#anyway anyway!! i gotta get ready for the day — gonna see some friends B)

[tvrningout]

promise i’m not disappearing again! i just got unexpectedly busy these last few days, but i’ll be around to write either tonight or tomorrow!! i hope everyone’s doing alright and enjoying their week so far 💜

[longbobmckenzie]

S6 Volume VIII Thoughts

Remind me why I was looking forward to Casa Amor? I'd almost rather be stuck in a villa for 4 days with Felix... almost. At least then I'd get to spend time with the person I like best and not have to deal with sister drama and all that shit.

The note. I said this once before, but... "Thanks for being you"?? Like I almost do hope it's from Elliot and not Roberto because that's so generic, like something a teacher or boss would say to you. Not a LOVE INTEREST. It sounds more like someone saying "We had a nice fling, can't wait to see you on the outside, but only as friends. Byeee gonna crack on with these new girls"

And then Grace saying she knows who sent it only to then say it's just a theory. Like, you cliffhangered the episode on that only to say "Well this is what I think..." Girl you had your chance to tell me in the bedroom that you thought it was from Elliot. And guess what. I don't give a damn about Elliot, and you should know that if you'd LISTENED TO A SINGLE FUCKING WORD I'VE EVER SAID. JUST LIKE YOU NEVER LISTENED ABOUT OZZY.

Excuse me, wow. Got heated for a moment there

Raunchy races... what?? What are these instructions? "Sportiest girl"? "Hottest girl"? "Horniest boy/girl"?? THAT'S NOT HOW THESE ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK!!! No wonder the Villa won if we had to go through everyone figuring out who fit the description! This was a bad way to start the volume

Amelia going for Marshall, once again, pisses me off. And it pisses me off even more because a) he's the hottest one there and after stringing us along with Ozzy, I was ready to give it all up for Marshall instead as a fuck you (well, not really - I still want Roberto. but I was gonna replay for him). b) WE GOT A DATE WITH HIM WHEN WE FIRST WENT INTO CASA!! WE GOT TO SHARE A BED! AND KISS HIM! AND THEN GO ON ANOTHER DATE! And then you hit us with "I like Amelia better"?!?! Bro.

I mean, I didn't even like Marshall anymore after his personality fell flatter than a pancake, but the moment Amelia showed interest in him, I was like, BACK OFF I WANT HIM. I just wanted to keep her from getting him. Now I can't even do that! But if they were gonna be hard-coded, why tease us with him at all?

And please, stop with the "talk to everyone about x thing" when we could just... talk to those people. And we all know Amelia would've told us anyway. But then them coming to us to "announce" that they're coupling up? Like... no. Amelia can come to me and tell me you kissed and that she wants to pick him. Marshall can come to me and tell me he's sorry but he prefers Amelia. Don't come to me together and make a big thing out of it like that so that everybody else sees and sticks their noses in it

I didn't toast them. Hamish said "Popcorn. Lol." For a moment, I liked Hamish

Speaking of Hamish, whyyy did they have to make him so icky??? Like, he could have just been a funny young boy that wasn't interested in us romantically, but nooo. And then Grace kissing him only to get the ick, only to admit she lied about Ozzy and might bring Hamish back?? Have some fucking self-respect, woman!

I got to fuck Andy at least. He's a sweet boy. If it weren't for me being upset about Marshall, I'd be happy to romance him. But I don't like that it's just him by default (because Francis... no)

Okay so Amelia almost drank during NHIE for the 'dated a celeb' question (again with the celeb obsession), looking awkwardly at MC. She also said she lied in the villa, but said it was about meeting Elliot before. But there's definitely more to the Zeph stuff, she's gotta be lying about how far they went. She's a snake.

I think that's everything? Whew, I need to calm down. I've been refreshing the app store hoping Romance Club would update a day early like they usually do, I need it!!

[chihirolovebot]

okay okay prepare for my ranting but OHHHHHHHHHMYGOD i just love your writing so so much.

you just AHSHSTGGFF ARE SOOOOO GOOD AT GETTING THE READER HOOKED. I SWEAR . ITS UNREAL.

no joke . i’ve reread sleep awake probably about 4 times now. it has been on my mind for the past month. send help .

I LOVE LOVE LOVE physicist’s relationship dynamics with the rest of the cast. thank goodness we’re not isolated with kokichi the whole story. ohmygod. i think i’d die.

i feel like . phys could really do with a massive cry in rantaro’s arms. he became a brotherly figure so quickly for them and AUGHHHthey make me so upset. him preventing a meltdown too?? WAAAAAHHH … gotta love him for that. hopefully we’ll get to see more of him in here is where my body lies .

SPEAKING OF THAT. i’m looking forward to seeing the bad endings / alternate universes in it. like … if kirumi killed phys. or korekiyo succeeded in killing phys. or …if kokichi didn’t walk in when gonta attempted to kill phys . ohmygod. phys almost died a lot. i hope we get to see how everyone reacts. ANYWAY i can’t wait to see phys and the others be happy. what the hell. i need this in my life.

back to friendship dynamics….the trio recently formed by BELIEVING in phys??? is just AUGHHHHH SO SO CUTE. THEY HAVE MY HEART. I WANNA GIVE THEM ALL A HUG.

and…with the main man himself …. WOW. just. WOW. their dynamic is everything. they make me wanna cry. they are married. they are divorced. they are nerds. they are losers. they are. my everything. they are

“And yet—this deal he’d made you. That was trust, naked and unmistakable. That was far more than he’d offered anybody else. Everything else aside, Kokichi trusted you. Wasn’t that enough? 

If the small pit in your stomach was anything to go by—no, it wasn’t. And you didn’t know why”

WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH THEY JUST MAKE ME SICK. SO SICK. i’m really curious how phys will react to kokichi’s plan for *you know what* or that he’ll just keep them in the dark. again. because he knows they wouldn’t let him? I DONT KNOW. whatever it is. i’m not ready for it.

despite the tears that i’m gonna shed in the future ……..IM EXCITED TO SEE THE NEXT CHAPTERS PLAY OUT. im looking forward to the changes you’re gonna make in chapter 6. really curious what that’s gonna be .

you’ve captured kokichi’s character to a tee and i can’t get enough of it i swear .

i love that phys has autism too. like. if it isn’t completely obvious by now. so do i and it’s just. wow. THEY R JUST LIKE ME!!!!

also. i’m very excited to see where you take that persona 5 fic. wink wink.

ANYWAYS LOVE YOU FOR THIS. THIS IS THE BEST FIC I’VE READ EVER . I COULD GO ON AND ON ABOUT HOW MUCH I LOVE IT. GOODBYE .

HELLO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HELLO .

ur so kind this is like. one of the sweetest asks ive ever received i was pacing all day and im just answering now because i wanted to have the time to write out a thoughtful response because ohhghgh my god u made my absolute week with this thank you SO much my angel !!!!!

starting this story it was so important to me that like . phys has Other Friends. i think i mentioned this before but i think a big part of the story is that Ouma's mindset is wrong and unhealthy which is definitely starting to be examined this late in the story and like. the way he goes about doing stuff is definitely (mostly) well-intentioned but his mindset and philosophies are so Off and Wrong that i think ONLY having his mindset to influence Phys would a) ensure that phys only develops in a way that makes them more like him, which is NOT good because his mindset is wrong and unhealthy, and b) would make them extremely lonely when that isnt what i want the story to be about. if i COULD i would go back and give them some more interaction with momota because he's ouma's foil character, but i like him giving phys advice and phys taking on bits of his philosphy, too. they basically take an amalgamation of their friends' perspectives and learn to have a healthier outlook that way. so yeah . its super important for phys to have friends, especially optimistic ones like momota, kiibo and chabashira .

MY BODY LIES!!!! i haven't forgotten about this, just planning on properly starting it after i finish sleep awake's main story because between that , my p5 fic, and my jojo fic its kind of A Lot. but amami will DEFINITELY be a prominent character in it because i love his and phys's relationship so much. i tried to stretch it as much as possible in the original story before i knew i had to kill him off :(( and YEAH so i think a bad ending will be the first chapter which will probably be if shinguuji succeeded in his murder attempt , mostly focusing on the aftermath and the effect it has on the rest of the characters which . was pretty heavy for a first chapter so i may make it the second instead lmao.

I CANT SAY MUCH ABT FUTURE STUFF but i CAN say that some of ch5 and a fair amount of ch6 will be different and im super excited to show you what i have in store for it !!! the tone i'm going for is bittersweet so . hopefully that tides you over for a bit :3

the new trio... the phys apostles as i'm calling them. they're so silly to me. something about each of them knowing phys in very unique ways . kiibo seeing phys as soon as they woke up and always being the first to believe in them , chabashira seeing phys after they killed shinguuji and being the only person to see that side of them, and saihara being a sort of mirror to phys's grief in the early chapters after they both lost the most important person to them ( at that time ). i thought it made sense that they would all be a little more reluctant to believe that phys had been totally brainwashed because they all have a lot more respect for them than that , and also just . know them better as a person than the others , who are definitely still well-intentioned , just ignorant.

ouma... my little freakweirdo bf . characterising him is such a challenge but im so so happy you enjoy how i've done it !!!! physouma's dynamic is my favourite i've ever written in anything, i think . it's exactly like you said !!! they're constantly on this weird emotional journey where phys is attempting to get closer and ouma is attempting to distance himself but its not working because they both care about each other so much and like. yeah . they make me a bit insane too . writing phys slowly discovering their feelings has been super fun too . i usually dislike the oblivious love interest trope because more often than not it feels like it's played for miscommunication problems BUT i feel like with ouma it only makes sense because like . its impossible to know where you stand with ouma even if he straight-up says 'im in love with you' you'd just be like ?? yeah ok buddy sure. good one . you got me.

autistic phys is so real to me as i obviously also have autism and . i was projecting super hard when i created them teehee. THE PERSONA FIC !!!! i know its been a while since i updated but i AM working on the next chapter its definitely not abandoned :3

THANK U AGAIN SO SOSOSOS MUCH FOR THIS . I HOPE UR HAVING THE BEST DAY EVER <333

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond! Scripting: A Hero's Grief

This scene takes place during the More than One Universe storyline.

OMT!Tails: So much pain I couldn't prevent, but s-should have been able to... First losing Sonic, then Alice suffering memory loss, Uma being used as a weapon against me, and n-now S-Sally... ... I should've been a b-better hero for all of them... I guess... if S-Sonic was still here, t-then I wouldn't have g-gone through the hell I d-did...

During his lament in this world outside of MP-2021, out of nowhere, a ghost of Sonic (at least, his Mobiverse counterpart) showed up, spooking Tails a bit.

OMT!Tails: OH MY GOD ITS A GHOST!!!

MV!Sonic: What? No, I’m a spirit… a dead spirit if you must.

OMT!Tails: W-Whose Sonic are you?

???: That would be mine.

Mobiverse Tails came out from one of the blocky sections of rubble, coming to see his younger counterpart.

OMT!Tails: A-Another me?

MV!Tails: Surprised, huh? I would be too, seeing a younger version of myself in a lonely place like this. But that’s not important right now. Somebody told me you were here, and I’m getting you back to your companions.

MV!Sonic: What are you even doing in a place like this?

OMT!Tails: I've... been through a LOT, and... it's really hard for me to be the hero my home needs with so much tragedy...

MV!Sonic: Heh. You're not the only Tails who felt like that...

OMT!Tails: I guess you ended up dead too...

MV!Sonic: Yeah… at Mammoth Mogul's slimy hands, no doubt. But hey! At least an old mentor of mine helped me learn how to communicate spiritually. Still gotta get back at her for beating me in chess.

OMT!Tails: H-How are you both able to stay so optimistic, even after a painful loss like this...? You make it look really easy, as did S-Sonic...

MV!Tails: Well… we recovered. After Mogul's downfall, our Mobius found peace and gave the position to a new Mobian. Sure, it wasn’t easy, but it showed us that a new legacy and heritage can pass on, and that could happen to you. Your Sonic may be gone, but it’s not too late to keep your home safe.

OMT!Tails: I could... still be able to inherit my Sonic's legacy?

MV!Tails nodded.

MV!Tails: Sonic has always told me I should believe in myself. He’s taught me many things and is the reason I’m here today. Sure he may be gone, and Mammoth Mogul left many scars not only on me, but the entire population on my Mobius. But that doesn’t mean I should cower in fear like I’ve always done when I was a kid. I should always stand up for myself, and that’s what Sonic would have wanted for me and my friends to do. Me and Antho live on his legacy, everyone on my Mobius has.

MV!Sonic smiled proudly, happy for his sidekick coming this far.

OMT!Tails: Heh, I guess so. I... really appreciate you being here for me.

MV!Tails: No problem! Now let's get moving. Your friends are waiting for you, and you've got work to be doing.

OMT!Tails: Of course. I mean, I know I can't do this particular feat on my own. I'm gonna need all the help I can get.

???: Did somebody say "help"?

Behind them was the silhouette of another hedgehog.

MV!Tails: So, are we ready to save the multiverse?

The silhouette slowly revealed itself... as Antho.

Antho: Let's-a go!

A comic strip for the Mobiverse lands on the pile alongside the other eight trinkets thus far.

"Alright, let’s back it up from here. My name is Anthony Miller the Hedgehog, or just "Antho", for short, and for the past year or so, I and a group of friends have become the new heroes of my Mobius. But it wasn’t always like that you see.

You see, I was just your average normal nerdy hedgehog until something with a super collider changed my appearance and gave me some knowledge of a multiverse or something. Oh, and I’m pretty sure there was a T-Rex-. Oh no, wait! That was added to the script to make it more dramatic.

Anyways, aside from that. It was also the day we lost our Sonic… and I saw it with my own eyes… thanks to that monster, Mammoth Mogul. Ever since then, the Dark Ages happened, and I was never the same again. But not until I stood up and took vengeance against Mogul himself and since then, I’ve restored the faith of Mobius, met new friends and allies, some of which I can now consider family, and am now living in our beloved hero’s legacy.

But despite that, it's still kinda hard work, and I sometimes feel like I can’t live up to Sonic’s standards and how he was the saviour of us all. But deep down, I know he's proud of me, and having my friends, family and the main cast by my side has helped.

I can’t be the next Sonic, even if some otherworldly hedgehog says otherwise. But this is my world and my rules. And I’m doing my own thing, whether you like it or not."

(Mobiverse Tails and Sonic, alongside Antho, are owned by SFG1235.)

NEXT POST

[yourfifitherealone]

Jealous

(this is a college AU NOT HS‼️‼️)

Non-binary friendly

Content warnings consist of:

cursing

Mentions of argument

Angst

Jealousy and jealous friendships

BTW THIS IS NOT FINISHED CONTINUE IT IF YOU'D LIKE 🤷🏾‍♀️

Ever since that costume party, Bakugou became more distant towards you. Not answering your calls, never wanting to hang out, one text answers were a daily occurrence for you two.

You tried to go to Bakugou's dorm and asked why he's been ghosting you but all of a sudden when you knocked and announced it was you, it went quiet and no one's home.

You started getting more aggravated not seeing Bakugou anymore with no explanation. You had really enjoyed being around him and when you think maybe he also shared the same feelings for you he acts like he doesn't know you. So today was the day you were gonna ask him no matter what happens.

You walked determined trough the halls to find Katsuki and ask him why you haven't seen him in a solid 3 weeks. "Hey what's up Y/N?" Sero asks with a wave. "Going to find Katsuki." "Why? Where's he?What happened? What did he do? Are you mad?" Denki appears. "He's been avoiding me, I don't really know but probably in his dorm, he ghosting me, same answer, no" You answered while Denki followed close behind. You knocked heavily on Katsuki's door.

"Whaddya want?" Katsuki said opening the door. He looks down at you and his eyes said it all.

"Why have you been avoid-" "We can talk about this later especially when Dunce-Face and shitty hair are gone at least, 'Kay?" He cuts you off backing into his dorm.

Bakugou's not a shy person but always has been nervous to admit he's wrong and when you want to resolve something he usually doesn't prefer to do it around others but when it's bad he just wants to make it up you didn't understand what was different now..."Hey guys, can you... you know?" They nodded and walked off in the same direction.

You threw up your hands and landed them on your hips, "well, what's up? Why are you avoiding me?"

"Later. I'm busy okay that's it, that's all. SPEAKING of busy... I gotta get ready for class." Then he closed the door on your faces leaving you more disappointed then before. "Uh not to be...y'know...we should probably get ready for class anyway" Denki whispered. "Where did you even -?" you sighed mid sentence and started walking, leaving Sero and Denki behind.

You slammed the door and fell onto your bed. You were upset but then the more you heard the echo of the door slamming you felt the tears well up in your eyes.

*Knock* *Knock*

You lifted up your head and then he started, "Hey. It's me Ejiro this might be embarrassing but I heard what happened and some others to...." You let your head face-first hit the pillow in embarrassment. "...but I am here to comfort you! Very manly of me, right?"

You stomped over to your door and yanked the himbo inside your room, "You gonna tell the whole world?! Jeez" "Heh sorry I wanted to make sure you were at least okay since Bakugou is.. not himself right now." You quickly turned your head, "What do you mean? Is he okay?" "Uh he's.. physically fine but shut downs every single interaction and he's not a very big talker but he's hasn't been like this before." You stayed quiet. What could've you said he didn't want to talk to you and that's that he's stalling on all of your conversations it's like you guys weren't friends at all.

"It's whatever anyways he doesn't even like me anymore i thought we'd be friends forever maybe that was just wishful thinking but we've been friends since highschool even went to the same college! I don't know what I did wrong. Ever since that stupid drunk filled costume party-" you realized, that was the last day he was himself. You two had both got into an argument over you "getting into the wrong crowd" and you felt like you're a grown woman and can hang out with whoever you pleased and Katsuki isn't your father so he can't voss you around and tell you what's good for you. He left the party by himself.

"Shit. I think he's mad about that argument. I had thought we'd gotten over it because the day after we talked just fine. We hung out, I left with a friend and now he's doing this shit!" "...I know you're mad but we have class in a few. Think about why he's so pissed while we're on break or something, alright?" "Sure, thanks Kiri. Very manly of you." You joked, still Kiri flashed a big, bright smile and took the compliment to heart.

