#best standing desk mat

[novemberheart]

{overview} It’s time for you to meet your new pack. John and Kyle have an unexpected reaction to your arrival. Your place in the pack may not be as permanent as you think……

{warnings} John is a bit of an a-hole, cursing, female reader, that's about it

Chapter 2 <- Chapter 3 -> Chapter 4

“How do you think Simon’ll feel about this?” Johnny piqued up.

John looked up from his paperwork over to where Johnny was sprawled out on the couch in his office. The Scot had just finished a new charcoal masterpiece that would be hung in their living area.

“To be quite honest I'm not sure how I feel about it.” John sighed, standing up and stretching. His shoulders cracked quietly from being hunched over the oak desk.

“It's a big decision- one that he wasn't a part of.” Johnny reasoned. John nodded his head in agreement. “That’ll make him sour.”

“It might.” John agreed again. “Worst case scenario we could always send her back.”

Johnny was taken aback for a moment. Surprised that John would even suggest such a thing. Then he realized it wasn't John he was talking to, it was his Captain. The man who would do anything for the sake of his team- even at the expense of others. Not that he hadn’t been guilty of that either.

“Guess that's true,” Johnny said quietly.

“Let's go make sure the mother hen has eaten.” John sighed, a soft smile on his face. Johnny followed suit, the image of Kyles's face scrunching at the nickname crossing his mind.

You had never been this nervous in your life. Your knees twitching with an overload of adrenaline.

“Your scent will throw them off.” Kate nearly gagged from next to you.

“Well, what am I supposed to do?” You shot back. Your hands knotted in your white sweater. “I think I’m going to be sick.” You whined, causing the driver to turn around slightly.

“There’s bags under your seat.” He practically shouted.

“Good to know, thanks.” You began to reach down before Kate stopped you.

“Will you please pull yourself together? You have had a waiting list of Alphas and packs who have wanted you since I’ve known you.” Kate reminded, her hands gripping yours tightly.

“That’s sweet Kate bu”-

“Shush. If this doesn't work out, which it will work out- you give me one phone call and I'll have you out of there before those hardheads figure out what they've lost. Deal.” It was the assurance you needed. You weren't going to be stranded here. You should know better by now that Kate has always had your best interest at heart.

“Thank you.” You breathed. She nodded her head, her senses finally getting a break from eye-watering sour. “There really a waiting list?” You questioned curiously. She glared at you out of the side of her vision but begrudgingly nodded her head.

“Bout five minutes till we get there.” The driver warned. You stopped yourself from stumbling back into a panic episode. Kate was right, if they caught one whiff of you right now, they'd send you back. “Would you be offended if I rolled down a window?” the driver nearly begged.

“No.” You mumbled.

About three of the five minutes away it started to pour.

“That's fitting.” Kate sighed. “Grab your raincoat,” she commanded. You rolled your eyes, already pulling the yellow coat out of your bag.

“Yes, Ma’am.” You snarked, almost waiting for her to jab you with her elbow.

The car finally stopped. Kate's phone ‘tinged’ at that very moment.

“They’re waiting for us inside. Ready?” She asked, her eyes a bit scared like she was worried you were going to back out.

You took a deep breath.

“Ready.”

You and Kate quickly made your way inside a large gray building, your oversized hood proving its worth.

“John, Kyle.” Kate greeted, as both of you wiped your feet on the mat. You took one last look outside, peeling off your hood just in time for the door to shut. The action caused a gust of your scent to hit John and Kyle in the face.

A pleased growl echoed in the Alpha's chest. He raised his hand to his mouth, pressing his thumb and pointer finger against his nose, shocked at his reaction. The Beta on the other hand chose to press his shoulder against the wall to keep himself steady. Your scent reached a part of his brain he didn't even know was there.

“I apologize.” The alpha was the first to speak after he had lowered his hand. The purr in his chest began again, but he quickly cleared his throat, halting it. He flushed slightly, embarrassed by his lack of control. His mind was buzzing, the nearly uncontrollable desire to grab you and roll around in your scent was taking all of his restraint. He clenched his jaw, his canines beginning to ache.

“It's alright,” you assured quietly. Truth be told you hadn't heard a sound like that before. All the alphas you knew had been female. It made your insides weak, especially coming from a possible mate. Both men grew quiet, their eyes scanning you up and down as if you were a foreign creature. You suppose to them- you were.

“John.” You looked at the broad alpha. “And Kyle right?” You asked, turning toward the almost equally broad beta.

“God, where are my manners?” John sighed quietly to himself. “It's nice to meet you. I'm John and that's Kyle. Johnny is still in the medical ward, with Simon.”

“Kate told me about that. Was sorry to hear.” You offered up your sympathy. He gave you a polite smile.

“Figured me and Kyle could show you around and then we’ll head over there so you can meet everyone else,” John explained.

“Sounds good.” You smiled back.

“Bags?” John questioned.

“Oh, there in the car.” you winced looking out at the raging storm.

“I'll get it!” Kyle volunteered quickly, accidentally bumping into Kate on his way out.

“This way,” John spoke softly. His hand rested on your upper back guiding you out of the gray warehouse-type building. Kate followed behind, her eyes trained on his hand. She couldn't wait for the ‘I told you so’s.’

Once you left the building you were outside again- luckily this time the sidewalks were covered. You did enjoy how green everything was. Despite the cold, modern buildings- it was easy to breathe here. “It’s easier to take a cart,” John explained, guiding you into the passenger seat. Kate got in the back, not bothering to suppress the smirk across her face. John’s eyes were too trained on you to notice.

“What about Kyle?” you asked as John began to pull away.

“He’ll find his way back home. He always does.” He smiled, causing you to chuckle. Truth be told he knew his beta needed a moment to clear his senses.

You weaved through the building till you got to the housing areas- which unfortunately weren't covered.

“Shite day out,” John grumbled.

“I like the rain.” You hummed absentmindedly. Something about it felt so healing. John's eyes flickered over to you, watching for a moment as you surveyed your surroundings.

“Here we are.” John huffed, pulling his burly frame out of the cart. It instantly rose without his weight in it, causing you and Kate to giggle. You entered another large gray building, this one tall and commanding. There were lots of windows, the dark cloudy day making it easy to see inside. John held the door open for you and you pulled off the side with a small ‘thank you.’

“Stairs or elevator?” John asked, turning over his shoulder.

“Elevator,” Kate answered for you. John's lips quirk upwards.

“Elevator it is.” He led you both to the elevator, holding his arm out to make sure the door didn't try to close on either of you. He pressed the number eight.

“Is that the top floor?” You questioned. The elevator was fast, you swore you could feel your hair being pushed down.

“Yeah. It's almost like a flat.” John explained. The elevator doors rolled open, to reveal a long hallway. One side is littered with doors, the other with large windows.

“Wow.” You whispered, stopping to take in the view. You could see nearly everything from here. The base was surrounded by trees. You could only imagine how magnificent it was without all the clouds and fog. You followed John and passed the doors until you reached the very last one.

“This is us.” He held up a key card, a light flicking green from the door. “We’re still waiting for yours, you can just use Simon’s till we get it.”

As soon as you walked in there was a galley kitchen. Composed of light oak and white stone countertops. “Here's laundry and storage,” John explained walking through the kitchen to the two french doors at the end of the galley. “Dining area,” he explained, resting his hand on the counter. There were six stools pulled up to the counter. The kitchen overlooked the living area, which took up the majority of the home. There was a plush L-shaped, couch facing a large TV on the wall. Facing into the living room was a series of doors. The one on the right closest to the kitchen was Johnny’s, then a bathroom. “You’ll be sharing this with Johnny and Kyle. Not to worry they’re clean boys.” John assured. Next to the bathroom was Kyle’s room. On the other side of the living room, across from Kyle’s room was Simon's room. Next to Simon’s room was your room, and then next to yours was John's room.

You did feel a bit safer sandwiched between the two alphas of the pack.

But you didn't like the fact you would have to traipse through the living room every time you needed to use the bathroom.

Next to Simon’s door was the door leading out to the patio. It was nice a spacious, but the only thing out there was an ashtray balancing on one of the bars. Beside the TV were two big windows that you knew you would spend a lot of time staring out of.

Maybe Kate could by you a lawn chair as a housewarming gift.

“It's nice.” You said at the end of the tour.

“It gets the job done.”

It was finally time for Kyle to make his way in with your bags. You had one suitcase and a duffle. He carried it like it was empty. You opened your new bedroom door for him, and he set it down without letting his feet cross the threshold.

“I'm sorry I didn't get to properly introduce myself earlier. I'm Kyle, Kyle Garrick.” His voice was smooth and confident compared to the way he bolted from you earlier.

“It's okay, Kyle.” You smiled, finding yourself a bit lost in his warm eyes. John cleared his throat behind you two causing the trances to break.

“How about we all go get some lunch? Wait for the rain to die down then head over to medical?”

Sounded good to you.

Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope the room setup isn’t too confusing! I’ll post a little render of their home and link it here! See you in two days for chapter 4! 🧡

[sunflower-lilac42]

𝟲𝟬𝟯 ; 𝘭𝘩43 ୨୧

➪ summary: luke's main goal is to make sure y/n is taken care of, however it's hard for him to do it 603 miles away

➪ warnings: reader overworks herself, school, stress

➪ word count: 2.5k

➪ file type: fic - reupload

➪ sunny's notes: i’ve been in a like mood so i decided to get this one out tonight!! ill post a connor blurb tomorrow morning/afternoon and a nico fic tomorrow. more of a schedule release tomorrow probably for the next two weeks

© sunflower-lilac42 ; do not copy, repost, or translate my work and designs on any other website or here

lh43 masterlist || nhl masterlist || new taglist || navigation

She expected this to happen, the pounding in her head, the 20 tabs open on her computer, the dozens of resource articles and research strewn about in her room, the five packets of review guides sitting in a stack on her desk, the half drank cup of coffee, and the tears springing in her eyes. The white noise coming from her earbuds was starting to bother her causing her to rip them out of her ears and throw them somewhere where she probably wouldn’t be able to find them again.

She could hear voices in the living room, just outside her closed bedroom door. They were laughing about something, what it was she had no idea. Her three roommates all had presentations tomorrow and that was it, no more studying, no more writing, they were done. She, however, still had three papers to write and two exams to take. She had regretted her decision to take this many classes this semester but she was preparing herself for her future.

She had gone to stand up, feeling dizzy immediately as her feet planted flat on the floor. She held a hand to the wall, bracing herself from toppling over. She blinked a few times, trying to clear the blurry sight of tears, dehydration, and lack of nutrition. She knew people would be worried about her if they were to see her like this, her hair matted and pulled into a bun as best as she could, and mascara dried on her face that highlighted the dark circles and bags under her eyes. She was wearing Luke’s sweatshirt, the Devils logo plastered over it in the center, mocking her, reminding her that her boyfriend was 603 miles away from her.

At the thought, she allowed herself to tear up more, letting tear after tear fall. There wasn’t much she could do, he was in the middle of a game right now. When she realized he had a game, she turned it on and watched with a soft smile whenever he would show up on the TV. Despite knowing the fact that he would not answer his phone, she called him, hoping to just hear his voice through his voicemail. 

When his voice reached her ears, she could feel some of the tension release from her body. However, the feeling was short-lived as the beep from the end of his voicemail was heard. She didn’t leave a message, she just hung up and watched the remainder of the second period. When the horn blarred in the arena and through the tv speakers, she shut off the screen and returned to work, making her head hurt more. 

She didn’t notice the multiple attempts Luke had made to call her, her phone having died 20 minutes prior when she was writing her essay. Her headphones laid atop her earbuds, trying to create a total noise blocker from her apartment’s noises. She had been ripping off post-it notes after post-it notes, scrambling to write down as many ideas as her brain could process. 

Meanwhile, Luke had been minorly, no majorly, freaking out. She would never call him if he was at a game, not even if it was super important. He could feel himself start to sweat again as he rushed to put his suit jacket on, wiggling his feet into his shoes. He had gone home by himself, not feeling the need to celebrate when his girl could be suffocating 603 miles away from him. 

Ever since they’ve known each other, Luke has known about y/n’s tendencies to throw herself into her school work. He remembers the first time he saw her during exam season. It was the end of their freshman fall term, they had been dating for four months at the time. They had just gotten back from their games in Ohio, he was exhausted from the trip and their 6-1 loss following their win the previous day. All he had wanted to do was go over to her dorm and lay in bed with her. 

ू ₒ ु ୨୧ ू ₒ ु

He knocked on the door, waiting for an answer but nothing came. He felt saddened and knocked again. He received the same answer, none. He turned around and slid down the wood door, hitting the ground with a thud. He put his hands on his head as he waited, kicking his bag to the side. It was only then he heard the footsteps come rushing down the hallway and looked up to see her. She had her backpack that looked as if it weighed 10 pounds, she was clutching five books in her arms and a coffee cup rested on top of them. She had been mumbling when she noticed him and her eyes lit up, “Hi!”

“Hi pretty girl, whatcha doing?”

“Studying.”

He looked at the way her eyes were hidden by the circles underneath them and frowned. He reached out to grab the books from her grasp and she gratefully accepted the offer, going straight to dig the keys out of her bag, “How were the games? Did you guys win?”

He felt heartbroken and confused, she always watched his games when they went away. She would always be the one to point out his goal or an assist that he got, sometimes she even pointed out if Dylan, Mackie, Ethan, or even Owen got a goal. He watched as she pushed the door open, removing her hand from her side to run it through her hair, “You didn’t watch?”

She turned to him, dropping her bag on the ground and reaching out for her books, “No, I was studying. Sorry, Lu.”

Studying? At that time? He did nothing but let her take the books, watching as she started to clean up her dorm. It was only then that he had noticed the state her dorm was in. There were empty boxes scattering the floor, paper plates and bowls on any surface possible, and some of her clothes were mixed in with her roommate’s, it was a mess, to say the least. He made no effort to say anything about it, though. 

She cleaned as much as she could in a matter of five minutes, looking at him with a small smile on her face, “I’m sorry I didn’t watch. I was going to watch the highlights when I got back tonight.”

“Back from?”

“Library. I think I’m starting to become a regular for everyone who works there.”

The thought of her being a regular was somewhat concerning to him, “How often have you been going?”

His voice was a mixture of stern and worried, his eyes somewhat squinted in a glare. She looked as if she had committed a crime at the tone of his voice, “Every day… from the time class was over until they closed.”

His eyes widened, “Jesus y/n.”

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to study. I need to do well.”

“I understand that but you can’t work yourself to the brink of death.” He grabbed the coffee out of her hand and emptied it into the sink, getting rid of the cup afterward.

She whined at the motion, watching him in horror as if he just hit a bird with his car. He walked back over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, “Tomorrow you are not going to touch a single book, I won’t even let you touch your computer.”

“But-”

“Nuh-uh, nope. No computer, no books, no papers, no anything school-related. We are going to stay in your bed and watch movies all day and eat properly.”

“I eat properly!” She exclaimed in offense.

He gave her a look that said all the different, “Sure. Now I can only hope you still have some of my clothes here somewhere because I do not want to talk to my dorm right now.”

She pointed in embarrassment to one of her drawers, “In there.”

He kissed her forehead and grabbed the clothes before heading for the bathroom, “I’ll be back and I better not see you do any work when I get back.”

She nodded but as soon as he left she ran to her backpack and grabbed her computer. She rushed to finish the last two paragraphs of her essay before he got back but luck was not on her side as she was halfway through her last paragraph and the doorknob turned. She had been so focused on writing that she didn’t care that he entered, “Just let me finish my last paragraph.”

He sighed, dropping his clothes into her laundry basket. He walked back to her bed and looked at her, “Last paragraph?”

“Mhm.” She nodded and scooted over so Luke could sit next to her, “Fine. I don’t want you to lose your train of thought.”

She beamed up at him and kissed his cheek before returning to her work.

ू ₒ ु ୨୧ ू ₒ ु

Ever since then, he had been careful with how much he left her alone in exam season. He always called on road trips, always went to the library with her to make sure she didn’t overwork herself, always made sure she was eating properly, and always made sure that she was okay. But now being 603 miles it was hard to do that for her. 

Luke was packing a bag as fast as he could, looking at his laptop for the earliest flight out of there which wasn’t until early the next morning, leaving at 7 and not arriving until 9. Then he would have to wait to get a car and do a 30-minute drive to Ann Arbor. He groaned at the time and went to throw something, at that point he could drive there and be there before getting a plane but he was in no state to drive. 

He continued to try and call her for 30 minutes, on the brink of giving up at that point. Her phone was still dead and she had yet to realize it. She had music playing through her earbuds attached to her computer, typing about something that she considered stupid and unnecessary. She only took breaks to take a sip of coffee or to groan and throw her head back in exhaustion and frustration. 

Luke threw his phone on the bed, running his hands down his face, falling asleep not even five minutes later. Y/n was the same way, she closed her laptop as she finished her last sentence, finally allowing herself to take a break. She got up to go make a burrito in the kitchen, waving to her friends who were also still awake at the time. 

She went to turn her phone on and that was when she realized the lack of battery it had. She shrugged it off and put it down on her nightstand before walking back out to eat and finish watching the movie with her roommates.

ﾟ+*:୨୧:*﹤

She didn’t go to bed until almost three in the morning despite finishing the movie four hours ago. Once they finished, she looked at the piles of paper and study guides she still had to do and sighed. Deciding that her first class wasn’t until noon, she could easily get done with one or two study guides or an essay in three. 

She curled up on her bed when she was done and wrapped the blankets around her tightly. When she woke up and went to look at her phone and saw a tweet from Amanda from an hour ago, “Luke is not at morning practice due to personal reasons. Should expect him back for Saturday’s game in Columbus.”

She immediately woke up at the fact, looking back at her other notifications. There must’ve been at least a dozen missed calls from Luke and 15 text messages. She could only think about the worst, if he had gotten hurt but just didn’t want to tell someone, if he had been so drunk that he couldn’t think straight, if he had a panic attack last night. Her thoughts raced but halted when there was a knock on the door.

She went out to the living room, still clad in her sweats from the previous night. Her friends must’ve either already left or were still sleeping. She walked to the door, peeking through the peephole and gasping. She all but ripped the door open, “Lukey?”

He smiled when he saw her, immediately feeling better. Her eyes were still the same from the first time he had experienced her like this and he knew there would probably be a coffee pot brewing in the next few minutes, but he was here now and that was a wave of relief, “What are you doing here?”

“You weren’t answering my calls and I know you were studying last night so you probably wouldn’t have answered them anyway. But when I saw you called during the game I got worried because you never call. And I just wanted to make sure you were okay and that you weren’t overworking yourself but I can tell that you are.”

