I know you allow Arsenal to joke about it, so it is not entirely closed topic.'
'I don't remember allowing you to joke about it, though.'
...
This conversation is so fucking stupid. Tim didn't even came here for this, but-
But fine. He still can win.
'So, you only allow it to your friends. Fine. Let's be friends,' Jason chokes on his own exhausted sigh. 'Do you need some friendship questionnaires to fill to be my friend? I can arrange that.'
Jason kindly flips him off under his breath before disappearing in the night, leaving him alone with whining Nightwing and irritated Bruce in his ear.
The next time he stalks down Jason, who in turn is stalking Damian and Bruce, he shoves in his hand twenty three papers filled with bunch of friendship questions — half stripped from internet, half made by Tim that involve the specifics of their jobs.
He doesn't expect anything to come after it, but in two weeks after Jason returns to the city after his mission with Outlaws, Tim finds these papers filled with surprisingly neat, calligraphic answers.
And he gets the printed copy of the same questions, with one page of an additional one, written in the same handwriting, and with a little sticky note atop of it.
Your turn, Timbo.
Tim smirks.
Oh, he will so drag Jason back in the family, somehow.
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rafecameronssl4t · 5 months ago
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Saving Grace || CEO!Rafe Cameron x fem!reader
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Summary: When Rafe Cameron’s infamous temper threatens to derail the entire office, his wife is called in as the only person who can bring him back to earth.
Warnings: none!
Word count: 2,051
MASTERLIST
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Rafe Cameron could be described in many ways: arrogant, sharp-tongued, perpetually stone-faced, and infamously hot-headed. His temper was a ticking time bomb, always moments away from detonation. It didn’t take much to set him off—a missed detail, an oversight, or even the wrong tone of voice—and once his mood soured, it had a ripple effect on everyone within his orbit.
If Rafe was in a foul mood, the entire office braced itself for the storm, knowing they’d bear the brunt of his frustration. Productivity stalled, morale plummeted, and an oppressive tension hung heavy in the air. No one dared to ask if he was okay or offer to fix the issue—it was simply understood that his temper had to run its course.
But there was one person who had mastered the art of disarming the bomb: his assistant, Rachael. If anyone in the office had something to say about Rachael, it was that she knew Rafe Cameron far too well. She had an uncanny ability to read his moods and an arsenal of strategies for defusing them. Most importantly, she understood the one surefire way to calm Rafe down: his wife.
The woman who he worshipped the ground she walked on, mother to his children, and the only person Rafe Cameron seemed to hold above all else. No matter how irritable or unapproachable he became, the mere mention of her name was enough to shift the atmosphere. So when Rachael watched one of her coworkers stumble out of Rafe’s office, barely holding back tears, she knew it was time to intervene.
Her sharp eyes scanned the room, noting the nervous glances exchanged between staff members who were all too aware of the storm brewing behind Rafe’s closed door. Without missing a beat, Rachael grabbed her phone, dialling a number she had memorised long ago. As the call connected, her tone softened—a stark contrast to the sharp efficiency she displayed in the office.
“Hi, Mrs. Cameron,” she began, her voice carrying a mixture of urgency and familiarity. “I hate to bother you, but it’s one of those days. If you’re free, I think a quick word with Rafe might do the trick.” She paused, listening intently before smiling to herself. Rachael didn’t need to explain much; Mrs. Cameron always seemed to know exactly how to handle her husband.
And while the office might dread Rafe’s infamous outbursts, Rachael found comfort in knowing there was someone who could bring the man back down to earth. She let out a small sigh of relief when she heard your calm, reassuring voice on the other end of the line. “I’ll be right there,” you said, your tone steady but with a hint of warmth that was reserved for conversations about your husband.
Without hesitation, you grabbed your car keys, slipping on a pair of heels as you prepared to leave. It wasn’t the first time you’d been called in to play peacemaker, and it likely wouldn’t be the last. Rafe’s temper was legendary, but you knew how to navigate it better than anyone else. You’d seen him at his worst, the raw edges of his frustration and anger, but you also knew the softer side of him—the part that melted when you walked into a room, the man who looked at you like you hung the stars in the sky.
As you slid into the driver’s seat, your thoughts briefly flickered to your children, safely at home with the nanny. You didn’t want to leave them, but you also understood that Rafe needed you. He might not admit it outright, especially not in front of his staff, but the subtle ways he sought you out after a rough day spoke volumes.
~
As you walked toward your husband’s office, the energy in the space shifted noticeably. Heads turned, relief washing over faces that had been tense just moments before. Hushed whispers followed in your wake, employees murmuring their gratitude for the one person who could tame the storm that was Rafe Cameron. Even without uttering a word, your presence commanded respect—graceful yet undeniably authoritative.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you, Mrs. Cameron,” Rachael said as she stood from her desk, her tone filled with a mixture of hope and exhaustion. “He’s in his office, and he’s miserable in there.” You glanced through the glass wall into Rafe’s office. Rachael hadn’t exaggerated—his frustration was palpable. The furrow of his brow, the tight set of his jaw, and the restless movements of his hands screamed of a man on the verge of losing his patience entirely.
You offered Rachael a small, reassuring smile before making your way to the door, your heels clicking softly against the polished floor. You didn’t bother knocking—Rafe hated formalities when it came to you. The heavy sigh he let out at the sound of the door opening was immediate. His eyes remained locked on the papers scattered across his desk, his tone sharp and cold.
“I thought I said I didn’t want to be disturbed.” A small smile tugged at the corners of your lips as you stepped inside. “Does that include me?” you asked, your voice sweet and smooth, cutting through the tension. Rafe’s head snapped up at the sound of your voice, his piercing blue eyes meeting yours. Instantly, his rigid posture softened, and the weight on his shoulders seemed to lift.
The frustration etched into his features melted away, replaced by a look that could only be described as unguarded affection. Just your presence had the power to undo him. Without a word, Rafe reached behind his desk and flicked a switch, causing the glass walls of his office to turn frosted, granting the two of you privacy. His voice softened, tinged with genuine curiosity and concern.
“What are you doing here, baby?" You walked around his desk, your movements fluid and deliberate, and Rafe turned in his chair to face you fully. Standing in front of him, you saw the shift in his expression—the hard edges of his day crumbling as he looked up at you. And there it was, the look that never failed to steal your breath.
No matter how difficult or frustrating his day had been, Rafe always looked at you like you were his entire world, as though you hung the moon and stars just for him. In his eyes, there was nothing but pure, unfiltered love—a stark contrast to the icy exterior he showed everyone else. You leaned down, your fingers brushing lightly against his jaw as you pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.
His shoulders visibly relaxed at the familiar touch, the tension from his day dissolving. “You’re scaring your employees,” you teased softly, your words accompanied by a light chuckle as you straightened up. Rafe let out a dramatic sigh, leaning back in his chair and rolling his eyes. “They’re ridiculous,” he muttered, his tone laced with both irritation and amusement.
“They’re terrified,” you corrected, folding your arms and raising a brow at him. “I saw one of them practically in tears.” Rafe groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “It’s not my fault they can’t handle a little pressure.” You gave him a knowing look, stepping closer and resting your hands on the armrests of his chair, effectively boxing him in. “Rafe, you can be a little
 intense,” you said gently, your eyes locking with his. “And by ‘a little,’ I mean a lot.”
His lips quirked into a smirk, his hands instinctively finding your waist. “You don’t seem scared of me,” he said, his voice dropping into a softer, almost teasing tone. “That’s because I know the real you,” you replied, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. “The one who spoils me, reads bedtime stories to the kids, and eats all the burnt pancakes I make without complaining.”
He let out a low chuckle, the sound rumbling from his chest. “You know I love those burnt pancakes,” he murmured, tugging you closer until you were practically sitting on his lap. “Hmm,” you hummed playfully, trailing your fingers along the lapel of his blazer. “Maybe I should remind your staff that under all that brooding, you’re just a big softie.”
“Don’t you dare,” he warned, though his smirk betrayed the emptiness of his threat. You laughed softly, pressing another kiss to his lips before pulling back just enough to meet his gaze. “Then maybe try to be a little nicer? For me?” He sighed, feigning reluctance, but the way his hands tightened on your waist betrayed his surrender. “Fine,” he said, his tone mockingly begrudging. “But only because you asked so nicely.”
“That’s all I needed to hear,” you said with a satisfied smile, brushing your thumb against his cheek. “Now, why don’t you take a break? Let me help you relax before you scare anyone else.” Rafe’s smirk softened into a genuine smile, the love in his eyes shining brighter than ever. “You really are my saving grace,” he murmured, his voice low and sincere.
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ozzgin · 1 month ago
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Yandere School and Celebrity Crushes
How does the yandere school react to your latest celebrity obsession? content: gender neutral reader, stalking and manipulation, parody
Your classmate inspects your report, finishing with a satisfied nod. Indeed, this must be one of your best attempts so far – the keen eye for detail, the wide variety of stolen data, the thoroughly compiled research. He tries his best to maintain a humble stance, yet he can’t help the faint smirk forming on his face; surely this must be the result of his professional advice.
“Fantastic job, (Y/N),” he praises solemnly. “Though I’ll say, I’m not familiar with this name. Which classmate is it?”
“Oh, it’s not a classmate,” you say, waving in dismissal, “just a celebrity I’ve been a fan of lately.”
You’re still twirling your hair and relishing in the compliments you’ve received, so much that the sudden shift of the mood goes unnoticed. The class is quiet, and most of the students have turned to face you.
There are some unspoken rules that circulate around the school, you see. While someone catching your interest should be corrected at the earliest convenience, it is still preferred that it’s someone within your vicinity: a classmate, a teacher, a neighbor. Someone who can be hunted down easily. A celebrity, on the other hand, is a much more abstract kind of fear, a less palpable rival. Depending on the level of fame, tracking them down and teaching them a lesson may very well be a distant dream.
Consequently, the Yandere School students will have to get creative. Whatever it is that you love about this popular no-one will be skillfully tarnished into oblivion. They’re generous? What? Haven’t you seen the latest article! They’re supposedly out there stealing blankets from homeless people, strategically choosing the coldest days of winter to strike.
If you choose to be stubborn in your skepticism, your fellow classmates will continue to innovate their ways of constructing proof. They’ve held auditions for the closest lookalike, someone who will be featured in photographs and videos meant to aid their honorable cause. Sure, go ahead and don’t believe the news, but they come with proper visual evidence that cannot possibly be denied. Here’s a video of your beloved celebrity kicking a puppy. No, it’s not someone wearing a dog suit. You’re just not familiar with this breed, most likely.
Perhaps you wrongly assumed that the Yandere School relies only on crude, unsophisticated methods, like stalking, kidnapping, blunt force
In reality, these approaches merely graze over the entire arsenal. A true yandere, you will find, polishes the skill of manipulation first and foremost.
“I thought you’d continue your report on your celebrity crush?”
The young man bites his lip, simulating a worried expression.
“I don’t know, they seem to be a pretty terrible person, after all,” you respond with a sigh. “I guess you never truly know someone, especially if they’re famous. I’ll pick someone from school instead.”
A collective exhale, and everyone’s shoulders droop in relief. At last, the damned fiend has been defeated. With pockets filled with cease-and-desist orders and defamation lawsuits, the yandere school students and staff can finally be at peace. A small price to pay for your undivided attention.
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[Yandere School Masterlist]
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chogiwow · 2 months ago
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the law of unintended consequences. | jake sim (part one)
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→ posits that actions often have unforeseen and unanticipated effects, which may be positive, negative, or neutral, that are not part of the actor's original intent. MASTERLIST | PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4
pairing: astrophysicist jake x assistant reader
genre: co-workers to lovers
wc: part 1 – 20k
warnings: slowburn, topics of abandonment issues, jake has his first kiss, makeouts, some touching (that's as far as it goes), cheesy ass astronomy rizz :'D
a/n: dividing this into 2-3 parts bc tumblr fuck you and your 1000 blocks limit
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one. 
you are not supposed to be here.
you have zero qualifications in astrophysics, no background in quantum mechanics, and absolutely no business being inside one of the country’s top space research facilities.
but you’re just a desperate graduate looking for a job.
when you applied for an assistant role at a science institute – thinking it would involve scheduling meetings, filing paperwork, maybe even making coffee – you did not expect to end up working under a literal genius.
seriously, you thought you’d be running small errands. and here’s the thing. you’re good at what you do, you’re good at the whole administerial part of the job. you’re needed to print copies of the meeting notes? done. you need to coordinate with the finance department because sunghoon somehow submitted last year’s budget instead of the current one? you already emailed them. jay forgot about an important board meeting? no, he didn’t. because you added three reminders to his calendar and physically dragged him out of the lab when he tried to pretend he had “urgent research” to finish.
you keep this place functioning, to whatever extent you can. you are efficient. you are essential. you are the one making sure the right documents reach the right people in the chaos that is everyday and the coffee machine’s up and functioning.
but the moment anyone in the lab starts talking about science stuff? you might as well be a hamster in a quantum mechanics lecture.
seriously. it’s like your brain just taps out.
you’ve been working here for months, and you still don’t know what these people actually do. you know it involves space and big words and a lot of coffee-fueled all-nighters. but the second someone starts explaining their research, it’s like you’re staring into the abyss.
you’re basically surrounded by insufferable nerds who talk about wormholes and black hole singularities like they’re discussing the weather. it’s like walking into a foreign country where the language is pure equations.
the worst part?
not all of them are entirely insufferable. some are just too passionate for their own good, their conversations looping endlessly in circles you can’t follow. if anything, you’re the fish out of water here.
take jay, for example. he’s not that bad. in fact, he’s one of those hot nerds who knows he’s hot – but doesn’t flaunt it. sure, he runs a hand through his hair a little too often when you’re around, throws you that lopsided smile when you hand out research papers you don’t understand, and occasionally offers you free coffee when you pass by his workstation.
but he’s also the guy with an endless arsenal of space puns and the world’s worst pick-up lines.
so yeah, not entirely insufferable.
sunghoon is more moody, more reserved, always hyper-focused on his work. he doesn’t bother with small talk, barely acknowledges your presence unless necessary, and when he does, it’s usually with a furrowed brow and a clipped “can you move?” when you accidentally block the whiteboard. he’s a bit of a jerk in your opinion, but jay seems to swear by him, assuring you that his friends have been literal losers since university, never even having dated anyone at all and that he just needs time to warm up to someone. you believe him because it's believable.
but leading this entire team of genius lunatics?
dr. jake sim.
jake sim is brilliant. annoyingly brilliant. the youngest astrophysicist to be leading major research on gravitational waves and exoplanets. the golden boy of the lab. the guy who talks about space-time distortions the way normal people talk about the weather.
jake sim is also hot – surprise (not really). he completes the trio of jay and sunghoon – the hot trio of the lab. everyone knows it. every assistant and secretary in the building has fun batting their eyes and twirling their hair at them. but while jay flirts back and sunghoon ignores it, jake
 doesn’t even notice.
jake has a quiet, brooding edge to him. he always wears his glasses – except when he slides them off to rub a tired hand over his stupidly handsome face, his black hair somehow fluffy yet perfectly in place. you’ve often found yourself staring, wondering what kind of haircare routine produces that level of effortless perfection. (“papaya extract shampoo,” jay tells you later.)
even when he’s frowning, he looks like a lost puppy. he’s not intimidating per se, he’s just 
 not a very socially apt person you’ve met. and that’s saying something because the first month you joined, sunghoon avoided you like the plague. you thought you had done something to offend him but turns out, as jay informed you later, sunghoon’s just very awkward around new people.
jake sim is a genius. a literal, world-altering, lab-coated prodigy whose brain works at speeds the average person can’t even comprehend.
he is also, unfortunately, a menace to basic workplace efficiency. you’ve learned this the hard way.
because for all his brilliance, jake has zero awareness of his surroundings. he’ll abandon pens in entirely different departments, walk off mid-sentence because he’s already three equations ahead in his mind, and somehow exist in a state of constant near-calamity – like a human science experiment teetering on the edge of disaster.
which is where you come in.
you, the assistant who keeps his world running. the one who reminds him to eat. the one who nudges a coffee into his hands before he even realizes he needs it. the one who subtly rearranges his misplaced files, retrieves his lost stationery, and – on more than one occasion – has saved his life by yanking him out of the way of an incoming cart of hazardous materials.
you do all of this seamlessly. efficiently. and completely unnoticed.
because jake sim doesn’t know your name. not really.
you’re just the person who hands him reports and dodges his absentminded shoulder bumps in the hallway. the one he thanks without looking up, too engrossed in his work to register you as anything more than background noise.
which brings you to now.
standing outside his office, gripping a file filled with research you don’t understand, mentally preparing yourself to not make a fool of yourself this time.
you take a breath. knock. no answer.
you knock again. still nothing.
maybe he’s not here? maybe you can just leave the file on his desk and escape unnoticed—
the door suddenly swings open. and you immediately take a step back, startled.
jake blinks down at you, clearly pulled out of deep thought, his glasses slightly askew, lab coat unbuttoned.
he doesn’t say anything. just stares.
and for the first time, you’re really seeing him up close.
his sharp features. the faint shadow of stubble along his jaw from too many sleepless nights. the way his hair falls slightly over his forehead.
yeah, this man has no business being this attractive.
you open your mouth, but words fail you.
jake glances at the file in your hands. then back at you.
“are you lost?”
what.
“no,” you say, straightening. “i—i work here.”
jake frowns, clearly trying to recall if he’s ever seen you before. he has not.
“
right.” his gaze flicks down to your name tag. “y/n.”
holy shit, it’s at this moment that you realise, this man has no idea who you are. he doesn’t know who his assistant is.
regardless, you nod, offering the file like it’s a peace offering. “dr. lee said to give this to you.”
jake takes the file from you, barely glancing at it before flipping through the pages. silence. you shift awkwardly, waiting for him to acknowledge your existence beyond just your name tag.
“this is wrong.”

excuse me?
you blink. “what?”
jake flips the file around, showing you a page filled with numbers and diagrams that might as well be ancient hieroglyphics to you. “these calculations. they don’t match the expected parameters.”
your brain short-circuits. “uh
 okay.”
jake sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “did dr. lee give this to you?”
“yes.”
“did you change anything?”
you gape at him. “do i look like i know how to change a single digit in that mess?”
jake finally looks at you properly, as if realizing you are, in fact, the last person who would alter high-level astrophysics data. then, to your absolute horror, he scoffs. somehow, that’s more insulting to you, the fact that he’s just now realising that you’re an assistant and not a fellow colleague or intern or junior. really, it was just a sign of realisation, but why did it piss you off?
“fair point.”
he steps back, gesturing for you to come in. “i need to cross-check this. you might as well wait.”
before you can protest, he’s already walked back to his desk, completely expecting you to follow.
here’s another thing about you. you’re efficient, yes. you keep the schedules running like a well-oiled machine. you manage people, deadlines, and occasional office chaos with ease. you have your occasional run-ins with the high tech coffee machine, but you compensate with the packets of instant mixes. you clock in and out of work on time, you don’t butt your nose where you’re not required. you sit quietly in those boring meetings, stifling your yawns but its not like many people notice you anyway. you are definitely efficient at what you do.
but you’re also... clumsy.
not in a way that actively disrupts work (you swear). just in a way that has you constantly bumping into desks, tripping over air, and somehow finding new, creative ways to spill coffee on yourself. you blame it on your flat feet – probably. but the truth is, you’ve simply made peace with your gravitational challenges.
it’s something that has plagued you since an early age where you’d be slipping off swing sets or bumping into tables or accidentally rubbing the eraser too hard across your notebook page, causing it to rip right through the middle. but it's alright, it’s not a life threatening
 disorder, you’d suppose.
and for the most part, no one notices.
except that one time jay did when you tripped over a computer wire. he snickered so loud, half the office turned to stare at him. you ran away in a blushing mess before he could turn it into a full roast session.
you're standing in jake sim’s office with the hesitation of someone who just walked into an active minefield. but it’s always this way when you need to go into his office.
his office is
 exactly the way you had seen it in your initial days of work.
not in the normal executive kind of way – no sleek, intimidating decor, no minimalist furniture that screams i’m too rich to function. no, jake’s office is chaos disguised as a workspace.
the walls are lined with whiteboards covered in scribbled equations – formulas, diagrams, and the kind of notes that make your brain hurt just looking at them. books are stacked in precarious towers, some open, some closed, all of them filled with words and symbols that might as well be hieroglyphics. a crumpled hoodie is draped over the back of his chair, and an abandoned coffee cup sits dangerously close to the edge of his desk, a faint ring staining the surface underneath.
there’s a rhythm to the disorder, though – like his mind works too fast for his space to keep up. you’ve known jake to be someone who knows exactly what he is doing and you have no doubt this is all just an organised mess to him. he’d probably be able to tell you in alphabetical order where all his things were. you knew the moment you saw him maneuvering himself through this trash pile of a room with the ease of a cat, that he knew exactly where everything was.
but you did your part as a good assistant and helped clean up his desk once in a while. nothing much, just stacking the reports in different piles, labelled ‘to be read’ or ‘needs review’ with coloured sticky notes for his sake, making sure his pen stand has a decent amount of working pens and sharpened pencils, bookmarking pages of books he left open on his table and stacking them in another corner of the desk, making sure the dust is cleaned off and no stains of coffee cups remain on his workspace.
it smells faintly of coffee, whiteboard markers, and something else – something subtly clean, like fresh laundry, though you doubt he even has time for things like that.
and in the middle of it all is jake sim himself, hunched over his desk, glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose as he scans a file with sharp, calculating eyes. he absently pushes his glasses back up, muttering something under his breath.
you catch the words “data inconsistencies.”
you have no idea what’s wrong with the numbers on the page, but based on his frown, they seem to have personally offended him.
you shift your weight from one foot to the other, trying not to focus on the dim office lighting casting soft shadows over his face.
which, objectively speaking, is unfairly attractive.
in that disheveled genius way – like he hasn’t slept in days but could still win a magazine cover shoot by accident.
not that you care. obviously. you’re just here to do your job. your very normal, very non-physics-related job.
and then, in true you fashion – disaster strikes.
it happens fast. one second, you’re standing still, being the picture of professionalism. the next, your foot catches on something – probably your own dignity – and suddenly, the ground is rushing up to meet you at an alarming speed.
you don’t even have time to process your impending doom before a firm hand catches your wrist, steadying you just before you faceplant into the floor.
for a brief, shocking moment, you’re pressed against jake sim’s side, gripping his arm as if your life depends on it.
because it does.
you look up – eyes wide, breath caught – and find him staring down at you, completely unfazed, those damn glasses of his slightly crooked over his nose bridge. his grip is steady, warm, but impersonal – like he just reacted on instinct before immediately moving on.
and then — "dark matter interactions shouldn’t be this inconsistent," he mutters, releasing you as if the whole thing was a minor inconvenience.
you just nearly wiped out in his office, and he’s already back to contemplating the mysteries of the universe?!
you gape at him as he casually flips a page, frowning at the numbers again, like he hadn’t just saved you from a mild concussion.
"uh—thanks?" you manage, still trying to steady your heartbeat.
jake hums in response, not even looking up. "watch your step next time."
unbelievable. it’s official.
this man has zero self-awareness.
two.
jake swears on his life he had kept the papers on the ‘dark energy survey’ report on his desk last night before he left.
yet, as he stands in his office now, staring at the very-much-empty surface where they should be, his jaw tightens.
he exhales through his nose. okay. no need to panic. maybe they got buried under the mess.
he starts shifting through the stacks of books and scattered notes, moving one pile to another area of controlled chaos. but the more he looks, the more it becomes evident – those papers are gone.  
and he needs them. now.
biting his cheeks, he squats on the floor, peering under his desk but nothing. not the report he was looking for. maybe he kept it somewhere else, somewhere away from the mess on his desk just to be sure that they were in a more accessible place. but where? there’s not a single nook and cranny in his room that could possibly meet that standard, it’s all just piles of papers and charts and books.
his desk drawer?
a quick survey of that yields nothing but two dried up pens, some loose sheets he had scribbled rough calculations on and an empty paper cup.
fuck, where the hell did he put that report?
with a frustrated sigh, he runs a hand through his already-messy hair, striding across to the middle of his room and casting a wary glance all around. a muscle in his jaw twitches as he stares at the scattered disaster zone that is his office.
he has checked everywhere – under the desk, between stacks of papers, in his desk drawer (twice), even inside an old laptop case for some godforsaken reason.
nothing.
this doesn’t make sense. he left it right here – unless he didn’t.
he presses his palms against the desk, eyes squeezing shut for a second. he’s tired. maybe he just—
"are you okay, or are you plotting an intergalactic war?"
jake's head snaps up.
you stand at the doorway, arms crossed, eyebrows quirked in amusement. you’re holding a different set of documents, clearly in the middle of your usual rounds, but now you’re just watching him suffer.
"i’m fine," he says flatly.
"uh-huh. that’s why you look like you want to launch yourself into a black hole."
jake pinches the bridge of his nose. "i lost something." he’s seen you before, weren’t you the person from yesterday? the one who tripped over air?
you hum, stepping inside. "what?"
“the dark energy survey report.”
at that, you pause. a flicker of something crosses your face, like you’re remembering something.
jake notices. “what?”
“nothing,” you say automatically. then, a second later, “wait. you’re sure you left it on your desk?”
“yes.”
“you’re sure sure?”
jake glares. “i don’t say things i’m not sure about.”
you give him a look, like you find that highly debatable, but instead of arguing, you shift the documents in your hands and tilt your head in thought.
"because," you start, "i came in yesterday to drop off a memo from dr. lee, and i remember seeing your desk. it was already a disaster zone, but i don’t think that report was there."
jake frowns. "that’s impossible. i was working on it last night—"
and then it clicks.
his expression shifts, frustration turning into something more like realization.
“oh,” he says.
“oh?” you echo.
jake straightens, rubbing his jaw. he had been talking to jay and sunghoon about data discrepancies in the report yesterday. they had moved to the adjacent lab to compare notes on a new simulation model—
shit.
"i think i left it in lab c," jake sighs, already making a beeline for the door. "i took it with me while discussing—"
"—dark matter inconsistencies, right?" you finish dryly, following him out.
jake doesn’t acknowledge that. but you’re right.
as jake strides toward lab c with you trailing behind him, you take a moment to process the absurdity of this situation.
you are an administrative assistant. your job is to schedule meetings, file reports, and occasionally wrestle the coffee machine into submission.
yet, here you are, following the lab's star astrophysicist on a quest for lost paperwork like you’re in some sort of intergalactic treasure hunt.
lab c is as chaotic as you expect it to be. desks cluttered with scattered notes, half-drunk coffee cups balancing precariously on top of stacks of journals, whiteboards filled with scribbles that look more like encrypted messages from an alien race than anything remotely comprehensible.
jake wastes no time. he scans the room, eyes sharp, movements precise. you, on the other hand, stand uselessly by the door, because let’s be honest – you wouldn’t even know what the report looks like if it smacked you in the face.
he mutters under his breath as he sifts through a pile of books, pushing aside a crumpled hoodie and a few loose sheets. “it should be here
”
“you know, for a genius, you’re pretty bad at keeping track of your own stuff.”
jake shoots you a look. “i have a system.”
you snort. “a system of losing things?”
he doesn’t dignify that with a response. instead, he bends down, checking under a table. you take this as an opportunity to glance around the lab, pretending like you’re helping even though you don’t know what you’re looking for.
then you spot it. a thick, spiral-bound stack of papers shoved to the very edge of a side desk, partially covered by a takeout container.
“uh
 dr. sim?”
“what?” he asks, voice distracted as he pulls open a drawer.
you point. “is that it?”
jake follows your gaze, and for a second, he just stares.
then, with a slow exhale, he walks over, picks up the report, and flips through the pages.
“
yeah.” he sighs, a muscle in his jaw flexing. ïżœïżœïżœthis is it.”
you cross your arms, grinning. “you’re welcome.”
he glances at you, eyes narrowing slightly. “you didn’t actually do anything.”
“excuse me? i found it.”
jake shakes his head, turning his attention back to the report. “if you weren’t distracting me, i would’ve found it faster.”
your mouth falls open. “oh, i’m sorry – who was about to tear his entire office apart thinking it had magically disappeared?”
jake ignores you, already skimming through the contents like the numbers and graphs hold the secrets of the universe.
you roll your eyes. this man is impossible.
and it's a fact you make known very clearly when you’re in the break room, muttering under your breath about how a simple thanks would have sufficed, but no, jake sim is a dumbass with his head up his–
“woah, woah y/n, you know you don’t really mean that,” jay interrupts your rant with a smile that shows that he’s clearly enjoying this, “what did the man ever do to you?”
what did he do to you?
“well for one, he didn’t even know i existed until yesterday–”
“give him a break, he’d probably forget his own name with all the things that go around in that brain of his.”
“–and then he scoffed at me when he realised i’m just an assistant–”
“i don’t think he meant any offense.”
“and then today, he didn’t remember me of course and when i helped him find that damn report he didn’t even thank me!”
jay lets out a small laugh. “he was probably just too relieved that he found it. he’s been stressing over that for a while.”
you squint at him. “what are you, his boyfriend?”
your pout is completely involuntary, but jay, the traitor, just smirks knowingly.
he raises an eyebrow, clearly holding back laughter. “not yet. but hey, if he keeps ignoring you like this, i might have a chance.”
you groan, dramatically flopping onto one of the break room chairs. “i swear i’m going to lose my mind!”
jay snickers, settling into the chair across from you. “you’re being a little dramatic.”
“oh, am i?” you lean forward, eyes narrowing. “because i don’t think i am. i think this is a completely rational response to being treated like a piece of office furniture.”
jay bites back a smile. “so you’re saying jake treats you like
 a chair?”
“no! worse! at least a chair gets sat on – it has a purpose!” you throw your hands up. “i’m like
 i’m like an extra paperclip. you know? just there, completely overlooked, until one day he might need me for something and then immediately forgets i exist again.”
jay blinks. “that is
 oddly specific.”
“because it’s true!” you shoot up from your seat, now fully committed to the metaphor.
jay opens his mouth, but you’re already spiraling.
“three months – that’s how long i’ve been working here as his assistant, but he didn’t even know my name!” you don’t why it bothers you, you didn’t expect everyone to know your name here, but that damn jake sim just
 got on your nerves for some reason.
“last week, when he bumped into me in the hallway. i swear, jay, i could have been a ghost. no ‘excuse me,’ no ‘oh, my bad,’ nothing! i could’ve been a gust of wind for all he cared.” you throw up air quotes. “just a mild inconvenience in his trajectory.”
jay hums. “maybe he just didn’t see you—”
“i was wearing a bright red sweater, jay.”
jay coughs to hide a laugh. “okay, fair.”
“oh, and this morning? i held the elevator door open for him. you know what he did? he walked in, pulled out his phone, and scrolled on it the entire time like i was the automatic door button.” you gasp. “oh my god, i’m not even a paperclip. i’m a goddamn elevator button – just pressed when needed and ignored otherwise.”
at this, jay actually doubles over laughing, wiping at his eyes. “y/n, i’m begging you, please breathe.”
you exhale sharply, arms crossed, foot tapping against the floor. “i refuse.”
jay grins. “so you’re telling me you’re this upset because he, what, didn’t grovel at your feet for holding a door open?”
you scoff. “i’m not asking for groveling! i’m asking for basic human decency! a thank you! a nod! a brief moment of eye contact! something to prove that i’m not just an inanimate object in his world! to at least memorize his own goddamn assistant’s name!”
jay leans back in his chair, arms crossed. “so basically
 you want him to notice you.”
you freeze.
jay’s smirk deepens. “ohhh.”
“no.” you point a warning finger at him. “don’t even go there.”
“but we’re already here.” he has a shit eating grin on his face which you want to slap off, “why is this bothering you so much? i swear i can’t remember you being this antsy when sunghoon avoided you in your first month.”
you scoff at that, a dry laugh following.
why? because you’re his goddamn assistant, not sunghoon’s.
“okay, what about last month? he walked into the office looking like a lost child because he forgot his laptop charger. guess who lent him one?”
jay winces. “you?”
“yes! and do you know what he said to me? ‘oh, you have one? cool, thanks, man.’ ” you pause, scowling. “man, jay. man.”
jay laughs. “okay, that’s a little rough.”
“i’m not done.” you hold up a finger, eyes ablaze. “lunch break. he was on the phone, right? kept checking his watch like he was late for something, totally zoned out. he dropped his damn wallet right in front of my salad.”
jay whistles. “and let me guess
?”
