#but I am not willing to get into debates. I am not happy to “share my story”. I am not happy to be mormon anymore because it's just over

[buckyalpine]

hey shay! what do you think about steve and sam betting that bucky cannot date the newest avenger for like two months without falling in love with her. and, of course, he accepts, and asks her out, all in the hopes of winning.

(plot twist: he is a dumbass and a fucking simp because he falls hella hard in like the first month. she’s basically his soulmate and his dream girl. absolutely perfect. he dreams of their marriage and children and cannot wait to make it a reality. and steve and sam are beyond happy for him, and the three decide never to speak of the bet ever again.)

but fast forward to their first anniversary together, and she finds out that the only reason why bucky ever paid any attention to her, and asked her out, was because of the bet. and it leaves her absolutely heartbroken and destroyed, to the point that she debates asking for a transfer. because of course the only way the legendary sergeant james buchanan barnes would ever notice her is because of a bet. pfft! how big of an idiot she is!

(and we see bucky do some seriously grovel. because he cannot lose the love of his life. his baby. his everything. his sunshine in the dark. the reason for his existence.)

maybe steve and sam join in to help him? because they adore her as well, and they know how much bucky needs her.

YESSSS YES YESSSSS. I am here for the angst and the fluff, I love this because we all love a break up make up situation.

"100 bucks"

"No"

"Okay, 150"

"Why are we doing this"

"200"

"...why"

"Because we know for a fact, there's no way you'd be able to date the new recruit for two full months-

"-without falling in love, you can't actually fall for her"

Sam and Steve looked at Bucky intently while the soldier cocked an eyebrow, the three of them lounging in the common room after a morning briefing to meet their newest team mate.

"You're both willing to pay me $200 just to date y/n without falling in love?" Bucky deadpanned staring at his two best friends, both with matching shit eating grins.

"What's wrong Barnes, scared you'll get your wittle heart broken?" Sam egged him on only to be met with a cocky smirk from the brunette.

"That's not a problem because I don't date" Bucky shrugged, happy to win easy money if all he had to do was ask the new girl out and date her for a bit without actually catching feelings.

He was never really the relationship type; the charm he used to have in the 40's was slowly making its way back and it was perfect for when he needed a quick fix. Long term was never his thing and he wasn't about to start now but he also wasn't going to turn down a bet when his friends seemed so keen.

Besides, his pride was on the line and it was only two months.

"So let me get this straight. I date her for 2 months-"

"No falling in love with y/n"

"-no falling in love and you pay me?"

Sam and Steve nodded while Bucky got up, shaking their hands to seal the deal. He already mapped out a plan to ask the new girl out, mentally deciding on an easy break up speech for when the inventible comes.

"Two months white panther"

"Wolf"

"Two months"

"Easy"

****

Bucky knew he was screwed after the first date. Just the first date. When he first asked her out, she gave him a shy giggle and he knew he wanted to hear that sound again. And again. And again. She gave him a little nod, shuffling on her feet and for a moment, Bucky regained his confidence. There was no way he'd have anything in common with someone so shy and quiet, winning the best was going to be a breeze.

Until she came down in a sun dress, ready to go out for for their date and she smelled like peaches and cream and there was that fucking giggle again when he got ice cream on his nose when they shared a sundae. Her hands were so soft when she swiped her thumb over his little mess, cleaning him off with a tissue while he blinked.

"You're so adorable, sarge" She gave him a bashful smile and his cheeks couldn't have possibly blushed more, his heart beating strangely fast. He wasn't really too sure what to do, usually it was him making girls turn into puddles of shy messes but her he was, more tongue tied that ever.

He wasn't sure what it was.

Maybe it was the fact that she asked him about the 40's, something he rarely got to talk about. Maybe it was the way she listened to him intently while he got lost in his memories, recalling happier times, the both of them laughing over stories about scrawny Steve before the serum. He'd been on plenty of dates before but none of them were like this.

(It didn't matter though, his main goal never left his sight...not really)

He asked her out again and he immediately put his hand to his stomach when she showed up in her workout clothes since he'd offered to train with her before their scheduled date. He'd fully intended to take control over the situation, gain the upper hand again by making her all sweet and shy with his subtle touches but nope.

Here he was with butterflies dancing madly around his tummy when she smiled brightly as soon as she walked through the gym doors; his train of thought long gone when as she dropped her towel beside his. He flipped her with ease, her much smaller form blinking up at him as he caged her under him. He didn't even have it in him to throw her a wink or a flirty smirk, giving her soft puppy eyes instead and helping her to her feet.

To his own surprise, he didn't even try to make a move to get her in bed.

He couldn't.

Not when he was genuinely enjoying conversation with her. Not when she looked at him with such trust and care not to break her heart. Not after she'd confided in him that she felt safe with him after about a month of dating. Bucky's mind, which was usually filled with filth and fucking was now filled with thoughts of her in a pretty white dress, walking down the aisle, ready to say I do. He thought about how adorable their babies would look, how beautiful she'd look pregnant, she was his dream girl, how he couldn't wait for the day it'd all really happen, he was falling in love for the first time in his life-

He. Was. Screwed.

****

"M'gonna marry her"

"What"

"What?" Bucky blinked back at his friends with wide eyes, not realizing he'd said that out loud; the three of them sitting around the living room again since you had gone out for a girls night with Nat and Wanda.

"Come again, what was that?" Sam grinned, sitting up straighter from where he'd been sprawled out on the floor while Steve nudged Bucky with his shoulder.

"Nothing" Bucky mumbled but the blush on his cheeks spread up to his ears.

"AWWWW" Sam howled while Bucky buried his face in his hands, "BUCKY HAS A CRUSH"

"You like her, huh punk" Steve grinned, not needing verbal confirmation from his best friend; both him and Sam saw the way Bucky started falling for you from day 1, not standing a chance of winning their bet.

"I do" Bucky smiled shyly, not bothering with a snarky retort, not when he'd fallen so hard for you the second he heard your laugh. No one bothered to bring up the bet again, the entire thing long forgotten. Sam and Steve couldn't have been happier when they saw Bucky's eyes light up every time he looked at you. You'd tumbled into the living room along with Nat and Wanda behind you, giggling and falling into the soldiers lap, nuzzling into him like a kitten between tipsy kisses.

Sam could've sworn he saw Steve flick away a tear, the both of them watching Bucky grin like a little kid with the biggest crush, melting into a puddle instantly with you in his arms.

"Hey Sarge" You gave him a hazy smile, sighing contently when he kissed your forehead and scooped you right up, holding you to his chest. "Missed you"

"Let's get you to bed babygirl" Bucky whispered, carefully taking care of you, changing you into one of his Henley's and completing your skin care routine since you couldn't in your drunken state. He kissed you good night, pulling the covers up and holding you close to him the entire night.

Nothing compared to the soft puppy he became whenever you were near him and it wasn't exactly a well kept secret. No one failed to notice the way he was head over heels in love with you. With each passing day Bucky loved you more, doing everything in his power to keep you happy, to protect you with his entire heart, there's was no way, absolutely no way, he'd every do anything to hurt you or lose you.

Ever.

One Year Later

You stretched, blinking at the sun that peeked through the curtains, feeling extra warm, cuddled up with you boyfriend who was the human form of a furnace. You were in no hurry to get out of bed, burying your face into his bare chest instead, breathing in his scent, humming contently when his thick arms wrapped you impossibly closer.