Though Kiri SPECIFICALLY said on break to think about the issue, you couldn't help yourself in class while taking notes to do the math and add up why he's so upset with you.

'Bakugou really wasn't a fan of the friend I left with...but like be never acted out like y'know this. He just complained about it after they had left and went on rants about how my friend was a jerk and a whole bunch of other stuff. I am GOING to ask him. Katsuki has been my best friend for the longest'

'I need him in my life."

"Class dismissed!" The professor announced as the bell rung.

You rushed out and stood off to the side of the door while people walked to their next class/lecture.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up" you pleased holding your phone up to your ear. You paced until you heard

'Its Katsuki don't leave a voicemail, just call me later, idiot'

*BEEP*

You rolled your eyes, such a stupid voicemail. You ran to your dorm and grabbed a loose leaf paper, star stickers, and a pen and ran to your next class.

You slipped the handmade note under his door and went on with your day hoping, he'd answer.

At the end of the day you sat with Denki, Sero, Mina , Bakugou and a few others. You invite them to come over for something super personal and important and practically pleaded Bakugou to attend even if that'd be the last time you saw each other. When he arrived he showed affection he hadn't shown since that party, he put his scarred up hand from the nitroglycerin in his sweat and the battles he fought on your shoulder and said "I am... busy but it's not or at least I hope so, the last time we see each other, understand?" You smiled and hugged him. He pulled you in his embrace and you went back to sit in the circle with the rest of the group

[softsnzstuff]

40. “You’re sneezing everywhere. Clearly, something’s up.”

Streamer AU with fetish Steve and sneezy Eddie. Eddie trying to hide that he's sick (or allergic to something scented that Steve finds soothing) and doesn't want Steve to feel like he needs to stop streaming for him

❤️ Bewitchedfeathers

Thank you, friend! This is such a cute prompt. Opted for knk!steve doing a GRWM stream and poor sick!Eddie trying to go about his morning as well without disrupting Steve. ❤️KB

***

“What’s up guys! This morning I’m doing a Get Ready With Me stream.”

Steve was standing next to the bed he shared with Eddie as he streamed with his phone.

Shame we didn’t get to see you waking up?

Aww bed head

Where’s Eddie?

“Usually Eddie is still sleeping when I get up for a jog, but since today is a lazy day around here, no run this morning. But uh… Eddie is up already? Think he went to sleep on the couch but not sure why. Maybe he couldn’t sleep?”

Steve used one hand to gesture.

“So first thing I like to do is make the bed. My mom always told me you should start the day by making your bed. Next thing I like to do is start the pot of coffee before I start everything else.”

Steve exited the bedroom and welt through to the living room/kitchen combo. Sure enough Eddie was laying on the couch looking tired. He was still in his pajamas as well, but also sporting a hoodie.

“Oh here he is! You want one or two cups of coffee?”

Steve pointed the camera at Eddie who waved.

“Umm just one today I think.”

Steve propped up the phone to point at him as he filled the pot with water.

What’s the go to coffee flavor?

I use that brand too!!

I’m a three cup kind of gal myself…

“Go to flavor right now is the Starbucks fall blend.” Steve held the bag up to the camera.

“H’etchUMPF! ikt’CHISH! TschEW!”

The sneezes came from Eddie in the background, muffled into the elbow of his hoodie.

Bless you Eddie!

Bless you!!

That was so cute??

Steve felt his cheeks get hot. He couldn’t just let the stream know that he thought sneezes were hot though, so he had to play it cool.

“B- bless you!” He called over his shoulder, trying to sound normal.

“Thanks.” Eddie sniffled.

After the pot of coffee was going, Steve retreated to the bathroom they shared. He started squirting some toothpaste on his toothbrush.

“I’m gonna brush my teeth now. Obviously.”

As Steve was brushing his teeth, there was another outburst from Eddie in the other room.

“iTSCHew! Hu’ktchiew! AesshIEW!”

Jesus Christ it was going to be hard to stream with that going on in the background…

“Bwesh oo!” Steve yelled past the toothbrush in his mouth, ducking down to rinse his mouth out.

“Now for the good stuff…” Steve mentioned, pulling a few things out from under the sink.

THIS IS IT GUYS

Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god

NO HE ISNT

He’s gonna show us how to do the hair 😭😭

“You guessed it! I’m gonna do my hair now. So usually I like to shower first, but I’m clearly not going to show you that. So here’s what else I’ll do. I get a little bit of mousse and will sort of run that through my hair if it’s slightly damp….”

He wet his hair just slightly and then put a small dollop of mouse in his hands, running his fingers through his hair.

“Now I gotta blow dry it so it sort of styles correctly I guess… so headphone users might wanna unplug for a second.”

Steve turned on the hairdryer and started blow drying his hair, using his fingers and a brush to style it the way he wanted. He was looking at himself in the mirror to make sure he was doing it right when Eddie sulked up to the open door. Steve flicked off the hairdryer.

“Hey Eds, what’s up?

“SnFF Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt the stream…”

“No you didn’t. I’m done with the dryer anyways. Plus they love you.” He pointed to the phone comments flooding in.

Eddieeeeeeeee

It’s my birthday can you say hi?

I love you Eddie!

When’s Eddie’s next stream?

The older man smiled, “hey guys! Hoping to stream some stuff within the next week.” He turned back to Steve and pointed slightly past him, “can I just grab… I need to blow my nose.”

Steve turned around and grabbed the tissue box at the other end of the counter. When he turned around to hand it to Eddie, his eyes were fluttering shut as he brought his elbow up to his face.

“IxxxT! N’xxt!! H’eKSHh! snfsnff… excuse m’be.”

Steve was biting his bottom lip without realizing. He blinked a few times and brought himself back to reality, handing Eddie the tissue box.

“Bless you! Are you okay? Let me stop the stream for a sec.”

“No no! Don’t stop it. I’b fine…” he paused to blow his nose quietly.

Bless you again

He sounds sick

Bless you x3

“Well, you’re sneezing everywhere so clearly somethings up.”

Eddie rubbed at the back of his neck. “I guess I don’t feel great… it’s nothing. I’ll live.” He offered a smile.

Aww he is sick

I knew it!

Poor guy

“You’re more important than the stream Eddie. I get ready every morning anyways.” Steve laughed.

He reached over and ended the stream, putting his phone down. Moving closer, he pulled Eddie to him by the hips.

“Couldn’t focus on the stream anyways. You’re too cute when you’re sneezy.”

Eddie rolled his eyes with a short laugh. “You’re something else Steve…”

[the-real-team-galactic]

since Boss Saturn said i could post whatever the fuck i want, i think its time 4....

✨Monthly Galactic Horoscope!!!✨

and b4 ANYONE says anything i know astronomy and astrology r different!!!! we can have both shut up !!!! >:/

but anyways!!! it's time for your monthly horoscopes :3 !! were in Fraxure season atm n mercury is coming into retrograde soon !!! :D communications r gonna be all weird when that happens so remember 2 be patient babes !!! ~☆

♈ Whimsicott: the sun's moving thru a fellow fire sign :D so expect good vibes and high energy coming ur way!!! with Mercury in retrograde it's a bad time for u to start new things BUT!!!!! :O best time to tie up loose ends lets gooo !!!! ~☆

♉︎ Bouffalant: ur gonna b ambitious and work SUPER hard this month !!! dont forgor to pay attention to ur money problems tho!!! >:0 cuz those r gonna be real major for u. if u can reach out to others n tell em u love them !!! <3

♊ Klink: sun is moving away from u so expect to b real fucking tired !!! sorry lol :P shit is gonna be all messed up n weird so be patient and take time to recharge !!! now's a good time to be creative too :3 keep going and do ur best!!!!!!! yahoo !!! :)

♋ Crustle: ruh roh ur gonna be super busy !!! be sure not to stretch urself too thin :P you don't hafta help literally everyone all the time even if u want to!!!!! make sure you don't miss your appointments too !!! :O also !! now's a good time to get all your stuff organized: not just ur house, ur physical and mental health too!!! you got this :D !!!!

♌ Braviary: fellow fire sign hell yass!! ur gonna get a nice energy boost this month too >:D you WILL get more rizz this month, the masses will love u !!! be sure to accept invites that come ur way and reconnect with old friends!! don't start any new projects and beware of poor communications ~☆ !!!

♍ Gothorita: the sun's moving to the base of y'all's charts which means it's time for family (if ur family sucks ignore that part LOL) !!! ur gonna gravitate a lil more towards your comfort zone, and now is a good time to reconnect with old friends !! try to focus on reorganizing ur home and your head :3 make some space 4forthe new year !!!!

♎ Lampent: brighter days are in ur future this month !!! be sure to expect a better mood, and try to put urself out into the community or something !!! maybe that's your thing who knows?!?! ur attitude will light up the room and any projects you might pick up so be sure to share that with others !!!

♍︎ Scolipede: ur gonna be stuck on familiarity and that's ok !!! try visiting people and places you're super extra comfy in <3 financial troubles r coming w/ Mercury so don't take ur eye off that stuff it's important !!! save ur money and wait till after delibird day sales start to get the gadgets u want !!! keep it real n simple boiz u got this :3

♐︎ Fraxure: it's ur month let's GOOO !!!! good things are coming for ur birthdays y'all !!! good strong vibes are in ur future and people are gonna dig it !!! if parties and big events are ur thing then GO FOR IT!!! great time to get all ur energy out n have fun with ur buds :D make sure to get on top of all your shit soon !!!!

♑︎ Sawsbuck: time to look back on the year and get ready for the next !!! u may end up hypercritical of urself but cut yourself some slack !!! things are changing and it's natural u wanna change in a way that will make things better but you gotta b patient!!!!! tie up loose ends and make sure to take care of ur mind !! <3

♒︎ Simipour: you've got places to go and people to see this month!!!!! it's a great time to get out there and be social so go have some BLAST !!!!!!!! pinch ur pennies and do ur best to settle unfinished business too :) don't force urself to go too far tho !!!! >:0 especially since u may b getting hit w/ stronger emotions and selflessness but don't push urself !!! take care of YOU first!!!

♓︎ Alomomola: last but deffo not least, it's time to get to work !!! expect TONS of motivation in ur career and eagerness to get shit done !!!!!!! look back on ur methods to see what works and what u should get rid of and focus on finishing things before starting shit !!! structure and security r big for u rn so take care :3

[mackenzielovee]

princess - rafe cameron

a/n: this was a request from @gpiggy98 I hope I did your idea justice! please let me know if you enjoy!

Summary: You've got a crush on Rafe Cameron, but being from two different sides of the island, you know you have to keep it in.

Warnings: swearing, kissing, mentions of buying/consuming drugs

my writing

The Cut is your side of the island. It belongs to the Pogues. You and your friends don't like seeing any of the Kooks on your side of the island for any reason - which is why you can never understand the feeling that happens in your chest when you pull up to Barry's and see Rafe Cameron's bike sitting out front.

You buy weed from Barry for you and your friends - mainly JJ. He smokes a lot. And JJ always sends you to get more from Barry because you push your boobs up before you go in and wind up walking out with more weed for less money. Barry's a classic man, easy to manipulate with your body.

You walk up to the porch of Barry's place, seeing he and Rafe standing there, talking. You walk up and open the door, watching as the two of them turn around to look at you. Barry smiles, but you're too focused on Rafe's smirk when he sees you.

"Hey, boys," you greet.

"Afternoon, girly," Barry's still smiling at you, staring at the low cut top you have on.

"Hey, princess," Rafe teases you.

"Don't call me princess," you tell him, purposely using your pointer finger to tap on his chest. He smirks wider as you touch him.

"Sorry," he says, "Sweetheart."

You glare, but Barry starts talking before you can shoot back a response.

"Here for your usual?"

You nod, letting out a small 'yeah', watching Barry slip off into the trailer to get your shit.

"You still smoking Barry's shitty ass weed?" Rafe asks you, taking a seat and keeping his eyes on you.

"It's not shitty ass weed," you say, crossing your arms over your chest.

"Hmm," Rafe hums, "You sure do buy a lot of weed for one girl."

You look over at him and grin, "How come you're paying attention to my orders?"

Rafe shakes his head, breaking eye contact with you for the first time to glance at the floor. You caught him.

"It's not all for me," you continue, "It's for my friends."

"Ah," Rafe looks up again, "JJ Maybank, right? Something going on between the two of you?"

You make a disgusted face at him, immediately answering his question, "Hell no. He's my best friend."

"You can fuck your friends," Rafe grins.

You roll your eyes, "You can fuck anyone."

Rafe stands now, a playful smirk dancing on his lips as he steps over to you.

"Yeah?" he asks, his voice raspy.

"Oh hell no," Barry says from the doorway, "You two gotta get a room for that shit."

You and Rafe both are staring, not being able to get enough of one another. He breaks away first, sitting down on the couch again.

Barry steps over to you and hands you your shit, then mumbles out a number to you. You hand him the cash, then say thank you quickly.

"Well, I would've charged you less if it was me you were flirtin' with," Barry tells you, smirking.

"Maybe next time," you pat him on the shoulder.

"Go smoke that shitty ass weed, sweetheart," Rafe teases you, "We'll see you here in a few days."

You turn to him, laughing lightly at his comment. He smiles, happy he made you laugh.

"Count on it, Cameron. Thanks, Barry," you nod to him, then turn around and walk toward the door.

"And, hey," Rafe calls after you, you don't turn around, "If you're ever looking for something stronger, my door's always open. Princess."

He adds the last part just to get a reaction out of you, so you don't give him one. You bite your lip to hide a smile, then walk out without even glancing at him. You hear Barry say something to Rafe once you're off the porch, but you can't make it out.

You make it back to John B's  house quickly with the weed, tossing it to JJ to start rolling up.

"Yo, thank God," JJ smiles when it falls into his lap, "How much?"

"Twenty," you reply, "I even pushed my boobs up, too."

JJ snickers, "Damn, that usually works."

Kie rolls her eyes, unable to understand why you allow JJ to use you to get drugs for him because of your body. John B comes out onto the porch, greeting you.

"Pope, you gonna smoke with us, brother?" JJ teases him, knowing Pope doesn't smoke.

"Keeping the signal clear, JJ," Pope replies, keeping his nose in his book out on the hammock.

"Rafe was there," you tell them, trying to keep your expression emotionless, so as not to give away your little crush on him.

"Asshole," JJ mutters under his breath.

Your eyes shoot up and look at the blonde boy, who's too busy focusing on rolling a joint to notice. You shrug, gaining the attention of Kiara.

"He's not that bad," you say.

"Did he say anything to you?" Kie asks, her voice sounding like she's ready to kick Rafe's ass if he had done anything bad.

"He told me Barry sells shitty weed," you mumble.

You almost regret bringing it up, always forgetting that your friends hate him so much. Every run in with the Kooks has mostly involved Topper - like the night Topper and John B fought at the beach. Rafe wasn't even involved.

"What the fuck would Rafe Cameron know about weed?" JJ snickers, "And why is he even chilling with Barry?"

"I think he does some harder shit," you speak up, ignoring Kiara's lingering stare, "That's the impression I got, anyway."

Kiara's glare turns into a smirk as you look down at your lap again, fumbling with the hem of your shirt.

"You sure do know a lot about him," Kiara says, her smirk only widening when your cheeks turn pink.

You just shrug, not really knowing what to say to defend yourself. Kie lets it go, thankfully, you just sit back and wait for JJ to deliver you a blunt. When he finally hands it to you, you hope and pray that you can smoke away a crush.

You spent the night at John B's and then hung out in the morning, taking off for your house later on in the afternoon. John B offered to drive you, but you told him it was fine. You could tell he wanted to go out on the boat with JJ, anyway.

The walk turns brutal quickly. It's humid as hell and you can feel sweat greasing your forehead only a few steps in. It's not too far of a walk, you keep telling yourself.

The sound of a car coming behind you doesn't even phase you at first. You just keep going, reaching up to wipe sweat from your neck. As you hear it get closer to you, you spin around and glance, noticing the truck. And the boy in the driver's seat.

"Hey, princess," Rafe smirks as he rolls the window down, "Need a ride?"

You stop and take a deep breath, taking in the sight of him and realizing your crush is not going away any time soon.

"Is it that obvious?" you reply, wiping sweat from your forehead.

Rafe smirks, "Get in."

You sigh and nod, then walk around the front of the truck to hop in the passenger side. You see the grin on Rafe's face and shake your head, wondering what the hell he's thinking.

"What are you even doing on our side of the island?" you ask him once you're inside.

"Heading to Barry's," he replies.

He tears his eyes away from you and puts the truck in drive, intentionally reaching out and setting his hand on the headrest of your seat. You notice him move out of the corner of your eye, but you don't mention it to him.

"You're there a lot," you state, then silently curse yourself for making such an obvious observation.

"He gives me drugs a lot," Rafe laughs, but it sounds more sarcastic to you than funny.

Silence falls over the car, as you don't really know what to say in response. You can tell Rafe feels uncomfortable with it because he starts shifting in his seat.

"So," Rafe starts up again, "Are you going to the movie thing tomorrow night?"

You steal a glance at him, and he steals one at you, so you both look away. Rafe tries to hold in a smile, and so do you.

"Yeah," you reply, "All of us are. Take a left up here."

Rafe nods his head, glancing over at you again, "All of us?"

"Yeah, all of us," you repeat, finally gaining the courage to look at him again. You smirk, knowing he wants to know who that entails, but aren't telling him. He grins at you and shakes his head.

"Maybank? John B? That nerdy kid?"

"His name is Pope," you correct, laughing when Rafe rolls his eyes.

"Okay, whatever. But you're going?" he questions.

"Yes," you reply, smiling at him when he looks over at you.

"Maybe I'll see you there," he's teasing you now, and you know it.

You don't answer him, which you know will drive him crazy, you just look back out onto the road and then point.

"Take a right up there, and then it's the third house on the left."

Rafe nods and obeys your instructions, not saying anything else about movie night. When he pulls up in front of your driveway, he shuts the truck off completely.