“i picked it up, ran down four flights of stairs because the elevator was taking too long, found him outside, and handed it to him before he even realized it was gone.” you cross your arms. “do you think he looked at me? do you think he was even the slightest bit aware that he nearly walked into financial ruin?”
jay grins. “what did he say?”
you deepen your voice in the best jake impression you can manage. “‘oh, sick, thanks, dude.’ ” you slap your hands on the table. “dude.”
jay is fully laughing now, shaking his head. “wow. okay. that is
 a lot.”
“right?” you throw yourself back into the chair, hands dramatically covering your face. “i’m literally the human equivalent of an undo button. always there, fixing things, never noticed. just a—”
“a paperclip?”
“exactly!”
jay smirks, taking a sip of his coffee. “you could just stop helping him, you know.”
you scoff. “and let him walk around with a dead laptop, no lunch money, and a general lack of survival skills? please. he’d die within the week.”
jay snickers. “so you want to help him?”
“no, i just
” you hesitate, glaring at the table. “it’s not fair that he gets to be so careless and people like me have to pick up after him.”
jay tilts his head. “people like you?”
“people who actually pay attention,” you mutter, running a frustrated hand through your hair. “it’s so easy for him, you know? he gets to waltz through life, forgetting names, misplacing things, just
 assuming everything will work out for him. and the worst part? he’s right. because someone like me is always there to make sure it does.”
jay watches you quietly for a second. “y/n
”
you shake your head, standing up and grabbing your coffee. “whatever. it’s fine. it’s not like he’s doing it on purpose.” you glance at jay. “and no, before you say it, it’s not because i want him to notice me. it’s just
” you sigh. “it’d be nice to feel like i exist.”
jay gives you a knowing look but doesn’t push further. “well. if it makes you feel better, i notice you.”
you snort. “wow. how reassuring.”
but even as you joke, there’s a tiny, sinking feeling in your chest.
because deep down, you know – jake sim will never notice you the way you want him to.
okay, now that shouldn't be a problem. because the way you put it, anyone would conclude you have a thing for him, but that’s not it. because you don’t mention to jay how when you were just a week into the new job, you had spilled coffee all over yourself, and jake sim had been the one to hand you the spare hoodie in his arm.
it had smelled like laundry detergent and something vaguely citrusy. clean. warm.
you don’t tell jay how, back then, you had hesitated before taking it, surprised that the lab’s most brilliant astrophysicist had even noticed your minor catastrophe.
“here,” he had said, casual, like it was nothing. like it was just a reflex.
and maybe it had been.
because when you had stammered out a “thank you,” jake had already turned away, scrolling through his phone.
like you weren’t even there.
like handing a coffee-stained assistant his hoodie was just another thing on his long list of unconscious habits – like losing reports, misplacing wallets, or forgetting names.
just another thing he would never think about again.
and you? you had worn that hoodie for the rest of the day. then, after work, you had folded it neatly, walked up to him in the break room, and said, “hey, thanks again for this.”
and he had blinked at you. blinked like he had no idea what you were talking about.
“oh,” he had said after a beat, glancing at the hoodie in your hands. “right. cool.”
that was the first time you had felt it – the quiet, sinking realization that in jake sim’s world, you were just
 background noise.
that was three months ago.
now, you’re still here, still stuck in the same loop, orbiting his chaotic existence like some unnoticed planetary body, pulled in by the sheer force of his gravitational field but never quite seen.
and it’s exhausting.
you sigh, dragging a hand down your face. jay is still watching you, amused but not unkind. “are you done spiraling?”
you groan. “i hate you.”
“no, you don’t.”
you glare. “no, but i might start.”
jay snickers, pushing his coffee toward you like some sort of peace offering. “here. take a sip before you actually implode.”
you roll your eyes but take it anyway, muttering under your breath.
jay grins. “so, what’s the plan?”
you blink. “plan?”
“yeah.” he leans back, crossing his arms. “clearly, you’re at your limit. are you going to keep playing office paperclip, or are you finally going to make jake sim realize you exist?”
you scoff, your eyes narrowing. “and why would i need to do that?”
jay hums, tilting his head like he’s studying you under a microscope. “y’know
 i think this might be deeper than just wanting to be ‘noticed.’”
you narrow your eyes. “the hell does that mean?”
he taps his chin. “i mean, it’s kinda funny, isn’t it? how personally you take this?”
you scoff. “i do not take it personally.”
jay gives you a look. “right. which is why you’re two seconds away from stabbing a straw through that coffee cup.”
you immediately release your grip, only to cross your arms instead. “i just think it’s rude, that’s all. i do so much for him, and he doesn’t even know my name? it’s basic decency.”
jay nods, way too agreeable. “mhm. basic decency. has nothing to do with, say
 i don’t know
 a deep-seated need for validation?”
your jaw drops. “excuse me?”
“or,” he continues, as if he didn’t just hit you with psychological warfare over morning coffee, “maybe even something more?”
you blink. “more?”
jay grins like he’s just won the lottery. “yeah. like romantic feelings.”
you almost choke. “i—what—no—”
jay shrugs. “i mean, it would explain a lot.”
“oh, shut up.”
“i’m serious! if this were just about office politics, you’d be annoyed for, like, a day. maybe a week. but this?” he gestures vaguely at your entire existence. “this is an obsession.”
you point a finger at him. “i hate you.”
he smirks. “no, you don’t.”
you take a deep breath, trying not to lose your mind. “for the last time, jay, i do not like jake sim.”
jay leans forward, smirking. “then prove it.”
you blink. “what?”
“prove it,” he repeats. “if this really isn’t about your feelings, then let’s run an experiment. let’s make jake see you.”
of course the scientist proposes an experiment; you roll your eyes. “that doesn’t prove anything.”
“it proves everything,” he counters. “because if you really don’t care, then it shouldn’t matter how he reacts.” he tilts his head, eyes gleaming. “right?”
you hesitate.
jay takes that as his victory. “great! i’ll draft a game plan.”
“wait—”
too late. jay is already pulling out his phone, typing something with way too much enthusiasm.
you exhale sharply, rubbing your temples. this is a terrible idea.
but the thing is
 you do want jake to see you. even if it’s just to prove – to yourself – that you don’t care.
right?
three.
you know, you don’t think you entirely mind that jake doesn’t know your name yet. you don’t think you would have cared so much. but then, once in a while, you’d catch him having lunch with jay and sunghoon and actually laughing – an act that makes him look younger than he is – a charming smile settling on his lips or chatting with a fellow colleague who he calls by their last name and it makes you realise that you’re probably not as important to him as these people are.
like, come on, he brushes shoulders with the top scientists of your country while you’re here, sitting behind a reception desk, manning phone calls and printing reports. of course he doesn’t care about you or your existence as a whole. but then it’s small things he does like thanking you absentmindedly when you hand him a report, not even sparing you a glance as he flips through the pages.
or humming under his breath when he passes by your desk, like he’s so comfortable in the space that he doesn’t even realize you’re there, like you’re just part of the background noise.
it’s never outright cruel. never intentional.
it’s just that jake sim, in all his effortless brilliance, has never had to make space for people like you.
and why would he? you’re not on his level. you never have been. you bet if you disappeared tomorrow, he wouldn’t even notice.
the world would keep spinning, jake sim would keep working, and someone else would take over the dull, insignificant tasks you do every day. your existence in his orbit is incidental – a means to an end, a faceless cog in the well-oiled machine of his career.
and yet, you notice him. even when you don’t mean to. even when you don’t want to.
you notice the way his sleeves are always rolled up to his elbows, his watch gleaming against his skin. the way his brows pinch together when he’s deep in thought, or how his hair falls into his eyes when he’s exhausted, too overworked to care.
you notice the way he speaks – smooth, confident, magnetic – and how everyone around him seems to hang onto every word like it’s gospel.
you notice the way he never fumbles. never hesitates. never second-guesses himself.
because that’s just the kind of person jake sim is.
and you – you are just the kind of person who will never be enough to matter to someone like him. but then he does things that make you doubt your reservations about him.
like, there was the elevator incident.
you were balancing a precarious stack of documents when you rushed to catch the closing doors, only to wince when they slid shut right before you got there. you sighed, shifting your grip on the papers, when you suddenly heard a soft ding – the doors sliding back open.
jake was inside, one hand on the door button, barely sparing you a glance as he scrolled through something on his phone.
you stepped in, mumbling a quiet, “thanks.”
he hummed in response. nothing more. no conversation. no recognition. just the soft whirring of the elevator and the occasional sound of him scrolling.
it was so small. so insignificant.
but you still felt yourself standing just a little straighter, just a little warmer, for the rest of the day.
and then, there was the pen.
you weren’t even sure when it started, but at some point, you began keeping track.
jake had this habit – whenever he borrowed a pen, he never returned it to the original spot. he didn’t even seem to notice he was doing it, always too focused on whatever was in front of him to realize he’d left the pen somewhere completely different.
so, naturally, you started leaving extras.
just subtle little things – placing an extra pen near his usual meeting spots, sliding one closer to him during group discussions when you were pretending to sort paperwork nearby. you never expected him to notice. you weren’t even sure why you did it.
until one afternoon, when you sat at your desk, rummaging through your drawers, only to realize you’d somehow misplaced your pen. you sighed, about to get up for a new one, when something was set down beside your elbow.
a pen.
you looked up, startled.
jake was already walking away. didn’t even spare you a glance, his attention on the tablet in his hands.
you stared after him, the pen warm from his hold, the weight of it heavier than it should have been.
it was probably nothing. probably just a reflex.
but you still use that pen for the next two weeks straight.
then there was the tripping incident.
now, it’s established that you can be clumsy, not dramatically so – no full-on disaster movie falls – but you do have a tendency to bump into things. desks, chairs, open cabinet doors that definitely weren’t open when you last checked.
and, of course, corners. corners were your worst enemy.
one day, you were hurrying through the hallway, files stacked high in your arms, when – bam. your hip slammed into the sharp edge of a desk, hard enough to make you wince. the papers wobbled dangerously in your grip, and you cursed under your breath, already anticipating the bruise that was definitely going to form.
you didn’t think anyone noticed.
but the next morning, when you walked into the office, there was a strip of foam padding stuck neatly along the desk corner.
your brows furrowed.
it was subtle – so subtle that if you weren’t you, if you weren’t someone with a running list of all the places in this office that had betrayed you, you probably wouldn’t have noticed.
but you did.
and later that day, when you caught jake in the break room, he was patting the foam as if ensuring it was stuck on there properly, absentmindedly nodding to himself as if he had confirmed what he was inspecting, then promptly left without sparing you a second glance.
you didn’t say anything.
didn’t bring it up.
but as you passed by the desk, running your fingers over the softened edge, something in your chest ached. just a little.
so jake sim did notice you – but not as an individual, just someone he thought might be having a hard time and because he is kind, he did what he could. it didn’t matter who the recipient of his good intentions was.
hence, you do what a good assistant does. because at the end of the day, you’ve seen jake work – you’ve seen the passion he pours into it.
so if he forgets to eat, you quietly step away from your desk, heat up the extra sandwich you packed for him from the cafeteria, and place it on his cluttered desk, clearing a small space first. a gentle knock on the wood to get his attention, a silent reminder to eat.
if he’s scribbling on the backs of old reports, running low on notebooks and clean sheets, you take a trip down to inventory, restocking his supplies, stacking them neatly within reach.
if his desk is drowning in coffee cups and crumpled post-its, you quietly dispose of the trash, leaving only the essentials behind – his laptop, his research papers, the single pen he never seems to lose (because you always make sure it’s there).
if he forgets where he placed his whiteboard markers, you don’t say anything – you just pull a fresh set from your drawer and slide them onto his desk before he even notices they were missing.
you’ve just been there, silently observing and noting things – like the way his brows knit together in deep concentration, or how he absently chews on the cap of his pen when he’s stuck on a problem. how he spaces out sometimes, staring at the whiteboard like it holds the answers to the universe itself, only to snap back to reality when you clear your throat to get his attention.
you know that he prefers black coffee in the morning but switches to tea in the late afternoon. that he always loses his glasses, only to find them perched on top of his head. that he hums under his breath when he’s deep in thought, a quiet melody that never quite forms into a song.
you notice everything, because that’s just what a good assistant does.
and that, apparently, is a problem. or so jay states. hence, the first step in jay’s ‘game plan’? make jake feel your absence.
“you’re too available,” jay had said, stirring his coffee with a smug little smirk. “jake doesn’t notice you because you make his life too easy. you’re like air – essential but invisible. so what happens when air gets sucked out of a room?”
“
people die?”
jay gave you a flat look. “no, they panic.”
and so, the plan began.
it’s such a tiny step, but it bothers you nonetheless because not only would this be disrupting jake’s routine, it’d be disrupting your perfect track record of a ‘good’ assistant.
but jay somehow manages to convince you. and you like the utter fool you are, give in, because hey
 maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to disprove jay’s theory of your alleged feelings for jake. the need for validation? yeah, we’ll talk about that later.
today is the day you start, and you start small. it’s the little changes that usually go unnoticed.
you don’t remind jake about his 10 am meeting.
it’s a minor detail, barely even a test, because technically speaking, it’s not your job to remind him – it’s just something you’ve always done, anticipating his tendencies to get lost in his work. normally, you’d give him a heads-up around 9:50 am, watching as he’d nod absentmindedly, only to scramble up five minutes later when he finally processed your words.
today? radio silence.
at 10:07 am, sunghoon enters the meeting and frowns.
“where’s jake?” he turns to jay. his friend shrugs but hides the smile behind his cup of coffee.
meanwhile you’re glancing sneakily at jake’s door, slightly ajar and you can see him engrossed in something. your eyes glance at the time; 10:07 am. fuck, what if actually forgets he has a meeting? should you do something? is this going too far?
but you don’t have to worry because a few minutes later, there’s a thud, followed by a rushed shit, and then, a disheveled jake sim barrels past your desk, tablet clutched to his chest, hair a little messy from how he clearly just ran a hand through it in frustration.
his eyes flicker to you – just for a second. you’ve already gone back to pretending to be very busy typing nonsense into an email draft.
it works. he huffs under his breath and rushes to the meeting.
okay you should feel awful, but then you catch the tail end of jake’s coat disappearing behind the lift door and you can’t help the snicker that leaves your lips. surely, nothing could go wrong, right?
there’s one person who seems to be enjoying this more than you though: jay is having the time of his life.
like, actually. he hasn't had this much fun since the last office christmas party, when someone spiked the punch and sunghoon tried to fight the vending machine.
because watching jake sim fall apart over the smallest inconveniences? absolutely hilarious.
the moment you agreed to his plan, jay knew it would be gold. but even he underestimated just how much of jake’s daily functioning depended on you. it’s like watching a toddler suddenly realize their velcro shoes don’t tie themselves.
jake doesn’t realize something is wrong at first.
he barely makes it to his chair before the department head gives him a pointed look.
“you’re late.”
“i—uh—” jake swallows, trying to catch his breath. his tablet is still locked, his notes are disorganized, and when he flips open the file he brought, it’s yesterday’s report.
shit.
“right. sorry.” he forces a sheepish smile, scrambling to pull up the right document. across the table, jay lazily spins a pen between his fingers, watching with barely concealed amusement.
jake barely registers it – he’s too busy trying to recover. it’s fine. he’s got this.
except
 something about this morning feels off.
and not in the way most of his chaotic mornings do. he just doesn’t know why. he just assumes his morning is
off. which, fine, it happens. he’s had late nights before, maybe he’s just tired.
jay had told you this would work.
in fact, he was so confident in his plan that he even grabbed a front-row seat to witness the destruction firsthand (he was already attending this meeting, but the man likes to gloat sometimes.)
and man – jake does not disappoint.
from the moment the meeting starts, jay knows this is going to be good.
jake looks off. nothing too obvious – just little things, things that someone like jay (who has spent years around him) can pick up on. the slight furrow of his brow. the way he keeps adjusting his notes, like something feels wrong but he can’t quite place why.
and then – the moment of realization.
jay almost chokes on his coffee when jake subtly pats his pockets, confusion flickering across his face.
oh, here we go.
he watches, barely holding in his laughter, as jake double checks – where, usually, there would be a pen. his pen. the one that miraculously appears every time he loses it, as if the universe itself conspires to keep him functional.
except today?
the universe (or rather, you) has left him to suffer.
jake blinks. blinks again. then, with the air of a man experiencing an existential crisis, slowly reaches for sunghoon’s pen instead.
sunghoon, understandably, looks at him like he’s lost his damn mind.
jay snickers and grabs his phone.
jay park [10:14 am]: what did u doooo jay park [10:14 am]: he looks like a lost puppy rn lmfao jay park [10:15 am]: deadass just patted his pockets like he was expecting something to magically appear there?? 
he glances up again, and – oh god, jake’s still buffering. he’s not even listening anymore, just staring at the table like it personally offended him.
all this over a pen? damn, maybe you were underestimating yourself, jay thinks, because there is no way you were just a paperclip, not if jake’s been this dependent on you.
jay is loving this.
four.
jake doesn’t notice things. not in the way people expect him to.
he notices equations. the subtle patterns in star systems. the way gravitational forces interact in ways most people don’t care to understand. his mind is built for that – patterns, logic, science.
but people? not so much.
back in university, he was dubbed a genius. a prodigy in astrophysics. someone who could map out entire celestial mechanics in his head but would somehow still forget his own birthday if no one reminded him.
the way jake relies on logic, structure, and predictability – because it’s safe. because he understands it. because people? people don’t make sense. they’re inconsistent. they leave. they change their minds. they say one thing and mean another.
but science? science is constant. a star will always burn out the same way under the same conditions. a planet will always follow its orbit. gravity will always exist.
as a kid, he preferred numbers over words, equations over feelings. when the other kids ran around the playground, playing tag or arguing over who was “it,” jake was perfectly content with his space books, tracing the orbits of planets with his fingers, memorizing the speed of light just because he could.
he learned early on that he wasn’t good at reading between the lines. that when someone said ‘i’m fine’, they didn’t always mean it. that people expected you to just know when they needed something, when they wanted comfort, when they wanted you.
jake never knew. so he stopped trying.
science was easier. there was no guesswork, no hidden meanings. an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. simple. predictable. the universe followed rules, and if jake studied hard enough, he could understand them. he could map them out, make sense of them, never be caught off guard.
but people? people made no sense at all.
and maybe that’s why, when he gets to work and sees that his desk is missing something so stupidly small – a cup of coffee, nothing more – he feels a flicker of something he doesn’t like.
a glitch in the system.
it doesn’t matter, he tells himself. it’s coffee. he can make it himself. he’s a grown adult with multiple degrees. a missing cup of caffeine should not throw him off.
and yet. jake stares at the empty space on his desk.
a week ago, he wouldn’t have noticed. wouldn’t have even thought about it. he never questioned why it was there in the first place, never thought twice about the sticky notes, the extra set of markers that magically appeared when he misplaced his own, the last-minute reminders that kept his schedule from turning into chaos.
he never questioned it. and that, apparently, was the problem.
because for the first time, he has to ask. and he really, really doesn’t want to.
jake debates it, which is insane. why is he overthinking this? it’s a simple request. a normal interaction. but something about it feels
 weird. off-balance.
because asking means acknowledging. and acknowledging means admitting that he noticed.
his eye twitches. and after five full minutes of warring with himself, of sneaking glances at you like some kind of cornered animal, he finally forces himself to get up. jake clears his throat as he approaches your desk, hands shoved deep into his pockets. he doesn’t understand why this feels so monumental – why his stomach is twisting over something as simple as coffee.
you’re typing away, entirely focused, but the moment he gets close, you pause, sensing his presence.
your head tilts up, meeting his gaze with that same neutral, professional expression. “need something?”
jake opens his mouth. closes it. shifts on his feet.
this should not be hard. he’s faced oral examinations with award-winning physicists grilling him on quantum mechanics. he’s derived entire theorems on celestial dynamics with nothing but a whiteboard and a bad marker.
"hey," he starts, voice coming out a little too stiff, a little too rehearsed.
you hum, still typing. "what’s up?"
jake exhales. this is ridiculous. just say it.
"i was wondering," he begins, slow and deliberate, "if you could maybe—"
he pauses. rethinks. he doesn’t need coffee. he’s perfectly capable of getting it himself. this is a completely unnecessary conversation. maybe he should just—
you finally glance up, raising a brow. "if i could maybe
?"
jake swallows. why is your stare so expectant? god, this is awful.
he squares his shoulders. "if you could maybe—uh—get me a coffee?"
and you? you don’t even react. no smirk. no teasing. no indication that you know this is sending his pride into a tailspin.
“oh,” you say simply. “sure.”
and then – you go right back to typing.
jake waits. waits.

that’s it? no acknowledgment?
he stares, baffled, as you finish whatever you’re working on before standing, grabbing your phone like this is just another task.
“i’ll be back in a few minutes.”
jake watches you walk away, his brain short-circuiting. he stares.
something in his brain glitches. for a moment, he just stands there, stuck in some kind of existential paradox.
this isn’t how he thought this would go.
not that he’d planned it out – he’s not that irrational – but he was at least expecting
 something. a pointed look. a smug remark. some kind of acknowledgement that this was a thing.
because it was, right?
but you just – left. like it was normal. like it was nothing.
jake blinks, still rooted to the spot. his fingers twitch at his sides, his mind racing through a series of half-formed thoughts, none of which are useful.
this should be a relief. no teasing. no drawn-out conversation. no questioning. just a simple "sure" and the problem is solved.
so why does he feel weirdly unsatisfied?
he exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair before dragging himself back to his desk.
fine. whatever. he got what he wanted. he’ll just sit down, work, and forget this happened.
simple. logical – except it’s not.
because now – now he’s waiting.
not actively, of course. he’s working. or at least, he’s trying to work. but for some godforsaken reason, his mind keeps drifting to the sound of approaching footsteps, to the faintest movements in his periphery.
it’s ridiculous. he knows that. he’s not that dependent on routine. it’s just coffee.
when you finally return, setting the cup down on his desk with a quiet thud, he doesn’t mean to react.
but his head snaps up immediately, eyes locking onto the cup before flickering to you, his brain processing entirely too fast for his own good.
same lid. same brand. same order.
how the hell—
"you got the right one," he blurts before he can stop himself.
you blink at him, expression unreadable. "yeah. that’s the one you always drink."
jake stares.
you say it so easily, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
like it’s just fact. like he’s the one being weird.
and maybe he is, because something about that – about the casual certainty in your voice – makes his chest feel tight in a way he doesn’t understand.
"right," he mutters, looking away. "of course."
you don’t say anything. just nod, turning back toward your desk.
jake watches you go, fingers wrapping around the cup, the warmth grounding him.
he doesn’t know why this feels significant. but somehow, it does.
you, on the other hand, mask your smile behind your hand, making sure you don’t spare him a glance as you take your seat again, eyes focusing on your screen, but you’re secretly enjoying your little victory.
and maybe your little win seemingly makes your happiness evident because jay seems to have caught on to your little smile and quiet humming as you load more paper into the printer later on.
“what’s got you humming?”
you blink at jay, feigning innocence. "huh?"
jay narrows his eyes like a detective who knows exactly when the suspect is lying. "you’re humming. and smiling. while printing documents. no one’s ever been this happy about office supplies."
you shrug, deliberately casual. "maybe i just like my job."
"oh, sure. and i’m the next ceo of nasa," jay scoffs, crossing his arms. "no, you’re definitely smiling about something else. spill."
you roll your eyes but can’t stop the small grin from creeping back onto your lips. "it’s nothing. just
 a small win."
jay’s gaze sharpens with intrigue. "a small win? against who?"
you pause, realizing that if you say it out loud, it becomes real. but you can’t help it – you’re feeling a little smug. "jake."
jay’s eyebrows shoot up so fast you half expect them to launch into orbit. "oh? oh? do tell."
you bite your lip, pretending to be focused on aligning the printer paper. "i think he finally noticed."
jay leans in, practically vibrating with excitement. "noticed what? that you exist? that you’re cute? that you’re literally the only reason he functions? because if so, then this is big news—"
you wave a hand, shushing him. "not that dramatic. just
 the coffee. he asked me for it today. like, actually asked."
jay goes still, then blinks. "no."
"yes."
"no." jay looks personally offended that he wasn’t there to witness it. "you’re telling me jake sim – the human calculator who forgets basic human needs – actually acknowledged the loss of his coffee?"
"and that i was the one providing it," you add, feeling very pleased with yourself.
jay lets out a low whistle. "damn. that’s practically a confession in jake language."
you chuckle. "i know, right? and the best part? he was so awkward about it. like, visibly struggling to form a coherent request. it was beautiful."
jay looks like a proud parent. "i knew my plan would work."
you snort. "you had a plan?"
"of course! i told you, jake needs to experience loss to appreciate things. he’s like a tragic space hero who doesn’t realize what he has until it’s gone. but now? now he’s thinking about it. which means he’s thinking about you."
you roll your eyes. "don’t be ridiculous. it was just coffee."
jay gives you a look. "uh-huh. and yet, you’re humming like a disney princess who just got her magical moment."
you huff, turning back to the printer, but the warmth in your chest remains. you won’t admit it to jay, but it does feel like a small win. because for once, jake noticed something about you. and even if it was just coffee, it was your coffee. your absence. your presence. you.
the thought makes your stomach flutter a little, but before you can dwell on it, the door swings open.
and, of course, in perfect comedic timing, jake himself walks in.
you and jay freeze.
jake pauses mid-step, eyes flicking between the two of you, and immediately, you feel caught. not that you were doing anything wrong, but the way jay is grinning like a devil on your shoulder and the way you definitely look suspicious does not help your case.
jake frowns slightly. "am i interrupting something?"
"no," you and jay say in unison – too quickly, too forcefully.
jake’s frown deepens. "
right."
jay, ever the agent of chaos, suddenly smirks. "hey, jake, buddy, pal. how was the coffee this morning?"
your soul leaves your body.
jake blinks, caught off guard. "what?"
jay nods toward you. "the coffee. did it taste better? sweeter, maybe? like the hard-earned fruits of personal growth?"
you shoot jay a look that could incinerate a small planet, but he just grins wider.
jake, meanwhile, looks completely baffled. "it
 tasted the same?"
jay sighs dramatically. "ugh, you’re hopeless."
jake looks at you now, confusion clear in his expression. "what’s going on?"
you scramble for an escape. "nothing. jay’s just being weird. as usual."
jake’s eyes narrow slightly, but he doesn’t push further. instead, he just shakes his head, muttering something about how he "doesn’t have time for whatever this is." then, to your surprise, his gaze lingers on you for half a second longer before he turns and leaves.
as soon as the door clicks shut, jay explodes.
"did you see that? he lingered! that was a lingering glance!"
you groan, dragging a hand down your face. "jay. stop."
"oh, no, no, no. this is happening. i can feel it. the great jake sim has been rattled."
you shake your head, but you’re smiling. "don’t you have that meeting with kang soon? are you sure you should be dawdling?"
jay waves a dismissive hand. “pfft. kang can wait. this is much more important.”
you roll your eyes, shoving a stack of papers into his hands. “go. before he chews you out again.”
jay huffs but takes the papers anyway. “fine. but mark my words – this is just the beginning.”
you snort. “of what?”
jay grins, backing toward the door. “of jake sim’s inevitable downfall.”
before you can throw something at him, he slips out of the room with a dramatic twirl, leaving you alone with your thoughts.
you exhale. jay is ridiculous. insufferable. an agent of chaos in the worst way.
but still
 your fingers drum against your desk.
jake had lingered. just for a second. just long enough to make you wonder.
you shake your head, clearing the thought. it’s nothing. probably just your imagination.
probably.
five.
jake never really thought about his assistant.
sure, he knew you existed in the same way he knew his office had walls or that gravity kept him tethered to earth. a presence. a constant. background noise.
his research came first. always. anything outside of equations and astrophysics was just static.
which is why, when his inbox suddenly becomes a nightmare of unread emails, cluttered with everything from seminar invites to missed project deadlines, he stares at the screen in horror.
since when did his inbox look like this?
he scrolls. and scrolls. and scrolls.
the last time he checked, his emails were organized. neat little folders, color-coded labels – everything in its place. now, it’s chaos. absolute chaos.
his brows furrow in mild horror and yet again, he gets this feeling, like the earth’s off its axis, like his curated life is suddenly off kilter. 
he looks up, and across the room, eyes peeking through his door that is kept ajar. you sit there today, in a navy blue sweater, your hair pushed back neatly, your glasses reflecting the glare off your screen you’re currently frowning at.
was this also something you used to do for him? or did his inbox suddenly decide to get a mind of its own and go batshit crazy on him? no, that doesn’t make sense, unless he was hacked which would definitely be a cause of national concern to a certain extent—
he jolts in his seat, a gasp leaving his lips as you suddenly move away from your desk, standing up with a stack of papers. he positively feels his heart skipping a beat as he realises you’re walking to his door.
sure enough, there’s a knock a second later and if you notice the way his voice cracks when he tells you to come in, you don’t comment on it. instead, you look at him like you meant business.
oh god, you didn’t notice him looking at you, right? technically he wasn’t really staring more so than contemplating—
“dr. sim, the finance department dropped a reminder to submit your financial budget, here’s the budget form,” you hand him the stack of papers you had been carrying, “i’ve filled out the general stuff, you just need to put in the project details and all the technical stuff.”
he flips through the pages and sure enough, you’ve filled in the general details like you mentioned in your neat handwriting. the letters sit right on top of the blank lines and he recognises your penmanship right away. he’s never noticed before, but you do have a nice handwriting.
“oh and about your emails, there seems to be some sort of technical error. i noticed that some of your filters were disabled and the auto-sorting wasn’t functioning properly. it must’ve reset or something when the system updated last week.”
jake blinks at you. “wait. filters?”
you tilt your head. “yeah? you know, the ones that sort your emails automatically? important updates, admin notices, junk mail, things like that?”
jake stares. “i
 had those?”
you pause, narrowing your eyes slightly. “yes. you did. i set them up for you.”
“oh.” a beat of silence. jake shifts uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. you, on the other hand, exhale sharply, planting your hands on your hips. here he was, a grown ass man, unaware of his own email settings. but what’s more infuriating to you right now is the way he’s clearly looking at the mess of his inbox with the expression of a child faced with university level physics.
and it's really unfair because your brain actually has the audacity to chant a small ‘cute’ inside your head.
no. no. absolutely not.
you refuse to acknowledge whatever strange, fleeting thought just ran through your brain.
because jake sim is not cute. he’s frustrating. he’s a genius, sure, but in a hopelessly oblivious kind of way. the somehow-can-manage-quantum-equations-but-not-his-own-inbox kind of way. the so deep in his own head that he barely notices when you’re cleaning up the mess he leaves behind, kind of way.
except
 he’s noticing now.
you clear your throat, shoving away any ridiculous thoughts. “right. anyway, i can help reset everything, but you’ll need to go through some of these emails yourself. some require your direct response.”
jake tears his eyes away from his screen, blinking at you. “wait, so my emails weren’t always like this?”
you give him a look. the kind that says, oh, you poor, oblivious man.
“no, dr. sim,” you say, tone patient but mildly exasperated. “i used to sort them out for you.”
jake stares. “you did?”
you nod. “yeah. you know, filtering out spam, organizing your schedule, responding to minor inquiries.” all the things that apparently, no one else on this team can do without suffering a minor breakdown.
jake opens his mouth, then closes it. then it opens again. his head tilts slightly. “wait. you did all of that?”
you resist the urge to pinch the bridge of your nose. “dr. sim,” you say, very slowly, “what did you think i was doing all this time?”
jake, to his credit, looks vaguely sheepish. “i don’t know. admin stuff?”
you exhale, looking up at the ceiling like you’re asking the universe for patience.
“your inbox has over five hundred unread emails.”
he visibly recoils. “five hundred?”
“yes. and you have three missed deadlines.”
jake stares, running a hand down his face. “oh my god. i’m going to get fired.”
you shrug. “probably not, but kang will definitely strangle you.”
you take one look at the mild look of panic settling on his face, the ways his lips part open and his eyes fixate upon you like he’s constipated all of a sudden, and you realise that you’re going to have to save him again. so much for making yourself scarce.
“well,” you sigh, dropping your hands, “i can go through it and fix the filters again, but you should probably clear things out manually first. you have a lot of backlog.”
jake slumps back in his chair, groaning. “i don’t have time for this.”