"Happy anniversary my love" Bucky whispered, his eyes still closed, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. He couldn't believe a full year had gone by since you'd stolen his heart. A full year filled with kisses and giggles and softness. There wasn't a day that had gone by where Bucky wasn't a complete simp for you (he'd picked out a wedding ring within month three and had it hidden somewhere in his room by month 6).

"Happy anniversary handsome" You kissed his chest where his heart beat steadily, giggling when he pinned you under him, attacking you with a flurry of feathery light kisses, "Bucky stop!" You squealed with laugher as he wrapped you tightly and let his scruffy cheeks tickle your shoulders, the both of you tangled in his sheets, having a lazy morning.

"I love you" He whispered into your hair, sneakily slipping his hands up your over sized shirt, his cool metal fingers stroking down your spine making you shiver. "So much, bella"

"I love you, Jamie" Your cheeks heated up and the sweet name he had just for you, only reluctantly getting out of bed after Nat had practically dragged you out of bed to go shopping. You didn't want to do anything but cuddle with Bucky all day but the red head didn't care, happily evading your privacy to barge into the room and whisk you away, throwing back a wink when Bucky mouthed a silent thank you.

Bucky had planned out the perfect anniversary, something he'd thought out for weeks. The compound would be empty so it would just be the two of you; he'd cook dinner himself, have some songs playing from the 40's with a juke box he'd managed to get his hands on and spent the entire night letting you know how deeply in love he was with you. He didn't care how cheesy it was, buying out an entire florist shop to cover the room and terrace with your favorite flowers, having some suspended from the high ceilings along with petals strewn on the floor.

He'd pull out all the rom com stops for you, giving everyone a task to keep you busy so he could set up for the night. Nat had been tasked with keeping you away until evening, only bringing you back in time for dinner. Sam and Steve spent the whole day hanging and putting up flowers, lighting candles and listening to Bucky ramble about how much he adored you. Tony worked on lighting and sound, tinkering with the music and setting it up outside.

To say you were surprised was an understatement. Nat had blind folded you as soon as you got back and instructed you to put on the dress that had been laid out in your room. You had no idea what she was talking about until you found a floor length gown along with a note sitting on top of your bed.

See you at 8 tonight my bella

Happy 1 year Anniversary,

Yours forever,

JBB x

You didn't waste a second, hopping into the shower, doing your makeup and spraying on your perfume that you knew he loved so much. You slipped the dress on along with some heels before making your way down to the now dimmed lights, the soft glow of candles warming the room.

You gasped as soon as your eyes landed on Bucky, standing head to toe in all black, a dashing smile on his face. He strode over to you, cupping your cheeks in his hands, pecking your lips sweetly, the scent of his cologne already making you woozy.

"You did all this for me?" You blinked back tears, his thumbs swiping them away .

"Anything for you doll" Bucky whispered, pulling you in for another kiss before leading you to the garden; a trail of rose petals covering the floor to the back terrace. Fairly lights twinkled, mixed in with the tiny stars that dotted the night sky; you didn't bother with sitting in your own seat, sitting in Bucky's lap instead while your both sipped on champagne.

It didn't take long for him to swoop you off your feet so he could sway with you instead, music playing softly in the background while he whispered sweet nothings, only sitting down again so he could feed you the dessert he'd spend the whole afternoon making for you.

"I can't believe you did all this for me Bucky" You said sincerely, holding his face in your hands, gazing into his soft blue eyes, "You're perfect my Jamie"

"You're my perfect gift doll"

"Oh! I have to get you your gift!" You realized you'd left it in your room between a spoon of chocolate cake Bucky was feeding you, hopping up from his lap to get it. You scurried off to your room, giddy over the present you'd put together for Bucky, the whole gift taking months of planning to get everything to come in time. You rummaged through your closet, grabbing the carefully wrapped box and returning to the hall, excited to see his face when he opened his present.

You passed by Steve's room stopping dead in your tracks at the words you heard, your feet suddenly unable to move.

"Can you believe this all started over betting he'd never fall for y/n?" Sam snorted, sitting on the couch in Steve's room, the both of them munching on the scraps of chocolate cake and sipping on beer while watching a movie.

"All over 200 bucks, remember he was so sure of himself"

You felt like you'd swallowed cotton, your mouth dry, finding it difficult to swallow. You wanted to turn back time, wishing you'd never heard that conversation, or maybe it was all a misunderstanding, Bucky would never do that, not your Bucky.

"Didn't you tell him he'd only have to date her for 2 months?"

"2 months and 200 dollars, terminator shook on it"

"He even had a break up speech ready"

You gripped tightly onto the present, dashing away from the room, unable to bear more of the conversation. Your heart was hammering out of your chest as you shakily made your way back to Bucky, it just couldn't be true.

Could it?

Did he really only ask you out because his friends made a bet with him?

Bucky smiled when he saw you return, opening his arms for you to slink onto his lap again. His smile disappeared when you kept your eyes down, fumbling with the gift in your hand, staying rooted in place in front of him instead of cuddling up with him like you always did.

"Baby? Is everything okay?" Bucky got up from his seat, carefully making his way over to you. He tipped your face up, surprised to find your eyes wet with unshed tears, the corners of your lips quivering with how hard you were trying to keep from crying.

"You-you promise you'll be honest with me?" You tried to keep your voice from cracking, afraid everything you'd imagined with Bucky would come crashing down if what you heard was true.

"Of course" Bucky felt his heart race seeing your glassy eyes and broken expression, what could have possibly happened in the few seconds you were gone "Bella, what's wrong"

"Did you only ask me out because of a bet?" You tried to keep from sniffling, your heart breaking at the guilt that immediately spread across Bucky's face.

"Doll, I-

"So it's true?" You whimpered, stepping away from the man you loved so much, feeling a whirlwind of emotions, the gift you clutched onto slipping from your grip and onto the floor, "It was just a bet with Sam and Steve?"

"Baby, please let me explain-" Bucky wanted nothing more than to reach out and wipe away the tears he caused, his own streaming down his cheeks when you moved further away from him.

"Please don't" You shook your head, wrapping your arms around yourself, not wanting to feel his touch you knew you'd instantly melt into. "Just don't James"

Bucky was ready to drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness, beg for you to call him all the sweet names reserved just for him but you dashed back into the compound, slapping your hand over your mouth to muffle your sobs.

"Sweetheart wait, please don't go, just let me explain baby, I love you so much" Bucky trailed after you, quickly swiping his dampened cheeks, catching you in the elevator just before it closed. "Y/n, I love you doll, I'm sorry, it started that way but-

"It's not your fault" You quickly wiped away the new wave of tears that stung your eyes, desperately pushing the button to take you to your room faster, "I-I should've known you wouldn't have been into me in the first place"

"Y/n, that's not true sweetheart, don't say that baby, please"

"I thought you really liked me, I-I didn't know someone had to pay you to date me"

You felt stupid, ridiculous, ashamed, how did you ever think someone like Bucky, the handsome ladies man from day one, would suddenly be into you, some random new trainee turned avenger. You weren't special, nothing about you stood out from others, there was no reason for him to give you attention.

It all made sense now, your heart splitting into two, biting hard on your lip to keep your cries down, you couldn't believe how stupid you'd been to think he actually liked you from the start.

"No baby, you had me from day one-"

"P-please don't l-lie to m-me" You hiccupped, making a bee line straight to you room as soon as the elevator doors opened, not looking back once. You locked your door before Bucky could catch up, ignoring his persistent soft knocks, begging for you to give him a chance to explain.

