#and when they never did he ended up doing ALL the parental stuff with quinn. with some help occasionally

[vaugarde]

atlas and quinn's relationship is hard to really put on a family tree but yknow how mlp cant decide if twilight is spike's mom or big sister sometimes and depending on the specific conflict she can be one or the other? just imagine that

[starsandhughes]

Didn't Know What Love Was— Quinn Hughes

summary: you were somewhat of a cynic when it came to love. you didn't believe in it, and if it was real, you didn't want it. that is, until your best friend sets you up with a certain hockey player named quinn.

warnings: swearing, fade to black smut (like extremely fade to black), fluff

word count: 3.9k+

MASTERLIST

this is inspired by the song 'didn't know what love was' by kane brown!

You weren’t expecting to feel this way. 

You didn’t think this feeling was real. 

Love.

You’ve said it, you’ve been told it, but all of those instances weren’t real to you. You get to a certain point in a relationship and someone says it first and you think, yeah, I guess that’s what this is. It was nothing like how it was portrayed in the movies, because they were just movies. Movies are fake, so you thought love was, too. It always ended. It always included drama. And then you’d find someone new.

You’ve never been more wrong. 

February 20, 2021

“Mack, have you ever thought of the fact that I’m just not meant for a relationship? It’s all bullshit anyways,” you grumbled. You were laying on your back horizontally on bed with your feet hanging off the edge, settled on the floor. Your best friend, Mackenzie, was once again setting you up on a date. “You’re single now! Find yourself a date!” 

Mackenzie rolled her eyes and sat next to you, “I’m not ready to get back out there! It’s only been two weeks since Jason and I broke up and we dated for seven months. You, however, have been single for almost a year!” 

“You’re only proving my point, Mack!” you said, sitting up. “Relationships end. They’re messy and leave us heartbroken. And maybe the magic blinds you for a while and you get married, but I’ve met more people with divorced parents than married ones. And I’ve seen so many loveless marriages that the couple only sticks together because they wouldn’t know what else to do. I’ve seen couples break up in restaurants. I’ve seen couples fight and scream at a public park.  Love isn’t real. And if it is, I can live without it.” 

Mackenzie looked at you with the most pity filled expression you’ve ever seen. She believes in love. She believes in the shitty romance novels and shitty movies. But you’ve picked up her pieces too many times to even contemplate believing in it. 

“Love is real!” she exclaimed. “How else could people have written sonnets and movies and books and songs about it?”

“People write stuff about monsters, too, but you don’t see any people bursting into flames in the sunlight,” you said. 

“In Twilight they sparkled!”

“I don’t give a shit what they did, they’re still made up,” you laughed. “It’s called fiction for a reason.” 

“You can’t make up a feeling. You can’t make up being so enamored by someone that you miss them so bad it hurts when they’re not with you!” 

“You’re just repeating things you’ve heard in movies about love!” you argued. “You haven’t even been in love. Not truly. You told me so when you broke up with Jason.” 

“So go on this date, and if it all works out, you can tell me what love is. They even call oxytocin the love chemical! You believe in science! And I believe that this guy is the perfect match for you,” your best friend continued to beg. “Think of it as a science experiment.” 

You ended up caving, more so to get Mackenzie to stop begging. It’s not like you were against dating, you’ve had plenty of relationships, but after so many failed ones you stop seeing the point. You could get your needs met without being tied down and risking becoming attached. That’s all that “love” really was. Attachment. Sure, it’s nice to have one person that’s somewhat of a best friend to spend your life with. But adding all of that “girlfriend and boyfriend” stuff to it is destined for failure. And you were done with it. 

When you found him at the restaurant, you were taken back. You’d seen pictures of him so that you’d know who to look for, but he looked so much better in person. His hair looked unbelievably soft, and he somehow made the locks seemingly out of place look perfect. His soft eyes were to die for, and the sleeves of his black shirt rolled up made the veins in his arm visible. All you wanted to do was trace them. 

“Y/N?” the boy asked when he noticed you staring. He stood up to greet you, helping you slip off your jacket to hang on the back of the chair as he pulled it out for you. He waited for you to sit down before taking a seat himself. “I’m Quinn.”

“So I’ve heard,” you chuckled. “I’ve been told that you’re the sweetest guy Mackenzie knows and are bound to change my mind about my stance on relationships.”

“I’ve heard you don’t believe in love,” Quinn countered. 

Your eyes widened, and if you were taking a drink, you would’ve choked on it.

“Wow,” you said amused. “Mack jumped to the nitty gritty then? I take it this means that you do believe in love?”

“I do,” Quinn confirmed. 

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Not yet. But I’ve seen it. My parents have the purest love I’ve ever seen. They spread it to everyone they know and everyone my brothers and I know. They make it hard to not believe in it.”

You couldn’t help but feel soft at his statement. You’ve never heard anyone tell you that they believe in love because of their parents. Hell, you haven’t really had a guy firmly tell you that he believes in love. It was always your girl friends swearing up and down that “the one” is out there. 

“Are you going to teach me how to love, Quinn Hughes?” you said flirtily, placing your hand under your chin.

Quinn reached across the table and grabbed your other hand, “I’m going to show you what a romantic date is supposed to be like. And if you like it, I’ll take you on another. And another. And if we get there, I’ll show you how a real man acts as a boyfriend. And hopefully, along the way, we’ll fall in love. And I won’t say it until I know it’s there.”

“How will you know it’s love?” you asked. He already had you melting at his advances. 

“I’ll know when it’s a feeling I’ve never felt before. I’ll know when it’s a feeling that can’t be described as anything but love. Are you in?”

You bit the inside of your cheek. Quinn was serious. He didn’t want a fling. He wasn’t here to get sex at the end of the night. He was here to see if he can find the real thing with you. He was here for a challenge. 

“I’m in.”

Over dinner you two did the usual small chat about yourselves, but that quickly developed into telling full out stories. It wasn’t awkward with him like it had been on some other first dates. You were strangely very comfortable with him. 

He told you about his summer at his lake house with his family and friends, you told him about your trip to London with your cousins. He told you about how he first met Mack when she was drunk off her ass at a party back when she was still dating Brock, the only ex she ended on good terms with and is still friends with, and you told him about how she was not her drunkest at that party, and that one time you two snuck out of a party to have a lightsaber fight but didn’t have lightsabers so you used traffic cones. 

“You did not!” Quinn laughed. 

“We did!” you shouted over your laughs. You were definitely getting stares, but you didn’t care. “I beat her ass, too.”

“Oh yeah?” he asked, quirking his eyebrow. 

“Oh yeah. I totally had the high ground.” 

Quinn walked you to your car at the end of the night. You two shut down the restaurant, neither one of you desired to leave. You boldly grabbed his hand as you started walking and were relieved when he looped your fingers together in response. 

“Did you have a good time?” Quinn asked you when you arrived at your car. 

“I really did. I’m not sure I want it to end,” you admitted. 

You wanted so badly to ask him to come over. But he told you that he wanted to give you a romantic date, not a pre-sex affair. He’s looking for something real. Something that isn’t just sex. 

“Me either,” he smiled. 

As you two looked at each other, your eyes started flickering from his to his lips. He noticed, but you knew that he was doing the same. 

Your hunger ended when Quinn finally leaned in. His hands slid down your waist and settled on your hips, pulling you closer to him. Yours went up and around his neck, happily content feeling the ends of his hair.

Quinn kissed you in a way that you’ve never been kissed before. It was soft. Sensual. It had you aching for more. The feeling that people describe as “sparks flying?” You were pretty sure this was it. 

The kiss wasn’t rough; it wasn’t filled with primal need. 

It left you breathless. Lightheaded. Warm. 

It was the type of kiss that told you there was more to him. And all you wanted to do was learn. 

“That was—“

“Don’t describe it,” Quinn cut you off in a whisper. He reached his hand out to cup your face, “Just feel it.” 

All you could do was nod your head. You felt your entire body quivering at his touch. 

Quinn smiled and opened up your car door for you, “Tell me when you get home?”

“Y-yeah. I will,” you stammered. You couldn’t stop looking at him. 

“Goodnight, Y/N. Drive safe!”

“Goodnight, Quinn,” you smiled. 

You watched him walk away in your rear view mirror, smiling madly. Quinn left you feeling like a giddy little girl. It was something that no one else has ever done. 

March 16, 2021

You were going on your fifth date with Quinn tonight, and Mack was swearing up and down that Quinn was going to make things official. 

“Y/N/N, trust me!” she said while dramatically shaking you by the shoulders. 

“I want to!” you laughed, shoving her off of you. “I just don’t want to get any hopes up. We’re going out to have a good time and that’s it!” 

“Hopes up you say?” Mack asked as she wiggled her eyebrows. “Does that mean you want Quinn to ask you? Do you, Y/N Y/L/N, WANT a boyfriend just mere weeks after saying you were done with dating forever?”

“I didn’t say forever!” 

“Alright!” she surrendered. “I’m keeping my mouth shut because I don’t want to jinx anything, but just know that I am a very happy girl right now!”

You shook your head at your best friend’s nonsense. Okay, maybe you were hoping what she was saying will turn out to be true tonight, and maybe you were liking the goodnight calls and good morning texts and mid day updates. And maybe you relish in the smile Quinn gives you when you stand at the glass during warm ups at his games while you wear his jersey. And maybe you’ve never felt like this before, and it was making you the happiest you’ve ever been. But you weren’t sure if it was love. Love was still a weary and scary concept for you at this point. But maybe… maybe this is pre-love? Maybe this is the build up. Maybe this is the jump before the fall. 

You weren’t scared of jumping.

Whatever it is, you’re pretty positive it’s too early for love. You’re just now open to the idea of love because of Quinn, so you certainly were skeptical at the notion of “love at first sight.” Although, it’s been a little too long to count as “first sight.” Love at fifth date? Love at hundredth facetime? Call it what you want, but it still felt way too soon. 

You were still doing your makeup when there was a knock at the door, signaling that Quinn was here. 

“Mack, could you—“

“I’m already on it!” she cut you off, rushing down the stairs to open the door. 

You tried to finish up your mascara really quickly, but that only resulted in your dropping it and smearing some across your cheek. 

“Shit!” 

“Shit?” you heard Quinn ask. You gasped in surprise, and he just laughed as he approached you. He placed his hands on your cheeks and kissed the top of your head before taking a look at you, “Ahh. I see the source of the shit.”

“It’ll wipe off, it’s fine,” you shrugged. “I’ll just need five more minutes?” 

Quinn smiled, “Take all the time you need to feel happy.” 

If you were alone and that was a text, you’d probably be kicking your feet at Quinn’s comment. He didn’t say anything teasing that you take forever, he didn’t use the cliché “you look pretty without makeup” or whatever, he said that he wants you to feel happy with your appearance. You didn’t know why that felt more romantic than a compliment; it just did. He was focusing on your emotions and confidence. He was validating you. Validation and understanding feels a lot more intimate than a compliment about your appearance. 

“I’m ready!” you sing-songed as you climbed down the stairs. 

Quinn was standing at the bottom of the stairs with his hands behind his back and a soft smile on his face. 

You jumped from the fourth step down to the second step. You reached out gently to tilt Quinn’s face towards yours and leaned down to crash your lips against his. You stepped down to the final step to become level with when he deepened the kiss. He released one of his hands to place it at the small of your back in order to draw you in, but the other remained. 

“Whatcha hidin’, handsome?” you asked cheekily. 

Quinn’s other hand quickly whipped around in front of his center and revealed a bouquet of daisies and lavender. You gasped and kissed him quick, taking the bouquet from him and inhaling its sweet scent with a smile after your lips parted.

“They’re beautiful,” you told him. 

“They’re not the only thing,” he whispered. 

“You flirt,” you blushed. 

You both bid your goodbyes to Mackenzie and walked out the door. Quinn rushed slightly ahead of you to open up the passenger door for you before making his way to the driver's seat. It was a quick drive to the mini golf place, and it was filled with you two goofily singing along to the radio. 

When you got there, you were surprised at how many people and families there were. It was a Saturday night, but still. You didn’t know this many people went mini golfing at any given moment. 

You picked out a pink club, and Quinn grabbed a green one. He held out his hand for you to take, and for once, you didn’t feel weird holding somebody’s hand in public. It was a small act, but it was still a big deal for you. You used to do it with previous boyfriends, but that was because you felt like you had to in order to try and feel like you were in a normal relationship. You want to hold Quinn’s hand. You love the way your hand fits in his and how warm his hands are. You love how rough they feel compared to your soft ones. Just this simple action made you feel safe and less overwhelmed by the amount of people. It made you feel like it was just you and him. 

“Ready to lose, Y/L/N?” Quinn taunted you.

“Don’t be so cocky,” you teased back. “I’m a pro at this.”

“You said you haven’t been mini golfing in years!” he pointed out with a laugh. 

“I’m trying to speak me winning into the universe, Quintin!” 

Needless to say, you were terrible, but Quinn gave you two extra puts each round to try and get you more points. It didn’t make much of a difference for how badly he was beating you, but it made you feel good.

“What ever happened to letting the girl win?” you groaned. “Some gentleman you are.”

Quinn softly smiled and walked over to you. Placing his hands on the small of your back, he kissed you gently, “I’m sorry, baby. I just can’t fake sucking.”

You dramatically threw your head back, groaned, then gave him a pout when you looked back at him. Quinn laughed and kissed you again, effectively wiping the pout off your face.

This was also something big for you– kissing in public. PDA. You’ve never done that. You always pulled away or forced the kiss to be a quick peck instead. You were worried about people staring and judging. But not with Quinn. You didn’t care who was around, you wanted them to know that you were happy. 

Unsurprisingly, Quinn won. He cheered with his club in both hands being held above his head, sending you into a fit of giggles. 

“Stop parading around like you just won the Stanley Cup!” you shouted. 

Quinn whipped his head towards you in mock offense. He walked towards you and kissed you again, much more firmly this time, “I’m sorry you sucked.”

“It’s okay,” you chuckled. 

“I do believe me winning deserves a prize!”

“Oh yeah? And what did you have in mind?” you smirked. 

You were expecting his answer to be something along the lines of another kiss or going out for ice cream, but what he said proved your best friend to be correct.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked you softly. He was confident in his question. He had the biggest smile on his face that was filled with so much hope and admiration. 

“I’d love to,” you answered. 

Now Quinn really looked like he won the Stanley Cup. His eyes lit up brighter than you’ve ever seen them, and his smile looked like it hurt. You should know, because your smile was so big that it did hurt. Quinn hugged you so tightly that your feet kicked off the ground and he spun you in a circle. When he put you back down, he kissed you passionately. It was different than every other kiss you two have shared, given that is a small number since this was only your fifth date. This one meant more. This one said more. 

When he walked you to your door and kissed you goodbye, you reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. He turned around slowly, and you knew that the look in your eyes said all that you wanted to say.

“Are you sure?” he whispered.

“Positive.”

Mackenzie was already in her room for the night, much to your relief. You and Quinn kissed all the way up the stairs and into your bedroom. The second your bedroom door closed; clothes began to be thrown off. He threw you on your back onto your bed like it was nothing, then he climbed on top of you and began to pepper kissed up your stomach, through your neck, across your jaw, until he finally reached your lips again. 

“Just tell me if you want me to stop,” he said low.

“Don’t stop,” you panted. “Please don’t stop.”

April 14, 2021

You were pretty sure you were feeling it. No, you knew you were feeling it. 

Love. 

You were feeling just like the movies and love songs and poems said– you were enamored by Quinn. You missed him so bad that it hurt when you weren’t with him, especially when he was on roadies during the season (you were selfishly glad that it’s over for the time being). You felt like the best version of yourself when he was around. But you were also learning that your definition of love was so much more than that.

“OH MY GOD! I KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN! I KNEW IT!” Mackenzie screamed when you told her. 

“Alright!” you giggled. “You knew it, you did it, congratulations! Now how do I tell him? Do I wait for him to tell me? What if it goes away and I don’t–”

“Are you sure it’s love?” she cut you off.

“I am. It’s new, and it’s freeing, and it’s–agh! It’s perfect. It has to be,” you said, covering your hands over your face so that she couldn’t see how wildly you were blushing and grinning. 

Mack grabbed your wrists and yanked your hands off your face, “I don’t think that’s going away, babe! Now tell me! The deal was that you’d tell me what love is! Spill it! And don’t quote the movies!”

“I think love is different for everybody. I’m feeling the stuff that they say in the movies and the sonnets and the songs, but it’s so much more than that. Love is… wild. Love is like a never-ending joy ride with the windows down and your favorite songs blaring on the stereo. Love is like that feeling you get in your body when you hear a new song, and it absolutely consumes you to where you heat up and feel like you're vibrating. Love is feeling like you could do the impossible as long as your person is right there beside you. Love can feel like you’re flying.

“But love can also make you feel safe. Love is feeling at home with your person, no matter where you are. You could be in the backseat of a car, but if you were with your person? That could be home for the time being. Love is like that feeling of pride and relief when you deep clean your house for the first time in forever. Love is like sitting by the ocean and watching the waves crash against the sand, and none of the sand ends up in your shoes. 

“Loving Quinn feels like a breath of fresh air. Loving Quinn makes me feel like I finally know who I am and who I could be. Loving Quinn makes me feel alive for the very first time. It’s everything.”

Mack looked like she could burst into tears then and there. You were about to hug her when an all too familiar voice ceased your movements.

“Did you mean that?” 

You turned around so quickly that your head spun. There, standing at the edge of your living room, was Quinn.

“Yeah,” you whispered with a nod. “Every word.”

Quinn rushed towards you and cupped your face, slamming his lips onto yours. You heard Mack clap with glee, but you didn’t care. She was slipping away, and only you and Quinn existed in the world at this very moment.

“I love you,” you breathed when you two had to come up for air.

“I love you,” Quinn echoed. “You described it perfectly. I felt every word. I am helplessly, irrevocably, completely, and utterly in love with you. I’ll never stop saying it. Not now that I know what it means.”

“I didn’t believe in love before you. I didn’t know what love was. It’s you, Quinn. My love is yours, and only yours.”

The smile on Quinn’s face was contagious, but your face was already painted with one. You didn’t expect to fall in love, and you certainly didn’t expect to say it first. Maybe it was fate, maybe it was a god, maybe it was the stars aligning. You didn’t know why, but you did know that you were made to love Quinn Hughes alongside all of the other things you were made for. 

Love was real. And you can’t live without it. And you’re so glad that you learned that. 

———

reblogs appreciated! it helps spread the fic <3

[preciadosbass]

28/7/14 [draft from yesterday]

woke up at 11:47 to my parents in my doorway. mum started putting stuff on my bed but i though it was just stuff of mine that id left around the house but it turned out she’d bought me some stuff which is really nice. she got me socks [because i only have one non-fluffy pair], slippers [because our dogs hair is everywhere and my pyjamas end up getting the hair all over the house, even after the place has been hoovered], and purple trainers [because beforehand i only had my converse + knee high converse, and they were both getting muddy and causing me blisters when i go on walks.] i feel extra bad about the argument we had last night now.

i was super tired and my eyes still felt like they were glued shut but i decided not to go back to sleep. i got a little anxious when i saw my ex bestfriend was sad so i sent him a message telling him that i’m here for him and stuff. i still care about him so much, even if we don’t talk anymore. i watched a mikey way complication and listened to a podcast with the way brothers on up until 1:20 when i had a nap [im lazy, i know]

i should mention, i had the weirdest dream. so excuse how bad this explanation is going to be. me and kellin [quinn] were both teens and we were at a restaurant. he had tacky plastic skates on and started doing backflips in them? and running on the spot and joking about being chased? it was such a strange dream to have, especially because i haven’t had one in ages. also, my dad was there for some reason lmaoo

i woke up at around 2 and stayed with boris until 3:20 before i had something to eat and started researching a few crime cases. id been thinking about reading a bit of my sylvia plath book but i got in another argument with my parents [not really with my dad] and practically went into sensory overload so i went in my room and scrolled through ed related things on reddit. although i just wanted to have a conversation with them.

my dad lets things go easier, but mum tends to start saying ‘maybe you’d be happy if i’m not here’ and stuff like that, which i have never and would never imply to her. it just makes me feel like shit, she acts like i’m not allowed to be mad. and i feel absolutely terrible writing this, especially because of the whole gift thing from earlier, and i know shes probably just stressed, and i love her, but nobody acknowledges that i am too. they never do, whatever i do seems to anger my mum. anyway, i spiralled writing this and i don’t wanna turn it into a complete vent post, so let’s carry on.

i carried on scrolling through reddit until like 8 where i went on a walk with all of my family [which we haven’t done in at least a year]. didn’t get off to a good start because the second i walked outside my sister dropped her phone on our rock driveway and smashed her phone to pieces.

she was arguing about paying for the damage up until we got to the park when she went back home with my dad. me and my mum carried on walking while we did would you rather because anything else was starting an argument. we ended up doing so right before we got home but at least i walked for an hour today, i wish it’d been more though. also at one point she asked me if i was questioning my gender like WHAT?? why didn’t i take the opportunity to tell her ffs.. when i got home i obviously said hi to boris and then scrolled on twitter for a bit.

one of my acquaintance’s [i call anyone my age that i know that, because i know people, but they’re not nice to me whatsoever, we don’t hang out, they bully me, i don’t consider them a friend etc] was being their usual self again. i try everything i can to politely escape them/avoid them but i just don’t know how. id feel bad cutting contact with no explanation but if i told them all the disgusting things they do they’d deny it. but i know i have to at some point, they’re such a bad person and i’m tired of putting up with them.

anyway, i feel like i seem like a bitch for not liking them, and the problem in every scenario i’ve written about today so let me know if anyone actually reads this and wants to know what makes her such a bad person. after seeing that i listened to some evanescence and i was just about to put on my fight club dvd i got from a bootsale a while ago when my dad said he was ready for me to ask questions about boris soon so i went up to their room.

we actually didn’t argue tonight because i was able to get on with it quite quickly so i did my teeth and said goodnight to boris around 3. he again started purring before id even started stroking him, he’s so precious. also went over my cals by like 60 today so that sucks

have a good day/night -_<

[rocknrollbabe14]

Hot for Teacher (Professor Joseph Quinn x Reader)

Rating: 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

Warning: Cursing, lust, mentions of the body’s anatomy, mentions of drinking and partying, SMUT, p in v sex, kinda unprotected sex (reader is on birth control but no use of condoms), praise kink, slight degrading kink, college professor and college student relationship, PURE FILTH AT THE END. THIS IS YOUR WARNINGS. If you feel I left any out, please feel free to message me. 