“tough luck. you’re the one who ignored your emails for a week.”
jake groans again, scrubbing a hand over his face. his hair is slightly disheveled now, strands falling over his forehead. you refuse to acknowledge the way your fingers twitch with the urge to push them back. nope. absolutely not.
instead, you cross your arms and tilt your head. "look, dr. sim, i can reset everything, but you need to at least check the important ones. you know, like the ones from kang before he marches in here and reconsiders your employment."
jake peeks at you through his fingers, mumbling something that sounds suspiciously like i should’ve never updated the system.
you sigh. "i'll go through them with you."
his hands drop, eyes snapping to yours. "you will?"
damn it. the hope in his voice makes something in your stomach twist. this isn’t supposed to happen. you’re supposed to be pulling away, making yourself scarce, not signing yourself up to hold his hand through his self-inflicted disaster.
but you sigh again, already regretting it. "yes, but only for today."
jake beams. actually beams. like you've just told him you're personally funding his next research project.
and oh, that is dangerous.
because the realization sneaks up on you, quiet but insidious: he looks really good when he smiles like that.
your brain promptly malfunctions.
jake, oblivious as always, is already turning his chair to face his computer. "okay, okay. what do we start with?"
you stare for a second too long before shaking yourself out of it.
get it together.
right. his emails. that's what you should be focusing on. not the fact that your stupid heart is doing something stupid again.
so you square your shoulders, push away the ridiculous heat rising to your cheeks, and step closer to his desk – because unfortunately, you are nothing if not professional.
even when your chest feels like it’s betraying you.
by the time the sun starts dipping below the horizon, casting a warm orange glow into the office, you realize with a dull sense of horror that you are still here.
still here. still working.
because, of course, jake spent the entire day buried in his research, completely unaware of the absolute mess waiting for him in his inbox. and now, after work hours, you’re forced to stay behind, sorting through the wreckage.
you shoot a glare at the oblivious man, who is hunched over his desk, frowning at his screen as if he’s personally uncovering the secrets of the universe. his sleeves are rolled up, glasses slightly askew, completely absorbed in his work.
annoying. but also, kind of impressive.
you clear your throat, rapping your knuckles on his door. “dr. sim, did you know that your inbox is starting to resemble a warzone?”
jake barely looks up. “mhm.”
“there are emails in here from last year.”
he finally blinks, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “wait. what?”
you deadpan. “last. year.”
jake stares. “that’s not possible.”
“would you like to see the one from july 2024? it’s an invitation to a seminar. that already happened. that you missed.”
a horrified silence settles between you. jake leans forward, mouth slightly open, and for a second, you think he might actually pass out. “holy shit.”
you snort, shaking your head. then, sighing, you gesture toward his screen. “okay, come on, let’s start deleting the ones that don’t matter. at this rate, your inbox might actually implode.”
jake groans again but does as you say, clicking through emails with the enthusiasm of someone undergoing dental surgery.
an hour later, the two of you are still sitting in his office. you’re perched on the chair across from him, legs crossed as you scroll through his inbox, muttering complaints every now and then (why do you have thirty unread emails from the astronomy board? what is so ‘urgent’ about a faculty brunch?).
jake, on the other hand, is desperately trying to keep up, deleting and archiving whatever you tell him to. he’s drowning in emails and vaguely wondering if he should just
 never check his inbox again.
the sky outside has darkened, streaks of orange and pink melting into deep blue. the office feels different at this hour – quieter, softer. there’s a warmth from the sunset filtering through the blinds, casting long shadows across the floor.
you’ve never been alone with jake like this before.
not that it matters. because all you’re doing is working. but still.
you steal a quick glance at him.
he’s different when he’s not hyper-focused on research. a little less untouchable, a little more human. his brows are furrowed as he reads through an email, one hand resting on his chin. his glasses have slipped down again, and without thinking, he pushes them back up with his knuckle.
you look away.
get a grip.
meanwhile, jake is having a bit of a crisis.
because, apparently, you’ve always been this efficient.
like, okay, he knew you were capable. obviously. you’ve been his assistant for months. but watching you now, the way you go through emails like a machine, fingers flying across the keyboard, perfectly organized with your neat little color-coded tabs—
he’s a little bit in awe. and maybe a tiny bit alarmed.
because how the hell did he not realize before that you basically ran his life for him?
the sun is starting to dip, casting a golden hue through the blinds, stretching long shadows over his desk. jake leans back, rubbing his eyes, only to glance at you and—
he sees you. for the first time in three months, he’s actually looking at you.
your sweater hangs slightly off one shoulder, the shirt underneath only slightly wrinkled, your hair a little messier than it was earlier, strands falling out of place.
and you look
 exhausted.
not in the dramatic, world-weary way that some of his colleagues do after pulling all-nighters, but in a quieter, more subtle way – like you’ve been running on autopilot for so long that you don’t even notice it anymore.
jake frowns. has it always been like this? have you always been like this?
his gaze flickers back to your screen, where you’re still typing away, making quick work of the disaster that is his inbox. there’s a slight crease between your brows, your lips pressed together in quiet concentration. you’re meticulous, efficient – almost too efficient, and that thought unsettles him in a way he can’t quite explain.
“you should go home,” he says before he even thinks about it.
you glance up, startled. “what?”
“you’ve been here all day,” he says, shifting in his seat. “it’s late.”
you blink at him, then glance at the clock on the corner of your screen. the numbers glow back at you – 7:47 pm.
“oh,” you murmur, tilting your head. “i guess it is.”
jake waits for you to start packing up, but instead, you just roll your shoulders back, crack your knuckles, and go right back to typing.
he stares. “did you – did you not hear me?”
you don’t even look up. “i heard you.”
“then why are you still working?”
you pause at that, finally looking at him. there’s something almost amused in your expression, like really? you’re questioning my work habits?
“i still have emails to sort through,” you say, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
jake presses his lips together. right. of course. because of course you wouldn’t just drop everything and leave, because if you did, then who would make sure his inbox didn’t look like a post-apocalyptic wasteland?
and that thought sits a little too heavily in his chest. it's just that, he doesn’t get it.
he clears his throat, looking away. “still. you don’t have to do it all tonight.”
you shrug. “it’s fine. i don’t mind.”
for some reason, that irritates him more than it should.
jake doesn’t understand why. it’s not like you’re doing anything out of the ordinary. from what he can deduce from your conversation earlier this morning, you’ve always been the one keeping things together, making sure nothing slips through the cracks. that’s your job.
you could probably come back tomorrow and sort through the remaining emails. it’s not like they’re going anywhere.
but for the first time, he wonders – do you ever get tired of it?
his fingers drum against his desk. the golden light from the window glows softer now, settling into deep orange hues. the air between you is quiet, save for the occasional click of your keyboard and the distant hum of the office beyond his door.
and then, without thinking, he says, “i didn’t realize you did all this.”
you pause mid-keystroke, glancing at him. “did all what?”
“this.” he gestures vaguely to his laptop, to the neatly categorized folders, to the once-chaotic inbox now halfway tamed under your careful hands. “you keep everything running. i didn’t realize how much you—” he stops himself, brows furrowing slightly. “—how much you do.”
you blink at him. and for the first time all day, you seem caught off guard.
then, a slow, knowing smile tugs at the corner of your lips. “oh, dr. sim,” you say lightly, tilting your head, “have you been taking me for granted all this time?”
jake bristles, straightening. “that’s not what i meant.”
you laugh, shaking your head. “relax, i’m kidding.”
but something about the way you say it makes his stomach twist.
because maybe you are joking. maybe you don’t actually care that he’s never paid much attention before.
but he cares. and that realization unsettles him more than he’d like to admit.
you turn your attention towards the screen again, biting your lip as you skim through his emails, occasionally frowning like you’re personally offended by his disorganization.
jake watches you for another moment before looking away, tapping his fingers against the desk.
his chest feels
 weird. like the earth’s still off its axis. like something’s shifted in a way he doesn’t quite understand.
and for the first time, jake wonders if maybe – just maybe – it has something to do with you.
six.
the only times jake has thanked you have been in passing. like when you hand him a report, his fingers brushing against yours but his gaze still focused on his screen. a clipped "thanks" thrown out as he scrolls through equations and research notes. thoughtless, automatic, routine.
so you don’t expect it this time around.
you don’t think much of it at first.
jake walks in, looking as harried as ever, his hair slightly tousled from the wind outside, one hand holding his laptop, the other gripping his usual coffee. business as usual.
except — there’s a cup of coffee in his hand. no scratch that, there’s two cups of coffee in his hands. 
he stops in front of your desk, looking mildly uncomfortable, like he’s second-guessing his own existence. and then, without a word, he sets the second cup in front of you.
you blink. “uh. what’s this?”
jake clears his throat, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “coffee.”
“no, i know it’s coffee, dr. sim.” you stare at the cup suspiciously. “why is it on my desk?”
he looks at you like you just asked him to solve a quantum mechanics equation without a calculator. “because
 i got it for you?”
you squint. “why?”
jake pauses. his jaw tightens. then, with the energy of a man barely holding onto his dignity, he mutters, “because you – helped. with the emails.”
you swear to god, it physically pains him to say it. but holy shit, because not only did the jake sim get his own coffee today, he got one for you – his assistant, for the first time in three months.
you decide to let him off the hook. for now. “well. thanks,” you say, taking a sip, trying not to let the heat rising to your cheeks show.
jake mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like no worries, before retreating to his office.
you watch him go, mildly amused.
“oh-ho-ho, what do we have here?”
you don’t even flinch as jay suddenly appears beside you, arms crossed, sunglasses perched on his head like he’s about to make an investigation.
you sip your coffee. “don’t start.”
jay ignores you. “jake sim. buying coffee. for someone else. this is history in the making.”
you sigh. “jay.”
he leans in dramatically. “do you know how many years i’ve known that man? years, y/n. and not once has he ever walked into a room and thought, ‘huh. let me get someone coffee.’”
you roll your eyes. “it’s not that deep.”
jay gasps. “oh, but it is.” he lowers his voice, like he’s about to tell you a government secret. “listen. the man barely remembers to eat unless someone reminds him. and suddenly he’s bringing you coffee?”
you pause. jay grins, catching the flicker of hesitation on your face. “see? see? something’s happening in that stiff little brain of his.”
you shake your head. “he’s just
 acknowledging that i exist. that’s all.”
jay snorts. “oh, my sweet summer child.” he takes a slow sip of his own coffee, eyes twinkling. “first, it’s coffee. next thing you know, he’s showing up at your desk randomly with some dumb excuse just to talk to you.”
you raise a brow. “that’s oddly specific.”
jay grins. “call it experience.”
you roll your eyes, but as you glance toward jake’s office, where he’s staring at his screen, brow furrowed in concentration
and you wonder.
just a little. because hope would be something too dangerous in this situation. you’re still just his assistant, and this is a one time thing because you helped him last night. so you don’t hope. not yet.
and maybe it's a good thing too.
it starts with a joke.
well, technically, it starts with jay’s complete inability to keep his workspace from looking like an archaeological dig site.
you’re standing by his desk, watching as he fumbles through the mess that is his workspace. papers are stacked in precarious towers, there’s a half-eaten granola bar that has somehow been buried under a pile of sticky notes. a coffee cup with a lipstick stain, even though jay does not wear lipstick.
“you live like this?” you ask, eyebrows raised as you survey the mess.
jay, utterly unbothered, leans back in his chair. “organized chaos.” why does everybody around here insist on working in conditions not far from that of a pigsty?
you shake your head, crossing your arms. “you know nasa once had to recalibrate an entire spacecraft because someone forgot to convert metric to imperial?”
jay snorts. “imagine being that guy.”
“i’d simply launch myself into the sun,” you deadpan.
jay cackles. “real talk, though, you think the sun would just vaporize you instantly, or would you have, like, a second of awareness?”
you hum, dramatically thoughtful. “i dunno, but if i ever get fired, i might test it out.”
“technically—”
you blink as a third voice enters the conversation.
jake stands a few feet away, arms crossed, brow furrowed like you just presented an incorrect equation.
you were not expecting him to be here.
“uh—” you freeze, awkwardly shifting. jay’s eyes gleam with amusement.
jake clears his throat. “technically, you wouldn’t be able to launch yourself into the sun.”
silence.
“
what?” you blink, trying to process what is happening.
jake continues, oblivious to your slowly dawning horror. “you’d just end up orbiting around it. earth is already moving at about 30 kilometers per second, so unless you counteract that velocity exactly, you’d just—” he gestures vaguely. “miss.”
you stare. jay lets out a low, entertained whistle.
your face burns. “i—” you struggle to find words, feeling an overwhelming mix of why is he like this and oh my god he really just did that.
your fingers twitch against your arms. you open your mouth. then close it. then open it again—
nope. nothing. no words. just the slow, creeping realization that this guy has actually just fact-checked your joke.
it wasn’t even a good joke.
your face heats. “wow,” you mutter, focusing very hard on the floor. “thanks for the physics lesson.”
jake nods, completely oblivious to the fact that you are currently plotting your own orbital escape.
jay presses his lips together, struggling.
you let out a breath, shaking your head. “anyway. i have work to do.”
and then you walk out. not in a dramatic, stormy way – but in a stiff, awkward, nope, i’m out kind of way.
jake watches you go, confused. “what’s with her?”
jay grins, leaning back in his chair. “dunno, man. maybe she just needs some space.”
jake doesn’t get the joke. nor does his oblivious ass understand why his assistant is suddenly treating him like an afterthought?
of course this buffoon doesn’t understand. all he’s thinking of is last night and the way you had tiredly bid him goodnight before parting ways in front of the building, your figure growing smaller by the second. his offer to drop you to the nearest bus stand dying on his lips the further you walked away.
and this was a pivotal moment for him because jake? he doesn’t offer rides to people.
in fact, he doesn’t even think to do things like that – until last night, when he’d spent an extra two seconds debating whether he should insist, before realizing that no, that would be weird.
so instead, he had done something else.
this morning, after getting his usual coffee, he’d bought yours too. granted, he didn’t know your order, but he’s sure he’s seen you around with a cup of your own around the office, still he doesn’t really know your order. so he gets you a sweeter variation, a stark contrast to his bitter drink, because in his mind, he’s thinking about this in a logical way.
and you had accepted it, for that matter, sipping on the drink like you actually enjoyed it. so he had been right, you did like sweet drinks. noted. noted?
regardless you had reacted, albeit subtly. a blink. a pause. a slightly surprised but polite, “thanks.”
jake had left it at that, feeling oddly accomplished.
and now? now you’re walking away from him like he’s some malfunctioning algorithm, and it’s annoying.
he frowns, turning to jay, who’s still grinning like an idiot. “seriously. did i do something?”
jay hums, dramatically thoughtful. “i dunno, man. maybe she just needs some space.”
jake stares. “you already said that.”
jay just snickers. “yeah. and i’ll keep saying it until you get the joke.”
jake does not, in fact, get the joke.
but for some reason, he wants to. and this realisation is soon going to turn into something that’s going to keep bothering him till he’s forced to actually take note of it.
it happens at precisely 12:48 pm.
jake glances up from his screen when you hover by his desk, clipboard in hand.
“i’m taking an extended lunch today.”
his fingers pause over his keyboard. “
extended?”
you nod. “yeah, probably won’t be back for another hour and a half.”
jake blinks. “that’s
 longer than usual.”
“yeah,” you say easily. “something came up. but don’t worry, you don’t have anything scheduled and i’ve completed the reports on my end, so it’s not going to affect work.”
jake doesn’t know why that information bothers him, but it does. his brows furrow slightly. “okay.”
you nod once, then turn to leave.
jake stares at the empty space you just occupied, something tugging at his brain.
why did that exchange feel weird? no, not weird, just
 different. off.
his fingers hover over his keyboard, but he doesn’t start typing.
jake doesn’t even realize something is wrong until his stomach twists uncomfortably.
he frowns, checking the time. 2:13 pm. lunch had passed. and he hadn’t eaten.
he blinks at his screen, but the numbers on it blur. his focus has shifted, derailed by something he never thought would be an issue. food.
it’s not like he forgot to eat. okay – maybe he technically did, but that’s beside the point. the real issue here is that he never needed to remember, because you always reminded him.
or, if you noticed he was too caught up in work, you’d just
 bring something back for him. something simple, easy to eat at his desk – half the time, he didn’t even ask, and yet there it was. a sandwich. a salad. once, a soup that he never even mentioned liking, but somehow you had known he was in the mood for something warm.
it had become routine.
no, actually, it had become a given. and today? today, you walked in, set your bag down, checked your emails – like normal – but you didn’t say anything.
didn’t ask if he ate. didn’t bring anything back. didn’t even look at him properly before sitting down to do your own thing.
nothing.
jake’s fingers twitch over his desk. his jaw tightens slightly. something about this whole situation sits wrong.
because this isn’t normal.
this morning, he even bought you coffee. he didn’t know your exact order, but he had put in effort. that meant something, right? even if you didn’t react much when he placed it on your desk, he thought – hoped – it at least counted for something.
so why does it feel like it didn’t? and why does that bother him?
he does something drastic. he actually walks up to your desk – the second time already this week – and clears his throat.
“hey um
” a small glance at your id card dangling around your neck, and he feels insanely embarrassed because wow, how the hell does he not remember your name, “y/n?”
you’re not going to lie, you totally saw him stumble right now, and it doesn’t help that he’s looking at you with those big brown eyes again, his hand shoved inside his coat pocket, the other rubbing the back of his head. no! you should be upset at him right now, not fawn over his boyish charms!
you glance up, fingers pausing over your keyboard. “yeah?”
jake hesitates.
he doesn’t actually know what he wants to say. he just knows he wants you to look at him a little less indifferently.
“i
” his voice catches slightly. he clears his throat. “can you, um. get me something to eat?”
your expression flickers – just for a second. not enough for jake to read properly, but enough that it feels like you’re choosing your words before speaking.
then, finally, you ask, “what do you want?”
jake pauses.
because – what do you mean, what does he want?
you always just know. you’ve been working together long enough that you order for him without asking. that’s part of why he never bothers remembering himself – he doesn’t have to.
this is new. this is wrong.
“uh
” jake stalls, grip tightening slightly on his pen. “the usual?”
you blink at him, unimpressed. “what’s the usual?”
jake freezes.
oh. oh, no. what is the usual?
his mind scrambles for an answer, rifling through vague memories of you setting food on his desk, but the details blur together. sometimes it was a sandwich. sometimes something with rice. one time, there was pasta. but were those his actual usuals, or just random things you decided to get him?
did he even have a usual?
jake, for the first time today, has to confront a horrifying fact: he has never actually learned what he eats for lunch.
because you always handled it.
and now you’re sitting there, staring at him, waiting for an answer – an answer he doesn’t have – and suddenly, jake feels something unfamiliar coil in his chest: panic.
he’s never been in this situation before. he’s used to having control, to knowing exactly what he wants and when he wants it. yet, somehow, in this one specific instance – a completely mundane scenario involving food, of all things – he’s at a total loss.
how had he not noticed this before? how had he gone this long without realizing he didn’t actually know what he ate every day? how had he become so reliant on—
jake blinks. his own thoughts slam into him like a freight train. because that’s exactly what’s wrong, isn’t it?
he’s used to you. your reminders. your routines. the way you anticipated things before he even noticed them himself.
and for the first time, it feels like you’re deliberately withholding that from him.
why?
jake swallows, forcing himself to think logically. there has to be a reasonable explanation for this. maybe you were too busy to stop and get him something. maybe you had your own things to deal with today. maybe you just forgot.
but then again – you never forgot.
so what changed?
seven.
it was jay’s idea really.
the whole pulling away subtly but not-so-subtly thing. the make-him-notice-you’re-missing plan. and it was working.
you knew it was working because the moment you walked out of jake’s office after that awkward exchange, you felt his stare linger. the hesitation in his voice, the way his fingers twitched slightly when you asked what he wanted – like the concept of having to ask you for something was completely foreign to him.
that was a win, right? so why did it feel so

you press your lips together, stirring your drink absently. across from you, jay chews on a fry, watching you with far too much amusement for someone who wasn’t the one actively carrying out this ridiculous scheme.
“you look like you’re thinking too hard,” he comments, popping another fry into his mouth. “which is kinda concerning, considering all you’re doing is eating a sandwich.”
you glare at him. “shut up.”
jay snorts, leaning back against the booth. “what’s got you so conflicted? it’s working, isn’t it?”
you don’t answer right away. because, yes – it is working. you can tell by the way jake hesitated before asking you to get him something to eat, by the way he actually looked at you instead of just expecting you to handle things like always. you made him notice the absence.
“
it feels kinda dumb,” you admit finally, picking at your sandwich. “i mean—think about it. it’s lunch. it shouldn’t be that big of a deal, right?”
jay raises a brow. “you say that, but let me remind you of something. he didn’t know what his usual order was.”
you groan, rubbing a hand over your face. “don’t remind me.”
“no, no, let’s actually sit with that for a second,” jay continues, clearly enjoying himself far too much. “the guy has had you getting his meals for months and never thought to ask what he was eating. that’s not normal, dude.”
“i know,” you mutter.
“so what’s the problem?”
you sigh, rolling your cup between your palms.
“the problem is that it shouldn’t take something like this for him to notice me.” the words feel heavy in your mouth. “it’s stupid, isn’t it? i shouldn’t have to pull away for him to realize how much i do for him. like, why does it have to be some big, strategic thing? shouldn’t he just
 care?”
jay quiets at that. for all his jokes and teasing, he’s not oblivious – not like jake.
after a moment, he leans forward, propping his arms on the table. “you’re right,” he says, voice softer than before. “he should care. he should’ve noticed a long time ago.”
your stomach twists.
“but,” jay continues, tapping a finger against his drink, “that doesn’t mean this isn’t necessary. i know it sucks, but think about it – would jake have ever thought about this on his own? would he have ever realized how much he relies on you if you hadn’t started stepping back?”
you hate that the answer is obvious.
“
no,” you mutter.
jay nods. “exactly. he’s used to things just
 happening. you’ve made his life so easy that he doesn’t even have to think about it.” he smirks slightly. “and now? now he has to think about it. because it’s not just about lunch. it’s about you.”
you stare at him, fingers tightening around your drink.
you sigh, pressing the rim of your cup to your lips but not drinking. the ice clinks softly inside, melting into the coffee, much like your resolve seems to be melting into uncertainty.
“has he always been like this?” you ask quietly.
jay raises a brow. “like what?”
“with his assistants,” you clarify, glancing at him. “has he always been like
 this?” you don’t say oblivious or careless, but jay understands anyway.
he studies you for a moment, his usually amused gaze flickering with something more serious. “i don’t know all the details, if i’m being honest. i never really paid attention to his working relationships.”
you press your lips together, turning your cup in your hands. “but you knew there were others before me.”
jay exhales, dragging a hand through his hair. “yeah,” he admits. “there were others. none of them stuck around for too long, though.”
that makes your stomach twist.
“why not?” you ask, your voice barely above a whisper.
jay hesitates. not because he doesn’t know the answer, but because the answer isn’t his to give.
“jake’s not an easy person to work for,” he finally says, choosing his words carefully. “he’s particular about things, but not in a way that makes sense to most people. he’s not demanding in the usual way – he doesn’t expect people to read his mind, but at the same time
 he does. he assumes things will get done. not because he asks, but because that’s how it’s always been for him. he doesn’t really think about the ‘who’ behind it all.”
you swallow hard.
“and the others?”
jay shakes his head. “they got frustrated. some quit because they felt unappreciated, others just decided it wasn’t worth it. no hard feelings, no big fights. just
 people coming and going. but you?” he tilts his head at you. “you stuck around.”
you let out a small, humorless laugh. “it’s only been three months, maybe i’ll quit too.”
you won’t. for reasons more than one, the first being that you have student loans to pay. the second
maybe that’s a thought better left for later.
“maybe,” jay says, but his tone isn’t teasing. it’s contemplative. “or maybe you’re different.”
you look up at him then, brows furrowed. “different how?”
jay leans back in his seat, arms crossing over his chest. “you actually care about him.”
the words sit heavy between you.
of course you care. that was never the question. the question was whether or not he cared. whether he even saw you as a person rather than just another name in a long list of people who handled things for him.
you exhale slowly, staring down at the condensation forming on your cup. “that’s stupid, isn’t it?”
jay tilts his head. “what is?”
“that i care about someone who barely notices me.”
there’s no pity in jay’s gaze. no smugness, either. just quiet understanding.
“it’s not stupid,” he says. “but it is a little sad.”
you swallow around the lump in your throat. “why do you think he’s like that?”
jay exhales through his nose. “i think jake has spent so long expecting people to leave that he doesn’t think much about why they stay. or if they do, it’s just a matter of when they’ll go. he doesn’t attach himself to people easily. i don’t know why, exactly, but i have my guesses.”
you nod, understanding that there’s a past here that isn’t yours to pry into. it doesn’t quench your curiosity though, because what really made jake into this oblivious, unintentionally selfish person? you haven’t known him long, but you’ve seen enough.
how he declines invitations to after work hangouts, how he’s never lurking at other people’s desks, cooping himself up in the confines of his own room, doing his own work. how he barely ever leaves that room unless absolutely necessary. it’s just work, work, work for him.
jay watches you for a moment, then leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “let me ask you something now.”
you blink. “okay?”
he gestures toward you. “why do you look up to him so much?”
you open your mouth, but no words come out.
because the truth is, you do look up to jake. or at least, you used to. maybe, in some ways, you still do.
he’s brilliant, that much is undeniable. he makes decisions with sharp precision, moves through life with a confidence that is enviable. he commands a room without even realizing it, and people naturally gravitate toward him.
and maybe that was part of the reason why you held on for so long. because you wanted to believe that he was someone worth believing in. worth staying for.
but what happens when the person you admire the most doesn’t even see you?
you lower your gaze. “i don’t know.”
jay hums, as if he expected that answer.
“well, maybe it’s time he starts looking up to you,” he says.
the thought sends a strange feeling through your chest.
because what if, after all this time, it wasn’t about you chasing after jake’s attention? what if it was about him realizing that you were someone worth keeping up with?
you exhale, setting your cup down with a quiet clink. “so, what now?”
jay grins, the mischief returning to his eyes. “phase two, obviously.”
you shake your head, laughing under your breath. “you’re ridiculous.”
“trust me, jake’s already starting to notice you y/n,” jay says, taking a sip of his drink. “so? you in?”
you glance down at your phone, at the list of unread emails waiting for you. and you think about jake – his hesitation earlier, the way he had to actually ask you about lunch. how for the first time, he seemed to realize that you weren’t just an extension of his routine.
deep down, you hope he’s right.
and it’s already started – jake is thinking about it. about you.
you just don’t know it yet.
jake had been off all day, and he knew it.
it had started with lunch. or rather, the strange lack of it – the missing familiarity, the offhanded nature of it, the unsettling realization that it hadn’t been waiting for him like usual. and then when you did get him something, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t right either. not that he could even say what ‘right’ was anymore. that part gnawed at him the most.
he had spent the better half of the afternoon distracted, shuffling between meetings and emails while the thought sat at the back of his head, growing heavier by the hour. it wasn’t about the food. it was never just about the food.
he leaned back in his office chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.
why was this bothering him so much?
his usual? what even was his usual? how long had he stopped deciding that for himself? at what point had he gotten so used to you taking care of it that he didn’t even remember?
the realization was suffocating.
jake had never considered himself someone who relied on others – not in any way that mattered. he was independent, capable, and self-sufficient. at least, that’s what he had always told himself. but today proved otherwise.
somewhere along the way, he had gotten used to your quiet presence. the way you smoothed things over without him having to ask. the way you knew things before he did, handled them before they became problems, and – somewhere in the middle of all that – became something constant.
and now, the moment that balance wavered, he felt like he was losing his footing.
the evening dragged on, the weight of the day pressing against his temples as he sat at his desk, staring blankly at his computer screen. he should go home. but even the idea of leaving felt exhausting.
then his phone rang.
jake glanced at the caller id. mom.
he hesitated for a second before answering. “hey.”
“jakey,” his mother’s voice was warm but laced with something tired. “i was just checking in. it’s been a while.”
he sighed, rubbing his temple. “yeah, sorry. work’s been crazy.”
there was a pause. a small one, but enough for jake to feel the unspoken words on the other end. he knew that pause.
“you’ve been eating, right?” she asked. “you sound off.”
jake nearly laughed, though there was nothing funny about it. his grip on the phone tightened.
“i’m fine.”
“jake.”
he clenched his jaw. the weight in his chest grew heavier.
how was it that this one conversation, this one question, managed to make everything worse? it wasn’t like he had told her anything. it wasn’t like she knew that something as stupid as lunch had been haunting him all day, or that he was suddenly questioning things he had never thought twice about before.
he exhaled sharply. “mom, i said i’m fine.”
another silence. then, softer, “you always say that.”
jake shut his eyes.
for a second, he was six years old again, sitting at the kitchen table, picking at his food while his mother sat across from him, pretending like everything was fine. like they weren’t waiting for someone who wasn’t coming back.
he barely remembered his father’s face, but he remembered the absence. the lingering silence. the way his mother never cried in front of him, but he knew she wanted to.
“people leave sometimes, jakey,” she had told him once. “even when they don’t mean to.”
jake had spent his whole life pretending that it didn't affect him. that it didn’t shape the way he saw the world, the way he kept people at arm’s length. that it didn’t make him hyper-aware of who stayed and who didn’t.
but now, sitting in his empty office, with the remnants of an unremarkable lunch sitting in the trash, he was starting to think it had affected him more than he ever wanted to admit.
“jake?” his mother’s voice pulled him back.
he swallowed. “yeah, i’m here.”
“i won’t push,” she said gently. “but you know you can talk to me, right?”
he let out a breath. “i know.”
a few more words were exchanged, mostly her telling him to take care of himself before she hung up. jake set his phone down on his desk and stared at it for a long moment.
he didn’t know what was worse – the fact that he felt like he was spiraling over something so insignificant, or the fact that it didn’t feel insignificant at all.
with a heavy sigh, he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against his hands.
what the hell is wrong with me?
eight.
jake is not in a good mood this morning.
it’s evident in the way his jaw is clenched, the way his morning greeting to you sounds even more clipped and indifferent than usual and it’s apparent in the way he slams his door shut behind him.
you’ve seen him like this before – just once – in an intense mood all day, brooding over a particularly complicated issue at work. so you ignore the slight pang in your chest when he barely looks at you before shutting himself off in his room.
you give him space.
you go about your work, responding to emails, organizing the files on his desk, and making sure everything is in order for the meetings he has later. but throughout the day, you can’t help but glance toward his closed office door. there’s a stiffness in your posture whenever you walk past it, an awareness that you’re treading around a storm, waiting for it to pass.
it doesn’t.
by lunchtime, you hesitate before grabbing your own food. jake still hasn’t come out of his office, and you know him well enough to know he probably hasn’t eaten. the memory of the previous day – his offhanded question about lunch, the way he seemed oddly thrown off by you not bringing it – lingers in your mind. maybe that’s all it is, you reason. he just needs to eat.
so you order his usual, the one you’ve memorized without thinking. but when you place it on his desk, he barely glances at it.
“not hungry,” he mutters.
that’s it. no thank you, no acknowledgement. just a dismissal.
it stings more than it should. you don’t push him, simply nodding before stepping back. but something about the way his shoulders are tense, his fingers gripping a pen too tightly, makes you hesitate.
“are you okay?”
it’s a simple question, but it’s a mistake.
jake looks up at you then, and for the first time all day, he really looks at you. his expression is unreadable, his gaze sharp in a way that feels like a blade pressing into something delicate.
and then he scoffs.
“you don’t have to do that.”
your fingers curl around the tray you had got his food in. they clutch at the edges of the plastic, digging into your skin, imprinting a mark physically much like the way jake’s next words do in your chest.
you blink. “do what?”
“act like you care.”
the words hit like a slap. you open your mouth, but nothing comes out.
jake doesn’t stop there. “i don’t need you to hover. i don’t need your pity. i don’t need—” he exhales sharply, dragging a hand through his hair before shaking his head. “just stop.”
you freeze. there’s something deeply frustrating about this moment – because you don’t understand, because you don’t know what’s going on in his head, because you’re just trying to help. but jake is looking at you like your presence alone is suffocating him, like you’re an inconvenience, like he wants to push you as far away as possible.
pity? he thinks you’re pitying him? is your gaze so misconstrued that he’s actually letting himself believe that someone like you could pity him?
but whatever it is that jake wants, it works.
you don’t say anything. you don’t argue, don’t snap back, don’t ask why he’s being an asshole for no reason. because really, what would be the point? you can’t help him, not with whatever impossible problem he’s been staring at all day. you’re not a genius like him, not someone who understands physics or engineering or whatever the hell he’s stressing over.
you’re just his assistant.
you nod once and leave the room, ignoring the way your stomach twists uncomfortably.
the afternoon drags on. you’re quieter than usual, working diligently and keeping to yourself. jake doesn’t seem to notice. or if he does, he doesn’t care.
jay drops by at some point, leaning against your desk with a knowing look. “he’s in a mood today.”
you exhale through your nose. “i noticed.”
jay tilts his head. “you good?”