"Y/n, bella, please, open the door sweetheart, I love you, I promise truly love you so much, I'm so sorry baby, I need to talk to you, please" Bucky sniffled, his forehead pressed to your door in defeat, now letting the tears fall freely. He stayed rooted in place, slumping down with his head between his knees, running his hands through his short locks in frustration. The only thing he cared about was making you happy and he was the one who screwed it up.

You clutched onto your sheets, trembling as sobs wracked your body, thinking back to all the moments you thought were so sweet, moments where you thought you were both falling in love, now realizing they were nothing more than a ploy to get $200.

You remembered your first date, thinking about how cute Bucky looked with a tiny dollop of ice cream on his perfect nose, how nervous you were to swipe it off, your heart racing when you told him he looked adorable. It took every fiber of your very being to muster the courage to do that but it had meant nothing to him.

You had been stupid to think he liked you too when he asked you out again; you remembered the way your entire body felt like it had been lit on fire when he had you pinned you under him, growing bashfully shy when he helped you up onto your feet, everything a part of his plan to eventually dump you.

You felt ridiculous. You were not gorgeous like Natasha or enhanced like Wanda. What made you think the very Sergeant James Barnes would have his eye on you of all people.

You should have known.

-

"Do you hear that?" Steve paused the movie, hearing a muffled cry from the corridor, his brows furrowing at the sniffles that followed. Sam nodded with a frown, both men getting up and peering into the hallway, surprised to find the super soldier sitting against your door, eyes and nose red from crying.

"Bucky?" Steve was by his best friends side in an instant, kneeling before him, helping him up to onto his feet.

"What happened, where's y/n" Sam blinking hearing crying from inside your room, his stomach churning when Bucky shrugged, chewing on his trembling lip to keep from breaking down again. Bucky let Steve lead him into his room, sitting on the edge of the bed, gripping onto the sheets till they nearly tore.

"What the hell happened Buck"

"She found out bout the bet" Bucky whispered, fresh tears streaming down his face when he remembered how defeated you looked with betrayal. "She knows I asked her out because of it"

"Fuck" Sam hissed while Steve ran a hand over his face. They felt equally responsible for hurting you for having suggested the bet in the first place, also piecing together you must have over heard them when they were talking earlier. Steve was sick with guilt while Sam also slumped onto the couch, all three men feeling awful for hurting you.

"Did you talk to her?"

"She doesn't want to even look at me" Bucky shook his head before burying his face in his hands again, unable to stop from crying; there was a good chance he lost you forever and it was his fault.

"Just-just give her some time" Steve threw an arm over Bucky, while mentally hitting himself for being part of the mess, hoping you'd forgive his best friend who was deeply and utterly in love with you.

-

You woke up with a throbbing headache, staying in bed for longer than usual. You felt more embarrassed than the night before realizing others must have known the true nature of your relationship with Bucky. Not only did Bucky not really like you in the first place but he'd only even looked your way because he was sure he wouldn't fall for you.

You kept to yourself for the first few days. You'd managed to wake up earlier than everyone else so you could eat breakfast and train alone, only to eat dinner extra late after everyone had gone to sleep. It wasn't difficult given your skill set; you slinked about undetected, evading the other avengers every time they knocked on your door to check on you.

Bucky tried to find you every single day, spending each night falling asleep by your door, ignoring the worsening kink in his neck, hoping he'd get get to see you just once, one time so he could at least apologize to you properly.

Two full weeks had gone by and you some how only felt worse. You hated hearing Bucky cry when you walked by his room but then you'd remember what he did and you couldn't bring yourself to trust him again.

Bucky was a mess. He missed you more than anything; you were his baby, his soul mate, his beautiful sweet bella. He would've given anything just to see you walk down the hall way, anything to hear your voice even if it was you telling him off like he deserved. He wanted you to yell and scream at him, tell him what at ass hole he was, that he was the biggest jerk on the planet, that you hated him, he'd listen to it like it was music if he just got to see you again.

He got his hopes up when a new mission came up requiring all hands on deck; Tony called for a sudden meeting with the full team which meant everyone had to be there. Bucky ran off to the showers within seconds, scrubbing himself with body wash he knew you loved so much before throwing on a tight black t-shirt and jeans that made you all shy and giggly. He knew he was playing dirty, leaving the scuff on his face before spraying on a dash of cologne.

He had to look his best, even if it meant you'd throw your cute little kitten mug at his head. He nervously ran to the conference room, eyes flicking to each individual, his heart dropping when he didn't see you there.

"Damn Barnes" Tony whistled while Steve smiled sadly knowing his bestfriend was hoping to see you. "Who'd you clean up for"

"Where's y/n" Bucky's eyes were pleading with everyone, hoping someone would say you were just running late or that you weren't taking part in the mission.

"She's....she's at the head office" Tony sighed, "She wants a transfer"

"Damn it" Sam had now sat up while Bucky left the room with Steve following behind him. "He needs her, he really loves her"

"I-I can't lose her" Bucky sobbed, shaking his head, clutching onto the card you had given him on your anniversary. He'd read every word 100 times over, memorizing it to heart, careful not to crush the paper as he pressed it to his chest. "She's everything to me"

"Look, it's out fault too. We're the ones who suggested the stupid thing, we'll get her back" Steve gave him a reassuring squeeze and Sam nodded.

"I feel like shit man, the whole thing was meant to be a dumb joke, we love her too, we're not just gonna let her leave like this, not our y/n, okay? That's our girl"

"C'mon, lets go get your girl back, punk"

-

You frowned as you entered through the main doors of the compound, finding it unusually quiet when everyone should have been at home since they'd just gotten back from their mission. You felt conflicted after your meeting with Fury and Agent Hill, both of them asking you to reconsider your request to transfer. You told them you'd think about it but you were certain over your decision.

You couldn't face the team any more and your were too embarrassed to look at Bucky again. You didn't mind working in the office and starting over, figuring that would be the best way to mend your heart.

You made your way up to your room, a little red envelope sitting on your pillow catching your attention. You were wary as you opened it, your breath catching in your throat as you recognized the handwriting.

To my first and only love,

I don't deserve someone as sweet as you, but I can't bear the thought of you thinking I don't love you with my entire being. I know I don't deserve a second chance, but I need you to know it was always real.

Always.

I've kept it will hidden but it's time for you to see. It's in my favorite hiding spot for your eyes only.

With all the hugs and kisses in the worlds,

JBB

You knew exactly what spot Bucky was referring to, thinking back to the early days of when you were dating. On more than one occasion, Bucky had grabbed you into his closet, shutting the door when he wanted a few extra moments of privacy before a mission, showering you with 100's of kisses before eventually getting caught and dragged down to the hangar with a bashful grin on his face.

You reluctantly made your way to his room, letting out the breath you were holding when he wasn't inside. The scent of him alone already caused you to feel butterflies but you ignored them as you looked in the closet, finding a shoe box with another red envelope sitting on top for you to read.

To my sweet bella,

You had my heart from day one. You were never supposed to see any of this but you have to know. It's always been you.

Forever and only yours,

JBB

You sat on the floor of the closet as you carefully opened the box, inspecting its contents. Inside was an old, weathering diary with a receipt stuffed in the middle as a bookmark. You opened the page that was marked, surprised to find the receipt from the ice cream place you where you had your first date, the date of the entry a few days before he asked you out.

A new team mate has joined the group. Her name is y/n, y/l/n. She specializes in hand to hand combat and is a trained spy. Tony introduced us to everyone today. I wouldn't mind being her friend but I hope she isn't afraid of me, maybe she's just shy.