@josephs-quinns

The leaves were a mix between green, yellow, and orange. Fall was here. The evening air had a crisp chill to it, a sign the sunset was close behind. You had signed up for evening classes as you were not a morning person—far from it. You needed Anatomy to pursue any career in the medical field, a profession your parents would be proud of. They thought it was wise to send you away to a four-year university. 

You opened the door to the hall where your Anatomy class and lab would take place this evening. You passed other students, keeping your eyes straight ahead. You had a dorm mate and she had easily become your best friend. You all had some of your classes together. Thanksgiving break would be here before you knew it, you just needed to hold on a little longer. You liked to sit closer to the front, you felt like it made you focus better, however, that was arguably in question when it came to this class.

You opened your textbook, beginning with the chapters for this week—the reproductive system. Maybe this week wouldn’t be so hard. You had taken sex ed in high school. This stuff was a no-brainer. Or so you thought. 

Your professor was never early. He usually came in right before class was due to start. His office was close to the room. You had made a mental note one day on your way to class, plus read the information on the paper he gave you on the first day of class, giving you his office hours, office location, phone number, office number, and email. There were girls in the back of the class—the ones who thought they were God’s gift to the world. 

“Maybe I can just seduce him and get an A.”, one said, causing you to instantly roll your eyes. 

The door shut, causing the talking to cease as Professor Quinn entered his classroom, his teacher’s copy of the Anatomy book in his arms along with some papers. He laid his book on his desk before beginning his usual spill. 

“Good evening, class. I’m going to take roll and then we will get started. Remember, next week is your chapter test and it’s due by Friday before the testing center closes. Also, next week is your lab practical on the upper portion of the human skeleton, which we will review before leaving tonight.”

Your brain almost couldn’t focus on his words while looking at him—his brown curly hair almost shoulder length. His brown eyes could stare daggers, causing your heart to skip a beat. He was dressed in brown slacks with a white button-up, tucked in his pants. He wore glasses every now and then, complaining to the class that he stayed up late grading the tests and if he did, he would wear his glasses the next day.

Professor Joseph Quinn. He began reading off the class roster. You patiently waited for your name, practicing saying the simple word ‘here’. 

“Y/F/N Y/L/N.”, Professor Quinn called out, eyeing you.

“Here.”, you smiled easily as you brushed a piece of hair behind your ears. 

His eyes lingered on you as he continued to call roll. You pursed your lips nervously as you looked down at your book, your eyes immediately catching the diagram of the male reproductive system. Your brain began to skim some of the words, trying to focus on something other than your professor. You could still feel his eyes on you, however, you couldn’t bring yourself to look up. 

You could hear him reading off your classmates' names as you opened your notebook, preparing to take notes. You were doing well at anatomy but feared that you’d mess up and make a bad grade. 

“Alright, let’s begin. We are starting the reproductive system—this will include the male reproductive system, the female reproductive system, and pregnancy.”, he began as he flipped open his own book.

You ran your tongue across your teeth, trying to focus. You had to continue to do well in this class if you had any hope of getting into your medical program. But he made it so hard—so difficult. And you knew hearing him talk about sex was going to make it worse—so much worse.

“Alright, so the male reproductive system is mostly located outside of the body. External organs include what?”, Professor Quinn asked, hoping some of his students had pre-read the material.

Your heart skipped a beat as your mind quickly pondered if you should answer or not. His eyes panned the classroom, an eager expression on his face. Your mouth instantly felt dry and you were unsure if you could muster the words out. That’s when his eyes hit you, pleading to give the answer. 

“Y/N?”, he asked.

“The penis.”, you blurted out, quickly. 

You instantly felt your cheeks heat up, flushing. 

His eyes widened before he looked pleased someone had finally answered his question. “And?”

You tapped your pencil against your book. “Scrotum?”

“Yes, very good Y/N, and one more?”

“Testicles.”

“Yes, someone did their reading.”, Professor Quinn praised you.

You felt your stomach twist and turn at his praise. You could only imagine what it would be like for him to praise you in other ways.

“I am aware this may be an awkward module for some of you, however, please keep in mind this is just normal functions of the human body. I expect all of you to remain professional and behave as the adults you are.”, he eyed the class before continuing. 

Most of everyone nodded, this satisfying him. He went on to explain the importance and the functions of the male reproductive system. You watched his lips moving, teasing you with each word that rolled off his tongue. You watched as he became slightly theatrical with his lecture, running his hand through his curls as he continued spouting off. 

“One of the main functions of the male reproductive system is to produce, maintain, and transport sperm. When the penis becomes erect, urine is blocked from the urethra.”

You eyed him as you were scribbling down little facts. You remember sex ed, but you didn’t remember all of this.

“A mnemonic that helps students remember the pathway of sperm is SEVENUP.”

This caught you off guard, him chuckling as the words left his lips. He went on to explain the pathway including the seminiferous tubules of the testes, epididymis, vans deferens, ejaculatory duct, urethra, and penis. Some girls giggled slightly, Professor Quinn giving them a look of displeasure. You just knew when you got back to your dorm, you���d have to read the chapter yourself again. It was becoming too difficult to focus on anatomy while looking at him. 

Professor Quinn covered the female anatomy next.

“Alright, next we will be discussing the female reproductive system and pregnancy. The main function of the female reproduction system is to release eggs or ova from her Fallopian tubes. Each month a female will go through three phases that make up her menstrual cycle. This includes the follicular phase in which the egg develops, the ovulatory phase in which the egg is released, and if the egg is not fertilized by a sperm and does not implant in the uterine wall—the luteal phase.”

You jotted those down quickly. You knew about menstrual cycles and what happened during your time of the month, but you didn’t know the names. Terms were thrown around but he was very thorough in his explanations. That’s what you loved about him and his class. It was refreshing to see a man so educated about the topic. Your ex boyfriends never understand your period. You couldn’t lie—you could listen to his voice all day long. 

You could imagine laying in bed with him after making slow, soft, sensual love with him or having wild, rough sex with him, whichever occurred, and just listening to him talk all about——

“Y/N?”, you heard him call your name.

It jarred you straight out of your daze.

“Yes Professor Quinn?”

“I asked you when a sperm and egg meet, it’s called a—?”

“Uh—a zygote.”, you answered, quickly.

“Very good.”, he smiled at you.

He went on to explain the beginning of pregnancy and each developmental stage of the fetus. He would make cute babies. You’d like to have his babies. You rested your chin on your hand, leaning your arm on the table. You’ve got to stop thinking these thoughts. You have got to stop. By the end of class, you had scribbled eight pages of notes, bookmarked four diagrams, and labeled the upper portion of the human skeleton. You packed your book away, notebook, and binder before being the last to file out of his classroom.

“Um Professor Quinn?”, you asked meekly.

“Yes Y/N?”, he closed his book before leaning over his desk, smiling up at you.

“Um—I was wondering—am I doing okay?”

“In my class?”, he asked.

You nodded easily, eyes innocently looking into his, waiting for his response. 

“Yes, very good. If I remember when I uploaded your last test grade, you had an eighty-seven average. You have consistently tested well and kept up with homework assignments.”

“I’m just so nervous I’ll do bad…..”

He chuckled lightly. “You’re doing well, love. Don’t stress too much. However, if you feel you need additional assistance, you can schedule a tutoring session. Just email me.”

“Thank you, Professor Quinn. For everything.”

“Absolutely, it’s no problem. Quite refreshing to see a student read the book before class.”

You smiled, hoping your cheeks weren’t becoming flushed. “Thank you.”

“Have a good weekend, Y/N.”

“You too, Professor Quinn.”

A couple of days passed and Friday was finally here. You had done laundry and cleaned your side of the dorm. You’d already spent the last two nights reviewing material for anatomy, even asking Tori, your roommate, to quiz you. 

“Y/N, we’ve done this a hundred times.”, Tori chuckled.

“It’s only been six.”

“Exactly, and each time you do well. What kind of spell does this Professor Quinn have over you?”, she joked.

You rolled your eyes. “Tori.”

“You’ve admitted he’s hot—even called him sexy. That’s why you put so much effort into this class, isn’t it?”, she teased.

“Not the only reason.”, you defended. “I also need the class to get into any med program.”

She laughed, sitting your book and flashcards to the side. “I hear there’s going to be a party tonight. We should go.”

“A party? We could get expelled for even being there.”

Tori shrugged. “Live a little.”

She nudged your shoulder, causing you to laugh. You had never partied since you had begun college. You just knew you were a lightweight—you hardly ever drank. 

“My parents would kill me.”, you sighed.

“They won’t find out.”

Eventually, Tori talked you right into going to this party. It was on campus at a frat house. You had an uneasy feeling as you got ready, putting on a brown criss-cross peplum top that showed your cleavage, a blue jean skirt, tights, and boots. 

“Look at you.”, Tori began. “The boys will love you.”

You rolled your eyes easily. “I’m not trying to pick up boys.”

“No, that’s right—you want your professor.”, she smirked. 

“Tori!”

She went off to the fridge laughing as she grabbed a water. 

Tori’s outfit appeared to be much more provocative than yours. You bit your lip easily as you grabbed your phone, sliding it into your back pocket before you both headed out of your dorm. The fall night air hit you both like a ton of bricks, even more chilly than it had been the days before. You rubbed your arms easily as you walked the campus, heading towards the frat house. 

Tori had warned you that you both had to be unsuspecting if there were campus police or anyone else who could possibly turn you all in for parties. You all came upon the frat house, steady bass thumping from the music inside. Tori flashed a smile to the boys standing outside, smoking as you both cleared the door. There was smoke thick in the air, almost everyone had a red solo cup in their hands, and they were dancing to the music. 

You looked over at Tori, unsure if this was your scene. She could read the uncertainty on your face as she dragged you over to the punch bowl and where the alcohol was. She instantly handed you a drink, telling you to loosen up. You eyed it suspiciously before smelling it. It smelled a little strong, more than you were used to. After Tori began drinking, you decided to throw caution to the wind even though your parents had raised you better than this. You could imagine how disappointed they would be if they found out what you were up to.

You downed your first drink as you and Tori danced to whatever throwback hits they decided to play. After the first drink, you began to feel a buzz. Your whole body was tingling, your vision was slightly hazy. The feeling felt good, it was a break from all the stress of school. You made your way back over to the table bringing you and Tori another drink. Tori was surprised at you, drinking a second drink. 

You drank it with no problem. However, it intensified those feelings you were feeling—the body tingling, the hazy vision. You felt in your right mind, but it was as if it was foggy. Before you knew it, you had lost the concept of time. You and Tori were both unsure of how much time had passed since you had arrived at the party. Drinks three and four entered your system, causing you to begin to slur your speech slightly. 

The alcohol clearly wasn’t affecting Tori as much as it was you. However, you knew you were a lightweight. 

“Y/N, maybe you should take a break from drinking.”, Tori laughed, but there was a seriousness in her voice as she took the cup out of your hand, tossing the empty fourth cup away.

You rolled your eyes again before scoffing at her. “I—thought—you—wanted—me——to loosen up.”

“I did, but you’ve had like four drinks, babe.”

You scoffed again easily. The chatter continued in the room, you could feel the bass thumping in your chest. You and Tori were in the living room. She was chatting it up with a guy, seeming to hit it off. You were debating going back for another drink. Once you drank a couple, the aftertaste wasn’t so bad. It didn’t burn your throat half as bad. School was the furthest thing from your mind at this moment. What could one more drink hurt? 

That’s when things went to hell. No one immediately heard the door being thrown open. “Good Girls Go Bad” by Cobra Starship was blaring. Tori’s eyes widened in front of you, causing you to look behind you. Your eyes widened even in your drunken stupor. You all were fucked. Quite literally. It was none other than Professor Quinn here to break up the party. He waded his way through the drunken and sweaty students and haze of cigarette smoke, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead. 

Couples making out in the corners ceased their actions immediately, the music shut off abruptly, and you all felt like your parents had walked in on you doing something they explicitly told you not to do. 

“Okay, the party is OVER.”, he began raising his voice loud enough for everyone to hear, clearly trying to find his footing as he stood in the middle of the living room. 

He looked around the room, everyone watching him. Some were his students, some were not. But that didn’t change the fact that a professor had crashed the party—one of which was not supposed to be happening. He was dressed in brown khakis, a white shirt with a brown tie, and his glasses were on—he must have been up late the night before grading papers. 

“I want all of you to leave, NOW. If you’re intoxicated, please DO NOT drive. If you have sober friends here, I highly suggest they escort you back to your dorms. If none of you are sober and you need help being escorted back to your dorm safely, I will call the campus police. If you are not a student here, you need to call a cab or Uber or whatever and leave the premises immediately.”

You could see the frustration on his face. You hoped maybe by some miracle he wouldn’t notice you. All you needed was for him to be disappointed in you. 

“Also, we will have to inform the Dean this has occurred. Whoever’s idea this was, better come forward Monday morning. The punishment may be less severe and you may not get kicked out of college in the process.”, he sighed, clearly aggravated as he rubbed his forehead, furrowing his eyebrows, careful to miss his glasses. 

You looked over to find Tori as students began scrambling, attempting to leave. She was nowhere to be found. Great, just fucking great. You debated going upstairs to hide in one of the bedrooms or bathrooms until he left but he probably would find you. You turned to begin scrambling yourself before feeling dizzy, extremely dizzy. The room was spinning as people rushed around you. You tried to blink, hoping this would clear your vision. It didn’t. 

You felt a hand on your shoulder. 

You turned to view him, feeling nauseated and dizzy.

“Y/N? Are you drunk?”

You smiled sheepishly. “Professor Quinn, uh, I—”

He sighed, before running a hand through his hair. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Um—maybe four or five drinks—I can’t—remember.”

“Who did you come with?”, he asked. 

You felt like the unlucky one in this position, considering everyone else was getting to leave scot-free. Any other time, you would have given anything to talk to Professor Quinn.

“My friend…..”

“Where is she?”

You shrugged, a drunk smile spreading across your flustered, pale face. “I’m not sure.”

“You’re clearly too intoxicated to walk back to your dorm. I’ll drive you in my car. It’s just in the parking lot over.”, he offered.

You couldn’t tell if he was angry or upset or even disappointed in you. That’s what bothered you the most was not being able to read him. It was practically cleared out when Professor Quinn escorted you out of the frat house. The campus looked like a ghost town. The air was cool and fresh in comparison to the hot and stuffy air in the frat house. He held your shoulders, careful not to let you fall down the steps as you all left. 

“Are you cold?”, he asked.

“Kinda,——but it’s fine…..”

“I’ve got a jacket in my car. Can I ask what you were doing at a party?”

“Just went with——my friend.”

He nodded easily, debating how much of a serious conversation to have with you right now. Even he knew this was so out of character for you. You stumbled a few times before you reached his car, him catching you each time. His car was nice you noted. A Mercedes Benz. He opened the passenger door easily as you neared the door. He helped ease you in gently, carefully so as to not let you fall or bang your head. The leather was chilly against your thighs—even with tights on. 

He got in the back, grabbing the brown suit jacket that matched his brown slacks the other day, easily climbing in the driver’s side, and handing you the jacket. You took it reluctantly, keeping eye contact with him. It took you a couple of tries to get both arms in the jacket comfortably. He started the car, backing out carefully. It wasn’t a far drive to the girl's dorm rooms. The radio played softly as the scenery blurred past you. 

“Which dorm do you live in?”

“Um—1416.”, you responded easily. 

He nodded, turning off. You thought your night would end here once he got you back to your dorm room, safely. He helped you up the stairs leading to your dorm room. He eyed you as he knocked on the door to your dorm room. No answer. You shrugged easily, trying to dig through your pockets to find your key, however, when you and Tori left together, you failed to bring a spare key assuming you both would return at the same time. 

“Do you have a spare key?”, he asked.

You shook your head. “No…..”

He sighed, nodding. “Okay, I could so get fired for this…..”

“Fired——for——what?”, you asked, giggling. 

His brown eyes stared daggers into yours as he took your arm, helping you back down the stairwell. “Just——I can’t leave you here alone.”

“Where—are——we going?”

“Somewhere safe, do you think your drink was spiked or anything Y/N?”

You shook your head. “No, no, no. I don’t—don’t think so.”

He nodded.

The last few things you remember were him leading you back to his car, opening the door for you, and assisting you back inside. You remember the radio playing softly in the background as he drove. You could smell his cologne, the street lights reflecting his glasses. His hands were gripping the steering wheel rather tightly. He would glance over at you every few minutes, you imagine to make sure you were okay. Your eyes were heavy, begging to close. You finally gave in, everything fading to black.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Your eyes shot open as a wave of nausea hit your stomach, causing you to want to seek the nearest bathroom immediately. It was morning, that much was obvious. You looked around the room, realizing you were in an unfamiliar setting. The walls were beige, grey curtains holding most of the morning sunlight out. The bed was a king-sized bed, this was definitely not anywhere you were familiar with. The double doors, opened revealing a master bathroom. Had you met a guy at the party and slept with him? You didn’t have much time to try and collect your memory. 

You peeled the covers back immediately, springing out of bed and heading straight for the bathroom. You held your hand over your mouth as you barely made it—throwing yourself over the commode, the contents of your stomach coming up—which wasn’t a lot. You heard feet behind you, wondering if this was the moment you’d meet whoever you went home with. 

“Hold on, hold on.”, the voice was familiar, the tone soft on your ears which were ringing. 

You felt your hair being pulled back, the touch sending chills down your spine. You weren’t done expelling the contents of your stomach as you realized this was Professor Quinn. Your eyes were watering, wondering if you were done. Your chest heaved, trying to catch your breath as you sat on your knees. The feeling of nausea passed, for now, you leaning your head against his cool, beige wall. 

“Y/N?”

“Yes, Professor Quinn?”, you mumbled easily.

“Joe.”, he corrected.

Your eyes opened, and a confused expression came across your face. “But—”

“Just call me Joe. We’re not in class. Matter of fact, we crossed a lot of lines last night….”, he smiled sheepishly. 

“Oh God—did we sleep together?”, you asked groggily before closing your eyes.

Not that you didn’t want to sleep with him—he was attractive, sexy, the whole package but you imagined the rumors may start and that was the last thing you both needed. Plus, you didn’t want him to lose his job or you to be expelled. The latter was a good chance, considering you were pretty sure he picked you up at the party. 

“No, no, we didn’t.”, he began easily. He took another hand through his curls. He was in a t-shirt and pajama pants. “But you were super intoxicated at the frat house party, do you remember any of that?”

You nodded. “I remember bits and pieces, I just feel so hazy.”

He nodded. “Okay, let’s lay back down. Do you want a t-shirt of mine to wear or something so you can get out of those—those clothes?”

You imagined you probably reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke from the party. “I look like such a whore in these, don’t I? Yeah, sounds okay J—Joe.”

Hearing his actual first name roll off your tongue felt so foreign. He got up from the bathroom floor, looking down at you and you felt your stomach twist in knots. You could just imagine providing him with something else.

“No, absolutely not! I just feel like those are very tight—and constricting.”, he gulped before going into his bedroom, opening a drawer, and bringing back a black t-shirt. 

You eyed it easily as he handed it to you. You cleared your throat easily as you stood up, feeling a little dizzy. You steadied yourself against the wall, beginning to head for your tights. Without lifting up your skirt, you stuck your hands under your skirt, pulling them down easily. He couldn’t help but eye you as you were doing this. You finished sliding them down your legs, bent over in front of him. If only you knew what you were doing to him.

His mouth went dry, eyeing you. He attempted to swallow his thoughts about how good you looked in that outfit even if you had just puked your guts out in front of him.

“I’ll be in the kitchen grabbing some Tylenol from the cabinet and some water.”, he smiled at you, surprised he got his words out with fumbling. 

He disappeared as you worked your skirt down your hips, stepping out of it. You folded it before neatly laying it on the counter. You slid your shirt up and over your head, admiring yourself in the mirror in just your bra and panties. You quickly grabbed his shirt, slipping it on, it barely brushed your mid-thigh. However, it smelt just like him and it was absolutely intoxicating and heavenly. 

You grabbed your clothes as you made your way back into his bedroom. He entered the room with the pills in his hand along with a glass of water, the most you wanted to attempt to try and keep down right now. You were standing up, worried if you sat down you’d expose your ass in front of him.

“Professor Qu—I mean Joe, I can really go back to my dorm after I take this Tylenol.”, you eyed him easily. 

It was still so weird to call him Joe. You knew his name was Joseph, but no one called him that. Professor Quinn or Mr.Quinn is what he said he preferred. You thought it was more respectful to call him Professor Quinn. He handed you the glass of water and the pills, you took them quickly before chasing them with the water. 