“i’m fine.” it’s the easy answer, the one that doesn’t require unpacking anything. you don’t want to talk about how frustrating it is, how useless you feel, how much it actually bothers you when you know it shouldn’t.
jay doesn’t press, but he gives you a small nod of understanding before heading to jake’s office. you hear them talking – jay’s voice lighthearted, trying to ease whatever storm jake is caught in. but jake’s replies are short, clipped, his irritation barely restrained. eventually, jay gives up.
by the time evening rolls around, the tension hasn’t lifted.
you’re finishing up paperwork when you hear jake’s office chair scrape against the floor. a moment later, he steps out, his phone pressed to his ear. you don’t look up, but you can hear the strain in his voice, the way it’s unusually tense.
“no, mom, i told you—” a pause. “i don’t know. i haven’t thought about it.”
your pen stills against the paper.
jake exhales sharply. “because i don’t have time for this.” his voice drops lower, something more raw seeping into the cracks. “it doesn’t matter. he made his choice.”
silence.
and then, a barely audible, “i don’t care.”
your chest tightens.
you glance up, just for a second, but the look on jake’s face is unreadable. he’s standing rigid, shoulders tense, his grip on his phone almost painful. whatever his mother is saying, it’s digging under his skin, unearthing something you can’t begin to understand.
you don’t look away fast enough.
jake notices. his eyes flick to yours, and for a split second, something flickers there – something vulnerable, something tired. but then, just as quickly, it’s gone.
he turns on his heel and walks out.
you don’t follow.
jake is still in a bad mood when jay finds him.
he doesn’t know why he agreed to go out for drinks. maybe it was the way jay had looked at him after stopping by the office earlier, or maybe it was the unbearable silence of his apartment that he didn’t want to sit in alone. either way, now he’s here, sitting across from jay and sunghoon at some bar downtown, nursing a whiskey he’s barely taken a sip from.
he’s been fidgeting with his glass for the past fifteen minutes, watching the condensation trail down the sides, listening to jay and sunghoon talk about something he’s barely paying attention to. their voices sound distant, like they’re underwater, and everything around him feels just slightly off-kilter, like he’s caught in a strange in-between where he can’t fully ground himself. he feels like an outsider looking in on his own life, watching himself sit here, going through the motions.
jay nudges him. “you good?”
jake blinks. “yeah.”
sunghoon snorts. “you look like you’re about to throw yourself off a bridge.”
he rolls his eyes, but it’s weak. he takes a sip of his drink, wincing at the burn. “just tired.”
jay doesn’t buy it. “it’s work, isn’t it?”
jake exhales sharply through his nose. that’s the thing—it’s not just work.
it’s the way his day has felt completely off-kilter since this morning. no scratch that, it's been this way this entire week.
it’s the way he couldn’t focus, no matter how hard he tried, the way his own office felt too cold, too empty. it’s the way his lunch tasted like cardboard, even though you had gotten it for him like you always did. the way you had placed it on his desk so carefully, so deliberately, and yet it had felt
 wrong. bland. like something was missing, and he couldn’t figure out what.
it’s the way he had snapped at you.
his grip tightens around his glass. he hadn’t meant to. he had been frustrated, overwhelmed, his thoughts eating him alive, and you had just – been there. and he had let his irritation get the best of him. he doesn’t even remember what he said exactly, just the way your face had shifted, the way something in your expression had dimmed before you had looked away and left him alone.
had he hurt you? the thought unsettles him more than he’d like to admit.
“i don’t know, man.” he leans back, staring at the amber liquid in his glass. “people are so fucking unpredictable.”
jay raises an eyebrow. “where’s this coming from?”
jake shakes his head. “just—” he exhales. “you think you know someone, you think they’re a certain way, and then suddenly
 they’re not. and you don’t know when it happened, or why, or if it was always going to happen and you were just too blind to see it coming.”
there’s a brief pause. then sunghoon says, “sounds like someone’s got abandonment issues.”
jake scoffs. “that’s not what i—” he stops himself. clenches his jaw. takes another sip of his drink. it burns down his throat, but it doesn’t drown out the thoughts spiraling in his head.
jay is watching him carefully. “you want to talk about it?”
jake doesn’t answer immediately. he should say no. he should shut it down, brush it off, make some joke and move on. but something about tonight, about the weight pressing down on his chest, makes him want to keep talking. so he does.
“my dad left when i was six.”
it’s abrupt. unprompted. but neither jay nor sunghoon say anything, just let him speak.
“one day he was there, the next he wasn’t. no warning. no explanation.” he exhales, shaking his head. “i remember my mom sat me down and told me he wasn’t coming back, and i didn’t get it at first. i thought—maybe he was just on a long trip. maybe he’d call. maybe—”
he swallows hard. “but he never did.”
the words hang heavy in the air. he doesn’t know why he’s saying this. he doesn’t talk about his dad, ever. but something about tonight makes it easier. maybe it’s the alcohol, maybe it’s the exhaustion, maybe it’s the lingering feeling of wrongness from earlier today. maybe it’s the way your face had fallen when he snapped at you. maybe it’s the way his chest has felt empty since then.
jay sighs. “that’s rough, man.”
and jay means it. because in all the years that he’s known jake, he’s never told them up front of his issues. sure, they’ve picked up some hints of it, how he barely talks about his family, how there used to be a picture frame in their old dorm room with only him and his mom, how he sparingly mentioned his family and even then, not a word about his father.
they had wondered, but never pried. some things are better left alone unless ready to be tackled.
sunghoon, uncharacteristically serious, says, “that’s why you’re like this, huh?”
jake frowns. “like what?”
sunghoon shrugs. “like you don’t trust people to stay.”
jake doesn’t respond. because what is there to say? he’s not wrong.
he glances down at his phone, at the unopened messages from his mom. she had called earlier, left a voicemail. he knows what she wants. it’s the anniversary of the day his dad left. she always calls on this day. but he hasn’t called back yet. he doesn’t know if he wants to.
his mind flickers back to you. the way you had looked at him after he snapped. the way you hadn’t said anything, hadn’t fought back, just accepted it and left.
had you expected it from him? had you seen it coming? had he proved you right?
jay’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts. “you ever think that maybe you push people away before they can leave?”
jake stills. something inside him twists. because – he doesn’t. does he?
he thinks about the way you had stayed, despite everything. how you had shown up, day after day, putting up with his moods, his silence, his sharp edges. how you had gotten his lunch, even when he had barely acknowledged you all morning. how you had tried, always tried.
and how he had snapped at you anyway.
he rubs a hand down his face. he suddenly feels exhausted. the weight on his chest has only gotten heavier.
“maybe,” he murmurs, barely audible. “maybe i do.”
neither jay nor sunghoon push further. they just let him sit with it, let him stew in his own thoughts.
jake exhales slowly, the realization sinking in like a stone in his stomach.
he doesn’t know why he feels like he’s already losing something he didn’t even know he wanted to keep.
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onepieceisreeeeaaalll · 2 months ago
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Frozen Leaves - Zoro x Fem!Reader
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I've been wanting to write a more romantic smutty fic for Zoro. It's been stuck in my head, so here it is!
Summary: You and Zoro haven't been intimate in weeks. It's time to change that.
Tags: Angst, smut w plot
CW: NSFW MDNI! P in v, fingers, L word, wound/injury mention
If you like stuff like this, check out my masterlist!
~4k
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The gentle creaking of the ship sounds louder than usual. It's undercut by the way the wind whips the sails towards a new horizon, a destination wrought with excitement and adventure. While normally you'd take the time to admire such a beautiful sight, noticing the way the full moon reflects on the waves, there's one problem on your mind that keeps you from fully relaxing. 
You are hopelessly, ridiculously horny, and your boyfriend hasn't touched you in three weeks. 
It's not for lack of trying on your part. Things just haven't aligned with Zoro. Rushing from one destination to another, focusing on staying strong and getting stronger, it's hard to really make time for something as mundane as sex. Sure, you've worn your best dresses and tightest shirts in hopes he'd notice. Yes, of course, you've ran your fingers over his biceps in admiration after he's completed a workout. There's even been a few times where you've just shamelessly whispered dirty compliments into his ear at dinner. He still hasn't touched you yet. Hasn't even made a move, or given you those heated glances you've grown familiar with. So, clearly, everything must just be too busy. He's just tired, or stressed, or focused. Of course.  
It doesn't change the fact that you've been really, really trying. That's what makes it all the more frustrating. The lack of sex would be one thing, but the lack of intimacy is just as wrong. Chaste kisses and hands accidentally brushing have been the most action you've received in weeks. Compared to the busy sex schedules you usually kept, it's a marked change. It's got you rutting your pillow, grabbing at whatever toy you have in your arsenal at the slightest glance from him. Like some love-struck virgin. 
Tonight is going to be different, though. You've gotten a bottle of wine from the last port the crew had stopped in. What's more, you've picked out your best form-fitting dress, done your hair, your makeup. It would be painfully obvious to anyone else on board that you're trying to get laid. Luckily, everyone else seems to get the message because they steer clear as you walk with confidence from the interior of the ship. 
Holding the bottle of wine in your hand, you walk across the deck and up to the crow's nest. Any potential enemies on the horizon will have to wait. The entire time you ascend, you work to push any sort of insecurities from your mind. He's just been busy - and, to be honest, Zoro gets a one-track mind when there's a goal to accomplish. It has nothing to do with you, or how you look, or what you say or do. It has everything to do with Zoro just not getting the hint. Obviously. 
You push open the latch to the crow's nest, and you're immediately met with the sight of your boyfriend lifting weights. As per usual. It'd be hot if not for how often he's done it in favor of fucking you. Right - focus. It's not you. It's him.
“Want company?” You ask, giving a playful smile as you climb the rest of the way inside. 
Zoro doesn't stop. He continues, sparing you a cursory glance before returning his gaze to the wall ahead. 
“Just working out.” He replies simply.
Ouch. Maybe he just didn't notice your dress. 
You hum and walk towards him, closing the small space as slowly as you can. A sway of your hips - oh, right, push your breasts together. That'll work. You hold the bottle of wine close to you, raising an eyebrow at him. 
“You could use a break. You've been at it all day.” You say, placing a careful hand on your hip. “Have a drink with me.”
Zoro huffs. Not just huffs, he doesn't even look at you, and the motion of raising the barbell is so stupidly distracting that you could almost forget to be mad. Almost. He just keeps lifting those weights, the clanking sound entirely too loud in your ears. 
“Can't. Maybe later.”
Your jaw clenches, and if your grip were any stronger, it'd break the bottle of wine to pieces in your hand. The way those muscles move and contract, the sweat glistening down those pecs
when was the last time he even showered? Who cares? You'd still lick his abs and thank god for the electrolytes.
God, you need to get laid.
“I brought wine. You can spare a few minutes.” You say, and your tone is sharp. Zoro should know what that means, having been on the receiving end of that voice more than once. There's little room for argument. Which is what makes his response all the more infuriating.  
“Not sakĂ©?”
Saké. Saké. He's got to be joking. 
This isn't about the damn alcohol, or the fact that he's working out, or any of it. That tone in his voice sounds clipped, and now you're even more heated. He still hasn't properly looked at you, and you're certain that you made yourself as sexually appealing as possible. If your face were flushed with anything else before, it's completely red with frustration now. 
But you're quiet. Watching him lift those stupid weights. Because you're currently weighing your own words very carefully. 
“Why won't you look at me?”
“What are you-”
“I'll be more clear.” You say, and you take a step towards him, placing your hand on his arm. Here goes. “Why won't you fuck me?” 
Those words hang in the air, and for a moment, Zoro holds the barbell above his head. He still hasn't looked. It’s only a few more seconds before the weights drop the ground, loudly, and Zoro finally looks at you. But he doesn't let his gaze linger on your body for more than a moment. His eye is trained on your face, and his own expression is just as frustrated as yours. 
He hasn't responded, though, and that flares up that twist in your gut further. Taking a deep breath, you grab his arm, demanding his attention. The fact that he doesn't seem to be coming up with a real response is damn near maddening. 
“I said, why won't you fuck me?” You repeat, eyes narrowing. “It's been three weeks, almost a month-”
“I know how long it's been-”
“And that doesn't bother you?” You retort, and you push his arm away as you cross to the weight bench. Placing the wine bottle down, you let out a groan. “I'm basically throwing myself at you every chance I get - every chance - and I don't know how much more obvious I can get! Three weeks; there was a time when you couldn't keep your hands off me for three days. What - are you just not attracted to me anymore? Am I not fuckable?”
“That's not-!” 
“Then what? What is it?” You snap, turning your gaze back onto him. “Are you not into me anymore? Are you-?”
“Will you let me talk?” Zoro retorts, and his tone leaves no room for argument. 
Gritting your teeth, you take a deep breath in an attempt to calm yourself down. It's not helping, and everything in your body is screaming with the urge to keep laying into him. But, fine. If he wants to talk, you'll let him. It's better than being ignored or shoved aside. 
When Zoro's certain you're quiet, he lets out a deep sigh. His gaze finally does flicker over your form, but only for a moment, before he looks down at the ground. 
“I haven't figured out what to say to you yet. Or how to say it.” Zoro starts, and his tone is laced with some kind of unfamiliar frustration. You nod slowly. “I've been thinking about some things. Ever since that island we were on a few weeks back.”
A few islands back
that was around when this started. But thinking? Oh no. Oh no, no.
“Zoro-”
“Let me finish.” He says firmly, his brows furrowing in irritation. You clench your jaw, your eyes threatening to spill with tears. He continues. “I've been thinking. Remember when you got all banged up, and Chopper had to stitch up a wound you got?”
You remember it vividly. It was a stray shot from a Marine that narrowly missed, and luckily, you were able to take that Marine down fairly quickly. It was really not as dramatic as Zoro made it sound. A gunshot that grazed just enough skin to warrant stitches. Nothing more. 
“Yes.” You reply carefully. 
“I-...” Zoro sighs, shaking his head. “Worried the hell out of me, seein’ you like that. I should have stopped it.”
“What?” You respond immediately, a small, confused scoff exiting your lips. “Zoro, that wasn't your fault. You were busy with your own fight, so it's not something you-”
“Doesn't matter.” He snaps, and you watch as his hands curl into fists at his sides. “You think anyone else woulda let you out of their sight if they felt about you the way I do? Curly brows? Luffy?”
You're frozen, not really sure what to say. It's clear this has been bothering him, and you feel this distinct rise of frustration in you yet again. You don't move - not yet - and you halt in favor of letting him finish. 
With a huff, Zoro brings a hand up to his hair, running it through his green locks.  
“You're strong. Not saying you aren't capable of handling yourself.” He says, his voice slow and careful. “But I'm not a fan of watching you run head-first into danger. Couldn't figure out why it bothered me so much for a while.”
That frustration still sits heavy in your chest, but finally, you take a few steps forward. The short distance between you both is slowly closing, and with the way your heart is hammering, it's hard to think clearly. 
“So, what did you figure out, going celibate for a month?” You ask, and although your words are playful, the tone is still slightly bitter. And concerned. 
Zoro doesn't say anything. Not yet. He doesn't pull his gaze from the ground where it's fixed, but it's clear that your approach is getting to him. His muscles are twitching. 
“I wasn't purposely choosing to go celibate.” He snorts, his brows furrowed. “But I figured it out. A while ago, actually.”
You're finally standing right in front of him, and your hands ache to reach out and grab him. Instead, you keep them at your sides, willing them to behave. The way he's breathing isn't lost on you - labored and not from the workout. 
“What have you been avoiding, then?” 
It's quiet. The gentle creaking of the ship is no longer in your ears. The crashing of the waves and flapping of the sails of no consequence. All that can be heard and matters are the words that fall from Zoro's lips, spoken so quietly and harshly that the dichotomy of it is overwhelming. 
“I'm in love with you.”
Zoro finally looks up at you, his eye locked on yours to really ensure you hear him correctly. It's spoken without remorse, without a hint of doubt. It's as solid and brutal as he is, and the impact of the words hit as hard as a slash from his sword would have. Out of everything you'd expected, everything you'd hoped, this wasn't even a possibility you entertained. 
Lips part, and before you realize what you've done, your mouth has crashed into Zoro’s. Your hands grip at his face, his own grip wherever they can reach - your waist, your hips, your back. It's all tongue, lips, and moans as the dam of pent-up feelings and hormones rage through the both of you. Your dress is unzipped, and Zoro's calloused hands grasp at your back as his lips move from yours to connect with your jaw. You gasp as little nips and heated kisses working their way along your flesh. 
“I'm in love with you, too.” You say breathlessly, and Zoro's chuckle vibrates against your skin. “You were avoiding me because-?”
Zoro trails his kisses up to your ear, tugging at your earlobe with his teeth before licking around the shell. The way you shiver at this makes him grin against your skin. 
“Didn't know how to bring it up. And then too much time passed.” He breathes, and his kisses trail down from your ear to your neck. 
His hands have finished the zipper of your dress, and he pulls the fabric off your shoulders, letting the dress drop to the floor after pushing it past your hips. His hands find your thighs, pulling you up and carrying you to the weight bench. He's only mildly distracted by the heated kisses placed on your neck. 
“I thought you wanted to break up.” You reply, and even though you're trying to sound firm, the breathy quality undermines it. “You'd better apologize.”
“Mm, working on it.”
Zoro sets you down on the bench, his fingers tugging at the clasp of your bra. He unclips it quickly with some help from you, chucking it aside as his lips fall against your collarbone. Your head tilts back, hands moving across his bare torso, dipping down beneath the fabric of his pants. His breath catches in his throat, and he nips at the top of your breast in retaliation. 
“Really missed me that much, you can't wait?” Zoro teases, but his voice holds mild restraint for the sexual frustration he feels. 
You groan, and just to answer his question, you delve your hand further into his pants. Your hand finds his cock fairly quickly, feeling the way it strains against his underwear, and you rub your palm against it firmly with no hesitation. 
“Three weeks.” You remind him, and his moan undercuts how frustrated you're trying to make him. 
“Alright - alright, I get it.” He responds breathlessly, and his hands move to undo the buttons. 
Clothes fly everywhere - a bellywarmer, a sash, pants - until, finally, mercifully, you and Zoro are both as naked as you've been dreaming. Carelessly, the bottle of wine you'd brought gets kicked aside in your haste, but it's a secondary concern to Zoro's lips finding yours again. You moan as your tongues lap and curl, intertwining with a heated passion. He settles against your body, one hand firmly entangled in your hair and the other traveling down your stomach. The moment his fingers brush your clit, you moan in approval against his mouth. 
His lips disconnect from yours as he buries his face into your neck, letting out heated pants. Hasty fingers circle against your clit, pressing and rubbing the sensitive skin.
“Missed this.” He murmurs, placing a kiss against your neck. “Missed how you felt around my fingers.” 
“Zoro-!” You moan breathlessly, your head falling back against the bench. 
His fingers trail lower, finding your entrance with practiced ease. There's little resistance when he slips his middle finger inside, your velvet walls enveloping him perfectly. 
“Fuck, you're so wet for me. Don't know how I went this long.” 
You don't have time to respond before Zoro has already added a second digit. He pumps his fingers into you, curling them with precision. His thumb works clumsily on your clit, and he pulls out only to spread to your slick across your slit before he's plunging them back in. After not having been touched by him for so long, the rough skin of his hands touching you so gently but so adeptly has you grasp at his shoulders. 
His lips move down from your neck, kissing along your collarbone, licking a path straight to your breasts. Every pump of his fingers is paired with a gasp or a moan from you, and Zoro can't contain the groans that reverberate from his chest. The movements are impatient, led by a lust that helps affirm his desire for you. Based on his sounds, he's getting off just on the way you feel around his fingers. His mouth finds your breasts, tongue and teeth latching onto a nipple to tease. You're falling apart embarrassingly quickly, and as you tighten around his fingers, he nips at your breast above your nipple. 
“Cum for me, pretty girl. Let go.” He murmurs, and you tumble over the edge easily. 
Your back arches, and you're still throbbing around his fingers when he pulls them out. A sheen layer of sweat covers you from the intensity, and a hiss leaves you as you feel his cock teasing against your folds. Zoro has already sat up above where you lay on the bench, dick in hand as he covers himself in your fluids. One of your hands falls to cover his at your hip, and your other drifts to your messy hair. 
“Beautiful.” Zoro says, and the breathless whisper has you melting. “I'm sorry for making you think I ever thought anything else.”
The apology, direct and earnest, is as unexpected as his earlier confession. Before yoy have the time to express your surprise, his cock raises and falls onto your clit. Heavy, thick, with an inflamed head that tells you his words are true. There's no sense in worrying about if he's attracted to you, because that vein running up his length looks ready to burst. 
"You want me, pretty girl? Can I fuck you and show you how much I want you?” 
A shuddering exhale leaves you, because the way his tip presses into your clit is mind-melting. You're not sure if the sensitivity is from going without sex for so long, or if that's just the effect he has on you. You give a nod, your hand tightening on his over your hip. 
“Please.”
That plea, so sweet and desperate, softens Zoro's expression. A flicker of guilt, maybe. But he moves his cock, angling his hips, and slowly slides into you. He's big, as usual, and your fingers the past few weeks have done little to compensate for that stretch he always provides. The way you envelop him forces a groan from Zoro, and he leans over you so your foreheads are pressed. Adjusting to your tight pussy, you can tell he's just as bad off as you are. 
He pushes a little further, and a hand of his reaches up to cup your face. A calloused thumb brushes over your bottom lip, and the way he holds your gaze is captivating in the way it reflects that love he expressed. There's no doubt when his eye glitters when it bores into yours.
“I mean it.” Zoro mumbles, his nose brushing yours. “I love you.” 
“Love you, too.” You whisper immediately, and you clasp your hand over his on your face. “I love you so much, Zo.”
With that, his brows furrow as his hips start to move. It's slow to start, slower than you're used to, but the angle ensures that he's able to move deep within your pussy. Your legs wrap around his waist as his cock threatens to brush that deep spot his fingers did earlier. Breaths mingle as shared moans of ecstasy ripple between you. Your hand moves to tangle in his hair when his face buries into your neck. 
His lips kiss at your pulse point, sucking gently along your flesh as his hips move with a little more intent. The weight bench creaks with each move, but it's not a concern to you. You're more concerned with the hushed praises as his hand travels down your side. He finds your free hand, lacing your fingers together, his other hand still held to your face. 
“Love you
you're so fucking beautiful
’m sorry
” He murmurs, and his lips travel up to the edge of your jaw again. 
You can barely think, everything spiraling as he does more than just fuck you. He's making love, something entirely unexpected after being pent up for so long. But it's perfect.
“It's okay,” You whisper, your breath shaking as he picks up his pace. “Love you.”
“Fuck, you're so tight
always feels good on my cock
taking it like you're made for me.” He groans, and he places more opened mouth kisses while his hips start to move harder into yours. 
His hand at your face moves to splay across your hip, spreading over you like you're something precious. Something to protect. Zoro's nose nudges your ear, his teeth nibbling at your earlobe only briefly before he's licking at it gently. Your hands move to grasp at his back, and the speed of which he fucks you is slower than usual, but still fast. Needy. It's getting more desperate. 
“Ah - Zoro, yes! Please-!”
“Never have to beg again.” He grunts, kissing your ear again. “I'll fuck you whenever you want. I'll - nng, fuck - do whatever you want.”
You gasp at the way he ruts into you, his body pushing into yours with a passionate force. He's twitching inside you, and your nails dig into the muscles in his shoulders. Not enough to mark, but to latch onto him, to cling and ensure he doesn't leave. His cock is deep, pushing against that gspot enough to cause your plush walls to tighten. It's all but ensured to make you cum soon, and when his hand on your hip moves to rub his thumb over your clit, you know you're on a short timer. His other hand moves from your hand to your hip, pulling your body into his, as if the force of his own pelvis isn't satisfactory enough for him.
He picks his face up from your neck, pressing his lips into yours again. It's a brief kiss, only long enough for his tongue to lick at the roof of your mouth, and when it breaks, his eye is trained on your face. The way the moonlight falls onto your features, your messy hair spilling over the bottom of the weight bench, your eyes half-lidded with desire - it takes his breath away, and you watch as his expression shifts. It's nearly unrecognizable, the way his edges seem to smooth out. 
The way he regards you is nothing to the way you regard him. At least in your mind. Chiseled muscles, strong features, all highlighted by the way he moves and breathes. One of your hands moves from his back to trace over the scar on his eye, and his lips part at the sensation. 
“Love you - don't stop.” You urge, a moan slipping past your lips as your head rocks to the side. You can't look at him. You're already on the edge. 
But that isn't good enough for him because his lips seek yours, leaning down to pull your face back towards him. It's searing, but tender; passionate, yet gentle. A mix of confusing movements and feelings that you can't quite lay a finger on. He nips at your lip, demanding your attention, craving every bit of devotion you give him. 
“Love you, too.” He mumbles against your lips. “Cum with me. Cum on my cock, pretty girl.”
With a few angled pumps, deliberate and amplified with how he pulls your hip, you can feel the world crashing around you. The smell and sound of sex overwhelms your senses, and he swallows all of your moans with his lips as you tip over into that euphoric bliss. He groans with you, his hand on your hip moving to grip your hair and hold your face to his. It's only a moment after feeling you throb and clench around his cock that he paints your insides with thick ropes of cum. 
The kiss breaks, and his hips still, leaving you both to pant and moan in the small, shared space between you. Your eyes close as you take in the familiar warmth of his that you've missed so much. It's been so long, too long. 
“You're everything.” Zoro breathes, and while you aren't sure exactly what that means, you know it's spoken purposely. “And I'm not going to let us go that long without this again. Don't be an idiot and think for a second that-”
“Shut up.” You laugh, and you pull his lips back down onto your own. He smiles against your lips, and you can feel the way his heart seems to skip against your own chest. “Don't ruin the moment. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” 
551 notes · View notes
hotvintagepoll · 1 month ago
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Peter Lorre (The Maltese Falcon, Arsenic and Old Lace, Casablanca)—to me he DEFINES scrungle hes the first person i think of every time the term comes up! i want to fold him up like a paper accordion and put him in my pocket. guy that spawned a million voice artists and impersonators. they made a ghost version of him for halloween cereal staple boo berry. bewitched by his nervous mania and tooth gap <3 (for the purposes of propaganda im linking a photo from his extremely short appearance in muscle beach party bc ive been obsessed w it for years and i couldnt find any video for it :/ anyway imagine youre frankie avalon spending the whole movie battling a bodybuilder faction thats taking over your beach and your girl and then you find out this fucking guy is their mastermind mystery leader and hes stronger than all the bodybuilders combined. like Huh. What.)
Elsa Lanchester (The Bride of Frankenstein, Witness for the Prosecution, Mary Poppins)—Surely somebody's already submitted Elsa Lanchester for this right? Right??? Because her scrungle levels are OFF THE CHARTS in literally everything. The way she's Katy Nanna straight-up refusing to spend another minute with Jane and Michael Banks because she has DIGNITY thank you very much. The way she's Mary Goddamn Shelley stuck listening to Lord Byron mansplaining literature like "ha ha maybe even YOUR little monster story will be published" and she shoots back "It *WILL* be published, *I* think!!!" in the most bright-as-nails fuck-you-Byron voice imaginable. The way she's a nurse herding her lawyer charge through a sordid love-triangle case and we gradually realize the real love story was between her and the lawyer all along. The way she's a clandestine witch casting hexes on telephones, the way she's a princess's PA and helps an old friend steal an invitation card, the way she's a cleaning lady who goes to Germany to personally assassinate Hitler, the way she's a posh village worthy trying to impress Danny Kaye, the way ERRGHH i could go on just look at her scrungle.
These are the the semifinals for the scrungly little guy contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you’re confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.
[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]
Peter Lorre:
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he's pretty much the archetype of the scrungly little guy. the blueprint. the example by which all other scrungly little guys are judged
The entire point of his iconic role in Casablanca (apart from introducing the central plot mcguffin) was to be LITTLE and SCRUNGLY to make Bogie look even cooler. And Maggot in Corpse Bride - the littlest scrungliest guy in that film - was a parody of him.
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Between his big eyes, wheezy laugh, short stature, and expressive faces, Peter Lorre achieved icon status as the scrungliest, littlest guy in Hollywood. His scrungly little guy energy was often contrasted with the more typical masculinity of the leading man, but whether this contrast was meant to make him seem especially sinister, comedic, or pathetic, it always left an unforgettable impression!
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The perfect sniveling character actor, “scrungly” is the first word that comes to mind when I think of him.
I'm sure somebody else has already submitted him (if not then ???) but he's a cute kind of scrungly little guy. He's got a distinctive nasal voice with an accent that is instantly recognizable and often imitated. His later horror movies are so much fun, especially when he's playing off of Vincent Price. He's so good at being unhinged, creepy, or manic, but also pathetic and sympathetic.
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Classic scrungly hollywood golden age little guy who was friends with Humphrey Bogart and still played some of the wettest most sniveling characters ever committed to celluloid (complimentary) there is a deep despair and darkness in many of his characters that enhances his scrungly
To be clear, I am one of those people who will argue that Lorre is one of the most underrated film actors, but the POINT is that he's also just a scrungly delight. A delightfully pocket-sized man. Somehow endearing even when he is being actively amoral (see esp. Casablanca. "I found myself much more reasonable!") The faces he makes while doing the Russian cossack dance with a butter knife between his teeth in Silk Stockings make me laugh just thinking about them.
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Wikipedia described his typical characters as "timidly devious", lots of weird little villains and evil sidekicks that are pretty horrifying but still manage to be sort of pathetic and the very definition of "poor little meow meow". His look and voice and mannerisms are so iconic they're still imitated
Cartoons for the next century have and will continue to include Peter Lorre-esque characters when needed to up the scrunge factor (see Bugs Bunny and so many more).
Youtube link for characters inspired by Lorre [editor's note: I'm not actually sure how many of these characters are directly, verifiably influenced by Peter Lorre, so take with a grain of salt. tw for suicide depiction.]
I think Arsenic and Old Lace is his quintessential "scrungly" performance. He's so put-upon and tired...all he wants is sleep and some schnapps! I love the way his shoulders fall slowly when he thinks he's caught (he looks like a sad puppy!), only to gleefully sprint out the door when he realizes how dumb those police officers are.
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Elsa Lanchester:
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wordsofwhimsy · 1 month ago
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â€ê—„ïœžđđ„đžđŹđŹ đ˜đšđźđ« đ‡đžđšđ«đ­, đŒđšđ«đ€ đ†đ«đšđČ𝐬𝐹𝐧 ꗄ❀
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❀ꗄ Part Three ꗄ❀
Pairing: Main!Mark Grayson x Southern Belle!Reader
Warnings: None
Tags: Fluff, slice-of-life, southern charm still thick as molasses in the middle of a snowstorm, Mark starts tweakin’ a lil’ bit on the low LMAO
Word Count: 2,449
Synopsis: Mark shows up to school early only to be immediately wrecked by you, who’s handing out muffins & heartache. Mark finds himself caught between charm, jealousy, and the slow realization that he is already in waaay too deep.
a/n: thank you for the feedback on the poll but y’all are just as torn on the direction to go with this thing as I am ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i really don’t want to drag this series out too longgg cause i feel like y’all will get sick of her, but there is so much fun potential with them!! so when i do wrap it up i definitely still plan to do random drabbles/blrubs/headcannons. so if you have a particular scenario you want to see played out with these two let me knowww
read part two ❀ꗄHere! ꗄ❀
The next day, Mark got to first period a full fifteen minutes early.
He wasn’t trying to be extra—he just, y’know, happened to wake up earlier than usual. Showered for an extra minutes. Stared into his closet for even longer.
It was row after row of sweaters.
Gray sweater. Navy sweater. Slightly-different-gray sweater. The exact same maroon one he wore yesterday, and probably twice last week.
“Why do I own so many sweaters,” he muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. “It’s not even cold.”
He glanced at the clock. He had exactly twelve minutes to leave the house if he wanted to be on time. But today wasn’t about being on time.
Today was about impressing the southern goddess who fed him homemade pie and called him sugar like it didn’t wreck his entire nervous system.
He yanked the maroon sweater off its hanger and immediately dropped it again. “No. You wore that when you met her. You can’t wear a sweater twice in a row, she’ll think you’re... sweater guy.”
He reached deeper. Somewhere in the back—past the knit graveyard—and he found an old, forgotten denim button-up he hadn’t worn in ages.
“
Okay. Alright.” He held it up, inspecting it like it might bite. “It’s not not cool. It’s fine. You’re fine.”
By the time he was out the door, he was buttoned up, hair freshly styled, smelling faintly like his dad’s aftershave (too much? was it too much?), and on track to arrive at school earlier than any teenager had ever willingly arrived before.