She frowned at his words but also felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought of him flying out just because he wanted to ensure she was okay. She stepped aside to let him in and then led him to her bedroom. It was cleaner than what he had witnessed in the past years.

“You can’t just fly out every time you think I’m overworking myself, Luke.”

“I know but I wasn’t thinking. I was worried, really worried.” He held her hand, playing with her fingers as a form of comfort, “How long were you up to last night?”

She hesitated before responding, “3…”

He only sighed and tugged her closer to the bed so they could lay down, “Luke I have class in two hours.”

“I know but just for a little bit, and then I’ll take you to class.”

“You still know you’re way around campus?”

“Did I ever know my way around campus?”

She shook her head and laughed, “No.”

He smiled at her laugh, “You do realize I’m only going to be allowing you to rest while I’m here right?”

“But I have one more essay to finish.”

He glared at her, “Fine, but after that, you are going to be right here, in my arms, and not thinking about school at all.”

“Deal.”He kissed her before allowing her to get up and get ready for class. They both walked on campus to her class with the same thought, grateful that Luke had come to see her. Even with being 603 miles away from each other, they would do anything to be there for one another.

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗝𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗬 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗟𝗦 𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 ୨୧

@blakesbearsblog @toasttt11 @chiblackhawks @prettyjoseph @nicole01-23 @auriesphantom @pucks-goals-penalties @dancerbailey3 @quinnylouhughesx43

© sunflower-lilac42 ; do not copy, repost, or translate my work and designs on any other website or here

[daydreams-after-dark]

can we talk about a sub police officer han >.> like with a criminal reader because i know we all saw how he held that toy gun in skz code 😭

I read this ask before I watched skz code… then I saw it and I knew what you meant. He’s such a darling boy. I love him. I want him to do bad things to me. Even if he does it awkwardly, he gets the job done.

🥰🥰🥰 I’m so excited actually, because I have quite a few #policeofficerskz asks and the concepts are so scrumptious. I can barely contain myself.

Anyways… here is what came to mind for your ask. I love you and hope you enjoy 😘🥰

CW: coercion, unprotected p in v sex, cream pie, sex in a semi public place, nudity.

🚨🚨🚨🚨

Since your arrest earlier that day you have been scoping out the police officers at the station. Watching through the bars of the cell, narrowing down which one would be your ticket to freedom.

Really, you shouldn’t have even been arrested. You were set up. Okay, fine. You’re a con artist. But you wouldn’t have been arrested if you hadn’t been snitched on by some undercover officer. Thanks Officer Kim.

As you analyse each of the police officers in the station, the one who seems to catch your eye the most is Officer Han. He appears gentle, quiet, easily persuaded, kind of awkward. You can work with that. Plus, he is kind of cute. Bonus.

And what do you know, Officer Han is on night duty at the station tonight. Alone. You watch him through the bars as he drinks instant coffee and works at his computer.

The lights are low in the station. It’s quiet too, apart from the clacking of his keyboard.

He yawns and leans back in his chair, closing his eyes for a long moment. Poor baby’s tired. When he opens them his eyes land on yours.

He swallows nervously. You know he’s feeling vulnerable having you watch him. This is perfect.

You tilt your head and part your lips seductively, and his eyes blink rapidly before returning his attention to his computer screen.

“Officer?” you say coyly.

His eyes snap up to meet yours again.

"I need your help. You see I'm innocent. This was all a set up. Your officer Kim is corrupt. He stitched me up." Your bottom lip wobbles.

Han sighs loudly, like he wishes you would just stay quiet so he doesn't have to do anything. Maybe he'll just ignore you.

Or maybe not.

Officer Han stands and with his head down, he quietly walks towards the cell. He stops once he's in front of you, but doesn't look up.

"Look, it's not up to me...I'm just babysitting the station. I wasn't the arresting officer. There's nothing I can do." he says and makes to walk away.

Your hand reaches through the bars and grasps his arm. He stills, looking down at where your hand is wrapped around his forearm, and swallows hard.

"Please. Can you at least keep me company. I'm scared. I'm cold." You say in a small voice.

He looks up at you, a bewildered expression on his face.

"Please?" You let your eyes well up as you give him your best "pleading" eyes.

He shakes his head regretfully. "I-I shouldn't. It's against protocol." he whispers. You squeeze his arm a little harder and he whimpers. You've almost got him.

He lets out a shaky breath. "J-just wait here. I'll get you a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket." he concedes.

"I'm not going anywhere, Officer." You purr and release his arm.

You watch him through the bars as he fumbles about making a hot drink and finding another blanket, before returning to the cell and producing a key.

You smirk and go sit on the roll out mat in the far corner of the cell. You must look non-threatening for your plan to work. He enters the cell cautiously and stands in the middle of the area like he doesn't know what to do.

"Come sit." You pat the mat next you. He looks back awkwardly to where his desk is. "I won't bite." you raise and eyebrow.

"O-okay. O-only for a second... " he stutters.

Only for a second? You know how that always ends.

"Here's a blanket, he hands you the tatty fabric. "and your hot chocolate." he gives you the paper cup and sits down next to you and looks at his feet.

"Officer Han. That is your name isn't it?" you place the cup down in the corner, and turn to him. He is very attractive close up.

He nods. "Yes."

"And how long have you been a police officer?" you reach out and draw a circle on his knee with your index finger.

"Um... six months." he says shakily as he watches your finger work its way up his thigh.

"Hmm. Just a baby, huh?" you lick you lips as you watch him tremble.

"M'not a baby." he narrows his eyebrows and glares at you, but quickly looks away.

"No. I was only joking." You bring your hand up to stroke his cheek. "I bet you're very good at doing grown up things."

Officer Han gulps. "I am." he chokes.

"Wanna show me?" You grab his chin, forcing him to look at you. "I need you to show me what grown up things you can do. Can you? Can you do that for me?"

"I-I'm not sure what you mean, Miss?" he says innocently.

"Sure you do. I'm cold." You press yourself up against his side. "I'm thirsty." You ghost your lips over his cheek. "I'm starving." You whisper against his ear. "Need you to warm me up." You nibble his ear lobe. "Need you to fill me up."

"Fuck." he whimpers.

"That's exactly what I need you to show me."

“Huh?” He looks at you wide eyed. His eyes dart around the cell.

You slowly straddle his lap and begin to grind down on him. He's hard in his trousers, and from what you can tell, he's going to fill you just right.

“Miss. We can’t.” He protests in a small voice.

“Don’t you want to touch me, Officer?” You unbutton your blouse, revealing the swell of your breasts and your push up bra. “Go on. Touch them.” You say sternly.

Cautiously, he brings his shaking hands up and rests them on the bulge of your breasts. His mouth hangs open as he squeezes them slightly.

“Mmm, you like them don’t you, Officer?”

He nods.

“Yeah? I bet Officer Han would like to know what my pussy feels like too? Wouldn’t he?” You purr and take him in a ravenous kiss.

He squeaks in response and you smile against his mouth. “I need to you take your clothes off, Officer. I don’t want any part of you hiding from me. I need to see all of you.” You lean in close your his ear “I promise I’ll take all mine off too. You wanna see me naked don’t you?”

Again, Han nods frantically, and undresses so quickly you're not sure if it's pathetic or endearing. Either way, your cunt pulses when you see his bare form. Strong. Toned. Mouthwatering cock.

“I’m naked. Now what? What do you need me to do?” He says desperately, taking in your naked body too.

“Well.” You say laying down on the blanket. “You can start by warming me up.” You part your legs, presenting your pussy to the police officer. "With your mouth."

He’s between your legs, pushing them wide, slurping at your pussy like he hasn’t had a drink in ten hours.

“Oh fuck yes! Officer. Fuck, you do know how to do grown up things!” You cry as he suckles on your sensitive bundle of nerves. “Fingers! Fingers!” You demand, your breath heavy. He pushes two fingers into your cunt while he continues to give your clit attention.

“Yes! Harder!” You thread your fingers through his hair and pull him against your core while you grind your hips against his face.

You’re going to come at any second, but you know that you want to come on his cock.

“Lie on your back, Officer. You deserve to relax after such a hard days work.” You wriggle out from his grasp. The obedient officer does exactly what you ask and he’s on his back, cock heavy and leaking again his stomach. “Time for me to show you what a good girl I am.” You say as you straddle him.

You take your time. Teasing him by sliding along the length of his cock. Getting it soaking wet.

“Please.” He whispers.

“What is it Officer? What do you need?” you coo.

“Don’t tease me.” He sobs.

You lift off of him to line his cock up with your entrance and slowly lower yourself over his length. “Am I being a good girl?” You bite your lip as you encompass him completely.

You continue to ride him slow. He feels so hard inside you and you think if you went any faster he’d blow almost immediately. You want to exhaust the boy.

You build him up, pushing him to the edge, only to ease off. Several times you repeat the process. Officer Han is a wreck underneath you. Sobbing for you to let him come.

“Shh. It’s okay, Officer.” You reassure him as you reach down and play with your clit. You close your eyes and allow an orgasm to wash over you, clenching your walls around his cock.

“Fuck!!!” He cries and you rock your hips to take him over the edge. He comes so hard, and so deep, inside you.

Officer Han pants and trembles underneath you. But you’re not finished with him.

No.

You climb off him and immediately take his cock in your mouth. He protests. He’s so sensitive. Your mouth is too much. But you don’t care. His little cries and pretty moans make you just want to overstimulate even more.

You suck him until he’s hard, then milk him dry. Four more times. All the while he begs you to both “stop, too much”, and “fuck please, let me come!” You ride him two more times too, because he feels too good in your tight little cunt.

Eventually he is so exhausted that he passes out. Mouth agape with a little bit of drool on his chin. Or maybe that was your wetness?

It's almost a shame that you're never going to see him again. He'd probably make a great boyfriend.

🚨🚨🚨🚨

“Officer Han! What happened?”

“Oh dear. This isn’t good.”

“Someone had a rough night?”

“Someone’s going to have a lot of explaining to do.”

Voices wake Officer Han from his sleep. He blinks his eyes open to find its morning. Where the fuck is he? He sits up panicking.

Oh fuck!

He looks around the empty cell, then down at his naked body. Where the fuck are his clothes!? He scrambles around, trying to locate his uniform. But they’re gone.

The other officers laugh and taunt him as he resorts to wrapping the blanket around his waist and tugging at the cell door.

Locked.

“Officer Han.” A stern voice cuts through the jaunts and laughter, and a short, blond man pushes through the throng of officers that have gathered in front of the cell.

Han gulps. “Chief! I can explain.”

Read unrelated fic ot8 frees use jail cell

Read unrelated fic good cop /bad cop Han / Lee know

@channieandhisgoonsquad @noellllslut @itsseohannbin @weareapackofstrays @3rachasdomesticbanana @palindrome969 @xxkissesforchanniexx @chuuchuu1224 @fun-fanfics @wolfennracha @rhonnie23 @jisunglyricist @strayywayy @armystay89 @igetcarriedawaywithyou @mylittleponeypinkrosieposie @kyunchoni @justforreaders @melochacco

[jordanmoreau]

I have you / Dean Winchester

→ dean winchester x reader, 1,4k words / fem reader

; in which certain feelings are made known, tongue tied and flushed cheeks♡

You watch absentmindedly from across the diner as Dean leans casually against the counter, a grin plastered across his face as he chats to the female server.

His T-shirt rides up ever so slightly as he leans forward and you cough awkwardly, shifting in your seat to face away fro him, pulling the sleeves of your sweater over your hands as if to climb further inside it. Sam, who’s sitting opposite you with his nose buried in his notes, peers up to gives you a knowing look.

“He’s just being Dean,” he says calmly, nodding his head in his brothers direction. You freeze for a second, feeling caught. Sam doesn’t take his eyes off you for a prolonged second, wondering if he should reassure you some more but decides against it. He can tell you feel uncomfortable and so he moves his gaze from you.

It’s not that you don’t appreciate Sam’s attempt at comforting you. He had noticed your affections for Dean a while ago, watching the way you’d lean into him for comfort on every case or how you’d laugh at every stupid corny joke. You swallow, shaking your head slightly. It didn’t do you any good to keep pining after him.

It’s then that Dean returns to the table, a tiny piece of paper gripped in his hand. Your stomach does a painful flip when you notice it. The servers number? You look away again, focusing on the parking lot outside. Dean however takes notice of this, sliding into the seat next to Sam. Sam didn’t bother looking up at his brother and simply slid over a handful of pages, to which Dean rolled his eyes.

Dean instead turned his attention to you, mirroring you as he tries to figure out what you’re so intently looking at.

“What’re we looking at?” he says, startling you. He’s leant across the table, propped up by his elbows as he looks toward the parking lot and then back at you. He gives you a closed lipped smile when you don’t say anything.

“Y/N?” he murmurs softly. He’s close enough that you can smell his cologne. It overwhelms you a little and you sit back in your chair. His eyebrows knit together in confusion and he too sits back.

“Just thinking,” you reassure quietly, giving him your best “I'm okay” expression. It feels like a grimace. He searches your face for a moment and then nods, apparently accepting your words at face value.

—

The next evening, you find yourselves holed up in a motel, two rooms between three of you. You try not to look too alarmed at this at the front desk, the bags slung over your shoulders suddenly feeling like dead weights.

“Sam, can I bunk with you,” you ask instantly as you’re leaving the reception kiosk, hoping he can detect the pleading in your voice. Dean frowns at you, scratching his cheek with the back of his hand. Sam begins to agree when his brother interjects, stepping closer to you.

“What about me?” he pouts. Your heart pangs and you try to appear nonchalant, shrugging. He frowns again and Sam, who’s trailing behind you both, chucks the second set of keys at him. "Here,".

Dean catches it with his spare hand and mutters something you don't quite catch. Sam hums in agreement.

You decide to walk in front of the pair, needing to get in bed as soon as possible. Your whole body felt heavy and your feet dragged as you made your way down the hallway.

Dean follows you closely. It’s then that you recognize the right door number and plop your bags down on the door mat finally, groaning as your shoulder twinges.

“You okay?” Dean asks, his hand coming up to rest on your arm gently. You flinch for a second, not realising he was that close behind.

“Y-yeah,” you mumble, trying to ignore the way your arm felt hot under his touch. He rounds you now, standing opposite you at the doorway. He’s looking at you with an unreadable expression, lips pursed.

“Are you?” you ask him awkwardly. His stoic exterior breaks at that and he blinks at you, almost like he’s offended at the question.

“Am I okay?” he scoffs. He doesn’t answer you, unlocking the door instead. With ease, Dean pushes it open and gestures inside. You now blink back at him, not moving. "Ladies first," he deadpans.

“I’m sharing with Sam,” you say lamely. Dean ignores you, hiking your bags over his shoulder and entering the room. You glance back over your shoulder and see Sam entering the room on the far left. He turns back to close the door and shoots you an apologetic look. Traitor, you think.

You sigh, admitting defeat and walking inside the room, closing the door behind you. It’s nothing special, dank and small. Two beds are pushed against the far wall, sad beige comforters draped over cream white sheets. Dean is sat on the furthest one from you, jacket now discarded and hanging over the bathroom door. He's wearing a greyish blue shirt underneath, the short sleeves hugging his biceps tightly. It's your favorite on him. You shift from one foot to another, not knowing where to place your hands.

He’s placed your bags at the foot of your bed. You stand in the entrance for a moment too long and Dean notices. He always does.

“Are you going to sit down or am I gonna have to put you to bed myself?” he asks. You flush slightly, cheeks pink and move hurriedly towards your stuff, muttering a quick sorry as you do. Dean huffs loudly.

“Seriously, what’s wrong?” he asks exasperatedly. His upper body is turned toward you. You don’t miss the note of worry in his tone and you feel guilty.

Usually you’d play along with playful banter or his flirty comments and he wasn’t used to your solemn expressions and your sad eyes. It made his heart twist in a way he wasn't used to. It was painful and he didn't like it.

“I’m just…”you struggle for the right words to say, feeling tongue tied. Admitting your feelings for him was just out of the question. God you wished Sam had roomed with you like you’d asked.

Dean waits patiently and when you don’t finish your sentence, he pushes himself off the bed. You’re perched on the end of the bed now and he crouches so that he’s almost eye level with you.

“Is it something I said, or did?” he questions you. Again, you feel guilty. You shake your head quickly, lips pressed together in a tight line. He makes a “hm” sound that sounds pained and you break.

“I’m just not feeling my best,” you lie, trying your best to meet his gaze as he listens. “It’s not you,”

Dean doesn’t respond for a moment and you think perhaps he’s bought what you’ve said. However he scoffs again. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

His tone is somewhat harsher than you think he means but his face is soft, lips slightly parted as he silently pleads with you. You fidget, not sure how to answer him. “You know I care about you,” he whispers. He’s closer then you had realized. So close that you swear he must hear your heartbeat quicken.

“Did you call that girl?” you ask weakly, taking a sharp intake of breath as you spoke. Dean stares at you blankly for a moment.

“Girl?” he says, bewildered. You nod slowly.

“The girl from the diner,” you say, eyes trained at the tv stand just past Dean’s head in your line of sight. You fidget again.

“Why would I call her? I have you,” he says. You can’t help but laugh at that, it sounding shrill and foreign given the mood. It echos against the silence of the room. It seemed just like Dean to lighten the mood by giving you some line, something to cheer you up. But when you finally look back at him his face is serious. There’s no sign of amusement.

“She gave you her number though, right?” your voice is barely audible. He hears you though and a small smile pulls at the corner of his lips. He half rolls his eyes, clearly bemused.

“And that means I have to call her?” You look at him. So he wasn’t interested in her after all. Maybe Sam was right, he was just being Dean.

He cups your cheeks lightly with his callused hands all of a sudden and you feel like all the air leaves you. “I have you,” he repeats. You feel dizzy.

“Don’t I?” he asks softly. He searches your face as if worried you don’t agree. You notice the way his shoulders have tensed.

“Yes,” you breath. His shoulders relax and he flashes you the most Dean smile imaginable.

[theemporium]

hello!!! can I pls request a mai tai with my boy barzy (mat tai haha) and “One date, that’s all I’m asking for. One night to let me show you how good we could be together.”

maybe a lil enemies to lovers or reader not realizing that he’s been seriously flirting or whatever you think fits best !!! love ya

thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

57. “One day, that’s all I’m asking for. One night to show you how good we could be together.”

.

“Sleep well?” 

You didn’t bother to hide your irritance as the boy sauntered into your office, not bothering to knock or even pop his head in to make sure you were busy (which you were). He simply threw the door open and walked in, settling on one of the seats across from you as he leaned back to get himself comfortable. 