“I don’t think that’s the best decision right now. You clearly have what they call a hangover. I plugged your phone up last night, it was dead when we got here.”

You took another sip of water. “Thank you, I just don’t want you—us to get in trouble.”

He sighed easily. “It would be worse if I left you alone, I believe.”

You nodded as you sat down on the bed, sure to cover your ass. 

“Just get some rest for now. I’ll draw the curtains more, I’ll close the bedroom door, and if you need anything I’ll be in the living room grading some tests. Also, maybe later you can try and eat dinner.”

You nodded as he motioned for you to lay back in his bed. It was so soft, so plush. He grabbed the sheet and comforter, easily pulling it over you. He pulled the curtains just like he said he would before he made his way to the bedroom door, easily looking back at you. His brown eyes could cause you to melt in a puddle. 

“Again, if you need me, I’ll be in here.”

You nodded as he easily shut the door. You were trying to wrap your head around the fact you were in Professor Quinn’s bed, in his bedroom, in his freaking house. You pulled the comforter tight around you, feeling secure, and somehow managed to drift off to sleep.

________________________________________________________________________

Your eyes shot open again—the nausea back in full force. You knew you needed the bathroom again. You peeled the covers back quickly before your feet hit the floor. The room was a blur as you sped to open the bathroom door. You didn’t notice you had to open it—the bathroom door. It was just open before. Your eyes widened as you realized the consequence of your action.

You heard his gasp, causing your eyes to shoot toward the shower.

“Fuck, oh my God. I am so fucking sorry Professor—I mean, Joe. Fuck!”, you exclaimed looking towards the shower, realizing the room was steamy and you were definitely not alone.

He eyed you, wide-eyed. You saw everything—literally everything he had. You closed your eyes, pursing your lips. It was etched in your fucking brain. His physique was perfect. And not to mention his size.

“I just needed to throw up again—which now I am super nauseated.”, you covered your already closed eyes. 

“Am I that terrible looking?”, he tried to jest. 

You hoped he was as embarrassed as you. You had no intention of seeing him naked—I mean you fantasized about it—but not like this. 

“No, of course not! I didn’t mean it like that—fuck.”, you cursed easily as you tried to feel your way around his bathroom.

That nauseated feeling hadn’t departed. 

You didn’t dare to look up at him. You fumbled trying to find the trash can or toilet. Whichever came to you first. Maybe if you found the trash can, you could at least exit the bathroom. 

“It’s just real-life anatomy.”, his voice justified easily, ringing in your ears, a hint of seduction laced in it. 

You finally slid to the cold floor, finally feeling the trash can as if you were blind. You grabbed it, bringing it close to your mouth. You forgot all you were wearing was one of his t-shirts and bra and panties. Was this reality? Were you dreaming? You almost wanted to pinch yourself. 

“But—”

“But what? I’ve seen the way you look at me in class. The innocent stare before my eyes meet yours, causing you to look away like a little schoolgirl.”

“And?”, you leaned your head against the wall, some nausea subsiding. 

“And I notice the way you wear those short fucking skirts teasing the shit out of me.”

Your eyes popped open, his sentence catching you completely off guard. “Professor—”

You could see the smirk spreading across his lips. His next action completely caught you by surprise. It was something you only dreamed of in your fantasies. His hand wandered down to his cock. You gulped as he took himself in his hands, stroking himself. He threw his head back. 

“Fuck. You pretend to be such a good little girl, don’t you?”

“I usually am…..”, you trailed off. 

“Really? Daddy’s little girl partying while away at college and having naughty thoughts about her Professor?”

You eyed him, narrowing your eyes. He was so right—but you didn’t want to admit that to him. 

“Am I wrong? I mean it appears you had intentions of being fucked—yes? I mean you’re wearing a lacy black thong.”

“How do you know?”, you narrowed your eyes at him.

“Love, I can see them from here.”

Your cheeks instantly heated up, you squeezing your legs together. He chuckled. 

“Why hide it from me now, love?”

You scoffed at him. “I don’t know....did you really wanna see my panties?”

What was really coming out of your mouth? Were you really asking him these questions?

“I’d like to see what’s underneath them.”, he smirked. 

Your eyes widened at his words—the nausea immediately subsided. 

“Why don’t you come and join me in the shower?”, he continued. 

“You can’t be fucking serious.”, you eyed him laughing in the beginning, however, your smile slowly faded into a serious look.

“I am fucking serious. Be a good little girl and get your ass in this shower.”

His words sent chills down your spine and caused your stomach to twist into a huge knot. You picked yourself up off his bathroom floor before stripping his shirt off slowly as you bit your lip, teasing him. You felt the warm air that was circulating in the bathroom hit your skin. His shirt hit the floor and you looked up to see his facial expression. His cock remained in his hands, erect and hard. 

“Now, take your bra and thong off. God, please take them off.”, he groaned. 

You took a deep breath, reaching for the clasp of your bra. You felt each hook unsnap with ease, letting your bra fall to the floor. Your breasts were finally free, feeling his eyes on your body. 

“Now the thong.”, he said with a soft groan.

You grabbed the waist of your thong easily beginning to slide it down your thighs before bending over and stepping out of it. You felt his eyes on you. You now were completely like those diagrams you scanned over in your anatomy book—completely naked and exposed. You gulped as you looked up to meet his eyes, 

“God, just fucking look at you. You’ve been selfish—withholding this from me.”, he groaned in a voice that instantly made you want to go feral as his eyes scanned up and down over your body. 

“I didn’t know you wanted me so badly.”, you rubbed your arm nervously. 

He chuckled sarcastically. “I have—ever since the first day you walked into my class.”

You took a few steps towards him. He opened the shower door, ready to pull you right in. 

You were just inches away from him. He leaned down as you leaned in and before you knew it, you both were sharing passionate, hungry kisses. 

“Are—you—on—birth—control?”, he asked in-between kisses. 

“Yes—the pill.”, you responded between your passionate, feverish kisses.

He nodded. “Been a naughty girl and let other boys have this before me?”, he asked, looking deep into your eyes.

You shook your head. “No, no Professor—my periods were irregular.”

He smirked as he held his hand out to help you over in the shower. You took his hand, easily stepping over into the shower. The water was still running, washing over his body. You knew your eyes were wandering, noticing how it dripped off his strong, muscular physique. You bit your lip as he smirked as you, once again running his hands through his damp, thick curly hair. 

“Let’s just get you ready for me, is that okay?”, he asked in the same way he’d ask you a question in class.

You nodded sheepishly, wondering what that entailed. 

He instructed you to turn around, before he came behind you and wrapped his arms around you, beginning to run his hands over your body. Beginning at your neck, his hands roamed down to your breasts, him instantly taking one of your nipples into his hands, pinching it and toying with it, eliciting a moan from you. You threw your head back, him placing gentle kisses on your collar bone as he hummed with satisfaction. 

“Feel good, love?”, he whispered against your skin.

You nodded breathlessly as he continued to play with your nipple. You could already feel your senses heightening. You sharply inhaled as you leaned into him, feeling his rock-hard cock poking against your delicate skin. You could feel him smirk against your collar bone as he continued to place kisses. His other free hand brushed down your stomach, and slid across your thigh edging closer to your heat. 

“You’re gonna love this.”, he promised.

“Will I?”, you sighed into his touch. 

“You’ll definitely let me know…..”, he smirked as you felt his hand move further towards you core before two of his fingers slide inside your slick, wet folds. You gasped easily, this catching you off guard. He smirked as he worked his fingers slowly in and out of your wet folds, your innocent moans filling his ears, making him that much harder against you.

“What is it, love? Those boys never pleased you like this, did they?”

You shook your head. “Haven’t—had sex.”

“No?”

“No—just touching—but it wasn’t—”

“As good as me?”, he finished for you.

You nodded. 

“This is about pleasing you and getting you ready for me——I need you fucking soaked.”

You mewled at his words, wishing he’d fuck you, here and now. You felt ready for him mentally and emotionally—but he needed you wet for him. He knew exactly what he was doing, his intentions clear. 

“What do you want?”, he whispered against your ear, sending chills down your body before placing a kiss near your ear lobe.

You hiccuped. “Fu—”

“What was that love?”, he asked teasing you, taunting you.

You gulped before trying to expel those words again. “Fu-fucked.”

You just knew a smirk went across his lips, the worlds that just rolled off your tongue making him desire you more. 

“Such a good little girl, a good little slut.”, Professor Quinn praised, sliding his fingers up and down your wet folds one more time before pulling them out abruptly almost as quickly as they had gone in, causing you to moan at his missing fingers. 

He turned you around easily by your shoulders, you seeing the fire of desire burning in his brown eyes. “God, just look at you. How fucking sexy you are all wet—quite literally for me.”

Those same brown eyes eyed you up and down before popping those two fingers in his mouth, sucking your taste off of his fingers.

“Shit, that’s so sweet.”, he eyed you.

You knew your eyes were wide—it surprised you. You had heard through Tori that a lot of men enjoyed that—enjoyed the taste of a women’s juices but you never thought your professor that you found so attractive would be doing this for you.

Once, he felt satisfied he had gotten all the taste off his fingers, he bit his lip as he began to stroke his cock, just admiring how beautiful and innocent you looked in his shower. Hair damp, water running down your body, and he knew your pussy was wet, considering his fingers just left your soaking wet, slick folds. He remembered how wet and slick you were, making his cock pulse in his hand. Even though you were just in your early twenties, he couldn’t help but look at your breasts that were so full and plump, your nipples were hard from how well he stimulated you.

It was making him feral, craving you even more. Your eyes would flip between watching him stroke himself and making eye contact with him. You couldn’t help but notice the precum already dripping off the tip of his cock. You inhaled sharply once more as your stomach was twisting with desire—the warm, aching feeling pooling in your lower stomach. You could feel your pussy throb in response. 

“Ready for me to fuck you? You’re fucking soaked. I just know you’re ready for me.”, he groaned at you.

“You think-think I am?”, you stuttered easily. 

He nodded. “I’ll show you what it feels like for a man to take care of you.”

All you could do was nod sheepishly—innocently as he came closer to you, beginning to kiss you again. He was so desperate, needy for you. His hands wandered down your body, finding their path to your ass, and lifting you up with a surprised squeal. It was like your instincts took over at that point, wrapping your legs around his waist, laying your arms over his shoulders and interlocking them behind his neck as you all broke the kiss just enough to look deeply into each other’s eyes.

“Ready, love?”

You nodded easily before nervously using a hand to slide in-between you all, grabbing his cock and giving it a slow, tantalizing stroke. This caused his breathing to hitch. You smiled, finally feeling like you were contributing to this rendezvous. You eyed him for his reaction as you slowly helped guide his cock into your absolutely soaking entrance. He kissed you again, the kiss slow and passionate as he helped push his tip inside. 

A moan left your lips as he continued to enter you slowly, pushing himself deeper inside of you. Your eyes fluttered shut, your hips bucking ever so slightly, begging him to continue to push his full length inside your throbbing, soaked, swollen pussy. 

“Need me that bad?”, he questioned as he backed you against the shower wall, your back hitting the cool tile, a gasp escaping your lips.

“Please Professor Quinn—I need you so badly.”, you whimpered, begging him so innocently.

“Need me to what, love?”, he asked. 

He saw you swallow, trying to muster up the words. “I need you—inside of me.”

He smirked before he pushed his full length completely inside of you. A gasp escaped your lips before a moan followed. You instantly felt your walls tighten around him. He chuckled, his breath warm and inviting. All the times you wore those short skirts and he wondered what was underneath had driven him crazy—almost mad. The times he jerked off in his morning shower thinking about you, he’d never reveal to you. 

Your Professor gave you a small chance to adjust to his length and width, now completely inside of you. Your eyes rolled back into your head, a sign you were ready for this—you needed this. His hips began rocking, working inside of you. Small hiccuped moans left your lips, rolling your hips into him. He used his hands to steady you both against the shower wall, groaning as he felt how full he made you. Your toes were already curling against his hips. Your kisses were passionate and full of lust. 

He broke the kiss easily, a chance for him to look at your facial expressions—how dilated your pupils were, blown out from his sex. The taste of his lips was something you instantly missed, mewling for him once more. 

“Professor…..”, you moaned.

He loved when you called him that. You trying to be proper and have good manners. 

“You’re taking me so fucking well.”, he grunted.

Your brain was becoming mush. You had been studying hard for your anatomy test and now that was all in vain. All that was going to cross your brain when you took your test was your professor fucking you senseless. But that didn’t matter right now. In his mind, he was trying to ignore the fact every time you entered his classroom, he’d be thinking about pinning you against the shower wall, buried deep in your pussy. He couldn’t help it.

“Professor—, ”, you gulped through a moan, feeling your impending orgasm quickly approaching. 

There it was, the moment he had been waiting for. He didn’t need you to tell him what was happening inside of you.

“Yes, love?”, he hummed in satisfaction, keeping his rhythm. 

Your back was arching, the last sign before your orgasm. 

“I’m gonna—gonna cum.”, you managed to get out in a squeak before you felt yourself hit your climax head on, the muscles in your pussy tightening, throbbing around his rock hard cock. 

He groaned, feeling your juices wash over him. Now, it was his turn. You felt dizzy and lightheaded as your orgasm finished washing over you. 

“Ready for me to finish—do you want it in you or want me to pull out?”, he groaned.

You nodded. “Doesn’t—doesn’t matter.”, you sighed in response, your eyes fluttering groggily. 

He smirked as you felt him fucking himself into you just a few more times before he gripped your thigh. 

“Fuck, here it comes.”

His thrusts ceased as his hips stuttered, feeling his cock pumping his cum into you, him choosing not to pull out. He knew that was probably a dumb choice but you were on the pill. You felt his cock pulsing inside of you. Your chests were heaving as he easily back you both away from the shower wall, letting your legs touch the bottom of the shower, you both feeling relief in your muscles. 

He easily slid past you to cut the shower off, grabbing two towels for you both. He wrapped one around your shoulders, giving you some early aftercare. You smiled at him, not believing this had happened between you both. The towel was warm in contrast to the cool air in the bathroom as he opened the shower door for you both to step out. 

“Let me out first so I can make sure you don’t fall getting out—you know from your weak knees.”, he teased with a smirk. 

You rolled your eyes playfully at him as he stepped out, reaching a hand out for you to take. He helped you out and you both dried off before entering his bedroom, him just grabbing a pair of his boxers. 

“Do you want another t-shirt and some of my boxers or—?”, he asked, digging in his drawers.

“That’s fine—but don’t you want me to go back to my dorm?”

He stopped immediately in his tracks. “No, it’s too late, don’t you think?”

You weren’t going to argue or dismiss an opportunity to spend the night with your hot, sexy professor who you just fucked. 

“If you’re okay with it.”

“I am.”, he eyed you, handing you another t-shirt and a pair of his boxers. 

You slid them on easily as he did the same before you both sat down on his bed. He turned the lamp off, falling back on his pillow with a soft thud. 

“Are you going to let me finish taking care of you?”, he asked softly. 

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not just about sex—I want to take care of you after sex, too. However you want, cuddling whatever.”, he eyed you.

“Really?”

“Really.”, he nodded.

You hesitantly fell back against the other pillow, turning to meet him. Without any further conversation, you snuggled into him. It was comforting to have someone near you, beside of you. It didn’t take long to hear him snoring lightly. You drifted off to sleep not far behind him.

__________________________________________________________________________

The next day you returned to your dorm as if nothing happened. He had kissed you before you left, leaving you unsure of what that meant for the both of you. Tori asked where you had been and you were hesitant to tell her. Matter of fact, you didn’t. Not that you didn’t trust her but you were trying to sort your own feelings out regarding what had transpired between you both. You told her some other guy had helped you back to his place and taken care of you until you came out of your drunken stupor. Tori wanted a name, but you didn’t give her one.

You continued to study for your test over the next couple of days, trying your best to shove the night you had with your professor behind you. It was hard because every time you looked at that damn diagram in your book, you thought of him and his rock-hard cock. You went and took your test the day before you had class. It was hard to stay focused and you almost felt sure you failed it, causing you to cry and sob later that evening in private.

This evening was class and Professor Quinn’s lab would last into the night. It would be late when the class was dismissed. It was a cooler fall day, causing you to decide on jeans and a varsity sweatshirt. You felt vulnerable, you weren’t going to lie. You slid into your seat, feeling as if everyone’s eyes were on you. In the back of your mind, you knew they weren’t but it felt like you were a bug under a microscope. 

“Good evening class.”, Professor Quinn spoke confidently, unlike you felt. 

His eyes immediately fell on you, causing you to look down at your book uncomfortably. You didn’t make eye contact with him hardly at all through the rest of the class. Just when you needed to jot down notes if he drew or wrote something on the board. In the lab, he administered the quiz on the upper portion of the human skeleton. You gulped trying to focus on the skeleton in front of you instead of your professor.

Everyone handed in their tests, Professor Quinn dismissed the class. You were one of the last to turn in your test. 

“Uh Y/N, may I see you for a minute after class?”

Your heart instantly began beating faster. So fast you were afraid it would beat out of your chest.

“Yes, Professor Quinn?”, you answered respectively, barely making eye contact with him.

“Is there a reason you’re ignoring me?”, he deadpanned.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’ve ignored me since Sunday when you left. Today, you’ve barely made any eye contact with me and you didn’t answer any questions in class.”

“I’m just not—sure how to take everything.”, you admitted.

He looked up at you. “Are you still drinking?”

“No—no, haven’t touched it since that night.”, you assured him.

He nodded. 

“Have you graded my test yet?”

He shook his head. “No, not yet.”

“Okay.”, you said easily, eying the door and wondering if you could leave. 

“I know a way to see if you passed, perhaps.”

“Okay?”, you were confused.

“Go stand by the skeleton and bend over the table.”

“Um—alright.”

You were sure there was a method to his madness but you didn’t know exactly what that was. And you didn’t want to question him. Your footsteps walking across the tiled floor were the only sound you could hear. You eyed the skeleton as you did as he asked, bending over the table. It wasn’t very long before you heard his footsteps coming behind you. 

“Now, I’m going to use this ruler and point to each bone. You tell me what it is, okay?”

You nodded.

“Drop your pants and panties.”, he whispered.

“Professor—”

“Are you questioning me?”

“No, sir.”, you responded, reaching for the button of your jeans, undoing them, and dropping them to your ankles. You shimmied your panties down next, gulping. 

“Just look at your ass.”

You inhaled sharply.

“Now, if you get the answer correct, I’ll put my fingers in that pretty little pussy of yours. Answer incorrectly, and you’ll get a spanking. Understand?”

You nodded. “Yes, Professor Quinn.”

“Good, now look at the two bones in the forearm. Which is this?”, he asked, pointing to the thicker bone. 

“Radius.”, you responded, your head against the desk. 

“Very good.”, he responded as he did as he promised—the sudden sensation of both fingers in your wet folds causing you to jolt slightly, mewling under his touch. 

He hummed in satisfaction before pointing to the one beside of it. “This one?”

“Ulna.”, you moaned out, causing a smirk to spread across his face. 

“Such a good little girl.”, he responded before moving to the hand, continuing to finger you. “How about these?” 

He pointed to the tips of the skeleton’s fingers.

“Uh—carpals?”, you answered wrong just to see what would happen. 

“Incorrect, what a shame.”, he responded as his fingers left your heat, causing a whimper to escape your lips. 

He didn’t warn you before his hand met your ass—smacking it with enough force to gain a wounded whimper from you. 

“Want to try again, love? You know if you want to be spanked, you can just say so.”

He was rubbing his hand over the area he smacked causing it to tingle. 

“Phalanges.”, you relented.

“Yes, that’s it.”, he praised. “Next ones are—?”

His ruler moved up to the longer portion of the fingers.

“Metacarpals.”, you sighed.

“Yes. Very good, love.”

His fingers slid right back inside of you, your legs almost buckling under his touch. They began to work in and out of you at just the right rhythm and pace. You went on to answer every other bone he pointed to correctly, him continuing to finger you bringing you to the edge of release. He dropped the ruler on the table beside of you. 

“Want to cum for me?”

“Yes.”, you pleaded through a moan.

He chuckled. “Cum for me, cum all over my fingers.”

You felt yourself edging so close—you could taste it. Your mouth began to go dry, you biting your lip easily moaning as he worked his fingers in and out. He was so good at this. It was becoming hard to keep your orgasm in. You felt your knees buckling, and your back arching. It was time to give in to him. You needed to—you had to.

“Professor, I’m gonna——cum.”, you moaned out a final time, releasing all over his fingers, tightening your pussy around them. 

He chuckled, satisfied. He allowed you to finish your release, a sigh signaling you were finished. He grabbed your hips, keeping your legs from buckling. 

“Very good, sounds like you made an A.”, he smirked.

You turned to look at him over your shoulder. “Yeah?”

He nodded, helping you grab your panties and jeans from around your ankles. You pulled them up easily before turning around to view him. 

“Oh and you passed your reproduction test with an 89.”, he smirked.

You rolled your eyes at him. “You know we can’t let anyone know about this.”

He nodded. “In class, I have to treat you like every other student. But behind closed doors, I’m going to fuck you and adore you like the good little girl you are.”

“Promise?”

“Promise….until you pass my class.”

“You mean you’ll stop?”, you frowned, the words spilling from your mouth.

“No, not if you don’t want it to stop—it just won’t have to be so private.”, his brown eyes were soft. 

You smirked before you edged closer to him, looking up at him seductively. “Maybe I need a tutoring session this weekend.”