"You know," he starts, "You could come to Barry's with me. Hang out. Try some better shit than that fucking weed."

You laugh and shake your head as you reach over and hit him on the shoulder. He takes a risk and reaches up as you do this, grabbing your hand and taking it in his.

"I mean it," he says, his voice more serious than it was before.

You stare at him, at his eyes, and your face drops from the laughter. You can feel his skin on yours, and you'd be lying if you said you hated it.

"I can't," you say finally, "I haven't been home in, like, two days."

He looks at you, confused, then his eyes drop and he releases your hand.

"You've been with them," he figures out, "Which one are you with, then, if not Maybank?"

You look at him like he's crazy, but he refuses to look up at you again. He's just staring at the spot on the seat of the truck that has a stain on it.

"I'm not with any of them," you tell him.

You watch his eyes slowly glance up to look at you, trying to figure out if you are serious or not.

"But you're sleeping there?"

"On the couch," you tell him, then add, "Alone."

He nods his head, still not entirely convinced. You're not sure why you even feel the need to explain yourself to him, because you know it's none of his business. But, for some reason, you just really care about what he thinks.

"Have you ever done anything with any of them? he asks, his voice quiet.

"No," you say, your voice strong, "And I wouldn't, either."

"Okay."

You aren't sure what to say or do, so you just reach out and grab the door handle to get out of the truck.

"Thank you for the ride," you tell him.

"Anytime," he gives you a small smile.

You pull open the door and hop out, then look up to him again before you close the door.

"So, see you tomorrow night?" you ask.

Rafe breaks out into a grin after that. Of course, his smile makes you smile.

"Absolutely, princess," he's laughing now.

You roll your eyes and flip him off, then shut the door and start up the driveway. You know he's watching you, so you don't turn around. Just to drive him crazy.

The next night at movie night, you can't help but continue to glance around and see if Rafe has arrived yet. Pope and JJ have been acting strange ever since you all arrived, and to make it worse, John B had bailed on coming.

"Okay, what is with the two of you?" Kiara asks Pope and JJ as they keep looking over their shoulder.

"Nothing, Kie, Jesus," JJ mutters.

"Really? Because it seems like you fucked up," she snaps back. She knows better than to believe JJ when he says nothing is wrong.

"Kiara, please," Pope says, a fearful look in his eye. Kie just rolls her eyes in response, telling herself that what she doesn't know can't hurt her.

"I'm going to get something to drink," you stand, "Anyone else?"

"Coke, please," Kiara says, holding up cash in the air for you to grab.

"Boys?" you ask, but they're too busy whispering to each other, so you walk away.

The second you get a place in line, you see him. He's with Topper and Kelce, of course, but you can't help raking your eyes over him. He looks so good to you, and you're not used to that. He glances over and sees you just a second later, catching you red handed. He says something to the boys and then starts walking toward you, immediately making your stomach flip.

"Hey," he says once he gets to you, "What's up?"

You shrug, trying to play it cool, "I'm on drink duty."

Rafe smiles, and you watch as he then glances over at your friends.

"Hey, uh, JJ and... um," he trails off.

"Pope," you remind him, watching as he snaps his fingers once you tell him.

"Pope, yes, um, JJ and Pope didn't happen to mention anything to you about what they did, did they?" he asks, staring at you for any sign of deception.

"What are you talking about?" you say, staring right back.

Rafe quickly shakes his head and changes his expression, "Nothing. Just curious."

"What-" you start, but Topper comes up behind Rafe and interrupts.

"Excuse me," Topper grins, and you can tell without even smelling him that he's been drinking, "Do you mind if I borrow him? Dude, super hot girls, ten o'clock."

You look down at the ground, breaking your stare with Rafe. You don't hear Rafe say anything, but after a second, Topper pulls him away.

"What are you doing, talking up a Pogue?" you hear Topper ask him as they walk off.

You can't help but feel slightly hurt that after all of the daydreaming you did about seeing Rafe here, that that was all you were going to get. You know Topper is an asshole, but you never imagined Rafe would be, too.

You get the drinks and popcorn for yourself, the return back over to the boys, but before you can even sit, JJ grabs your arm and pulls you down.

"Why were you talking to Rafe?" he asks you, his voice urgent.

"He was asking me if I'd heard from Barry," you lie quickly, "Why?"

You want to know what the hell is going on, but you want the truth from the boys.

"No reason," Pope says, waving you off.

You send a glance to Kiara, silently telling her that something is going on. You know it must be bad if the two of them are keeping secrets from you and Kie.

"Liars," you mutter, but they're too wrapped up in themselves to hear.

You go and sit by Kie, not even noticing that Rafe and his friends have chosen to sit directly behind you guys. You feel something hit your back, and when you turn, Rafe is smirking widely at you. Popcorn lies in the grass just behind you. You glance at Topper and notice that he and Kelce are both turned around talking to girls, which is probably the only reason Rafe is trying to get your attention.

You know you can't speak, because his friends and yours will all hear. So, instead, you take some of your popcorn and throw it back, careful that Kiara is still staring at her phone. Rafe laughs and moves to the side, avoiding your throw. He throws one pieces at you, and while you're busy ducking from that one, he tosses another one. It hits you, making him laugh loudly.

Of course, that attracts attention. You hear Pope gasp beside you, and then he and JJ frantically whispering to one another. Topper turns around, too, eyeing you. He punches Rafe in the arm and mutters something, but you can't hear it. When Topper goes back to the girls, Rafe rolls his eyes and shrugs at you.

Before you can silently respond, Kiara turns and looks to you, which makes you face forward to avoid suspicion.

Once the movie begins, you relax. You finally have something to focus on other than the fact that Rafe is six feet away from you. Throughout the movie, you can feel pieces of popcorn hit your back every so often, and occasionally, you pretend to glance over your shoulder and fire one back. With all of the eyes looking around the two of you, you know you have to be careful.

About halfway through the movie, JJ and Pope get up and start to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Kiara whispers to them.

JJ turns around, "We gotta piss."

Kiara looks at you and makes a face, wondering if you found it as weird as she did.

"Are you gonna hold it for each other?" she hisses.

"Shut up, Kie," JJ replies, rolling his eyes.

You shrug at her, turning your attention back to the movie. It dawns on you that you haven't felt anything hit you in a minute, so you glance slightly behind you to see what's going on. You half spin turns into a whole spin around when you notice that Rafe and the boys aren't sitting there anymore. You turn to Kie and point, silently asking her what the hell is going on.

"Something's definitely wrong," you say to her.

You both stand up and head off into the direction the boys went, which is behind the screen of the movie. The tree they had gone to has nobody near it, so you start looking around. That's when you hear it.

"Topper, get off of him!"

"Over here," Kie grabs your arm and pulls you, heading in the direction that the voice came from.

Once you both get behind the screen, you see the boys. They're punching and yelling like crazy, and while you know you should be worried about JJ and Pope, all you can look for is Rafe. Pope and Rafe are going at it, but all you can see is Pope hitting Rafe, not the other way around. Kiara jumps in and goes to help JJ, so you run to Pope.

"Y/N!" Pope yells out to you, his voice relieved.

"Get off of him, Pope!" you yell, grabbing ahold of his shirt and yanking him away.

Pope stares at you, confusion and betrayal written all over his face. Rafe backs up, wiping blood from his lip and nose. A fire erupts on the movie screen, making the other boys stop and let go of JJ.

"What the fuck!" Pope screams at you, "Why are you protecting him?"

Topper rushes over and grabs ahold of Rafe, Kelce not far behind.

"Let's get out of here, man," Topper tells him, but Rafe holds back.

"I'm sorry," you say to Pope, but it seems to fall on deaf ears. JJ steps over beside Pope, bloody and beaten.

"Why did you do that?" Pope presses. You look around at your friends, not even bothering to look at Rafe.

"Pope-"

"No fucking bullshit, Y/N. Why the fuck would you pull me off of him?"

"Because I care about him, all right?" you shout, blowing up without even meaning to, "I'm falling for him and I fucked up, Pope."

Kie joins the boys, and you watch as they all stare at you like a complete stranger. You hear Topper crack up behind you, but the tears are already stinging your eyes at this point. You're sure Rafe and the boys will run off and laugh about this whole thing.

So, instead, you decide to take off first. You turn away from your friends and look to Rafe only for a second before you run away from all of them.

"Aww," you hear Topper snicker.

You make it far quickly, not stopping for anything. The tears are really falling now, and there's nothing you can do to stop them. You just want to get back to your house, fall asleep, and never think about this night again. You curse yourself for being so stupid in the first place. Someone like Rafe Cameron could never have feelings for you.

"Y/N!" you hear, but you don't stop until you hear it again.

You turn around and wipe your cheeks and eyes out, not knowing what to think when you see Rafe rushing toward you. You swallow, scared he's going to make fun of you.

"Hey," he says once he reaches you, "You run pretty fast."

"Well, tell Topper it comes with being a Pogue," you snap, embarrassed that your voice comes out nasally because of the crying.

"Hey, now," Rafe reaches out and grabs onto your arms, which confuses you. After what you just admitted, how could he want to touch you?

"Rafe-" you start, but he shakes his head.

"Don't you dare apologize," he says, his voice soft, "I haven't even told you how I feel yet."

Your eyes grow wide as he speaks, but you're sure he'll just tell you that you two are better off friends. How could he not?

"You don't have to say anything," you say, sounding ashamed. The last thing you want is to have the pity conversation with him.

"Yes, I do," he says, bringing one hand up to your face to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear, "I feel the same way. Honest. I never, ever stop thinking about you-"

"If you're lying-" you start, but he hushes you.

"I'm not, all right? Why do you think I hang out at Barry's so much? It's because I never know when you're coming around, and the last thing I wanna do is miss you when you do. Believe me, Barry's not that cool to hang with."

You laugh, and it somehow seems to make all the tension in the air go away. Rafe grins at you and pulls you in by the back of your neck for a hug, allowing him to breathe in your scent.

"I think we should give it a shot," he states, speaking softly against your head. You can feel his lips moving against your scalp, and it oddly relaxes you.

"Really?" you ask, practically melting Rafe's heart.

"Absolutely, princess," he smirks, giving you a short kiss on the top of your head.

You look up at him and he looks down at you, and before either of you know it, he's shoving you back against a tree with his lips on yours. Everything about him seems to intoxicate you - better than any shitty ass weed Barry can provide. Rafe's lips against yours make you feel like you're on the best high of your life.

After a few minutes, Rafe breaks the kiss and stares down at you, observing your pink lips.

"You with me?" he asks you, catching his breath.

"Hell yes," you reply, letting your lips fall in the same spot as they sat before.

With him.

[angelkurenai]

Oh baby dear - Chris Evans x Reader

Title: Oh baby dear

Pairing: Chris Evans x Surrogate!Reader

Warnings: None

Summary: After a trip that gives the chance to Chris to take a long-overdue break from his job, he comes back home with his mind made up to change his life. And even if it weren’t for the trip itself or meeting you, even though he had no idea if he’d ever see you again, he was determined to not wait any longer. Feeling ready to become a father he starts looking for a surrogate mother, only to end up finding you of all people.

“Son of a guy. You meant it.” brown eyes were wide, and for the first couple seconds no other sound could be heard in the room. It almost felt like the words could echo in the room.

“You're really doing this.” the man's voice was filled with just as much shock as was painted all over his face. At least the woman behind him was more calm, sipping on her drink with an ease that would have been troubling, especially in such a case, if it wasn't known that she had long ago heard the news.

“I wouldn't have brought it up in the first place if I wasn't seriously considering it.” the other man in the room couldn't take his eyes off his friend, trying to gauge his reaction the second it came through. It was bound to be the most honest one, no second thoughts, and he only needed his friends' honest thoughts. Not that, and he was sure of it, the other man would intentionally tell him anything but the truth.

“You- wow.” the shocked expression was still there but there was no mistaking the smile that was slowly but surely appearing on his face “Seems like Evans is finally joining the club, who'd have thought? That's what I call one heck of a year, quickly Scarlett note the date down! It's going to go down in the history books, I tell you. Oh you're in for one hell of a ride, buddy! Wait you knew about this, didn't you?” he turned to the woman but shook his head soon enough “Never mind. You're gonna have to look for a godmother but I do get to be the godfather, right? I really need to start making preparations, nine months are not even remotely enough. I gotta-”

“Take a deep breath and calm down, Robert. That's what you gotta do. Otherwise this kid won't get to meet its one-of-a-kind godfather. And we would never want that to happen, would we?” the woman interrupted his rambling, a teasing smile on her own lips as she noticed Chris himself chuckle.

“Oh goodness forbid that could ever happen.” Chris laughed some more, his chest feeling lighter than it had in the past couple days “And besides that, there has not been a surrogate found just yet. Papers got approved only a day ago, it will take more time than that.”

“You say that as if the second every woman finds out you're on that kind of market, won't volunteer to have your baby. Heck, I know most of them would gladly volunteer to do it the old-fashioned way! You'll see, you will be getting news very soon.” Robert brushed his friend off and got up from his seat, making his way to the mini bar to grab a drink for himself “Which means, I really gotta start preparing everything because a) this is Evans' kid and b) I'm the godfather and it'll get only the best!”

Scarlett couldn't help but laugh, while Chris shook his head with a chuckle, before she added “As you can see, he is going to be more trouble than the kid.” she ignored the look that was shot at her from Robert and kept going “But, speaking of it, I never asked: Did you never really consider adoption?”

“For most of the time that's what I had in mind, yes, but-” he sighed, easing back in his seat “I asked about it and my chances were sadly very low, given my job and everything, not to mention how lengthy of a process it all was. Sebastian was actually the one to suggest it and you know I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since. Granted, it is just as hard to find a surrogate who is also willing to be the biological mother but I feel like I have more to hope for this way.”

“You have every reason to be hopeful, I'm sure this will work out just fine. Besides-” she offered her friend a warm smile “There is no other man that I can think of that could be a better father than you. This child will be very lucky.”

“...The part of Robert being the godfather excluded?” Chris added with a smirk, eyeing his friend who narrowed his eyes at him, before both Chris and Scarlett burst into laughter.

“Life isn't perfect, what can you do?” she grinned as she took a sip of her drink.

“I'll try to be the better man, as always, and not comment on any spiteful comments against me. You're just jealous I am going to be the world's best godfather. Anyway, that wasn't what I was going to comment on.” he plopped back on his seat and gave the blue-eyed man a sly smile “Sebastian you say but I'm wondering: was it him or that summer trip to Italy that really prompted you to become a dad? Maybe a certain someone you met there? What was her name...”

“Don't-” it was all he had time to get out, his eyes wide and voice very warning; but there was never any stopping the man when he wanted to speak his mind.

“Ah yes.” Robert grinned widely “(Y/n).”

“What- Who?” Scarlett frowned, tilting her head to the side “How come I haven't heard of her before? I thought you told me everything about Italy.”

“She's nobod-”

“Probably the love of his life. Something like his soulmate. One he talks about a lot in his sleep, hence why I should hold more parties and have you guys over. The info I get is golden. Anyway, think of it as the star-crossed lovers but one where he isn't the Lana Del Rey young and beautiful, you know? Heard she's something like a med or psych graduate or something. So come to think of it all, Italy, soulmates and age difference, this is like another version of Call me by your-”

“And that's it for you. Enough words spoken for one day.” Scarlett said, not hesitating a second to place a hand over the man's mouth who admittedly didn't give up even if his words were only an incoherent mumble after that.

Chris' eyes were wide and there was no mistaking the way he wanted to not talk about it, as if there was some unparalleled sadness that came with the mention of your name, a deep ache and at the same time yearning perhaps because he missed you, just like there was no mistaking the tint of pink that was on his cheeks.

“That's-” he cleared his throat, avoiding looking at his friends in the eyes because he knew how easy it would be to tell that even so many months later the feelings were fresh as much as the day he had to leave, the day he left a part of himself on the airport with you – a part he knew real well he wouldn't get back again, certainly not from any other woman he got to meet. That missing part of him, even if the rest held all the beautiful memories dearly to itself and felt truly blessed, he knew was obvious. It was all on his face that he was missing something, even if he'd gotten so much. And he knew she would see it, it all became so obvious when he thought of you.

He shook his head when he realized he had taken longer than needed to reply “It was way too long ago, I can hardly remember it now. Hell, as if barely anything happened to begin with. She was just-” a lump in his throat, too painful “I made a good friend, a really good friend yes, who helped me see my life in a different way. Helped me make my choice and see the things that really matter. Couldn't keep in contact and yes that's a bit sad but- That's all there is to it, nothing more nothing less.”

Scarlett regarded him for a couple seconds, even as he tried to keep himself busy with getting another drink, before she finally spoke “If you say so.” she nodded her head “At least we now know who we owe this to and who to thank for our family growing, don't we?”

“Then-” Robert's smile was softer, yet also sad, as he raised his glass a bit “Let's drink to that, if not your baby just yet. To (Y/n)?”

“To (Y/n).” Scarlett nodded her head “For helping you make the best decision of your life, wherever she may be now.”

Chris hesitated, the unspoken truth of you not only being the one to help him make the decision but also be part of that decision, part of the family he wanted to build, was ready to break free from his lips but he held it back “Wherever she may be.” he said in a low hoarse voice, raising his glass as well “To (Y/n).”

He had not allowed himself to say your name in a long time and thinking back to it, the effect had been evident not only in his chest, in his heartbeat, but also in his lips, how painfully strange it felt when all he had been doing was think about it for months to no end, down to his throat that closed up with emotion. And he had allowed himself to say it not only so that he would make sure his friends would drop the subject but also because it had been a long time, he felt the need to and he knew that he wouldn't get the chance to do so, not anytime soon for sure.

And yet, only seconds ago, the name had left his lips for the second time in barely a couple days.

His brain could barely keep up with the fact, all the information he had to currently process seemed to make things even harder. Saying your name this time certainly had the same effect, his throat closed up and his heart leaped to his throat, but it felt like it was for an entirely different reason. He blinked several times, trying to make sure that what he was seeing was also true, to make sure that it wasn't wishful thinking and that him holding his breath had not reduced the levels of oxygen to a point where he couldn't even see straight. Truth be told, he felt pretty lightheaded.