“Fine,” you bit out, your eyes focused on your screen instead of the way Mat was shamelessly manspreading, the fabric of his shorts clinging onto the muscles of his thighs. 

“Have any nice dreams about me?” He continued, the smirk evident in his voice even if you hadn’t turned your head to look at him. “Feel free to tell me all about them. Every single detail. Spare no expense.” 

You let out a deep sigh, abandoning the email you had been drafting up to send to the marketing department as you looked at the boy. His hair was still wet from the shower he had after practice, his hoodie completely contradicting his shorts and the same smirk on his lips that you always found on his face.

“Is there something I can help you with, Barzal?” You asked in a bored tone. 

“Actually,” he grinned as he knocked his knuckles against your desk. “Yes, you can. I need to know if you’re free this Saturday.” 

“Why? You gonna interrupt my day off the way you’re interrupting my working day now?” You deadpanned. 

Mat laughed. “No, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go on a date on Saturday.” 

You blinked, waiting for him to say the actual reason he was here to bother you.

But Mat didn’t say anything else, just looking at you with his brows furrowed and an expectant look on his face.

“Wait, you’re serious?” You questioned, your annoyance quickly sizzling away until utter confusion was left in its place. “What game are you playing?” 

“Why would I be playing a game?” Mat retorted, now seemingly just as confused as you were.

“Well, why else would you ask me on a date?” You demanded, straightening up a little in your seat.

“Because I want to go out with you?” He responded, his lips turned downwards into a frown. “You know, this whole jokey rivals thing is fun and all but we’ve danced around it long enough.” 

You blinked. “It was a joke to you?” 

“You thought I was being serious?” He retorted, his frown deepening. “I—no, that’s our thing, right? We pretend to hate each other because it’s kinda hot to bully each other. Right?” 

You felt like the air had been knocked out of your lungs. “No?!” 

“Oh my god,” Mat murmured, the realisation hitting him that you had assumed he was genuinely being a dick to you for the last few months. “I didn’t…I was just…fuck.” 

You couldn’t find any words to say yourself. 

“Okay, no, we are resetting this because we clearly both had the wrong idea,” Mat cleared his throat, standing up as he rounded the desk and kneeled beside you. “Go out with me.” 

Your eyes widened. “Mat—” 

“One day, that’s all I’m asking for. One night to show you how good we could be together,” he continued, something pleading and determined in his voice. 

“I–” You paused, finding yourself nodding. “Okay. Saturday.” 

“Saturday,” he repeated with a grin. “You won’t regret it, baby. Just wait.”

.

[nycbaby21]

Young and Stupid

prompt: sharing a bed with your best friend's older brother

word count: 4,600

“I’m really sorry,” I hear my best friend’s voice rush over the phone. “Wow no hello, no how are you, no I miss you. You must be really sorry,” I laugh closing my book standing up and stretching. I had been sitting at my desk for the past three hours studying for my last final in an hour. “So I know the plan was for me to drive up and grab you and then head home,” Liana started and her voice trailed off. I groan already knowing I’m gonna hate what leaves her mouth next. 

“So funny story, you know that really cute guy I was telling you about,” she continued. “Yes, I remember the very cute blonde with super blue eyes,” I say grabbing everything I needed and heading out of my dorm. I began walking to my last class and stayed on the phone with her the whole way. “Okay so come to find out he lives like an hour away from my parent's house. So he is gonna give me a ride home,” I stop in my tracks.

“Li, what are you saying,” I ask having a feeling where this is going. “I already talked to my parents and they are super excited to meet him. I can really see this going somewhere,” I can hear the smile in her voice. “Okay,” I say stopping at the stairs of my lecture hall. “You aren’t mad,” she asks, concern in her voice. “No, I’m not mad. I’ll just have to find a ride after I finish this test,” I say. “Don’t worry I already have one for you,” she says. “Liana Barzal what did you do,” I ask with a whine in my voice.

“Love you! Talk later, good luck with your test. You are gonna kick ass,” she rambles and then hangs up on me. I can’t let myself think about it and walk into the room focusing on the test at hand. After an hour, I walk out of the building and head back to my dorm. I tried to call Liana several times, but she never answered me. When I walked into my dorm, I could see why.

“Mat, what are you doing here,” I ask seeing her older brother lying down on my bed reading a book. “Geez about time you got back. I was so bored I started reading your stupid little book,” he says in a teasing tone. I snatched the book from his hands and put it on my desk. “Let’s try this again. “What are you doing here Mathew Barzal,” I ask with an attitude. I loved the whole Barzal family, they have become like a family to me over the years. Our parents were friends and then they had Liana and I at the same time. But Mat was a whole different story.

Ever since I could remember he would tease me. Little things never anything terrible or purposefully malicious. He would pull my hair out of the ponytail, always call me stupid nicknames, and my personal favorite pretend he didn’t know who I was almost all of high school. I had always hoped it was the classic, oh he likes you because he teases you kind of thing. Those dreams were shattered when I was around and his friends asked who I was, and he just replied just some girl my sister is friends with no one important. It was not like I had known him my whole life or anything.

“Oh, you used my full name. I’m so scared,” he laughed sitting up and staring down at me. My bed was raised so I could reach to slap the back of his head so I smacked his calf. He laughed at me and I just kept hitting him. Not hard enough for it to hurt, but it did feel good to let out some of my frustration. I had been so stressed with finals, maintaining my grades, and stupid boy problems.

“What the hell are you doing,” my roommate Maddie asks walking in with her girlfriend right behind her. “Aw Y/n, good for you. I’m glad you moved on from that loser. Also, this one is so much hotter,” Olivia says sitting down on the bed. My entire face burns red and I stop hitting Mat. “No no no. This is Mat,” I rush taking a few steps away from him. He quirks an eyebrow at me. “Oh shit my bad. I thought. You know what never mind what I thought. I’m just gonna sit here and look pretty,” she jokes with me. “You think he’s hot,” Maddie ask looking from Mat to Olivia. “I don’t know for a guy yeah. I mean I would never ever never. But I could see the appeal,” she shrugs explaining to her girlfriend.

“I don’t know. How you treat people is way more important than looks,” Maddie rolls her eyes continuing to pack her bag. The whole time I refused to make eye contact with him. “You know who I am,” he asks hopping down off the bed and leaning back against it. “You talk about me Y/n,” his voice comes off condescending. I huff and let out a groan and Olivia throws a pillow at me. I whack him in the face with it. He grabs my wrist and makes me freeze. Noticing the tension Maddie saves the day.

 “I know a lot about you Barzal. Your sister is amazing by the way,” Maddie smirks, knowing she is riling him up. “You think Y/n/n talks about you. Please, you have no idea how many people try to get info on you from her. She has never once indulged them,” Olivia says thinking she is being helpful. I cut her a look and she stops talking. He looks down at me and his face softens. “What is she talking about,” he asked me. “Well, we should get on the road. Long drive down to Tennessee. Love you Y/n,” Olivia says grabbing Maddie’s stuff and heading for the door.

Maddie comes and wraps me up in a hug. “Call me okay. I love you and have a great break,” she smiles. “I love you and you guys too. Also Mads you got this. Any parent should be thrilled for their daughter to bring you home,” I give her arm a comforting squeeze. She nods and walks towards the door. “Barzal, if I hear one word about you hurting my girl you better be ready,” she threatens and closes the door. The air was thick in tension as soon as it was just the two of us.

Mat turns and opens his mouth to say something but I cut him off before he can. “Okay well, she should probably get on the road too,” I say grabbing my duffle bag and throwing it over my shoulder, and grabbing the suitcase with my free arm. I feel myself being pulled back and the weight on my left arm is now gone. Mat now had my pink duffle bag over his shoulder. He sent me a small smile and headed towards the door. This is gonna be a long trip.

I slowly walked behind him following him to his car in the parking lot. I let out a laugh and tried to cover it with a cough. His head snapped back to me and he smiled. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up,” he says putting my stuff in the back with his. “No I’m not laughing at you or the car I swear,” I laugh and he cuts me a look. “It’s just you’ve been in the NHL how long? They have to be paying you enough for a luxury car,” I say getting in the passenger door as he shuts it behind me. “Not that I need to explain myself to you, but there is no point in all of that. I mean this is a great little car, trustworthy, and dependable,” he says leaning over and looking backward to reverse the car. I hated to admit it to myself but he looked way too good doing that.

“No, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I just figured you would be all flashy and get a car to impress some girl,” I shrug looking outside my window and not at him. “Maybe the Mat you used to know would have done that. But I’m not that guy anymore,” he says glancing over at me. His stare makes me feel like the same little girl who had a monster crush on her best friend’s older brother. “Maybe,” I ask in a teasing tone getting a laugh out of him, like a real genuine smile. Happy with how the conversation was going and in fear of messing it up, I reached over and flipped through the stations trying to find a station.

“Here, just play something on here. The static is driving me crazy,” Mat says handing his phone over to me. I held it like it was a bomb, scared if I moved it would go off. “What,” he laughs eyes straight ahead. “I don’t know. It’s just no guy has ever just openly handed me his phone to go through,” I say opening his phone, he didn’t even have a password on it. His background makes me stop. It was a picture of Liana, him, my little sister, and me from one summer when we were kids on my dad’s boat. “Well you have been around the wrong guys,” he says snapping me out of my trance.

I didn’t even know that picture existed, let alone why Mat had it as his home screen. “Yeah well, you could say that again,” I laugh dryly and scroll through his playlist trying to find one. “Oh my gosh. You do not still have this,” I say shocked pulling up a playlist I made him one summer when he said I had terrible music taste and wanted to prove him wrong. I click play and the catchy beat of some random boyband I was obsessed with fills the car. He smiles and starts singing along with the song. “What? Don’t go feeling all special or whatever, it just has some good songs on it,” he says trying not to smile.

The next two hours are filled with us screaming the lyrics of the playlist and dancing around in the car. I had actually never had this much fun with Mat ever. He always treated me like his sister’s annoying friend. Right now it felt like he was treating me like a friend. The snow started to pick up more and more. We had turned down the music to almost nothing and I was helping him watch the road. “I saw a sign for a motel like half a mile back. I know it isn’t ideal but I can’t risk having you on the road in this weather,” he says slowing down even more and turning into the motel.

“Risk having me on the road? What about you,” I ask as he puts the car in park. “Liana and my parents would have my ass if anything happened to you,” he said looking over at me. I deflated a little bit, cursing myself for actually thinking maybe it was because he cared about me. I just nod my head and open the door grabbing my bags and heading for the door. “Hey wait slow down. What just happened back there,” he asks rushing forward and opening the door for me.

The lobby was filled with the same chill as outside. I shook off some of the snow that had gathered up on my clothes and hair. “I have no idea what you are talking about Barzal,” I say walking further inside towards the front desk. “Y/n you just completely shut down on me,” he says grabbing my forearm and pulling me back. I roll my eyes and look up at him. “I have no idea what you are talking about Mat. Look I’m tired and cold I just want to take a hot shower and sleep okay?” 

I hear someone clear their throat and we both look towards the guy behind the desk. He has an annoyed expression on his face. I pull my arm away from Mat and walk towards the desk. “How can I help you tonight sweetheart,” his voice sends chills down my spine. He looked me up and down like he was a wild animal stalking his prey. “Uhm.. a room please,” I stutter out completely creeped out by this guy. My eyes shift over to Mat and then back to the guy. “Okay, so two rooms. That will be,” the guy is cut off by Mat. “One room actually,” Mat wore a smug look on his face. His arm slipped around me, and this time I leaned in and didn’t brush him off.

“Yeah sure okay,” he grumbles out typing away. Mat gave my side a squeeze and his thumb rubbed back and forth under my jacket. I tried to ignore the feelings that came with being this close to him. He was just trying to help like a big brother would. He didn’t see me as anything else. “Right this way,” he said and we followed him down a long hallway and to the last room in the hall. He opens the door and we both can see the room only has one bed in it. I try to control my face, but it must have slipped because the guy smirks down at me. “One bed alright with the happy couple,” he said emphasizing the word couple. 

“Perfect with us. Right baby,” Mat leans down and looks at me. I nod my head, not trusting my voice in that moment. Fear overwhelmed my system, I just couldn’t tell if it was from the looks the clerk was giving me or the fact I had to share a bed with Mat tonight. “Well, I’ll leave you both to it. Come find me if you need anything okay,” he says directly at me slipping a wink in before walking away. Mat all picked me up and carried me into the room away from that guy. 

He slams the door closed and I jump at the sudden loud noise. He turns around and looks at me. I have never been able to read Mat well, he always held his emotions close to himself. But in this moment I was grateful I couldn’t. He was seething with anger. He paced around the room rambling about how no man had any right to talk to a woman like that. I sat on the bed and watched him continue to walk around. “Mat, please. You are making me dizzy,” I groan falling back onto the bed with my legs still hanging off. I hear a deep sigh and feel the bed dip down next to me. “You okay,” I ask looking into his eyes.

“That doesn’t matter right now. Are you okay,” he asked voice soft. I nod feeling very vulnerable under his gaze. I open my mouth to ask him more about what the hell just happened but my phone ringing cut me off. “Y/n, finally you answer me. I got an alert that you and Mat both stopped and neither one of you picked up. I was scared to death something happened to you both,” Liana rushes out. “Li slow down okay. I am perfectly fine okay. The roads just got really bad and Mat pulled over and we found a motel to stay at. We are gonna get back on the road first thing in the morning,” I explain calmly trying to help ease her worry.

“Hey you know I wouldn’t ever let anything happen to her right,” Mat says to his sister looking straight at me. “Yeah, I know. Sorry, it’s just you guys are two of my favorite people, and if I lost you both,” her voice cracked and we heard a hushed voice comforting her. Mat raised his eyebrows and I smiled. “You can’t get rid of us that easy. We are gonna be annoying you for the foreseeable future,” I laugh telling her and trying to get off the phone before Mat realized who she was talking to. “Okay I love you guys,” she says before hanging up. 

“Who was that,” he asked looking back to me. I laugh and shake my head jumping up. He quickly followed suit and stood after I did. “I am gonna go get that shower,” I say walking backward towards the bathroom. “Y/n tell me who she was talking to,” he says walking closer to me. I keep backing up until my back hits a wall. Mat is right in front of me looking down at me. “A friend,” I say in a hushed tone due to our closeness. “Uh-huh. A friend. Who is this friend,” he asks maintaining our current distance. “Maybe a friend who wants to be more than a friend,” I shrug and laugh at the face he makes. “Oh my god. She is a little rat,” he said backing up some. 

“Why is she a little rat,” I ask finally getting to take a full breath. “She totally used me asking to bring you home as a way to hang out with a boy,” he says looking back to me, and then his eyes get big. “What did you just say,” I ask stepping closer to him. “I have no idea what you are talking about,” he says trying to keep distance between us and trips over my bag falling down. “I’m okay,” he says looking up at me and then laughing. “Are you sure,” I ask laughing back at him. “Positive. Now go get a shower, you kind of stink,” he jokes and I kick his shin lightly.

When I was in the shower my mind drifted back to the car ride here. It was so different than any other time I had spent with him. Maybe he was right, he wasn’t the same Mat I knew growing up. I was more confused now than I was before. I shake off all of the feelings coming back from my teenage years and get out of the shower. I go to change into some clothes and realize I didn’t grab a shirt. “Hey, Mat. Can you pass me a shirt? I forgot to grab one,” I yell hoping he can hear me over the sound of the TV he had going. I hear a muffled sound and then a quick knock on the door. I open it and come face to face with him. 

His eyes drifted down and back up very quickly, he was hoping I hadn’t noticed. It was just the same as him seeing me in a swimsuit in the summer, which he had seen several times. Something different was floating around his mind, but I just couldn’t tell what. He cleared his throat and handed me the shirt. “Thanks,” I say softly and step back into the bathroom slipping the shirt over my head. I noticed how much bigger it was than normal and finally looked at myself in the mirror. He had given me one of his Islanders training shirts. I try not to think too much about it, but the small part of me who still believes in fairytale endings drifts.

I walk out turning the lights off in the bathroom and turning to face him. His shirt was so long it covered the shorts I had on. He looked up at me and his jaw tightened slightly. The air was weird between us again like it was earlier. “What are you watching,” I ask looking over at him when he doesn’t answer me. I call his name again and he looks over at me. “Oh uhm I don’t know some random comedy I found,” he says sitting up straighter in the bed. I nod my head at him and walk around the side of the bed opposite him. I pull back the blankets and carefully slip into the bed being very cautious of our personal space.

“Are you cold,” he asks looking over only being able to see me when the TV flashed a bright color. “No, I’m good I promise,” I say back lying to him. “Y/n/n, I can feel you shivering over there,” he says looking over at me. I feel his hand touch mine under the covers and he winces. “Your hands are freezing,” he says. He scoots closer and pulls me towards him. “Mat, I’m fine really,” I try and push him off. He ignores me and pulls me into his chest. I immediately feel warmer, either from his body heat or my face flushing. 

We both stay still as a board, both afraid of moving too much and scaring the other. I could feel his breath and hear his heartbeat. That was the only thing comforting me because he was as fast as mine. “Hey can I ask you a question,” he asks running his hand up and down my arm. “Yeah, you can ask me anything,” I say looking up at him. “Earlier when your roommate and her girlfriend were talking they said you never talk about me even when people ask. Does that happen a lot? People asking you about me,” he asks his hand stopping and resting on my upper arm. “Yeah, I guess it does. I mean people know me from Li’s Instagram and figure I am close with you or whatever. So girls try to be friends with me to get closer to you. Or guys only ask me out thinking I will introduce them to you,” I say scared of how he will act.

“I am really sorry that happened to you Y/n,” he says looking down at me. I look up at him and smile. “It’s okay Mat. Not anything I’m not used to,” I replied. “Has this always happened,” his question made me sigh. I just nod against his chest. “How long,” his voice breaks. “I don’t know, freshman year. It wasn’t because you were mister hot-shot hockey back then. It was because you were this hot older guy every girl our age was crazy about. So that’s why Li and I have always been really selective of our friends,” I answer back. We stay quiet for a minute and then I feel his chest vibrate some. “What,” I ask looking up at him and seeing a smile on his face. “Every girl your age thought I was hot, eh,” he asks in a teasing tone, but not the same one from childhood.

“Wow out of all of that, you wanna know if I thought you were hot,” I roll my eyes and push away from him. His grip tightens on me and I laugh with him. “Why does it matter what I thought of you way back then,” I ask. “I don’t know,” he shrugs. “Can I ask you a question now,” I counter and he nods. “What did I do to you growing up,” his eyebrows furrow at my question. “I mean it was like you had it out for me. Anything I did, you had a teasing comeback for it. And then in high school you just ignored me. So I’m asking you if I did something,” I ask waiting for a response. 