You brushed your hands over his chest, feeling the softness from his sweater vest, causing him to inhale sharply. 

“A long one?”

You nodded, giving him a pouty look. “I just can’t fail your class, Professor Quinn.”

His breathing hitched. “We can’t let that happen.”

You both shared a kiss, alone in the anatomy lab. You weren’t sure where this was going to go, but you just knew you weren’t ready for it to end. 

[sorryjustafangirl]

make it to christmas

a/n: in the absolute middle of exams, winter, homesickness, and holiday stress, i was well overdue for some (resolved) angst me thinks. this is also based off one of my fav christmas (sad but upbeat) songs of the same name by canadian icon alessia cara. i really hope you enjoy!

word count: 2.7k+

pairing: quinn hughes x gn!reader

warnings: swearing, kinda rude parents, mentions of Christmas, sad quinn a little, i can't think of anything else?

disclaimer: this is a piece of fiction so don't come for me about real life stuff. also i didn't make the gif, @gabelandeskog did (and it looks amazing!)

Quinn gets distant with you when the team is on losing streaks. When the team was on losing streaks in the winter? It would get worse. 

After three years with him, you’d noticed that this time of year makes your boyfriend get in his head a little. His frowns were a little deeper, the light rarely reached his eyes even around you. He always said it was the lack of snow Vancouver got that messed with his winter routine. When he told you that, you made him promise that he’d tell you when he was feeling particularly sad. 

He was good at keeping that promise. During the winter months when the sun set too early and the sky was grey for days on end, he’d be quiet for a day or so before confiding in you under the comfort of the covers. If things got bad, the two of you would watch reruns of Friends until he fell asleep to your heartbeat and the claps of the theme song. You’d always savoured the winter because there were so many of those moments you’d get to spend together.

But this year, it felt different.

The whispers in the dark never came and he never gave the pleading eyes to watch a show. He’d open his phone again and again, the blue light reflecting onto his face but a smile never came. You’d try to pry a little — he never did respond well to it — but you knew this wasn’t your Quinn, winter or not. 

The breaking point came when he stopped saying ‘I love you’. He never failed to say it or even send a text with it before one of his games, and he especially never forgot on road trips. But now? You couldn’t remember the last time you were able to slip into bed beside him, and say a ‘love you’ without the ache in your chest of knowing you won’t get anything more than silence in response. 

“Do you still want to come home with me for Christmas Eve?” you asked one night, when you saw the date in your calendar. 

“If you want me to, yeah sure,” he mumbled, barely looking up from his phone. You couldn’t even fake a smile at his response, just settled into bed. He may have been beside you but he might as well be a thousand miles away. 

On Christmas Eve, the two of you had dressed silently. It wasn’t like a no words communication, it was no communication, a stark contrast to other occasions when music had been playing and Quinn had been asking your opinion on which tie matched your clothes the best. Now, you waited by the door, the car keys in your hand until he came out of your bedroom, took them, and silently moved out the door. You locked the door on your own, your boyfriend twenty steps ahead of you. You sighed. 

“Just make it to Christmas,” you whispered to yourself. 

The car ride was silent and you just couldn’t take it anymore. 

“I got Milo and Coolie some cute toys I thought they’d like. They’re wrapped under the tree for when you see Brock next,” you offered. He just grunted in response and you sighed a little. 

“Did Petey say what he was doing for the holiday break?” You asked, turning slightly to see his face better but the frown never left his face.

“No.”

“Oh, Holly sent us their family Christmas card, they all look so nice. Did you see them?”

“No.”

You took a pause. “Did you want to see?”

“No.” 

You pursed your lips, sighed a little, and sunk further into the seat, looking out the window so he didn’t see how his behaviour was affecting you. 

When he pulled into your parents driveway, you could see all the bright yellow lights and your family already sitting in the living room with smiles on their faces. Usually, a sight like this would make you excited to bolt out of the car and be in the warm familiar house. This time, it only filled you with dread, having to pretend your relationship was okay, and you sighed for the last time. 

“That’s the third time you’ve sighed like that,” He said, unbuckling his seatbelt. Oh so now he was attentive? Sure. “What’s up?”

“It’s nothing, let’s go.”

“It’s not nothing, what’s the matter?”

“Q, can we not do this right now? My family is waiting on us and I don’t want either of us to be grumpy. Let’s just try to make it to Christmas please,” you grumbled. He just grunted and got out of the car, his door slamming behind him. You took a deep breath before exiting the car yourself. At least he’d been bothered to wait for you before walking up to your parents’ house. 

But when your dad opened the door, it was like a switch was flipped. Your boyfriend smiled, shook your dad’s hand, and passed the gift (that you were a little confused on where it came from since you hadn’t bought it — and you did the holiday shopping for the both of you) to your mom. 

He sat on the couch with his arm draped around your shoulders. He brought you a drink in your favourite mug without asking. He held your hand and caressed the back of your hand when your dad brought up a work project that frustrated you. There would be times when you were talking to your sister and his arm would rest on your thigh and you’d forget about everything that happened before and just relish in his love. But as soon as it moved, the cold seeped in and you were reminded that this was not the regular anymore – this was a one-off and only a matter of time before it wasn’t there at all.  

“Y/n, honey, could you help me in the kitchen really quick?” You mum asked.

“Yeah, sure. Be right back, Q.” You started to get up from your place on the couch but Quinn leaned over, quickly giving you a peck on the cheek. 

“Hurry back babe.” He winked, throwing you a little off-guard. This was like the Quinn you knew, but where has he been the past four months? You walked into the kitchen, ready to help your mom but she was ready with questions.

“Is everything okay sweetheart?” Fuck fuck fuck. You tried to give her your best confused face instead of the panic in your mind that she saw right through your facade. 

“Yeah, why do you say that?” 

“You just look a little down,” she said, rubbing your arm lightly. “Even with that boy so nice to you, you just don’t look super happy. And it’s Christmas! Is everything going okay with him? He’s not too busy with work, is he?”

“No, Mom, he’s fine,” you lied. “We’re fine, thank you for checking.” 

“Well, if you say so sweetheart. There’s no shame in breaking it off with this hockey boy so you can have something where you’re happier.” 

You swallowed a lump in your throat. “I’m going to be right back.”

“Don’t go anywhere! I’m making hot chocolate with marshmallows before the board game,” she called after you, seemingly aware that she sent you into a tailspin. 

“I’ll just be a minute, you can get started without me.” You were already halfway down the hallway by the time you said it, your focus on nothing but getting out of the room. 

You walked out the back deck, taking in the night sky and silence. You took deep breaths. It just didn’t make sense. How could he just think that nothing is wrong in front of your family? Act so carefree so easily? You were struggling to even smile at his gestures, wondering what got into him to act like his old self and your mom noticed. She noticed and basically told you to break up with him, so nonchalantly, like she’d never taken your relationship seriously. 

“Hey. Here.” His voice interrupts your racing mind and you turn around to face him. In his hands is the hoodie he keeps in the car in case you get cold, outstretched to you. You suddenly are aware of the goosebumps all over your arms and how you could see your breath. You take it and pull it over your head as Quinn walks closer to be beside you. 

“What’s wrong?”

You scoff. “What's wrong?”

“Yeah, you never miss out on a hot chocolate, especially not with the marshmallows. What’s wrong?” He didn’t seem to have caught onto the slight edge in your voice, and you dropped the attitude. 

“If I’m honest, it’s us,” you huffed. 

“Us?” You could see the furrow in his eyebrows even if you weren’t looking at him. “We’re fine, aren’t we?”

“For the past two hours when we’ve been in front of my family, sure. But even my mom noticed I’m not really happy. In two hours, my mom saw what you couldn’t in months! Q, it’s been weeks since we’ve been really fine. Weeks. We are not fine! There’s all this distance between us, even when you’re sleeping right beside me! When was the last time we went out on a date? When’s the last time you even had time for a date? Time for me? We haven’t talked about anything other than hockey and my job for what feels like months!“

He goes to open his mouth but you cut him off. “And I know, I know, it’s winter, this is how you get. But it’s not. Quinn, I’ve been around enough to know what it’s like in the winter but this is something else. You give me one word answers, you’re shutting me out. I can’t even remember the last time you said you loved me. It’s fucking different and I’m so so close to saying fuck it and throwing the towel in!” 

“Then why didn't you? Why did you invite me here?”

“Because it’s Christmas! Because I’m an idiot! Because I’m not ready to give up on you! Because I keep thinking that this is just a bump in the road and one day, we’ll feel like us again, just like we did in there! Because if you didn’t come, my dad would give me such a look of pity at the empty chair beside me and my mom would tell my sister “I told you so” when she has evidence you’re too busy for me. And on Christmas? I…I didn’t think I’d be able to handle it. Break up with me on Boxing Day, but can we please just make it through Christmas?”

“Wait, break up? Who said anything about a break up?”

“Isn’t that what you’ve been wanting to do? Why else have you been so distant these past few months, so engrossed in your phone?” You said, crossing your arms across yourself and looking down at your feet. 

“I’ve been trying to propose.”

You stared at him blankly. “To me?”

“No, to Brock. Yes, of course to you.”

Your mouth hung open in shock. “You’re joking.”

“I wouldn’t joke about this.”

“I’m not following,” you said, genuinely confused. Where was this coming from?

“This isn’t how I wanted to tell you all this, but you remember that night out on the lake in July? When we went out and watched the sunset and you told me you could do this for the rest of your life?” You nodded.

“That’s when I knew I wanted to marry you. So I started looking at rings, asking some of the married guys for advice, that sort of stuff. But when I went to my mom to ask for her help picking out a ring, she…she just seemed surprised that I didn’t know what you wanted. I went through your jewelry box and everything but I still couldn’t figure it out. So I started to think that maybe I didn’t know you as well as I needed to before we got married.” He looked down at his feet as he started shuffling them side to side. 

“And then when I asked your parents about marriage, your dad didn’t look very impressed with me. Like they said fine, but they didn’t seem over the moon that I was going to be the one asking. That’s why I acted so different in there. I…I didn’t want your parents to think they made a mistake by telling me yes. I guess that all of that just made me feel really insecure about me and this lifestyle that threatens to move us across the country in one second! I was insecure in our relationship, convincing myself that you and your family wanted no part in being part of the league, part of the drama, the chaos. Believe me, you’re the last person I ever want to hurt and I was just too much in my own head to see how it was hurting you, and baby, please, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I-“ he cut himself off. “I can’t believe I let myself get so caught that you don’t remember I love you. Because I do. I love you a lot. A whole fucking lot, I can’t even explain it. I want to marry you, please, I don’t want to break up.” He made eye contact with you then, his brown orbs void of anything but sorrow. 

You felt your own eyes welling up but you had to get it all off your chest before consoling him. “Why didn’t you just talk to me about this?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t want you to tell me our parents were right. I thought if I kept it to myself, you wouldn’t notice how I might not be enough for you.” 

The tears that had welled in your own eyes started to fall and there were no words coming to mind that could do your feelings justice. Instead, you wrapped your arms around his neck fiercely. His arms wrapped around your waist with as much ferocity and one of your hands held the back of his head. 

“Not enough for me? You are everything,” you whispered into his ear. 

“Don’t quote The Office to me.” His voice was muffled by your shoulder but you could hear the slight smile in it. 

“Q, I don’t care what my parents said. I don’t care that you don’t know what ring I would want – I don’t even know what kind of ring I’d want! I don’t care about any of that; I care about you. I love you. And you are enough. You are all that matters to me.” 

He pulled away from you, slowly, to see your face but his body stayed as close to you as possible. 

“I don’t know what I did to deserve someone as good as you.” Your face softened. One of your hands moved to cup his cheek and he leaned into your touch. 

“It doesn’t matter. You have me. But the next time you feel like this you have to talk to me, okay? I was absolutely miserable when you wouldn’t communicate with me and I thought you didn’t…”

“Believe me, I’m never again going to let you believe, even for a second, that I don’t love you with every fiber in my body. I’ll talk with you next time,” he promised, pressing a long kiss to your temple and pulling him towards you again. “Now, you’re freezing and look desperately in need of a hot chocolate, so let’s get you inside.” 

As the two of you walked back towards your parents place, hand in hand, you turned to look at him. 

“Oh, and by the way, my answer is yes,” you said.

“Answer to what?”

“When you ask me to marry you. My answer is yes and it will always be yes.” His face softened and he slowly turned you to face him. His fingers, although cold, cupped your face and he brought you in for a slow kiss, dragging it out for as long as he could. 

“I love you,” He said breathlessly, a sliver of light reaching his eyes again. “I love you so much.” 

You gave him another quick peck, before leaning into his chest for a hug. 

“I love you too, Q.”

taglist (join here): @heatherawoowoo @4ambagelbites @typical-simplelove @2manytabsopen @stars-canucks @lorrmorr @fallinallincurls @plds2000 @barzysandhughesbaby @yummygoldenfood @drei-mrssvechii @bananarantanen @pulpfixion

[sunnyie-eve]

1 | All grown up

Series: Odds Together

Paring: Ryan Dunn x OFC Margera!

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: Mention of an abusive relationship

| MASTERLIST |

~

Today I was returning home to West Chester after living in Ireland for a few years and LA for a few months. I practically had to begged my parents to let me leave because they wanted me to stay close. I was the only child they had faith in actually doing something smart with my life because I wasn't 100% like my brothers. My older brother was in a band and twin brother did stupid videos for a living along with skating. I mean when I was young I did videos with Bam but over time I wanted to focus on other things too.

When my plane landed I didn't see anyone waiting for me so I had to called my mom. "So am I supposed to get a ride home from the airport by myself or did you forget?" I ask her as I take a seat in a corner.

"I completely forgot! I'll have Bam come pick you up. I'm so sorry. Can't wait to see you." She ends the call so I just sit alone in a airport.

I don't know how much time passed till I heard someone calling out my name, "Annabelle Quinn Margera!" I get up from my spot. As I get closer to who was calling my name I realized it was Ryan Matthew Dunn.

"Do you really have to yell my full name out? It's very embarrassing." I say as people were looking at us walking, sitting, or standing by.

He turns around to face me and his jaw drops as he blinks at me, "Bam was busy so he sent me." He gives me a smile.

"Out of everyone... he sends the worst driver. And busy doing what? Screwing things up?" I ask not surprised as we start to walk towards the exit.

"I'm not the worst. And haven't changed have you? Well, I mean since the last time you changed." He chuckles.

"You mean me being mature and not a child? And yes you are... the accident." I come to a stop.

"You can be mature and still have fun. Have you seen Ape? Also okay... lets not talk about that. Ape still hates me for that." He stops as well to face me.

"Yes, I've seen her because she's my mother, Dunn." I say starting to walk again till we get to the car.

The drive back to the house was quite till Ryan decided to start asking questions, "Why did you leave? And so suddenly to?"

"Other than schooling... just to get away."

"Get away? Away from what exactly?" He looks over at me for a second.

"Life here. Living in Bam's shadow, losing your best friend to his ego, your parents expecting you to do something great with your life, you ex making up rumors, fall-, I could go on." I stop myself from saying the last part.

"No one believed those rumors, Anna."

"Yes, people did. Bam did at first and so did my parents because they adored him. I had to tell them my side of the story and make them believe I was telling the truth." I start to get upset thinking back to that day.

"I never believed a word that dick said about you. I was always on your side, and the other stuff I can kinda understand."

"No, you don't. You're apart of Bam's shadow making it bigger. He's still your best friend because you have an ego too." I look out the car window.

"Why come back if you left to get away?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." My voice cracks so I try to cough it off.

"Bels, what happened?"

"Please don't. I really don't wanna talk about it. Let's just pretend it's because I miss home." I look over at him and he nods his head.

When we got to the house Ryan helped me take my bags in. As soon as my mother saw me she let out a scream. "My baby girl! Look at you!" She runs over pulling me into a hug. "You're all grown up. Such a beautiful young lady. Don't you agree Ryan?" She smiles at him while I cringe.

Ryan looks at me getting embarrassed, "Yeah, she grew up." He says making me laugh at him.

"Where's the demon child?" I ask.

"Didn't he pick you up?" She asks me so I shake my head and point at Ryan.

"Bam!" She yells making him walk into the room.

"That's not my sister! Who the fuck are you?" He walks over to mess with me. "What the hell happened to you? You grew up. Now all the guys are gonna talk about how hot you got." He says making me shake my head.

"Please don't say that. You basically said I got hot."

"I'm not blind, you got better looking. Now I gotta watch the guys because I know how they are. Now let me show you to your new room." He grabs my hand dragging me up the stairs. "It was a wreaked room because I fucked it up so I fixed it for you." He opens the door showing me my new room.

"What's the catch? Everything is too nice." I cross my arms looking at him.

"The catch? Nothing. I fixed the room for you so you would have a room. I had my whole crew help out. Don't you like it?" He says with a big smile.

"Thanks. Now let me settle in." I shove him out shutting the door. I look around the room checking it out to know if it's really safe. When I figured out it was I get comfortable and unpack things. Laying on my bed my stomach started to growl so I go downstairs to get a snack and see the whole crew.

"Who's the beautiful lady?" Raab asks eyeing me.

"Hello Christian, Brandon, Edward." I smile at them going to the fringe.

"Annabelle?!" They all yell my name.

"I thought you said she was coming soon and not as in today." Raab looks at Bam.

"Why did you think we finished up her room today?"

"I-I... Whatever." He shuts up making me laugh.

"Anna, what's your plans for the day?" Bam asks me.

"I wanna stay in my room but I need to ask mom for her car so I can go shopping to fill my closet." I grab an apple closing the fridge.

"Let's all go shopping then. Operation get Anna clothes. Let's go." He grabs his keys and the guys run out of the house. "It'll be fun." Bam drags me with him.

The drive to the nearest mall Bam played all the metal music he liked. I didn't have a problem with it because my taste of music was basically a huge mix of everything. Bam also asked along the way what size do I wear so I told them. As soon a Bam parked my shopping trip turned into a competition. Everyone was to buy whatever, preferably what I'd wear, and when we get home I was to try everything on. I'd then have to choose who picked out the best options that I liked.

"The rules are no asking for help. If you see her you avoid her. We start now and don't stop till Anna is done shopping for herself. Go!" Bam says and they all take off.

I walk into a store and automatically see Rake looking through racks. "Would you wear this?" He shows me a top that was ugly to me.

"God no, and you aren't supposed to ask me." I walk away going to look at jeans.

I end up shopping for some clothes but also shop for other things just to make the room more homey for me.

"I tried my best to actually pick something you would wear compared to Raab. Dude saw anything he considered sexy and took it." Ryan walks up to me with his bags.

"I had that fear and I gotta try on all this shit on." I groan taking a seat with him.

"Annabelle Margera? Funny seeing you back." I look up to see a few girls I hated back in school.

"I don't understand why it's funny." Ryan speaks for me.

"Because you just disappeared and here you are years later." She laughs then starts to smirk. "Baby look who it is." I turn around to see who she was talking to behind me and see my ex.

"Anna..." He eyes me. "What brings you back home?"

"I missed my parents and brother." I start to feel uncomfortable.

"Why did you leave in the first place?" He asks making the girls giggle. "Was it because you were embarrassed about what happened? Oh and did you actually come back because you tried playing a victim wherever you were?" He lets out a deep chuckle.

"Fuck off, you dick." Ryan spits at him.

"Look fat boy still has a thing for his best friend's sister. You two would be cute pathetic losers together." They walk off laughing.

"I fucking hate them. Six years and they still act like they're in high school." Ryan says not noticing I was quietly cry. "Bels?" He leans forward to look at me trying to see my face. "Don't let him get to you." He pulls me into his side.

"I came back home because of a guy I was dating. I thought I could trust him... but slowly he got physical. Controlled me and forced me to do things. I was scared to do anything because he threatened me anytime I didn't do or say what he wanted." I break down to Ryan finally causing him to hold me in his arms as he rubbed my back.

"Ready to go because I've spent more money on clothes and other stuff than fixing your room." Bam walks up to us. "What happened?" He gets serious.

"Austin and some girls from high school." Ryan lies to him which I appreciated.

"Let's go home." Bam says helping me up and we leave to go home. Bam told the guys we would do the next part tomorrow since I wasn't in the mood anymore.

Back in my room I leave the clothes in the bags because the guys wrote their names on it so I know who bought what. "Knock, knock." I look over to see Ryan in the door way.

"You can come in."

"Why did you tell me? You said you didn't wanna talk about it earlier." He shuts my door.

"I trust you still. You were the person I told everything to before moving away. I mean, I was gonna tell you the truth much later but you were standing up for me... and I was crying."

"It's good to know after six years I'm still your person." He smiles coming to take a seat next to me on my bed.

"You've been my person since I was 13 because that first year I hated you for taking Bam away from me." I say making him laugh.

"Can you imagine if we never got along because I can't." He lays back on my bed.

"It would've been hell because you were always around and still fucking around." I lay back too. "So we're lucky we got along. Plus your my favorite out of the crew."

[teddy-the-teddybear]

"Are you flirting with me?"

Luke Hughes x twin sister!reader, eventually!Dylan duke x reader

How did I end up here? Oh thats right it started with a stupid bet with Dylan.

"Pssssttt" Dylan kept poking me after the test in out economic class.

I tried ignoring him but he kept going. "What?!" I finally snapped and swung around to face him.

He smirked... which was never a good sign, it usually ment that he wanted something. "I have a little bet with you"

I squinted my eyes at him. "What is it?"

"Well if you take me up on your deal then ill tell you after", he smiled and one I only seen him use when he wanted something from my brother.