He passed one of the janitors on the way in. The guy looked at him weird.
Mark nodded like a man with a mission. “Big day.”
The janitor grimaced and went back to mopping.
Mark made it to class so early the lights weren’t even fully on yet.
He sat down, tried to play it cool, tapped his pen like he wasn’t losing his mind.
And then—you walked in.
Suddenly the semi-lit classroom felt too bright.
You were wearing another one of those flowy dresses—soft blue this time, with little white daisies scattered all over like a watercolor painting. Your hair was curled again, bouncing around your shoulders, and there was a tiny yellow bow tucked just behind your ear.
You were smiling, too. Big and bright, like it wasn’t still technically dark outside.
Mark forgot what breathing was.
“Good mornin’, sugar!” you chirped, dropping into the desk beside him in a way that almost made the hard plastic seem comfortable. “Ain’t it just the prettiest day?”
Mark looked outside.
It was overcast. Kinda windy. A bird hit the window and flopped off.
“
Yeah,” he croaked. “Gorgeous.”
You opened your notebook with a little hum, pulling out a pen that had a fuzzy pink pom-pom on the end. Different from your rhinestone student pencil from yesterday. Of course you had a whole arsenal of beautiful writing utensils.
Mark stared at it like it held all the answers to the universe.
“I brought peach muffins today,” you said, casual as ever. “Meemaw said I should bring a whole batch with me ‘cause they were too good not to share. I figured I’d bring you one.”
Mark’s felt like a fist had closed around his heart. “I’d die for a muffin.”
You laughed, light and lovely, not even fazed. “Well shoot, I don’t want you dyin’ for one. You just wait ‘til lunch and I’ll hand it over easy, no crime involved.”
Mark stared at you, helpless.
You turned your face to the window with a little sigh, completely unaware you’d just accidentally ruined him for every other girl on planet Earth.
The bell rang.
Mark didn’t even notice.
He was too busy falling deeper in love with the girl who brought sunshine and muffins into first period like it was nothing.
He was still riding the high of being called sugar and getting a personal smile when the classroom started to fill in.
You were already sitting beside him, scribbling little daisies in the margins of your notes and humming to yourself like you were the only one immune to Tuesday energy. You pulled a small zip-lock pouch from your tote and opened it to reveal a cluster of wrapped muffins, all neat and warm and clearly made with care.
“Good morning, sweetheart!” you said brightly—to the teacher.
Mark watched with stars in his eyes as you stood, walked to the front desk, and handed the teacher a muffin with both hands and a smile. “Mama always says nobody should have to start their day without a little somethin’ sweet.”
The teacher blinked, clearly caught off guard, then smiled back. “Well... thank you. That’s very kind of you.”
Mark practically swooned. Look at her, he thought. She’s so thoughtful. She’s so considerate. She’s like a vintage greeting card but better. An actual saint.
You turned around, still holding one more muffin in your hand—and then you walked right past Mark’s desk.
He froze. Wait. No muffin for him?
But then—worse—you stopped beside Brian.
Brian. The kid with glasses thicker than bulletproof glass. The one who wore suspenders without irony. Who once gave a ten-minute speech in class about his favorite graphing calculator.
You handed him a muffin.
“There ya go, sugar,” you said sweetly. “You always look so focused in here—I figure you deserve a treat.”
Brian turned bright red. “Oh! Uh! Thanks! That’s, um—wow. Thank you.”
Mark, from two desks away, silently short-circuited.
Brian?? He liked Brian! Brian was harmless! Brian was also now the luckiest man alive and probably didn’t even know it!!
Mark stared blankly at his own desk. The jealousy was illogical. He knew that. You were just being friendly. It was who you were. That was why he liked you so much.
Still.
He looked down at his empty hands, then at Brian, who was carefully placing his muffin into a Ziploc bag like it was a museum artifact.
Mark was still trying to pretend he didn’t feel weird about the whole Brian Situationℱ when you turned back to him with your usual sunny grin—muffin bag in hand.
He straightened in his seat like a dog hearing the treat bag rustle.
“Don’t you worry, darlin’,” you said, tapping the top of the bag like it held gold. “I got your muffin all safe and sound for lunch.”
Mark blinked. “Oh—cool. Thank you.”
“But,” you added, eyes twinkling, “you look like you could use a little somethin’ sweet right now.”
His heart started to race. “I—I mean I—uh—”
You reached into the bottom of the muffin bag, broke off a little piece of golden, peach-flecked heaven, and held it out to him between your fingers.
“Open up.”
Mark’s soul left his body.
He opened his mouth automatically, like he was under some kind of southern-fried spell, and you gently popped the bite in—still smiling, totally casual, like this was just what people did.
The muffin was warm and soft and ridiculous. A spiritual experience.
You went right back to your notes like nothing had happened.
Mark sat there in stunned silence, chewing slowly, eyes wide like a soldier returning from war.
LATER THAT DAY — LUNCH.
Mark was already outside when you arrived—waiting under the tree like a man on a mission, trying to act like he hadn’t sprinted there the second the bell rang.
You showed up, bright as ever, holding that pastel lunchbox like it was the Holy Grail.
“Well hey, handsome,” you greeted, sitting gracefully beside him. “Hope you saved some room. I brought you the biggest one.”
He smiled—more like grinned—more like beamed. “Yeah, totally. Been thinking about it all day. Like
 not in a weird way. Just. Y’know.”
You laughed, pulling out your container.
Then, completely oblivious to the emotional avalanche you were about to cause, you added: “Oh! And where’s your little friend? The one from yesterday? I brought extra for him too!” You took another cheerful bite of your muffin and glanced around the courtyard.
Mark froze mid-chew.
“William?” he asked, already knowing where this was going.
You nodded, casual as ever. “Mmhmm. I could’ve sworn he was in line for those lil’ curly fries they serve.” You pulled the spare muffin from your bag, holding it up delicately in its wax paper like it was a peace offering. “Wouldn’t feel right eatin’ this one without givin’ it to him. Poor thing’ll think I forgot about him!”
Mark’s smile was pained. “Oh. Yeah. That’s
 thoughtful.”
You grinned, totally oblivious to the internal meltdown you’d just triggered. “I’m pretty sure he’s still in there honey. Go get him!”
He blinked. “What?”
You laughed gently, like he was being shy. “Go on, darlin’! Tell him I saved one just for him. He can come sit with us.”
Mark’s brain:
💔 This was our thing.💔 Our spot.💔 Our tree.💔 Our muffin moment.💔 Our marriage announcement was going to go here.
But all he said was, “
Right. Be right back.”
He stood up slowly, like he was going to the guillotine. “You sure you don’t wanna
 I don’t know
 surprise him later?”
You laughed again and shook your head. “Now don’t be silly. Ain’t no sense lettin’ this thing go cold!”
He nodded, a broken man. “Right. Of course. Warm muffins. That makes sense.”
You waved him off with a sweet little, “Tell him I said hurry, before I eat it myself!”
As he turned toward the cafeteria, he muttered under his breath, “
I was gonna marry her.”
Mark all but slammed through the cafeteria doors, eyes scanning the room like he was hunting prey.
There. At the far table. William, munching on curly fries like it was just another day, chatting with some guy from math class like the fate of Mark’s entire romantic future wasn’t on the line.
Mark rushed over, practically skidding to a stop in front of him. “Will,” he hissed, out of breath, eyes intense. “Please don’t ruin this.”
William blinked. “Ruin what? What’s happening? Are we being hunted?”
Mark leaned in, voice urgent. “She sent me to come get you. You. Personally. She has a muffin for you.”
William raised both brows. “...Oh. So this is about Muffin Girl.”
Mark looked around, already twitching. “She’s waiting under the tree. Our—my—spot. Please, please, I’m begging you, don’t linger. Just take the muffin, say thank you, maybe one polite compliment on her dress if you have to, and leave.”
William paused, chewing slowly, savoring the moment like it was his own muffin.
“Wow,” he said. “You’re spiraling.”
“I’m in hell,” Mark whispered. “I am in hell and she’s passing out baked goods like this is a church potluck. I need this.”
William popped one last curly fry in his mouth and stood. “Alright, alright. Don’t rupture anything. I’ll be cool.”
“You won’t be,” Mark muttered, following him out. “I know you. You’re gonna make this weird.”
William grinned over his shoulder. “Buddy, you brought me a muffin invitation like it was a golden ticket. This is weird.”
Mark groaned.
You spotted them before they even made it halfway across the lawn.
Mark looked like he was dragging William toward you by the soul. William, on the other hand, looked entirely unbothered—curly fry in one hand, mild mischief in his eyes.
“Well there he is!” you called out, waving that sweet little wave that made Mark’s knees go weak. “I was just about to send a search party.”
William grinned as they approached. “Sorry, ma’am. He tracked me down like a bloodhound. Said I was urgently needed.”
Mark muttered, “I did not say urgently.”
You patted the blanket beside you without hesitation. “Well come on, then! I don’t wanna be handin’ out muffins while they’re all cold and sad.”
Mark shot William a look. One that screamed: Don’t you dare.
William, of course, ignored it completely and sat down like he’d been invited to a five-star brunch. “Don’t mind if I do,” he said, stretching out a little. “Beautiful day, huh?”
Mark stood awkwardly beside the blanket, hovering like he wasn’t sure if this was now a group event or if he should go lay down in traffic.
“It is!” You agreed with another beaming smile before handing William the wrapped muffin “Now these are peach flavored—my favorite,” you said, then added with a wink, “but I’m biased.”
William opened it like a kid on Christmas. “Man, you bake and you’ve got charm? Mark wasn’t kidding.”
Mark snapped his head around so fast it nearly detached. “What.”
William bit into the muffin like it was the last joy on Earth and moaned dramatically. “Holy crap. You trying to kill us with kindness? These are so good!”
You giggled. “Well shoot, if I knew y’all were this easy to impress I’d’ve brought somethin’ fancier!”
Mark finally sat down, a little stiff, very tense, watching William like a hawk. He took a bite of his muffin (a big one), and tried to look normal.
He did not look normal.
William, fully aware, turned to you. “So, how’d you learn to bake like this? You go to some kind of southern baking academy, or is this just genetic perfection?”
You laughed, delighted. “Lord, no! My grandma just taught me when I was little. Said a lady should always know how to whip up a good peach pie and a sharp comeback.”
Mark, halfway through his muffin and very much not chewing like a normal person, tried to chime in. "That's really cool," he said, muffled through a mouthful.
William glanced sideways at him with a smirk that had way too much knowing in it. "Didn’t know you were so into peaches, man."
Mark nearly choked. "I’m not—I mean, I am. I like muffins. Just—these muffins. Or... muffins in general."
You looked between the two of them, brows raised ever so slightly, and let out the softest little laugh. “Y’all city boys sure are funny,” you said, sipping your drink with a smile like this was all just playful nonsense.
Mark practically melted. God, she’s sweet, he thought. She doesn’t even know what she does to people. She’s literally just—
His eyes flicked sideways—and immediately caught William staring straight at him with a smirk that said everything.
Mark’s brain screeched back to reality like a record scratch. He cleared his throat, sat up straighter, took another too-casual bite of muffin.
“Anyway,” he said quickly, “uh
 yeah. School’s wild, right?”
William didn’t say anything. Just took another bite of his own muffin, eyes full of judgment and joy.
read part four ❀ꗄ Here! ꗄ❀
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hrtwayne · 3 months ago
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My Kink is Karma || Alexia Putellas [Part One]
Pairing: Alexia Putellas x Physiotherapist!Reader
Summary: Where Y/n is hired as the new Physiotherapist for Barcelona Women's Team after a recent complicated breakup with one of the stars of English football.
Note: English is not my first language!
Warning: None!
Next Chapter | Women's Football Masterlist
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Y/n Henry adjusted her sunglasses as she walked through the streets of the Northern Quarter, her favorite refuge in Manchester. Despite the overwhelming success she had achieved over the past two years with her skills in physiotherapy, working with the Arsenal women's team and the French national team, she always found a way to return to this place, with its record stores and the cafés of the neighborhood where she grew up.
Manchester wasn't just her hometown; it was the essence of who she was. Her way of thinking, her sporting spirit inherited from her father—a player so well-known by the Gunners' fans, Thierry Henry—and the influence of her mothers in aspects that didn't involve a football or late-night study sessions to find ways to help some player.
It was almost impossible to ignore the influences in her life, growing up in a home divided by two footballing passions. Her father, a football star who had marked an entire generation of Arsenal fans, always took every opportunity to remind her of her roots. On the other hand, her mother, a loyal Barcelona supporter, made sure to balance the man's fanatical narrative.
That morning, Y/n decided to start her day at a cozy café, Fig + Sparrow, a place she had loved since her teenage years. She ordered her usual flat white and sat at a table near the window, watching the flow of people walking down the streets. Some were in a hurry, others glued to their phones, and a few chatting idly. As Y/n finished up some last-minute work for the semester, she tried to forget everything that was happening in her life: a recent breakup with one of English football's stars, her possible departure from Arsenal, and her new contract with a Spanish team.
The Northern Quarter had always been a haven of creativity and calm for her, and even now, at the peak of her career, she returned to those bustling streets when she needed to unwind.
After her coffee, Y/n headed to Afflecks, the paradise of alternative shops, where she used to spend her teenage allowance buying books and vinyl records with her younger brother, Harry. As she walked with her phone in hand to let the blond player know she was near the store, Y/n started a small list of things to buy by the end of the day.
"I thought you'd never stop giving autographs," Y/n joked, hearing the man's chuckle.
Harry, who was leaning on a counter, looking at some vinyl records, turned his attention to his sister.
"Hmm, did Charlotte call you?"
"The last time she called me, she was in Los Angeles filming that series," Y/n replied, picking up The Smiths' album. "Did something happen?"
"You know, the same old story. The idiot ex-boyfriend she always ends up going back to," Harry said, grabbing the blue-covered album, which Y/n recognized as Taylor Swift's "1989."
Y/n rolled her eyes at Charlotte's excessive stubbornness.
"So, she called you to say she got back with him?"
Harry placed the vinyl in the basket along with The Smiths' album.
"She called saying they were going to film a 'romantic' scene together, and then they ended up drunk in the trailer," Harry explained, seeing the bored expression on his older sister's face. "Dad's going to kill her when he finds out."
"And you know he'll blame some of it on us, right? Charlotte's an adult, H. If she made a mistake like that, she should face the consequences," Y/n cut the conversation short, noticing how Harry sighed wearily. "You need to stop worrying about other people's problems and focus on yourself, dude. You have an important game in a few days."
Harry seemed to relax his posture gradually, nodding as he followed his sister to fill the basket with vinyl records and old discs.
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That same day, around 8:40 PM, Y/n stepped out of the bathroom wearing an oversized Arsenal shirt, her hair still wet and a somewhat tired look on her face. The messy room in her Manchester apartment was filled with books and reports about some players.
That place was truly the perfect mix of her chaotic personality. Y/n sat on her bed, arranging the scattered papers to try to organize the post-apocalyptic zone.
The sound of her phone ringing broke the deep train of thought Y/n was in. The French physiotherapist sighed, putting the paperwork aside to answer the phone. An unknown number flashed on the screen.
"Hello?" Y/n said, her voice still tired.
"Hey, Y/n. Did I wake you?" A firm voice with a slightly funny accent asked.
"No, I just got back from a walk with Harry," Y/n replied, recognizing the voice as Aitana's. "Did something happen?"
"I heard about your breakup with the English player, and I wanted to know if you're okay," Aitana began, in a tone that Y/n immediately recognized as genuine concern. "Last time you said things weren't going so well between you two."
Y/n hesitated, taking a generous sip of the tea that warmed her throat. She knew she couldn't hide anything from the player.
"Maybe breaking up was the healthier solution, A. It wasn't exactly news that things weren't good between us," Y/n paused. "You know, I couldn't run away from it forever."
Aitana seemed to hesitate, and the call fell silent for a few seconds.
"And are you going to stay on the same team as her?" she finally asked, in an almost maternal tone.
"Well... I've received a few offers from some teams. Nothing too different from what I do here at Arsenal, but it might be a chance to try something new. My contract is up now, so I can sign a pre-contract with any team that's not an English rival."
"Don't tell me there's an offer from Barcelona in the mix," Aitana said, hearing the physiotherapist's chuckle.
"Well, you guessed it," Y/n said, in a fake tone of annoyance. "Next week I'll land in the city to sign the contract and start working."
"I can finally rub it in the English girls' faces that I have you on my team," the woman celebrated, making Y/n laugh. "Now I'll let you think about what you're going to tell your dad."
"Don't even remind me, he's going to be furious. But at least it's not Chelsea or Manchester," Y/n joked, hearing the midfielder laugh.
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neontiger · 2 months ago
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snowglobe
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♡ MDNI 18+
♡ jason todd x fem!reader
♡ Bruce may not be able to get revenge for Jason's death, but he can pay for a weekend at a snowy mountain resort for the two of you. Hot tub and a special appearance by Mr. Todd's bag of goodies.
‱───────‱°‱❀‱°‱───────‱
Cold air bites at your exposed cheeks. Bubbling heat engulfs the rest of your body, steam rising from the water's surface as you rest your head back on the pillowed edge of the hot tub. Below a village more deserving of a Christmas card sparkles in the setting sun, cupped in the embrace of snow-peaked mountains. There's not a thought, not a worry, running through your head as you soak in the water. If only this could be real life and not simply a weekend getaway.
None of the other cabins are visible from your perch in the mountains. All is quiet, the only sounds the bubbling of the hot tub and the occasional kiss of the wind. Even with the window to the cabin's master bedroom open, you can't hear Jason snoring - though you know for a fact he is, having passed out nearly as soon as you got here. But you can't really blame him. He needs the sleep.
Still, you'd like a little time with him. In your travel bag was an arsenal of lingerie and toys, and you'd be at least a little disappointed not breaking out some of them. Here, where the walls weren't paper thin and you could make some noise without the neighbors banging on your door. Where Jason couldn't disappear in the middle of the night.
Three whole days with him. You couldn't waste a breath.
New sounds enter your bubble: the creak of the bed, feet meeting the hardwood floor, as Jason finally seems to be stirring from his deserved nap. You keep your eyes closed but ears open as the sliding doors leading to the patio open.
His presence is felt, the weight of him thrusting in your gut before he even places his lips to your forehead. "How dare you start without me?"
You open one eye and squint at him. "You're the one who passed out. You're lucky I didn't leave you here entirely."
"Right. Sure." He's wearing too much, still in his jeans and a thick sweater, hair tousled from good sleep. All of it makes him look softer, more tender, than the man you know in Gotham. It's not a complaint, maybe. Only different.
You sit up enough to expose shoulders missing the telltale bikini straps, alerting him that you were at least topless. Jason's eyebrow cocks in a quick, blink and you'll miss it move, before he clears his throat and leans on the side of the hot tub. The foamy bubbles won't break to give him a peek at below.
"Are you coming in? It's really nice." You slip out of reach, turning to cross your arms on the edge of the tub. The village underneath appears to be falling into a quiet evening step, streetlamps clicking on as open signs are shuttered.
"Are you wearing anything?" Jason asks.
You give him a sideways glare. "Yes, Jason. I've got bottoms on."
"I didn't know. I thought people hung out naked in these things."
"That sounds gross."
He shrugs, gripping the hem of his sweater. It comes off over his head in one slick move. Your attention - half of it, anyway - returns to the village. It feels like a caricature, a fantasy place caught inside a snowglobe. Too perfect to be real.
Water splashes out of the tub as Jason steps in. The bubbles lick his waist as he moves to sit next to you, draping one arm over the edge to watch the scene below.
"What do you think it's like?" There's something unplaceable in his gaze as he drags it over the village. "Living here."
"Nothing like being on vacation here." You turn your head to look at him instead, resting your chin on your arm. His profile is sharp and soft, scarred and still smooth, gentle.
"It's not Gotham," he says.
You shake your head. In the movement, strands of hair wiggle themselves loose from the messy knot you piled them into. You sit up to fix it, dragging wet fingers through your damp hair.
Jason watches, quiet, at the simple way you fix your hair, the stretch of your arms. the concentration in your eyes. Mesmerized.
"It'd be nice, I think." You return to your spot, though a little closer to him now. "Boring."
"I could handle boring."
A tease sits on the tip of your tongue, but you bite it back at the last second. "Me too," you say. "We could...be sheep farmers."
He snorts. "They do that here?"
"Maybe. I don't know."
A smile spreads across his face, eyes crinkling under the pressure of it. He reaches his hand to your waist under water to tug you closer. "Sit in my lap. I want to hold you."
"Hold me, or fuck me?"
"One first. Then the other."
Soft and pliant in his arms, you float to his lap and nuzzle his neck, cheek finding home on his shoulder. Another new sound, the distant beat of his heart. Steady pump of blood. Alive, in the now, and safe.
A knot forms in your throat. You squeeze your eyes shut and swallow it down. You're not going to think about those things right now, not here, not in this place or moment. Instead you concentrate on the hum of the hot tub's jets, the firmness of his shoulder under your cheek, the circle of his fingertips on your hip bone.
His other hand cups your cheek, thumb brushing your lower lip. "Don't fall asleep."
You pick your head up. "You get to sleep, but I don't?"
"You had your chance." Jason moves his hand to cup the back of your head. Pupils blown out with want meet yours, the silent question trapped in them to obvious to ignore.
There's no option but to give in. He's impossible to say no to, not when those blue-green eyes are so brazen in their display of need. Lips meet in a soft kiss, part for tongues. Hands brush and slip, tangle and grip, hair, flesh, scars. The water temperature rises another twenty degrees, searing sensitive skin pink. You find your lips drawn to the curve of his neck and wrap them over a patch of skin near a scar faded white.
Red petal-shaped marks bloom everywhere you plant your lips to his skin. His hands grip your waist, pull you closer until you're flush against him. Cup your breasts, tease your nipples under the water with gentle circles and pinches. You let him, lean for him to repay the favors you've painted across his neck and collarbone.
Jason is rougher, always has been, teeth scraping the skin on your throat with the intention of leaving his mark. One hand at your back keeps you from floating away as you arch into his kiss. Thumb and forefinger work your nipple until firm, but it feeds a desperation in you. Need his mouth lower.
You shift higher onto your knees and lift out of the water, only enough to expose your breasts to the cold. Jason is quick to remedy the shiver that runs through your body, making a quick path down to a breast, closing his mouth around a nipple. He's more careful as he sucks, less teeth, but hard enough to twist your core. Your cunt clenches around nothing when he pulls off, a thread of spit connecting his lips to the bud. It breaks as he moves to your other breast to slather it in the same attention.
You cup the back of his head, wet fingers tangled in the dark strands, thigh muscles tensing with want to sink back down and impale yourself on him. But the ask remains caught in your throat, kept in place by his hands and his mouth, busy on your body and too good to quiet with your words.
He hums around your breast trapped in his mouth. The vibrations explode down your arms and back in the form of goosebumps. You tug his hair, not purposefully, but because control is slipping and you're searching for anything on which to ground yourself.
Jason pops free of your nipple and smiles up at you, already looking drunk. His hand disappears under the water and toys with the string of your bikini where it sits on your hip. "Regretting this now, huh?"
You forego an answer in place of kissing him again. His hand brushes up your thigh and under the fabric of your bikini to cup your ass. Possessive, how tight he squeezes. You return the favor with another tug of his hair, this time meaning it when his lips are wrenched from yours.
"Let's take this inside," you whisper.
Jason frowns. "I can't make it that far."
But he lets go when you lift off his lap, watching the jiggle of your ass as you climb out of the hot tub. The chill grabs you first, scrapes nails over now exposed skin. You grab a cold towel from the chair near the tub and rush to dry off as you hurry inside.
Jason is on your heels, as expected, grabbing you by the arm as soon as he's inside and pulling your body to his. Lips crash, teeth clatter, from the cold and the mess of the kiss, uncoordinated and raw as his moves are. Your breath shivers off your tongue, and he takes you into his lungs without pause. The walk to the master bedroom is a stumbled blur, but when you open your eyes you're in his arms above the bed.
You take his bottom lip between your teeth, let it snap back. "You made it. I believed in you, you know?"
He drops you unceremoniously onto the mattress. You don't bother crawling to the pillows before throwing off your bikini bottoms, but he walks away to the armchair under the window where your shared luggage still sits.
"What are you looking for?" You sit up on your elbows and watch him root through his bag. "Can you close the window?"
Jason pushes shut the glass and locks it. Funny, you think, considering you keep yours unlocked just for him. "I brought a couple things," he says, glancing over his shoulder.
It's not really surprising. Maybe you share a brain cell, or at least your vibes run on the same wavelength. You lie back, feet fluttering in the air with excitement as he approaches with a silky black bag in one hand, the other fidgeting with the waistband of his damp boxer briefs, tight enough to expose the entire shape of his cock. It's mouth-watering, literally, but you're quick to wipe away the drool from the corner of your lips before he notices.
The briefs are lost to the floor, and you don't feel an ounce of shame letting your gaze drop immediately to his cock, swollen and flushed with arousal. His hands are busy, but doing what you could care less. You sit up and wrap a hand around him, using your thumb to smear the pre-cum that beads at the tip. He makes a strangled noise and grabs your wrist.
"Calm down." He presses his lips to your ear. "I'll give you what you want, babe, but we're doing it my way."
So much arousal floods your body at the words - at the way they drip with lust like honey, the way they wrap your ear and brush your skin - you're surprised you haven't soaked through the bed. Slowly you release his cock, doe-eyed as you look up at him.
He holds up a vibrator, C-shaped, dual stimulation. Clicks the silicone ends together and smiles. "I want to hear you scream," he says. "Are you going to scream for me? Say yes."
You nod. What are words, anyway? You've forgotten.
"Babe, I said say yes. In fact - yes, sir."
You wet your lips. "Yes, sir. I'll scream all you want, Jay."
That wide grin cracks across his face, betraying the persona he's trying to play off. He clears his throat and reaches into the bag again, this pulling out strips of black satin. "Can I tie you up?" He asks.
You nod. God, your pussy would nod if it could, swollen as it is with fucking need. "Yes, sir."
His chest heaves with deep breaths. "Give me...a safe word. Pick something easy."
Your only thoughts at the moment are: Jason, cock, fuck. But those won't work, keen as you are to scream them out loud the moment he gets his hands on you, and so you scan the room for something, anything. There's a painting on the wall of a goat on a mountainside.
"Goat," you say.
Jason snorts. "No. Really? Okay."
You're not going to use it anyway, you figure. Jason, as tough as he is out on the streets, as dirty as his hands are from the things he's done, is unbelievably soft. Tender. You've known it forever, in the ways he shows his love because he doesn't know how to say it out loud - the way he remembers that you prefer the soft brownies in the center of the pan, or by putting on detective shows before he leaves at night because he knows they help you sleep, or by reading the books he sees on your shelf so he can ask you about them, talk with you about things you like. The love letters you find on your pillow.
When that satin wraps around your wrists, held at your back, it's loose. "Pull on this one," Jason whispers in your ear, brushing fabric in your right hand. "That'll get you out fast."
You purse your lips. He gives you a short kiss before knocking you back over gently.
"Let me see how wet you are." Jason slides a hand over your thigh, urging you to spread them for him. His cock twitches at the sight as you do, pussy glistening with want, his question easily answered with just a look. You jolt when his finger brushes over your clit before sinking into your heat.
He sighs. "Shit. Is this all for me, babe? You need me this bad?"
"Yes, sir." Your hips squirm on their own, trying to take his finger deeper. He pulls free and leaves you achingly empty, though it's not for long, as he presses the thick end of the vibrator against your pussy.
A concentrated look takes over his face as he fits the vibrator's suction end over your clit. "I control it," he says. His eyes flash up to meet yours, to read if there's hesitation in them.
You nod understanding.
He tugs you to the edge of the bed and helps you sit before retrieving the vibrator's remote from the bag. His fingers card through your hair and make to pull out your hair tie - the movement doesn't prove fluid, and he pauses to tug it out gently and fix your hair before pulling your head back. You can't bite back your smile.
"Open your mouth," he orders.
Lips part wide for him. He presses two fingers onto your tongue and pushes them into your mouth. Instinct - or the game - has you closing your lips around them and sucking, almost gagging as he thrusts to your throat.
A jolt slams through your body. You yelp around his fingers - it's not cute, not pretty, but a weird, little dog type yelp. There's no time to contemplate it as the vibrations pick up inside your cunt, right up against that rough patch of pleasure, and the suction on your clit increases.
Jason pulls his fingers from your mouth to hook a thumb at the corner. "I want to cum in your throat," he says through gritted teeth, almost a growl. "You're going to be a good girl, right, babe? Gonna let me cum in your throat?"
You nod, already messy, his thumb keeping you from moving your mouth for a proper yes, sir. It doesn't matter this time; the physical agreement is enough for him. He guides you off the bed and to your knees on the floor, then pauses.
Frowns. Walks around the bed and grabs a pillow for under your knees. "Comfy?"
Your cunt clenches around the vibrator. You're close, the suction infuriating on your clit, rhythmic and pulsing and sucking and fuckfuckfuck. "Yeah," you squeak. "Jay...gonna cum."
"Already? We just started." His fingers scrape through your hair to wrap it around his fist as he smears the head of his cock on your lips. You open for him, take the tip of his length into your mouth. Pre-cum coats your tongue but doesn't help as you struggle to take him deeper. The vibrations inside your cunt echo through your body and make it nearly impossible to concentrate on the task at hand.
You whine, the sound coming out gargled as Jason hooks his thumb into the corner of your mouth again. Spit drips down your chin as he thrusts into your mouth, each one deeper than the last, until you're where he wants you - gagging around him, throat tightening on his cock. A mess, tears already bubbling in the corners of your eyes, thighs clenching together to fight against the inevitable.
Your peak is felt shortly before it bursts, a bubble swelling in your core that explodes through your body in pulsing waves. Jason feels it in the way every muscle in you tenses, including your throat, clamping down on him with another muffled whine. His hand at the back of your head keeps you in place, keeps his cock buried in you, as you ride the pleasure.
Then all at once that pleasure is gone, replaced with the burn of overstimulation. The remote is pressed against your cheek in the hand that remains hooked in your mouth, but he makes no movement to lower the pressure. You lift on your knees, wiggle your hips, like you can run away from it, can stop the burning.
"One more," Jason grunts through gritted teeth. "Give me another, babe, come on."
It's hot, boiling, a painful knot in your core as you're dragged back up to your peak. You try to focus on his cock, tightening the suction around his thick length as he fucks into your mouth, fighting against the gag as he buries inside you. Hairs tickle your nose as he bottoms out and holds you down. You look up at him, tears streaking your cheeks, spit and precum coating your chin. You're on the verge of screaming, another orgasm reaching point, and by the look in his eyes - the haze, the blowout - he's close.
It racks through your body, the release, shudders and burns through every fiber. You choke on his cock and that's all it takes to bring him to a crashing end. His hips give weak, trembling thrusts, an instinctual attempt to be deeper in you as he pulses down your throat. Between the jolt of your own hips and him, it's too much to handle, and you gag on his cock, cum trickling from your lips down your chin, landing on your breasts.
The vibrations finally cease, and Jason pulls free of your mouth. Your chest heaves as you finally manage to catch your breath as he brushes your hair with his fingers.
"Fuck." Jason leans to kiss your forehead, cupping your tear-stained cheeks. "So good, babe. You okay?"
You nod weakly. He doesn't stop kissing you, showering you in them, forehead to cheek to ear.
"I'll get a towel. Ready to stand?" He holds your waist, steadying your balance as you lift back to your feet, and guides you to collapse back on the bed.
"Untie me?" You wiggle your shoulders.
Jason shakes his head. "Not yet."
You turn your head to watch him disappear into the bathroom, leaving you with your arms twisted behind your back and legs hanging off the bed, release dripping down the insides of your thighs. You could pull the knot free, sit up and end this, but there's a new swell in your gut that doesn't want to. He's back a moment later, hotel towel in hand.
"You're not done?" You ask, as he wipes your mouth and chin clean.
"Are you?" He sets the towel aside and leans over you. Two fingers slip into your swollen cunt, and you gasp, their intrusion jostling the vibrator inside. His nose scrunches in concentration as he scissors his fingers apart. "No," he says. "Not until you cum on my cock."
Eagerly, you nod. "Yes, sir."
Jason cups one of your breasts and squeezes roughly before capturing your nipple in his mouth. The blood's already begun rushing to his cock again, stiff as he grinds against your inner thigh while his fingers work to prepare you. Every thrust has the vibrator brushing your clit, but it's not enough to peak again, only to tease.
With a wet squelch, he pulls his fingers free and brings them your mouth. You already know what he wants. Your lips wrap them without hesitation, tasting the sweetness of your release as he watches. Mesmerized. How easy it is to get you to obey.