“You didn’t do anything, I swear. Well not intentionally anyway. You couldn’t help me having feelings for you. I don’t know as kids I thought of you just like Li and your sister. And then one day you weren’t the same anymore. I noticed how my feelings were changing with you. And I was stupid and young and had no clue what I was doing so I was just mean.” I stayed quiet just listening to him. “Then high school came around and some of the jerks I called friends started asking questions about you. Like who you were and some other stuff I’m not gonna repeat. So I just thought if you weren’t an active part of my life maybe guys like that would leave you alone. You were way too good for them,” he finished and stared ahead. “Mat, will you please look at me,” I ask, his eyes drifting across my face and landing on my eyes. He nods and I look at him,” Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“Like I said, I was a young stupid kid. I was scared of you. You were my sister’s best friend, our parents are super close, and I just knew that I would screw something up. And it wouldn’t just be us it would be us I messed up, but everyone else would suffer,” he said. “Well are you still,” I ask, taking a leap of faith. “Still what,” his voice is filled with confusion. “Are you still young and stupid,” I whisper back to him. “Up until yesterday. Yeah, I was,” he replied. “What changed today,” I question leaning in closer to him. “I finally quit trying too hard around you. I was just Mat with you today. And it felt really nice,” he smiled leaning down our lips almost touching. “Tell me to stop and I will. We can pretend this never happened and go back to whatever we were. Even though that might actually kill me, I’ll do it if that’s what you want,” he says his breath fanning my face.

I close the distance between us by grabbing his cheeks with my hands pulling him closer. It didn’t even take him a second to fall into rhythm with me. All those years of secretly pining and hidden feelings were finally being released. I kissed him until I physically couldn’t anymore needing to breathe. “Holy shit,” I say resting our foreheads together.” If I had known that was what I was missing I would have said something sooner,” he laughed making me smile. “Well, we have about ten years to catch up on,” I smile at him reconnecting our lips.

The next morning I woke up all tangled up in Mat’s embrace. I nuzzled into his chest harder, waking him in the process. “Please tell me last night wasn’t some dream,” he says not opening his eyes yet. “No, you dork. It wasn’t a dream,” I laugh kissing the space between his shoulder and neck. “I don’t really wanna leave the motel, is that bad,” he asks running his hand in my hair. “No, it isn’t that bad,” I smile. “Good because I’m pretty sure Li may just kick my ass,” he laughs. “Am I worth it,” I ask looking up at him. “Worth every second of ass-kicking,” he says kissing my nose. I kiss his lips again and my phone ringing interrupted us. “Oh god, it’s her, isn’t it? She is already cockblocking me and she doesn’t even know yet,” he groans throwing his head back.

“Are you both still alive,” she jokes. “Yes we are both still alive,” Mat groans into the phone before moving us to where he could rest his face on my neck. My hands go to his hair and start running my fingers through it. “Well, I’m sorry for asking. Geez Y/n maybe you should have given him some and he wouldn’t be acting like an ass this morning,” she laughs and stops when she realizes neither one of us answers. “Oh my god. You did not,” she screams.

[hanalulugguk]

You've been gone 10 years, and it's made you bitter

Part of Sweet - a Gojo Satoru mini series

One

Note: As incredible as his mind is, gege deeply hurt me with chapter 236, this came to mind after reading it when i felt like gojo satoru, strongest sorcerer, was robbed. So this my personal characterization of him <3

Warnings: none for this chapter

unedited

Even though the distance was grand, you could still hear the loud cheers and screams coming from the training courts at the compl;et other side of the school upon entering the school premise after venturing up the long path to the top of the mountain. You take the peaceful walk from the gate to the inside of the building. 

You take your time walking the halls, looking around and stepping into random old classrooms that you remember having spent hours in during your late teens. Navigating your way to the principal's office to the best your memory can serve you. You almost walk past it, the name change throwing you off. You take a deep breath  before knocking against the wooden door, you hear a faint ‘come in’ before you pull the door open. The yellow lighting of the room is dim, and poor. You notice before you step inside that it’s different than you remember it. 

There was no longer a desk at the far end of the room by the window, there was no longer an absurd looking orange couch pushed to the far right of the room with 2 ugly looking metal chairs on either side of it. It’s entirely empty. Once you step inside though you do notice the water cooler in the corner of the room. 

“You’re early,” yaga almost freaks you out from his position in the far end of the room, in the least dim lit area of the room. “Did i interrupt nap time? Why is it so dark here?” you make your way over to where yaga was seated. 

“I can see your sense of humour is yet to waver,” he doesn’t look up from the stuffed doll in his hand, continuing to delicately stuff more cotton into the small opening, needle and thread placed neatly on the mat in front of him along with other doll skin. 

“It never will, and you know it” you jab back as you take a seat next to him, you still cannot see his face fully, but you can see the corner of his lip lift. You sit in silence as he tries to thread the needle to sew the last bit back, after a few minutes of him obviously struggling you grab them from his hand, threading it for him before ripping it from the rool and tying it to secure it. He doesn’t protest when you take the neon green bear from his lap and start to sew the last bit as he watches you. 

“How was your trip here?” you shrug in response. “Same as always, long and tiresome. Next time you ask me to come, I expect to be pulled up on a trolley. These stairs never get easier.” he lets out a breath of a laugh, eyes trained on your working hands. 

“How was europe?” he asks further, “sorcery work is much less busy anywhere outside of japan. Not much to take care of there. It was good.” you hold the bear up once you’re done before turning it for yaga to see, he offers a small smile as he takes it from you. 

“Nice to have you back,”

“It’s only for a month, don’t get too used to it, don’t want any weeping when i’m leaving. “ you joke and he nods, “i know, that was the deal, only a month.” he agrees with you as he places the bear onto the mat at his knees. “I’m not used to the plaque with your name on it,  almost missed your office, or play room. Why’d you empty it so much?” you ask looking around again at all the empty space from when you were still here, walking these halls as if they were your own, which to some extent is true. 

“Felt better, more calm.” he explains as he follows your line of vision, zeroing in on the small photo frame hung up right next to the wall, the one of all of you when you were still in your first year. shoko , satoru, suguru and you as you stand with big smiles around yaga, a cake in his hand and a rainbow polka dot party hat on his head. 

You hum in response to him, “i can get that.” your voice is low, quiet, as the two of you longer on the photo for a little while longer. “So when am i to meet the students?” you ask looking back at yaga who stands with a huff, “now if you’d like.” he looks down at where you remain seated. 

“They’re in the training court with gojo.” you pull your lips into a thin line before offering him a big smile. “Sure.” he extends his hand to you and you gladly take it as he helps you up. 

The two of you step into the hall, you trailing the smallest bit behind yaga, you savor the silence, knowing that although it had been years since you’ve seen each other, you’d prefer to skip the aspect of catching up on what is unnecessary to share, and he knows, so he doesn’t push. As you get closer to the exit leading to the training courts, the chaos gets louder and louder. 

“Are they anything like us?” you ask as you step out into the sun, taking a quick skip to catch up to his pace where you had stalled.  “no one could compare to the lot of you. Worst class i had ever taught.” although it may seem harsh, you can sense the fondness in his tone, and you know, with him saying it that he cherished you. All 4 of you. You shrink into yourself for a second as you grin at his words.

“YA, megumi! You can do better than that, don’t let a girl beat you.” you hear him before you see him. As the two of you round the benches you catch sight of the source of chaos. The students were posed in 2 groups of threes. Two pairs in combat formation with an orange ping pong on each of their heads whilst one spectated each pair. You note the panda but don’t ask any questions. Satoru was seated on the bright green grass, both legs spread in front of him, wide open as he leaned back on his palm, his back in your direction. 

“Why is it that every time i come you are layed back whilst all of your students do the work?” yaga asks satoru who didn’t bother turning around, his sight loud as you catch the motion of him reaching to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The students all stopped their training seeing hearing principle yaga’s entrance.

“Well i learned from the best obviously.” gojo responds back nonchalantly as you stop right behind satoru, yaga right next to you. “And since when do you spectat? Has your trust me hindered that much?” he asks leaning his head back to look at, who he thought would be yaga, but instead the top of his head bumps your knees, gazing up at you with pure boredom before his eyes, slowly, widen upon contact. You offer him a smile as yaga speaks up again. 

“I’ve come to introduce someone,” the students whispers, if they would be called that, reach you as you break eye contact with satoru to meet their eyes. They tredge carefully, you’re not sure if it’s yaga’s presence or your foreign one. 

“Due to recent events, and some doubts in your training,” he takes a quick glance at satoru who doesn’t quip up with anything in return, “i’ve brought on some temporary help to grow your abilities in a more reliable way. This is y/n one of the only 5 special grade sorcerers. I believe she’d be great at teaching you something useful.”  

You give a moderately big smile as you offer a small bow to the students, few bow back whilst the rest either give a small wave or nothing at all. You do notice though the boy with bright pink hair and his enthusiastic wave following his bow. “Hello,” he blushes at the personal attention you provide him, placing his hand over his mouth. 

Out of your peripheral you notice satoru shift before getting up, standing so tall above you he almost entirely blocks the sun. you tone out what yaga continues to say to the students as you glance up at the man towering above you, his glasses were now off, held in his hand as he looks you over, eyes scanning your entire figure. His eyes meet yours again, and it’s almost like he’s staring you down. You stare back, just as intense small smile toying at your lips. 

“Hey,” you whisper, and he takes a few seconds longer than you expect to respond. “Hey,” it’s quieter than yours, almost like he’s distracted. 

“Haven’t seen you in a while.” you muse and he scoffs, “kind what happens when you take off right after graduation.” you ignore the sarcasm in his voice. “Kinda what happens when you don’t reach out when you know exactly where i was.” you retort and so he doesn’t respond, just turning to face his students, but you notice the pout he sports before he turns. Very mature on his end. 

“You’ll be attending with her alongside your classes with gojo sensei this month. She’ll help you with everything you need to know regarding special grade curses and how to fight them as sorceres of your grade.”

“That’s possible?” the girl with short orange hair asks, hand placed on her hip as she spares you an unsure glance before looking back at principle yaga. “It is if you learn it from me,” you respond, voice softer to try and not come off as cocky. “Some of the ideals at jujutsu are a little, hmm, outdated, straying away from those ideals are sometimes helpful.” you explain and even though she doesn’t respond, the way her face contorts you could tell she was a little more open to it. 

“You’ll start lessons from tomorrow.” yaga points out before, all in one motion, turns to leave the training court. You watch as he walks away with a frown, “well he hasn’t changed a bit,” you mutter at his lack of regard to you. 

“Hmm, you’d think he’d treat his favourites a little better than the rest of us,” the slight biting tone in gojo’s voice is unharmful, you can tell. “Hmm, you’d think you’d have matured past your teenage years,” you bite back and he yet again scoffs as you roll your eyes as if you were irritated at his attitude but the smile you have tells otherwise.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow, 11 am sharp please.” you give a small wave to the group of students, before turning to gojo one last time. “You too satoru,” you nudge him lightly with your shoulder ut he doesn’t budge, obviously. 

–

It’s past 8pm when there’s a sudden knock at your dorm room, you slip your bookmark between the pages you were on as you place the book on your night stand before slipping your feet into your slippers. Another knock sounds and you can almost feel who the impatient visitor is. You opt to not respond as you wrap your hand around the food handle and twist it open. You briefly meet eyes with gojo before he slips into your room, waiting for no invitation to come in. 

You furrow your brows as you remain where you stood, door lightly ajar, handle still in your hand as your twist your neck to look back at gojo, white shirt and black plaid pyjama bottoms clad as he is halfway to your bed. “Am i on your property?”

“What?” he turns to ask, he’s not wearing anything over his eyes, and even in the dimly light room, his iris glow even brighter than the small bedside lamp you have on. You nod your head towards the door, he huffs before slipping his foot back into his slipper before stepping back outside the entrance to your room. He stood before you, eyes fixed on the cieling as he obviously throws an inner tantrum.

“Can i come in?” he mumbles and you wait a beat for him to continue, when he doesn’t you help him. “Please,”

“Please,” he repeats almost before you’re done, and you open the door fully, he wastes no time in stepping inside again, making his way to your bed, kicking his slippers off before face planting onto the mattress. 

“Oh please, treat my room as your own.” you mumble and he kicks his foot once to help him sit up on your bed as you make your way to your bed, sitting where you were, back against the headboard. He shifts in his spot to turn and face you. “What are you doing here?” he asks blankly as you pick your book back up, collecting your knees up to your chest and pulling the covers onto your legs to cover them. 

“Do you still only listen to yourself when you talk?” you ask placing your book in your lap and looking over at gojo. His face is hard, his breathing mildly laboured, like his heart is beating faster than usual. His brows are furrowed enough to form creases on his forehead as his eyes pierce into yours. 

He doesn’t grant you an answer, you pull you lips in a tight line whilst letting out a sigh, “i’m here to help. Yaga wanted me to come around for a bit, says the sudden surge of special grade curses was worrying him.”

“I’m capable of managing my students.” he fights back making you place your book aside, “no one said you can’t. I’m only here to help.” you explain, voice soft. You can tell he’s feeling a plethora of emotions right now, quite possibly since this morning and it’s been brewing since. 

His brows cease a bit, un-creasing only slightly as he averts his gaze to the crumbled sheets beneath him. Picking at the stray thread in his pant leg. You grant him silence, a chance to bring up what’s actually bothering. You watch him, his slow blinks, his ever changing expression as he seems to be turning things over in his head, the way he starts picking at his palm aggressively, that’s when you intervene. 

You reach over to place your hand over his fidgeting one, he stops instantly. “Don’t,” you say, slowly removing his hand and taking a quick look at his palm. 

“You didn’t reach out.” he points out and you hum, rubbing your thumb over the slightly pink skin of his palm. “Neither did you,” you respond back and he retreats his hand back from yours, tucking them under his crossed legs. 

“I’ve always told you wasn’t planning on staying around.” you point out and he huffs, “though that would’ve changed, after everything,” you know what he’s referring to. 

“Nothing would have changed that. You know it.” you’re not mean, he can tell you’re only being honest. “You’ve been gone 10 years.” he points out and you smirk lightly, “and it’s made you bitter.” 

“I’m not bitter,” he defends, straightening his back as you raise your brows. “Upset?” you ask and he scrunches his face up, “no,” he defends once again, eyes boring into yours. “Hmm, what about yearning? Did you yearn for me satoru?” a light blush raises to his cheeks as he tsks in fake annoyance before getting off the bed as you gloat at his frustration, your grin reaching your eyes as you realise gojo is still as easy to affect as he used to be.

You watch as he paces around slowly, looking at all the things you had laid out from your unpacking. “Why didn’t you put anything up? The walls look boring?” he asks as he scans the bare walls of the room.

“I’m not staying long, there’s no need.” you lean back against the headboard as you watch him observe the space, curious as always. “How long are you staying?” 

“You really don’t listen huh?” you mock and he ignores as he picks up the small matrioshka doll on the vanity, opening it as if he doesn’t know what he’ll find in it. 

“A month,” you respond after a few moments of silence, he turns to you, staring you down once again. “Just a month?” he asks and you offer a small smile as you hum in response. He doesn’t follow up, instead busying himself with placing the matrioshka doll down to look through your bottles of serums and moisturizers you laid out.

And again, you give him his moment, as he mindlessly rolls the bottles around looking between them as if he was memorizing them, before speaking up again. 

“I missed you too,” he scoffs but doesn’t turn around. “I never said i missed you,” he mutters, voice low as he places the bottle down and turns to you. “You don’t need to say it. I can feel it.” you tease and he doesn’t sass you. His feet bringing him to the side of the bed you were at as he stands above you. 

You look up at him as he simply stood, staring at you. His hand twitches at his side before he reaches up to twirl a small strand of hair between his fingers, you don’t stop or question him. His thumb caresses right under your jaw as he takes a quick glance at your lips. “Are you still mean?” he asks and it doesn’t take you more than a second to register what he means. “Yes.” you respond making him huff aggressively before stomping his way to your door. you‘re in a fit of laughter as you are left staring at the door he slammed on his way out of your room.

You shake your head as your laughter dies down, you place your book on your nightstand, too worn out to continue reading, and turn your light off before slipping under the cover. Unable to remove the smile off your face from seeing one of the people closest to you after so many years.

pending; chapter 2

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[matchesarelit]

Imagine If You Will... r/WeaponizedIncompetence (Spencer Agnew x gn!Reader)

W.C: ~1.6k

Warnings: Teasing? The below joke...

He weapon on my Incompe until I Tence

A/N: I know that this isn't exactly what weaponized incompetence is, but I feel like he would be teased for it nonetheless.

Prompt: "A pretends to not know how to work appliances around the office (photocopier, coffee machine, etc.) so that B will help them. " from this prompt list by @deity-prompts

Smosh Masterlist

THE moment you entered the offices of Smosh inc. you'd made your daily beeline to the kettle. Whatever the day called for; instant coffee, tea or hot chocolate, the water never seemed to boil fast enough for your early morning impatience, Then again, the moment it began to whistle and you swept it off the stove your sense of urgency always seemed to dissipate. So today after fixing your cup, you breathed a simple sigh as you lifted the ceramic up to your lip. Standing in blissful silence you remained somehow unaware of the chaos a few feet away in the bullpen.

When your drink had cooled enough for you to sip comfortably, you concluded it was time to officially begin your workday. Stepping out of the kitchen you were suddenly aware of the cacophony only a few desks away, you watched as an exasperated Spencer, swaddled in his Oodie amongst the morning chill, waving off Tommy and Erin as he loudly proclaimed his comprehension of how the copier worked. Hands in the air the other two had backed away, eyes wide with light smiles tugging the corners of their mouths up into their cheeks.

A brief conversation with Luke later and your mug had barely kissed the pleather of your desk mat before a miniscule clearing of a throat had you turning on the spot. Standing in front of you was a sheepish Spencer, his hands fiddling with a strange piece of greyish plastic. As his eyes aggressively avoided your own, the rubber of his soles squeaked against the floor as his feet all but tap danced in apparent nerves.

'um-Hey do you know how to work the copier?- this uh -piece came off.' You gave him a warm smile and a nod as best to quench his unease, Settling your cup down once again, you found yourself wordlessly following him over to the machine.

'Don't worry about this-' you took the plastic from his hands; '-it always comes loose' before placing it back into the mouth of the copier, and snapping it into place.

'So-um what are you hoping to copy?' turning around to check the paper tray, your awaited an answer that didn't come... So craning your neck around you spotted the dumbfounded look all over his face, seemingly lost already. Presuming it was your actions that stifled his linguistic abilities you started again, 'Oh yeah sorry, so this tray-' you paused to gesture to the part and to check he had indeed snapped from his stupor.