The next entry was from the day Sam and Steve made the bet

I doubt I'll forget this but I'm writing it down anyway. 2 months for 200 dollars. Seems stupid but what's the worst that could happen, it's not like she'd actually fall for me anyway.

Then there was the entry after your first date.

She's probably one of the sweetest people I've ever met; I don't want to forget this day, bet or not. She wore a sun dress and she laughed at all my jokes. She called me adorable. Her hands felt so soft. I'm sure its in her nature to be so kind but I wish it was just for me. Maybe I'll ask her out again.

A few days later.

I swear I'm falling in love with her more and more each day and she doesn't even have a clue. I don't know how to show her she's special to me, you'd think I'd be better at this. I hope one day she feels the same way.

And then

I love her. So much. Ma would have loved her. I hope one day she says yes.

You let out a wet laugh at the entries became sappier, each one detailing how hard he was falling for you, all the little details of your dates filling the pages, your heart breaking when you realized he wrote as much as he could remember so he'd never forget. He didn't mention the bet in any of the pages because he'd forgotten about it completely, fully focused on making you officially his.

The diary was sacred to him, a private place where he recounted his most precious memories, the one thing he'd never share with anyone but he decided to share it with you because you had to know. It was one of the few places he poured his heart and soul into with no filter, some of his darkest memories scrawled onto the pages but after he'd met you, it changed. Page after page filled with nothing but sweetness, pure and untainted love. You wiped the tears away, carefully placing the diary back in its proper hiding spot before making your way downstairs hoping to find him.

You found a trail of petals that hadn't been there earlier leading to the living room, walking to a very remorseful looking Sam, Steve and of course Bucky, all three men clutching onto teddy bears along with a blanket fort hoisted up in front of the large TV screen.

"What-what is all this?" You whispered, hesitantly walking towards them with Sam stepping forward first, wrapping you up in a bone crushing hug.

"We're really sorry sweetheart" Sam murmured into your hair, hugging you tightly against him, "we never wanted to hurt you, we love you baby, truly"

"You're special to us darling" Steve came over next, pressing a firm kiss to your head, his large arms holding you in a comforting embrace, "We're idiots, you didn't deserve that, don't leave because of us sweetheart, it's not the same without you"

"It's-its okay"

"It's not, we know it isn't but just know we really do love you, okay? Especially him" Steve whispered the last part with a small smile, looking over to his best friend who was anxiously shuffling on his feet, clutching the largest bear in his hands.

You hugged onto the two little teddies from Sam and Steve, kissing their cheeks before they quietly left you and Bucky alone for some privacy. You set them down on the sofa, suddenly feeling nervous when it was just you and Bucky, anxiety and embarrassment attempting to claw its way back up again.

"I'm so sorry bella" Bucky hesitantly reached out for you, scared you'd pull away, relief flooding his body when you allowed him to pull you in for a hug. "My pretty girl, m'so sorry, I didn't mean for it to happen baby"

"You-you really liked me after?" you felt silly for asking such a thing but you couldn't help it, you had to know, your soft doe eyes pleading with him to be honest with you, "You don't have to lie Bucky, it's okay if you didn't-

"You're breakin' my heart babygirl, of course I did. Of course I liked you sweets, I fell hard and fast for you, it would've happened with or without that stupid bed. I wouldn't have been able to resist that smile or that laugh, nothing would've kept me away from you"

Bucky scooped you into his arms and sat you down on his lap and he settled under the blanket fort, keeping you straddled on him while his hands wrapped around your waist.

"Believe me when I say you're the only girl I've ever fallen for, the only one I've ever wanted. I never ever wanted to hurt you baby and I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you never cry again, if you'd have me. I hate seeing you cry sweets, especially because of me. I just want to love you baby, please?"

His voice cracked at the end, bottom lip quivering as he nervously traced his thumbs along your hips. What if he lost you forever, he wouldn't know what to do with himself, not when he adored you so much.

"I love you y/n, you're my dream girl, my everything, no one else comes even close-"

You cut off his rambling, smashing your lips against his, a soft sob slipping past his lips between kisses as he desperately clung onto you.

"Do-do you forgive me?" Bucky sniffled, breathing out a sigh of relief when you pressed your forehead against his, nodding and slinging your arms around his shoulders. "Please say it angel, I-fuck-I'm so sorry, I missed you so much"

"I forgive you" you whispered, squeaking when Bucky pulled you to cuddle into the pile of pillows and blankets he'd laid out, wanting nothing more than to kiss and cuddle you between cute cheesy rom coms you loved so much. He smiled at the giggles you let out as he attacked you with unrelenting kisses again, breathing in your scent and feeling your body finally wrapped up with his again.

"I missed you so much angel"

"Missed you to Jamie" You kissed his nose, caressing his face as he nuzzled into the crook of your neck, knowing Sam and Steve were probably creeping from some corner. "I love you"

"Love you more bella" Bucky smiled, letting you pick a movie, pulling a fluffy blanket up to cover you both. "Loved you from day one"

[rapunzelbro]

Imagine Lucifer and Adam fighting over you

I would like to start off by saying sorry in advance. I have no clue about religion, if purgatory is the right term or if I’m understanding this correctly. This was what term showed when I asked in between hell and heaven. If I am not accurate please please correct me. Request: would u do a adam x reader x lucifer where basically there fighting over the reader to try and win them over to be in hell or heaven

Master list Tag request

When you died you never thought you’d end up in fucking purgatory of all things

You did you not want to deal with any of that shit? You just died and now this?

You had the option to follow through on correcting your small sins you had left, or honestly say fuck it and go live your life in hell.

You couldn’t give one less of a fuck but two specific people did and it confused the fuck out of you

Lucifer and Adam

Adam was the first to meet you since you were technically one step in the door but also at the same time not. You appeared at his doorstep practically

He explained a lot of what happened, and why you couldn’t exactly stay in heaven or hell.

He shared the remaining sins that remained for you, and how to get them forgiven,

Bud actually was willing to help someone for once?

Wtf did you do get him to help someone who is not himself? Holy shit

You only had a 4 or so left by the time you found the Hazbin hotel..

Now Lucifer was intrigued by your situation. Not many people got to that state, to his knowledge

He knew a lot about you already to begin with he totally didn’t stalk you and was pissed about the time you spent with Adam

Found out you ended up at the Hazbin hotel, since you had no real space to stay since you could go to heaven if you pleased, but not looked well upon

Charlie told him about the whole situation to try and get his advice on it all since she really didn’t know how to go about it but she desperately wanted to help you

He didn’t want to help you with your final sins though, he wanted you to stay for himself. He would never let his daughter know that.

He spent time with you often encouraging your ass to do stuff that sinners would do but you’re just so stuck on what to do so you often don’t do the things.

Lucifer and you bonded more than you and Adam

Dude just told you constantly about how horrible it sucks down there in hell

Annoyed you even more since he didn’t let you stay in heaven after saying that?

But oh yeah it’s fine because he goes down to see you🥰

What the fuck man

If you ever needed a place to stay Lucifer was always there. Even if you didn’t feel like staying at the hotel

If wanted to talk about the shit you have left to do to get into heaven he will listen

While he didn’t agree with your initial decision to finish your sins, that doesn’t mean he didn’t still care about you regardless of what you end up doing

When you got to your final sin to pass through the gates of heaven, that’s when Lucifer stepped in

“What the actual FUCK are you doing here sinner?”

“Bitch you know why I’m here”

Lucifer and then arguing over your ass while you’re just there chilling like wtf?

“Y/n do you really want to be stuck up there with this douchebag”

“Do you really wanna be with The Most Hated Being in All of Creation!”