I nodded at him, "fine duker, ill take your bet"

"Good, now what score did you get on your test?" I showed him that it was a 84. "Dang I won, I got a 90"

"So what do I have to do duker?"

"Oh you know, where my jersey to the game tomorrow night" he smiled at me.

"What?! You do realize that quinn and Jack, not to mention my whole family's gonna be there right? Are you trying to get me killed!"

"You took the bet, now you can get the jersey from my car." He smiles and leaves the room.

So yeah thats how I got here... wearing a duke jersey with my family sitting next to me. I had to tell my mom that my and him were not dating, and it was a bet. My brothers kept giving me weird looks.

I think I even saw Luke do a double take and then glare at Dylan.

The real trouble came after the game when my mom wanted me and duker to take a photo together. Luke kept glaring at us, till my mom dragged him out.

"So I see you kept the jersey on."

"Well a bet is a bet"

He smiled, "you should wear it more often, you look beautiful". He held onto my chin when saying that.

I pulled away, "wait wait... are you flirting with me?"

He scoffed, " I have been since freshman year... but thanks for noticing now." He walked out of the stadium and didn't look back.

I couldn't even get a word in before he left. All I could do is walk to my parents and go out to eat with my family. Finally when I got home I messaged duker.

Duker💞

I want you to know that I want you to flirt with me! I want to do all that.... couple stuff with you...

Read

Duker please answer I can see you're reading this...

Read

Well I'm gonna go to bed... if you message then I'll message you back in the morning...

Read

I turned my phone off and layer down while tearing up... "dammit Dylan duke"

[wild-lavender-rose]

Hi! Could I possibly request a Hank Lawson x Female Reader (from Dr Quinn Medicine Woman) where the reader is really shy and into reading and poetry and begins slowly introducing Hank into the world of literature. After a while, he surprises the reader with a novel she loves. Thank you!

Okay...I really got into this prompt. This fic definitely has series vibes because I feel like reader's backstory got pretty developed and I loved seeing the dynamic of Hank with a shy, quieter love interest. Hank lovers, let me know if I should continue developing this story!

A Simple Gift

Warning: Mention of alcoholic parent. Brief, cannon-typical swearing

"Hey, Loren," you tipped your head to the silver-haired man as you entered his store, a basket of eggs heavy on your arm.

"No, no, no. Get those things out of here." Loren shooed at you like you were an unwanted puppy. "I'm not trading anything else for books."

"But you said last week that-"

"Never mind what he said."

You turned around to find Jake and Hank walking into the store. Hank's eyes danced when he saw you, while Jake regarded you with his usual cold smugness.

"Women folk need to be focused on stuff like sewing or cooking for their men." He said, looking you up and down. "Not a book full of words that don't make sense."

"It's poetry." You said, heat flushing your face. Your skirts swished about you as you turned back to Loren. "Please,"

"I just can't do it, miss." Loren shook his head, expression going from annoyed to soft. "Maybe Dr. Mike has some, or Colleen,"

"I've already read all of them." You tucked your basket protectively against your side, feeling silly and embarrassed at the idea that Loren would trade dime a dozen eggs for one of his precious books for sale. "Good day."

You turned to go, meaning to slip past Hank and Jake.

"Woah, hold on," Hank took hold of your arm, stopping you in your tracks. "Thought you were dying to have that Emily book."

"Don't tease me," you whispered, trying to pull out of his grip.

"M'not teasing," Hank let you pull free. "Why don't you just pay for it?"

"I can't." Your head ducked down, unable to look him in the eye. "Pa's gotta have his drinking money, there's nothing left after."

Jake snorted. "At least he's putting it to good use."

Tears stung your eyes as you ran out of the store.

# # # # #

Bible hanging loosely in your hand, you walked alone towards your wagon after church. Your Pa was off drunk somewhere, again. At least you knew it wasn't at Hank's saloon. Ever since you and Hank had become friends, Hank had been cutting your Pa off and sending him home earlier than usual. Only Pa wasn't coming home. He would crawl away into some hole with a bottle of rot gut for hours on end, leaving you alone as usual.

Hank. You hated the way that the thought of him made your insides tingle and your face flush. You knew that he only ever talked to you because he thought you were pretty, but deep down you wanted it to be something more. Even though doing anything remotely close to courtship would guarantee being shunned by the community. But you were used to living on the outskirts. How much worse could it get?

"Hey,"

You jumped, startled to find Hank waiting by your wagon. He was dressed in his Sunday best but you definitely did not see him in church.

"Hey," you bit your lip and looked down at the ground.

"How, uh, how was the service?"

"Fine." You put your Bible on the seat and grabbed the wagon side, preparing to climb up.

"Here," Hank came up beside you, boosting you up into the seat in one swift movement.

You glanced around, noting the people exiting the church and the way they stared at you and Hank. Embarrassment flushed your cheeks. Then you looked down at Hank, only to find his clear blue eyes staring up into yours.

"Here," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green book. "Got ya' something."

You accepted the book from him, fingering the beautiful gold lettering along the front cover. "Dickinson's poems." Your breath caught.

Hank shrugged. "Seemed like ya' needed it."

"I can't,"

"Sure you can. Hell, I used your money to buy it." Hank smirked. "Called in on some money your Pa owes me."

Your mouth opened, closed, opened, and closed again. You were speechless from the gift. It was the most beautiful book you had ever seen, and certainly the only book you had been given to keep.

"It's mine?" You managed to say, stomach twisting at the foolishness of how your voice sounded.

"Of course, darlin'," Hank grinned, sending your heart racing. "All yours."

With that, Hank backed away from the wagon. "See ya' next time you're in town."

"Yeah." You nodded, your shock turning into giddy joy as you bent to take up your horse's reins. "See you next time."

And with that, the two of you parted ways, each with a big smile on your face.

Fanfic Masterlist

[cassorpa]

SAMMY YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL

SAMANTHA!!! I love her sm. The drummer for the Pit Fiends. Quinn's closest friend since pre-school. Family disappointment? But how and why did she get to where she is.(all of the following content was created quickly and is subject to change).

TW// High expectations, Absentee parents, Familial conflict

The following is copied and pasted from my loreforge "History" section for Sam:

Baozhai was born on January 12th 2008. Her mother, Jiang (20 at the time) was overjoyed and quit her factory job to act as a full time parent to her new daughter and, 5 years later, her son Dong. Her father, Jun(24 at the time) was absent at the time of birth as he was tied up in his sales job. This created a sense of resentment between her parents as this absence became a pattern for other important events in their lives. Sam's parents have always been rather distant and disconnected and as a result she became attached to Quinn as she was willing to give Sam the affection she could not receive elsewhere. Their expectations were also extremely high which clashed greatly with Sam's affinity for the arts. This meant she became burnt out at a young age and has been deemed the "Family Disappointment". Her parents are now focused solely on ensuring her little brother does not end up like her.

In contrast to this, Sam is intent on making sure her brother does not have the same troubles she did by showing him the love and affection she never received and allowing him to experience the fun parts of life. The Yan household has since become a sort of battleground where, during the little amount of time she spends there, Sam is forced to fight with her parents over the wellbeing of her little brother. Dong is conflicted about where he stands in this ongoing war. On the one hand, he loves his sister and every day he spends with her is worth more than 100 days with his work obsessed parents however, as most children do, he feels an innate sense of loyalty to his parents that is hard to break away from.

Sam and Quinn met in pre-school and became fast friends because both of their favourite colours were light blue. This has since changed and now neither of them really know their favourite colours. Despite this loss of common ground they remained friends throughout primary and secondary school. They followed each other through everything which caused alot of the grown-ups in their life to joke that they were attached at the hip. They shared alot of the same interests, this was mainly a result of neither of them being able to shut up about this new cool thing they discovered until they could convince the other to also be interested. This is how they found the scene. At the age of 12, Quinn discovered her first alt song: Champagne For My Real Friends and Real Pain For My Sham Friends by Fall Out Boy. Quinn loved this song so much: the guitars, the lyricism, the drum beat that you could just find yourself tapping out with a pencil on your school desk for days. She began to listen to more and more of their music and then began branching out into other bands: My Chemical Romance, Panic at the Disco(though they were not as good after their first album), Sleeping With Sirens and other popular bands from the alt scene. It was almost impossible for Sam to have a conversation with her closest friend without hearing about these artists. So, naturally, she began to listen to them too. Sam immediately became hooked on it, much like her friend, and she gravitated towards the heavier stuff like Pierce the Veil, much to the dismay of her parents.

When the duo began secondary school they struggled to make friends due to their "offputting" interests. This changed however, when they met Felix Crown. One day in their first week, some of the year 8s were forced to come and give a presentation about some of the extracurricular activities the school offered. Felix was the representative for the Tabletop Gaming club and they seemed wholly uninterested in being there, clearly just attempting to get the job done as quickly as possible. At first neither of them found this lanky kid, who had the most unruly hair and the beginnings of a beard growth that really should have been shaved but hadn't been, to be of any interest at all. Until they noticed the pin badge on the lapel of his blazer. A marching skeleton in a military parade suit. The Black Parade logo. It took a while to track them down but after asking around for a few days they learned the kids name and that they usually hung out in the library at social times.

Initially Felix was unreceptive to the two girls attempts to befriend them however after a week of constant pestering they finally gave in and agreed to hang out with them that weekend under the terms that they got to choose where they went. That Sunday the trio entered an abandoned apartment building and sat on the floor sharing music. This was the first time that Sam and Quinn had ever been exposed to small bands and it opened up a whole new world of art and emotion for the two to explore.

A year later, when Sam was in year 8, Felix introduced them to Historic Records, the hottest record store for alt kids, and the Outhouse: the home of London's shittest music. 3 nights a week you could pay 5 pound entry for a night of shit music from a local band and deadly mosh pits. Sam and Quinn both had to lie to their parents about where they were going and after a few months of this they were found out. Their respective parents attempted to ground them but ended up finding open windows in their empty bedrooms.

In their 9th year, Quinn brought up the idea of starting a band and so they and Sam got to work convincing Felix to join them, which was surprisingly easy. Felix was far more enthusiastic than they had expected and they even introduced their new friend Andy to the group as they were in need of a lead guitarist and Andy played.

In the November of her 11th school year, Andy and Samantha found themselves stranded in Brighton following a concert that they had not told their parents about. They didn't consider the logistics of their return trip and as such had to spend the night huddled together beneath Andy's jacket on a bench in the train station. Despite the lengthy groundings they both received (and completely ignored) both of them hold it to this day as one of the coolest days of their lives.

Afterword

I made Piccrews for her family again!! Here are Jiang and Jun!

And here's Dong! My poor boy. :((

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

What are some background hcs you have for Harley Quinn?

Harley Quinn Background

ooo alright here we go! Pay attention to trigger warning especially this time, my loves, her story gets very dark at one point.

TW: physically abusive relationships, child death, violence

Harleen Quinzel was born to a very respectable upper middle class family in Brooklyn. For the most part it was a fairly normal upbringing. Dad always worked a bit too late, parents had very high expectations for her- ADHD that wouldn't be diagnosed until she was well into adulthood.

The problems came as she got older and her parents made it clear they wanted certain... oddities from their daughter to be curbed in. She'd always been a little wild, with some unique ideas on what it meant to be a lady. Tutus on dumpster truck toys she traded from the neighbors older brother for a candy bar. They would enroll her in gymnastic classes to get out that extra energy and verbally correct the rest of it.

Pick and pull and pluck at someone's personality enough and they'll bury it so far down it would take cadaver dogs to bring it back up.

By the time she was eighteen, her parents had successfully reined her in to be respectable and more than slightly neurotic. Masking galore despite not even knowing the term yet, full ride for a psychology degree paid by family savings, and a desperate need to please.

The last would only amplify as she went through her bachelor's then her doctorate... Failed romantic relationships because the moment people saw a fraction of the real her, it was too much. Or her parents disapproved.

In truth, she never should have been allowed to be Joker's psychologist. But it was earlier in grand scheme of things. Before Arkham required pre-interviews for anyone working with Joker. And the weekly check-ins.

The way he slithered into her heart with fake sob-stories of his childhood itself should have been criminal. Encouraged her to just be herself around him when no one else did. Soft touches on her hand when they pass by each other in the room or the halls.

Over the course of several months, Joker changed her. Convinced her he was the only one who truly understood her. That if she could just do one tiny little thing for him, she could be his forever... She was fired shortly after someone caught her kissing him on the cheek.

The gymnastic classes ended up coming in handy with her new criminal career as she broke him out of Arkham. A flip and a jump and some flexibility as she avoided the many cameras of the building. By the time anyone knew she was in the building with her costume on, it was far too late. Joker was free with his new partner Harley Quinn, named after the comedy character archetype.

She would be an essential part of her lover growing even bigger than ever before. Harley even came up with the concepts for Joker Venom :) both lethal and nonlethal versions.

The physical and psychological abuse started shortly after. It got to a point she started thinking of the Bobo Doll Experiment. It's fine! Hit her, stab her, kick her, she'll always bounce right back! Wobbling until she comes back upright to start all over again.

Somewhere between years of breaking up and getting back together again, covered in bruises, Harley meets Poison Ivy. From the first heist together, they get on like a house fire except for one thing: Pamela despises Joker and how he treats Harley.

She helps Harley pack her stuff every time they break up. Tries to convince her every time not to go back. Offers her to stay permanently and help build the crib when Harley finds out she's pregnant. She goes back.

Pamela is there to pick Harley up out of the god awful club he left her in. She "fell down the stairs" of the place and, from what Poison Ivy could see, hit every step and hand-railing on the way down. In hospital they found out Harley lost the baby.

The only thing that stopped Poison Ivy from killing the Joker herself was the idea that Harley might not ever fully forgive her. However, that didn't stop her from beating him within an inch of his life and dipping his feet into the acid of her giant pitcher plants. Her words, "If you ever hurt her again, I will watch my babies eat you alive."

The next time Pamela sees Harleen, Harley has already made the decision that this time was the last time. And that Poison Ivy is her soulmate. Romantic or not, that will depend upon HCs.

Harley has to learn how to love herself all over again. The real her. Not the version her parents wanted her to be. Or the version that man manipulated her to be. With new friends at her side and her opening up, she figures out how to hold her head high and be her delightfully weird self.

In this time she ends up evolving into more of an antihero that dances the lines. Dyed hair, charms attached to her belt buckles, stickers on her mallet and a wide toothy grin. She's diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD during one of her stints in Arkham post-Joker.

Many years into the future she and Batman will have something of a friendly alliance. And he'll tell her how proud he is at how far she's come. Yes, she cries and hugs him, to his awkward Dad-patting.

[leafs-lover]

How does Auston handle his kids dating? Is he strict with them like Paul or lets them have sleepovers and stuff?

I might have mentioned this before, but both Auston and Tia want their kids to be open with them about where they are, who their with, and that applies to dating. Tia is very strong in her belief that strict parenting only leads to them lying and potentially not being safe. If their kids do lie and go to a party when they say they are at a friends (let’s be real, every kid does that) if they call for a ride or anything, they won’t punish them because they are thankful they called them to get home safely (they also believe the hangover is punishment enough😂).

They do let Taylours gf stay over, but in a separate room. One night when he is almost 17 they walk by and see them passed out in his bed with a movie playing. Tia says they should wake him and have Taylor move, but Auston is like “he’s almost 17, it’s fine T” and Tia quickly reminds him that what they let him do they have to let all their kids do, but because Maddie isn’t even a teenager Auston doesn’t give it a second thought.

Fast forward to Maddies teen years, and Auston is losing his mind. Maddie has a fake ID (which they confiscate) and she gets another one. They find drugs and alcohol in her room, she’ll leave her bedside drawer open with a condom box fully on display when Auston is putting away laundry. He takes the box to Tia (who already kinda knew because she took Maddie to get bc, she wasn’t having sex at the time but just wanted to be prepared and made her promise to always use condoms when the time came) and says she can’t be going out every night, that when she says she is sleeping at a friends she probably isn’t and instead is having sex, and basically says they need to be stricter with her. Tia then reminds him that they let Taylour go to parties, and his gf used to sleep over (in a guest room) at her age, and they can’t stop Maddie from doing it solely because she is a girl. That of course annoys him to no end, and he tries to fight her on it, and Tia tells him the only way they can say no to her doing all those things is if she breaks their trust (and when they find her second fake ID and tattoo they do take away those privileges, but she earns them back).

By the time Quinn is a teenager, Auston swears he is having an ulcer. Something happened with Maddie (won’t say what because spoilers) but he wants to be even more protective of Quinn as a result). Quinn is a little different though (not to say she doesn’t have her moments) but at 12 she went out with some friends and about an hour in she calls Auston to come get her. He picks her up at a park and when he asks what happened she says her friends were going to smoke some weed and she didn’t want to, she decided to go home instead. Of course Auston loves that not only did she leave, she actually told him about it, and the first time she smokes it is actually at home with her siblings a few years later. He is still uncomfortable with her boyfriend spending the night (and it seems like the age in which bf/gf can share a bed dropped with each kid because Quinn was 15) and he hates himself for not listening to Tia years ago, because if he never let Tayloiur’s gf sleep in his bed than none of the kids would be allowed to.

[the-firebird69]

JOKER 2: Folie à Deux – Full Trailer (2024) Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix M...

I know something he's ending up in the mental hospital and it is an analogy to our character and my character in his character and he goes in there and he gets out and by killing them but they are saying that it's actually my husband and they say it's towards the end like told you I'm just getting small and that's what they are going to try and do in New York City and what he says is I don't think so and they did it with other movies in the past and they did not succeed at their stuff but it's going to be the thing that it's looming and the blame other people but sometimes they plan to do these things so I am worried

Hera

The lady is not supposed to be say this but F them we don't like those places they're evil they never do a damn thing for you and you let things go your bills to places your ass your group needs you you have to do things and people screw around with you from other groups and it's a waste of time I'm tired of this b******* if you people do this to me you're in a lot of trouble he says it too A lot of people died at Saint Elizabeth to get him out and people are killing people to get him out and you people are nuts the military went to UMass and it's Trump you're an idiot and the military went there and you put him into Westfield State westborough and you get slaughtered and just keep doing it he's not sure if the macs having it done, he correctly then says that they put me in there to rile up Clinton who is Trump who's in and out of the stupid mental hospital going to court shaved his teeth so he people had him do that and also to get mad and I saw it too he says what do I do this is you can't do much in here so you got out and you was doing stuff but he was trying to put me in here so we don't get stuck and other stuff so you fell down again a little but really they're doing it and they're messing around with our friend here and threatening him and analogy to try and capture his people and they did it for a while and they say they'll do it again and they're not really taking into account what he can do that's the nature of this movie and his parents were telling him and he's doing things they're not clown things it's very serious. The whole world is at their doorstep and they will not back off this stupid act of theirs they won't stop saying the stupid stuff it looks really bad when you confront one with it and it's weird to like a Medusa it's something with a computer and it's like a virus that sneaks up on it and then recedes and someone say it's close it's a system that does it but that's what these Max I like in the mirror is twofold Claudia said they come from behind and it's true you can locate them near you the other thing is to look at the past and examine your life and how things happened and they have a weakness there this guy does it all the time he's constantly doing it I was answering questions they don't think anyone can do anything about what happened and we know he can this is horrible to say about someone and it's me and my husband that they're talking about

Lily

They're very gross people and they're very racist against us and him but really they want to do this put us down after having us come out this way thousands of years ago and I can't sick of it it's wrong

Jaquin Phoenix

You don't like to say you hit it on the money that's what we plan to do and you going around with your friends feeding your friends and you look awful we plan to do that too

Macs

It's a precursor for another movie and it might be Harley Quinn too

Thor Freya

Olympus

[newyorkbynightrp]

Full name: Alexis Jane Fabray

Birth date: February 1st, 4th born

Age: 25

Sexuality: UTP

Occupation: Dog groomer at Petropolis

Alter ego: None

Ability: None

Allegiance: Civilian

Bio: Alexis has never really understood her siblings. Of course she still loved them but she didn’t understand their negative outlooks on the world and each other. Then again, that is the kind of person Lexi has always been: sweet, kind, and horrendously naive. As she was the youngest, her family would always ‘aww’ over how cute she was and continued to do so into her late teens. Lexi has never had to have any responsibilities due to her age and carefree nature. So when she was deemed ‘grown up’ and thrown out of her parent’s home, it was quite a shock to her. After she was left without a home, Lexi decided that she wanted to go somewhere new and ended up following her sisters to New York. Once there, she still felt lost, so she latched onto anyone she could. That turned out to be Stephan Hudson. Her love for animals and sweet personality quickly got her a place working at a pet store near to her apartment that she shares with Mike Chang.

Life as a Citizen: Lexi has no dealings with The Vigilantes or The Reckoning (unbeknownst to her, one of her sisters is a member of the former). Her boyfriend, Stephan, used to be a gangster. However, once they got together, she insisted that he should stop associating with them. Stephan agreed although, secretly, he did not really leave The Vendettas. He simply plays a lesser role than he did in the past. Lexi knows nothing of his continued allegiance and is head-over-heels in love with him.

Stats

Charisma: +4

Intelligence: +3

Athleticism: +3

Power: +0

Relationships:

Frances ‘Frannie’ Fabray - Eldest sister.

Frannie is probably Lexi’s favourite sister - although she would never admit it because that would be mean to the others. Frannie has always been the one who listened and cared for Lexi the most whilst their parents were away or decided not to pay attention.

Rosalie Fabray - Elder sister.

Sometimes Lexi finds that she can’t look at Rosalie because it makes her sad. She believes that it is her and the other quads’ fault that Rosalie needs that chair. Rosalie also makes Lexi feel a little stupid when they are around each other as she uses big words that Lexi has trouble understanding.