'Just needs whatever paper you want it printed on- It runs out all the time, so its always worth a check if you're running into problems. Speaking of...' Extending a hand in his direction you forced yourself to remain straight-faced as his fingers brushed yours as he handed over the page.

'Sorry about this by the way, but at least its a short one. right? cause its only one page?' His voice was unsure but when you moved your head in confirmation his posture straightened. 'definitely! And whenever you need to do a longer one just give me a yell. yeah?' Spencer only smiled in response, glad for your offer as you continued; 'But for now, you just have to put the page in here and then you press...'

YOUR drink had already grown cold, long since forgotten in the multitude of tasks that filled your morning. Spencer was fiddling, today, with a notebook; a haphazard table drawn out on the grid paper. 'Hey- sorry- um do you know how to work the scheduling setup? I need to organize for next shoot week for games and I'm not sure how to use the new system.' Shaking your head you fixed him with a teasingly critical look, 'Tsk tsk tsk Spencer, didn't you do the new training module?'

He sighed in relief at your attempt at jest before starting to explain his confusion as he turned to walk away from your desk. 'Well uh-you know Alex usually handles it, but 'cause he's on holiday, I've got to...' He trailed off somewhat as he looked over his shoulder, now a few meters from your desk he pouted until you pushed out your chair and stood to follow him back to his own desk. With a slight roll of your eyes you trailed along behind him, considering how best to explain what was... plain and simple, a colour coded version of the exact same old system. As he settled into his chair you made quick work of pulling up the excel sheet, well somewhat 'quick', you weren't exactly rushing to leave his side.

'So yeah, it's simple enough, just check the column for the time slots and the rows for the cast members down the side there...' trailing off, the hand you had used to explain your point dropping to the desk as you noted his eyes once again set on you. It wasn't until you raised a brow in his direction he managed to stutter out a measly; 'What?'

THIS time your work day was almost over, only a couple more emails to reply to and you were free as a bird. Nevertheless when you spotted the familiar fluffy head of hair slinking up to your desk, your mug in hand alongside his own, you struggled to find an ounce of frustration within yourself at the interruption. A new addition to what was now a commonplace occurrence in your day to day at Smosh, was the dusting of pink in his cheeks and dancing across his nose.

Spencer seemed somewhat reluctant to speak so you silently stood to follow him wherever he needed your help. Flashing you a brief and timid smile in appreciation he spun on the spot and scurried ahead to the kitchen.

Clawing at a shred of composure and dignity you managed to stop yourself from darting after the receding editor, instead settling on what you hoped was a casual stroll.

It was not.

Catching up to him you waited for him to explain what he so desperately wanted your assistance with. Spencer gestured towards the kettle that sat heating atop the flame of the stovetop. when your blank stare returned to him he finally spoke, 'I've had it on there for like ten minutes and it's not doing the whistling thing,' he forced a quick exhale before keeping going, 'I thought it was only meant to take a few minutes.' His tone was high and incredulous, appearing to be utterly stumped by the small device.

Narrowing your eyes, you looked back and forth between Spencer and the kettle for a solid moment until a muttered 'please?' fell from his lips.

Caught of guard by the desperation in the word, yet still reeling from what you now had to conclude was a serious question, you stepped forward and flicked down the small spout cap without a word. In that same moment the room was filled with the all to familiar screeching whistle of the device, all the while keeping a narrow stare focused on his face, a small part still disbelieving in his confusion.

Spencer's now fully blushing expression followed your movements as you stepped back. Filling the space in turn, he retrieved the kettle and poured both mugs full with water, quieting the noise all together.

More shy than ever he placed your mug on the counter by your side, a soft 'thank you' snapping you from your stare, and painting a boisterous smile on your lips at the released absurdity of the situation of the past few minutes. 'My pleasure Spencer' you muttered back, still astounded by the preceding minutes.

'TODAY on Reddit Stories our theme is r/WeaponizedIncompetence.'

You had some spare time during your day and had decided to spend it watching the filming of the next Pit Reddit video.

'So today we have IAN! an expert in-'

'Being and absolute WEAPON!' The man himself cut Shayne off with a flurry of flexing and groaning before he slowly took his seat, allowing the other man to continue.

'And we also have Spencer! who's an expert in-' Ian cut him off once again with a cry of 'Incompetence!' Ian, of course, laughed at his own interjection, but was this time quickly discouraged,.

'No... Spencer here, is our office's master of weaponized incompetence.' Shayne dissolved into giggles and Ian guffawed at the look of offence all over Spencer's face, 'I don't think I-'.

Shayne was quick to dispel his concern, somewhat.

'Not all the time, and definitely not with just anyone, but you do it often enough. Its okay Spence we know its not at all malicious.'

As Spencer continued to dismiss the accusations the other two men were making, Ian had fixed his sights on you, with a look that was clearly trying to get you to join the conversation. Shaking your head vehemently in response, you averted your gaze, ignoring him all together, until of course the smart arse spoke up.

'That reminds me-', Ian pouted as he called your name, and out of the corner of your eye you noted a camera panning your way.

'Yes Ian?' you ground out through gritted teeth.

The man in question had clasped his hands together against his chest, pressed his cheek to a raised shoulder and was adamantly batting his eyelashes as he carried on.

'Can you edit a games video for me? I-um don't know how... I'm just a widdle guy...'

Rolling your eyes at his antics, you curtly agreed before promptly deciding to leave the set and let them work.

Back at your desk, a fresh mug of hot chocolate by your side, your day continued to pass as it always did; productive... up until scuttling feet entered your line of sight.

'So...Spencer? Need help with editing? I wouldn't want to leave my widdle guy all lost and alone.'

[coolnonsenseworld]

Here it is!!!! ToT  I really wanted to make it sort of a homage to everything best from klance - space, coziness, fluff and a smidge of exciting adventure (or a whole lot). I hope it feels like home.

There are 14 Cuddlers on it (including Baby and Red, all that are on the washi stand and one that isn't)!

If you've missed it - it's a desk mat and prints currently on pre-order linktr.ee/mezzy

[kazumiku]

— STUPID GIRL

NSFW (crossposted on AO3 @Kazumik)

SUMMARY; Wherein Heizou is an all-rounder student. A trusted leader and the teacher's pet. He's reliable in any field—until when it comes to tutoring, that is, before he met you. He's picky and stubborn, so when he gets to know you and your adorable little mind, he couldn't help himself but take matters upon his hand and take you under his wing. With an ulterior motive, of course.

READ WARNINGS; ooc Heizou, reader is a masochist, dumb reader (i am so sorry), sexual content, loss of virginity, minors do not interact !

you have now been warned...

Shikanoin Heizou, a known name at your college. Always topping his classes, best in extracurricular activities, leader of the student board, and the list goes on. He’s practically the campus’ perfect prince, having the looks and brains to prove it. The teacher’s pet, always reliable and helpful. Well, that is until he gets tasked to tutor-lower-than average students whose grades are barely hanging on a string. Heizou dislikes teaching people. If they’re dumb, they’re dumb; that’s what he stands by and his resolve remains unmoving, even after countless of professors’ persistence…

That is before he met you. You stick out of your classes like a sore thumb, not only because you’re lower than what he’d label as unintelligent, you’re one heck of a pretty face as well. So naïve, so foolish, and so damn adorable. He couldn’t help himself but finally accept your professor’s pleading, tired of calling on you whenever you raise your hand during a lecture, only to ask a question that is far off from the current topic.

A girl with a world of her own. That’s what Heizou likes in a person, and how he wants to join that world to top it all off. He surely won’t regret choosing you as his student.

Your dorm was near campus, it was only reasonable that he tutors you there, given the comfortable atmosphere and that it’s not as far than the library that was a building away from the dormitory.

“Come in, come in! Would you like some snacks? Ah… I think I have a few bags of chips here, if you want some,” The way you greeted him as he arrived outside your door made his heart clench. Heizou can’t believe he can be this infatuated over someone so inferior next to him.

“Chips? I feel like you should clean out your pantry and revise your diet if that’s the case.” Heizou snorted as he welcomed himself in, taking off his shoes by the entrance. Your dorm was nothing extravagant—it had a muted atmosphere, shades of pastel pink being your preferred colour scheme, with a fuzzy floor mat and what seemed like velvet sheets on your bed. It didn’t seem like you had a roommate. But then again, who would want to room with you? (Heizou, probably, since he’s such a simp)

You had sheepishly giggled at his remark, feeling suddenly embarrassed by your unhealthy choice of meals, that being junk food, or so he seems. “I’m working on it,” you answered, earning a hum from the redhead as he comes to sit on the edge of your bed. It’s much softer than his, which took him by surprise, but he didn’t bother dwell on it.

He placed his bag on the floor, taking his laptop out to set it on the mattress. Preferably, he would’ve taught you on your desk instead, but he wanted more than to teach you in this session… Plus, he’s sure you won’t question his decision.

Defeated, you just took looked for something relatively healthy; a bag of dried vegetables your parents gave you a day or two ago. Usually, you wouldn’t eat something so bland like this and just leave it to grow molds inside your mini fridge, despite its health benefits, but you had no other choice but to opt for it, just for today.

You then walked to him, nervous as you see him get comfortable on the bed, leaning against the headboard with his laptop perched on his lap, with a textbook or two beside him. Sensing your eyes, he looked up from his screen for his gaze to meet yours, patting the opposite side without the books to invite you to sit there. And so you did, unquestioning, just as he predicted.

“So, before we start off with the topic, I’d like to set ground rules that you are required to follow if you want me to tutor you,” Heizou started, one corner of his lip twitching up to a smirk that only screams mischief. It doesn’t hurt if a good student like him play around just once, right? “One, if I talk, you must listen and keep your eyes on me.”

The first one didn’t seem too much, so you nodded with a smile on your own playing on your stupidly pretty face. “Two, if you want to ask a question, pat my lap, and call me ‘Sir’ while you do so. Got that?” the second part seemed unreasonable, but you nodded nonetheless.

“Oh, and third, I’ll occasionally question you as I teach, so if you get an answer wrong and I punish you, I don’t want to hear any complaints,” He ended it off, and you simply answered with a small ‘alright,’ feeling uncertain at getting a punishment for every answer you will 100% possibly get wrong. Then again, you don’t really have a say in it, do you?

You didn’t expect, in any way, that accepting his conditions would lead you to such a compromising situation.

You swore you just blinked then now you’re nearly nude, only your bra left to serve you a quarter of decency, barely. Other than that, you were bent over on your stomach, ass in the air with your face buried against the pillows, one hand holding a textbook that you could barely read through your watery vision as the other clutches on the sheets under you.

Everything felt hot, especially when Heizou slid his fat cock inside your once virgin hole till it fully resided between your sweetly snug folds, insides as velvet as your bed sheets. “Hm, you got it wrong again… this is the third time in a row. How disappointing,” He sneered, slender fingers descending your bent back to grab the strands of your hair to tug your head up, revealing your face in a shade of scarlet with pearly tears staining your supple cheeks.

“What a crybaby,” he mocked, leaning to kiss the salty liquid on your chin while thrusting his hips forward, bubbling a breathless moan out your throat as his other hand gripped your hip to steady your shaky knees that threaten to give out. “It’s just a simple question… but then again you’re just a little stupid girl, aren’t you? How embarrassing. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

His humiliating words, as degrading as it is, only spurred your pretty little mind on, walls clenching around his length as you whimpered pathetically. “’M sorry… ‘m trying, b-but I can’t… I forgo—“ A hiss ended your sentence as Heizou pumped himself inside you once more, more forceful than the last one that more tears accumulated in your already filled waterline.

“Shut it, baby. Remember, I don’t want to hear any excuses. Just take it, you deserve it for being a bad girl and not listening to me,” At this point, your head was too high up in the clouds to retaliate, chest heaving as you panted heavily like a bitch in heat, getting fucked to the next key by your own tutor.

His hands deliberately detangled from your sweaty strands, going down to wrap itself around the expanse of your throat, squeezing it plenty to elicit a choked moan from you, but not enough to cut off your airway. He then pressed you down once more, his hand on your hip moving to press on the curve of your back instead, making you arch further that he was hitting all the right spots inside you with practiced ease.

The heavenly symphony of your slick squelching whenever his cock plunges inside and skin meeting skin bounced off the wall of your dorm room, possibly even heard from the outside, alongside the high-pitched melody of your calling of his name, face contorted with your eyes rolled and your tongue lolling out of your drooling mouth, and all that. Heizou couldn’t help but let his grin grow into a triumphant smile, seeing how much he’s already broke you, reducing you into a compliant fuck toy.

“That’s it- ah, squeeze around me, baby,” he groaned, pounding you nelson down the mattress, the tip of his cock starting to graze against your cervix, seeking entrance into your womb as he drives deeper. And god, did it sting so bad, leaving you to wail and thrash in a futile attempt to stop the growing pain. He didn’t let you push him away though, one hand moving to grasp your wrist and pinning them on your back as the other went back to your hips to keep you up and fuck into you consistently.

A knot started to tie itself inside your stomach, making your guts churn and your muscles tingle, pussy contracting around his dick as he pumps deeper to bully your cervix, pounding you to his heart’s content.

Though his thrusts eventually became more sloppier and uncoordinated as he nears his edge, though before he could offer his release, you started to shudder from under him, voice hitting a higher octave as you unintentionally squirted, your love juices getting everywhere on his lower half and soaking your sheets. You could barely keep your eyes open at this point, vision white and blurry, and your dazed mind threatening to slip into unconsciousness.

But before you could pass out, Heizou followed right after, spurting out thick ropes of white till you’re filled to the brim, a ring of white forming at the base of his cock as he continued to thrust, albeit slowly, as you both descended down from your respective highs.

“Mmh, I might have to schedule another session with you tomorrow same time as today,” Heizou wheezed softly, not bothering to pull out as he just collapsed on top of you, his weight crushing you but you didn’t complain. It’s not like you could, not when your thoughts were a mush and you struggled to catch your breath, your veins restless, occasionally twitching and shuddering all over from the aftershocks.

“Hopefully you’ll make more mistakes than today,” he added with a breathless laugh, weak arms circling around your waist as he shifted to lay beside you, not letting you go as he pulled you towards his own sweaty body, a hand moving down your tummy to feel the slight bulge, chuckling as you whimpered when he pressed down on it, making you once more aware than you already are by how deep he is.

You’re barely conscious but you managed to offer him a stupidly fucked out smile in acknowledgement. You were sure as heck going to make more mistakes if it meant getting to be fucked so good by none other than Shikanoin Heizou himself.

notes; this isnt beta read help i wrote this in one sitting im so sorry its so bad and its already 3am ?? help

[kjd55]

strawberry-scented body wash

in which rafe shows up on your doorstep, soaked from the storm outside, and stays over. things get a little heated.

content warnings: finger sucking, making out, rafe being unrafe-like and actually kinda nice?? bad writing?? i haven’t posted on here in over a year so i am rusty lol also this is unedited but enjoy

a knock on the door downstairs has you groaning and pushing away from the desk you’ve been seated at the last few hours, chipping away at the homework you’d been neglecting this week. 

with final exams around the corner and college applications already sent, you were doing your best at fighting the infamous senioritis, albeit not doing a great job.

jumping down the stairs to get to the door as quick as you could, you shouted a “coming!” from your spot halfway down the steps. 

you weren’t expecting anyone over, and when you finally open the door to find a soaking wet rafe cameron standing  on your doormat, rain splattering onto your floor from the unexpected weather, you grabbed his wrist to pull him inside, desperate to keep the floors and more specifically, your socks, as dry as possible.

“what are you doing here?” you ask awkwardly once you’d shut the door. as much as you hate to admit it, you’ve had a crush on your best friends brother for a while. which sounds ridiculous, considering the fact that he loathes you, and your entire existence, for some reason. 

he tucks his bottom lip into his mouth, glancing up at the ceiling, either in embarrassment or annoyance. probably both, and mutters, “my car broke down, and it’s literally pouring outside and uh..” he rubs the side of his face, another indication of his indignation, “well, you’re the only person i know around here and i was wondering if i could like…”

“stay here until the weather gets better?” you sigh, noting the hair matted to his forehead as he nods. “sure,” you reply, watching his shoulders sag in relief, “but only if you change your clothes, because you’re dripping wet.”

you turn around, silently cursing at the way you said those last few words. your cheeks grow hot when rafe snickers, catching onto it too.

not checking to ensure that he’s following you, you make your way back up the stairs, “i have something for you to wear.”

you don’t look at him as you hand him a hoodie and pair of sweatpants from your wardrobe, hoping he doesn’t see how flustered you are.

from the corner of your vision though, you see his eyebrows flick up. “there are literally my clothes,” he chuckles, and you want to die of embarrassment. you hope he doesn’t notice the fact that’d you’d picked them from the top of the pile. (they’re comfy to sleep in, okay?) “these are from when you threw up on yourself at that one bonfire and sarah made me give you my—“

“yes! yes, i remember, it was mortifying. i think about it too often,” you blurt, finally facing him and crossing your arms over each other, trying to make yourself as small as you feel. “my bathroom is over there,” you point towards a door behind your shoulder, “get dressed, ‘cus you smell.”

he says nothing, settling for rolling his eyes while walking towards the bathroom, and shuts the k door. you ignore how there was a subtle shine when he’d realized you still wore his clothes.

you settle on trying to finish your homework, and while you do, you hear your shower turn on. good, you think, knowing you’ll have more time to focus instead of bickering with him. still , you swallow a lump in your throat at the thought of rafe in your shower, and squeeze your eyes shut. stop being a perv.

after about 15 minutes, a few after the water was turned off, the door cracks open, and you glance over to find rafe make his way to you, wearing the sweats, and of course, no hoodie. you again focus on your work, but you feel as he leans himself over your chair and watch as you complete calculus questions. 

you can’t concentrate, feeling the heat radiate off him, him arms on either side of your preifereal vision, and you groan, “do you mind— hey!” you whip your head over, and glare at the man towering over you, “did you use my body wash?!”

a corner of his lips tilt up, amused, and he shrugs. “so what if i did? also there wasn’t much left, so you’ll probably need to go buy more later.”

you scoff, knowing there was at least enough to last you until the end of the week (it was a monday). smelling the strawberry scent wafting off him, you stand, leaning against the front of your desk to try and close of the large gap in height between the two of you. 

you regret this immediately, because now you have no choice but to make eye contact, and the look he gives you is scathing. your cheeks grow hot at the lazy look he gives you, your faces less than an inch apart. 

you wet your bottom lip, which is suddenly dry, and his eyes flick down, watching almost predatorily as you try to tuck your bottom lip away from his gaze. 