Those two screaming at each other while you are just watching the two trying to debate on what you should do

The people of heaven who knew of you, didn’t like you in the slightest because you were never going to be a true angel in their eyes

The people in Hell couldn’t give one less fuck about your situation. You had so many friends down there who you considered practically family now.

Both giving you the most desperate looks both wanting you to go with them

“Lucifer.. I’m going with you”

The second you say that your appearance goes from the weird hybrid you were stuck in to being a full blown demon.

Adam is fucking crushed and pissed sending you two the fuck out insantly

Lucifer is so happy

“Wow you must be a mega turnoff since even all girls like what have to offer more than you~”

Gladly takes you back to his place, he has yet to explain to Charlie that you gave up on redemption.

He doesn’t want to break it to her but knows he will have to soon

But for now you picked him over that bitch and that’s honestly worth it.

Lucifer/All Taglist: @vendetta-ari @brithedemonspawn @katshyperfixations

@aphestina @satansmanager @irethepotato @mixplara

[goodbuckcharlie]

Captain’s keeper | Nico Hischier

Summary: Nico surprises his girlfriend at her work much to her and her students’ excitement.

Warnings : I didn’t proof read this and I wrote it fast. Also no use of Y/N instead I use the name Baylee.

Notes : I don’t know how Nico or the devils act irl but this is how I imagine him. Also I know the devils didn’t play tonight ,but let’s say they did.

February 29th, the day that only happens every four years. It also just so happened to be the birthday of Nico Hischier’s lover. Baylee was turning 24 ,well technically 6, but that’s all a technicality. Unfortunately, she still had to teach, and Nico had a game, so the two couldn’t spend a lot of the day together. Nico tried to convince her to take the day off , but she insisted she had to be there for her speech and debate team who had a competition coming up. So, this forced Nico to get a little creative.

The morning started pretty early as normal, with Nico getting ready for practice, and Baylee doing her morning grading, since she refuses to spend her nights grading ,cause that time was reserved for Nico. But this morning, instead of Baylee waking up while Nico was in the shower, she was surprisingly woken up with her handsome boyfriend making breakfast.

“Good morning schatz.” Baylee hugs her boyfriend from behind. She is obviously much shorter than he is, so she has to wiggle her head under his arm to see what he was making. The girl can’t help , but smile like the Cheshire Cat when she sees that Nico had made two instagram worthy, smoothie bowls. Baylee was never a fan of traditional breakfast food like eggs, pancakes, or waffles ,so to see her lover put the extra time and effort into to her breakfast melts her heart. “Happy birthday my love.”

“Awe Neeks, it’s perfect.” Their eyes meet for the first time this morning, and they share a smile, before sharing a quick kiss. Baylee lets go of her hold on Nico, so the two can enjoy their breakfast.

“So, birthday girl, what do you have planned for today?” Nico asks with genuine curiosity.

“Well the first 5 periods are my ap Euro classes , so I was just planning on giving them a free day to catch up on work, and study for the ap exams.” It was only her second year teaching, and the school had already trusted her to teach an ap (advanced placement) class. This was mainly because the past teacher had retired, and she was the only person who was willing to take on this responsibility. “And then a few of the other teachers had planned a mini birthday party during 6th period cause that’s my lunch time. Nothing big. Then of course 7th period, I have to work with the debaters to add the finishing touches to their debates. They are so close to getting it, but they just barely miss the mark.”

“Well, good thing for them. They have the best coach money can buy.” Baylee rolls her eyes and chuckles. It was only her first year as the debate team coach, but the team had already won a few awards at local tournaments. But, in Baylee’s opinion she had nothing to do with the team’s success. It was purely her team’s natural talent.

“Neeks, I love the support, but I am few years out from being the best.”

The two continue to have a conversation as they eat their breakfast as a normal couple does. But sadly they both have to get ready for their day and go to work. Normally they carpool to work, with Nico dropping her off and picking her up, but on game days and during roadies, Nico gets a ride with Jack. They both adore their morning rides together, soft music playing and the loving embrace of the lover before dealing with the reality of work. Sadly, today was not one of those days.

Baylee leaves before Jack gets there (much to Jack’s disapproval) so she can work on some class prep for next week. This way she has more time to spend with Nico on Saturday.

During the school day, Baylee’s students and staff had showered her with love and gifts. They all tried to make this day very special for her. Baylee was over the moon to spend her birthday with her students, she just wishes Nico could be here too.

“Okay students settle down. Nicole please sit down. You can talk to your friends in one moment, if you give me just three minutes of your time.” Luckily, the teenager doesn’t give Baylee any hassle ,and she goes straight to her seat. The best part about being an ap teacher is that the students are more well behaved than normal teenagers. Don’t get me wrong they have their day too, they are still teenagers, but not nearly as bad as normal classes. “For my birthday I decided to give you guys a present, for today and tomorrow, you guys get to have a free day. I do encourage you to study for test next week, I am allowing you guys to do what you like. As long as it’s safe ,not too loud, and you don’t leave the classroom. One last thing, all late penalties have been suspended for the next two days, this means you guys can turn in any late work without a late penalty until the end of the day tomorrow.”

The classroom fills with excitement, which Baylee has to gesture for every one to settle down. This was her last class of the day before her break period and then it was time for debate. Luckily, Baylee only had a few more lesson plans and then she would have a whole weekend of free time to spend with Nico.

Little did she know, Nico was able to convince the team to end practice early and so he could surprise Baylee at work. Not only was he able to end practice early, he also was able to drag along a few of the guys to help surprise his girl.

Nico along with Jack, Luke, Jasper, and Dawson, got into the school with the help of Baylee’s coworkers. The boys had brought a raspberry cheesecake from her favorite cafe, which Luke almost dropped walking up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Baylee was talking to one of her speech and debate students the just so happened to also be in her 5th period class.

“You see that line you wrote right there? I really like how you wrote it down, but your delivery sounds fake,” She was currently coaching over the speech the student had wrote for the next tournament, “You can say the most ridiculous thing in the world with a mountain of confidence, and you would sound more believable than if you said something intelligent with 0 confidence.”

“Thanks Miss. Buck that helps a lot.” The student grabs her things with a smile and head back to her seat. Suddenly there is a knock at the door.

“Micheal can you grab that bud?” The student closest to the door, stands up and opens the door. Just as luck has it, Micheal was on the school’s varsity hockey team and was a huge devils fan. So imagine the boy’s surprise when he sees not one, not two, but five players from his favorite team.

Baylee’s heart drops when she hears Micheal shout “Oh my god, no way.”

With fear and curiosity for her student, she rushes to the door ready to protect the child, but what she was greeted with was no threat. It was her loving boyfriend and his teammates. This also makes Micheal’s reaction make more sense.

“Neeks what are you doing here?!” She pulls her boyfriend into a hug, but not without hearing Luke’s audible scoff.

“What are we? Chopped liver?” Baylee laughs off his sassiness and gives each one of the guys their own hugs. She invites the guys to come into her classroom, which of course causes chaos to consume the teens. Teenage girls giggling about how hot the hockey players were, and other students who were starstruck by the players.

Luke places the cheesecake on her desk where he sees a picture of Baylee and Nico after a game with Jack and him photo bombing in the back.

“I can’t believe you are here!” Baylee pulls Nico into another hug , just to make sure he was really there, and not a figure of her imagination.

“Of course, I have to make sure my girl is having an amazing birthday.”

“You mean our girl.” Jack says while peaking his head out from behind Nico.

“Yeah our girl.” Dawson adds with a teasing smirk.