Jason straightens up, fingers leaving your mouth and breast to grip your hips possessively. His lips part and hang open for a moment, then close again without a word. You squirm lower and nudge him closer with a knock of your heel to his butt.
"Are you gonna fuck me, Mr. Todd?" You blink at him with those big eyes, pupils blown up with lust. "Gonna fuck me with that big cock?"
He grins. "I know what you want, babe. You've got no patience." He leans over you again, one fist holding him up, the other hand reaching for the vibrator remote. You tense at the sight of it.
The spread burns, only a little, as he notches the head of his cock against your entrance. You're wet enough, ready enough, to take him, but with the addition of the vibrator still nestled inside it's a tighter fit than you're used to. You choke on a moan as he bottoms out, his own face screwed up in concentrated pleasure.
Then that jolt, again. That fresh, hot, burning, sucking pressure on your clit, the vibrations against your core, his cock stuffing you full and slamming into your cervix with each long, desperate thrust. He grabs your hips to keep you still as he fucks into you without control; the vibrations are too much for him to handle, and he's not going to last as long as he wanted.
It's too much. Your release swells and pops, ricochets through your body and comes out in the shape of a scream - loud, raw, something that sounds a little like his name, or at least that's what he imagines - and then it burns.
Your legs shake uncontrollably. Jason's arms give out, can't hold him up, and his lips crash on yours in a fiery kiss that you can't reciprocate, too distracted at the burn of being overstimulated, nearly missing the throb of his cock inside you as he cums - you feel that at the very last second, when he slams into you, unable to move as the orgasm rocks his body.
He's quicker this time to shut the vibrator off, before losing all strength and collapsing atop you. Every breath from your lungs trembles, little shocks of pleasure still caught in your nerves. A tear rolls down from the corner of your eye.
"I got you." Jason whispers. He kisses your cheek. "I got you, babe. You did so good. I love you."
Your tongue is gone, replaced with a stretched-out cotton ball. You can only blink and stare at him. Nothing you're thinking comes out: Now? Here? Like this? This moment, when you're a fucked-out mess, is the one he picks to finally say it out loud.
You stare at him - though he avoids meeting said stare - as he straightens up and pulls himself free of your heat. He swallows, still doesn't look up, attention on the the vibrator as he tugs it free. You wince at the sensation, pussy sore from all the abuse.
"Jason," you say. He helps you sit, unties the satin from your wrists, but still refuses eye contact.
He kisses your cheek again instead, rests his forehead against your temple when he asks, "Do you want me to help you in the shower?"
Your shoulders are sore, thighs aching and loose like jelly. Standing sounds like a foreign concept. "Yeah," you say. "Can we talk first?"
He sighs. "I didn't mean it. I mean, I didn't mean to say it right now. I mean it, I just -"
"Kind of a weird time." You lean back on your palms. Your shoulders give a whine of pain, and you quickly readjust by sitting up. He rests his head on your shoulder, clearly still hiding.
"Pretend I didn't say it," he whispers. "And I promise I'll pick a better time."
"Hmm." You wrap your arms around him, prompting him to do the same, nuzzling against your neck. "Nope. You got to own it now, Jay. You really love me, or are you just drunk off me?"
Jason picks up his head. Your cheeks are flushed, lips swollen, heart racing, limbs numb. Hair tangled. Marks he's left cover your neck, shoulders, breasts. He's not in a much better state, neck equally reddened from your lips, sweat beaded on his forehead.
"I love you," he says. "And I mean it. I'm sorry I couldn't say it before when I first felt it, but I promise from now on I'll say it more often."
A wall has crumbled, given you access to him, even though the timing is a little off. You're not sure how to respond. "I love you too," you say, because that at least means something.
The corners of his lips twitch upward, but he looks down at your legs before you can really catch the smile. "Can you walk? I can carry you."
As if you could refuse that offer. You lift your arms into the air. "Carry me, Mr. Todd."
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antebunny · 9 months ago
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go away
After Bruce Wayne dies, it only takes Tim about three weeks to show up on Dick Grayson’s doorstep with a 3-ring binder full of evidence. He runs a finger along the top metal ring of the binder over and over as he waits for a response to the doorbell. All at once he feels thirteen years old again, clutching months of painstakingly collected notes written up neatly and sorted into sections. Dick never read any of it, yet Tim did it all again. Had his photos developed for ease of viewing access, included sources for all of his claims, stuck to his main points for clarity’s sake but has pages and pages of extra information in the back of the binder for when–if–Dick decides to give his idea a thorough look. 
But Tim is seventeen years old now, old enough to know where he went wrong the first time. Yesterday he spent hours coming up with argument after argument, approach after approach, to get through to Dick. Mr. Grayson, I’m so sorry for your loss. He’s probably tired of hearing that. Mr. Grayson, I have something I think you’ll want to see. Too quick to the point. If he doesn’t recognize Tim, maybe he’ll try Mr. Grayson, I know about your night life and I want to help. If he does, then maybe Mr. Grayson, I want to say I’m sorry about last time, but this isn’t like last time, I swear–
The door opens. Tim knows that it’s Dick by the smell. Sweat, unwashed clothes, and misery. How like last time. Dick looks like the epitome of grief, which is to say, not like himself. Dick Grayson is a creature of happiness by nature, of high-flying freedom, of beloved family and friends, a picture-perfect cover boy, always adored, always with a beautiful redhead, Batgirl or Starfire or Arsenal, yes Tim knows his type, always kind, always charming, always happy to be there. But Tim only ever seems to know him in these liminal states of horrible tragedy. 
Worst of all, Tim can’t quite tell if Dick recognizes him. 
“Mr. Grayson,” he begins, heart pounding so loudly he cannot hear himself speak, “I don’t think Mr. Wayne is dead.”
For a moment longer than Tim’s entire lifespan, Dick just stares at him. Blue eyes hazy and unfocused. One hand on the doorframe, one hand dragging through the stubble growing on his half-shaved jaw. He’s wearing an AC/DC shirt. Given Dick’s fashion tastes (bright colors) and Bruce Wayne’s music tastes, neither of which Tim should know, he is 98% certain that the AC/DC shirt used to belong to Bruce Wayne. 
When Dick finally speaks, his voice sounds like the death of all joy. 
“How many family members do I have to lose before you let me grieve in peace?”
Tim’s pounding heartbeat becomes a deafening white noise as Dick’s question pangs around his chest. His eyes sting so fiercly that Tim knows it is as visible as Dick’s misery. Nevertheless, he persists, if only for Bruce Wayne. No one else will save him if not for Tim. So even though his hero thinks Tim is a creepy little stalker with the unbelievable audacity to swagger into Dick’s life and tell him how to fix it, well. He’s not wrong, is he? What does it matter if Tim once upon a time dreamed of more? Saving Bruce Wayne is far more important than Tim’s nonexistent chances of becoming friends with Nightwing. 
“Jason came back.” Tim’s chin, lifted stubbornly, trembles. 
Dick’s face clouds over with a rage so terrible that Tim sincerely believes he’s about to get punched by Nightwing. Which wouldn’t be so bad. Tim deserves it, doesn’t he? Intruding on a stranger’s grief like this is probably a punchable offense. He’ll bear it all if only Dick listens, but it looks like he managed to blow it in the span of two sentences. 
In the end, though Dick’s hands curl into fists and his shoulders shake like traintracks, he turns his head at the last second and rests his forehead on the doorframe. Tears streak down his perfect jawline. Watching Dick Grayson cry is like watching Atlantis sink. It’s like watching the Mona Lisa go up in flames. Tim knows stuff like this is why Dick treats him like a celebrity-obsessed stalker living in a weird fantasy world where he’s a part of the Wayne family. He knows it’s why Dick hates him. Tim still can’t help that it’s captivating to watch.
“Go away,” Dick begs.
Tim has never felt more like the scum of the earth, yet still he’d persist if he thought there was a chance of getting Nightwing to listen to him. But there isn’t. So Tim, as lonely, rejected, unworthy and fucking correct as he is, sees himself out of the apartment building.
Two weeks later, he catches a flight to Lahore.
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purplereina11 · 5 months ago
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New Signing, New Beginning
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Mia Larsen was Barcelonas new summer signing
Alexia Putellas is a club legend who just can't seem to talk to her
Mia Larsen was awoken gently by her grandmother cooking her favourite breakfast the smell filling her senses filling her body with warmth and comfort. She’d had a tough couple of weeks moving her whole life from England to the outskirts of Barcelona, to live in the spacious bungalow, it was an adjustment. She went from living alone following her rules and schedule to having to consider her grandparents and there strictly set regime they followed to the minute. If you didn’t know her grandfather was in the army it wouldn’t take you long to figure it out.
She threw the blankets off her body and set her feet in the slippers waiting at her bedside, the tiles were always incredibly cold on the bottom of her feet something in the mid-day heat she was thankful for. But when she’d just woken up, it was not appreciated especially since Mia wasn’t a morning person. Something her Grandparents learned the hard way.
She saw her Grandparents growing up, she was aware of them, she felt comfortable with them. But the two visits a year and the posted Christmas and birthday money didn’t make her comfortable enough to relax in there company when living with them.
Mia caught sight of herself in the pyjamas her grandfather spotted on the market and just had to buy them as he knew his little néta would just love them. It had been a long time since Mia had worn long sleeved pyjamas especially with animals plastered all over but never Donkeys on a lilac silk, they were hanging off her body her Grandfather getting a size to big.
She hated them. But she did find a little smile whenever she found they’d been washed and put back in her drawer.
“Bon dia estimada” Her Grandmother smiled, Mia smiling through tired eyes kissing her cheek.
“Bon Dia” She spoke softly back pouring herself the black coffee her Avia learned she had of a morning that was like a magic potion making her less grumpy so always made sure to have a fresh pot made for when she rose. “Bon Dia Avi” she spoke spotting her Grandfather at the dining table in front of the window with the view she’d never tire of, his glasses on his nose as he tried to complete todays crossword.
“Bon Dia amor” he smiled as Mia took her place on the bench under the window clutching her coffee cup.
“Don’t forget our neighbours have invited us for a barbecue this afternoon” Mia rose her eyes, “There’ll be people your age there, maybe you could make some friends”
“Yeah..” Mia lifted the mug to her lips before muttering, “Maybe” she trailed off in to her own thoughts of the significance the day held tomorrow.
She was officially signing for FC Barcelona after spending her entire career since the age of 14 playing for Arsenal.
+
Mia didn’t make friends, but when she was dropped off at the Barcelona training facility by her Grandfather like a kid on there first day of school she kissed his cheek and exited the car to a chorus of encouragement. It was a big deal Mia playing for Barcelona this season, her grandfather a life long Barcelona fan had spent his summer familiarising himself with the women’s team. He bought the scarfs the flags. He had his favourites. It was cute really, that he felt pride in her.
Mia was met with staff all very welcoming, she did all the formality all the shots for the media and even was taken on a little walk around of the facilities with Pere who was incredibly easy to talk to. She stood on the training field one leg outstretched in front of arms folded. She smiled as they spoke some of his coaching staff there also, her nationality was brought up when asked why she didn’t play internationally, “That’s a confusing one” She scratched her face, “My mum was born in Barcelona, my grandparents to, they still live here, my dad he was was from Norway and I’m technically English with being born there and living there my whole life.”
“So who you represent?”
Mia laughed her body moving as she did, she shrugged, “You tell me, it’s a mind field who’d I even choose”
“Ah Alexia”
Mia’s eyes were averted to the blonde Spaniard with tired eyes approaching with a small smile gracing her lips, she greeted the coaching staff before her attention was moved to Mia. Mia caught Alexia give her the once over before her hand outstretched in front of her as she approached.
“Mia, Encantat de conùixer-te” Alexia as she shook Mia’s hand looked a little taken a back then amusement showed on her lips her eyes softening.
“You speak Catalan?”
Mia shrugged, “A little, think saying I speak it is a stretch”
Alexia scratched her face moving to stand beside her, “Had me fooled” Alexia mumbled, she even had the accent with it, “They’ve shown you around?” Alexia reverted to English being told she was English, before shaking her head, “No?”
Mia nodded, “Yeah, pretty impressive facility, with a view to match” Alexia continued to make small talk with Mia, who felt a little bit of satisfaction when she made La Reina laugh even if it seemed a little forced from the stoic Catalan native. Ok laugh might be over doing it. She pushed air out her nose the edges of her lips curling ever so slightly as she looked at the ground arms folded. Did that count as a laugh?
Mia told her grandfather on the ride home she didn’t feel comfortable around Alexia, but that was just purely of who she was and her stature in the game and the fact you didn’t really get much back from her. She was on guard with her watching every word, how she held herself, she was her captain after all. And quite possibly the best female football player in the world. She was intimidated.
Mia was all smiles over dinner as her Grandmother had invited her Aunt Uncle and their children over to take her mind off the big day tomorrow. Her first training day with Barcelona, it was also a celebration dinner. It was a big deal there little Mia was now playing for the best club in Europe if not the world after the 6 months she had. It was nice to see her smiling.
On the other side of the city Alexia was at her Mami’s leaning on the kitchen counter in a death scroll on Instagram when she was supposed to be preparing the vegetables in front of her. Alba peeked over her elder sisters sister, “She’s cute.. who is that”
“New signing” Alexia muttered locking her phone putting it down and started the task she was set before her mami noticed and she got into trouble.
“Why were you on her instagram?”
“Research” Alba rose her eyebrows at Alexia as she sipped her water, clearly not believing her, “Met her today, just wanted to see what kind of person she is”
“And you couldn’t achieve that with the conventional method of a conversation?” Eli smiled chancing a glance at her girls, Alexias face spoke volumes, she didn’t like to be questioned.
“She was guarded”
“Wonder why” Alba was sarcastic as she turned, “Need me to do anything Mami?”
“Help your sister with that veg so we can eat this side of midnight”
Mia was dropped off by her Grandfather, “We’ll have to take you car shopping, you can’t keep getting dropped off by your L’Avi Mia”
Mia hummed looking out her window seeing many faces she’d watched play on the TV many times heading in all smiles greeting each other as they were excited for the new season to get going, Mia kissed his cheek opening the door, “I’ll see you later” she bolted out the car before all her resolve left her and she was left in the car with no confidence to walk into the club.
“Have a good day, show them what your made of”
Mia smiled “T’Estimo” she spoke leaning her head down to look into the car and shut the door, she didn’t hear her Grandfather drive away as she sorted her bag onto her shoulder and was making the walk to the entrance. She did however hear a car door
“Oh look what the cat dragged in”
Mia looked and smiled, Keira Walsh was heading towards her, her Grandfather smiled seeing her be greeted by one of the players with a warm hug, put his car into gear and left her to her first full day feeling less nerves for her.
“It’s good to see you” Mia spoke warmly as they parted from there embrace, Mia did play for Arsenal previously and was close friends with Leah Williamson, Keira’s best friend so they’d got to know each other over the years through Leah. She’d consider Keira a friend, they’d text often checking in. 
Mia and Keira conversed, one that was constantly interrupted as Mia was getting players coming up to her to welcome her and do introductions. “I can’t believe you’ve lived here nearly 3 weeks and your yet to ask me to hang out with you” Mia smiled as she took a seat in her cubby that was thankfully next to Keira, Mia sent a little smile to Alexia who would be the other side.
“Bon dia” Alexia said with a little nod
“Bon Dia” Mia spoke before Keira noticed the interaction, “Well I can’t believe I’ve been here nearly 3 weeks and you haven’t asked me to hang out” Mia rebutted
“It’s kind of hard when you don’t follow people back on Instagram or give them your new number” Keira folded her arms sitting back Mia rummaging in her bag for something. “.. Katie McCabe” Mia paused her search, “I thought better of you than that Larsen”
Alexia moved her eyes from Mia to Keira then back again, “Yeah well, we all have lapses in judgement”
“That was some big lengthy lapse”
Mia sat up finding her drink finally, “I’d be careful, you know she’s your besties bestie” Keira just rolled her eyes as Pere came into the locker room to welcome them all back or welcome them entirely to the new season. He clapped when he was finished the girls following suit before he urged for them to get out onto the grass.
Mia finished tying her laces as the girls round her all rose to her feet, she wasn’t delaying the inevitable but she was making a meal of tying her laces. She needed to settle her nerves, something she didn’t often feel but she felt out of her depth surrounded by the greats of European football. She rose to her feet, Keira hovering at the door to the grass, as Mia stepped out she noticed Alexia was only just slightly ahead fixing her hair. “Ale” Keira called Alexia turned to the brits walking backwards, “Have you met Mia?”
Alexia simply nodded, “Yesterday” she turned and took off in a jog
“She’s not a morning person” Keira made the excuse jogging after Alexia asking her why she behaved the way she did, and she didn’t get a lot back from her captain. Mia lowered her head before picking up her pace, she was handed a bib on arrival assigning her to other players. Mia missed Alexia spotting Mia pull her bib on, removing her own and handing it off.
Over the next two hours, Alexia always seemed to be where Mia was, not once did she strike up a conversation with the new striker, Mia on a few occasions had caught Alexia looking at her. All she got was unsolicited advice or direction when Mia made eye contact. Some had been useful others were just plain obvious. Alexia seemed more bothered marking Mia than attacking with her team.
Mia felt it by the end of the training session, it was different to the last 13 years at Arsenal, she sat packing her bag up texting with her cousin about where she managed to pull up to collect her.
Mia bid a goodbye to the girls remaining in the locker room, most wanting to touch her hand, Patri with a big smile even gave her a hug, “Gets easier from here on out.. promise” seeing what kind of day Mia had, she held her own and impressed for her first day. But it seemed she struggled momentarily on each new task before Alexia had a word and then she took it in her stride and did her best, despite the looming captain always there. Watching and judging.
Mia paused ever so slightly as she was coming through reception and saw Alexia perched leaning on the desk. “Si uno” Alexia spoke.
 She moved by her without a word before deciding to turn to her, “Alexia” she spoke softly, Alexia moved to face her, turning her whole body as she was addressed, “Thanks for your help today”
Mia felt her heart crunch in her chest when it appeared Alexia smiled ever so slightly, she put a fist towards her, “No problem” Mia touched it with her own pierced her lips together turned and left. She had hoped for a little encouraging word like Patri had.
Little did she know as she was met with a excitable hug from her cousin Alexia moved closer to the exit watching on wondering who she was hugging and why she got a hug and Alexia didn’t despite her admission she helped her today.
Over the week Alexia still seemed to keep Mia close but not seemingly making an effort to get to know her in anyway keeping it limited and formal the interactions. Mia had developed a friendship with a few of the girls, she felt more comfortable in the routine, she now knew where she needed to be what with without having to ask Keira constantly.
Keira looked as Mia came into the gym, “Mia” she waved her over across the gym, Mapi Leon made her laugh with a comment on the way over. Seemed they’d got an inside joke already. “What you doing after training?”
“Well” Mia popped a hip, “I’ve got a sudoku puzzle that’s calling my name back home”
Keira smirked, shaking her head, “You need to calm down” Keira smiled. Mia missed Alexia walking behind her but her perk ass caught her attention from Keira if only briefly when she was leaning over to grab a weight
“I really do” Mia smiled something that gave Alexia butterflies when she stood up straight weight in hand seeing it in the reflection of the mirror she stood before. She never smiled at her, Alexia probably would self combust if she did. It really made those Green with little flecks of blue eyes sparkle.
Mia looked to Alexia as she turned around, “Bon dia” Alexia spoke almost inaudible
“Bon dia” Mia said with a little nod, Keira just stared at Alexia as she seemed to want to start a conversation, Keira was thankful Ingrid called her name so she could leave the awkward situation. She needed to speak to Mia, Alexia was nothing but warm and welcoming with her.
“Your girlfriend’s cute” she said, her muscles pulsating with her holding the weight not that Mia would know she was in pure agony keeping her exterior calm as always. Mia was actually impressed she could hold the weight so casually. It made her bicep pop.
“My girlfriend?” Mia questioned with furrowed brows
“She picked you up from training Friday no?”
Alexia furrowed her own brows when Mia seemed to laugh at her even if it was gently also like she was trying to have a level of respect, “No, that was my cousin Julia.. she’s single”
Alexia jutted her chin in recognition, “She’s not my type” and with that Alexia turned to leave
“You said she was cute” Mia spoke stopping Alexia in her tracks, she caved and put the weight down before her arm dropped off.
“Yeah?”
“I assumed-“ Mia could see she wasn’t giving much back and to be honest her face held no expression which made Mia think she was pissing her captain off and gave up, “Never mind” Mia took a step, “I best go.. do” Mia sighed as she turned to go across the gym, she had no idea what she’d done. Alexia seemed to at least tolerate her the first day they met and now she could barely even do that. As she did her program she spent the whole time in her head replaying all the interactions in her head to try and figure out what she’d done wrong.
It wasn’t because she was new because she laughed and joked with the other new signing and overtly made an effort to speak to her and welcome her under her wing. Quite literally, like know the girl was tucked under her arm as they spoke with Pere.
She just seemed to be sizing Mia up and the more she did the more she seemed to not like what she saw. Maybe her Ex Katie was right, she wasn’t good enough for a team like Barcelona and it’ll be career suicide.
Alexia watched Mia, she seemed in her own head, she certainly wasn’t present in the room, she was doing what was supposed to. She wasn’t slacking by any means but the minute no one engaged with her, back into her head she went.
Once they got on the pitch Alexia resumed her normal habit, but this time it seemed Mia was catching on and would move away. Not so obviously but Alexia could tell a little glance in her direction and Mias feet would carry away to ask someone a question when she could have just asked her. Alexia grabbed a bib when Mia wasn’t provided with one. Mia looked over her shoulder when she heard Jana complaining she didn’t want an extra layer on when it was unseasonably warm. “I’ll take it” Mia smiled when Jana thanked her with a soft smile their hands grazing getting an electric shock making Mia laugh. Now that was music to Alexias ears almost so she almost missed her queue to join the mini match
Mia slipped it on as she stepped on the pitch in the mini match, she saw Alexia spot her and could see she didn’t seem to like the fact they were on the same team. If Alexia couldn’t even hack this how would she feel if Mia got game time which was feeling less and less likely with the attitude Alexia displayed towards her. Surely the captains word held validity some weight within Pere’s ear.
Mia got the ball in midfield after Alexia passed to her, she almost fumbled it not expecting it to come to her from that source. She one touched in between Mapi and Ingrid to Alexia running behind. “What a ball!” Pere exclaimed clapping as Alexia placed it in the back of the net, Mia turned smiling when Ingrid pretended to be pissed at her. Pere clapping exclaiming about Alexias finish.
Mia was walking fixing her hair, “Mia” she looked it was Alexia. “Good pass”
Mia nodded, “Gràcies” Mia missed the little smile Alexia mustered in her direction as she looked to Pere who was shouting directions at her.
Mia controlled the ball with one touch from Aitana in the centre out to her on the left hand side. She lifted her head spotted the move Alexia would make before she made it and hung the ball up in yet another perfectly weighted pass into the box for Alexia to get on the end of. And just that she did.
Pere blew the whistle and the teams switched Mias team getting a break, she was first to the water cooler grabbing her energy drink and moving away so the other players could get in to get to the drink container.
Mia looked as Keira touched her side, “Leah told me what happened, you ok?”
“Same drama different day” Mia smiled softly, “I’m fine, you don’t need to pander on your friends behalf, it was just a couple of texts”
“You should of told me”
Mia laughed softly putting the bottle back into the cooler, “I’ll be sure that you’re the first to know all about my dating life’s dramas”
Keira smiled greatly, “Please do.. it’s juicy”
“Fuck off” Mia shook her head with a smile as she turned around, Alexia didn’t like that Mias smile dropped as her head did when there eyes connected.
“Can i be next?” Maria asked with her sweet smile Mia couldn’t help but reciprocate.
“Sure” Mia touched her arm on the way past, “But it’s not that interesting”
Keira nodded, “It is, i’ll tell you later” Maria seemed intrigued as they headed back out to play yellow team this time.
Mia looked as Alexia went jogging by, Mia worked hard, she so desperately wanted to impress Alexia. She played balls she got into positions and set up so many of Alexia’s goals. She didn’t even take her own oppurtunties always squaring it for Aleixa. But she felt then maybe now she was sucking up and would that annoy just as much.
She felt like she couldn’t win.
Aitana gave her a high ten and hugged her, “You did good today”
“Thank You” Mia smiled moving along to smack other hands, she seemed to be following Alexia through the players and in the end she was the only one she didn’t high five.
It was really getting to her.
Everyone else spoke to her, said how well she was doing, some even asked if she wanted to hang out outside of training knowing she had no friends.
But she got nothing from Alexia.
+
Mia was sat in her room doing another sudoko, her phone lit up, it was Julia.
Get dressed, i’m coming to get you. We’re going for a drink.
I have training tomorrow
Don’t get drunk then, i’ll be 10 minutes
Mia felt self conscious as she sat in the bar with Julia and a couple of her friends, it was a pretty bar better than the dives she went to in London. The atmosphere was chill sophisticated beautiful decorated, every detail clearly meticulously planned and executed to high level. She felt a bit out of her depth but like the only other aspect she had in her life currently.
Mia even appreciated the wine glasses she ran her finger up and down the stem as she zoned out of the girls swooning over some girl they knew but couldn’t place.
“Mia” she rose her eyes to Julia, “What’s wrong? You’re not still pineing over Katie are you”
“God know, never did pine over her” Mia pulled a face, “My captain hates me and i don’t know why”
“It can’t be that bad”
Mia sighed and rambled about all the ways Alexia makes her feel inadequate like she doesn’t belong how she was an annoyance. How obvious she was making it she was sizing her up and disappointing her at every possible moment.
“It’s probably like an initiation or something to see how you react”
Mia stared at Julias friend, “She’s not like that with the other new signings”
“I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news but, i’m pretty sure she’s just walked in”
Mia looked over her shoulder, she swallowed. Yeah that was Alexia all right. Heading to the bar chatting to an older woman. Another a similar age to herself wandering behind.
“I need the toilet” Mia grumbled finishing her glass getting to her feet, she felt eyes bore into her as she walked through the bar. She was in her pink jacket short black skirt and biker boots her white socks just showing because apparently thats how the kids wore there socks these days. She was feeling herself so enjoyed the feel of someone paying her attention.
She was washing her hands delaying going back to the table in the hopes one of the girls would have gotten a round in so she wasn’t met with an empty glass.
She rose her eyes when one of the doors behind her opened, she gave a polite little smile to the women emerging that had been following Alexia.
“Disculpeu-me, teniu un tampó?”
Mia smiled nodding, “Si” she said to the woman’s request pulling a tampon out her bag, Mia laughed softly at the women telling her she was a lifesaver quickly dipping back into the cubicle.
Mia was drying her hands, she wasn’t stalling. At. All. This Putellas seemed a lot more friendly and for research purposes wanted to see if that was the case. As the women washed hers, her eyes rose in the mirror “I love your jacket by the way”
“Thank You”
“Where’s it from?”
“Zara” Mia told the exact store in Barcelona she found it in since she had the trauma of going to three as the others didn’t stock it when she’d popped into those.
“Gracias” The women slipped by as Mia held the door and they walked together, Alexia rose her eyes to see her little sister smiling with Mia at whatever she was saying to her.
Mia then laughed, “Si si” Mia pointed, “Si en necessiteu un altre, sóc allà mateix” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder, telling the woman where she was if she needed another tampon from her, she felt Alexia watching her as she turned to leave there eyes fell on each other. Mia never noticed how kind her eyes were before.. shame the facial expression she got didn’t match.
“Bona Tarda” She briefly pulled the corners of her mouth back very quickly that if Mia had blinked she would of missed
“Bona Tarda” Mia nodded the once before heading off, probably being friendly with her family was a nail in a coffin she was well and truly settled into with Alexia.
Alba sighed looking to Alexia, “Are you not playing nicely at work?”
“What did she mean if you needed another one?” Alexia asked a mix of confusion and annoyance on her face glancing to see Mia walking, she couldn’t help notice just how short the skirt was, her eyes running down her legs before them meeting back with Albas.
“I borrowed a tampon”
“Also” Alexia’s face scrunched her head shaking like something had just resinated in her brain, “Why do you automatically think it’s my fault?” Her hand came to her chest
“I know you and she was kind enough to lend a total stranger a tampon and tell me where i can buy her jacket because i really liked it”
Eli Alexia’s mother handed her a drink, “If i didn’t know any better i would think you looked nervous around her Ale”
“As if” Alexia pulled a defiant face sipping a drink, “Shall we go sit down?” Alexia walked away, Alexia had always been a little bit shy, her career helping massively with that but there were still shades of it at times. She’d never had to be worried about being shy around a woman, if she had been they’d made all the moves, started all the conversations. No matter how many times she made herself near Mia, Mia just didn’t seem to want to start a conversation. Everyone always wanted to talk to Alexia have her attention have a piece of her. The one person she found herself wanting to talk to and find all about, the English woman that could speak Spanish and Catalan, and according to Ingrid Norwegian as well. Just wouldn’t engage. It was infuriating, resulting in a somewhat sour mood with Alexia when she was around Mia. Mia was different. She was intriguing, not like the rest.
“Think you hit a nerve Mami” Alba smiled at her mother’s face as they sat with Alexia deep in her thoughts when they’d found where she stomped off to.
“Is she not fitting into the team Ale?” Eli asked hoping the blonde wasn’t the way she was because it was falling on her to try to intergrate someone who either wouldn’t or didn’t want to.
Alexia nodded, “No she is.. I was only saying to Pere today how seamless is seems, she’s picked up our style so quick, it takes others months to get it, also she makes me look great plays some great balls, she’s also gaining a lot of favour that she actually seems to understand the language”
Alba furrowed her brows, “What are you talking about?”
“She’s English”
“Fuck off!” Alba exclaimed, “I did not get that from our conversation”
“She only moved here 3 weeks ago”
“Oh wow” Alba seemed impressed, “Do you know what I did get from our conversation?”
“Go on” Alexia sipped her drink before placing it back down as Alba leant on the table.
“She’s hot and if you don’t do something about that.. I will”
“How many times? No more teammates, you make it so complicated when you get bored and ditch them” Alba laughed at her elder sister looking to there Mami for help, “I’m being serious Alba. No.”
“I’ve always stayed out of your drama and I will continue to do so” Eli sipped her drink, “Just talk to her Alexia.. you have something in common, football, start there its clearly bothering the girl. You don’t have to get into the personal, keep it about the team.”
“Thought you were staying out of it” Alba looked to her mother, who gave her youngest a look that sent her retreating into her self, “You do you mami” Alexia smiled and got a kick under the table for her trouble
Alexia looked over her shoulder her eyes landing on Mia almost instantly, Alexia was going to have to pull her big girl knickers on if she was to talk to her new teammate.
Part 2
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onaswife · 1 month ago
Text
New Beginnings
Couple: Alpha! Katie McCabe x Alpha! Caitlin Foord x Omega! reader
Au! Omegaverse, Alpha x Omega
Word count: 3.8k
Warning: SMUT, +18, TRIO.
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It was your last year of contract with the London Blues, and it was already a given that you wouldn't sign with them again. These five years with the team had been anything but pleasant, especially the last two.
When you first arrived at Chelsea, it felt like a dream come true. Fresh from France, returning to the country where you had debuted and been born felt like a breath of fresh air. Now, after a few years, you couldn't feel the same way. The locker room atmosphere had become toxic; you couldn't spend a day there without feeling ill. Apparently, everyone had agreed to sideline you and ignore you, making you feel bad, lowering your performance on the pitch, and causing your manager to leave you on the bench.
Emma Hayes understood at first; she knew you'd be a little down, but after a month, she no longer considered you for training, much less for substitutions. You no longer felt comfortable on the same team that had promised you everything a few years earlier and delivered nothing.
It wasn't until you made the decision to leave London's representative team that you changed your mind at the international camp, talking to Leah and Lotte. They were the two of them who made you change your mind. It was simple words and actions that made you realize things were very different there. There was never a bad attitude between them; they seemed to fit in so well that it made you wonder what it would be like if you went with them.
The decision was made when, on the last day of camp, you participated in a video call with Leah's teammates, and you felt the right decision was to accept the Arsenal contract. They all seemed kind, caring about Leah and Lotte, who had been injured in their last game. You quickly became attached to two of the team's alphas, the Australian and the Irish, specifically, Katie McCabe and Caitlin Ford.
You'd had your share of on-field clashes with Katie before. Both were known for their temperaments. There was even a match where the two of you were on the verge of colliding. If it weren't for Millie and Leah's interruption, which separated you, both would have ended with a suspension and a red card.