this always seemed to happen with the blond, anytime you were alone together, which was not often (for this exact reason), tension was always a third factor. you’d met him three years ago, when you’d gone to sarah’s for the first time and saw him, instantly growing a bedrudging crush on him.

you remember one night, where you were alone in the kitchen about a year and a half ago, when you’d been hoping to grab a glass of water before bed, and realized rafe was already in there.

he’d been on the other side of the room, and you tried to ignore his presence, with it being late, and not wanting to try to act normal in his vicinity (something that took too much energy out of you), you opened the cabinet with all the glasses. 

embarrassment warned your skin when you’d realized there was nothing within reach, but before you’d have to ask, you’d felt rafe’s presence warm your back. he’d pressed a hand for ‘support’ (you know he was trying to tease you), and reached up to grab one for you. “you need to grow a little taller,” his voice rasped in your ear, sliding that damn hand to your waist, and squeezing a little. 

you hadn’t realized you were holding your breath until he’d stepped away, you instantly feeling cold, at the loss of warmth, and shakily filled that glass, turning away to go back to sarah’s room.

remembering that time, and the situation you were in now, you grow hot under his stare, and instead decide to grow a pair and examine him. maybe try and make him squirm like he did to you, so easily.

starting with the apples of his cheeks, you noted a very faint littering freckles, only a few, that carried onto his nose. 

unconsciously, you follow the urge to look back up to his eyes. if you were in a sound state of mind, you’d feel nervous. but with the way his eyes were half-lidded, eye lashes drooping so prettily, you couldn’t help but raise a hand to one of those lightly freckled cheeks.

his eyes widen ever so slightly at the unexpected move, and he swallows, shifting his body a bit. you know you’ve leaned closer to him, your noses only inches apart, but you wait to see what he’ll do. 

you can’t help the feeling deep down that he’ll reject you. maybe you’re just another girl in his endless supply. you suppress that rational part of your brain, the one that’s been leading your thought process for too long. it’s not like you’ve ever seen a girl around him, not even at parties. if they’d ever tried talking to him, he’d shrug them off.

you feel his scorching touch where he grabs hold of your waist, pulling you a little closer, and a gust of air escapes you when you feel a thumb caress the underside of your ribs.

you stand there for a few seconds, really looking at each other. no one’s said anything for a while, but you don’t care. you don’t think anything rational would come out of your mouth anyway.

one of his hands creeps up, along your arm, up your neck, and holds your cheek now, too. he traces the shape of your bottom lip, and by accident, a noise meekly escapes your throat at the touch. his pupils dilate more, if that’s even possible, and he taps your lip with his thumb.

you realize there’s only one thing you could do right now, and hesitantly open your mouth. he slides that thumb in, and when you close your lips around it, he groans, watching your half lidded eyes as you begin to suck.

after a minute, he removed his thumb, and you don’t even have time to react before he’s smashing his lips against yours.

it isn’t a gentle kiss, by any means. it’s harsh, unforgiving, and so rafe. he takes control of every movement, and your grateful because you can barely function, so turned on by the entirety of what is happening right now.

your arms wrap around his neck, an attempt to deepen the kiss, if that were even possible, and you feel his tongue lightly trace your lip. you moan, into his mouth, and his hold on you tightens.

you feel so good right now, so wrapped in his presence. even though he just used your body wash, you can still smell him, that unmistakable scent overpowering the artificial strawberries.

he finally breaks away, lips puffy and wet, and watches you gasp for air. he smirks, satisfied with himself, and at the fact that he’s done the thing he’s been wanting do to for three years, and hopes that you’ll let him do it again.

[screamingcrows]

Tomorrow - Dottore x reader

Note: Dottore isn't his usual self here, I'm aware. This is meant to be with my so far unknown to everyone OC, but this scenario fits x reader format. Written in Tumblr drafts as I lay in bed. Keep this out of character ai bots or I'm sending Trypanosoma brucei after you.

Tags: comfort?, soft, gn reader, skin to skin contact happens twice that's it, they are not in a romantic relationship (yet), pining

MINORS, AGELESS, BLANK BLOGS DNI

You'd never had reason to set foot in The Second's chambers, had never imagine you would either. It made the intimacy of this moment far greater than you cared to process. He was heavy when he leaned against your smaller frame, one arm slung across your shoulders for support.

Both of you remained quiet while Dottore fumbled with his keys, your eyes flickering to his gloved hand. It still trembled. How long had he been awake by now?

It had been at least four days since the door to his laboratory had been open to anyone but his segments. Not even you had been allowed in, a sentiment that made everyone uneasy. And he despised sleeping in there.

It had always infuriated you how he failed to maintain his own body. The act should theoretically hold the same value as any other system maintenance. Theory and practise rarely aligned, a fact you knew by heart.

A gentle nudge against your shoulder set your body in motion, pushing open the door and leading your superior inside.

It had a surprisingly homely feel to it, causing your steps to falter briefly as you looked around. Most of the furniture was fashioned from dark wood, creating an almost intimate feeling. Shelves filled with books lined the walls, an occasional ornament lingering amongst the tomes.

His desk looked well worn, polish having long since matted. A smile tugged at your lips, it resembled him in many ways.

Your musings were cut short when Dottore shifted his weight, pulling away from your body with a slight groan. His hands rubbed at his lower back, a habit you'd observed despite countless claims that nothing somatic was ailing him.

"Don't"

It was a simple command, his voice a little rougher than usual. The fact that he hadn't asked you to leave threw you off.

"Is there anything you need, Doctor?"

Dottore mumbled something under his breath, making you sigh in defeat. Even now, undoubtedly at his weakest point in a long time, there was no real aid for you to provide.

Uncomfortable with merely standing around, you went to draw the curtains, leaving only a tiny crack for natural light to enter. It made the situation worse, heat pooling in your gut at the sheer familiarity of the gesture.

Dottore had sunk to his knees when you turned back around. His face was pressed into the edge of the mattress, the characteristic mask discarded on the ground.

His hair had grown to an unruly length. When had he become this unkempt? Your fingers itched to run through those locks.

"Doctor, if there's nothing I can do, I'll take my leave"

The gloves had been discarded as well. No matter how many times you saw his hands it didn't ease the sting behind your eyes. It looked painful. Burnt skin, thin scars, and crooked fingers all spoke of a past best buried. His back straightened at the sound of your voice.

"Tomorrow. It'll be finished tomorrow"

A cryptic message, but you didn't feel like prodding. Not with how he seemed to dwindle in the darkness. His hands moved to unbutton the blue shirt, letting it unceremoniously fall to the ground.

"Okay?"

Your feet carried you closer against your will. The curiosity he praised you for would forever remain a curse.

His skin looked ashen. A trick of the light no doubt, that much should be logical. It didn't help the unease feeling spreading through you.

"Come by tomorrow. The laboratory. I must show you."

With every word his shoulders slumped further. He was as muscular as you'd expected, perhaps even more so with how little sustenance you saw him consume.

Objectively, he was beautiful. Subjectively, you could hardly process the sight. Outstretched hand already reaching towards him. He tensed when your palm made contact, his skin surprisingly warm.

Scars ran across his shoulders and back, oh how you yearned to map them and hear their stories. His was a life lived.

In a moment of folly, you pressed your lips to his shoulder, feeling it rise with the sharp intake of breath.

"Tomorrow then."

You left his chambers with practised nonchalance, your gait a mirror of The Second's. You could still taste his skin on your lips. Had your faith been intact, you would have prayed tomorrow never came. Tonight would have been enough.

[whataperfectwasteoftime]

The Rift - Chapter Three

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x Marcus Acacius x Marcus Pike x f!Reader

Rating: Chapter is T, overall fic is E (18+ only, explicit smut)

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: Bad Latin, language barriers, lots of yearning, Marcus Acacius is Very Hot and no one knows what to do about it

Summary: Marcus Pike shows up at your door in the middle of the night with a very broad man in Roman armor in tow. Armed with only your Classical studies education and a Latin-English dictionary, you do your best to help.

A/N: Okay, we've got three of the four members of this grammatically insane polycule in the same space! Only one more to go! I wonder how a certain Leader of the Heroics is doing.... Just a reminder, to keep everyone sane, the POV character is called out by name at the beginning of each POV switch.

Masterlist | Chapter Two | Next chapter>>

(You)

At around the same time that the leader of the Heroics was impatiently waiting for his coffee maker to finish brewing, you’re startled awake by loud, forceful knocking on your door. 

Going from ‘asleep’ to ‘instant dread’ in the span of two seconds makes your body feel like it’s short-circuiting. You tumble out of bed, grabbing the nearest object to potentially use as a weapon. You examine your choice–Stephen King’s The Stand, and shrug internally. I mean, if any book could be a blunt weapon… 

With your fingers white-knuckled around the thick spine, you peer carefully through the peephole to find–

“Marcus!?”

You yank open the door to find the Special Agent of your dreams standing on your welcome mat. “What the hell? Do you have any idea what time–”

“It was an emergency,” the Agent says quickly, holding up his hands in supplication. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know who else to call.” The dread returns to the pit of your chest. “Marcus, oh God, are you okay? What happened? What’s wrong?”

“It’s not me, it’s um. Well, let me show you.” He grimaces, then pushes someone else out from behind the corner and into view. 

It’s a man–a very large man. A large, broad man wearing a dress. No, wait. That’s not a dress, that's…

“Marcus,” you say carefully. “Why is there a man dressed in Roman armor on my doorstep.

“Marcus,” the man repeats, and slaps his chest. 

“Yes, that’s right,” the Agent says tiredly, as though he’s gone through this several times in the past hour. “This is Marcus. He’s from the Rift. I... kind of almost hit him with my car.”

“Car,” the Roman says, nodding seriously. He looks you up and down in a way that makes heat creep to your cheeks, and says something in a language that you don’t understand, but seems oddly familiar.

“Oh my God,” you murmur to yourself. “He speaks Latin.”

“I’m kind of at a loss,” Marcus, your Marcus says with a tired sigh. “I don’t know whether to call someone at Heroics, HQ, or… I dunno. I mean, who the fuck do you call when you have… a Roman?”

“Hang on.” You hold up a finger and dash over to your office, which is really just a tiny room off of the living room filled to the brim with shelves and shelves of books, with a tiny desk squeezed in between.

“You should get rid of your old college textbooks,” you say to yourself in a mocking tone. “How many times are you going to move house, and you still have all these books taking up space? Well, the joke’s on you, Linda, because I’ve got a Roman Centurion in my kitchen and the man of my dreams showed up at my door at three in the morning because he needs my help and this is my moment, dammit.” Your finger finally lands on the text you were looking for–a dog-eared copy of Oxford’s Latin-English Dictionary with a broken spine and part of the front matter missing. On a whim, you grab the first book next to it, Ovid’s Metamorphoses in the original Latin, and race back to Marcus and… other Marcus. 

“Salve,” you begin, and the Roman’s eyes snap to yours. 

Marcus Pike grins as though you’ve hung the stars.

Flipping through the pages frantically, you manage to string together your first sentence.

“You… are… safe… with… us.”

You hope you conjugated the verb correctly. 

The Roman murmurs something back, speaking slowly and deliberately, understanding that this is very much not your native tongue. He repeats it twice, until your face dawns with understanding. 

“Where am I?”

“Jesus, can we start with an easier one?” you chuckle to yourself. After some quick thinking, you manage to explain to Roman Marcus that he is in a different country, very far away from the world he knows.

The man shakes his head. “Quam?” he murmurs to no one in particular. 

That’s a tough one, too. You have no idea how to explain black holes and time rifts in Latin. 

You make a face, putting your hands up and shrugging your shoulders in an exaggerated pantomime of, “I don’t know.”

The man nods slowly. You feel awful for him, really. Stranger in a strange land. He must be terrified.

“Famelicus,” he says. 

You don’t know that one. You flip through the pages to find the F’s. 

“Famelicus,” he repeats, pointing to his stomach. “Panis?”

“Oh shit, yeah,” you whisper. “Of course you’re hungry.” You turn to the cupboard that serves as your pantry and search for something he’d recognize. You pull out half of a baguette and hold it up hesitantly. The man rips it from your grasp almost comically and begins to tear pieces off of it with his teeth, devouring the bread with gusto. 

“This is surreal,” Pike murmurs under his breath. 

When the Roman finishes eating, he seems almost as interested in the clear plastic wrapping than in the bread itself. He stares at it, brow furrowed with a deep frown of concentration as he crinkles the plastic over and over again in his fist. 

“I hate to ask, but can we… can we crash here until morning when I can think straight and figure out what the hell to do with this guy?” Marcus asks, looking pained. 

“Yeah, ‘course,” you reassure him. “I’ll help you. We’ll get him back to where he needs to go, or... find the person who can. In the morning.”

“In the morning,” Marcus nods, smiling gratefully. 

Turning to the Roman again, you say haltingly, “Somnus. Nox. Somnus?” Sleep. Night. 

The Roman also looks relieved at the prospect of sleep. 

“Uh, cubile,” you say, gesturing at the couch and indicating he can use it as a bed. You’re about to go rummage in your linen closet for a spare blanket and maybe a pillow, but Marcus the Roman strides confidently over to the couch, lies down, and is snoring within seconds. 

“Woah,” you remark, laughing to yourself. “Shit, Marcus, I only have the one couch…”

“I’ll take the recliner,” he says quickly, pointing to the battered, second-hand Lazy Boy in the corner of your living room. “Listen,” he swallows thickly, looking up at you with those deep brown eyes that make you melt in any situation, much less in the middle of the night in your dark living room. “Thank you. I didn’t know where else to go, and you–Well, if anyone can speak a dead language conversationally, it would be you.” His voice is soft and earnest, and you want to tell him anything at all, Marcus, anything for you but you force yourself to bite your tongue.

“It’s no problem,” you assure him. “Honestly. I mean, talk about a Classicists dream, right? When do you ever get to use the stuff you learned in graduate school in the real world?”

Marcus chuckles softly. “Go get some sleep. We’ll tackle Mount Olympus in the morning, yeah?”

“That’s Greek, not Roman,” you snort.

He winks at you, and you will your knees not to buckle. “Whatever,” he teases playfully. 

“‘Night,” you say, hoping you don’t sound too breathless. Without waiting for a reply, you retreat to your bedroom before you can make a fool of yourself even further.

“‘Night,” Marcus returns softly, and when you turn to close the door, he’s still looking at you. 

(Pike)

Marcus awakens to the comforting sound of someone puttering quietly around the kitchen. He opens his eyes to see you–what a beautiful sight–reaching up on your tiptoes to take three mugs from the cupboard. The other Marcus is awake too, sitting at the kitchen table and watching your task with curiosity.

When he stirs from the recliner, you smile in greeting. “I made coffee,” you offer brightly. 

“Sainted being,” Marcus groans tiredly as he gets up from the chair, his joints creaking and protesting as he stands. 

“Cah-fee,” the Roman repeats as you pour the steaming liquid into three cups. 

“I don’t think you’re gonna like it,” you say with a chuckle as he reaches for one of the mugs. “It’s hot. Calidus. Be careful.”

“Care-fool,” the man nods seriously, and Marcus can’t help but smile at the bizarre domesticity of the scene. 

He sips cautiously, makes a face, and lets out a string of Latin that Marcus takes to understand that he didn’t like the coffee.

You snort. “I told you. How about, ah, milk?” You flip through your dictionary. “Lac? Lacte?” You take the quart out of your fridge and hold it up.

“Lac. Mil-k?” 

“Yes!” you squeal excitedly, spinning around to grab another cup. Before you can turn around, however, the Roman has managed to open the carton of milk himself and begins chugging from it. 

At your shocked expression when you turn back around, Marcus can’t help but let out a loud laugh. The other man stares at him questioningly, and he gestures to the cup. “The cup.”

“Cup,” the man repeats, and laughs too. 

“I’m gonna make some eggs,” you announce. “He should like that, you think?”

Marcus shrugs. “I don’t see why not.”

You hold up an egg for the man’s inspection. “Uh, ovum?” you ask.

His face brightens. “Sic, ovum,” he agrees. He stands and inspects the carton thoughtfully. “Quid est?” 

“Ovum,” you answer again, not understanding the question. 

“No.” The Roman picks one up carefully and points to himself. “Ovum,” he says patiently, then points to you.

Oh. Marcus grins. “I think he wants to know the word in English.”

“Egg,” you tell him. 

“Egg,” he repeats. The word seems to strike him as funny, because he repeats it several times, chuckling as he does. 

Now that understanding has been made, ‘Quid est?’ seems to be the man’s new favorite question. He repeats it over and over as you make breakfast, getting in your way in the process and generally causing chaos throughout the small apartment. Marcus tries his best to run interference, answering all of his questions to the best of his ability. Thankfully, he seems to stick to objects that are familiar to him–a pillow, chair, fork–rather than ask Marcus about the microwave, or, god forbid, his cell phone. He repeats every English word thoughtfully, in a thick accent and rumbling voice that he can’t help but find attractive. 

“Hey, you don’t think anyone else saw our friend here last night and said anything?” you say suddenly while the three of you sit around your kitchen table eating the eggs. 

Somehow, the thought hadn’t even crossed Marcus’s mind. “Shit, I dunno,” he admits.

“I’m gonna check the news.” you grab the remote off of the coffee table and switch on the TV. 

The noise and pictures emanating from the screen immediately cause Marcus to spit curses in Latin. He tries to rise from his chair in alarm, but you place your hand on his forearm and repeat several words in Latin softly and reassuringly, and the man calms. 

The local news is, as it has been since its arrival, fixated on the Rift. Everything seems as expected–normal seems to be the wrong word–until Marcus realizes what the anchor is saying. 

“ –was successfully closed around six am this morning. Joining us now is Marcus Moreno, leader of the Heroics, to give us an update on the situation.”

“What do they mean, ‘Closed?’” you ask with a frown. 

“Shh,” Marcus says. 

“Mr. Moreno, representatives from your team are saying that the portal is now closed, is this correct?” the anchor asks. 

“That’s right. The um… the security risk was too great, and we don’t really know what that kind of rip in the fabric of uh, you know, space and time, is capable of. Our team of physicists have been working on a solution day and night and I’m happy to announce that the Rift has disappeared completely and Pennsylvania Avenue should be reopening in the next few days as cleanup begins.”

“Is there any chance of it opening again?” the anchor asks. 

Marcus Moreno looks uncomfortable. “Listen, the… the math around this isn’t my strong suit, but my understanding is that these kinds of things–rifts in space and time–can only happen when an exponential amount of energy is released, so barring another supervillain somewhere out there with the same Black Hole bomb, there shouldn’t be any more Rifts opening in the nation’s capital anytime soon. Uh, thanks.”