“Next time you two wait in the car.”

“Miss Buck?” Baylee’s attention is moved to her student. “I hate to interrupt ,but can you help me direct me to the pages in the text book where we will be going over for next week’s test.”

She quickly excuses herself before helping her students quickly before going back to the hockey players. During the 10 minutes she was gone, some of the students had the players hockey related questions.

Nico watches Baylee and basically gawks at her as she teachers with such care and devotion. Of course this doesn’t go unnoticed by the guys, but they decide to chirp their captain later rather than doing it around a bunch of teens.

Suddenly, three students come up to Nico with very serious expressions.

“So Mr Hischier, what are your intentions with our teacher?” Nico is taken back by the teens’ abrupt tone. But his teammates all start laughing to themselves. “Miss. Buck is one of the realest of Jersey and yet you haven’t put a ring on that finger? Ain’t no way.”

“Damn cap, even the kids are wondering.” The team has always chirped Nico for waiting so long to propose to Baylee.

“Miss Baylee deserves, the biggest most beautiful wedding in the world and yet here she is weddingless.” The teenage girl at the end of the group points at Baylee who is distracted helping another student. “Tell me that she wouldn’t absolutely slay in a white wedding dress..”

Despite not fully understanding the students “hip lingo” ,Nico looks at Baylee and all he sees is her in a floor length dress, nothing too fancy since Baylee wasn’t a flashy girl, with her hair all done and her looking absolutely breathtaking. (An image he has thought of way too often) And he can’t help, but fall in love again.

“Jessie, Tony, and Angela leave Nico alone. You look like you broke the poor boy.” Baylee’s voice broke him from his gaze.

“We’re just standing on business Miss B.” The three kids take their seats.

“Don’t mind them babe, those are some of my debate students, I told them I wanted them to be more intimidating in their speech and clearly that worked too well.” Baylee guides the five men back out to the hallway , so they can have more privacy. “Thank you guys so much.”

“Anything for our captain’s keeper.” Nico groans in annoyance at his teammates nickname for Baylee. The other four guys bid their goodbyes to Baylee before leaving the lovers alone for a second.

“I know it wasn’t much Schatz, but given the circumstances, I hope you enjoyed your surprise.”

“Oh I definitely enjoyed it.” Baylee gives Nico a small kiss while still staying work appropriate since anyone can see her in the hallway. “I mean not as much as Micheal did, you guys totally made his day.”

The two laugh share a laugh for a second. When their laughter died down, their eyes locked again.

“I’ll see you after the game tonight okay Schatz?”

“Of course captain, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” The two share one more kiss before she sends Nico away knowing that the bells is about the ring and that will cause the hallways to fill with students.

When she renters her classroom, her students all look at her blushing face. The students can’t help, but feel happy seeing the teacher that brings them so much joy, be so happy.

End note: so this was just a small little blurb I wrote real quickly just to test the waters on here and see how I feel about posting on here. This is the first ever post I am making on tumblr so feel free to let me know what you think. Constructive criticism only please :) and also let me know if you guys would be interested in reading more about Baylee and Nico in more detailed stories that I put more effort into.

[writersdrug]

Ghost x Konig x Reader: I Don't Need You (Ch. 6)

<- Previous - Next ->

Summary: You (surprisingly) get more comfortable with Kortac, and slowly let yourself connect with the team. You subconsciously tether yourself to Konig, who is more than willing to help you fit in. The pain of the past begins to fade into the back of your mind like the end of a long chapter of your life.

Additionally, Konig starts asking the hard questions - it unearths a piece of you that you'd hoped would remain buried, but you still share the memories with Konig.

Chapter warnings: Mentions of violence, mentions of rape, cursing, google translate German, shirtless Soap, very EXTREMELY watered-down mentions of sexual themes (we ain't there yet, boiis)

Notes: Sorry it took so long, I've got a lot cooking in the kitchen now and I'm hoping to pump out a lot this week!

Additionally, I've had some comments on this work not being an x Reader. First off, I never want to mislead anyone. I label this as an x Reader because Bonnie is not an OC of mine. I've seen other x Reader fics include callsigns that refer to the reader, so I assumed using Bonnie similarly would be alright. I also mentioned a name ONCE in chapter 3, "Jane Morris," which I thought to be a very generic name, and I haven't used it since and don't plan to. I have a personal preference of writing longer, chapter-by-chapter fics in first POV because it feels more natural to me than second POV. The same goes for using y/n - I like to avoid it if I can because it feels unnatural.

Again, those last two thing are a personal preference. I'm not bashing any fics that use these things at all, I enjoy both ones that do and ones that don't, and I don't enjoy one over the other. When I say one feels more natural than the other, I mean it feels more natural to write, not to read. I'm debating changing the name I used in chapter 3 to just y/n l/n to make this a true x Reader. If you still feel like I should change this to an x OC please let me know and I'll be happy to adjust the tags, titles, and descriptions. Again, I never meant to be misleading, and I hope I didn't make anyone angry. If a mistake has been made I am happy to learn from it. Thanks!

Konig had cracked the code on me. He figured out that after a case of American beers and a long drive, away from the crowd of new faces, my outer shell began to soften.

There was still a wall that I was holding up between me and everyone else, even though it was significantly smaller than usual. When Roze and Castillo approached me at breakfast, I didn’t get up and leave. And when Juno used the empty spot in the gym room right next to me, dropping his bag on the floor and giving me a cautious glance as he set up for his routine - I didn’t grab my things and move to the other end of the room. That was my first instinct, but I fought it. Instead I huffed, facing the mirror in front of me and focusing on my sets.

I’d started going to the common area more often – maybe not every night, but often enough. We’d make it a habit to play poker on the nights I did show up. I was better than most of the group, since none of them were quite used to my mannerisms yet. However, Konig and Horangi still took the lead as the winners, despite most of us arguing that they shouldn’t be allowed to play if they were going to wear their masks. The argument would eventually turn into a casual conversation – I didn’t engage in it too often. I preferred to sit and listen, using the time to slowly learn more about the team. I typically planted myself between Roze and Konig, keeping my legs crossed on the seat and nervously fiddling with my Yuengling bottle.

Although I was ashamed to admit it, Konig had become a conduit for my interactions with the rest of the team. The way he engaged with their activities, yet still managed to stay reserved, struck a chord with me. I respected the fact that it could sometimes be difficult to find him on base, and that at the same time, he was always there when I started to feel overwhelmed. I didn’t need him, no… that was a stretch. But sometimes I felt grateful that he was so eager to accompany me places – especially when he invited me to go on “perimeter checks” with him, which mostly consisted of long drives off base.

I don’t know how I had grown to appreciate him so much – maybe it was because he felt similar to me, in the way that we both needed our alone time, and with how we often found ourselves slipping out of the common area around the same time, with the original excuse being that we were tired. Half of the time, we would sit in the mess hall and talk until the early hours of the morning.

“A sniper?” I asked on one particular night, fiddling with the mouth of my beer bottle. “You’re way to big for that – no offense.”

Konig chuckled. “And that’s what they initially told me.” He took a swig of his (nasty) German beer. “But, despite being handed other opportunities, I proved them wrong. I’m sill a damn good sniper.”

I huffed. “Nah, you should be happy you got promoted to Colonel; you’re lucky, you get to avoid being in the trenches – at least, as much as the rest of us.”

“Lucky? No…” Konig said, shaking his head. “I do not like being a Colonel. I’d much rather be doing the dirty work of soldiers than writing these stupid reports.” He slapped a large hand over the manilla folder that sat on the table next to his beer. “It keeps my head busy, and I don’t have to listen to myself think.”