Charlotte ‘Candy’ Fabray and Lucy ‘Quinn’ Fabray - Elder sisters.

When they were younger, all of the girls - including Rosalie and Frannie - were as thick as thieves. Frannie would show her younger siblings how to properly play dress up and they would have sleepovers in each others’ rooms.

But then came the time to grow up and the girls drifted apart, especially Charlotte and Lucy. Lexi had always loved her sisters’ hair and names - Charlotte’s was always a lot thicker than Lexi’s and Lucy’s was a lovely red - but soon they began to change everything about themselves. Lucy started going by her middle name Quinn, changed her face, and started acting like she was better than everyone else. Then Charlotte demanded that no one use her full name and they called her ‘Candy’ instead; she dyed her hair pink and started pushing everyone away.

And then there was just Lexi sad and confused as to what had happened to make her big sisters go away.

Stephan Hudson - Boyfriend.

Lexi and Stephan met over a year ago when he came into the pet shop she worked at to buy some more food for a friend’s goldfish he was looking after. He got really confused and almost bought cat food before Lexi hurried over to him and explained he was in the wrong aisle. She took him over to the fish stuff and they got chatting. Lexi found herself giggling a lot more than she had been recently and just before he left he slipped her his number.

Brittany Pierce - Best friend.

Lexi and Britt have been friends ever since Lexi bumped into her on the way into their apartment complex. Brittany told her she was looking for fairies and that Lexi should help her because they like pretty people. Lexi had agreed to help and they’ve been hunting magic creatures together ever since.

Noah ‘Puck’ Puckerman - Friend, mainly through Stephan.

Lexi is a little worried that Puck is a bad influence on Stephan and may try and get him to go back to his womanizing ways.

Mike Chang - Roommate.

Lexi thinks that Mike is adorable and frequently asks him to show her some dance moves whenever she gets in from work.

The Lopez sisters and Charlie Puckerman

Lexi knows of Santana, Cameron, and Charlie because they attended her school and because Santana was friends with Quinn.

Trivia about this character: UTP

OOC Information: 

Ships:  Lexi/Chemistry

Anti-ships:  Lexi/No Chemistry, Lexi/Forced

Lexi is TAKEN [By Samber]

[puppy-coded]

Haircut {E.M.}

✰ 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Light swearing

✰ 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

✰ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 850 words

✰ 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: You teach Eddie how to take care of his hair after he chops it all off.

✰ 𝐀/𝐍: Just a quick little thing I thought of earlier. Would Eddie ever cut off his hair? No. Does Joseph Quinn growing out his hair look frickin’ adorable? Yes. Love it. And yes, this was inspired by Joseph Quinn telling Eddie to get a haircut in that one video.

You and Eddie were doing homework in silence when he suddenly piped up.

“Babe, what would you do if I got a haircut?” He asked quietly. It was the first time he’s ever seemed timid before.

You paused your essay writing and looked at him in confusion. “Why would you get a haircut?”

“If I got a real job then I guess this wouldn’t be acceptable. Unless the band does really well.” He explained, curling the ends of his hair with his fingers.

You looked up with a caring expression. “Eddie, I am a hundred percent okay with you dealing drugs as long as you keep your hair long.”

It took Eddie a few moments to realize what just happened. “I already deal drugs.”

You clapped happily. “Then it’s settled! You won’t get a haircut.” 

. . .

Eddie came up behind you and hugged you from behind, resting his head on the top of your head.

“So... I thought it over and I decided to do it,” He told you.

You put your stuff in your locker and unwrapped yourself from his arms. “What do you-” You cut yourself off when you saw him. “Oh my lord!”

He smiled widely at you. “Surprise!”

“Eddie! Your luscious locks.” You responded dramatically, your hand going to where his hair used to go to.”They’re gone.”

“I know!” He responded, matching your energy. “I had to cut my beautiful mane. Mostly because I want to make you proud.” He said with a fake hair flip since he didn’t have his long hair anymore.

“What do you mean?” You asked.

Eddie started twiddling with the strap of his backpack. “I need to do more with my life than what I’m already doing.”

“Wait actually?” You asked, surprised by the change of heart.

“No! Of course not! Why would you think I’m planning on being a functional adult? It was just hard to keep up with so I decided to chop it off.” He explained, slightly offended by your assumption.

You averted your eyes to avoid eye contact and scratched your head. “Oh.”

“But feel it!” He encouraged, showing you the top of his head and petting it. “It’s soft because of something called conditioner.”

You had reached out to notice that, yeah, it was a lot softer than it used to be. “Wait, Eddie, did you not use conditioner before?”

“No...?” 

“What about shampoo?” You asked, putting your hands on your hips now.

He scratched his head and looked confused. “Isn’t that for girls?”

“Eddie! No wonder you didn’t like your long hair. You never took care of it!”

“I brushed it out.” He tried defending.

“Eddie, you’re not supposed to brush curly hair. Just... I’ll help you.” You said. “I’ll stop by yours after school.”

You closed your locker and walked off, leaving a very confused Eddie.

“What the hell is conditioner?” He muttered to himself.

. . .

You walked into his room with a bag in your hand full of hair care stuff. You threw the bag at him wordless and started going through it.

“What’s all this?” He asked.

“See this? It’s shampoo and conditioner.” You told him, holding up the two bottles.

He nodded. “Right.”

You pulled out a comb and ran your finger over the teeth so it made a sound. “See this? It’s a comb. Use it.”

“Okay.”

“These are scrunchies.” You said, holding up about ten.

Eddie nodded again. “I know. Chrissy wears them.”

“They’re supposed to protect your hair.” You briefly explained.

“Oh.”

“Got all of that?”

“Yes mom. I got it.” He teased.

. . .

You had spent the night at Eddie’s and needed to take a shower before going home otherwise you’d smell like weed and shitty cologne. 

Your parents would not approve if you came home smelling like that.

Unfortunately for you though, your boyfriend was up before you. And was taking forever in the shower.

“Eddie! Stop hogging the shower!” You yelled through the door.

“You’re welcome to join me.” Eddie responded calmly.

You scoffed and knocked harder. “In your dreams mate.”

You heard Eddie’s adorable little chuckle through the door. “You don’t want to know what my dreams consist of.” 

What he said was not as adorable.

“Hurry the hell up!” 

“I’m washing my hair!” He informed you.

“Eddie!” You yelled in response, threatening to break the door down.

“Hurrying babe. Hurrying.”

. . .

You and Eddie were laying on his bed one night. He had his head in your lap and you were messing with his hair while you read. One thing you learned about Eddie was that his hair grew pretty quickly. It’s been almost a month and his hair was already to the tips of his ears.

“Actually, I like your short hair. It’s grown on me.” You said, bouncing the little curls slowly.

Eddie groaned as he sat up. “Dude. I just decided to grow my hair out again.”

“Are we just that out of sync?” You asked him, now a little upset about his hair again.

“Who cares. We love each other.” He said, squeezing you in a hug.

“Sure do!” You responded happily.

[miraculous-trinity-leo]

Whacky Gotham, Goofy New York, and Chaotic Paris.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)

Chapter 5: Then Let The Games Begin

•—–—–·†·–—–—•

Soooo, the Batfam is panicking, Gotham's confused as to why Iron Man is flying over Gotham like a madman, and Maria is with two of Gotham's Sirens (but only Ivy and Harley know this) having a wonderful time playing with Bud and Lou.

Let's start with the Sirens.

Harley is watching over Maria and Tikki as they sleep with Bud and Lou, Ivy walkes over to sit next to Harley, handing her a cup of tea.

"So, what's the diagnosis?" - Ivy

"She has some sort of trauma, has class issues... and handles more than she should, but still does everythin', on top of bein' a hero. She's been through some sh-t Pam." Yeah Harley may have found out Maria's a hero (if the tiny god and magic were anything to go by).

"Is she alone?" - Ivy

"No, thankfully, she has supportive parents, and friends that aren't little sh-ts. I think they're also heroes, she also has a lot, and I a mean A LOT of pent up emotions, she doesn't show anythin' negative, only positive things. She seems to shrink in on herself if she thinks she does somethin' wrong. Pam, we both know there's a limit to how much crap a person can take before they snap, and she's such a sweet kid. There has to be somethin' we can do to help her Ives." Ok she found out alot, but in Marias' defense, they have trustworthy souls, and they were the only other people (besides her friends) that she talked to about it, yes she had her Maman and Uncle to talk about hero stuff, but for the stuff her class does, she only ever vented (without being negative) to her friends.

"Her class is visiting the Botanical Gardens in three days, and it's a 2 part tour, so we can see just what's going on. If it's bad then we scare them a bit, if it's bad bad... they can handle a few slightly poisonous plants right?" - Ivy

"God I love the way ya think Ives, do ya think she can stay with us? I mean look at how cute she is with Bud and Lou... Oh my god, she's cuddlin' dem, and ya gave her a flower crown, how'd I miss that?! Where's the camera?"

Harley took a picture to remind her of this wonderful moment. As Ivy and Harley looked at the picture, they both promised to keep Maria safe, and maybe become sorta kinda-ish parents to her while she's in Gotham.

•—–·Now back to the Bat-Chaos Bat-Cave·–—•

Tim took over the chair and was now searching the possible locations with Jarvis, Damian was sitting on a different chair, trying to act cool, but he wouldn't stop looking over at Tim, to see his progress. Bruce was talking over the comms with Tony. Dick and Jason, weren't helping (they kept feeding each other worse and worse ideas of what could have happened to Maria). Then they heard Jarvis speak.

"I have found the most likely area Ms. Dupain-Cheng would be in. Her phone died about 56 blocks away from her hotel, if we don't count kidnapping, or murder, she would have thought about asking for directions, but may have decided not to considering the city she is in. So that leaves us with a possible 15-25 mile radius from her last known location. I think it best to divide into groups of two, have Oracle stay and update you if anything on security, and or traffic cameras happens. Bruce will be with Tony, Dick will go with Tim, and Jason will go with Damain to search within the area. Stephanie and Cassandra will search around a 5 mile radius near Wayne hotel." as Jarvis continued to explain the other details, the Batfam began to suit up, Batman met up with Iron Man, and they took the North area, Nightwing and Red Robin took the East area, while Red Hood and Robin searched the South. Steph and Cass were on foot in civilian clothes, searching the West area they were assigned.

They searched for the whole day, and came up with nothing. Until Oracle saw a video from a traffic cam around 9pm, 15 blocks away from where her phone died. She called it in and everyone went back to the cave. Once everyone was at the Bat-Computer, Oracle pressed play, the cameras didn't have sound, and it wasn't close enough to see if she was ok.

They watched as she went to an overgrown parking lot and sat down. She was looking down at the ground, and that's when they spotted two figures round the corner and spot her. They watched as the two figures approach Maria, and saw the startled reaction she had. They realized it was Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy that were talking to her, then they saw Maria collapse. They watched as Harley made sure she was ok, looking over to Ivy before looking back to Maria and picking her up. The last thing they saw, was Maria being carried away by two of Gothams' most dangerous rouges, but now they knew where to look next.

•—–· Back to Ivy and Harley ·–—•

Harley continued to take adorable pictures of the children.

"God, they're so f-ckin' cute!" - Harley for the 20th time

As Ivy continued to watch while caring for her plants, Catwoman walked in.

"Hey girls, got the stuff for movie night, so what are we- Holy mother of cats! He adopted another f-cking child didn't he! Where the hell does he keep finding them?! 7 was ment to be the god DAMN LIMIT!!!" - Catwoman

Maria jumped at the sudden shouting and may have accidentally summoned a yo-yo (one made useing creation magic and protection magic) before saying.

"Tikki where's the akuma?! How long was I out?! Forget it Tikki spot-" she then realized she wasn't in Paris, and seeing a new face, she also realized she just spilled her secret to another person within the same day... kinda

"Fffffffffffudge sunday that fell on the pavement!" - Maria shouted in baker profanities

"That's not how ya curse sweetheart. It should go more like-" Harley was cut off by a vine Ivy had summoned.

"Harley, cursing makes the plants sad, you know this." - Ivy said removing the vine

Harley just walked over to Maria and whipsered it in her ear.

"You're supposed to say it more like this, ' ..... .... ... .. ....... .. ... .....' ok?" - Harley ended with a big smile

"... I will never see this world in the same frickin' light ever again." - Maria

"ehh close enough." - Harley

"Can someone please tell me, WTH is going on here, on our special girls day off?!" - Catwoman

"She is a new member of the Sirens as of today, and as a member, she's unda our protection, so effective immediately." - Harley

"Cool." - Maria

"Harley." - Ivy

"Wut... first things first, if she is going to join, she needs to be very flexible, know how to fight, and be incredibly intelligent." - Catwoman

"She beat Ed's @ss with a gun pointed at her, and solved every riddle with ease, so I'm positive she'll be an amazin' addition to the team." - Harley

'God she sounds like a new mother now' "But we don't know how good her flexibility is." - Catwoman

"I know, hey Maria, ya wanna do some tricks with me, of course we need to stretch first, but do ya wanna give it a go?" - Harley

"Sure." - Maria

Ivy and Catwoman sat down on a couch a few feet away from where Maria and Harley stood in the empty part of the building. They started out with stretches, and to Catwoman's surprise (and Harley's delight) Maria copied Harleys streches perfectly.

"Ok, now that that's done, we'll start with some cartwheels, then move on to flips, then handsprings and so on." - Harley

Maria gave Harley a nod... and they were off... literally, Harley did a cartwheel into a handspring, and a few backflips, Maria executed it flawlessly. Harley did some more complicated gymnastics tricks, and Maria did it, Harley did triple backflips going into a cartwheel, into a summersault, and Maria did that perfectly as well. This went on until both Harley and Maria were slightly out of breath, both having massive smiles on their faces.

"Ives, please let her join, she's like a mini me." - Harley then hugged Maria and they somehow both tripled in cuteness as they both did puppy (or Puss In Boots style) eyes at Catwoman and Ivy.

"Sure Harley." - Ivy said walking over to give Harley a small kiss on the cheek.

"Okay... but she doesn't have a costume yet, and she still has to think of a name for herself." - Catwoman

"Is a mouse good, like a mouse themed costume, that or a Turtle themed one. What do you think Harley?" - Maria

"Mmmm, I like that with the mouse you can always toy with Cat, ya know, cat an' mouse stuff, turtle seems... weird even fawh Gotham, so personally I would pick mouse, just because of the cheesy jokes you could do." - Harley

"Very funny, ok then, give me a moment."  Maria then reached out her hand, her eyes then started to glow an icy blue, and a small portal opened in front of her, she reached in and pulled out a small pendant necklace. After she put it on a small mouce appeared and greated itself, Marias' eyes going back to normal after closing the portal.

"Hello I'm Mullo, nice to meet you all."

"Omg omg omg, It's soooo f-ckin' CUTE!" - Harley

"Best to assume all of them are extremely cute Harls." - Ivy

"What the Hell did I miss in the week I was gone?!" - Catwoman

"Ehh, not much, oh but Iron Man did fly aroun' Gotham a few times earlier this mornin' like a madman." - Harley

"Oh sh-t." - Maria

"Maria are ya ok? That was ya first official proper curse in my presence." Harley said looking over to the girl.

"He's gonna kill me." - Maria

"Wait, what do you mean Marigold?" - Ivy

"... He's my Uncle, and I never got to text him I was ok, since my phone died before I met you." - Maria

"Hey, I'm sure he'll understand, now what are we watchin'?" - Harley

"I think we have more important matters other than movies at the moment!" - Catwoman

"Ok, Me Myself and Irene it is." - Harley

"No! You basically kidnapped Iron Mans' NIECE!!!" - Catwoman

"Technically, she fainted and us bein' the good Gothamites we are, decided to take her with us, to make sure she was a-okay." - Harley

"I'm ganna need more than just a six pack of soda to get me through this... Just put the movie on already." - Catwoman

Catwoman sat at the far left end of the couch, next to her sat Ivy, then Maria, and then Harley, Bud and Lou by their feet. All of them sharing one big blanket (Becuase if Iron Man did show up, or any of the birds, then Maria was in a protective burrito and they may not see her right away) and they started the movie.

•—–·–—•

"Oh god, the poor cow." - Maria

.........

"Hahahaha, he stuck a whole f-ckin' chicken head in that guys @ss" - Harley

"The poor chicken." - Maria

"Maria you don't want to see this part." - Ivy then lightly covered her eyes for the ehem, chicken extraction.

.........

"Anyone up for another movie?" - Harley

"That depends." - Ivy

"Any suggestions Cat?" - Harley looked across to the other end of the couch to see Catwoman already sleeping.

"She took her cat-nap already? Seriously?" - Harley

"... What about Pirates of The Caribbean?" - Maria

"I'm good with that." - Ivy

And they started the next movie, Maria was happy, it felt like when her maman and papa would sleep with her when she made a pillow fort. It was a loving atmosphere, it felt safe, and nothing could ruin it. Marias' eyes became heavy, and she leaned her head on Harleys' shoulder, falling asleep after a few minutes.

Ivy paused the move looking over to see both Harley and Maria sleeping, soon Ivy also fell asleep in the comfortable silence.

…………………………

Around an hour later Maria woke up in a panic, she had a nightmare, and kept looking around frantically for someone with tears running down her face.

"What's the matter hun?" - Harley said looking around to see if someone had gotten in. When she looked back at Maria she saw that she was crying.

"What happened?" Harley asked in a kind voice that was filled with motherly love.

"I, just *hic* had a bad dream that's *hic* all, I'm fine." - Maira said trying to wipe the tears away.

"You're ok, I promise nothin's goin' to happen to ya as long as Ivy and I are here, ok hun?" - Harley hugged Maria, and she could feel the girl let out a few more sobs, and quick breathes.

"Thanks Maman." Maria didn't even realize what she had said, it just felt natural for her to say it.

"You're welcome hun." 'Omg I'm gonna cry, she called me maman!' Harley rubbed small circles over Marias' back, and began humming until she fell asleep, she continued to hug Maria until she also fell asleep.

•—–· Back to the Chaos Bat-Cave ·–—•

"What do you mean she's with two of Gotham City's Sirens?!" - Tony

"Tony, calm down, I'll call Selina, she can talk to them and get this all sorted out." - Bruce

"Your fiancee is a Gotham Siren too?! Why didn't you tell me?!" - Tony

"Why isn't she picking up? And unlike some people, this family doesn't like outing our secret identities... on live TV." - Bruce

"Oh well excuse me for not keeping my secret identity a SECRET!" - Tony

"I'll try calling her one more time." - Bruce

"Bruce, it's 3am. Who in their right mind ever stays up this late.... aside from this family." - Tim with a giant coffee mug in hand.

"... I'll just call her one more time." Bruce then connected it to the Bat-Computer so everyone could hear.

•—–· Back to the Sirens ·–—•

Catwoman's phone is ringing like crazy, waking everyone up, including a tired, annoyed, and confused Selina.

"Wth does he want at 3 in the morning?!" - Selina

"Just answer it so we can keep sleepin'." - Harley still hugging Maria

"I'm putting it on speaker, so you lot can testify against his @ss in court, for disturbing the peace."

•—–· Over to Batsy ·–—•

"Selina I need to ask-"

"WHAT THE F-CKING HELL DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT A GOOD NIGHTS REST!" - Selina

"Oooooh, she sounds pissed Bruce." - Jason

"I'm sorry to call you at this hour, but we need to find a girl that looks just like every single one of my other kids." - Bruce

"Bruce... I thought we agreed that 7 kids was. the. f-cking. limit." - Selina

•—–· Back to the Sirens ·–—•

Selina looked over to Maria before muting the speaker.

"Do you want them to know you're here Kitten?" - Selina

"... I'm tired, I haven't had coffee, I have no filter, so f-ck it, act like you never saw me today, and let them drown in chaos. " - Maria

"I think I like filter less Maria." - Harley

"Okay." Selina shrugged her shoulders and then un-muted her phone, putting it back on speaker mode.

"Where was she last seen?" - Selina

"She was last seen with Harley and Poison Ivy, I want you to see if she's still with them." - Bruce

Selina looked over to Maria and Harley, both of them shook their heads with mischievous grins.

"I've been with them all day, and I haven't once seen a girl that looks like your kids. Now can I go back to sleep, and forget this ever happened?" - Selina

"WHERE IS MY NIECE!!!" - Tony

"Oh, hey Tony, didn't know you were there, don't know who, or where your niece is, but good luck trying to find her. Oh and Bruce, I'm shutting my phone off so you don't keep calling till the butt crack of dawn. And congrats it's now 4am. you owe me a lunch date, uh-ba-bye." Selina then hung up her phone and turned it off.

"That went pretty well if you ask me, now I'm going back to sleep." - Selina

•—–· Back to Batsy ·–—•

The room was silent for a few minutes before Jason spoke up.

"Does that mean that Pixiepop ran away and is even more lost now?!" - Jason

"Oh god, what do we do, what if she got hurt?!" - Dick

"What if she got kidnapped?!" - Jason

"What if she's with a big time Gotham Villain?!" - Dick

"... What if she got more coffee?" - Tim

"Oh Hell No" - Jason/Dick

"... Lets all go to sleep, and when we wake up, we'll head over to their base and double check. She could've just said that because I called her at 3am." - Bruce

"But my niece is still out there!" - Tony

"You're going to sleep Tony." - Pepper then dragged Tony to his room.