“(Y/n) (Y/l/n).” he repeated your name for the third time, the third time in only a couple days his mind nearly screamed at him, but it didn't feel the same this time.

“Yes, I would say she seems like one of the most, if not the most, suitable candidate for you case.” the woman behind the desk gave him a warm smile but his brain was still currently stuck on the word 'candidate'.

“I'm sorry. There seems to be some misunderstanding here and I- I don't know whose part it is on, but-” he licked his lips, trying to swallow over the lump in his throat “When you say- What you're trying to say- I'm sorry.” he shook his head and let a couple seconds to pass in silence; he knew she wouldn't ask before him.

Taking a deep breath he decided to speak, even if his voice was hoarse he hoped she could make out the words “Candidate for what?”

The woman frowned a bit but it was gone faster than it could register, as she spoke in a calm voice “Your case. To be not only the surrogate you are looking for. See, her current, and according to her permanent from now on, residence is in New York City and very close to the residence you have listed as your permanent one. It is important, you understand, if we take into consideration that she will be the biological mother of the child. You might want the child to be able to stay in touch with her, and vice versa, so the close proximity does help. Of course that is always up to you, but in most cases we've seen it hap-”

“When did she sign up for this?” he asked, barely able to keep himself to wait for her to finish her sentence.

“Pardon?” she blinked and only then he realized how he might have sounded.

“You're right. I apologize, that came out as wrong.” he cleared his throat again “What I mean is... does she know who I am? That she- she's signing up to be a surrogate for my child.”

“Every surrogate must be informed, of course, of you as you are informed of her. She too must know whose child she will carry, don't you think it's fitting? But if you are uhm-” she hesitated “Concerned about other children, then, you need not worry. It's not my place to say this but it seems like-” she smiled a bit, almost knowingly “That you have already chosen, so I believe it wouldn't really be against any rule to say this. Consider it an extra bit of information.”

'Seems like you have already chosen.' would be a vast understatement. It was like every cell in his body was screaming 'Yes', chanting it over and over again that he was seriously worried he might have projected it somehow. He could barely control the words that came out of his lips anyway. If anything, the second he had come across the file with your name he had been glued to it, his eyes and all of his attention orbiting around the single file as if he was Earth and you were his Sun. Not far from the truth either.

But it also must have shown- No scratch that. He was sure it had shown because he had done no effort to hide it, too stunned and happy and eager and giddy and blessed and so many other things, to try to hide it. And she had clearly noticed.

“So, no, she has not mothered another child. As a matter of fact, Miss (Y/l/n) is doing this for the first time.” the woman leaned back in her chair “She came to us with the belief that there was too much sadness out there and, amongst other things, she decided to do this little one thing to help someone out. To make someone happy. I believe she didn't really have any further expectations out of this, no further plans, other than wanting to do some good. We only informed her of your case and she said she'd like to help, nothing else.” she shrugged softly “For any further reasons behind her choice you could ask her, I suppose. If you do think she could be the right choice to be the mother of your child, then-”

“She is.” he said, maybe a little too fast, but he didn't care. He didn't find a single part of him that cared for how eager he looked at the prospect of you being the mother of his child. Granted, it wasn't exactly how he'd imagined it but it was so much more than he ever thought he'd get, of what he thought he deserved, when he had told you goodbye that summer.

He cleared his throat again, trying to straighten his back and look as formal as he should in the suit he was wearing. He offered her a small smile “She is the right one. I think I've decided. I-” he paused, glancing at the pile of files and therefore other candidates which he had absolutely not even taken a glimpse at and he hoped she wouldn't comment on it “I've thought things through, yes.” because no man could make such a decision so hastily, he knew, and yet he looked like he just had “I'm glad for all the candidates it means a lot but uhm Miss (Y/l/n) seems to be indeed the right one. I think she will do just fine yes.”

“Wonderful.” she smiled more, nodding her head “If it means anything, she seemed happy when she was presented with your case.” oh if only she knew just how much it really meant to him, ask his wildly-beating heart and everyone would know just how much “Now, you understand that while you seem pretty sure and confident with your choice, you will have to give it some more time, more than anything to get in touch with the surrogate herself and discuss through any specific terms you might have. We will be the ones to set a meeting. Of course there are legal issues that need to be taken care of, but you're a lawyer yourself so you probably know that better than anybody else already.”

“Y-yes uh of course, yes, legal terms. Mr Wilson will represent me on the matter of course. But you said-” he folded his hands over his lap and threaded his fingers and it was either that or let his nerves show “Meeting her? Will I get to meet her in person soon or...?”

“That, Mr Evans, is completely up to you, how ready and sure you are, how much time you need and how fast you want things to progress.” she said as if she'd had this conversation many times over and she probably had “It could be within a week, a month, or, if you have no doubts, within three days the soonest possible. So, do you need time to think over-”

“The soonest possible. I'd like-” he nodded his head, straightening his suit's jacket “I think it would be best if I could meet with her the soonest possible. She's just what I was looking for.”

[5-seconds-of-bucky]

The Dock

A/N: So I’m writing for Bucky now...☺️ I wrote this for @wkemeup’s 9k writing challenge but also not? I’ve had the idea in my head for a while now so I thought I’d participate! I included the prompt, but it’s not so much the plot of the story so much as just part of it. Anyways, happy reading!

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Avenger!Reader

Summary: After a long time of mutual pinning, a night on the dock helps you and Bucky finally confess your feelings for each other

Word count: 4.5k+

Warnings: Swearing, reader gets catcalled, violence, excessive usage of the middle finger

Prompt: Character A is the target of harassment on the street. Shamed, they pretend it doesn’t bother them. Until it happens in the presence of Character B, who reigns hell on whoever dared to upset [A]

---

You awoke to your head bobbing on the car window and the sound of crunching gravel as the car pulled into the driveway of Tony’s lake house. Your neck ached from leaning over in a strange position for so long and you groaned as you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes.

Bucky grinned from the seat beside you. “Sleep well?” he asked, nudging your calf with his foot. “You got a little drool there.”

“Oh, shut up.” You stuck your middle finger up in his direction. “I slept very well, actually. Thank you for asking.”

“I can tell.” You lifted up your other hand to flip him off again, causing him to chuckle. “Ooh, two middle fingers. I’m really scared now.”

The two of you were too busy teasing each other to realize that the car had stopped and Sam and Natasha had already gotten out of it. A knock on the window your head was resting on made you turn around, seeing Sam’s face a little too close for your liking.

“Are you two gonna stop flirting and help us with the bags or should I let you bake in the car?” he asked. With a roll of your eyes, you opened the car door, making sure to bump Sam in the process. Bucky felt heat rise to his cheeks, glad that you weren’t looking over towards him to see it. “I’m taking this silence to mean that you do want to roast in the car.”

“Sam, would you shut up?” you laughed, casually sticking a middle finger up behind your back as you walked past him to the trunk.

“You and these middle fingers today,” Sam muttered.

“I have another one if you’d like to see it.” You grabbed your backpack and slung it over your shoulder.

“I’m good.” He picked up his bag from the ground before heading towards the house, which the rest of the team was already situated in. You went to grab your suitcase but Bucky swatted your hand away, grabbing it himself and closing the trunk.

“I got it,” he insisted like the true gentleman he was. As much as you wanted to argue, you knew it wouldn’t get you anywhere.

“Why thank you, good sir.” You bumped his shoulder with your own and walked ahead, jumping up the three steps to the porch and opening the door.

“All in a day’s work.” He lifted the suitcases up the steps with ease and slipped past you to get inside. The feeling of air conditioning inside the cabin was a major relief from the heat outside.

“Glad to see the lovebirds finally showed up,” Tony said once you and Bucky were completely inside the cabin.

“You better watch out, Tony. Y/N’s got middle fingers for days over there.”

“Shut up, Sam!”

A chorus of laughter rang out throughout the cabin and you made sure to shoulder check Sam as you passed him to get to the kitchen.  

---

“Okay, I have the perfect plan to get you and Barnes together this weekend,’ Natasha said as she pulled out clothes from her suitcase. You two were sharing a room for the week and you weren’t sure if it was a good thing or not. You loved Nat to death but lately she had been trying especially hard to get you to make a move on Bucky and it was only slightly annoying.

“The perfect plan, huh? Even more perfect than the last perfect plan?” You raised an eyebrow.

“I forgot to account for the fact you both have a tendency to wake up at ungodly hours in the morning last time. I promise it’s foolproof this time.”

“Well then, let’s hear it.”

“Alright. Before you got in here--you know, when you were busy flirting with Bucky.” She winked, to which you rolled your eyes. “Well Tony was talking about taking the boat out and going tubing. So what we have to do is get you and Bucky to go on the tube together. Tony’s a crazy driver so you’ll get thrown off pretty fast. Bucky will get so worried he’ll just have to confess his love to you.”

“Two issues.” You pointed a finger at her. “One, how am I going to get Bucky on a tube? It will be hard enough to get him on the boat alone. Two,” You held up another finger. “why would he confess his love at that very moment? That’s insane.”

“One,” She grabbed one of your fingers and put it down. “he’s whipped for you. I guarantee that if you ask, he’ll do it without a second thought.”

“Sure he would,” you scoffed.

“Uh, I know he would.” She gave you a knowing smirk. “Two, he gets worried about you all the time and I’ve seen him get close to confessing every time. We just gotta push him over the edge.”

“Bucky getting protective is just him being my best friend. He used to be just like that with Steve too.” You put your arm down, shuffling over to your own bed to take some clothes out of the blue suitcase on top of it.

“No, it’s definitely more than best friend love.” She moved to sit down on your bed.

“Either way, it usually ends in some kind of fight and I’d like to avoid that this weekend.”

“Who’s he gonna fight? Tony?”

“I mean, you never know.” It wouldn’t be the first time.  

~

“I can’t wait to get back and shove these things in my mouth,” you said with a grin as you exited the bakery behind Bucky, a bag of donut holes in your hand.

“Gee, really? It’s almost like you haven’t been talking about it for the past three days,” Bucky chuckled, reaching for the bag.

You pulled the bag away from him with a fake scoff. “Oh, I don’t think so, mister. We have to wait until we get back. The anticipation makes them taste better.”

“You’re insufferable.” He elbowed your side and you stuck your tongue out at him.

“Damn, you looking fine over there, mama!”

You took in a sharp breath. It wasn’t all that uncommon for you to get cat called while out and about. You were in New York City, for fucks sake. That didn’t mean that it made you feel any less uncomfortable, though.  

As much as it stung, you didn’t want to start anything. You stared straight ahead and prayed Bucky didn’t hear it. Much to your dismay though, he stiffened next to you, subtly glancing back to see who was talking to you in such a vulgar way. Damn that supersoldier enhanced hearing.

“Hey, sweetcheeks!” You felt a tug on your shoulder. “Didn’t you hear me?”

You huffed, shaking the harsh grip off your shoulder and picking up the pace. You expected Bucky to keep going with you so you continued walking, frowning when you noticed he wasn’t beside you anymore.

“Listen here, you little shit,” Bucky seethed, stepping in front of the man and blocking you from his sight. “She obviously doesn’t want to talk to you. Leave her, and every other woman you ever lay your beady little eyes on, alone.”

“And what’re you gonna do about it?” the man smirked. “She need her boyfriend to defend her?”

Bucky stepped closer, crossing his arms and giving the famous ‘Bucky stare.’ “Doesn’t matter who I am. You better back the fuck away before I make you life hell.”

A few onlookers started lingering around, some with their phones out and recording the scene, almost as if they wanted to see a fight break out between the two men. ‘Winter Soldier vs Everyday Pedestrian  was sure to be trending somewhere soon enough.

“Buck,” you said quietly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and ignoring the obvious stares you were receiving, most notably from the man whose face Bucky was ready to punch in. “Let’s just go.”

You could see the gears turning in his head, trying to decide if he should let it go or punch the living daylights out of the guy. He let out a soft sigh after a moment, relaxing into your grip. With one last look at the man, he turned around and placed his hand on the small of your back, gently pushing you forward.

“Aye, it’s all good. I’m sure I’ll see that tight ass ‘round here soon anyways.”

That was the last straw for Bucky. He growled with a ferocity you hadn’t heard before and whipped around, not even hesitating to use his metal arm to punch the guy. The crowd gasped, more bringing their phones out to capture what was sure to be a great fight.

“What the fuck was-” Bucky grabbed him by his collar, pushing him up again the exposed brick of a restaurant.

“There’s plenty more where that came from and, judging by the way you’re looking at me, I bet you don’t want to see it. So do the rest of humanity a favor and fuck off.” He let go of the man’s collar and stepped back, unclenching his fist and pivoting back towards you. “Come on, doll.”

You shook the shock off your face and fell into step next to him. His arm warped around you, pulling you into his side. You could feel the fumes radiating off of him as you walked back to the tower, choosing to stay quiet as you let him cool off.

You paused once you reached the entrance of the tower. Tony probably already knew about what happened and he sure wasn’t going to be happy about it. Bucky’s media presence hadn’t necessarily been bad lately, but it wasn’t perfect either. The public was still wary. To many, the Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier were still the same person.  

Things definitely felt off when you entered. You got the side eye from a few people in the elevator and you weren’t sure if it was because of the fight fiasco or because of how tightly Bucky was holding you to his side.

“Want to eat these in my room?” you asked once you stepped off the elevator.

“Sounds good.” His voice was distant as his eyes searched the room.

“Mr. Barnes,” FRIDAY’s voice startled the two of you, making you drop the donut holes. “Mr. Stark has requested to see you in his office.”

Bucky sighed. “I’ll be there in a few.” He picked up the bag and handed it back to you. “Apparently, I have business to attend to.”

You simply nodded. He went in the other direction towards Tony’s office pausing at the door before knocking. You sent him a thumbs up before he went in, but he didn’t look back at you to see it. You retreated to your room, placing your wallet on the dresser and popping a donut hole in your mouth.

“Maybe I should get a plate,” you wondered aloud. You needed to grab your water bottle anyways. Might as well make the trip. You put the donut holes on your bed and started making your way to the kitchen.

“She’s perfectly capable of handling herself, you know.” You couldn’t help but stop as you heard Tony’s voice through the door of his office.

“But she shouldn’t have to.” Bucky sounded stressed and you could only imagine the hell Tony was reigning on him. “Her ignoring him wasn’t going to do anything. I didn’t want to beat the guy up but he was harassing her and it needed to stop.”

“And this doesn’t have anything to do with any particular feelings you have for her, right?” The sarcasm was heavy in his voice.

“Tony-”

“I don’t want to hear it, Barnes. You know how the public sees you. I don’t know how we’re going to fix this.”

“That guy harassed her! I couldn’t stand there and just let it happen!” God, you wanted to give him a hug so bad right now.

“I don’t care what it was, Bucky. Having heart eyes for Y/N doesn’t mean-” You took that as your cue to leave. You grabbed a plate and two water bottles from the kitchen and made sure to take the long way around to your room in order to avoid whatever was going on between the two of them.

Bucky showed up a half hour later, plopping down next to you on your bed with a little more space than usual.

~

“I’m just saying, it could work.” Nat got off your bed. “The cookout’s starting soon. Put on something cute.” She was gone before you could respond, leaving you to look for an outfit that would, as Nat liked to say, “knock Bucky off his ass.”

---

“Ooh, Y/N, looking to impress someone?” Sam called out as you walked out into the backyard. It seemed that most everyone else was already out there, helping make dinner or sitting on the dock.

You stuck up your middle finger in reply, knowing exactly what he was trying to do.

“Oh stop it, Sam,” Wanda said as she walked towards you. “You look amazing!”

“Aww, thank you! You look absolutely stunning yourself.” Wanda reached out her hand and nodded towards the dock, urging you to come with her and join the group. You grabbed it and let her drag you down there, giving a small wave to Bucky as you passed him near the grill.

Bucky waved back, a grin spanning the expanse of his face at the sight of you. He kept his gaze on you as you made your way down to the dock, not even realizing just how intently he was staring.

“Someone’s staring at you,” Nat said with a suggestive smirk once you were close enough to the dock.

“He has a starting problem. We all know that,” you argued, sitting down across from her.

“I don’t know. He looks like he wants nothing more than to-”

“Nat, I love you, but please shut up.” She raised her hands up in the defense and Wanda giggled.

“I’m just saying.”

“You okay over there?” Steve shifted his focus from the burgers to his 100-year-old friend for a second, of course noticing the sudden silence that ensued the second you entered Bucky’s line of vision. “Buck?”

“Huh?” Bucky’s head turned sharply in Steve’s direction.

“You alright?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” A shy smile.

“Are you going to ask her out soon?” He flipped some burgers over and pulled the lid of the grill closed.

“I’m getting to it, yeesh,” Bucky chuckled.

“That’s what you’ve been saying since forever.”

“And it’s what I’ll keep saying every time you pester me about it.”

“Well if you don’t make a move soon, maybe I’ll swoop in-”

“Nope! You will not do that.” He nudged Steve in the shoulder and started making his way to the dock. “You absolutely will not do that.”

Soon. He was going to do it soon.

---

“Who’s next?” Tony called from the driver’s seat of the boat. You handed Sam a towel as he got back on the boat, drenched from flying off the tube a second earlier.

“You should go with Bucky.” Wanda nudged you with a teasing smile. You glanced over to the man in question, seeing him sitting next to Steve. He wore a t-shirt and swim shorts with a pair of sunglasses perched on his nose, and he looked damn good.

“I’ll go,” you announced, standing up and taking your t-shirt off, leaving you in your favorite swimsuit and a pair of shorts. You handed Wanda the shirt so it wouldn’t get wet. “Anyone wanna go with me?” Wanda jabbed your leg and gave you a playful glare.

“Go with her,” Steve muttered to Bucky, bumping his shoulder with his own.

“I don’t know, Steve.” Bucky sighed. Steve rolled his eyes, knowing that his best friend just needed a little push. 