I nodded while sipping my beer. “I completely get that – If I’m not actively doing something with my hands, my brain gets too loud. Like – like there’s a mini me in my head, and the only way to drown her out is by physically doing something. Anything, really.”

Konig laughed – almost a snort – “‘A mini you’. I like that, that’s good.”

I huffed a laugh through my nose, turning my head to hide the smirk on my face. Despite being a large, brutish man, he had a youthful essence about him. It was hidden deep beneath the thick exterior of a war-hardened soldier. But, every now and again, it rose to the surface, touching a part of my soul I hadn’t allowed to be seen in a long time.

I pushed my stack of bills into the middle of the table. “All in.” I said nonchalantly.

Gaz narrowed his eyes, leaning back in his chair and looking down his nose at me. “You’re bloody stupid…”

“Or really smart.” I retorted. I folded my arms over my chest, not wavering under his intimidating gaze.

It was unbearably hot in the room – whether that was from the tension of the game or the broken air conditioner (Price eternally insisted it would be fixed, “… by next week…”), I didn’t know. I was donned in my sweatpants and sports bra, Gaz was in a wife beater and sweats, Ghost was covered head to toe in a sweatshirt and jeans (one could ever rarely catch him wearing anything less), and Soap… well, Soap was Soap. Completely shirtless, with only a pair of gym shorts on. Typical for him to be so shameless.

Ghost looked at his cards, his jaw clearly tense underneath his mask. He wasn’t very good at hiding his unlucky hand – it was almost like he wasn’t even trying. Which was a possibility.

“Fucking hell… I fold.” He tossed his hand onto the table, revealing his sour bunch of cards. He walked to the fridge and cursed under his breath, rummaging through the contents.

“Jesus, you’re a load of dry shite.” Soap commented, leaning against the wall adjacent to Ghost. “You could’ve at least tried to intimidate ‘em.”

“You could try shutting your fucking mouth, alright?” Ghost snapped back. Soap raised his hands defensively, leaving Ghost by the fridge.

He flopped onto the couch near me and Gaz. “Miserable sap…”

I did my best to tune out their bickering. I stared down Gaz, tapping my fingers on the edges of my cards. I was relying on the river card – I had a chance at a four-of-a-kind, praying the last card on the table would be another seven.. It was risky, and Gaz was probably right in calling me stupid. But I was never one to back down from a challenge. I craved the thrill of it. Most of the time, I ended up getting lucky.

Gaz chewed his lip. He cocked an eyebrow, slowly pushing all of his cash to the middle of the table. “Call.” He said.

And I heard it – the telltale sign of his bluff. A fraction of a second where his voice had waivered, followed by him grinding his jaw. I knew I had it in the bag.

I was savoring the moment of triumph, watching Gaz stare at his cards, when I felt a hand on my back. I nearly spun around and yelled at whoever touched me, until I saw a gloved hand place a Yuengling bottle to my right, the lid already popped off. I faltered, staring at the bottle, feeling the hand on my back rubbing a thumb back and forth over my spine.

I glanced behind me, looking up to meet Ghost’s eyes. He was looking down at me with an empty gaze. His eyebrows twitched for a brief moment as he continued rubbing his thumb over the skin of my back.

I knew what he was suggesting. What he was asking. Put a woman on a compound with broken, touch-starved men, and eventually one of them will succumb to the temptation. Even so, I was shocked that it was Ghost. I would say he was showing a weakness here, no matter what he decided to call this – it was an admission that he needed something – something from me, specifically – which I never thought would happen.

He continued staring at me for another few moments, waiting for an answer. Keeping my eyes locked on him, I took the bottle and drank; my reply. He gave the tiniest nod, walking away and sitting down next to Soap – who was shuffling the remaining deck of cards, eyes narrowed at Gaz. He knew he was bluffing too.

I turned back to Gaz, smirking as he revealed the river card.

“You ever think about what you would say to those kids now?” I asked, tapping my beer bottle. “The ones who bullied you.”

Konig hummed. “Mm… not really. I don’t hold too much resentment.”

I chuckled. “If only we could all be a saint.”

“Well, it all happened so long ago.” Konig tried to justify himself. “We were only kids, bored and trying to stay on the surface. They just wanted to look tough so that no one would pick on them. Of course, I wouldn’t understand that as a kid. Maybe then, I would have admired what I’ve become, and I would have wanted to boast about it. But now that I am a Colonel – Ich habe besseres zu tun.”

I sarcastically rolled my eyes. “And that means?”

“Ehh…” he groaned, squinting his eyes. “How is it said… ‘I have bigger fishes to cook.’”

I sputtered, turning my head and laughing. Konig glared at me. “Gibt es ein Problem?” he asked, which I sort of understood. He sounded irritated, that much I could tell.

“No, Konig…” I said, standing up and giving him a pat on the shoulder as I walked by. “Just keep up the English lessons, ok?”

He scowled. “Verpiss dich… Start learning German and maybe I will.” He retorted, and I waved at him dismissively from behind my back.

I stuck my head into the fridge, grabbing a Yuengling and one of Konig’s beers. I walked back and placed them both next to him. Like instinct, he took each one and hooked their lid onto the edge of the table, then smacked the side of his hand down on the tops, sending the lid clattering to the ground. He opened my beer and handed it to me, then repeated the process with his, before reaching down and collecting the lids. He added them to the pile, totaling six beer lids so far.

If someone had shown me this image a year ago – Konig and I, sitting up late into the night, chatting like we’d known each other for decades… not to mention the fact that I was so unusually open with him… I would have been insulted. I would have laughed. No one would have been able to convince me that I would become so attached to anyone else after what had happened with the 141. Yet, all of this felt so natural. It was beyond how I felt that Konig and I were kindred spirits… it really did feel like I’d known him before. Maybe, he reminded me of a part of myself that I tried to bury away.

Or, maybe, I was just submitting to loneliness and trying to justify how quickly I clung to the first available soul. That was also an embarrassing possibility, one that I would rather not admit to.

“I have a question for you.” Konig’s voice and the clink of his beer bottle on the table brought me back to reality.

“I might have an answer.” I replied.

He looked off to the side, perhaps wondering whether or not he really wanted to ask the question. “Who did you kill? And why?”

Just like that, I felt the walls being built right back to where I had them. Bonding time’s over. Back to square one.

His inquiry caught me off guard. I froze, my bottle hovering in the air before I could take a sip, my eyes glued to the table. Just the mention of the incident brought the painful memories up to the surface, like claws scraping at the dirt, digging up the deepest roots.

“Lots of people.” I said, deflecting. I took a swig of my beer.

“You know what I mean.” He scoffed. “Why did you end up in military prison?” He leaned over the table – clearly not planning on letting the topic go.

I sucked my teeth, staring at him defiantly – moments ago, it was pleasant talking to him. Now, I was fighting back the urge to leave him at the table and go to my dorm. I felt ambushed at how he had changed the subject so abruptly. Like he had been waiting for me to carelessly stumble into the trap, and now he was watching me snarl from within it.

He leaned back with a sigh. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I just thought we were getting somewhere here.”

“Oh?” I said dryly, cocking an eyebrow. “’Getting somewhere?’ What’s that sup-“

“Hey, it’s ok.” He raised his hands defensively. “I get it. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” His words were forgiving, but his eyes said something else – I knew what he was thinking.

Weak.

I gave him a hateful stare. Fucker know how to play his cards.