•—–· Back to Maria ·–—•

Selina went to a different part of the building, where Maria assumed the bedrooms were. Ivy had gone to the greenhouse to be with the plants, and now it was just her and Harley left on the couch, and she couldn't sleep.

"... Harley?" - Maria

"Yeah hun?" - Harley

"I can't sleep." - Maria

"Well, watcha wanna do till ya get tired?" Harley asked sitting up a little straighter to get a better look at Maria.

Maria gave a sly smile, and looked Harley in the eyes "Want to go free-running on the rooftops?"

"... Alright, but lets get some coffee, and a snack in us first." - Harley gave her a side hug, before getting up to go make the coffee, and grab some snacks.

After they had their coffee, they climbed to the roof of the base. Harley was in her outfit, bat in hand and ready to do some bonding.

"So, how does ya outfit work?" - Harley

"Like so, ready Mullo?" - Maria

"Yes Maria" - Mullo

"Ok, Mullo, Get Squeaky!" A bright light flashes, and when Harley could see again, Maria was in a dark gray suit, wearing black knee high boots, with a strip of pink at the knee, and black elbow length gloves with the same pink strip at her elbow. Her mask was a slightly lighter gray on the top part, and pink on the bottom. Her hair was pulled into two buns with pink ribbons that faded to gray, and to black at the very tip. Her jump rope around her waist forming a tail going just below the back of her knees.

"Just when I think ya can't get any more adorable. So what should I call ya?" - Harley

"You can call me Multimouse." - Maria

Soon they were racing and doing tricks off different roofs, they were really enjoying themselves. From one of the roofs they heard a commotion in one of the alleys, when they looked down they saw a man holding a woman at gunpoint.

"Not good, seems like he's got issues, probably lost his lover, most likely has additions to drugs and alcohol, and seems to be a little tipsy." - Harley

"I've got a plan." - Multimouse

…………

Multimouse droped a little way behind the guy, grabbing his attention while Harley got the lady to safety.

"You know there's a help center two blocks from here that would be more than willing to help you." - Multimouse

The crook just raised his gun to her trying to keep it steady as he spoke.

"Give me all your money little girl, or else I'll hurt you."

"1. That's not how you hold a gun. 2. That is no way to treat any girl. and 3. Instead of money, I'll give you my jump rope." - Multimouse

"Why the hell would I want your jump rope, that thing looks worthless." the crook lowered his guard enough as Multimouse pretended to hand over her jump rope, only to use it in a quick motion to dismarm the man, as Harley promptly knocked him out with one swing.

"Lets neva have ya at gunpoint again, okay hun? I'm afraid my heart can't take it." - Harley said while tying the crook to a lamppost.

"Sorry, but it was the best idea I could come up with at the moment, besides, any guy with a gun would feel like they have the upper hand if they're facing a random little girl with a jump rope, rather than Gothams' Harley Quinn with a bat." - Multimouse

"Sadly I'm just too popular with the kiddos on the street." - Harley

…………

They continued to stop a few more muggers on the way back to the base, and when they got back they peaked around the corner to see the whole Batfam plus Iron Man talking with Ivy and Selina.

"How much you want to bet we can get back out before they see us?" - Whispering Multimouse

"... Lets try hidin' in the kitchen." - Whispering Harley

As they tried to sneak by (still in their costumes) Selina just walks over and draggs them to the group.

"Here, now let me sleep!" - Selina

"Dang it Selina we wanted tah see just how long we could hide out in the kitchen!" - Harley

Selina did a double take now realizing they both went out.

"... You didn't." - Selina

"We wanted tah go free-runnin'! So what?" - Harley

"She could've gotten hurt Harls." - Ivy

"My suits magic, I am invulnerable to bullets, normal magic, swords, knifes, anything staby staby, and I can withstand any temperature in it." Multimouse said with a slight pout.

"Hold up, is she a magical girl?" - Red Hood in the background

When Selina let go both Harley and Multimouse went behind Ivy for protection.

"We can still make a run for it." - Harley whispered to Multimouse

"... Ok, I'll meet you on the roof." - Whispering Multimouse

Harley gave a nod as she slowly inched her wasy closer to the door that lead to the roof, as she saw Iron Man approach Multimouse.

"Please get out of your suit, we need to talk about why you're here-" - Iron Man

"Multitute!" - Multimouse

Harley then saw Multimouse shrink into dozens of tiny little versions of herself as her clones spread out in all directions, one of which was heading right for her.

"Wth, you never told us she could use magic!" - Red Robin

Harley picked her up, and slipped through the door without anyone noticing.

"That was great, but how do ya get back tuh normal size?" - Harley

"Simple, I just merge back with my clones." As she said this, all her clones came back, and she merged with herself, becoming normal sized again.

"Where to?" - Multimouse

………… So now The Batfam is trying to find many long gone Mini-Multimouses, and Harley seems to have disappeared with her. Harley and Multimouse are now running over the roofs, heading for Wayne Manor.

"So why are we going to Wayne Manor?" - Multimouse

"Because, Batsy will neva think of lookin' for us at his own home, at least not fawh a little while." - Harley

When they arrived at the Manor, Multimouse de-transformed as Harley knocked on the door.

"Ms. Quinn, Ms. Maria, pleasure to see you here, please come in." - Alfred

"Are any of the bat-birds here?" - Harley

"Ms. Barbara, Ms. Stephanie, and Ms. Cassandra are the only ones here at the moment." - Alfred

"Do ya think you can keep us bein' here a secret from Batsy?" - Harley

"Harley? What are you doing here with Maria?" - Barbara

"It seems that Ms. Harley and Ms. Maria are now playing hide and seek with the rest of the family." - Alfred

"Did someone say hide and seek?" - Steph

"Yes, so could we maybe try and keep this a secret from everyone else, please?" - Maria

"Sure, it was starting to get boring around here. We can all hide in the living room no one ever use. Barbara you show them the way, I'll get the food/drinks and boardgames." - Steph

"Is this alright with you Alfred?" Maria

"It's all right Ms. Maria, you can hide out in the old living room." - Alfred

"Thanks Alfie, ya the best." - Harley

"Thank you Alfred." - Maria

"Ok then, follow me." - Barbara

…………

In the old living room, Harley, Maria, Barbara, Steph, and Cass began to formulate a plan.

"Ok, so the best way for them to never find you is to have your phone off, stay away from any and all cameras, and show your face to no one." - Steph

"So, do you have anything in mind that you might want to do?" - Barbara

"Can we put them on a wild goose chase?" - Maria

Cass nodded to Marias' suggestion approvingly.

"I can hack a few traffic cams to help with that." - Barbara

"We can also throw in some useless hints, to throw dem even further off our scent." - Harley

"Good idea Harley." - Barbara

"Thanks, but how long do ya think we should make it last?" - Harley

"As long as Maria wants it to." - Barbara

"Then let the games begin." - Maria.

•—–—–·†·–—–—•

Chapter 5 complete. Hope everyone is stayin' safe, Rockin' those Positive Vibes, and havin' an absolutely wonderful day. BUG-OUT 🐞💮🐞

〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜Tag List〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜

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[hadtochangemyurlquick]

here’s 7.1k of Toni pining and Shelby and Toni being childhood friends and also far more character analysis of Rachel than I was expecting? also Marcus is real and I made him a gorgeous himbo. it’s based off that poem by @theycallmedizzy and you can find it here. lmk if you want a second chapter from shelby’s perspective, tho i literally just finished this one. like literally ten minute ago.

Mr. Williams finishes reading the poem and looks over his spectacles at the class. Yes, they’re spectacles, those kind of tiny thick ones that make his eyes too big because he’s much too old to be teaching.

It’s eight am on a Tuesday, Toni walked the three miles to school because she missed the bus only to walk into her shitty honors English class and hear the teacher reading a poem aloud to the class. Her poem. She’d sat down after a momentary pause and listened to him read the final damning stanza.

And then he looks at Toni.

He reads her essays right? What if he recognizes her writing voice? Is that a thing? Or maybe her handwriting or—

“Toni, I was just explaining to the class that whoever wrote this should submit it to the state literature festival,” Mr. Williams says, Toni almost sags against her chair. “I was hoping someone would come forward,” He turns back to the class, eyes hovering over Quinn and Monty, two of the more sensitive guys who sit in the back and ruin the curve for everyone. “But I’ll leave it on the board here,” he clacks it on with a magnet and Toni flinches, “and hopefully someone will come forward. Now onto today’s lesson.”

After class Martha goes up to the board and takes a picture of it, her eyes a little starry at the words and Toni grits her teeth.

“You have to admit it’s pretty,” Martha says. “Even you can’t deny that.”

“It’s dumb,” Toni says flatly, crossing her arms.

“Well I’m keeping it anyway, maybe someday someone will write a poem about me,” Martha says.

“How do you know it’s not about you?” Shelby asks coming out of nowhere and uninvited too. Toni glares at her, letting her open disdain shine through like sunshine through clouds after a gully washer.

“No guys notice me,” Martha informs Shelby sadly. “I bet Andrew wrote it for you.”

Shelby purses her lips and looks over the poem, “I doubt it. He’s more of a doer, I think. Besides, I’m sure that guys notice you, you went on a date with that boy Sam last month.”

Martha sighs and before she can launch into what a disaster that date was, Toni tightens her hands around her backpack.

“I’ll see you in science,” She tells Martha and manages to escape Shelby’s eyes burning at the back of her neck.

———

reasons not to kiss her

1.) this sort of love is not allowed. you are both too soft, and the world around you is all knives and chipped teeth

Toni had played about every sport she was allowed to growing up. Basketball was her favorite, but she loved beat it ball, the game she made up with the other kids in the neighborhood. It was basketball but without rules, devolving into fist fights within the first half. Nothing tasted better than her own bloody lip on a hot summer day. Not even the cool glass of lemonade Mrs. Blackburn always had ready when she ran all skinned knees to Martha’s telling her about how she beat guys two years older than her.

She got angry when she had to stop playing, moving to a different neighborhood. Apparently, Mrs. Blackburn had figured out that she wasn’t only getting her split lip from the older kids in the neighborhood.

The new foster parents were a little stricter, a little richer, and signed her up for youth soccer when she complained about how there was nothing to do without beat it ball.

Martha Blackburn would always be her person, but Toni didn’t expect to find her people so young. Dottie killed as goalie, and Becca’s sweetness made her defense all the better. But it was Shelby and Toni who were the dynamic duo. Toni had a never ending amount of energy as a midfielder and Shelby’s precision made her the perfect striker. It worked the same way every game, Becca would kick it to Toni, who got it to Shelby, who scored a goal. It got to the point that Becca didn’t even need to do much and the coach had to pull Toni aside to tell her to pass to the other girls too.

At the end of the season they sat together at the team party, wearing orange slice smiles. With sticky fingers they held hands and Toni kinda wondered how someone’s eyes could be so green.

Toni doesn’t remember why Shelby’s parents were so angry about them holding hands, but she knows Mr. Goodkind talked to her foster parents and Toni was off to a different home, in a different district, and she lost even Martha for a few months.

———

At lunch everyone’s talking about that fucking poem. Martha sent it around to the whole school and Leah is discussing its merits with Rachel and Nora. Even they don’t seem bored with the topic, though Nora is sure Quinn didn’t write it.

“It could be Monty,” Leah says. “I wouldn’t have thought he had an eye for this stuff.”

“I don’t think it’s Monty,” Rachel says. She looks at Nora, “C’mon, you know what I’m talking about, right?”

“What?” Nora asks.

“I mean it smells like Anna Akhmatova had a baby with Adrienne Rich,” Rachel says.

“Who had a baby with who?” Martha asks.

“Please,” Fatin says. “You’re not exactly the world’s leading expert on free form poetry.”

“Uh, I know when something’s written by a girl,” Rachel says. “I bet you fifty bucks some closet case wrote this.”

Everyone looks at Toni. “You caught me,” Toni deadpans.

“Rachel’s right,” Nora says. “A girl definitely wrote this. Toni, do you know anyone?”

Toni glares at her. “I’ll shake the lesbian phone tree and see what comes out.”

“Well, could it be Regan?” Martha asks. “Maybe she wants to—”

“It’s not fucking Regan,” Toni grabs her books and stalks out, kicking a chair randomly strewn around away as she did.

She hears Shelby sit down just as she leaves, “What’s got her madder than a baptized cat?” Shelby asks and Toni rolls her eyes.

———

2.) no one ever taught you how to love. your war paint and scarred hands could never hold her like she deserves

The worst of it was that Shelby was gentle. Her hands were warm and soft around Toni’s callouses, and there was a crinkle between her eyebrows as she focused on Toni’s hands. No, the worst of it was that Shelby didn’t let go of Toni’s hands when she finished, kept holding onto them as she met Toni’s eyes.

“Well?”

Toni swallowed hard, “I’m not gonna apologize.”

Shelby sighed, her thumb traced little circles around Toni’s hands. “I know today ain’t easy for you.” Toni scoffed and looked away. “But you know you were pickin' a fight. Andrew promised to leave you alone.”

Toni ripped her hands away and jumped from the bench of the locker room. “What the fuck do you know? You weren’t fucking there.”

Shelby’s calm only made Toni’s anger redder, “You ain’t denying it.”

“Why the fuck are you dating him? He’s a self-satisfied little asshole who just wants a little trophy girlfriend to—”

“Toni,” Shelby cut her off sharply and got to her feet, meeting Toni’s eyes.

“You’re not denying that either,” Toni spat.

She could’ve screamed at the hypocrisy. She wanted to scream. She wanted to pound her fists against the walls and bleed all over the bandages Shelby wrapped around her knuckles. She wanted to hurt, to make Shelby hurt. She wanted everyone to see and feel how hurt she was, and hurt them with that hurt. Finally level the playing field.

“Andrew is my business,” Shelby said. “Not yours.”

“He becomes my business when you—”

“When I what?” Shelby asked.

Toni looked at her hands, “Never mind.”

Shelby sighed, “Martha’s helping you move in today, right? Shel’ll be there the whole time?”

“Don’t pretend you give a shit.”

“Of course I care. The last time you lived with your mom you didn’t eat for a week.”

“I was five, not fifteen,” Toni said. “And seriously, stop pretending you give a shit.”

She shoulder checked Shelby as she walked out and winced at the sound of Shelby hitting the gym lockers. Her hands still sting where Andrew’s teeth had scrapped them.

———

Regan approaches Toni during science, her eyes serious. Martha straightens, and Toni does her best not to make eye contact.

“It’s not mine,” Regan says.

“Yeah duh,” Toni mutters.

Regan frowns, “I just—I didn’t want you to—”

“You made it perfectly clear what you want,” Toni says.

Regan sighs and leaves and Toni regrets it.

“Shelby thinks it’s Marcus,” Martha tells her. Toni blinks up at her and Martha nods. “She thinks he wrote it for me.”

“Martha, that kid is dumber than a box of rocks,” Toni says.

Martha furrows her brow, “Maybe he has hidden depths.”

“If you think it’s him ask him out,” Toni says.

“Shelby thinks it’s him,” Martha is quick to correct. “But he doesn’t even know who I am.”

Toni rolls her eyes. Marcus had been in love with Martha since the ninth grade. They had gotten placed as lab partners and he literally didn’t take his eyes off her the entire time. Every time there was a dance he would always look like he was about to say something, shoot his shot, when Martha would loudly proclaim she couldn’t wait to go with her friends.

Toni would’ve pulled the guy aside and told him to grow a pair, but a guy who’s not brave enough to go after what he wants wasn’t good enough for her Marty, not by a long shot.

“Rachel still thinks a girl wrote it,” Martha says.

“Maybe Rachel wrote it,” Toni mutters.

Martha’s eyes light up.

———

3.) no one has ever loved you this full surely you would drown in it all

Being a lifeguard was the worst. It was super boring, the pay was shit, and also Toni would probably get someone killed. Like, they pretended she was CPR certified but she absolutely had no idea how to do it. She went to some hour long course, slept through it, took a test that was just: should you kill people? And then they wrote some bullshit on some papers about a three week long set of classes.

But Shelby was tanned and golden looking and on their shifts they’d text back and forth about which kids they were betting on to win sharks and minnows. Tweenage boys in all their adolescent infancy would gaze open mouthed at Shelby and Toni alike but Shelby was the only one who let them down gently. Toni would ruin them for girls forever with something enough to cut through even the thickest skin.

On the fourth of July the pool paid for fireworks and Toni found a blanket and Shelby found her and they sat watching the reflections of the lights together. Shelby rested her head on Toni’s shoulder, all gentle, like she was afraid Toni would spook.

“I know this ain’t much of a holiday for you,” Shelby said. “But thank you for spending it with me.”

She had her hand on the blanket, splayed out like she was waiting for Toni to take it, there in front of everyone. Toni imagined a world in which she did.

———

“Yeah it’s not me,” Rachel says. “I wish I could write that good.”

Which is such bullshit because Toni knows Rachel could say well if she wanted to. Rachel’s weird inferiority complex about Nora pisses off Toni to no end. Nora’s the smart one, Rachel will be the first to say, and Rachel’s the athletic one. But Nora has a six minute mile and Rachel has perfect pitch so Toni hates them both.

“Maybe it’s Dot,” Toni suggests and Rachel, Nora, and Martha snicker.

Out of all of them, Martha’s the best driver, but they always end up in Rachel’s car after school anyway.

“Most of the school seems to think it’s by Andrew,” Nora says. Toni’s fists clench.

“Yeah,” Rachel rolls her eyes, “I’m sure he would love to take the credit. C’mon Toni, you don’t know any lesbians who could’ve written this?”

“You’re a lesbian too,” Toni says. “You don’t know any?”

“I don’t have a life outside of the pool,” Rachel says, “and none of them have picked up a book since Hop on Pop.”

“Regan says it wasn’t her,” Martha cuts in helpfully. “But maybe it’s another kid in theatre. Shelby says—”

“Oh my god,” Toni grits out. “What is everyone’s deal with her anyway? Why is everyone still obsessed with her? She’s just another basic Jesus bitch.”

The car goes quiet and Toni wishes she could melt into her seat cushion.

“I didn’t mean that,” Toni says.

“Except you did,” Martha snaps.

Toni winces.

“What’s your deal with her?” Rachel asks. “You guys were fine last year.”

“Quinn says there’s a poetry club,” Nora says. “Maybe it’s someone there?”

No one takes the bait and they don’t talk the rest of the way.

———

4.) she belongs in a museum, and you are merely here to gaze. look around you, all the signs scream ‘do not touch’

“Shelby?”

Toni grabbed the shoulder of the girl and pulled her away from Marcus. Shelby was bruised lips and ruined make up and Toni took her by the hand. Thank god Martha wasn’t here, thank god Andrew wasn’t here, thank god Marcus looked just as trashed.

“Toni?” Shelby sorta stumbled, her ankle twisting painfully on her heel and Toni steadied her.

Shelby could do a cartwheel in six inch heels.

“I’m gonna get you home, okay?” Toni called over the music.

Shelby didn’t really respond, just leant into Toni as she led her away and outside. The party had spilled into the backyard and front yard some, the cops probably already on their way, but everyone was too fucking hammered to notice them making their way out.

Shelby’s house was only about a twenty minute walk but it was cold and Toni was only wearing her basketball shorts and her mom’s jacket that she promptly put over Shelby’s shoulders.

“Are you still—” Shelby swallowed hard, “You’re still living with your mom?”

“Mostly with Martha,” Toni said.

“Martha’s great,” Shelby said. “She’s so pretty it makes my eyes hurt.”

“One of our finest,” Toni grunted as Shelby nearly fell on her heels again.

“She could be a model,” Shelby told her. “We should get waffle house.”

“Shelbs, we’re nowhere near a waffle house.”

“What was Becca’s order? At waffle house?”

Toni sighed, looping an arm around her. “I dunno.”

“Neither do I,” Shelby said.

“I’m sorry, Shelby,” Toni said.

Shelby shook her head and stopped right there, circling her arms around Toni and pressing her into a hug. Toni closed her eyes, holding her back as tightly as she dared.

“Oh, Shelby, I’m so fucking sorry.”

———

“Day two!” Mr. Williams calls. He taps the poem again, “I will investigate the handwriting if the poet doesn’t come forward by Friday. I know it’s someone in one of my classes.”

His eyes narrow as he takes them all in and his eyes don’t linger on Toni. Not even for a moment.

There’s a part of her that wants to march up to the front of the room and write her name down, make eye contact with everyone who never even considered her before. But no one expects shit from her, and even if he does go over the handwriting he won’t really be able to pin it on her. He might not even bother checking to see if it matches.

Toni tries not to jump when Marcus takes the seat in front of her during quant lit. It’s not like they have assigned seating but everyone sticks to the same seats anyway. Marcus won’t get shit for it though, perks of being the quarterback.

“So, listen,” he scratches the back of his head and Toni rolls her eyes at him. “I know we aren’t really friends but I—um.”

“Marcus,” Toni says.

“I wanna ask Martha out,” Marcus rushes out. “She’s like the nicest, smartest, coolest girl in the school and like her eyes are out of this world radical.” Radical? “And I would take her somewhere nice like Olive Garden. Or Cheesecake Factory? And pay for it, and open all the doors for her, and I’d carry her books to class—”

“On your date? This is happening during school?” Toni asks.

His eyebrows furrow as he tries to connect the dots. Football players.

“Oh no! I meant like, after, if she wants me to,” He says. “Can I?”

“Can you what?”

“Can I ask her out?”

Toni blinks at him. “What?”

“My buddy said if you want to get with a girl you get close to the best friend first, and I figured I’d ask you for your blessing because that’s what they do in old fashioned stuff right?” He bounces up in down in his seat. “Can I? Or like, do you wanna give me your blessing?”