“He’s always so stiff in interviews,” you comment. “You think he’s uncomfortable with the limelight, or what?”

“Are you being serious right now?” Marcus shakes his head in disbelief. “The portal is closed. The Rift is gone. And our friend here is trapped on the wrong side.”

“Oh, shit,” you breathe. “Oh, fuck. Marcus… what do we do?”

“I’m gonna go to Heroics HQ,” Marcus announces. “To talk to Moreno one-on-one and try to keep this situation quiet. He’s a good guy, he’ll use discretion.” “You know Marcus Moreno?”

“How is that your takeaw–nevermind. I mean, I don’t know him, but I’ve definitely come across him in professional settings in the past. Why?”

“He’s–” you laugh nervously. “It’s silly. I always kind of had a crush on him. Childhood celebrity crush, you know how it is.”

“Oh. Right.” Is it hot in here? Did someone raise the temperature in this room? Marcus can’t explain why the prospect of you finding the leader of the Heroics attractive eats at him so much, but the next thing that you say nearly makes him swallow his tongue.

“Actually, you resemble him a lot,” you comment nonchalantly. “You’ve got the same pretty brown eyes.”

The other Marcus chooses this moment to hold up his empty plate and ask, earnestly, “Egg?”

[vulpixisananimal]

(Self harm and dagger(ish) below the cut)

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

(You and Isabeau were standing outside the Defenders house, it was just you two. The others where to look around Jouvente for information on mind craft and how to undo it.)

"It's probably not." (You reply.) "But it's less suspicious if it's just you and me."

"I guess so. . ."

"Chin up, Isabeau." (You turn to him, smiling.) "I got your back, break a leg!"

(He nods, more confident.) "Right! Break a leg!"

(You two walk in, you've been here before. On cue, Ramos shows up.) "Isabeau?!?"

("Just pretend you know them, that's your script.")

". . Ramos?" (Isabeau tilts his head.) "Is that you?"

(Ramos pauses for a second, before giving a big smile back and walking over) "Isa! it's been, what, almost a year??"

("You're best friends, you helped eachother out, just play along, you got this Isabeau~")

"Yeah!! Sorry I was just surprised to uh, see you!"

(Ramos goes to put a hand on Isabeaus shoulder, as you practiced, Isabeau visibly flinches, giving Ramos a pause.)

". . . You alright, Isa?" (They ask.)

"Y-yeah just," (He rubs his shoulder.) "Uh, I'll, tell you later! Oh! Right! This is Siffrin! A really good friend of mine!"

(Isabeau gestured to you, and you gave a a half bow.) "Charmed~"

(Honestly? Isa isn't as bad an actor as you first thought. Maybe it was that nervousness? Either way, it looked like it was working. Ramos gave that half bow back.)

"Good to meet you Siffrin! Let me guess, helped save the country?"

"Of course, your trusty rougish traveler Siffrin." (You wink.)

(Ramos squints.) ". . . Are you two-"

"A-anyway!!" (Isa cuts them off.) "I-I wanted to come visit while we're in town! See how my old friend is doing!"

"Oh! Oh thank you!" (Ramos is absolutly beaming.) "Hey!! Let me show you my new room here! It's awesome!"

(Okay, things were going well so far. Ramos didn't touch Isa, and it didn't look like they were going to try. Perfect. You had predicted that if Isa sticks to the script, Ramos wouldn't try and use mind craft. I mean, Isa already knew Ramos' name, and was acting like they were good friends.)

(You keep walking, Isa and Ramos chatting as you did. You were really proud of him, honestly. He was sticking to topics that might get you good information while avoiding suspicion. You learned that Ramos was genuinly getting better with defender stuff, and they were more confident. They had started experimenting with their scissors craft more, which you didn't even know about! Ramos was scissors\rock type. Ramos didn't have family in town.)

(Stars, maybe you should have payed more attention the first time you were here.)

(Finally, after many halls and a few staircases, Ramos came to a room and let you both inside. The room was a decent size, about the size of the Head Housemaidens office. There was a desk, a bookshelf, a wardrobe, a window outside, a bed, and a mat in the center of the room. It looks like it was for training.)

"Sorry! I don't have extra chairs." (Says Ramos, offering the desk chair to you two.)

"I'll be fine on the bed!" (Isa says cheerily.)

"I'll stand." (You say.)

"Suit yourself!" (Ramos collapses onto the chair and sighs.) "It's, it's really great to see you, Isa."

"Yeah. . ." (Isa replies.)

(You tilt your head, your turn.) "Is Jouvente a rough place? Looks like you got hurt."

"Huh? Oh!" (Ramos lifts up their shoulder to look at the bandage.) "Well, no, it's real safe here, not had any issues in forever, but. . ."

"But. . ?"

"W-well, I, honestly have no idea, haha." (They laugh nervously,) "I got sliced pretty bad I guess, looks kinda like a sword? Deffinatly a pierce craft thing though, at least that's what I was told."

(Huh, Mirabelle's rapier would have done that. Hmm, then there's a way Ramos could blame HER for the near kidnapping. But still. . .) "You don't remember at all?"

"Nope!" (Ramos shakes their head.) "There was a lot of yesterday that's just a blur."

(Huh!)

(Do you believe them?)

(I'm starting to.)

"I can relate." (You say.)

(Ask about wishes.)

"Say, Ramos, have you heard of Wish Craft?"

"Huh?" (They tilt their head.) "Wish Craft?"

(You nod, Ramos starts thinking, and eventually replied,) "Wish Craft, Wish Craft. . . Oh maybe!"

(OH?)

(Interesting.)

"Yeah I think I heard about it from someone I met! Make a wish and-"

(You see them visibly wince, then shake their head before continuing.) "And. . . And. . ."

(You and Isa glance at each other. Clearly, something just happened. Isa speaks up.) "Make a wish and, what?"

(Ramos blinks, then smiles.) "Sorry, what where we just talking about?"

(What.)

(Isabeau stood up.) "Are you, alright? Rams?"

"Yeah just, just a bit dizzy." (They stand up too, using their desk to support themself.) "I just, need some air-"

(They trip getting up, and before you could stop him, Isabeau rushed forward to catch them before they hit the ground, and caught their hand.)

(There was a moment before Isa realized what he just did. He gasped, let Ramos down and backed away.) "Oh, o-ohcCrab Sif, Sif I'm s-"

"It's alright!" (You walk over to Isa and put a hand on his shoulder.) "Dizzy?"

"What are you two-" (Ramos says, getting up off the floor.)

(Isa nods, you could see him squinting, he put a hand to his head. Stars, mind craft in action. You pat his shoulder.) "You'll be alright, the plan, remember?"

"R-right." (Isabeau, still holding his head, rushed to the door and left. That was the plan B, after all. If Ramos touches you, run to the others.)

(Speaking of, Ramos was looking at you in bewilderment.) ". . . What the change!?!"

"You wished to be just as strong as Isabeau" (You grip your dagger.) "You were given a gift of Mind Craft so that everyone would believe you were as strong as him. You wanted to be everyones favorite, the best. "

(They're shocked, as to be expected.) "How do you know that!"

(You smile at them.) "You told me."

(Ramos is looking at you, backing up to their dresser.) "I-"

"Truth time, Ramos~" (You say, drawing your dagger and twirling it around.) "I'll start, I can repeat today as many times as I want~ We've actually met four times already."

"But that's. . ." (They were looking at you, and around the room, before sighing.) "No, that's perfectly possible, the King froze time after all."

"Tee hee~ the King was an amature. Your turn, do have a question for me?"

(Ramos scoffed.) "If you can repeat today as many times as you want, why should I tell the truth? I wont remember anything if time gets undone, right?"

(You keep smiling.) "Because the alternative is me coming back here every time, and each time finding out a new way to hurt you~"

(Ramos is staring at you.)

"You're trying to figure out if I'd do it, of course I would. To me, everyone here is an actor, including myself~"

(You twirl your dagger, then hold it right below your eyepatch.) "Time will just get turned back after all~"

". . . You're insane."

"Quite~" (Stars, Siffrin, please forgive me. You press the blade against your skin. It stings, you can feel the blood-)

"S-stop stop!!" (Ramos waves their hands.) "I get it! Alright! Fine! I just, fine!"

"Good~" (You put the knife down, ow ow ow. . .)

(And you call me a hypocrite.)

(. . . You keep talking.) "Now, truth time, did you try and kidnap a kid named Bonnie yesterday?"

"What?!?!" (Ramos seemes offended at the idea, scowling at you.) Of course not!!"

(Same reaction. Maybe it's not them, or they don't remember.)

"Good! Now, how about-"

"Hey! My turn!" (Ramos interupts.)

"Fine, fine, ask away."

(Ramos was glaring at you, they grunted.) "Did. . . Did Isabeau really remember me? Or was all that a carbbin' act."

(Hmmm.) "A bit of yes, a bit of no. He didn't bring you up on our grand adventure, but when I woke up this morning and told him all about you, well, he seemed so genuinly worried~"

(They look away, no response.)

"My turn~ Where did you get this Mind Craft, Rammy?"

"Don't call me that." (They're staring daggers at you.) "Ever."

(Your taken aback by that.) "Oh, sorry." (What kind of nerve did you hit?)

". . ." (They huff.) "I asked for it, and I got it, that's it."

"That's it? Aren't we having truth time Ramos~?"

"Shut the crab up!" (They bite back.) "What do you care anyway! Change, you could probably just kill me and get on with your life!"

(. . .)

"Yeah, you could, you could blame it on whoever you want I bet. So why don't you! It'd be easy! Just easy to get rid of me and move on!!"

(They rip open the door of their clausit and grab a weapon, a pair of tonfas. Looking back at you, there was murder in their eyes.)

(What in the stars did you SAY.)

"If you CAN go back in time, do it." (They were about to pounce.) "'Cause otherwise I'll make you forget your whole crabbing life."

(. . . . . . .)

(You open your mouth, you tell them to never touch your memory. Ever.)

(You rush forward with blinding speed, swiping at Ramos' neck with your dagger. They block. You recoil.)

(What are you doing?!?!!)

(You ignore Loop. Ramos counters, a one, two, three hit combo to try and get you off balance. You dodge each of them, and swipe back, catching Ramos' arm. Good.)

(GOOD?!? Are you even thinking right now! They could turn into a sadness again and we'd be stuck at square one!!!)

(So what.)

(They hold out a fist and strike a pose, as if on cue you can feel your feet get sluggish. Stars. They're smart. You're smart, too. You hold a palm, [PAPER])

(SO WHAT?!? We almost lost to that sadness! )

(You almost lost to that sadness. Besides. You wont let Ramos live long enough for that.)

(WHAT?!?)

(Ramos gets blasted into their desk, but got up quickly, wiping some blood off of their mouth and diving at you. You sidestep and-)

(NO!!!)

(They dive at you, this time you deflect the blow, leaving Ramos open. Hmm, did you loop on instinct? You saw at the last second that Ramos was about to hit you with their back foot? Strange. You swipe at them with your dagger. You connect.)

"Hrrk-" (They stumble back, gripping a wound in their chest.)

(You can't kill them! We can't kill them!)

(It's that or get our memory erased.)

(We can't-)

(Ramos glares at you, grabs something on their desk and throws it at you. You swipe it out of the air, Ramos took the chance and rushed at you and-)

(You dodge the thrown item and dance out of Ramos way, swiping at them again.)

(. . . . . . .Where is everyone?)

(Who, is everyone?)

(Your opponent is panting, and looks at you with anger in their eyes. They look so different. So wild. Who are you? Who am I. No time to think, just get ready to move again. Ramos, they gripped their wound and gritted their teeth, some healing craft rushing to the gash.)

(You ready your dagger, you breathe in, and out. Time is your plaything, you will try and try again untill you win. The question is, what role will you take?)

(You dash forwards, moving like water, like sand. You swipe at what seems to be their dominant arm.)

(Another block, and another counter attack. You try and parry this one-)

(Wont work, try again.)

(You feel the weight of time upon you back, but no, you will defy it.)

(You try and dodge this time. You rush to the side, Ramos strike going over your head as you-)

(No, try again. once more, action. You rush in. Not expecting it, Ramos overshoots you. You grip your dagger, now behind them.)

(You've won. In this moment, no matter what, you can repeat your script to this victory.)

(. . . You strike them on the back of the head with the hilt of your dagger. Today, mercy.)

(Ramos collapses to the floor. Your adversary, perhaps. The antagonist? For now, that's what they are all for now. You kneel down.)

(. . . . . . . . .)

(They're not dead.)

(You hold your head as a wave of mental exhaust rushes through you. Ok. You were back. Loop time. You terrible, terrible think! Stop taking over just at any time! You barely could remember the battle! What did you DO!?!)

(. . . Not here then? Fine! You get up, you needed to search the room, quickly.)

(Nothing around the bed, the dresser is full of clothes, of many different styles- wait you recognize that stitching. A vest that Isabeau must have made. Ok, ok what else. Drawers! You look through the drawers, nothing, random magazines, and- oh you wont check that one again. Nothing.)

(The desk. Check the desk. You look through the different cabbinets in the desk, anything- maybe something taped to the underside? No. Stars, wait. . .)

(Stuffed at the very back of the bottom drawer of the desk was a photo.)

(The back was signed. "Good luck, Azzy, and write home often.")

(You heared footsteps outside. No time- wait, one last thing. You go over to Ramos, and gently undo their bandana, taking care to not touch the skin. Sure, you had gloves, but just in case. . .)

(There it is. Damn star pendant. It glowed softly. Taking a snuff, it smelled of. . . Mint? Maybe, was it mint? No, wasn't there supposed to be a sugary smell? It was a wish after all, right?)

(. . . You have more questions for next time, but someone was banging on Ramos door.)

(You look out the window- Oh of course. You were what, three? Four stories up? If you jumped out from here, you'd likely die.)

(. . . Like that wasn't an issue, tee hee~ And if you don't die, you could check with the others.)

(. . . No time to dwell on it, you back up a few steps, take a breath, and take a running leap.)

(. . .It's like your flying!)

[teddybearsandspaceships]

For my own memory, in the hopes that Scar will put yesterday´s stream on his VODs channel because it was amazing and featured among other things:

Scar calling Etho “the Maple Prince”

Xisuma trolling Scar by mixing up Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Harry Potter

Mumbo showing Scar the llama death chamber, and Scar praising him for being weird

Scar and Mumbo having a conversation about social media and AI

Scar telling Etho not to worry and that he´s thinking about moving the mail box himself (after all he had two best-selling redstone shops so surely he´s qualified!); Etho: well now I´m worried… But right afterwards Etho says people forget that Scar is actually quite skilled at the game

Etho is just interrupting people today and Scar suggests just collecting people to procrastinate

I approve of Scar encouraging Etho to participate in MCC again

Etho asking how Scar got stamps already, Scar saying he´s been a part of a lot of Life series, Etho: “you and your wily words, you can get anything you want…”

Big Salmon decreed mercury = good

Cleo shows up! “lag busting” is the new “it lagged into my inventory”

Scar definitely not encouraging Cleo to kill all other villagers after setting up her own trading hall. Cleo wants organic free range villagers.

Cleo trying to sell the monstrosolith as a giant billboard

Cleo proved she can do valley girl voice, Scar and Etho are shocked. Then they´re discussing what "no cap" means. (Etho on stream: “big true, no cap.”) They talked about poggers, and Scar going wild with his pants off (after Cleo exploded them), and Etho didn´t know what Stitch is.

Scar starts talking about Disney and it takes him a minute to realize Cleo and Etho have run away

More maple syrup discussion (Etho telling Cleo if she likes the brand she gets it´s fine), and a frantic ride-by and log-out by Grian

Cleo and Scar want to start a cult. Etho wants to be a frat instead, something cooler. Frats have fewer rules, they´re more like “pants off, it´s fine.” Scar says he´d ask too many questions to be in a cult, Etho points out he could be cult leader. Cleo immediately offers to be his second, the person who does all the dirty work.

Shoe talk. Scar shows off his twelve-year-old shoes on stream.

Making fun of Etho´s set-up! Scar is horrified. Etho talks about his Kleenex box where his mike stands. It matches his desk! It has his settings written on it! Also his space bar broke during DO2 but he got used to it. Scar decides they need reinforcements and calls Bdubs over. Ren also shows up.

Etho mentions he didn´t get a Decked Out 2 desk mat (took to long to think about it) and Tango logs in to write in chat that he´s disappointed and logs out again

A wild Iskall approaches in the distance. Etho: trident brother!

Etho invented the minecart shuffle

Cleo: "I always want you to kill people, Scar. ...no not Etho."

And Etho leaves to shuffle snow like the Canadian cryptid he is

(how dare Ren interrupt Bdubs before he can give his current opinion on the kleenex box)

"Etho´s not one to lie" (are you sure about that? ^^)

...I look away for two seconds and did Mumbo just call himself a panda in chat. I was later told: a panda fiat! Which is a car, and Iskall is a Ferrari

Moonlanding with Gem! And some talk about bases and criticism. Gem: "I love making Etho mad," “Let Etho be mad,” What´s he gonna do, all he´s gonna do is go oh snappers ^^ "Scar, you are my Etho"

[the12thnightproject]

...There's a lot going on underneath the roof of Kasugayama castle...

Shingen x OC (Katsuko); Shingen x OC (Katsuko) x OC (Sute)(fantasized); Sasuke x OC (Sute) x Yukimura

Rating E (Minors DNI)

Voyeurism, seduction, ménage

Written for @xxsycamore creation challenge "Sexy Ikemen Summer"; prompts - "Blow cold air on their neck," "'Accidental' clothes loosening"

4000 words

The worst thing about the summer rainy season was the rain. Whether it was the light mist that clung to her body and made her feel permanently damp, the heavy storm rains that blew sharp water droplets into her face, or a steamy, steady downpour that dripped off her woven straw hat to soak her clothes – Sute hated all of it. Today combined all three types of rainy season wet into one, to the point where she was sure she was more water than person.

Only her feet were dry, and that was because she’d left her waterlogged sandals at the door of Shingen’s room. Every other bit of her was…

Plop … a drop of water rolled down her nose and hit the tatami mat at her feet…

Wet.

“Here. Maybe these will help.” Katsuko gave her a bundle of hand towels.

Sute did her best to wipe the worst of the excess off her hair and face. But there weren’t enough towels in Kasugayama to dry the rest of her. She put on her most pathetic expression, the one Chiyome had described as ‘kicked dog.’ “Do you have anything to eat? Sweets?” Shingen always kept a stock of desserts hidden somewhere.

“Oh sure. Of course.” Katsuko retrieved a basket of sweet buns and Sute happily dug in. The buns were no longer warm, but having something in her belly was a comfort of sorts.