Now, however, they seemed so kind and caring toward you that you inevitably began to think of them as something more. You'd always had a small crush on Foord, ever since the first time you played each other and Caitlin had worried about you after you'd been fouled. She couldn't leave your side of the field the entire time the doctors were examining you, only to be able to stop apologizing to you, seeming genuinely sorry for her work.
The day you had the meeting with your agent and the club staff to discuss what would happen with your contract was the day everything blew up.
The day started at 8:00 a.m. You got up and went through your morning routine calmly and slowly, as if you secretly wanted to delay the meeting as long as possible. Around 9:30 a.m., your manager called you. You'd been waiting for him for 30 minutes. He informed you that he'd been in a minor car accident. Apparently, some idiot had hit him from the side, so he was filing for it with the police.
You arrived at the meeting at 10:00 a.m., even though it was scheduled to start at 9:20 a.m. Around 10:15 a.m., your manager arrived, ready to see if Chelsea would offer anything or just let you go. As soon as he started speaking, the complaints started pouring in, but not about his lateness, they were complaints about you, about your behavior lately with your teammates, and how you were the one who made the atmosphere in the locker room so toxic and bad. Sonia was the only one who left good comments and, apparently, the only one who wanted you to continue defending the shield.
Around 11:30, you left the meeting room, feeling a lump in your throat, your hands shaking, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. You walked slowly toward the cafeteria to buy a bottle of water. As you walked, you heard someone talking. You were going to ignore it, until you heard your name mentioned in a condescending tone. "I don't understand why she keeps crying here. No one needs or wants her here. She just came to ruin everything." His words hurt you; they were comments you'd started hearing repeatedly over the past two years.
You continued walking, a little faster now, without stopping and looking at the ground, until you felt like you were girls with someone. "Hey kiddo, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" You heard Millie's worried voice, when you looked up you met her worried gaze and when you least expected it, you were dragged into a hug, where without being able to stop yourself you started to cry in her arms. Millie had been the most Close to a sister and best friend at that club, you felt bad leaving her behind.
Millie walked you to the cafeteria where you were able to calmly tell her everything. That was the moment she found out everything that had happened, feeling a discomfort settle in her chest. Millie had known Y/N for over seven years; she was Lucy's adoptive sister, so she had practically watched her grow up. All the more reason to feel that discomfort in her chest. She was already planning to call the oldest Bronze to see what solution she could come up with.
At 1:00 PM, you were back in what would be your old apartment, as you began to pack a small bag to go talk to those who wanted to be your new club. As you walked to the door of your apartment, you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. You slowly took it out of your pocket, looking at the recent notifications: 5 messages from your sister, 7 messages from Leah, 2 messages from Sonia and Millie, 8 calls from Lucy, and a notification from your manager, who informed you that she was already at your next club's camp. You decided to ignore all the messages, only responding to your manager's, with a simple OK to confirm that you were going.
At 4 p.m., you were already entering Arsenal's field, where you were greeted by Reneé, the team's first female coach, recently appointed after the former manager's (involuntary) resignation.
Around 6 p.m., you were already getting to know the training center and the few teammates who were in London and hadn't been able to participate in the international break. There, you were able to see not only Leah in person, but also Katie, who was chatting and laughing happily with Leah and Beth. You decided to take a walk around the gym, looking at all the machines and the space available.
“Junior? What are you doing here? Have you decided to come to London’s bright side?” Before you could even respond, Beth had hugged you too tightly. Unable to stop yourself, you let out a laugh, returning the hug. “No, Viv asked me to please make sure you didn’t do anything stupid.”
Leah laughed out loud when she heard your response, while Katie stood behind her, simply observing the interaction between the English girls.
After the blondes gave you a small welcome and promised they would have a big welcome back party, they left you in the gym with Katie. Slowly and carefully, you approached the black-haired alpha. “Hi, sorry to bother you, but since we’ll be teammates for two more seasons, I’d like to apologize for what happened a few months ago in the derby
 I really didn’t mean to say those things to you. Stress got to me, and I took it out on someone who wasn’t my friend.” "It wasn't my fault," you timidly looked at the floor, but as you turned your gaze to the ground, you saw Katie's hands quickly go to her crotch, hiding the bulge that was becoming more and more noticeable. "Yes... I would also like to apologize for what happened. I shouldn't have acted so rudely with you, you didn't deserve me to say all those hurtful comments."
The conversation ended there, you left when your agent called you, and Katie was left standing there, still hiding her erection.
Six months had passed since you had signed a contract with Arsenal, and your life had taken a 180-degree turn. You couldn't have been happier with this new family, at your new club. Day by day, it seemed like you and your teammates were growing even more attached to you; they always did little things that made you feel loved. Although there were two who made a little more effort to prove your worth. At first, it was innocent comments, letters reminding you of the good things you should highlight in yourself. Then it was small touches, chocolates they brought you with their coffee orders, invitations to take you out to eat at the restaurant you liked that was near the countryside. But after a party, things were no longer innocent. Now, aside from the small touches, there were little touches: on your hips or waist when they passed by you, when they rested their hands on your lower back, or when you felt a little cold and they hugged your shoulders, not wanting to let you go.
Although it was warm, it all started after you confessed at the party, where you were more drunk than sane, that you had feelings for them, but that you were afraid and shy enough to hint at something.
Since that day, which you couldn't remember, they had both made it their mission to let you know that they felt the same, maybe not with words, but certainly with actions.
That day, the big derby was being played, Arsenal vs. Chelsea, and you felt the tension growing between the two teams more than anyone. The game would be away, on blue territory. When they arrived and did the routine inspection of the pitch, you were greeted by your sister and Millie, who hugged you, both quite excited to see you in person again.
While all this was happening, McCabe and Ford watched with small smiles as you were hugged by your older sisters. Leah sidled up to them and stood beside them. "If I didn't know you were practically crawling all over her, I'd say you were in love with Mills and Lucy." Both, now blushing, turned slightly to look at Leah's face. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. "Is it that obvious?" It sounded almost like a whisper, as they both looked at each other and then back at Leah. She simply nodded, a fond smile spreading across her face. “It’s good to know Y/N is in good hands with you. I think we all agree, and we give you our blessing to care for and love her.” Leah gave Caitlin a gentle squeeze on her shoulder and a small punch on Katie’s forearm, then left, leaving them behind with a feeling of fulfillment in their chests.
The match was, to say the least, the worst they had played so far this season. Leah had a clash with Bjorn that almost ended in a second yellow card; Lucy had an argument with Steph, then with Caitlin, and when she heard a comment linking her sister with McCabe, she also lashed out at her during the match. While all the other Chelsea players had Y/N as their main target, fouling her that the referee decided not to penalize, hitting her, and hurtful words were hurled at her.
It wasn’t until Katie heard Baltimore make a very offensive comment about her omega that Katie jumped on him. She started pushing her and telling her to repeat what she'd said. Baltimore just laughed in her face while he started insulting her, calling her a needy bitch and that's why she was defending Y/N so much. Leah and Millie were the first to arrive and separate them. The problem obviously didn't end there; Katie, Leah, and Millie began to hear the offensive comments about Y/N and began to get angry too, but they had to stay calm.
The referee arrived where they were all gathered and the first thing she did was give McCabe a yellow card, then Baltimore, and warned them that if it happened again, they would both be sent off. Caitlin was always close to Y/N, her hand around her waist, just to feel like she was keeping her safely away from them. When Lucy approached to ask how she was feeling, she pulled Caitlin's hand away from her younger sister, growling in the process. "I don't need you to growl at me, Bronze. Whether you like it or not, I'll still be close to your sister, protecting her from your bitchy teammates," she said in a low, almost growling tone. Y/N felt herself getting wet at that moment, seeing and hearing Caitlin behaving like a protective alpha towards her. Lucy watched as she walked away and then turned her attention back to her sister. "Are you okay?" You simply nodded in her direction. Without saying a word, you moved away from her and returned to your position on the field so you could follow the match.
In the middle of a corner kick, you approached Katie, standing in front of her, while she pressed herself against your back. When you felt her get closer to you, you leaned back further, pressing your back to her chest. You smiled slightly when you felt the change in her breathing. After the shot, which unfortunately didn't end in a goal, you approached her. "You looked really sexy arguing a little while ago, alpha." You moved away again to fight for possession of the ball, while Katie stood there, feeling the characteristic heat you made her feel run through her body, ending with the much-felt tug in her lower abdomen, which always ended in an erection.
It ended with a loss against Chelsea, but while everyone was making the typical post-match walk around the pitch, thanking the fans for coming to support them, Katie, Caitlin, and Y/N were already in the locker room. They had both noticed that change in Y/N's scent, which made them panic, causing them to take her to the locker room.
The two alphas were thinking about what to do, while you were beginning to feel the typical heat of your heat. They thought about going to call an omega to help them, maybe Steph or Emily, but the more they thought about leaving you alone, the less they wanted to go look for help, they were in a dilemma.
Caitlin was the one who decided to stay and help you with the little problem brewing between your legs. She gathered you in her arms, whispering sweet nothings in your ear, and headed to the showers, caressing your waist along the way.
Meanwhile, Katie had gone out to find Leah and Kim to inform them that they needed to grab their things and leave the showers quickly.
“Is everything okay, Katie? Why do we have to leave? Is Y/N okay?” Katie hesitated to answer, but if she didn't say why they had to leave, the girls might not. “Y/N's going into heat. Caitlin and I are going to take care of her needs
”
Leah and Kim exchanged a glance, wordlessly. “Are you saying we have to leave because Y/N's going into heat and you're going to fuck her in the locker room?” A big smile graced her face. “Yeah, you couldn't have put it any better.”
Leah finally promised to warn the others about the situation so they wouldn't find themselves in any situation they didn't want.
Katie quickly went back inside, now walking directly to the showers. She walked past the showers until she reached the last one, where she found a pleasant view. Y/N was on her back, wet from the shower water, while Caitlin had her by the waist, her cock buried in her pussy. All the Omega could do was moan the name of the Alpha who was fucking her.
Caitlin was the first to notice her girlfriend's presence in the bathroom. She looked at her over her shoulder with a small, wolfish smile, her pupils dilated with the lust of the moment. She had the Omega she had been fantasizing about for months, now fulfilling her fantasies. Katie slowly undressed and then positioned herself behind Caitlin, rubbing her ass with her cock, ready to take the Omega along with her.
The Australian stopped her movements and moved the Omega away from where she was leaning, giving the order to the Irish girl to take position in front of Y/N so she could continue helping her.
McCabe quickly took position in front of the Omega, to grab her by the thighs, causing her to naturally wrap her legs around her waist, giving her better access to sink into her pussy. When Caitlin saw that Y/N was comfortable, she brought her hands to Katie's cock to first masturbate it, preparing it and then guiding it to the girl's pussy.
After that, a moaning party began to be heard, Caitlin and Katie being gentle with the Omega, who felt on cloud nine with all the pleasure she was feeling.
After the initial orgasm, Y/N felt more like herself, so she was already starting to feel embarrassed about what had happened, although something inside her felt right; her omega had already accepted the two Alphas as yours alphas. Katie was helping you dry off. In the locker room, she had you sitting on Caitlin, who was kissing your mating gland and releasing her own pheromones to help you calm down.
You felt on a cloud of love feeling the care of the two older women. You looked down at your abdomen where Cait's hands rested and left small caresses, then you looked up, where in front of you was Katie carefully drying your hair and then wrapping the towel around your shoulders to keep your body dry.
“I want to be marked,” your voice sounded almost like a whisper, but in that room where the only noise was their breathing, both alphas heard the Omega’s words, then looked into each other’s eyes. It was something they had both been dreaming about, but they didn’t want it to be something you weren’t going to be completely unaware of.
“Please
 I belong to you now,” you looked over your shoulder as you brought your hand to Cait’s cheek, gently pulling her into a kiss while your free hand rested on Katie’s abdomen, groping for her cock. As soon as you found it, you began to slowly move your hand all over her cock, between your legs you began to feel Cait’s erection. You broke away from the kiss to settle yourself properly on Cait’s legs so you could be close to Katie’s cock.
You leaned closer to Katie's cock, looking up at her face but she was no longer holding eye contact, her face now pointed at the ceiling while her eyes were closed in pleasure. You turned your gaze to the cock in front of you and rested it on her abdomen, while you ran your tongue along its entire length and then stopped to give attention to its glans, leaving small kisses and then putting it in your mouth to suck it, while your hand took care of continuing to masturbate her, you felt Caitlin's hand sneak down to your wet pussy to begin moving her fingers against your clit and your entrance, feeling how slippery and wet you were, inviting her to sink inside you again. Caitlin took advantage and lifted you a few inches from her lap so she could insert her cock into your pussy and thus be able to fuck you again.
Meanwhile, you had to move away from the cock you had in your hand to moan, then you brought your mouth back closer and sucked it again and moved your hand. You couldn't last much longer in that position, feeling how Cait's entire cock was beginning to fail you hard and how Katie's cock was hitting your throat was taking you to the limit, adding to that Caitlin's fingers continued to make circles on your clit.
The blowjob you were giving Katie was taking her to the limit, you knew it as soon as her hands went to your hair and sometimes she pushed a little deeper into your throat, then whispered small apologies and continued moaning and groaning your name. After a few minutes, she gave you the warning of her imminent orgasm, so you took it out of your mouth and continued caressing it with your hand, waiting, to then make her semen fall directly onto your breasts. You kept moving your hand to help her through the orgasm, but little by little you slowed down until you stopped completely, now feeling your own orgasm beginning to approach.
Caitlin brought her free hand to the center of your abdomen, pulling you back into the position you were in at the beginning. She could let her lips wander over your neck, searching for your mating gland again so she could prepare it. Katie sat on your left side, watching Cait kiss and bite your neck. She moved her hand between your thighs to help you reach your climax. You felt closer and closer to the edge, so close to reaching it, your skin feeling so much more sensitive, all sounds suddenly becoming overwhelming, and your senses heightened to 100%.
As soon as you began to experience the symptoms of your orgasm, both Alphas sank their teeth into your gland, one after the other, while you whimpered in Cait's lap, still rocking your hips back and forth to bring yourself through your orgasm.
“Y/N, you feel so good.”
“Mmhm, that's our good girl.”
“How do you feel?”
“Our omega.”
As soon as the pleasure passed and both alphas stopped licking each other to heal their marks a little, you felt that connection with them.
And it was at that moment that something new was marked. A new beginning for your life.
Hello! I'm back, bringing you what I've been writing lately. I hope you like it. (Not reviewed yet!) This was written with the help of @footy-lover264 (ex /rosewomensfootball-deactivated2)
Bon dĂ­a, bona tarda, bona nit.
-onaswife
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bakugoushotwife · 5 months ago
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little moon // suguru x fem!reader
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a/n: hey hey hey! i know it's been forever and a day since i've uploaded, but i revamped my theme and got excited :3 plus my baby is my absolute inspiration and i felt she needed thanking for it. @suguru-getos //
warnings: yandere suguru, monkey reader, so light toxicity, kidnapping, yes you read that right shut up, complex suguru, pining, smut!! daddy kink because who am i without it, oral f!receiving, fingering, rough but loving, uhhhh i think that's it!
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the sun was setting. it was his favorite time of day. or maybe least favorite. he couldn’t quite decide. despite it all, he still feels such a longing that he can’t describe. the window is open, the sky beyond melting into oranges and pinks too beautiful for a man like him to behold. the air is cold, a contrasting bitterness to the sight before him. the kotatsu keeps him warm enough to lounge in front of the window until the moon replaces the pastels he’s come to loathe. it’s how he most regularly spends his nights at this point, a peaceful moment of reflection on his day, if you could call it peaceful. 
the wind rustles the trees, his hair, his very soul it seems. he drums his fingers along his cheekbone, supporting the weight of his head in his palm. before he can contemplate the complexities of life and how he ended up staring out of a window alone, manami knocks and promptly enters. 
“sorry to disturb your peace, geto-sama.” she bows, a stack of papers under her arm, no doubt meeting notes from earlier in the day. 
“i assume it’s important.” he sighs, the orange glow casting across his skin. he looks angelic, despite his clear annoyance and displeasure. 
“nanako and mimiko found a woman that’s
afflicted.” she searches for the right word, shifting her weight from foot to foot under suguru’s intimidating gaze. 
“and? we had our purge earlier this week.” he sighs, turning his head back to the sky. it’s melding into a purple now, a deep shade that makes him feel calmer just by looking at it. 
“yes, you’re right geto-sama. the girls have brought this woman home already though, and they request your help.” she bows again, knowing that she is towing a careful line. suguru rarely denies the children, and they’ve grown old enough to abuse this weakness.
“bring them.” he sighs dramatically, jutting his chin in motion. he secretly welcomes the distraction, even if the girls were having him work after hours. it certainly beats another night replaying all of his life events to the tune of the moon. 
manami bows her head, stepping back out into the hallway. a minute or two passes, and suguru watches the door now instead of the window. manami opens the door, allowing the adopted twins and this afflicted cursed woman into the room. the energy is suffocating, a grade two curse leeching from your neck, entire body wrapped around your frame. you don’t seem so concerned however, more so confused gauging from the look on your face. 
the girls look panicked though, sensing how much of your own life force that the curse has absorbed. it’s an ugly thing, like most of them are. a disgustingly warped lizard of sorts made up of a million eyes and slimy appendages. it really doesn’t have much value in terms of developing his arsenal, moreso an annoyance to be avoided. as ugly as the creature is, it doesn’t detract from your beauty. you have a gentleness to your features, divinely feminine, some would say. your eyes are soft even as you try to harden your gaze against him. that’s cute, he thinks to himself. head still leaned against his head. you’re small, though most people are to a man of his stature and build. it’s a miracle the weight of the curse hasn’t broken your spine. you must be stronger than you look. 
“geto-sama, you have to help her!” nanako, the more vocal of his daughters says, eyes wide and pleading. there is emotion involved, which intrigues him. “she’s our friend–and i know how you feel about us being friends with monkeys but–”
“monkey?” you squawk, brow setting forward. you look at nanako with a hint of betrayal, and that makes suguru chuckle. 
“yes, monkey.” he replies. “a nickname of sorts. don’t think about it too hard.” he sighs, pushing himself to his feet. “i see you’ve befriended my children.” 
“more of an acquaintance.” you purse your lips. it is interesting. he’s never seen someone act so
boldly in front of him. correcting him, even. his nostrils flare in mild annoyance. 
“semantics. i am unconcerned with those. what are your symptoms?” he waves his hand, dismissing the girls with a nod, assuring them that he would help you and leave you unharmed. the girls back away, giving you reassuring smiles of their own. 
“i don’t want to be alone with you.” you scoff, folding your arms with a great effort, given that the curse was likely at least as heavy as your own body weight. 
“too bad. answer, or keep the curse.” he folds his own arms, examining your features more closely. a rare beauty indeed. and he must say he’s never experienced such stubbornness, even in his children. though that can be expected of someone that has no clue what’s going on, he imagines. 
“i’ll keep whatever it is if you want to be an ass about it.” you huff. suguru rolls his eyes, sighing. 
“let me make something clear for you. i take curses. this isn’t about my caring heart, like it is for those girls. so i can help you, or you can walk away.” he gestures to the ottoman for you to sit on. 
he’s weird, you think. it’s hard to get a read on him. these phrases–monkey, curses, none of it makes sense to you. why is he in a market to take whatever these curses are? and how did you end up with one? “curses? are those like. ghosts or something?” you ask, arms still folded as you sit. irregardless of his behavior, this feeling you’ve been going through for months is wearing down your body, mind, and soul. everything hurts, all of the time. your head, neck, spine, stomach, hips—if it’s there, it hurts. your emotions have been so out of whack, so depressed and unable to eat, calling out of work and never meeting up with your friends. you need that to end. you’ve dealt with creeps before, certainly this one would be manageable too. 
“is that what you think you’ve been dealing with?” he asks, watching you go through a myriad of thoughts all at once. the question seems genuine, the earlier lilt of arrogance dialed back to a tolerable level. 
you’re still suspicious, he can see as much. “monkeys don’t see curses like we do. i would imagine you told yourself that these strange things have a perfectly reasonable explanation.” he explains, almost empathetic if it weren’t for that damned ‘nickname’ that you have a feeling is more a slur than an endearment. 
“i suppose, yeah. just thought i was getting sick, but it didn’t fade. my doctor said i have migraines, that’s it
” you hum, still well guarded as you converse with him. 
“i am sure you do. curses vary in function, the one attached to you is slowly corrupting your brain, which affects everything else. think
parasite, less ghost.” he waves his hand over your face, moving over your shoulder. he’s not actually touching you, but the threat lingers close enough to set you on edge. “you’ll feel it release from you slowly.” 
he watches the black cloudy essence crush the curse into nothing but a black orb for him to consume. his gaze bounces back to your face, the surprise and relief melting into your features like the sun dipping below the trees changes the palette of the sky. 
you can feel it, the physical weight coming off of your shoulders, but the lightness is ultimately in your head and soul—so much negativity and evil sucked from your consciousness so drastically you lose yours, body going limp and tipping off the small ottoman you were sitting on before suguru can even toss the orb aside. 
he can’t explain it exactly, add it to the list of things he struggles to understand, but he reaches out, strong arm wrapping around your waist to keep you from toppling into the floor. he’s seen many monkeys have an abject reaction to being unburdened. he hypothesizes that the excess cursed energy seeping into their own causes a chemical issue in the brain, too much to process at once. however many monkeys he’s seen pass out or vomit, he’s never felt
obligated to do anything to aid them. he did his part, curing them of their ailments. his work is done, and he can be hailed as a savior by people that really have no idea how much he hates them. he’s never even touched one–a monkey–spraying perfume even after a close encounter lest he taint his superior being. 
but now he has, and it doesn’t burn his skin like he’s convinced himself it might. he doesn’t recoil as you slump against his abdomen, and it pisses him off. this is so entirely unlike him he can hardly stand it–as he knows he will have a lengthy conversation with the moon about it this evening–yet you have such a peaceful face as you sleep. long lashes, soft lips parted just to breathe, completely softened. it’s like his heart hiccups as he drapes you over his shoulders, walking into a well furnished guest bedroom in the geto estate. 
the girls trail him as he walks with you, equally confused. suguru lays you across the bed, looking over you with another little hum. you’re big trouble for him, and he can feel that seep into his head. he’s never found a monkey girl beautiful. he’s never found any monkey tolerable at all since the start of his cult. but there is this sneaking feeling that he will be lonely again when you leave, likely tomorrow as soon as you realized you were still here. the girls nearly feel like they’re interrupting something as they watch their geto-sama peer over you much like the prince longs after sleeping beauty before he wakes her. 
he turns to them abruptly, collecting his mess of thoughts, “put her in sleeping clothes,” he walks passed them, “and don’t bring any more women to my house.” he purses his lips, leaving them with you. 
beyond himself, he instructs the rest of his family and staff to treat you well. he doesn’t
want them to run you off. for whatever reason. they each give him puzzled looks, but no one dares forget their place by asking him questions about these things. he feels
bothered on his walk back to his room. the night has set in well now, the sky just a black expanse–sparkles of life along the stars leading into the only beacon of light now; the moon. 
suguru has always felt a sort of connection to the moon, he read a poem once, when he was still in high school, and it left its mark, he supposes. the poem comes back to him now, as he crosses his legs over the tatami mat by the window, a divine sense of aloneness surrounds him. 
thou silver deity of secret night,
direct my footsteps through the woodland shade;
thou conscious witness of unknown delight, 
the lover’s guardian, and the muse’s aid!
by the pale beams i solitary rove,
to thee my tender grief confide;
serenely sweet you glid the silent grove
my friend, my goddess, and my guide

he knows he isn’t physically alone, but his own mind feels like a monster he’d like to leave–a place he can’t possibly make sense of. a battlefield of hypocrisy and guilt and the growing feeling that no one will ever possibly understand him. satoru was as close as he had gotten–and suguru left him behind. he thinks that’s the worst part, that this is all of his own doing. the moon
the moon understands the loneliness, the complexities he can’t bare to anyone else. the moon could forgive his transgressions, his crimes, his feelings. she has heard them all before, no doubt, but he has something new to bring to the table. this burning in his veins, the heavy weight of sin. he was presented with the most beautiful girl that has ever been, surely ever would be, and by his own laws he cannot have her. he cannot indulge in this
silly crush. yes. silly little crush–and that’s all it will be.
the next morning, you wake to the smell of coffee and some sort of meat being cooked. you can hear the girls laughing, the sounds of others in soft communication–the voice of the last person you remember.
oh no. 
there’s a dull ache in the back of your head as you recount the events of last night, sitting up with an ease you haven’t experienced in months. you could sob in relief if it weren’t for the unknowns of your situation—if you were free to leave or now some monkey hostage to the man that took gentle care of you last night. you’re not wearing your clothes–and that sends a jolt of panic through you instantly. did he undress me? is that
all he did? you wonder, examining yourself. 
the girls knock–there’s two sets of knocks, anyway. they don’t wait for a reply, letting themselves in. “good morning! i hope the pajamas we picked are comfortable enough.” nanako smiles brightly, treating this as a slumber party instead of a curse intervention. 
that soothes you little, at least the strangely beautiful creep didn’t change your clothes himself. “come to breakfast!” mimiko adds, a bit shyer than her sister but just as big of a fan. they met you at a coffee shop one day, and since then you have made it a point to sit with them. they’re sweet girls, and even under these weird circumstances you don’t find yourself questioning that. 
“i don’t think i’m hungry.” you reply, stretching a bit, looking around the room. it was a big one, and you didn’t sleep on a futon like this geto-sama did. if he expects a warm thank you, he’s severely mistaken. “what was he talking about, monkey?”
“oh, that’s what he calls non-sorcerers.” nanako replies, sitting at the edge of your bed. and instead of that answering your question, it just gives you a million more. 
“you said sorcerer? like harry potter?” you laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the statement. how come this is your first time hearing of such a thing?
“not quite,” mimiko giggles softly. 
“some people are born with techniques. a certain set of powers that they can use to exorcise curses. everyone has cursed energy, even monke–i mean non-sorcerers, but their ce is usually what makes curses, born from the negative emotions that non-sorcerers experience.” nanako explains the gist. 
“so
monkey is a slur.” you raise a brow, really just confirming something you already knew. it made
enough sense. you felt the curse first hand, and felt the weight of its removal. 
“mm
yeah. geto-sama has fostered a..hatred for them, i suppose.” 
that sends a chill through you. hatred. what a strong word. 
“but don’t worry, geto-sama won’t hurt you. you’re making him weird. which is kinda a good thing?” mimiko offers, her smile gentle and calming. 
“just come get breakfast and coffee, you’ll have a good time.” nanako picks up your hand, pulling lightly. “you’re not kidnapped, we just wanna make sure you’re healthy! geto-sama said you passed out after he removed the curse.” 
you purse your lips in annoyance. you don’t exactly want to test the limits of this geto guy’s hospitality, especially on the heels of the revelation that he hates you—your kind–simply because you are different. you let the girls bring you to the dining room, where you see a
nice scene of people gathered around a table sharing a meal. 
“you’ve outdone yourself once again, boss!” a blond haired man says, fondly clapping the aforementioned boss on the back. he smiles at the expression of affection, chuckling his thanks. despite what you know of him, you can’t find him ugly. he is a beautiful man, soft features used sharply, long sleek hair and kind eyes, even as he looks up at you. 
“ah, our guest. please, sit.” he hums, nodding to you. he pulls out a chair, settling your spot between the women of the house. he hopes that will make you feel a bit more comfortable. you hesitantly sit, still staring at him like he was the ghost you thought haunted you. 
suguru is nothing if not intuitive and observant. you’re weary of him, and he cannot fault you for it. 
he makes your plate, and asks you how you take your coffee. you notice there’s no difference in how he treats you as opposed to the other people at the table. like you had been here the entire time and would continue to be, like he was familiar with you. he asks your name, and calls you by it—information he could have gotten from the girls. it’s a weird juxtaposition from everything you just heard. he hates you–why did he help you? he hates you–why did he make sure you slept comfortably in a bed and have your coffee just the way you want it? you aren’t able to eat much, head too preoccupied and yet hyperfocused on your surroundings. you can play nice to get out, and then this would be no issue at all. you smile at him sweetly and give him small nods of thanks, but are otherwise silent and avoidant of anything more. 
even your small smiles make his heart clench and relax like it’s spasming, and he almost wants to keep you here in his house until he can figure out why. 
but no, this is a silly crush. he needs to get you away from him, and then he will return to normal. that’s all it is. but as the girls ask when you’ll meet up next, and you respond with such warmth—such forgiveness for them even if you don’t trust him, you remind him of the moon. 
and he can’t let you go. 
you don’t take this well. you’re a fierce woman, that he knew, but also quite petty. you refuse to come out of your room or speak to him, and after one day of him bringing meals to your room, you’ve decided to keep it locked. 
you feel numb. completely at will of this man you don’t know—outside of the fact that he loathes you. maybe this is his game, his sick fun derived from jailing up ‘monkeys’ and keeping them here until he grows tired of them. some days, you hear screams from a distant hall, and you find yourself tearing up wondering if you would be next. 
he knocks on your door at the same time he always does, not even bothering to check the handle after a couple days of this same routine. he calls your name, sighing softly against the wood that separates you two. he knows it’s another flaw on a long list of them, his selfish desire to keep you. but he won’t punish you for your reactions no matter what you do or say. he’s willing to accept them if he has a chance with the moon. 
“go away.” you say, exhaustion clear in your tone. 
“i know you’re upset with me. but you haven’t eaten in two days. i want to give you space, but i will break the door down if you don’t willingly open it.” he says, the threat not thinly veiled in the slightest. 
you decide that letting him in temporarily is better than having no door at all, so you get up to unlock it. he waits a moment, understanding your anger for him. then he lets himself in, coming to sit at the end of your bed. he places the tray of food on your table—enough to last you for a few days if you decide not to allow him in again. 
“have you slept?” he asks futilely, licking his teeth when you don’t answer. the answer is clear enough, yet he waits for one, looking over you. you’re still beautiful, even if sleep deprived. “i wouldn’t hurt you. surely you understand that by now.”
“uh, you’ve locked me in your house–i don’t trust you for shit.” you hiss, eyebrows furrowed in an adorable pout he might appreciate if the situation weren’t so grisly. 
“you aren’t locked in here, i have acres of land that you could explore. you choose not to.” he replies, tilting his head to one side so he can still see your pouting face as you turn it away from him. 
“yeah bet you’d like it if i did, sack of shit.” you grumble, shaking your head, “just so you can hunt me down and put me in your torture chamber?”
he widens his eyes, surprised by the accusation. “hardly, that seems too high effort for my interests.” 
you roll your eyes. this is not the time for jokes. “i’m glad you think this is funny.” 
“i don’t, it’s quite troubling.” he admits, folding his arms as he thinks a bit. “i tend to get myself in a bit over my head.” 
“tch, clearly.” you fold your arms too, a pouting standoff. “thought you hate monkeys? what’s the point of keeping me here if this isn’t fun for you?”
“you remind me of the moon.” he replies with full earnest, eyes glossed over with a certain
truth to them that you couldn’t deny, despite every bone in your body telling you to.
“what does that even mean?” you groan, trying to stave off a little bit of blushing. god, now i’m developing stockholm syndrome, you think as you roll your eyes yet again, dismissing the possibility.
he smiles, like he did that day at breakfast what feels like forever ago. it’s almost childlike. “it means you bring me a comfort. for some reason. i have hated non-sorcerers for nearly seven years now—it’s a story i will tell another time. but you
you’ve made me acknowledge some things that deep down i already knew. hating non-sorcerers was the easiest way to deflect on the bigger issues.” 
you want to quip something witty and mean, but he looks out of the window passed you, his mind and deep brown eyes somewhat distant. “i can’t explain why, for i do not really understand it myself. that’s
why i have kept you here. i was hoping to figure out what it is about you that
challenges every thought i have.” 
you chew your lip, some part of you seemingly understanding the emotion he shows you, but the other parts of you still don’t trust it. 
“then who was screaming? i heard screaming.” you fold your arms, raising a brow. 
“oh, that was a sparring session with the girls. they’re just very very dramatic–and my curses are scary.” he hums, “my technique isn’t like theirs. it’s not a set power, more like the capacity for a lot of power. that’s what i meant when i said that i take curses, the day i met you. i consume them, and can redeploy them at will. they function under my orders, but not all of them are scary.” 
“i can’t see them anyway, it doesn’t matter.” you narrow your eyes, debating on trusting that answer. 