“Bucky will go with you,” Steve said a bit louder than necessary. Bucky groaned quietly at his friend, taking off his sunglasses and putting them in his seat. He made sure to give Steve a certain look before making his way towards the back of the boat. You both grabbed your life jackets and started securing them as Sam moved out of your way.

“Cyborg!” Tony called out. “You going to take your shirt off?”

You felt Nat snort as she helped you off of the back of the boat and onto the tube. “Yeah, Bucky. Why don’t you show off your muscles for your girlfriend here.”

“Nat!” You paused for a second to look back at her with fake betrayal.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” He snapped the last clasp on the life vest and checked to make sure you were all the way on the tube so he could start getting on.

“Oh, come on, Buckaroo!” Sam laughed. He started a chant of “take it off” with the rest of the team (even you, though you’d never admit it).

“Fine,” Bucky grumbled, hastily taking off the life jacket and shirt. He threw the shirt to the middle of the boat and resecured the lifevest, ignoring Nat’s hand offered out for help as he climbed on the tube. His famous Bucky glare melted off his face the second he saw your bright smile and he found himself smiling too.

“I don’t know how well this is going to go but it’s gonna be fun,” you said as he grabbed onto the handles.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Tony’s a crazy driver and we’ve never been able to get you on a tube before. I’m betting you’ll fly off in the first three minutes.”

The tube jerked forwards before Bucky could say anything else. You started picking up speed quickly and soon enough, Bucky was holding the handles with a death grip. You ended up being right and about two minutes in, you hit a wave that threw him off.

“Are you okay?” you asked in between laughs as he struggled to get back on.

“Yeah,” he muttered, a hint of annoyance on his face. You threw a thumbs up to Tony, who nodded and started moving again. “It’s like he’s trying to throw us off.”

“Well half the fun is falling off.”

“You people have strange ways of entertaining yourselves on Sunday afternoons.”

“What would you suggest we rather do then?”

“I don’t know. Something that doesn’t involve giving myself whiplash for ‘fun.’”

“You’re such an old man.” You let go of a handle to smack his arm. Of course, at that exact moment, you hit a wave strong enough to throw both of you off. You shrieked as you flew off of the tube before smacking the water. Whether it was the lack of paying attention or a scheme by Nat and Steve, the boat kept going, leaving the two of you floating in the middle of the lake by yourselves.

“Where are they going?” You furrowed your eyebrows, though a grin was still evident on your face.

“Are you okay?” Bucky ignored your question as he swam over to you, worriedly grabbing your face and checking for injury.

“Buck, I’m fine,” you said, though you didn’t do anything to stop his injury check. He sighed and looked towards the direction the boat went. It seemed that they were already long gone.

“That shriek had me worried there for a second, doll.” His hands dropped from your cheeks and you found yourself missing his touch.

“No need to worry. I’m all good over here.”

“Good.”

A lull of conversation fell over the two of you as you treaded water. You slowly moved closer, noses almost touching when Bucky glanced down to your lips. You nodded. I want this too.

His lips brushed over yours: eyes closed and hands dipping under the water to grab your waist.

“There you are!” you heard Sam’s voice shout. You quickly separated, looking awkwardly down at the water as you tried to focus on anything but each other. “Thought we lost you. Didn’t interrupt anything, I hope.” He smirked at Bucky.

This time, it was Bucky flipping him off.

---

You tried to be quiet as possible as you tiptoed through the hallway, hoping that you wouldn’t step on any particularly squeaky floorboards in the dark. You started opening drawers once you made it to the kitchen in search of a flashlight. Did Tony even own basic technology like that?

“What are you doing, doll?” A soft voice broke you from your thoughts. A pair of blue eyes stared back at you.

“Did I wake you up?”

“No.” He shook his head.

“Oh, okay.”

“You look like a deer in headlights.” His lips turned into an almost smile. “Are you running away?”

“Just down to the dock. Need to clear my mind.” Nightmares.

He nodded. An unspoken understanding. Maybe that’s what made you such great friends.

“Mind if I join?”

“Sure.” You finally found a flashlight and grabbed it, sliding the drawer shut with your hip. You slid the glass door to the porch open, leaving Bucky to follow you out.  

Warmth surrounded you as you made your way to the dock. The humidity was atrocious during the day but at night, it was somehow comforting. The buzzing of bugs in the surrounding woods brought you a level of peace that the hum of air conditioning inside couldn’t. You sat down at the edge of the dock, dipping your toes in the cool lakewater.

Bucky sat down next to you a moment later. Your silence contrasted with that of the busy summer night, but it was comfortable. Nothing needed to be said; the presence of each other was more than enough.

“You know,” he started, his gaze not leaving the shoreline across the way. “I’m here if you ever want to talk about it.”

You glanced over to him for a second, taking subtle notice of his features when his guard was down. The dark circles under his eyes mirrored yours, yet he looked relaxed.

“And what if I don’t?” The slight stain of your voice didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“I’m not going anywhere.” His head turned to meet you eyes. The soft upturn of your lips and content sigh told him that was the right answer. Your hand inched closer to his, your pinkies brushing on the splintered wood of the dock.

“How do you always know what to say?” Your gaze followed his across the lake, catching sight of a few deer grazing on the grass at the edge of the woods.

“I guess being alive for 106 years has to give me some kind of wisdom, right?”

You snorted, breaking the quiet atmosphere the two of you had created for the first time that night.

“I dunno. You’re still kind of a dumbass.”

“And you're still kind of a smartass, so where does that get us?” A grin spread across his face and there was no sight you loved more.

“God, I love seeing you smile.” A blush coated his cheeks at your words and he prayed you couldn’t see it in the dark of the night.

Your hands inched closer for a second time that night. A metal hand reached across to grab yours, his other arm going around your waist to pull you closer. Your head rested beneath his chin as he rubbed circles into your side.

“Thank you,” you mumbled after a few minutes of quiet.

“For what?”

“Your face.”

His chest rumbled with laughter and he squeezed you just the slightest bit tighter. “Glad I could be of service, doll.”

“Seriously, though . . .Thank you for being around. I know we joke around a lot but it really means a lot that you’re willing to sit out here with me.”

“I mean, technically, it was more of me inviting myself than putting myself through the torture of sitting here with you.”

You pulled away from his chest, shifting yourself so you could look at him better. “For real, Buck.” You put your hands on his cheeks. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Just do it, Bucky. Now’s the time.

He let out a breath as he smiled, looking anywhere but in your eyes as he contemplated what to do next. The hand not holding your waist came to brush back a piece of hair that had fallen in your face.

“Can I kiss you?”

You looked shocked for a moment, leaving him to wonder if he’d been reading it wrong all along. “Shit, Y/N, I’m so sorry! I thought that-”

You cut him off, pressing your lips against his. Your hands moved to wrap around his neck as his grabbed your hips. It was everything you needed and yet it still wasn’t enough.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this to happen,” you breathed once you pulled away. This grin on your face mirrored his as he pressed his forehead against yours, wanting to keep you as close as possible.

“Actually . . . I think I might.” He dipped back in for another kiss, this one a bit softer than the first, but just as passionate.

A sudden breeze swept through the night and you shivered. It would have been a relief from the heat if you weren’t already having chills due to the man in front of you.

“Let’s get you back inside, doll.”

You were reluctant to let go of him. The moment you’d been waiting for for so long finally happened and you felt yourself scared to be too far from him.

You shifted your weight back so he could get up, not realizing just how close to the edge of the dock you were. Bucky let go of your hips before you could warm him and you felt yourself falling backwards in slow motion. A small yelp left your lips and Bucky’s attempt to save you was futile as your hands slipped through his.

“Cold, cold, cold!” you chanted once you surfaced, barely hearing yourself over how loud Bucky was laughing.

“Are you okay?” he choked out in between his laughter, kneeling at the edge of the dock and holding his hand out towards you. You grabbed his hand with a glare.

“I have half a mind to yank you in here with me.” His eyes widened at your words.

“Don’t you dare!” You tugged his arm lightly, just enough to get his face closer to yours.

“I guess I can spare you. Just this one time.” You pressed a chaste kiss to his lips before pulling yourself up onto the dock. “But I think I deserve a hug for my troubles.”

“Can’t deny my girlfriend that, now can I?” He pulled you into a hug, cradling your head on his chest and pressing his lips to your hairline.

“I’m your girlfriend, huh? Damn, we’re moving fast! Do you have the wedding planned already?”

“Oh please. I think we all know we’ve basically been dating for a while now.”

“Perhaps.” The two of you stayed in that position for a moment longer before another breeze came.  “Should we go in now that we’re both wet and cold?”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea, doll.” Keeping an arm around each other, you slowly made your way back to the cabin, already making plans for a proper date once the trip was over.

---

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[lottiebagleywritesobx]

Tequila confessions

JJ lets out a sigh at the sight of his best friend. He'd been late to the kegger and more than ready to relax and have fun with his friends, he knew almost immediately that his plans were going to be very different.

"JAIII," She's slurring as she shouts, stumbling a little over nothing as she approaches him.

"Hey sunshine," He coos lightly, tucking her into his side as he points Kie a sharp glare.

She holds her hands up in surrender "That girl is crazy," Kie defends, causing the girl to let out a gasp, turning to fight back but seemingly forgetting she was mad in the first place when she actually sees Kie, instead moving to go and hug her friend, she's kept in place though by JJ's arm around her shoulder.

"Seriously Kie, I asked you to keep an eye out for her for like a couple hours cause I had work," JJ complains, it was no secret amongst the pogues that she couldn't hold her drinks, she could casually drink on the boat all day but the minute she was in a party setting she would wind up pissed.

"It's not my fault girls from school wanted to do tequila shots and-"

"Shit! You know she voms on tequila," JJ grumbles

"No, we don't all know every little thing about her," Kie defends, JJ rolls his eyes, glancing to see if she had realised what Kiara meant, she seemed to be entertaining herself by playing with the ends of his fingers that hang around her shoulder. "C'mon, I'll get you a beer," Kie offers.

JJ sighs, he does want to drink with his friends, smoke a bit too. It had been a long day and he needed to relax. He knows though that if his best friend has done tequila shots she'll be feeling ill within minutes and he wants to be able to look after her properly.

"I should probably skip, get this one home," He admits, squeezing the girl in his arms a little, seemingly drawing her attention back to him.

"I'm not going home," She argues, still slurring

"Sunshine, you gotta. You'll be feeling poorly soon and-"

He cuts himself off when she makes a dash for it. Leaving his tight grip and sprinting across the beach to John B who reaches out immediately to steady her and stop her from falling.

"Fuck it. Where's the beer Kie?" JJ decides.

He settles at the campfire, drinking slowly so as to stay sober and look after her when she inevitably needs him. A group of touron girls are talking to him, pawing for attention and he's half listening, his eyes are zoned in on her though.

He watched as she danced with Sarah.

He watched as she played beer pong with some kook boys, not sure if he was mad because she was already drunk enough or because they all kept trying to touch her. He figured it's probably the latter.

He watched as she splashed Pope in the shallow water.

Unable to help himself, a large grin spreads across his face as he watches her approach him. She's reaching out and making grabby hands at him, confidently shoving her way through the girls surrounding him to sit next to him. She doesn't need to worry about it, he's always dropped everything to be with her.

She sits silently, head cocked to the side, eyeing JJ with great concentration  despite her glassy eyes. He takes the moment to look at her, glowing in the light from the fire and biting her bottom lip slightly, she always does when she's focused.

"Your face is stupid but I like it. I like your stupid...it's so...I like it. Can I touch it?"

"Course you can sunshine," He's grinning widely and can practically feel himself melting when her hand reaches out, stroking his cheek gently.

"JJ can I tell you something?" She's trying to whisper but her voice is no where near quiet, hand still cupping his face.

"You can tell me anything," He reassures, hand going to her knee to rub comforting circles on the skin

"I feel icky,"

"You wanna leave?" He asks, his voice soft

"I wanna be with you,"

"Well obviously I'm leaving with you, christ sunshine, wasn't just gonna let you wander off home all alone,"

"But you just got here and then I'll ruin your night-" He can tell she's about to ramble so he decides to cut it off quickly

"I'd rather be with you anyway. Alright?" He speaks so softly that if anyone who knew him and hadn't seen him around her before were to see they'd struggle to believe it was him at all.

**

JJ prides himself on how attentive he is to her needs. No matter the situation he knows what she wants.

Tonight is no different, she's leaning over the toilet of the chateau, JJ is standing behind her rubbing her back comfortingly as he holds her hair back.

She pulls away from the toilet, her face a little sweaty and immediately JJ is passing her a glass of water. She pats the floor next to her and JJ immediately sits. "I wanna give you something," She sighs, her head falling to JJ's shoulder as she hiccups a little

"What is it?" He asks, hand once again finding it's home on her knee, his thumb rubbing gently

"My heart. I wanna give you my heart. How do I do it?" She springs up off his shoulder again, looking at him intensely

"Might take a surgery, we'll leave that one for tomorrow yeah?" He questions gently. He knows he can't let himself, even for a second, think she means what's she's saying. She's intoxicated and she's a sappy drunk and he can't set himself up for that kind of heart break.

"Tomorrow though?"

"Yeah sunshine," He nods.

"You're my best friend JJ, but don't tell Kie," She whispers, although it's still not quiet

"You're mine. But don't tell John B," He hums in response, watching her with a wide smile as she grins, rocking back and forth a little.

"I really love you," She admits, her eyes almost look scared

"I really love you too,"

"No like I really love you. Like I wanna have your babies and be with you all the time kinda love you,"

"You are drunk. You don't know what you're saying," He's more telling himself than her.

"NO!" She shouts, gasping dramatically as though she's offended. "I'm not drunk. If I was drunk could I do this?"

He sits silently for a few seconds, watching as she seems to glare at him instensly.

"What is it you are doing sunshine?" He questions

"I-I'm sending you my love. Did you not get it?" She almost looks like she's about to cry and JJ acts quickly, pulling her into a tight hug. "Can we sleep now blondie?"

"Of course sunshine," He agrees immediately.  He lifts her from the floor with ease, placing her onto the bed in the room that might as well belong to him. He makes her down another water, helping her out of her jean shorts and crop top and helping her into one of his tshirts. Passing her a cotton pad with her makeup remover on.

She snuggles into the mattress pulling the duvet up to just under her eyes as she watches JJ get ready for bed. He turns around to face her "Thought you were taking your makeup off sweetheart?"

"No. I want cuddles,"

"You can have cuddles after you take your make up off," he instructs, she sighs dramatically but rubs at her face with the cotton pad.

He climbs into bed next to her, opening his arms and immediately she snuggles into them, tucking her head under his chin and wrapping her arms around him, he holds her close, rubbing her back gently.  

"I really am in love with you JJ,"

"Tell me again after you've slept and I'll be yours. Okay sunshine?"

"Okay," She agrees, smiling when she feels him press a kiss to the top of her head "You'll say it back though, right?" She questions, her voice slowly becoming more drowsy

"I promise,"

**

JJ wakes up to see her still in his arms. She's awake though, staring at him from his chest.

"Are you watching me sleep like a creeper?"

"Are you gonna say it?" She enquires immediately,  he doesn't like the way his heart swells, maybe she meant it? maybe it wasn't just her drunk ramblings?

"You need to learn how to hack a drink," He scolds lightly

"Not that JJ,"

"I'm in love with you," He speaks quietly, she jumps immediately, sitting up to straddle him and pulling him up with her.

"I wanna kiss you,"

"Then kiss me," He grins, he doesn't think he's ever been happier.

"I haven't brushed my teeth,"

"I don't care," He laughs a little and she giggles

"I do. C'mon," She pulls him from the bed to follow her.

They brush their teeth, JJ's arms wrapped around her waist as they do so and the second both their toothbrushes are back in the little holder his lips are on hers.

He kisses gently, like he's been waiting for this his whole life and he wants to savour every last second. She figures that maybe he has been.

"JJ, did I mention having your kids last night?" She whispers, foreheads pressed together.

"Yeah. You are never living it down sunshine," He's beaming as she giggles, leaning up to press her lips back to his.

[warmblanketwhump]

flight plan: part 2

no planes in this one - just some good old-fashioned sickfic! But if you want the backstory, check out part 1 here.

“A, can you hand me my glass of water? Pleaaaase?” B sticks out their bottom lip in a pout, and A can’t help but laugh.

“Okay, you. It’s been four days and I know you’re getting better, because you’re getting pesky again.” A straightens the blankets and slides their hand up to feel B’s cheek. “Still a little warm, but I think you’re on your way out of the woods.”

“So I should milk this while I can?” B flutters their eyelashes and gives a pitifully fake cough, which slips into a real one, sharp and rattling. Concern flits across A’s eyes, and they help B take a few sips from the glass.

Despite the joking, A didn’t kid themselves about how sick B had been, or how awful they’d truly felt after getting off the plane. The first two days had been nightmarish - B barely conscious, shivering with chills and sweating through their sheets, alternating between terrifying fever dreams and inconsolable moaning and weeping.

A did their best to hold them through it, but they had been minutes away from hauling B to the hospital. Thankfully B’s fever had spiked just one final time before settling into general low-grade misery.

“As long as you need me, sweetheart, you’ve got me.” B gives a tired smile and pulls the blanket to their chin, huddling around the new stuffed animal A gave them at the airport.

“Did you call C?”

“Ah, not yet. Too busy with you, ya sick little bean.” A gently fluffs B’s hair. “You rest, and I’ll give them a call now.”

But C doesn’t pick up. Nor do they pick up an hour later, leaving A stuck with the unpleasant task of leaving a voicemail.

“Um, hi…this is A. I just wanted to call and let you know that B’s on the mend. They’re still pretty weak, but I think things are looking up. So…yeah. Thanks for everything you did for B - once they were feeling better, they told me all about what you did. And I…well, I care a lot about them. Obviously. So I appreciate it. I guess you can call back if you-”

The message cuts off, and A groans. Hopefully that was enough. Still, they couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of their stomach.

Later, they settle in with B to watch a movie, B’s head cradled in their lap as A combs their fingers soothingly through their hair, reveling in the sheer normalcy of it all. They both end up falling asleep, and when A blinks awake as the credits roll, they notice a missed call from C. B’s still out, so they click to listen to the voicemail.