Shingen frowned at the rapidly emptying basket. “Devil, I was saving these.”

Quickly, Sute stuffed the last bun into her mouth, even though she hadn’t finished chewing the last one.

“She’s wet and hungry.” Katsuko cuddled up next to Shingen at his desk, then opened the packet of reports that Sute had just delivered.

“She’s conning you.” Shingen raised the stakes on the ‘kicked dog’ face by sending Sute a somewhat fatherly ‘behave’ glare. She’d noticed him doing that more often these days. “You know as well as I do that Sute is well paid. And… I was saving those.”

“She is right here. I missed my last meal because I was chasing Ryuchi’s courier all over the province.” It was a dance that all three were doing. Shingen might put on the paternal act now, but it hadn’t even been two years since he had taken Sute to bed. Sometimes. For that matter, Katsuko was more than aware of Sute’s capabilities – the two of them sometimes worked together to steal information from people too stupid to be cautious.

Katsuko grinned as she poked Shingen’s ribs. “If you want pastry that much, I’ll get you some before the teahouse closes.”

“At which point, you would be the one soaking wet.” He returned that casual affection by tugging on his lover’s ponytail.

“Then you can have fun drying me off… completely.” She winked at him.

“Deal.” He kissed her ear. Either he had forgotten that Sute was still standing right there, or he didn’t care. She imagined that even if she were to ‘accidentally’ loosen her clothes, neither would notice her.

The buns settled at the pit of her stomach like rocks. It wasn’t that Sute missed sleeping with Shingen. Their encounters had only been a convenient way to satisfy some pressing needs. Nor was she jealous of Katsuko. Gods, she liked Katsuko and was happy for the two of them. It was clear that Shingen, in spite of his new fatherly attitude to her, seemed younger, healthier, and Sute was glad for that.

It was just…

Why don’t they invite me to join their fun?

Being nestled between Katsuko’s soft skin and Shingen’s powerful thighs would be an experience she could slip into her memory and take out to warm her on these cold wet days.

Instead, she’d have to be content stealing Shingen’s dessert. Sute wet her finger and stuck it back in the basket, trying to grab even the smallest remaining crumb.

Finally, Shingen turned his attention to the courier packet that Sute had gone to the trouble to retrieve. He frowned at the report, then tilted it so Katsuko could read it too. Casually, she braced herself on his shoulder to do so.

Knowing that the couple was likely to talk dull strategy for the rest of the day, Sute took advantage of their distraction to hunt for more sweets. Maybe there was something interesting in that cannister on the shelf? She made her way back there to explore it more closely.

“It’s just tea.” Without turning around, Katsuko had apparently figured out her intent. Sute opened the cannister anyway, since Katsuko was perfectly capable of lying to her.

Though not in this case. Tea.

Her sweet tooth still unsatisfied, Sute turned back to the pair at the desk. Katsuko leaned casually against Shingen, his hand was in the small of her back, slowly massaging tiny circles. He said something to her, something Sute could not hear, and Katusko leaned into his touch.

The hot look the two exchanged could have dried Sute’s clothes if she’d been any closer to them. If she hadn’t been in the room, they would probably already be naked. No longer able to stand being invisible, she planted herself in front of the desk. “What next?”

“Nothing for now. I’m expecting a few more reports from Suruga. I would prefer to have additional details before I send you out again.” Shingen picked up a sealed packet from the corner of the desk. “Take this back to Chiyome.”

She tucked the packet in her clothes, bowed to them, then scampered back up into the ceiling. Below her, she heard Katsuko say, in an amused voice, “Why doesn’t anyone use a door here?”

Shingen’s reply wasn’t loud enough for Sute to make out, she could only hear the low rumbling tone that had always reminded her of sweetened pastry. Low, rich, heavy on the tongue. Not that he ever used that tone with her anymore.

Oh well. Sute wasn’t one to dwell on old times. Besides...

She took three steps into the maze of ducts and corridors that crossed through the ceilings of Kasugayama before halting. She stood still for a count of twenty, waiting for Shingen and Katsuko to feel confident she was on her way. Then she crept back to the ceiling tile, the one she had left a crack open for this very purpose. If anyone caught her, she would simply tell them that she had forgotten her sandals and had turned back for them.

But no one had caught her yet – the only other person who regularly used these passages was Sasuke, and she knew him well enough to know he would not question her.

Carefully, silently, she lowered herself to her hands and knees to peer into the room. They were… talking.

Shingen had a map open on his desk, and Katsuko was listening to strategy as if it were the most exciting thing she’d heard in her life.

Were they only going to talk?

Had she sacrificed her shoes for this?

But then Katsuko put her hand on the map, possibly to make a point, maybe just to rest it, and Shingen brushed his fingers along her wrist. She smiled and him, and though Sute could not see his face from her perch, she could imagine. She could remember. His eyelids would lower a fraction while his eyes would darken with smokey interest.

Sute watched as Katsuko took her other hand and stroked his face. Their heads moved closer as he leaned in… the sigh of a kiss.

She slapped her hand over her mouth – had she been the one to make that sound? Quickly, she pulled her mask over her face, more as a reminder to stay quiet, than as a disguise.

Good, they hadn’t heard her.

Their embrace grew more intense; Shingen freed Katsuko’s hair from the leather wrap, and it dropped like a river, flowing over her shoulders and down her back. Sute’s fingers itched to wind themselves in that brown silk, even as she imagined Shingen’s mouth on her own breast.

As if he had read Sute’s mind, Shingen eased Katsuko’s kimono off her shoulder, and lowered his head to –

Sute thumbed her nipple, pinching it, allowing the rough fabric of her kimono to increase the friction. Shingen had never been as forceful with her as she wanted, but up here, surrounded by the symphony of Katsuko’s moans and Shingen’s deep breathing, Sute could arrange things just so.

In the room below, clothing was flung to the floor, and Shingen suddenly turned Katsuko around, balancing her on his desk so he could enter her from behind.

Yesssss.

Sute crept to the other side of the tile, thrilled to be able to see both their faces. She slipped her hand underneath the hakama she chose to wear for ease of movement. It was still wet from rain, but the material clinging to her pussy owed less to the weather and more to the unwitting show Shingen and Katsuko were providing.

Had they only invited her to take part, it would have made up for any discomfort. As it was, Sute had to make do on her own, stroking herself in a rhythm matching theirs.

If they had invited her, this would have been the moment that she slid down Katsuko’s belly, past her hips, deeper, lower, to get a taste of her, a taste of the juices that were pooling in response, around, Shingen’s cock.

Maybe Katsuko would gasp in surprise at the extra sensation, her voice one thrilled, long, ohhh…

And if Sute was lucky, very lucky, Shingen would ask her, “do you want some attention too, Angel?” He might pull her back up, and suck her breasts – yes, his teeth would tug on her nipple -while Sute would be free to capture Katsuko’s mouth with her own and –

Shingen scooped his hands under Katsuko’s ass and carried her out of sight, and only the sounds of their bodies hitting the futon mattress gave her a clue where they’d gone to.

Fuck.

She could still hear them, but their groans and murmured words of love were for each other. The slap of skin on skin did not include her.

Deprived of the view, Sute’s fantasy evaporated, leaving her empty, wanting…

She finished herself off, but the swift, weak orgasm left her unsatisfied, lonely. This was not the way things were supposed to end.

Rearranging her clothing, Sute got to her feet, just as she heard the two lovers cry out and then be silent. They were probably already snuggled up, wrapped in each other’s arms, drifting into sleep.

Now, Sute just wanted to be away, away from the closeness she was not part of. Her shoes could stay where they were for now. She’d get them later… after she paid a certain visit.

When dropping in on another ninja, the element of surprise is difficult to pull off. In fact, Sasuke didn’t even look up from his papers - weird symbols and diagrams – when Sute flipped herself out of the ceiling and landed gracefully in front of him. He simply gestured to the tea kettle that dangled over the irori. “There’s more than enough water in there for tea.”

He continued to make rapid calculations, aided by an abacus. Whatever he was doing was far beyond her understanding. But that was fine. There were other things that he could do that she understood perfectly well.

Uninterested in tea, she came up behind him to blow cool air on his neck. No apparent response. Fine. She wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a light squeeze before letting one hand drift downward.

Ink splattered on the paper.

At last, she had his attention. He raised his head from his work, looked over his shoulder at her. “Ah. I understand now. This is a booty call.”

Half the time she had no idea what he was saying, and this was one of those times. “Is that a good thing?”

He pushed his glasses further up his nose. “I have, in fact, occasionally wondered whether afternoon delight is considered delightful due to the positioning of the sun.”

“It’s raining. Are we going to fuck or not?” If she didn’t shut him up, Sasuke was likely to talk forever. Later, when they were done, and cuddling (Sute liked the post sex cuddle… maybe more than she would admit out loud), she would be happy to listen to the sound of his voice. But right now, she wanted only his body to talk.

“Yes?” He made it sound like a question. “I’m at the precipice of figuring out something crucial and until I do, I won’t be able to give you all my attention. May I have five minutes to finish this equation?”

“I don’t know what a minute is.” She plopped down on his futon to watch him make quick markings with his brush, his fingers pausing to move the beads on the abacus. His brush and clacks combined with the patter of rain on the roof should have been soothing, but Sute only lasted a few breaths of stillness before she jumped up and prowled the room.

Bored…

Bored…

Squirrel!

“Kunai!” Sute amused herself with Sasuke’s pet for a while, tossing nuts for the squirrel to chase around the room before that also got boring.

Sasuke was still face first in his project.

I should have visited Yoshimoto instead.

Eager to hurry him along, she stripped off her still damp clothing, acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world to stand naked in front of him. She’d kept her movements sharp and brisk, not to entice but to remind. I’m here. Aren’t you hungry for me? Making sure to keep within his line of sight, she walked over to a kimono rack and tossed her wet clothing over it. When she turned back around, Sasuke was watching. “I’m wet from the rain.”

She could see his throat constrict when he swallowed, then coughed. After clearing his throat, he said, “My apologies. I did not mean to objectify you.”

“If that means getting you inside me faster, you can objectify me all you want.” Keeping her eyes on his face, she strode over to him and took the brush out of his now slack fingers. “I want to objectify you too.”

“That… seems like it’s only fair.”

“Good.” She paused, leaving her hands a breath away from his body. “What does objectify mean? Am I doing it right?”

“As always with subjective constructs, it’s open to interpretation, but for the sake of brevity, one could say… mmmmf.” She’d slapped her hand over his mouth. He mumbled a “yes” into her palm.

“You talk too much.” She tugged at his hakama, yanking it roughly past his hips, revealing he was already erect underneath the fundoshi. She untucked that final barrier of fabric, as he watched her, now finally silent. Maybe she’d scared him speechless. That was ok. She didn’t need words and sometimes Sasuke’s just bounced around in her head like tiny tamari balls. Good thing he was very skilled at the non-talking stuff too.

Already, he was wrapping his hands in her damp hair as he deftly removed the leather wrap that was entangled in there, easily smoothing away that snarls caused by a long day in the wet (and to be honest, she didn’t remember if she’d combed it this morning.).

This was … nice.

No. This was too intimate. Like a mother brushing through a child’s hair. She’d not known hers at all, but when she was in the orphan home, one of the older girls used to brush out her hair and braid it in a neat queue. It had been the best part of the day, having her hair brushed.

But now, she didn’t want him to be gentle. She wanted release, so she pulled the rest of his clothes off, leaving him standing in only his glasses. Experience had taught her to wait until they were safely in bed to remove those.

Now that all the barriers between them were gone, she sprang at him and he caught her automatically, lifting her until her legs were around his waist. “It’s about time.” She dragged his face to her and claimed his mouth, biting his lip in her eagerness to-

“Sasuke, I – Oh. What? Uh.” Yukimura was half frozen in the entry, having slid the door open without knocking. In his surprise, he looked like a garden statue, motionless, dropped jaw, eyes bugged out. “Sorry! Sorry! I’ll come back later! I mean. Tomorrow! I’ll come back tomorrow!”

Ooooh.

Sute had always wanted a taste of Yukimura, but their paths rarely crossed, and when they did, she’d been too busy to give him a go. “You don’t have to leave. I don’t mind if you want to watch.”

With Sasuke’s body pressed so close to hers, she could feel his pulse speed up at her suggestion. Interesting. She wondered if Sasuke too had sometimes watched people from a perch in the ceiling.

There was no response from Yukimura. It was as if the two men were stuck in an endless pause, both thrilled and scared of her suggestion.

Adding a little weight to scale, Sute pressed herself closer to Sasuke, then turned to wink at Yukimura. “Or…” She added a pause to let him start imagining. “Join us.”

She liked that idea. Oh, how she did. Snuggling up against one person was lovely, but two. Two would be perfection.

Neither man moved, but she could feel Sasuke trembling beneath her.

I have to do everything around here.

She climbed off Sasuke and walked toward Yukimura, putting a purposeful sway in her step. When she halted in front of him, she reached over and ruffled his hair. The whole time… his eyes were on Sasuke, not hers.

“Sute.” Sasuke’s voice was shaky, but there was a tone of warning in it. “Don’t objectify Yuki.”

“Huh?”

Ha! Yukimura didn’t understand what Sasuke said either. It wasn’t just Sute who got confused.

“Yuki, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Sasuke hadn’t made any effort to cover himself, but she thought that was because he had forgotten he was naked.

She made an obvious show of putting her hands behind her back. “See! I’m not objectifying!”

“Geez.” Yukimura now raked his own hand through his hair until it almost stood on end. “I. Don’t. Not. Want to.”

“Oh! Good! Come on!” Not one to waste time, Sute grabbed his hand and flung him toward the futon. Surprised, off balance, he stumbled and fell into Sasuke.

Should she close the door now? For herself, Sute didn’t much care who might walk by and witness them, but… Yukimura and Sasuke might be more fun if they weren’t worried about additional visitors. She slid it shut, then turned to see Yukimura and Sasuke sitting side by side on the futon. Yukimura fidgeted with the corner of his clothes, while Sasuke politely kept his hands to himself. She noticed that his body was angled slightly toward Yukimura, even as he refused to look at anything but the floor.

“Yukimura, you have too many clothes on.” She faked a pout, pursing her lips like a courtesan. “I could help you.”

He sputtered a few nonsense syllables, then Sasuke looked at her and opened his mouth to speak.

Sute interrupted before he could get a word out. “Did I objectify again?”

“There’s a colloquial expression where I am from. Patience is a virtue.” His strange speech seemed even stranger coming from a man wearing nothing but a pair of glasses.

Yukimura rolled his eyes and looked at Sute. ‘Can you believe this guy’ was written all over his face. He and Sute had united against Sasuke’s big words, and finally she felt let in to both sides of the triangle.

United enough that when Yukimura fumbled with his clothing, it was both Sute and Sasuke who helped him – Sute pulled his sash open while Sasuke briefly squeezed Yukimura’s hand before tugging the kimono off his shoulder.

As always, his face gave away nothing. But his breathing, Sute knew, even without thinking about it, that this was something Sasuke had imagined happening… and when Yukimura’s breath sped up in response –

This time Sute did not feel lonely. She’d been part of this, she’d helped them along. When they looked back on this moment, she would be in the memory of it too.

That certainty led her to join them on the mattress, cuddling up to Sasuke to kiss his mouth, then immediately to Yukimura to kiss him too, as if she were transferring Sasuke’s kiss in the process.

I kiss you. I kiss him.

Back to Sasuke, who this time responded with light pressure. Again, she took his kiss to Yukimura, delivering it as a courier.

I kiss you. I kiss him.

Until finally… Sasuke and Yukimura bypassed her and came together in a kiss that ramped up from curious to urgent before Sute could blink.

She sat back like a proud parent watching a baby warlord take his first sparring match, until Sasuke, ever the polite Sasuke, yanked her into the tangle of limbs, and Yukimura’s mouth found her breast –

Now, yes now, that his control had broken, Sute found the force of Yukimura’s urgency exactly matched her needs. “Yes. Bite. Please. Harder.”

Teeth and tongue nearly made her leap off the futon, as the sharp, sweet sensation raced through her.

No more watching –

Outside, thunder rolled, and rain pounded against the walls, rattling the building, muffling sound.

Inside, Sute lost herself in this storm, mouths, hands, sweat, the sticky salty taste –

The driving rain mixed with Yukimura’s guttural moans and Sasuke’s praise of Gods whose names she had not heard of – her own voice urging them not to stop –

It was Yukimura who filled her – rough thrusts, his thickness stretching her just to the point of discomfort, but it was a good discomfort and she ground herself into him, digging her fingers into his shoulders, feeling his muscles contract under her touch. She angled her hips to take him deeper, her body rushing her onward, straining for release.

Barely, she was aware that Sasuke’s arms were wrapped around Yukimura from behind, his mouth clamped on the other man’s neck.

I want…

I want…

And then no more wanting as she came with a scream moments before Yukimura erupted inside of her.

For a moment, she couldn’t move and lay there, melting into a boneless puddle.

After the sparks behind her eyelids faded, and Yukimura had rolled off her, she saw that Sasuke was still waiting for satisfaction. “Fair is fair, ninja.” Her voice sounded rusty, raw, from her screams.

She crawled across Yukimura, intending to take Sasuke in her mouth, but Yukimura got there first, stroking his friend far more hesitantly than he had fucked her.

So, with her chin resting on Yukimura’s chest, she again became the watcher, but this time it was ok. She was still with them. Still here. And when Sasuke’s cum finally spurted onto Yukimura’s hand, Sute felt like she was just as responsible.

Warm, comfortable, she half dozed, drifting in and out of childhood memories, while Yukimura and Sasuke continued kissing lazily. As a little girl, she’d shared a bed with three other orphans, kept warm in winter like a pile of kittens. This felt the same. Warm. Together. Once again safely snuggled, protected from the weather, even as rain pattered steadily against the wall.

She curled up between them, her head using Yukimura’s arm as a pillow, then Sasuke reached between her legs, his skilled fingers gently teasing her, slow waves that crested into another orgasm, one that sent her drifting into sleep.

Time passed.

Possibly they all slept.

As the room turned from rain dimmed to night’s darkness, Yukimura stirred and mumbled something about needing to leave. He didn’t make any effort to move, and Sute took the moment to pull both men closer. “We could do this again sometime.”

Sasuke’s answer was in his rapid heartbeat and held breath, until Yukimura said, “Uh. Yeah. Again. That would be. Ok. Or. Good even.”

“I concur.” Sasuke’s voice was a whisper over her shoulder.

Sute couldn’t wait for the next rainy day.

Thanks to @claviscollections for beta reading. I've never written E fic before (granted this is a borderline M/E) and she helped me make sure none of the characters suddenly appeared to develop an extra limb.