She feels like she’s having an aneurysm.

Listen, Marcus having feelings for Martha is one thing. Everyone on the planet who’s ever met Martha falls a little in love with her. That’s kinda just how she operates. Toni narrowly avoided that pitfall by being lucky enough to know her since she was five, but it was a tough time. But Marcus was never gonna act on it. Marcus can’t—he’s the quarterback.

It’s basic math, Marcus is a six foot five football player with shoulders wide enough to bench press the Subaru Forrester Toni’s legally required to buy when she turns thirty-two. He’s got that all American boy smile that shows of perfectly white teeth, and dark hair that sweeps in front of his eyes. His face looks like it was sculpted out of marble, like literally he looks like some sort of roman god, except if that roman god volunteered at the humane society on the weekends and called his mom Mami.

Martha is a res girl who’s best friend is the dyke with anger issues. And like yeah, she’s stupid pretty, but Marcus has exclusively dated varsity cheerleaders since the seventh grade.

So yeah, even if Marcus may have feelings for Marty, everyone fucking does, and there’s a host of reasons why she doesn’t have a date to every dance and a new guy every week. And most of them are the cliche high school movie hierarchy sort.

“It’s really none of my business, man,” she says.

“Dude, it’s totally your business,” Marcus says. He leans closer, “you two are like sisters right? What do I gotta do to prove I’m not gonna hurt her? I’ll do your math homework for a month, no two months.”

A thought occurs to Toni and it’s a terrible one. But when has that ever stopped her?

“You’re in my honors English class right?”

Marcus’s face screws in, “Uh, yeah. But I don’t think you want me doing your homework in there, I’m like totally failing.”

“I have a better idea.”

———

5.) she touches you like youre fragile, and if you break you wont be able put yourself together again

Dot was asleep which was Toni’s first indication that something was deeply wrong. The second was that Shelby wasn’t. She was definitely trying her darnedest, but Toni could tell she was awake. Awake in her arms.

Toni shifted, just enough to let Shelby know she was awake too. The movie was some horror flick, something dumb and flashy and almost muted it was so quiet. It was the only thing rated R that they could all agree on. Dot’s house was the only place they were allowed to watch anything rated R when they were still thirteen, so it was all they watched there.

She felt Shelby shift up, so her head rested on Toni’s chest, shifted until her lips met Toni’s clavicle.

Toni wondered if she’d die.

Shelby went up instead of down, pressing kisses up the length of Toni’s neck, soft barely there things that made Toni’s breath catch as she watched Dot snore on the couch next to them.

Toni’s hands moved to the inside of Shelby’s thighs and they stared there, tracing delicate patterns that only made Shelby curl closer.

“I think you’re probably the most beautiful girl I ever saw,” Shelby whispered.

“I—”

“I’m not done.”

Toni’s mouth clamped shut.

“I think about you all the time,” Shelby whispered. “Even when I—”

“Shelby,” Toni warned. Shelby pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“You’re right,” Shelby said.

Neither of them slept that night.

———

Toni walks into class three minutes late with Mr. Williams, and takes her seat with a sulk.

“He still won’t let me redo that paper,” Toni mutters to Martha who’s eyes are wide.

“Toni, Marcus just—” She nods her head at the poem where Mr. Williams is studying it too.

“Marcus Gonzales?” Mr. Williams asks.

Marcus gets to his feet.

“You wrote this?”

“Yessir.”

“This poem right here?”

“Yessir.”

Mr. Williams blinks and takes off his spectacles, setting them down on the desk. “We’ll talk after class. I should hope everyone has a copy of—”

“I wrote it for Martha,” Marcus doesn’t sit down and the entire class stares at him.

“—Franny and Zooey and I would like you all to turn to page 52. Begin by annotating—”

“Martha, can I take you out on a date?” Marcus asks.

“—this first section, and on to page 64. Remember what Seymour serves as in—”

Martha blushes hard and glances at Toni who smiles before she looks back at Marcus in all his golden boy 6’5” glory.

“Um, okay,” she mutters out and he grins.

“Cool.” Marcus finally sits and gives Toni a thumbs up. She rolls her eyes.

“—this story and compare that to his roles in the other parts of the work we’ve read.”

“I told you it was for you, girl,” Shelby says on Martha’s other side. “People always have a way of surprising you.”

———

6.) she is all bubblegum skies and chapped stick kisses, and you cannot watch the love run out of another persons eyes

They were all a little bit slap happy by the end of the night. A little bit drunk, a little bit high, and laughing far too hard at one another.

“I’m scared,” Shelby told them, still grinning wider than any pageant smile.

“Girl, you picked dare,” Fatin said.

“I did,” Shelby bit her lip. “But all y’all dared Leah to do was finish the vodka.”

“That was—that was bad vodka,” Leah slurred from her position on Dot’s lap.

“But now we’re out of vodka,” Martha sang. “You picked dare.”

“I’ll go with you,” Toni got to her feet, surprised when they were more steady than she assumed they’d be. “Two chairs right?”

“Alright,” Shelby said. “And you’ll hold my hand?”

“Sure princess,” Toni rolled her eyes.

It was an office supply place, probably. The parking lot had this killer decline, and it was one of those spring nights where nothing could really ruin anything. Not forever.

The rolling chairs were kinda gross, left there but not yet picked up by the garbage men. They had to do a special pickup for that, which costed extra. No one in the office had done it for the weeks the girls had been going there after parties.

“Be careful,” Nora urged.

“Don’t fall,” Rachel suggested.

“Hold on, I’m not recording yet,” Fatin said. “Okay now go.”

They pushed off in their rolling chairs, holding hands, and sped down the decline laughing as they barely managed to hold on and steer at the same time.

Toni went flying as she bumped into a patch of grass and for some reason, Shelby went flying with her, landing on top. Toni grunted, but she wasn’t in pain, not really.

They met eyes.

“Sorry,” Shelby said. She didn’t sound sorry.

“You okay?” Toni asked.

Shelby smiled, this real soft thing, Toni wondered what it’d taste like.

“Fuck yeah bitches! I’m so putting that on snapchat!” Fatin screamed and Shelby pulled away, turning white.

“God if this is you in in freshman year, I’m terrified of you as a senior,” Toni called back.

Shelby’s hand slipped out of her’s and Toni tried very very hard not to overthink it.

———

“So I’ve been thinking,” Leah said. Toni took her gym bag out of her locker, pretty much the only thing she kept in there.

“Oh no.”

“Rachel was right about that poem being written by a girl,” Leah continued. “Which meant Marcus lied. And Marcus would never do that unless someone gave him permission to take credit. And since Marcus lied so he could ask Martha out that means the person who wrote the poem wanted Martha to be happy.”

Toni swallowed hard and tried not to fumble with the lock, stumbling with it.

“Toni,” Leah walked over to her. “You need to face the facts: Shelby’s into you.”

Toni blinked, “What?”

“She wrote that whole poem for you, don’t tell me you don’t see it. It’s about you!”

“She—” Toni stopped and furrowed her brow, finally making eye contact with Leah, “You think she wrote that poem for me?”

Leah nodded, “And she let Marcus take the credit. Listen, I know I’m right. I’ve been thinking about it for ages. Whatever fight the two of you had—you need to get over it. She’s into you, Toni. She’s been into you.”

“You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about,” Toni told her. “Seriously, fuck you Leah and fuck off. This is none of your fucking business.”

“You aren’t denying it,” Leah crowed. “Shelby likes you.”

“No she fucking doesn’t!” Toni spat at her. “She fucking hates me! She didn’t write that poem Marcus did! For Martha!”

Leah’s brow furrowed, “But… but you wanted her to. Didn’t you?”

Toni looked away.

“Shelby’s actually straight, isn’t she?” Leah asked. “Fuck Toni.”

“I’m happy for Martha,” Toni said, and marched away.

———

7.) if you jump, she might catch you, and then youd have to watch as she tumbled through the dark

“What if we ran away?” Shelby asked, which was Toni’s third indication that the punch was spiked.

The first two were her arms wrapped around Toni’s waist, swaying in the soft breeze to the distant music of Junior prom.

“Oh yeah?” Toni asked. “Where’d we go?”

“Peru,” Shelby said. “Or LA, or New York or—” Shelby sort of trailed off, losing her thought halfway through it.

“Our parents,” Toni pointed out. She’d moved in with Martha a few months ago but her mom had taken it as a wakeup call, promising to get her shit back together as soon as she could. Toni couldn’t help but believe her, even if it put her in stasis.

“Right,” Shelby sounded cold, “Our parents.”

“Are things worse with them?” Toni asked.

“No,” Shelby said. “The same, really. They’ve lightened up since—since Becca. Have you heard from your mom?”

“Every week or so,” Toni said. “And if you ever need a break you know—“

“Martha is happy to have me,” Shelby finished.

Toni smiled and pulled away enough to meet Shelby’s eyes, her hands slid from behind Shelby’s neck to either side.

“Did I tell you you look beautiful tonight?” Toni asked.

“You did,” Shelby said.

“Can I say it again?”

“You can.”

“You look beautiful tonight.” Shelby closed her eyes and Toni tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re gonna get out, you know that right?”

Shelby nodded, leaning into Toni’s hand.

Later, Toni will learn that was one of two lies Shelby told that night.

———

Martha gets home at 11:30, exactly when Marcus promised, and Toni smiles as her sister collapses backwards into her bed.

“Toni,” she actually giggles, giggles like a little school girl. “It was amazing.”

“Where’d you go?” Toni asks.

“Olive Garden, I think he was trying to win points with you,” Martha says.

“As he should,” Toni nods.

“He was the perfect gentleman,” Martha swoons. She rolls onto her stomach and looks at Toni and oh god, Toni knows that look. “He did tell me something about you, though.”

“Oh yeah? How I’m better in quant lit than him?” Toni asks.

“He told me you wrote the poem,” she says.

Toni looks away, “Okay, and?”

“You told me you were over Regan,” Martha says.

“It’s complicated,” Toni decides. “And whatever. I wrote it awhile ago anyway.”

“Have you thought about submitting it to that contest Mr. Williams was talking about?” Martha asks.

“Can we go back to talking about your date with Prince Charming?” Toni says. Martha acquiesces, she’s too damn giddy to do anything else.

———

8.) her gaze is too gentle. you will not be the one to tell her that not everything can be fixed with a smile

“Toni,” Dot began, and Toni could tell she was looking at her. “Toni, is Shelby��is she gay?”

Toni snickered, “Dot, Shelby is possibly the biggest straight girl in our school. Maybe our state. She’d sooner give herself a buzzcut than she would ever even kiss a girl."

“Andrew said Shelby got a job as a counselor at this church camp—Guiding Light—in Plano,” Dot said. “I wanted to find the address so I could write to her and it’s a conversion camp.”

The breath left Toni’s body.

“What?”

“And I got to thinking,” Dot said. “About what a mess she was after Becca died this year. Ignoring us, going to all those parties, signing up for a crazy number of pageants. Hell, it was only once you two started talking that she talked to us again.”

“Stop it, Dot.”

“Toni is Shelby gay?”

“Dot,” Toni said.

“Because if she’s gay, if she’s not there as a camp counselor—Toni, did you know about this?”

“Of course not! Jesus!” Toni said. She jumped to her feet and started to pace, “Jesus Christ. Oh my god.”

“Toni is Shelby gay?”

Toni looked at Dot and Dot sighed, her entire body sagging.

“What do we do?” Toni asked.

Dot, her solid, steady, friend since fucking youth soccer was silent.

“Dot, what do we do?”

“Dot, what the fuck do we do?”

———

Shelby finds her before school, Toni smoking like she hasn’t since ninth grade when Bernice gave her a stern lecture about lung cancer. It made Toni cry, actually. Not because it was so stern but because Martha and Toni had been separated for three years and Bernice still cared enough to get angry with her. She promised then and there to stop, and each drag she took now makes her feel like she’s committing treason.

“Smokin’ kills,” Shelby tells her, like they didn’t all go to Dot’s dad’s funeral last year.

Toni takes another drag, just to watch Shelby roll her eyes.

“How’d Martha’s date go last night?” Shelby asks.

Toni glares, “Seriously? You avoid me all year and now you’re asking about Martha’s date?” Shelby looks away. “It went fine. Whatever.”

“I just—I was surprised Marcus wrote that poem is all.”

“You literally said multiple times you thought it was him,” Toni says.

“I know, I know but—”

“Still holding out hope for Andrew?” Toni sneers. “Marcus may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but he cares about Martha. Even a fucking idiot could write a half decent poem if they had someone worth writing about.”

Shelby meets her eyes and Toni’s breath catches.

“Know a lot about poetry, Toni?”

Fuck fuck fuck.

Toni flicks the only half used cigarette away. “I have to go to class,” She says, aware it’s just about the worst thing she can do.

Shelby doesn’t even need the last word, she’s aware she’s already won.  

———

9.) she is so good. she is so good, and you cannot ruin one more good thing

It hadn’t been the first time Toni found her mom overdosed on the couch, but it’d been the most terrifying. Toni had waited in the school parking lot for a pick up for twenty minutes before Shelby had offered her a ride.

When they trooped inside, after having to use the key Tamera kept tucked away in a loose brick, her mom had been passed out on the couch. And the stupid thing had been that Toni had known her mom hadn’t been doing great. Like she’d known Tamera had lost her job, and was close to losing the car, that the pain in her back had been getting worse again from stress. Toni had known that.

But for some stupid, naive reason, Toni had never thought she’d pull this, go back to who she was.

Her tolerance was low, the doctors had told her, because she’d been clean for so long. She hadn’t realized it and had taken more than she could handle.

Shelby had taken the three of them to the hospital, helped carry Toni’s drooling mother into the ER, and held Toni’s hand until the other girls showed up, who she texted to come.

Shelby had been there when the police and social services came to talk to her about going back into foster care. Shelby had never left her side.

Toni couldn’t help but contrast that to the Shelby she saw now. The Shelby who showed up for senior year was barely christian, barely anything, just sort of blank and empty and waiting to grow up so she could have daughters that'd also wait to grow up so that they could have daughters that’d also wait to grow up so that they could have daughters that’d also

Shelby didn’t even look at her, for the first week of senior year she didn’t even look at Toni. She talked with Martha in that faux friendly way, she passed off on lunch invitations to do school work and Toni felt like she was going insane.

Sometimes she would just stare at the back of Shelby’s head in English class, writing whatever gibberish came to mind, and not listening to Mr. Williams at all. Just stare, for forty-five minutes, at a girl who wouldn’t even make eye contact, Toni’s pencil moving rapidly as she barely even glanced at the words her hands produced.

On the last day of the semester Toni finally looked away and came to two realizations:

a. Her mother was never getting better. Not really. b. Toni had written P E R U over forty times in her notebook.

As quietly as she could she tore the page out, and maybe about fifteen pages behind it, filled with similar drivel and recycled them at the end of class.

When the next semester started the seats were changed and something she’d written that she barely remembered was on the board.

Her mother was still in rehab.

———

Toni watches Marcus carry Martha’s backpack to class and watches as Martha giggles at him, argues with him. She is literally so happy it makes Toni’s heart burst.

“Shelby’s quite the matchmaker, huh?” Fatin asks.

Toni looks at her.

“Leah told me,” Fatin explains.

Toni rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, that’s what I said too,” Fatin says. “Leah’s good at noticing things but putting the pieces together is not her strong suit. So I called Dorothy.”

This makes Toni’s shoulders tense and Fatin wraps an arm around them.

“Dorothy didn’t want to talk but what she didn’t say was enough.” Fatin sighs, “I’m all for a little drama but this is cutting into my me time.”

“What going from twenty-four hours a day to twenty-three and a half?” Toni asks.

“God forbid,” Fatin nods sagely. “I didn’t know you could write.”

“I can’t.”

“Clearly not.”

Toni slips out from under her arm, and follows Martha into class. Mr. Williams glares as she comes in and Toni realizes if Marcus came clean to Martha he definitely came clean to Mr. Williams. At least the poem is off the board.

When he passes out papers from a recent essay her’s has a “see me after class” sticker that makes Toni slide down in her seat. Martha doesn’t even notice enough to give her an odd look because she and Shelby are yukking it up about the quarterback.

When everyone files out she hangs back and he looks at her, over his spectacles.

“I’m disappointed,” he says at last.

Toni scoffs.

“You write essays based off spark notes, you never participate, and half the time you don’t even do the homework. But you write this.” He slides the crumpled paper over his desk, her poem shining back at her. “So all I can conclude is that you’re lazy.”

Yeah, obviously.

“Why did you have Marcus tell everyone he wrote it?” Mr. Williams asks.

“So he could ask out Martha.”

“He didn’t need to have written the poem to do that,” Mr. Williams says.

“Can I go?” Toni asks.

“I want to submit this poem to a contest, I want you to start trying in this class, and this,” he hands her a slip of paper with about twenty sets of numbers on it, “is a list of Dickinson poems I want you to read by next week. Pick at least three to write me at least a page about. Single spaced.”

“What?” Toni asks, “You can’t make me do that.”

“I know half the kids in this class write off spark notes, I can easily have them all—including you—fail. So yes, yes I can actually.” He takes off his spectacles and Toni glares at him. “You’re a smart kid, Toni. You’ve got a talent for this.”

Toni shakes her head, “I’m a one hit wonder.”

“You know Britney Spears said the same thing after Baby One More Time.”

“That’s not true,” Toni says.

“Yeah,” Mr. Williams says. “Because she kept working at it.”

And Toni takes the slip of paper with the numbers on it, and marches to her next class and he watches her the whole way, not bothering to put on his stupid spectacles.

———

10.) you will not watch her crumble under the weight of your sins. she is too light, too breathless to be caught up in the dizziness of your heart

Dot didn’t invite them all to the funeral but they came anyway, even Shelby who Toni knew had been waffling back and forth.

Some of his army friends showed up, a doctor or two, and Mateo—the hot nurse Dot steadily ignored. It was a small and quiet service, and the seven of them sat towards the back, holding steady for her.

There was too much on Dot’s shoulders, there always had been, but she didn’t look any freer now that the burden was lifted. She just looked scared, small, and sad.

Toni couldn’t help but wonder if that was what she’d look like, if she got the call about her mom. It was a terribly selfish thought but who could blame her?

Shelby’s hands interlocked with hers, in broad daylight, and stayed there for the entire day. When Toni met her eyes she saw pure terror reflected back at her.

God, were they really only seventeen?

———

Rachel is complaining at lunch about owing Nora five bucks, how she was so sure some closet case wrote the poem but it’s no surprise Nora got it right.

Fatin and Leah don’t contribute and Martha probably wouldn’t have either except she was eating lunch with Marcus, they had found their own little table and were smiling at one another.

“They’re certainly cute together,” Shelby says, glancing back at Martha and Marcus.

“I say it’s weird they have the same name,” Rachel says.

“Says the girl who dated a guy named Raymond,” Nora says.

Rachel throws a straw wrapper at him, “That was a phase and you know it.”

“Marcus is sweet,” Shelby says. “If anyone deserves someone sweet it’s Martha.”

“Don’t you think he’s a little,” Leah trailed off and they all looked at her. “You know a little…”

“Spit it out, Leah,” Rachel says.

“Like the porch lights on but no one’s home?” Leah says.

“Martha is smart enough for the both of them,” Toni says. “And thank god because I was sick of doing his homework in quant lit.”

“That’s literally the easiest math class there is,” Fatin says and Toni shrugs.

“What’s that?” Shelby asks, pointing at the yellow slip sticking out of Toni’s binder.

“Some extra credit stuff, from Williams. Apparently I’m not doing so hot in that class,” Toni says.

Rachel leans way over from the other end of the table. “What is that, Dickinson?”

“It’s a list of numbers,” Shelby says. “Why would it be Dickinson?”

“All of Dickinson’s poems were numbered. It was only after she died that other people named them,” Nora says.

“And Nora said it so you know it’s true,” Rachel smirks.

“Join the fucking club,” Dot says to Toni. “I don’t know why y’all didn’t take non-honors English twelve with me. We just sit around and talk about whatever football game was on the most recently.”

“Well I’ve never liked football so.” Toni gets up, “I’ve gotta talk to my science teacher. I’ll see you guys after school.”

“I’ll go with you,” Shelby smiles and Toni clenches her jaw. “Ms. Roberts said I needed to rework my psych paper.”

“See you guys,” Rachel says and as they leave she’s arguing with Dot about why football is stupid and Toni can feel Fatin’s eyes on her all the way out.

———

reasons to kiss her

1.) she loves you, and her eyes are closed, and didnt your mother ever tell you not to leave a good thing waiting

Toni hated the magnet program kids at her middle school. Like everyone not in their cluster she found them annoying, rich, and privileged as fuck. They only hung out with each other and it was clear they’d never give—

———

“Toni?”

The stair well is empty, it’s the short cut through the language hallway and no one goes there during lunch.

Toni is working hard on ignoring Shelby but is forced to turn around when Shelby stops halfway up.

“Ms. Roberts doesn’t need me to rework my psych paper.”

Toni stares at her.

Shelby takes a step up, one step closer to Toni.

“I had hoped maybe you wrote it for Regan,” Shelby says.

“No such luck,” Toni croaks out.

“That’s a lot of reasons not to kiss someone,” Shelby says. “You’d think if you really shouldn’t kiss someone you’d only need the one.” She takes another step up, until they’re only separated by a few inches.

“I guess,” Toni says.

“Are you really gonna keep me waiting?” Shelby says.

Toni blinks, “You mean you still—”

“I have to do everything myself,” Shelby says.

She kisses her.