“Hey, A….sorry I *coughs*…missed you earlier. Wasn’t able to *sniffs* make it to the phone. So glad to hear that B’s *cough cough* doing better. I think they did a little sharing.” C laughs weakly, but A can hear the sheer exhaustion in their voice. “Anyways, glad they had you. And if you’ve got any survival tips, feel free to pass them along…..I’m just kidding. *cough* I’ll be fine. Anyways, I’ll…see you around, I guess.” They pause briefly, like they want to say something more, but a coughing fit steals their breath away, and the message ends with a click cutting off the rough gasps.

The pit in A’s stomach comes back. C sounds sick.

“Who….who was that?” B mumbles from their spot on A’s lap.

“It was C. They called back and they….didn’t sound so good.”

B’s eyes snap to meet A’s, more alert than they have been in days. “Did they sound like me?”

C pauses. They hadn’t thought about not telling B, but in hindsight, maybe they should have. After all, it’d only flood B with guilt, and they needed all the energy they had to get well. But one look at B’s concern, and they knew they wouldn’t be able to lie.

“Yeah. They did.” Immediately B struggles to push themselves up, throwing their blanket off their shoulders and trying to stand.

“Whoa, hold it there. Where do you think you’re going?”

“To C. If they’re sick, it’s from me, and if any hints from the past four days of living with me are any indication, we gotta help them.”

A throws their hands up, pressing B back on the couch. “Hold up. We don’t know them, we don’t know if someone’s already taking care of them, and we don’t know where they live. I’m sure they’re-“

B frantically shakes their head. “You didn’t hear them. On the plane. From what they said…I don’t think they have anyone. I have to go.”

A chews their lip. “Well, let’s get things straight first. You’re in no shape to go help them. Which leaves me. A random stranger they don’t know. And you want me to check on them?”

The question was meant to be sarcastic, but B nods vigorously and fear fills their eyes with a fevered anxiety. “A, you saw how sick I was. You think anyone’s gonna be able to fight through that alone?”

A sighs wearily. They could blame it on the fact that arguing with a sick B was like arguing with a brick wall. But truthfully, what did their heart in was the thought of B alone on that plane, sick and shivering and miserable, if C hadn’t helped.

Fine. They’d send a text.

You okay? You sounded kinda rough on the phone. B was worried….

A few moments later, C responds.

Eh, I’ve felt better. But thank you for asking. And tell B not to feel bad. They were a better seatmate than most.

A smile tugs at A. At least this C was polite.

Is there anything you need? B said something about you being by yourself.

This pause was longer. The dots appeared and disappeared a few times, before a message came through.

I hate to take advantage, but is there ANY way you could bring over some cough medicine? I ran out a couple days ago. No worries if not - I can figure it out.

C’s heart sank. So they were alone. Sure, they didn’t say it - but any good friend or significant other worth their salt wouldn’t leave someone they loved without medicine for days.

I’ll bring some to you! Want to meet somewhere neutral, or just want me to drop it off?

In moments, C sends a response and an address.

Dropping off is fine. You are an actual lifesaver.

A settles B into bed with blankets, a cup of water, hot tea, and six types of medicine on the side table. “Now if you get worse, call me and I’ll turn around immediately. Nothing’s more important than you, okay?”

B shook their head. “I’ll be fine. They need someone.”

A heaves a sigh. “You’re too good, you.” They give B a quick forehead kiss, and head out into the night.

By the time they get to C’s apartment, their stomach is flip-flopping - C is a stranger. A lonely stranger, but a random stranger nonetheless. They come to C’s door and knock tentatively, gripping the paper bag of cough medicine (plus some cough drops and Tylenol for good measure), and hold their breath.

Nothing. A few minutes go by and A knocks again. They’re ready to break down the door if C doesn’t answer soon, but they realize what took so long right after they hear the click of the deadbolt.

A had seen corpses that looked more alive than C did right now. They lean heavily on the doorframe, sweat beaded on their forehead, a thick grey throw blanket clutched tightly around their shoulders. Their face is hollow and devoid of color, lips dry and cracked, their hair mussed and matted to their head. The cool night air hits their fevered body, triggering a round of chills that make them shudder. Despite their misery, a tiny light of gratitude flits across their eyes, and they stare incredulously at the paper bag in A’s hands.

“C….” A’s jaw drops to the ground.

“A, I seriously owe you one.” C tries to laugh, but it turns into a wheezing chest cough, high pitched and tense as they fight to catch their breath. Their eyes blink slowly, and they start to slide down the doorframe, but A grabs them and they both tumble inside.

Even through the blanket, A can feel C’s every bone. C weakly clings to A as they stumble toward the couch, and A deposits them on the cushions before tearing into the package of meds.

“What have you taken so far today?” A asks, trying to figure out the dosages.

“I….nothing…” C mumbles. A meets their eyes in disbelief before cracking open the blister packet and retrieving a proper dose. Grabbing an empty glass on the side table, they fill it before helping C choke the pills down. C greedily gulps the whole glass, breathing heavily once they’ve drained it.

“Water…water’s good.” C smiles blearily - they’re almost completely out of it. A presses a hand to the side of C’s neck, and C flinches at the cool touch. Their neck feels like a bank of hot coals, slick with sweat, lymph nodes sore and swollen. Their forehead isn’t much cooler either.

“C, when’s the last time you ate or drank anything?”

C cocks their head like A just asked them to recite the entire periodic table. “I….not sure? Days….kinda blurry.”

A’s seen enough. “C, you’ve got to go to the hospital. I haven’t even seen your temp, but you’re burning up even worse than B was.”

C frantically grasps at A’s wrists, sharp panic flooding their eyes. “Please…no…no hospital. I can’t. The meds….I’m fine here. Please.” A shiver wracks their body, and they hunch their shoulders, wrapping themselves back up and pulling the blanket over their nose. “Please. You can go now.”

“C, you need help-“

“I don’t.” Their voice breaks on the last word, cut off by a brief hiccuping sob.

Confusion rises through A - one minute C’s a grateful wreck, and the next moment they’re demanding they leave?

“C, I don’t understand-“

“You don’t get it. You think it feels all nice, having people care about you. Making you feel like you matter. And then they leave you. Get tired of you. Decide you’re not worth it. And it hurts worse than if they were never there at all.” C scrubs their eye with the corner of their blanket and sniffles as tears run down their cheeks. “I can’t let it happen again. I have to be alone. So just go. Please.”

A’s speechless. They kneel down next to the couch, hand tentatively hovering above C.

“C, is it okay if I put my hand on you right now?” C’s still sniffling, but they nod and mumble a weak “yes”, and A gently lets their hand rest on this stranger’s shoulder.

“C, I want to respect what you want right now. But you should know that you’re very sick. And you’ve managed in your own way - how, I have no idea - but you need some help right now. Now I can either call the hospital and let them handle it, or take you home with me. It’s up to you. Otherwise, you need to look me in the eye and tell me honestly that you want to be left alone through this.”

They squeeze C’s shoulder, and it triggers a deep gasping sob from their broken, aching body, sending a fault line straight through A’s heart. The sob turns to weeping, and A can barely make out the words C whimpers: "I don't want to hurt anymore."

God, who broke this poor thing? A bites their lip. C’s losing it. They’re running out of options short of forcing C to come with them, and that’s the last thing they want to do to a delirious, love-starved person who’s known them all of 6 minutes.

“C, I’m not gonna hurt you. I want to help you. Heck, even B wants to help you. I had to practically pin them down to the bed before leaving, they were so hell bent on this rescue.”

C’s red, swollen eyes meet A’s. “You mean….they asked after me?”

“Yes. They did. They could hardly stop talking about you once they came to their senses.” A rubs C’s knee through the blankets. “And they’d never forgive me if I left you here alone - they were very adamant about that. So if you want to save me a lot of arguing with and consoling of a very sad B, you’d actually be doing me a favor coming back with me.”

C seems to be weighing their options, all while struggling to stay awake on the couch. “I mean…if it saves you the trouble….”

A’s the one nodding vigorously now. “Please. It would.” Please. Just come back with me. I can’t leave you here like this. But I don’t know what else to do.

C presses themselves up off the couch with a single shaking arm. “Well, if it’d help you, then I accept.” And then they promptly pass out into A’s waiting arms.

It’s late when A gets back home with a limp C, and B is knocked out in their room, light still on - they’d tried to wait up, but their body still craved rest.

A carries C over the threshold and into the house. They gently lay the bundle on the bed and feel their forehead - still too hot, but the medicine seemed to be working. They manage to wake C up enough to take a few sips of broth from a mug before they pass out again.

For the briefest moment, A lets their hand touch C's shoulder again, making a silent promise they barely know how to keep: I don't know who broke you, but I'm not gonna let you hurt any more. I won't allow it.

A wave of exhaustion floods their body as they feel the effects of several late nights and long days of caretaking. They'd be no good to anyone if they didn't get any rest. A drapes an extra blanket over C’s sleeping form and heads for the couch for the night - they’d check back in an hour or so.

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

B’s awakened by the sound of sniffling. And it’s not theirs. They blink tentatively in the lamplight, sleep clouding their thoughts. Snatching a blanket from the top of their bed, they wrap up, stuffed animal under one arm, and shuffle across the hall to see where the sound is coming from.

It’s C, swathed in two blankets, holding a wad of tissues and trembling like a leaf. B flicks on the bedside table lamp, and C winces at the light. B can see the tear stains on their cheeks.

“Cold,” C whimpers, coughing weakly. Pity floods B - it’s like looking at a picture of themselves just a few days ago. They reach out and put their hand on C’s head, and C leans into the touch.

“Yeah, this part sucks,” B says softly, guilt flooding their core. Sure, they didn’t mean to make C sick. But they did. And they felt a certain responsibility to make sure they made it through okay - just like C had cared for them on the plane.

“Can I get you anything? Another blanket, tea, medicine?”

“Throat hurts…water…please?” B nods and places the stuffed animal next to C before beginning the long, slow shuffle to the kitchen. A’s asleep on the couch, and they can’t bear to wake them up for something this small. But by the time they get to the kitchen, their legs are trembling with exertion. Easy there. You’re still sick, too.

They brace themselves against the sink as the glass fills, and will themselves to make the final journey back to C. By the time they’ve returned, the glass feels like a lead weight in their hand, and their entire body is chilled and shivery all over. They do their best to help C take a few sips, holding the glass with trembling hands, bracing themselves on the bed so they don’t tip over.

“Thank….thank you,” C’s grateful eyes meet theirs, and in a split second B knows the effort was worth it. But the validation is replaced with a bout of lightheadedness that nearly topples them onto C.

“Sorry,” B gasps. “Still not up to marathons yet. Just...need a minute.” They tug their blanket tighter, closing their eyes. “And this body forgot how to stay warm when I do stuff.” C’s eyes flood with concern - even in their fevered haze, they can see B struggling.

"Want to sit for a minute?" C asks softly, patting the open spot next to them on the bed. “I’m still cold, too.”

B wriggles into the spot, propping themselves up on pillows and pulling blankets over them both. "Just a minute - you need your sleep."

C's already dozing. "S'okay. I'll sleep just fine. 'Sides, you're warm." C's nestled themselves into B's side, head resting on their chest, and B wraps an arm around C's shoulder and holds them close. They’re warm, too. Just a minute....

Many minutes later, A pokes their head in to check in on C - and finds two sick peas in a pod curled up together, C's head still on B's chest, B's arm curled protectively around C, stuffed animal squished between them, both tangled in blankets and Kleenexes.

In spite of their own exhaustion, A smiles. After everything that had happened, they had a feeling C wouldn't ever be alone again.

[outerbanks-fandom]

Too Much - JJ Maybank

Description: there's comes a time when people want to much from you and you can’t handle it. 

Warnings: slight sexual content, convincing reader to do things she didn’t really wanna do, sad, slight description of reader that might not apply to you, this is a female reader x JJ I’m so sorry if this doesn’t apply to you. 

Word count: 1,039

Edited?: spelling yes idk about the rest so technically no

Part 1

Pulling into the chateau while John B and Sarah was presumed dead was the worst part of my day. Not only because they weren’t there but because I had to be faced with whatever mess of JJ I had to clean up today. I would never complain about it though because I knew he was hurting and I'd do anything to help him heal. 

He was here alone most nights when I worked. During the day Pope and Kiera kept him company, but nights were always worse for him anyways. The couple hours he was by himself he would let his thoughts take over. With no distraction he drank and smoked the pain away. Which caused one of two things to happen when you finally show up, he either yells at me for shit I didn’t do or he’d fuck me for his own personal pleasure. I just let him though, I loved John B also but John B was JJ’s best friend. They were the brothers to each other. 

So whatever JJ needed to do to make himself feel better I wasn’t gonna stop him from doing that. But tonight, tonight I couldn’t handle his loud screams at me or the bruising grip he’d have on me. I just needed my JJ back, I needed a good hug  and I know I won’t be getting that. Especially since I saw the empty beer bottles on the porch steps. Just to stall the inevitable I cleaned up the bottles and sat on one of the chairs outside. I just needed a minute to mentally prepare myself. 

I sighed before heading into the chateau. The door slamming behind me is what broke JJ’s gaze. He was standing in the kitchen, beer in hand just staring. A seductive smirk was on his lips, “hey baby, I haven’t seen your sexy ass all day.” 

“Hey J, works been crazy, but I'm here now” I very clearly had an exhausted frown on my face, but JJ could care less. He made his way to me and placed his hands on my waist. I know what tonight holds but I don’t know how to tell him no. “J, come on let’s go lay down or something” he didn’t let up though. :Come on baby, I really miss this pretty mouth” one hand reached for my face as his thumb rubbed my bottom lip. “JJ, come on we can just hang out or something. Your drunk” the anger rose in JJ’s demeanor but I can tell he’s still trying to convince me. 

“Y/n come on, just 10 minutes tops. I really need you” I gave in and nodded. All i have to do is give him head. Then maybe we can just go to bed. He’s trying to distract himself I know that. It’s the least I can do for him. I tried convincing myself that this was okay and that I wanted to do this but I just wanted to cuddle him for once. 

He kissed me quickly and I dropped to my knees. Okay Y/n just get this over with he’ll pass out, and you can sleep\on his chest again and pretend he wanted you in his arms. I hesitantly undid his shorts and pulled his underwear down with them. His hands went to my hair and directed my head onto him. As he directed my head up and down on him, the realization hit me. This is all I am to him, he’s using me as a distraction instead of something to help heal him. Tears ran down my face and I couldn’t tell if it was because he picked up his pace and was choking me or if the fact this is all I am to him. 

He groaned when I hummed around him hoping this will end faster. After a while though it was too much to handle, with my emotions going crazy I just needed a second. I pushed back on his thighs but he didn’t let up. So I pulled my head out of his grip as hard as I could and he finally caught the hint. “Y/n what the fu-” I didn’t stick around for his scream. “Sorry J, I can’t do this. I’m trying to be here for you and what you need, but I can’t be that tonight.” He was pulling up his pants now. “Before you speak I'm gonna say what I gotta say, I love you J, and I know that life sucks right now and I know that there's nothing I can do to bring John B back but that doesn't mean you can use me. I just wanted a hug from my boyfriend. I needed you tonight and you pushed me aside for your personal pleasure. I wanted to be here for you no matter what but I feel used and really gross right now so I’m gonna head home. I’ll have Pope check up on you.” 

-

It’s been a couple days since I talked to JJ but I've been checking up on him through Pope. School actually starts today and I know I have first hour with him, I'm not sure if I'm ready to see him. I might be overreacting but I really felt trapped. I know JJ and he wouldn’t intently hurt me, but drunk, high and broken JJ was a different story. 

He’s tried calling me and even came banging on my window but my whole body wouldn’t give. It was like I was paralyzed as he hit my window repeatedly and even a few sobs. It broke me to listen to him cry, but I couldn’t find it in me to fix him anymore. At least for right now. 

I made myself look like I was okay, full face of makeup, my clothes consisting of a white pleated skirt, an open Hawaiian shirt with a black body suit under it, and black & white adidas superstars. My hair was in its naturally curly state with some product in it to define my curls more. 

Taking one final look in the mirror I took a picture and posted it on my story ‘last first day...<3′ 

It’s time to face JJ Maybank and the pogues minus 2...

[iwritefanficsnottragedies]

Fred Weasley

Request: None

Prompt: "My mum asked about you again"

***

Forgotten in a corner of the library, their books and parchments scattered all over the table, 4 students were restlessly doing their homework.

"Can't this be done already?" one of them broke the silence, so sudden it startled the others. "Bloody hell, it's been over 3 hours!"

"We're almost done, Ron, no need to get so loud," Hermione scoffed, "besides, you barely did anything."

"I assume Hermione and I could finish it in the morning. It's getting quite late and Madam Pince isn't looking quite fondly at us," (Y/N) sighed, feeling her eyelids heavy.

A yawn from Ron made Hermione groan. "I doubt we'd get much done tonight anyway, let's just go then."

Not long after, the 4 of them found themselves on the nearly empty halls of Hogwarts, on their way to the Gryffindor common room. They walked in silence, the tiredness from a full day finally getting the best of all of them. That is, until Ron broke the silence once more.

"(Y/N)," he said, making the (H/C) girl turn her head, "are you sure you don't want to come over for Christmas?"

"No, Ron, it's alright. I don't wanna be a bother," (Y/N) smiled kindly at the ginger.

"Nonsense! You know mum loves to have you over and i wouldn't have asked if I didn't want you there."

"Plus me and Ginny could use some more girl company around, we need all the help to stop these two from getting in trouble," Hermione added. She playfully pushed (Y/N)'s shoulder, making them both chuckle for a bit, time in which Harry finally broke his silence.

"And I'm sure theres someone else who'd love to have you there," he muttered in a whisper soft enough that only Ron heard him over the laughter of the girls. He elbowed Harry, shooting him a warning glance. The brunet shrugged, but kept silent all the same.

"See?" the youngest Weasley boy started, "you have to come. My mum's gonna kill us if we destroy something again. And i do mean anything."