“i haven’t held a meeting since you’ve been here. you keep my hands full even if i wished to hunt down monkeys, as you so gracefully put it.” he adds, seeing the distrust in your gaze. it was more the the fact that suguru simply hadn’t wanted to harvest more curses, only accepting donations from his rich sorcerer boosters to take care of missions that couldn’t be trusted in normal society. the idea of harming someone has become unsavory almost overnight–your very presence proving that non-sorcerers had plenty of potential and use in this world. you are lovely, smart, and warm. funny even if you’re upset, and indescribably beautiful. 
“is that supposed to make me feel better?” you assert, reaching for one of the snacks he brought in. he fights a smile. it seems you are feeling better, if you’ll eat. 
“not necessarily. i realize simple words can only go so far.” he says wisely, he’s felt that way before himself. i'm sorry and oh i feel so bad, it doesn’t mean anything if nothing changes. 
so he will change. 
that night he talks with the moon again, hoping to her that you will permit him in again tomorrow, and the day after that if he is lucky. he wants so badly to absolved of his sins, to be free of the guilt heavier than the curse he found you with. but the moon in all her glory, she truly can’t speak. she cannot do that for him, his little moon would. 
the days flow a bit easier after that. you keep your door unlocked, though you still don’t venture out like he had hoped. you’re still angry—you’ve been kidnapped–but you are slowly becoming accustomed to the day to day. suguru brings you a rotation of books, since you won’t go out to the library yourself. you told him you like poems, and he almost felt his heart soar like the pathetic love interest in a rom-com meant for idiot teenagers. 
so he brings you a book of poems, and invites you to the gazebo on the lake to read them. you don’t know why, but you accept the offer. 
“i just think poetry reads so well against a beautiful backdrop.” he smiles, an expression you’ve come to recognize as genuine. “i won’t bother, don’t worry.” he adds, tucking the well-worn book into your hands. it must be a favorite of his. his hands are big, so big his fingers touch yours in the exchange. it was incidental, but both hearts are fluttering from the contact. 
“i’ll give it a read, yeah.” you nod slightly, giving him a genuine smile of your own. he has learned the difference between them. so suguru is pleased enough to hear your answer, and he retreats to his room as promised. the window he loves to stare from has a good look of the gazebo, and as the sun sets upon it, he finds himself watching you instead of the backdrop for once. 
the gazebo is a beautiful spot. you have to walk along a small bridge across the lake to get to it, patterned benches with cozy pillows and an arrangement of candles on side tables, flames flickering slightly in the breeze. the lake is starting to ice over as winter creeps near, but you’re dressed for the occasion. best you can tell, geto is rich. he took your clothes with him to the mall to get your sizes, and now you’re the owner of multiple luxury handbags and fur coats, too expensive jumpsuits and whatever else your mind could drum up. needless to say, you’re prepared for the cold. he had wanted you to go outside and explore, after all. 
you situate yourself on the couch, adjusting a blanket over your lap. the book opens with a slight creak to the wooden bindings, but the pages are beautifully cared for. it’s a collection of poems from different authors, and you’re captured by each one of them for different reasons. some about loss, love, sense of self. the beauty of poetry is truly that it is in the eye of the beholder, a personal interpretation as powerful as the poem itself. you flip to a dog eared page, the only one in the entire book. hymn to the moon, it’s called, and you feel a tingling in your gut–you know you must read it. 
thou silver deity of secret night,
direct my footsteps through the woodland shade;
thou conscious witness of unknown delight, 
the lover’s guardian, and the muse’s aid!
by the pale beams i solitary rove,
to thee my tender grief confide;
serenely sweet you glid the silent grove
my friend, my goddess, and my guide

you’re
captured by it. it’s beautiful, your fingers gliding upon the page as if to feel what geto feels when he reads the same words. the moon, his confidant and guardian and aid, friend, goddess and guide. and you..you remind him of such an uncapturable essence, ethereal beauty. you almost forget everything he’s done from this act of romance alone—truly no one has ever been so..poetic. 
suguru watches you from his window, legs dangling over the side. you look even smaller than usual, buried under a blanket and a thick coat, but it only brings a smile to his face. the golden rays of the sun kiss his little moon on the the path behind the trees, casting a golden glow around you that genuinely makes you look like an angel. he observes you like this until you catch him—your gaze drifting up to the window. he smiles at you softly, getting up to go make dinner. 
you come back inside when you cannot stand the cold any longer, taking off your coat by the door. suguru is setting the table, you wouldn’t think he was the head of the household based off of these actions alone, the rest of the family sitting and chatting happily. 
“oh! geto’s pet monkey, welcome!” miguel says, chuckling as if that was the funniest thing in the world. your face falls, it feels like everything that you had learned about geto had become untrue. if his family would speak to you like that–how are you being spoken of when you’re not close enough to hear? you’ve been a fool to think that you alone can shift a man’s entire worldview in just a few short weeks. 
you’re pulled out of your thoughts by the sound of a loud smack, and a grunt that follows. you realize that miguel is rubbing his cheek, an absolutely shocked expression on his features. suguru is leaned in to his face—and if he had ever looked menacing to you, he puts that to shame now. his eyes are glowering with anger, cheeks red just from emotion alone. 
“i have no pets, but if you keep it up i will make you one.” a low growl sound to his voice that puts everyone in the room on edge. he stands straighter, looking to larue and manami. “any shared expressions of doubt?” 
“well, geto-sama, she is a non-sorcerer girl and we don’t understand why you are so taken with her–” manami starts, clearly not understanding that the question was extremely sardonic. 
“excellent, get out.” he remarks simply, beckoning you closer by pulling your seat out from the table. “both of you. i don’t want to see such pathetic people. i thought my family gathered for me, and trusted my leadership. ideals change—people seldom do. if you’re not willing to accept her as someone i cherish, then i would not share space with you.” he hums, plating up food for you, and then the girls, and then larue. as miguel and manami sit there, confused—he looks around in amazement. “must i repeat myself?”
“we’re sorry, geto-sama, we didn’t mean to offend–” miguel starts, eyes shifting side to side. 
“no, that’s exactly what you meant. you two are jealous, and i have no room for that in my home.” he says, jaw clenching. “so remove yourselves. before i do it for you.” 
you are bewildered. in the days that you’ve spent with suguru, you’ve learned that this found family of his is of the utmost importance, all people that have sworn their loyalty to him. to see him dismantle them in front of you—for you—is something that never crossed your mind. 
to question him is a disgrace to the trust that they have built, the way he sees it. to belittle someone he clearly cares about right in front of him–he couldn’t trust that they wouldn’t do it again when he wasn’t around. and without trust, there is nothing. that’s what makes him work tirelessly for yours. it is the cornerstone of love, and the pinnacle of a bond. 
the two of them leave, and their absence is not dwelled upon. suguru will not miss people who disrespect you–and by definition, him. the girls are excited to have more time to talk about themselves anyhow. you eat, listening to them talk and every so often throwing in your own comments and opinions–which suguru admires–and you find yourself a lot more comfortable in his presence as time passes. 
as the weeks tick by, suguru grows on you more and more. he’s already captivating—a beautiful and strong man, one with questionable sanity, clearly, but one that cares for you. that much is clear. he starts spending more time in your room, as you force him to endure your k-dramas—he just simply won’t admit that he likes them, but he certainly does ask a lot of questions for someone who couldn’t be bothered—and even letting him lounge with you as you play videogames or read in silence. it is comfortable. you notice how good he smells, the body heat that seems to radiate from him always. you notice crinkles by the corner of his eyes that weren’t there a few months ago. you find yourself falling asleep against him, his hand finding your hip as you lay together and talk. you have such a wealth of knowledge, a perspective on life he has come to adore. you think differently, and it challenges his way of thinking too, for the better. he eventually tells you the tale of how he became a monkey hater, and never presents it as if you should feel sorry for him or even really empathize with the situation. 
but you do. and you have such a way about you, a way of understanding without condoning his mistakes. you don’t react with disgust or fear, like you really should, because the months that you’ve spent with him have shown you the person he is inside, and now who he’s becoming outside. you trust that growth. there have been no cult meetings—the only screams those of joy as he spars and chases the girls around with various curses. he has stood up for you and honored every boundary you have made, even though he really doesn’t have to. he knows he can’t possibly compensate for the damage he has done, but he hopes to atone. to be lighter, after telling you this. 
you reach your hand out for his face, your touch so light and gentle he knows he doesn’t deserve it. and you look at him as if he didn’t just admit all of the terrible crimes he’s committed for selfish reasons, for his own tortured soul. you look at him with forgiveness. 
“and this is why you are my little moon.” he remarks, resting his hand on yours. 
do not be remiss, you are not suguru’s keeper. when your grandmother fell ill, suguru traveled with you to see her, investigating to ensure she had the best care there was to be had and paying nurses under the table to get the matriarch better food. he sits there, day and night with you, urging your parents to go home and get some rest. urging you to sleep on the cot and he would stay up and make sure that the nurses do their job, he’s very bossy like that. he’s very intuitive as always, so on days you feel like nothing—he makes sure he turns it into something. even if it is something as small as dinner in your room with him so you don’t have to sit with everyone else, letting you be as distant or as close to him as you need to be. he always knows just what to say, just how much pressure to hold you with, always offering a night out or a bath and massage at the perfect times. 
he knows you. very well. and he loves you. very much. 
then, he finally kisses you. when he feels the moment come, as you name stars for him under the gazebo, the need to hold your face and press his lips against yours it too much to resist. so he doesn’t. his long fingers cup your chin, but reach all the way to your jaw. he turns your face, and he’s already so close you can barely process your heartbeat jumping up into your throat as his lips crash onto yours, the passion of which you’ve never experienced before. spring has warmed the evening air, but you still lean into his warmth–hands pulling him closer until his hair tickles your shoulders. you feel the rumble in his chest as he hums, tilting his head to deepen the connection, his warm tongue sliding over your bottom lip to ask permission for more. 
you let him, feeling a bubbling spark in your stomach that cannot be ignored. his scent wafts into all your senses, his hands sliding down to your thighs to pull you into his lap. he breaks the kiss to let you breathe, and with all the intention of stopping there—but the needy look in your eyes quickly snaps any resolve he has left. oh this is a look he will remember even with dementia in his old, bedridden days. “tell me that i can have you.” he whispers, his mouth pressing sloppy kisses along your jaw and neck, the desperation clear in the way his hands tremble on your waist. you nod, mouth parting as his saliva on your skin sets your nerves ablaze, but he just nips sharply. “with words
”
“you
you can have me, suguru...” you reply, breathless from the casual dominance he exerts, his semi tucked against your ass. he smiles with your gleeful agreement, sliding you back onto the bench, pressing against you until he’s over you completely, giving you another series of lengthy kisses, suckling your bottom lip in between forcing his own tongue into your mouth for you to suckle back. his hands make quick work of his own robes–his physique bared to you. he’s so big—so strong, every muscle ripples as he tosses the clothes over his shoulder, his lips swollen and glossy and eyes lust-blown black. when his fingers curl under your shirt—you remember you’re on the gazebo in the middle of the lake, has he no shame? 
as if on cue, he shakes his head, tilting your chin down to look at him. “this is my lake, no wandering eyes.” he promises, kissing up your exposed stomach in a path to your breasts, removing your shirt entirely. he smirks excitedly. “no bra? has my little moon been so eager without my noticing?” 
you feel your breath hitch with every press of his lips, the open air kissing you just as gently as he does. his hand slides down, cupping your waiting heat over your shorts, a little growl of excitement slipping past his lips as he leans over for a nipple, swallowing up your pert bud with fast flicks of his tongue, eyes aimed upward to get your reactions. 
you gasp shakily, shoulders writhing from his knowledgeable touches, the sensation on your nipples alone has you clenching around nothing. he swaps to the other side, letting his fingers toy with the slickened tissue, grinning mischievously up at you. “i know i certainly have been. you’re so tempting
” his chest heaves, the rough edge to his usual gentle tone only making your pussy pang harder. 
then his fingers are hooking in your shorts and underwear, pulling them off in one graceful motion. “oh goddamn..” he sighs, his fat thumb sliding over your clit and down the lips, truly just admiring his sweet pussy. 
“stop that~” you blush, embarrassed from his words, the adoration is clear enough in his face for you to know he isn’t teasing, but so is the sternness that you’re used to. 
“shhh, don’t tell me how to worship my little moon.” he smirks, dragging his slickened thumb across his tongue slowly, keeping your eyes on him. he groans audibly, adam's apple bobbing in his throat. “we’re going to have a problem.” he slides back, leaning his head between your legs. his long hair tickles the insides, a needy warm breath fanning over your slick heat. he latches onto your clit, purring like a cat. 
heat flushes through your cheeks, your stomach does flips from the feeling, the tip of his tongue pushing back the hood so he gets full access to your raw nerves underneath, the sensation nearly making you drool. he spells his name against you, two fat fingers poking at your hole. 
“ah-hah–” you gasp, the stretch of just his fingers is enough to earn filthy moans, and he can’t wait to cram his cock into this wet, welcoming cavern. it makes him twitch before he’s even freed himself, mouth hard at work as he slowly slides his digits in and out. you’re clenching around them, grabbing the cushions close to your body to ground you. he takes that as a good sign, flattening his tongue into kitten licks on your clit, watching it swell from his eager attention with a smirk. those noises, your gasps and moans and your tugging on his hair—it’s just going to ensure he fucks you within an inch of your life. 
his fingers speed up, curling into the spot that makes you see stars as if he’s done this a million times before, like he has the map to your pleasure. your eyes roll back, and you choke out a cry of his name, chased with, “daddy daddy please—oh–” before you’re completely done for, pussy shuddering around his fingers that sends you muttering pleas for him to stop, fingers pumping you through the earth shattering feeling he gives you. his cock has its own heartbeat, and he has to free him–suckling remnants off his fingers like it’s his life’s water. he’s pulling his pants down, breathing heavy as he stares at you so perfectly splayed out and pre-ruined for him. 
you can hardly catch your own breath, his gaze pinning you still. he’s so intense, such a puzzle of emotions swirling in his dark eyes; love, excitement—something a little darker. the all consuming need to feel you wrapped around him. his cock springs free, slapping his toned abs, leaving a dribble of precum sliding down them. he’s so big, yet again–so girthy and perfectly angled to hit every single spot inside you, angry veins running along the shaft leading into a leaky red tip. it steals whatever breath you have left, but he won’t give you much time to doubt yourself. his hands scoop under your thighs, pulling you down the couch—legs draped over his arms as he bottoms out inside you, all in under a second. your vision blacks out, white sparkles flaring like a staticky television. you’re so so full, you can feel him in your throat, you think. he waits, the mercy a small reprieve at the end of his grace. he’s been far too patient, waiting for you to love him back all of this time. “god, you’re so perfect.” he shakes his head in disbelief, thumb again dragging around your clit to help you acclimate to him easier. 
“so beautiful, so warm, my little moon. so mine.” the last bit comes out in his signature low rasp, his hands wrapping to the top of your thighs as he starts to move. your vision hadn’t fully returned to you, your head so light you wonder if there’s still a brain up there. you thought this would be the pinnacle of your pleasure, until you feel the veins of his cock stroking against your walls like he was designed to fit in there, his eyes closing in a moment of bliss. you’re perfect. he’s never told a lie, and he wouldn’t start now. his hips roll slowly, leaning back a bit so he could watch how you swallow him up so well. he knows it’s a tall task, but you were built for him specifically—of course you’re taking him brilliantly. “fuck—feel the way you’re squeezing me?” 
“nghhh, daddy—so big!” you manage, tongue lolling out a bit as you struggle to speak at all. “feels–s’good–!” 
he chuckles fondly, reaching for your hands to hold, intertwining fingers. that provides him new leverage, fucking into you at the same time as he pulls you into it, brushing against your cervix in a way that makes himself moan nearly as loud as you do, squeezing your hands every time he reaches the hilt. “but you’re taking daddy so well, little moon. you feel so good..” 
you’re wrapped around him like a vice, and his cock jumps inside you as he leans in closer, needing to swallow up those delicious moans, kissing at your open mouth as your breaths mingle together, a soft chorus of skin meeting skin and needy pants. you feel split open and sewed back together for him, the pleasure far outweighing any pain from taking someone so huge. his sweet kisses to your mouth and face remind you that he’s got you, that he will take care of you–and your pussy is sent to fluttering spells again—the thread stretching dangerously thin. 
“mm, i feel it too, darling. i feel it too—cum for me. show daddy how much you love it.” his hair drapes around your face, like a curtain of darkness, building a world between just the two of you. looking up into his wildly proud eyes snaps that thread, and your head is shaking—powerful screams of his name reigning supreme. his head falls back to drown in that, to drown in you entirely. the way you sound, the way you feel, the way you smell—he’s addicted to it all. he erupts inside, cock jumping against your tight walls, still fluttering from aftershocks. he rolls his hips slowly, letting you feel the hot ropes of his seed decorating your insides, only stopping when he’s afraid you may have passed out, your mewls and whimpers so soft. “that’s it
that’s my good girl~” 
you clench around your connection just from the praise, nodding eagerly. he smiles, leaning over with more kisses and gentle touches, your old shirt recycled into your cleaning cloth, catching the mess as he slides out of you with an audible loss of suction around him. he kisses along your collarbones, pecking the bends of your knees, ankles—he’s everywhere and it feels so good you could fall asleep right here, wiped of any energy and most likely the ability to walk on your own. “my little moon, you are perfection..i love you endlessly.” he hums, tucking his robes around you, letting you lay against him under the cooling night sky. he’s in no rush to go inside, the moment so perfect. he can hear your breaths slow, feel you nestle as close to him as you physically can be, your little groans and whines music to his ears. he pets down your back, drawing shapes against the light sheen of sweat coating you with a content heart and smile. 
he looks up to the moon, “i can wear a genuine smile now.” he says aloud, pressing more kisses to your face until he takes you to his bedroom for an expertly timed bath and massage, as always.
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gpcwsl · 4 months ago
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Leah Williamson x Waitress!Reader
- Hard to focus -
MasterList
Warnings: kissing?
It’s a typical Friday night, and the restaurant is buzzing with activity. You’re weaving through tables with practiced ease, balancing plates and drinks, when you hear the loud laughter of a group that’s just been seated in your section.
As you approach their table, you immediately recognize them. Arsenal Women’s team. Leah Williamson sits near the middle, her blonde hair loosely tied back, her smile lighting up the entire room.
You swallow the slight nerves creeping in and put on your best professional smile. “Good evening! Can I get you all started with some drinks?”
The group turns their attention to you, tossing out orders and banter as you jot everything down. Leah is quiet, her gaze fixed on you as you write. When you glance up, her blue eyes lock with yours, and for a moment, it’s like the rest of the table disappears.
You clear your throat, breaking the moment. “I’ll be back with your drinks,” you say, giving a polite nod before walking off.
As the night goes on, you can’t help but notice Leah’s eyes following you every time you pass by. She’s subtle—her teammates are far more obvious. Beth Mead nudges her, whispering something that makes Leah roll her eyes and mutter a response.
When you return to their table with their food, the teasing starts.
“So,” Beth says, leaning forward with a grin, “do you always get this quiet around attractive waitresses, Leah?”
“Beth,” Leah warns, shooting her a sharp look, though her cheeks flush slightly.
You smile politely, pretending you didn’t hear, but your heart races a little faster. “Is there anything else I can get for you?” you ask, addressing the group.
“Actually,” Katie McCabe cuts in, her grin just as mischievous as Beth’s, “do you have a name? For, you know, great customer service purposes.”
You give them your name with a small laugh, feeling the weight of Leah’s stare.
The rest of the meal is a blur of stolen glances and light teasing from Leah’s friends. By the time you bring the check, Leah is the one to take it, her hand brushing against yours as she does.
“Thanks for putting up with them,” she says softly, her smile more reserved but just as captivating.
“It’s no problem,” you reply, feeling warmth creep into your cheeks.
As the team gathers their things and heads out, Leah lingers behind for a moment. “You work here often?” she asks, her tone casual but her eyes giving her away.
“Yeah, most weekends,” you say, tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear.
Leah nods, hesitating for just a second before pulling out a piece of paper and scribbling something down. She slides it toward you.
“If you ever feel like getting dinner instead of serving it,” she says with a small smirk, “give me a call.”
You glance down at the paper—a phone number. When you look back up, Leah’s already walking out the door, her teammates grinning and giving her a hard time as they leave.
You can’t help but smile, tucking the note into your pocket.
You finish your shift that night with a lingering smile, Leah’s number burning a hole in your pocket. By the time you clock out, the restaurant is quiet, and you finally have a moment to replay the evening in your mind. Her smirk, the way her gaze seemed to follow you, the way she lingered just a little longer than she needed to.
When you get home, you stare at the piece of paper for what feels like forever before finally picking up your phone. You type out a simple message, hesitating before hitting send.
You: Hi, Leah. This is the waitress from tonight. Hope I’m not texting too late.
To your surprise, the response is almost immediate.
Leah: Not at all. I was hoping you’d text.
You feel a flutter in your chest, and before you know it, the conversation flows effortlessly. Leah is charming, funny, and easy to talk to. She asks about your job, your interests, and even jokes about her teammates embarrassing her.
Leah: They’ll never let me live it down, by the way. Beth and Katie have been on my case since we left.
You: I could tell. They seemed relentless.
Leah: You have no idea.
The conversation stretches into the early hours, and by the time you finally say goodnight, you’ve already agreed to meet for coffee the following week.
A week later, you’re sitting at a cozy cafĂ©, nervously sipping on your drink as you wait. When Leah walks in, wearing a simple sweater and jeans, her hair loose around her shoulders, she spots you instantly and smiles.
“You look even better out of uniform,” she says as she sits down, her tone teasing but genuine.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” you reply, earning a soft laugh from her.
The date goes by in a blur. Leah’s easygoing nature puts you at ease, and the chemistry between you is undeniable. She tells stories about her teammates, her career, and her life outside of football, and in return, you share bits of your own world.
By the end of the date, Leah walks you out of the café, her hands tucked into her pockets.
“I don’t usually do this,” she says, stopping just outside the door.
“Do what?” you ask, tilting your head.
“Get this distracted by someone,” she admits, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks. “But you
 you make it hard to focus on anything else.”
Your breath catches, and for a moment, the world seems to slow. Leah steps closer, her hand brushing against yours.
“Would it be okay if I kissed you?” she asks softly.
You nod, unable to form words, and before you know it, her lips are on yours—gentle, warm, and everything you didn’t know you’d been waiting for.
When she pulls back, her eyes meet yours, and the smile that spreads across her face is enough to make your heart race.
“Dinner next time,” she says, her voice low but certain. “And this time, I’m paying.”
After that magical first date at the cafĂ©, you and Leah fall into a rhythm that feels almost effortless. The texts come daily, the late-night calls stretch into the early morning, and every moment you spend together only deepens the pull between you. But there are moments—electric, heart-racing moments—where neither of you can ignore the sheer magnetic attraction that keeps building.
It’s a Friday night when Leah surprises you at work, waiting by the exit just as you’re finishing your shift. She’s leaning against her car, hands in her jacket pockets, her hair slightly tousled by the wind.
“I thought I’d take you home tonight,” she says casually, though the smile she gives you is anything but casual.
“I could’ve taken the bus, you know,” you tease, stepping closer.
Her eyes soften, and she tugs you gently by the hand until you’re standing right in front of her. “I wanted to see you,” she admits, her voice dropping just enough to send a shiver down your spine.
Before you can respond, the skies open up, rain pouring down out of nowhere. You let out a squeal of surprise, but Leah doesn’t move to run for cover. Instead, she laughs, her eyes locked on yours.
“You’re going to get soaked!” you shout over the rain, but she just shrugs.
“You too,” she counters, stepping even closer until her hands are on your waist.
And then she kisses you. It’s slow and deliberate, her lips warm against yours despite the cold rain falling around you. Her hands slide to your back, pulling you closer as the kiss deepens, and the world around you fades into nothing but her.
By the time you pull away, both of you are drenched and breathless. Leah grins, brushing a wet strand of hair out of your face. “Best rainy night I’ve ever had,” she murmurs.
A month into your relationship, Leah invites you to stay over for the first time. You wake up in her bed, tangled in the soft sheets, with her arm draped lazily across your waist.
She stirs before you do, her lips pressing against your bare shoulder in soft, lingering kisses.
“Morning,” she whispers, her voice husky with sleep.
You turn to face her, smiling as her hand trails up to cup your cheek. “Morning,” you reply, leaning into her touch.
She closes the small distance between you, her lips capturing yours in a kiss that starts slow but quickly deepens. Her hand moves to your waist, pulling you closer, and you can feel her heartbeat against yours as the kiss intensifies.
When you finally break apart, her forehead rests against yours, her eyes half-lidded as she grins. “I could stay here with you all day,” she murmurs.
“Who says we can’t?” you tease, and Leah laughs, pulling you back into another kiss.
It’s a big match for Leah and the team, and you’re in the stands, cheering louder than anyone else. When Arsenal clinches the win, Leah’s face lights up as she scans the crowd, her eyes immediately finding you.
Later, at the post-match celebration, you’re standing off to the side, sipping a drink, when Leah sneaks up behind you.
“Hey,” she says softly, wrapping her arms around your waist. She smells like fresh grass and victory, and the warmth of her body against yours sends a thrill through you.
“You were incredible out there,” you say, turning your head to look at her.
Leah doesn’t reply with words. Instead, she spins you around, cupping your face in her hands before pulling you into a kiss. It’s passionate, almost desperate, like she’s been holding back all night. When she pulls away, you’re both slightly breathless.
“I couldn’t wait anymore,” she admits with a small smile. “I needed to kiss you.”
You smile back, your fingers brushing against the back of her neck. “Anytime, Captain.”
The rest of the night is a blur of laughter, stolen kisses, and soft touches. By the time you leave, Leah’s hand is firmly in yours, her teammates shooting you knowing smiles as you walk out together.
One night, as you’re both curled up on her couch watching a movie, Leah suddenly pauses the screen. You turn to her, confused, but the serious look in her eyes makes your heart skip.
“Hey,” she says softly, brushing a thumb over your hand. “I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?” you ask, your voice equally soft.
She hesitates for a moment, her eyes searching yours. “I’ve never felt like this before,” she admits. “With anyone. You
 you make me feel things I didn’t know I could feel.”
You feel your chest tighten, your hand reaching up to cup her face. “Leah
”
“I mean it,” she says, her voice trembling slightly. “You’re it for me. I don’t know where this is going, but I know I don’t want it to end.”
Tears sting your eyes as you lean in, capturing her lips in a kiss that’s soft but filled with all the emotions you can’t quite put into words. When you pull back, you rest your forehead against hers.
“I’m not going anywhere,” you whisper.
Leah lets out a shaky breath, pulling you into her arms. “Good. Because I don’t think I could let you go.”
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mysunshinetemptress · 10 months ago
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I Hate Her
Leah Williamson x reader Warnings: None
You had played as a centre back since you were six years old and asked to play on the Under 10s boys team. Your dream had been set from then, you wanted to play professional you wanted to play for England.
You sign your first academy contract for Manchester United a year later but continue to play for your local team wanting to practice and play as much as you could in hopes of someday making the England team.
You get a call up to your first youth England squad at 13, to say your excited is an understatement only you spend the entire camp on the bench as Leah Williamson is picked over you to start, the Arsenal academy player, future Arsenal player. Leah stared at you as she walked past the bench "Maybe they'll choose you next time." You decide then and there that you hate her.
United don’t have a women’s team and so you sign with Blackburn Rovers just before your 17th birthday. You love it Blackburn have given you everything you’ve wanted your their starting Centre Back, they see how hard you work and it pays off in the England Youth camps, you make your debut against Spain, Leah’s sick for the debut and you can’t help but repeat that in your head, that’s why your being picked not because ur better.
United form a Women’s team to take part in the championship in 2018 which is perfect for your because your contract with Blackburn Rovers ends and your free to sign with your childhood club in the summer.
It’s Leah’s turn to hate you when instead of joining the U23s camp you get called up to the Senior squad for a camp. You, your on a championship team that only got formed this season, you who has only been chosen over her a handful of times and now Phil Neville thinks your better then her, hardly.
Joining the senior squad felt surreal. Familiar faces like Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton greeted you with genuine warmth. During training sessions, you pushed yourself to the absolute limit, determined to prove your place wasn't a lucky break. The coaches, Phil Neville included, seemed impressed. They challenged you , tested your tactical awareness, your ability to lead the defense under pressure. It wasn't easy, but you held your own, fueled by that quiet fire within.
One evening, Neville called you into his office. Your heart hammered a frantic rhythm against your ribs. Were you getting sent home? But no, his words were unexpected. "You've got something special, kid," he said, a glint in his eye. "A raw talent, a hunger I haven't seen in a while. We're planning a friendly against Germany next month. Be ready."
News of your potential debut spread like wildfire. Back home, your family erupted in cheers. Blackburn fans were ecstatic, their underdog defender on the cusp of playing on the biggest stage. But the media frenzy was a different story. Headlines screamed "Unproven youngster" and "Neville's gamble." The narrative remained the same - you were the fluke, the temporary blip in Leah's meteoric rise.
That night, staring at the ceiling of your hotel room, a fierce determination took hold. This wasn't just about proving yourself to the coaches or the media. This was about proving it to Leah, to everyone who doubted you. This was about carving your own path, a path that wouldn't be defined by being "better" than Leah Williamson, but by becoming the best damn defender England had ever seen.
You come on against Germany in the 89th minute, you know then and there that u are going to have to fight for your life every time you want to make it on to the pitch for England either over Leah or along side her you will have to fight.
And fight you do.
The following months were a whirlwind. You were in and out of the senior squad, each call-up a hard-fought battle. Leah was a constant shadow, a relentless competitor. You pushed each other to new heights, your growth fueled by the desire to outshine the other.
The 2019 World Cup was on the horizon, and the competition for places was fiercer than ever. You were on the cusp, but the final squad selection was a knife-edge. Days turned into nights as you waited for the dreaded or the desired call. When it finally came, your heart pounded with a mix of joy and disbelief. You were in. But so was Leah.
The World Cup was a dream realized, a tournament that would define careers. You played your part,even it was for less minutes then you would have liked (It was still more than what Leah had been given.) solid in defense, a calm presence in the face of adversity. England's journey was a rollercoaster of emotions, culminating in a heart-stopping final game for third place against Sweden.
The bronze medal match was a bitter pill to swallow. A valiant effort, but ultimately falling short. The weight of the loss hung heavy in the dressing room, a stark contrast to the jubilant scenes from the other side.
You had cursed at yourself in the eleventh minute as Asllani out ran you and sloted the ball past Telford, Steph had come over tapping your back whispering that it was ok it was one goal as Alex and Lucy followed both squeezing your arms as you all walked to reseat, you quickly turn to telford letting out a small sorry, to which she shakes her head sending you a thumbs up before you turn as Ellen White starts the game back up.
You hoped that Asllani's goal would be your one and only but Jakobsson makes a run in the twenty second minute and this time you make sure you catch her running in front of the swedish player you slide infront trying to cut her off but she breaks left and you can do nothing but sit on the ground and watch as she rolls it into the back left corner. You fall back hands covering your face. It's Lucys turn to pick you up "Your trying your best, you corrected your last mistake by being on it more." You shook your head "Yeah but she still scored." Lucy sighed knowing she wasn't going to break through the doubt that was bubbling in your head instead she pulled you into a hug and headed back into position, as you once again turned to Telford who before you could even open your mouth was already shouting at you "It's ok kid, you tried." you dropped your head nodding just as the ref blew the whistle to restart the game.
You came off at half-time for Rachel Daly, you had refused to speak to anyone, you had refused to join in on the celbrations in the thirty-first minute as Fran Kirby scorded but now as you walked down the tunnel you tried to shake all those feeling, you had played in your first World Cup, you had played 45 minutes in a tough match, you were good enough for Phil Neville to think you belonged there.
Those thoughts came crashing down as Leah walked past you hitting into you harshly.
Leah's harsh collision sent a jolt of pain through your already bruised ego. You stumbled backward, your breath catching in your throat. Her eyes, cold and calculating, held a mixture of contempt and something else, a flicker of something you couldn't quite decipher.
You spun around, your face flushed. "What the hell was that for?" you demanded, your voice laced with disbelief.
Leah's eyes narrowed, her expression a mix of defiance and something else you couldn't quite decipher. "You were out of position," she snapped, her voice barely above a whisper in the echoing tunnel. "Two goals down, and you're daydreaming."
The accusation stung, but you refused to back down. "I was trying to cover," you retorted, your voice rising. "It's not like I wanted them to score."
A tense silence fell between you, the only sound the distant cheers of the crowd filtering down the tunnel. You could feel the heat rising to your cheeks, a familiar sensation of being under scrutiny.
"I wouldn't have let them through." You walk towards her your finger poking her chest "Yet he didn't even give you the chance, he chose me over you."
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