"I'll... I'll think about it," (Y/N) offered shyly. As much as she wanted to go, she felt like she would intrude. But there was something really pushing her to go. Or rather someone...

After a while, the girls were settled in their beds, ready to sleep, or at least (Y/N) was. Hermione seemed to be in the mood for a bit of an interrogation.

"So what's the real reason you don't wanna come?" the young witch asked.

(Y/N) laid quiet for a moment, unsure of the answer herself. She reflected silently. Her parents were more than willing to let her spend Christmas at the Burrow, her closest friends would be there. So why was she refusing really? She didn't have a reason other than the feeling that a certain brother of Ron's, Fred, to be more specific, didn't want her around.

It all started during her visit the previous summer. The holiday was coming to an end and Harry had just arrived at The Burrow. The younger Weasleys, Hermione and (Y/N) spent most of their time together till that point, but when Harry arrived, his 3 best friends spent the rest of the evening with him. Catching up, making jokes and whatnot. Night fell quickly and while the other 3 weren't as tired, (Y/N) managed to fall asleep, right on Harry. They didn't have the heart to bother her until Fred woke up, coming downstairs.

"I should take her upstairs" the twin said, making the others turn to him.

"No, it's ok. I don't mind it," Harry smiled, his arm resting around (Y/N).

"Nonsense," Fred scowled, not leaving Harry any room for protest, before scooping (Y/N)'s sleeping figure off the bed and carrying her to Ginny's room.

The next day, (Y/N) woke up surprised to find herself in bed and even more surprised to find out Fred was the one who brought her there. She went to thank him, finding him eating breakfast, but he barely acknowledged her.

"No worries," he nodded, not even glancing up from his plate.

And from then on, what was quite a beautiful friendship turned into distance between the 2. (Y/N) never understood, Fred never gave her time to ask.

The (H/C) girl was brought back from memory lane by Hermione's words.

"Will you answer before I die of old age please?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Hermione. I don't have an actual reason."

But Hermione knew better than that. It was with good reason she was comsidered the brightest witch of her age.

"I'm sure Fred wouldn't mind if you'd come. And even if he does, the rest of us want you to come. So please, change your mind. Please? For me at least?" The brown haired girl begged.

(Y/N) smiled. She knew her best friend would put her thoughts into words better than herself. But she still felt bad. After all, she didn't even know what she did.

"I don't know, Hermione, I don't wanna make empty promises."

The room fell into silence soon after, both girls too tired to go on.

The next day came and went faster than expected, and soon dinner was served. With Hermione's words from the previous mind still on her mind, (Y/N) realised she haven't seen Fred the entire day. She scanned The Great Hall for him, but there was still no sign of the redhead.

"Where could he be?" she wondered, seeing his twin a few chairs away, seemingly not missing his brother.

Her question got answered shortly afterwards though, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"May I speak with you?" Fred asked.

(Y/N) nodded and hurried to follow Fred, who was already halfway out the door. She followed him to their common room, not making a sound.

Fred sat down on a couch, motioning for (Y/N) to sit next to him.

"My mum asked about you again," he said. "She wants to know why you arent coming over for Christmas."

"Oh, it's just... you already have guests and there would be so many people, i don't wanna be a b-"

"I talked to Hermione," he intervened,"She told me why you don't want to come."

(Y/N) blushed, that meant he knew he's the sole reason. And the sad tone in his voice only made the girl feel worse.

"I don't wanna be there if it troubles you in any way."

"It doesn't, (Y/N), and I'm sorry if that's the impression I gave you." For the first time in months, Fred turned his head to look (Y/N) in her eyes. "I promise you, that's not it, I'd love it if you'd come."

"Looks like quite the opposite to me," (Y/N) frowned.

Fred let out a puff of air as he looked down at his hands. He knew well how he's been acting with (Y/N) these past few months. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was ready to flee even then from the room, go away, as far away as possible from the younger girl. Poor (Y/N) had no idea how hard it has been for Fred. Keeping himself away from someone he actually cares about was just as hurtful for him as it was for her. But he couldn't let himself fall into unrequited feelings. He remembered when things started to change.

It was the end of July and they were all home at the Burrow, when someone knocked on their door. He opened it to reveal a sun-kissed (Y/N), with a big smile on her face, a smile that gave him butterflies. Her eyes shinning bright, her rosy cheeks, everything about her, it changed everything for him. The child- his little brother's best friend- had disappeared and instead there stood (Y/N) in a whole new light, transformed into a guilty dream, an innocent desire for romance, all with one look. She hugged him and for a moment he wasn't at the Burrow anymore. He was in his own mind-made world, just for the two of them. The moment lingered for a just a bit, not nearly enough, and he was abruptly brought to reality by Ginny's excited screams, by the loss of (Y/N)'s arms around him as she hurried to Ginny.

Fred wanted more moments like these. He spent his summer longing for them, doing everything in his power to get them. Day by day, he grew more fond of (Y/N), day by day he observed her, gazed at her like she was a piece of art, never to be touched.

One evening, after the house had quieted down, Fred and his mum cleaned up after dinner in amiable silence for a while until she broke the silence. "Young love," she said, looking up at him, "it is the sweetest of all."

"Hmm?" Fred turned to face his mother.

"I know my children, Fred, and I watch over them. A mother's eyes see things others can't."

Fred continued to look at Molly, unsure of what she was talking about.

"Go talk to her, Fred, you can't just watch her like she's gonna fall into your arms." His mother laughed, but her son was far from laughter.

He froze as realisation dawned upon him. That was it. Infatuation. He had fallen for (Y/N) and he'd fallen hard. And oh, how his dreams shattered now, as it all turned to reality. His little dream was now this cruel world and he couldn't bring it here.

His thoughts wandered for some time before he heard Molly's voice, loud enough to bring the whole house downstairs.

"Harry, dear!"

It was a few hours later and Fred couldn't sleep. (Y/N) wouldn't leave his mind, but not in the same fairytale way it did before. Concerns about what he could do, what she would do if she knew- all of these imagined scenes kept him restless and wide awake.

Maybe a glass of water would help, he thought and so he made his way downstairs. And what he saw made his stomach hurt just enough to be a bother. He knew Harry and (Y/N) better than to think anything of it, but someone touching her, being so close to her, someone who isn't him, pained him.

"Bloody jealousy."

"Jealousy? Who are you jealous of?" (Y/N) asked in confusion, bringing Fred out of his thoughts. Fred swallowed dryly, realising he'd said that out loud. He didn't know if now was the right time to share his feelings or not.

Luckily for him, a commotion could be heard very close by and soon the door to the common room swung open.

"Fred!" He heard his twin brother yelling his name, giving him a chance to swallow his feelings just a little longer.

"I'm sorry, (Y/N), i gotta go. But please reconsider coming over for Christmas. I'd love it if you would join us."

And with that he exited the room, leaving (Y/N) as confused as ever and he, conflicted and at odds with himself. But it could wait. He had waited until then, what's a few more days, weeks, months. Perhaps it would pass...

________________________________________

Hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you'd like a part 2.

Requests are open, just send me what character you want and a prompt as long or short as you'd like!

D.

[soundsgoodfeelslikeshit]

Jealousy, Jealousy

A few weeks had gone by and you hadn’t seen the Pogues since the morning after the argument with Kie. You didn’t speak to Kie, but you occasionally spoke with JJ and the others every so often. Kie would never realize but you felt like shit ever since her outburst and you weren’t sure why but you didn’t feel good enough to hang around the Pogues anymore.

Anonymous asked: Can i request where reader feels she's no longer good enough to be around the pogues because kiara doesn't like her and is jealous of how she is with them?

Summary: Kiara had always been jealous of Y/N, whether it be the way she looked, talked, carried herself, or the way she was perceived by the island. One thing Kiara could never get over was how she was with the other pogues. She had been around longer, leaving her closer to all of them making Kiara feel as though she was always missing some inside joke. After a night of drinking Kiara explodes, leaving an awkward tension between the group.

"Are you coming to the Boneyard tonight?" Joh B asked, breaking you from your thoughts.

"Uh, I'm honestly not sure. Promised I'd be home at a reasonable time tonight." You said with a slight laugh.

"Oh, come on what's one more day being out late?" JJ asked slinging his arm across your shoulders.

"J, you know how my mom gets when I break promises."

"Yeah guys, just let her stay home if she doesn't want to come. It's just one party." Kie said uninterested.

You shot a confused look to the guys and then looked at Kie.

"Don't sound so happy I won't go." You said with a laugh.

"No, no, no that's not what I meant at all," Kie said quickly.

"I'm just kidding Kie."

"But really, you should come if you can Y/N/N," Pope said as JB pulled into Kie's dock.

"We'll see."

..............................................................................................................................

"Y/N just let me know if stay at John B's tonight. I don't mind you going out, I'm gonna have an early night anyway." Your mom said.

"I will mom, I love you."

"Love you too, let us know if you need anything."

You nodded your head and headed to your room to change. You weren't exactly in the most party mood, so you just opted for a pair of sweat shorts and a swimsuit top.

By the time you had gotten to the Boneyard the party was in full swing. Everyone was drunk or having a good time with other substances.

You laughed to yourself as you went in search of your friends. Spotting JJ and Pope first you smiled and ran up to them.

"Hey, you made it!" Pope said hugging you.

"Yeah, my mom decided she was going to bed early, didn't want me to miss the fun."

"Well good, we're gonna have a bonfire after this back at the Chateau," JJ said.

"Alright cool." You said with a smile.

Your smile quickly vanished as your eyes laid on Kie, who was completely hammered and crying.

"Kie! What's wrong?" You asked quickly, helping the girl to sit.

"Like you don't know." She said with a bitter laugh.

"What?" You asked removing your hand from her back.

"Gosh you are so damn oblivious aren't you? You are what's wrong."

Your eyebrows scrunched together as you looked at your friends for help.

"Kie she didn't do anything." John B said coming to your defense.

"This is my issue! You all defend her and she has no faults does she?!" Kie screamed.

"Kiara, stop." Pope tried.

"NO! You can't tell me I need to stop! She's the reason you all make me feel like I'm missing something, some kind of inside joke. Little miss perfect everything makes me feel like I'm not good enough and never will be. I wish I could have the relationship she has with all of you, but that could only be accomplished by her having met you after me. Just another pogue born who met you guys first. I don’t like her.” She spat.

"Alright, I've had enough." You muttered turning to walk away.

"What? You can't stand to hear this because you know it's true? I'm sure you do it on purpose. You want the whole island to know of you like this cool, chill girl and that makes them think I'm stuck up because I'm not just like you."

"You sound so stupid right now! You don't have to be me, jealousy is a hell of a thing. If you listened at all while we were best friends instead of picking out everything about me that makes you feel terrible, you would know my life is far from perfect. I don't try and make you feel bad. Kie everyone has their struggles, especially with comparing themselves to other girls. This is by no means fair to just assume that you are the only one out of us who has them." You said and walked away this time done with the conversation at hand.

"Hey, where are you going?" JJ asked, running to grab your hand.

"I'm going home. I knew I should've stayed there. I'll see you guys tomorrow or something." You said with a sigh.

"No. She doesn't get to chase you off. She does not get the power. Let's go to the Chateau and lay down. I'm not letting you drive in this emotional state." JJ said looking at you worriedly.

He watched you carefully as your eyes filled with tears.

"It's fine J, go enjoy the party. My house is like 10 minutes away. I'll call my mom and have her watcha movie with me when I get home."

"I already know you were just going to sit in your room and ignore everyone for a week while you bottle up your emotions." He said taking the car keys from your hand.

You sighed and allowed him to help you into the passenger side. He gripped your hand after he got into the driver's side and began the short drive back to the Chateau. The conversation he tried to start quickly fell into an unanswered silence as you stared ahead at the road.

When your truck pulled into the Chateau's drive and JJ came and helped you out again even though you were more than capable of doing it on your own.

"Let's go get ready for bed." He mumbled against your ear, leading you to the spare room. You sighed when you knew the night would finally be drama-free.

"Want tea? Water? Beer?" JJ asked, causing you to shake your head in response.

You turned your back to JJ and unclipped your swimsuit top, bending down to grab one of his discarded T-shirts. Your shorts quickly followed suit of your top and you climbed into bed. Taking your phone you texted your mom to let her know you were staying at John B’s.

“Hey don’t shut me out,” JJ said reaching for your shoulder.

“I just don’t get it. I would never make Kie feel like that on purpose. I just I don’t know J.”

“Just try and get some sleep. We’ll figure it out in the morning. Sound good?”

You nodded your head despite knowing you would go home tomorrow morning.

..............................................................................................................................

You woke up and groaned. You didn’t want to deal with Kie or have to face the tension she created in the group. Tugging JJ’s arm off your waist, you stood up and looked around for some of your clothes. It was a mess of things thrown around on the floor.

“Hey what’re you doin,” JJ asked sitting up.

“Going home,” you replied.

JJ’s face contorted in confusion before he climbed out of bed.

“Hey. Look at me.” He said as he grabbed your chin.

“J I can’t right now, okay?”

“She doesn’t get this power of you. We can all make our own decisions.”

“I get that but I need to go home and see my mom. I’ll text you guys I promise. Can you help me find some clothes though? This place is a shit show.”

He chuckled and dug around before tossing you a bra and one of your shirts. You pulled out a pair of your panties and your shorts from the night before and headed to the bathroom.

Once you were changed you went to the kitchen to see John B leaning against the counter.

“Sup,” he said watching you.

“Hey.”

“Where ya going?”

“Home. My mom was expecting me home last night but J wouldn’t let me drive.” You said pulling your shoes on.

“Just so you know there are no harsh feelings towards you it’s towards Kie for acting like that.”

You nodded and looked at the floor. You felt him embrace you and you reluctantly hugged him back.

“I mean it, so stop beating yourself up for what she said and what she feels, okay?” He asked pushing you to an arm's length.

“Yeah, I got it.” You mumbled, “I’ll see y’all later.”

..............................................................................................................................

After being home for a while you went upstairs to be by yourself since you’d sat with your mom for advice and to watch a random show with her.

Your phone was seemingly vibrating to no end when you arrived in your room. Picking it up you were getting a FaceTime call from the boys.

Deciding to pick up you saw them smiling at you.

“We couldn’t get you to answer any of our texts we thought we were gonna have to bust in your house,” Pope said with a laugh.

“Yeah sorry I left my phone in my room while I was with my mom. What’s up?”

“We wanted to have the bonfire tonight since it didn’t work out last night,” JB spoke.

“I’m okay, invite Kie though. Sure she’d love to have you guys all to herself. Maybe she’ll even replace my friendship.” You said sarcastically.

“Shut up, you know she can’t, it’s a different friendship between us and you and us and her,” JJ said with a glare.

“Ye-“ you started but you were stopped by your mom calling for you.

“Gotta go guys, but yeah won’t be able to make it out tonight. Love you!” You said before hanging up.

You sighed knowing that you were just making the decision easier for them by distancing yourself. If Kie didn’t like you and didn’t want you around you would be busy when they wanted to hang out.

..............................................................................................................................

A few weeks had gone by and you hadn’t seen the Pogues since the morning after the argument with Kie. You didn’t speak to Kie, but you occasionally spoke with JJ and the others every so often. Kie would never realize but you felt like shit ever since her outburst and you weren’t sure why but you didn’t feel good enough to hang around the Pogues anymore. It was obvious none of the other Pogues felt the way as Kie, they would have booted you from the friend group long before, but there was just the feeling that you could not shake.

.............................................................................................................................

Your days were pretty normal, helping your mom run her shop, surfing in the evening or in the mornings, fixing up various parts of your house, and sometimes going to the beach to relax and tan. This day however was not relaxing at all, all of the Pogues decided to make an appearance, Kie included. You looked in their direction before picking up your stuff and beginning to head home.

You were beginning to walk over the dune when Kie called out to you, causing you to turn and look at the girl. Folding your arms you waited for the group to approach. Kie greeted you with a smile, which you glared at.

"Glad to see you're happy you got what you wanted." You sneered at her.

"This isn't what I wanted." Kie defended.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's not. I gotta go," You said and turned away from her.

Kiara grabbed your arm and you began to pull your arm away from her.

"Do not touch me," You seethed, glaring at the brunette girl.

"What is your issue?" Kiara groaned, looking to the guys for defense.

"You are my problem, sorry to use your own words against you. You made me feel like I couldn't come around my friends, the people I treat and call my family because I make you feel like shit! Now I'm the one left feeling like they aren't good enough. So congrats Kie, you got what you always wanted! Them to yourself." You stated and with that, you walked away.

[sunjaesol]

“The simple act of being in love with you is enough for me.”

jiara | post-s2 | pining idiots | title: quote by Pacey from Dawson's Creek

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

“Kie.”

“Hm?” The girl’s mop of curls obscured her face as she mumbled out some vowels, clearly still buzzed from the night before. An amused smile ticked up his lips and slapped her calf again. She sighed. “What?”

“Leggo,” he pushed, “we gotta get to Pope’s place.”

“Why?”

Even if everyone else would deny it, JJ swore Kie was as bad as he was: slow and fucking lethargic before eleven in the morning. Sure, she had better grades in school, but he wasn’t gonna give her more credit than that. Speaking of, “Helping him with that new scholarship, remember?”

The girl groaned and rolled over to face him, droopy eyes cracking open to scowl at him. She slept where he used to crash whenever his dad’s place became too much, but since the old man fucked off to Yucatán, he found peace in the quiet walls and cracked windows. Regardless, it was weird seeing her sprawled on this mattress, the boy almost able to envision himself beside her. A dangerous fantasy to linger on, so he pushed it aside and kept on trucking.

“C’mon, Kie.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered and sat upright. “How did you even get in the Château?”

JJ grinned and snagged a key chain from his shorts. “Spare key. Duh.”

She rolled her eyes, uttering, “John B’s stupid,” and then pushed him out the guest room, telling him she’d get ready. His mouth opened to make the joke if he couldn’t stay and watch, but the door slammed in his face and that was that.

Having a crush on Kiara was the freakiest thing ever. First of all, JJ and emotions didn’t mesh well — it only led to trouble, a perfect example being his dad and him with the most fucked up dynamic to boot. He preferred to not even think about the man, though one glance in the mirror often betrayed his mind and brought a rush of memories to the forefront, whether it was a shiner against his eye, or the fact that he resembled his father when he was young.

So yeah, he didn’t like anything ‘love’ related. It was stupid. It was more reckless than buying a jacuzzi or trying to steal a golden cross from a boat with dozens of armed men. Friendship, however, was easy. He told the Pogues just that: they were ‘it’ for him, he’d go through fire for them, through hell and fucking back.

But he didn’t think he’d actually die for them, which almost happened when he tried saving Kie on the Coastal Venture — to which she ended up saving him. (A vision illuminated by a golden sun, hovering over him. He’d never forget it.)

While he inspected the contents of the fridge, embarrassingly filled with only beer, eggs, milk and junk food, the door creaked open and revealed a dressed and less-wrecked Kiara. His gaze flicked up and down her frame, quick, and then averted it back to the fridge.

“You got no food, man.”

She chuckled. “I know. It’s not exactly The Wreck type of food…”

“You haven’t gone back?”

“Nope,” she replied, curt, and moved past him to shove a container of sausages aside to grab a bottle of almond milk. Even if she wasn’t with her parents, she still somehow kept up her ‘no dairy’ principles.

Also, Kiara was hella beautiful. He hadn’t let it register when she walked in, but it was true. Her soft-looking, shiny skin, sporting the prettiest smile in all of the OBX, and she was just hot. Especially when she propped herself on the kitchen counter, to which he settled beside her to not look at her legs.

“How many scholarships are there?” she asked. “Like, I’m obviously proud of him, but…”

“He told us last night,” JJ laughed. “You were that fucking high?”

She giggled, “Yeah! You were there, I was just on my ass.” And then, quieter, “And… I don’t know, I guess I’ve been kind of distracted.”

He perked up, surprised. Though the Pogues were family, openly talking about emotions when it wasn’t prompted by anything, remained rare. They were better at talking shit and smoking and napping on boats. Whatever, he took the bait.

“Why?”

She shook her head. “It’s stupid, JJ.”

“Kie, you’re talking to me,” he nudged her shoulder, “throw me a bone here. Is it Pope? You got the hots for our favourite nerd again?”

Taking a sip from the bottle, her brow quirked up as though that was the stupidest thing he ever said, and retorted with, “Why’re you always doing that?”

His hands raised instantly, defensive. “Doing what?”

“You’re always digging, like, when I was with Pope you got all weird.”

“I don’t dig.”

“You do.”

“I don’t. Kie, what’s up?” He kept it moving before she found the core of his problem, and bounced back to the original issue. “Before I start saying shit to Pope.”

She scoffed. “You're full of shit.”

“Oh, Kie,” he drawled with a smirk. “You can do better than that.”

Silence fell. He waited, fiddling with his fingers, and quietly hoped Pope wouldn't be too annoyed when they arrived late — then again, they were begrudgingly coined 'tortoise and tortoise' by the group anyway.

She placed the bottle back in the fridge and sent him a rueful smile, one he often saw her showing Sarah before they went aside and had a private talk. Their eyes locked and she finally spoke.

“Sometimes, I… I miss my parents. And it's like, I don't get how they don't just accept that I'm a Pogue, that I'm friends with you guys, you know? But I still miss them.” She looked down at her feet, crossing at the ankles like a little girl waiting to be reprimanded by the teacher. “I miss my dad's hugs.”

Instantly, his arm swung around her for a gentle side hug, a grateful smile pulling on her lips as she leaned into him. Both knew they should savour a moment like this, as hugging with a twitchy JJ and often irritated Kie happened once every blue moon.

Ignoring the guilty look in her eye — yeah, he didn't understand missing a paternal embrace, rather used to a blow in the stomach or a crude remark, but that didn't mean he lacked empathy — he resisted the urge to encourage her to reconnect with them. Knowing her, she'd just close up and glare at him for the rest of the day.

So no, he wasn't going to ask her. And no, she shouldn't feel guilty. P4L 'til the end, baby.

“Thanks, JJ,” she whispered.

He snickered and pushed her off. “You can't tell the guys I'm becoming soft, dude. Theyʼll give me so much shit for it.”

“They know you're soft,” she teased, “don't even try.”

“I'm tough,” he tried.

“Like Play-Doh.”

“Whatever,” he mumbled and motioned at the kitchen door. “Let's go, Carrera. Before John B and Sarah come back and act all married.”

Now that was fucking annoying. After John B and Sarah faked their death, they got married by a bandana strip and hadn't let that notion go after returning. Sure, there was that small blip when they were fighting the crazy religious chick, but that was old news.

John B made him swear he wouldn't tell a soul, but the guy waxed poetry about Sarah whenever they were drunk and alone. It was hilariously sad. Another man lost to a girl.

(“She wants a beach wedding,” JB sighed a couple nights ago. “Nice, right?”

“I– yeah, I really don't care about this, man.”)

JJ knew that when he got a girlfriend (Kiara unintentionally but also very intentionally crossed his mind), he'd act normal. No mushy shit. No poetry. Definitely no creepy Romeo and Juliet references thrown in as if that shouldn't freak the Pogues out. Their behaviour better not be infectious.

Expectedly, Pope's scowl reached them all the way from the car, Kie and JJ sharing a sheepish look before stepping out.

“Gee, guys,” the boy deadpanned, “thanks for making haste. Really appreciate it.”

JJ's wide grin hoped to salvage it. Slapping his friend on the shoulder, he pushed past him and yelled, “Kie was dead, dude!”

Pope grimaced. “Don't joke about that.”

He watched as Kie stopped beside Pope with an apologetic expression, telling him she overslept and was sorry and that he knew how JJ was — “Always joking.”

His chapped lips pursed, a familiar punch hitting his chest with him then pretending it didn't hurt. She always did this. Even if she claimed she didn't, she always took Pope's side. Relationship or not. JJ knew she didn't owe him her 'side', but it'd be a nice change of pace either way.

Whatever. This wasn't the JJ Pining For Kiara Show. Pope needed their help.

A state-wide scholarship competition gave Pope another shot at winning a huge chunk of money (no gold type of rich though) and getting his ass out of OBX, hopefully launching himself into some fancy college when he revealed to be of Denmark Tanny's lineage. Those hibrow assholes loved a good sob story.

All Pope had to do was score hella high on some test — easy — and impress the panel — not so easy — and he'd be the luckiest Pogue of all.

But that did mean Kie and him had to sit on his creaky bed with a freaky amount of flashcards while a stressed out Pope paced around his room. He was pretty sure the floor was eroding.

Also, he had no fucking clue what any of the flashcards meant. Did Pope's smarts really attracted Kie that much? Was it the brain? Brain over brawl? But where was the fun in that? JJ loved Pope to death, but the guy had to be fully medicated or high before his brain shut off and he acted carefree.

“Pope, do you even know what this all means?” Kie bemoaned, flipping the cards around.

“You got a dictionary somewhere?” added JJ, squinting at the word aberration. It sounded like some weird disease. He showed him the word.

Pope dismissed it. “It means: different from the norm.”

“Dude, why not write that then?”

“Because they want aberration.”

He didn't get it. “No one uses it though.”

“JJ, that's just the way it is,” Pope pressed.

“Guys, stop,” Kiara interrupted. “But honestly Pope, it's so, like, elitist. None of these questions are important to the world, or the well-being of the people.”

“Sorry, Kiara, but unfortunately not everyone cares that much,” he sighed. JJ could tell they were starting to annoy their friend, their tortoise bullshit bleeding through.

Her nose scrunched up, peeved. “Right. Because there's a planet B just waiting to be used by us. Duh.”

“Ooh,” JJ drawled, nudging her arm. “Are there donkeys shitting money?”

Kie laughed. “Yes. All beaches, clean air, no Kooks, and money-shitting donkeys.”

“Nah, I want it to be hella Kooky,” he joked, gesturing wildly. “I want a yacht and tell people someone else does my laundry, or something.”

“You don't even do your laundry anyway,” she bounced back with a roll of the eye. “I know you force John B.”

“He's already playing House with Sarah, might as well wash my underwear, too.”

Oh, man. He could do this all day. Talking shit with Kiara went as smooth as fishing for him. Each time he thought he one-upped her, she threw more on top and kept it going 'til neither knew what the point even was anymore. Sarah dubbed it as 'banter' which he believed was a rich way of saying 'talking smack.'

“I don't believe you even know how to do it,” she challenged.

JJ huffed and crossed his arms. “I can do it.”

A smirk bloomed on her lips as she kept jabbing. “It's kinda cute, how you need John B to be your mom.”

“I don't.”

“You literally said it five seconds ago.”

“Guys,” Pope groaned, followed by an exhausted sigh eerily similar to Heyward. “Can we get back to the flashcards?”

Kie and JJ were too far into their discussion though, jabbing at each other at rapid speed. Then she threw her cards at him and all bets were off. He yelled she should make a goal with her hands, to which he folded up a flashcard and shot it straight between her fingers.

And that was when Pope kicked them out. JJ presumed it was a victory they lasted as long as they did. Kie kept apologising over her shoulder, prompting Pope to ask Cleo for help instead.

For a beat, they were silent stepping out of his place and back into the car. JJ felt a stab of guilt for fucking up Pope's study time, but it was hard to dial his brain to school when his friends surrounded him. Just when he wanted to ask if she felt bad too, she went off about the climate — as usual.

“It's so dumb how there were no questions about the environment or human rights or, or anything like that! It's all science and lit, like, there's more to life than fucking chemistry formulas!”

“I skipped those cards. Didn't get them.”

“It's so fucked,” she hummed. “And I'm obviously glad that you drove to the Château to wake me up and all—”

“Yeah?”

“—but I really wish those questions would matter. We almost died, JJ!”

“No, shit,” he grumbled, quickly starting to lose his patience with the ranting girl. She didn't even realise what the fuck she was saying anymore — what she did to his heart, skipping like some elemtary school girl on the playground, when she slipped some nice words in.

“Died!” she pressed. “Why even care about stuff like that?”

“Fucks sake, Kie—”

“And I didn't want to say it, but did you see how many flashcards there were? How many trees were cut for that? It's like, hello, Quizlet exists!”

“Kie, shut up!” he yelled.

Her mouth fell slack, gobsmacked, gawking at him like his interruption was a slap in the face.

Gesturing wildly with one hand, he exclaimed, “You know, you can just go on and on and I hear you talking and it's like, yeah, we get it, Mother Earth needs to be saved, we're fucked, you don't gotta repeat it twenty-four seven.”

“What the hell, JJ!”

“You have an opinion about everything! A man gets tired!”

“A man?” She scoffed. “You're not even eighteen.”

“Point is you don't gotta act all preachy all the time.” He turned the corner, hands tightening around the steering wheel.

Kie scowled. “Where is this coming from? I'm not preachy, I'm educating you.”

Now that was just fucking with his head. Incredulous, he exclaimed, “You think I don't listen? Kie, I'm the only one that does. JB is on Planet Sarah all the damn time and Pope only did shit 'cause—"

"That!” she yelled, throwing her hands up with frustration. “That's what I mean! You're doing it again! You dig!”

“What?!”

“Every time you mention Pope and I, you dig. You needle!” Twisting in her seat, his gaze flickered to catch her disgruntled expression. “Why do you do that? It's so… sus.”

JJ laughed. “Sus?”

“You don't ask John B about Sarah.”

“'Cause they're fucking obvious.”

“Still,” she pressed. “Did I do something to piss you off? Is that it? Is it me constantly asking you to recycle and yet — shocker! — you never do?!”

“Fucking God,” he grumbled under his breath.

With frazzled thoughts and shaking hands, adrenaline coursed through him as he swerved to the side of the road and stopped the car. If he fought with Kie any longer to this degree of fuckery, they were gonna crash.

She frowned. “What're you doing?”

“You, Carrera, are driving me insane,” he deadpanned, matter-of-fact. Then he slammed the door open and stepped out, desperate to catch his breath.

In the back of his mind, he had an inkling as to why he was so keyed up. Kiara would call him a Neandethal, but fuck it, here was the truth: Kiara was hot as hell when she argued with him.

Following his lead, she got out, her sneakers stomping against the asphalt. The sun steeped low on the horizon, the light hitting the hood and reflecting onto her face; her curls shifting from dark brown to gold. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He was so fucked. He almost missed the start of her spiel, too enthralled.

“I'm driving you insane? I'm always getting you out of trouble, because you never think things through! You never see the bigger picture!”

He rolled his eyes. “Bigger picture? The only thing I see, Kie, is you going on about nature. That easy.” And then, before he could stop himself, he spewed out, “And you don't have to do that.”

“What?”

“Getting me out of trouble,” he said, pursing his lips. “That's not your responsibility.”

“Right. Duh. Because after everything we've been through, I can't care about you,” she exclaimed, face twisting up in pure fury. She got in his space, shoving his shoulder, but when he didn't budge, it only seemed to anger her more.

JJ didn't know what was going on anymore. Why was she so mad? Even if she didn't want to admit it, he was telling the truth. Of course all the Pogues had each other's back, but Kiara doted over him more than was necessary. The constant checking of injuries, limiting his day drinking, all that. Like he was some child!

He leaned in and mumbled, “I can take care of myself.”

Kie smirked. “Then do your own laundry.”

It happened naturally. One second he stared at her furious eyes and thought about how much he loved arguing with her despite the bullshit, the next his fingers curled into her hair and pulled her in a fierce kiss.

At first, her hands laid frozen on his shoulders, surprised, but the moment he realised his impulsive decision was a mistake, they slid around his neck and kept him close.

JJ sighed in relief and deepened the kiss he'd been craving ever since they were fourteen and Kie went from gangly to statuesque. Her lips were warm and soft and her hands were soft and she hadn't let go and holy shit — he was kissing Kiara Carrera.

The kiss lessened when her mouth quirked into a smile, their grins pressing flush together, and JJ shivered from delight. Oh, man. He was gone.

“You drive me damn crazy, Kie,” he murmured, voice dropped to an undeniably soft tone.

She bit back her silly grin and whispered, “Good.”

Taking a deep breath, he tried focusing up, but all he could do was stare at her face. A shy hand grabbed hers.

He had to get it out of the way now, or else he'd kick himself later. “I'm… really into you. I'm– oh, fuck, uh–”

“Maybe we can talk about it not on the side of the road?” she suggested, amused.

JJ grinned, elated (What was the word he saw on the flashcards? Exalted!), and kissed her again, because he could.

On the ride back to the Château, he confessed to seeing her in a different light for years, while she couldn't really pinpoint a time or moment, that it just happened. It didn't matter, though he was in utter disbelief that he and Kie were having this conversation. No jokes, no BS, all seriousness. Tomorrow, he'd wake up and it wouldn't be some sick dream. Kie liked him back.

JJ was sure he'd doubt himself or overthink it in the future, but today, he'd bask in the certainty and the major ego boost.

“Okay, but did you ever legit like Pope then?”

A sheepish smile crawled up her cheeks as her gaze averted to the window. “I thought I did. But we have, like, no chemistry, so…” She shook her head. “I was confused.”

“That's okay,” he uttered. He couldn't give her shit for it. Even if he did torture himself with their short-lived relationship, he understood.

How would he react though? John B and Sarah wouldn't care, or Cleo, but Pope? He didn't want one of his brothers hating him. Being iced out by the guy fucking sucked, as it meant he was truly hurt and therefore meant JJ truly fucked up. He couldn't handle disappointing him.

Kie read his mind. “He'll be fine with it.”

“I dunno, man…”

“He will,” she repeated. “We're Pogues. We've all narrowly survived death. And besides…” She turned back to him with a secretive grin. “I think he has a thing for Cleo.”

Whoa. He did not see that coming. His brows shot up to his hairline, mentally kicking himself for being so focused on Kie that he didn't even notice the shift of interest between Pope and Cleo. They made sense, too. Know-it-all's, but well-meaning, and only speaking when needed.

If the idea didn't relief him of worries, he'd be concerned as to why they were all seamlessly coupled up like in some 90s sitcom Big John had on VHS.

“What a player,” he joked.

“Tell me about it.”

They arrived at the house, the Twinkie and Sarah's bike sprawled on the overgrown front lawn. JJ frowned. He had hoped to have some alone time with Kie, not to jump her bones and fulfill a regular dream of his, but to talk. To figure it out. He wanted to do this right. Because after everything, they deserved to have good things, to start on a high note — he deserved it.

Kie noticed it, too. Puckering her lips on contemplation, her gaze trailed from him to the rest of the property, ending on the trusty ol' hammock. She jabbed her thumb at it.

“Let's sit there.”

Normally, they laid on opposite ends on the hammock, if they even shared one to begin with. But now, she pressed herself right beside him and he felt like heaven dropped down on them in the best way possible. He suddenly understood what John B was lamenting about — the company, intimacy, the ease. Nerves rippled through his body like a summer storm, but he figured that was what it cost to lose one's mind over a girl.

He didn't know what to say, so Kiara spoke instead.

“I don't want us, the way we are around each other, to change, you know?” she said. “Like, I don't want you to think you have to act like some mellow ass boyfriend all of a sudden.”

He smirked. “Who said anything about boyfriend?”

“Bye.”

“Hey, wait,” he grinned, latching onto her arm before she pushed herself out. “C'mon, Kie.”

Her nose scrunched up. “I don't do this usually, okay?”

“You think I do?” he asked. His hand softly slid down to wrap around hers, to which she hooked their fingers together. Okay. Wow. It felt so damn nice that it propelled him to say, “I wanna be your boyfriend, Kie.”

The girl smiled and then surprised him by leaning in herself, pressing a gentle kiss on his chapped lips. It was overwhelming having her instigate it, his gut twisting up in excitement like when he was about to backflip from a boat, or cliff dive, or something similar like that.

He let go of her hand to cup her cheeks, only to whisper, “That's a yes, yeah? Gotta get a yes.”

“Yes, JJ,” she uttered back. “Here's to not fucking this up.”

“Cheers, baby.”

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