“I killed a sergeant.” I admitted. “My lieutenant’s right-hand man.”

That got Konig’s attention. He leaned forward again, putting his bottle off to the side. “Why?” he asked again.

I inhaled deeply, then exhaled, as I leaned back in my chair. My eyes fell to the floor as I forced myself to recall the memories. “In Egypt, a while back. Don’t ask when because I won’t tell you.” I warned Konig, and he huffed – but obliged.

I continued. “We were going in to retrieve a hostile target. Everyone was jumpy – me included. It was dark, and we didn’t know what to expect. After the hostiles started to engage, we were scattered. I got stuck in one tower, so I went upstairs to try and make a foxhole.”

I paused. It was now my own hands, covered in dirt, clawing at the roots of the memory. Each word I said was painful, yet somehow felt overshared. Like I was trying to get Konig to pity me. Except I wasn’t – I just wanted him to listen.

And that’s exactly what he did. No comforting shoulder pat, no soothing words… he just listened. He knew that if he stepped on the wrong spot, it would break my openness, like a branch breaking under his foot would disturb the silence of the woods.

“The sergeant – ‘Flare’ – he was up there, too. I thought we’d had the same idea, but… holy fuck…” I ran a hand down my face, feeling my heartbeat grow faster. “At first, I didn’t know what he was doing, I just heard him making those sounds and I thought he’d been hit, but… he was taking advantage of this – this woman – and with her kids right fucking there… she was probably just trying to hide, to hide them, she had to be so fucking scared… he didn’t even stop when I found him, I don’t know if he even heard me screaming at him.”

I paused, almost waiting for Konig to say or do something, but he remained silent. Despite my eyes never leaving the floor, I could see his blue ones watching me carefully. Concerned, patient, and calm.

“I didn’t know what else to do.” I said, my voice faltering the slightest bit. “So I shot him. In the head.” I unintentionally shivered. “Probably traumatized that poor woman and her kids, but… quick decisions aren’t the best ones.”

I ended my rant with a heavy sip of my beer. Konig continued watching me with wary eyes, which I ignored. I didn’t need consolation, or sympathy, or whatever he might try to offer. Somehow, he seemed to understand that.

“I would have done the same thing.” He commented.

Would you?

After a moment, he exhaled. “I don’t understand… I’d say you were in the right. Why did they put you in prison for that?”

I chewed my lip. “There was… some speculation, that I was jealous of his position. We’d been close throughout my time with the team, and when he got the promotion to second-in-command, I was a bit envious at first. People thought I was taking my anger out on him in what seemed like the perfect opportunity to lie.” I took another sip. “But I was happy for him. He worked hard, and he deserved it. But then the pressure got to him – Lieutenant was always depending on him for too much, and Flare couldn’t handle the responsibility. If he slipped up, it was a lot worse than if one of the rest of us did. I guess… the pressure is what got him in the end. Made him crazy in the end. He didn’t have any morals anymore.”

More silence. It felt uncomfortably loud – Konig’s stare seemed to make my head ring, making me fidget and bounce my knee. I wanted to snap at him. What are you looking at? Why are you asking so many fucking questions? But I was able to keep my anger at bay, justifying the situation by assuming his questions were fueled by nothing more than curiosity.

I figured I had said enough for the night, and finished off the rest of my beer. I slapped my leg, the telltale sign that I was getting ready to turn in.

Konig ignored it, or seemed to not notice. “Why did you kill him?” he asked.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. “Why did I? What do you mean?”

“Why kill him? Why not just… disable him for the moment, and let your commander deal with him later?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but my voice was a second too late. “Again… in the heat of the moment, you don’t make distinctions like that. You think: ‘shoot,’ or ‘don’t shoot.’ And shooting him was the choice I made.”

Konig’s gaze became scrutinous. He knew I was lying about something… he was hellbent on figuring out what.

He’s going to have to wait a long damn time.

“Goodnight, Konig.” I said flatly. I collected my bottles, getting up from the table. With a clang, I tossed them into the bin by the exit, walking down the hall and leaving Konig sitting alone in the mess hall. I feel tears stinging my eyes, but that’s all they did. It’s all just water under the bridge, y/n. Get it together. You’re alright.

-----

Taglist: @igotmajordaddyissues @princekonig @vixionix

[raainberry]

Don’t Go

« silly series - 2 »

Yeji x gn!reader

Fluff

synopsis - just Yeji being a little clingy and a little tease

wordcount - 735

T/W - the gym (?)

A/N - im starting something called silly series for random fluff drabbles. im willing to write about any idol for these so if you have a request feel free to send an ask, let’s all be silly together🤭 and yes its another yeji fluff, i saw a tiktok what else was i supposed to do, im just a girl

As soon as the ending credits started rolling, you sat yourself up, accidentally dragging your girlfriend along as she had been resting her head on your shoulder.

Your own forgetfulness amused you, but Yeji whined at the sudden movement. She was too comfortable, and this was too disruptive and inconvenient for a lazy day.

“I’m sorry.” You giggled. “But I really have to go to the gym, Yeji.”

“No, you don’t. Just one more episode, come on!” She bartered, clinging onto your shirt.

“That’s what you said for the last three, I really have to go now or else there’ll be too many people.” You declined, but it really was against your will.

She sighed, falling back into the place you’d been occupying on this couch. It didn’t feel as comfortable as it did when you were by her side.

You were used to her sulking, but it didn’t mean it became less amusing to watch. So you did chuckle before leaning down to kiss her. Thankfully she accepted your advance, allowing you to taste the strawberry milk that you’d just shared on those soft and sweet lips of hers.

“If I tell you not to go, will you not go?” She pouted at you, cupping your cheeks and looking into your eyes as she knew you rarely could say no to her that way.

“Nice try, but it won’t work this time.” You said, leaving a kiss on her forehead before running to grab your bag from the bedroom.

If you hadn’t, you were sure she’d have gotten you to lay back down in that blanket in no time. She’s done it more than you could count. You would have canceled today too, if only it wasn’t becoming critical. Your personal coach wasn’t too happy lately, and in good reason…

So, no, you weren’t going to give in today.

Although, you almost did when you heard her whining again from the couch.

“Y/n, don’t go!” Her voice echoed through your small studio apartment.

“Yeji, how else am I gonna look this good for you?” You answered, your laughter grabbing her attention as you made your way over to your shoes.

She stayed silent for a few seconds, pondering over your question. You felt her eyes all over you, and that’s how she decided it was worth the sacrifice.

Getting to admire a few of your defined muscles in exchange for a couple hours without you suddenly seemed like the bargain of the century.

“Fine, go.”

“Are you sure?” You giggled, tightening your laces.

“Just go.” She said, playfully shrugging you off. “But I won’t be here when you get back.”

She will. She just needed to tease you back, or else it wasn’t fair nor fun.

“Wait, actually?” You asked, already sad at the thought. You weren’t going to be able to see her for a few days after today, you didn’t want to say goodbye right away.

Yeji stayed silent, focusing on the TV to hold herself back from laughing. She could see you debating it all over again with yourself from the corner of her eye and it amused her. You tried not to show it, but it was obvious she was your biggest weakness.

Oh, how she loved it. It made her feel so loved. However, she didn’t like seeing you all worked up, so she eventually turned back to you.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby, relax.” She reassured you, seeing your features lighten up almost immediately.

“Mean.” You smiled, grabbing your bag from the floor.

“You love me!” She bragged as you made your way towards the door.

“I do, I love you so much.” You admitted over your shoulder.

You grabbed the handle and opened the front door before stopping in your tracks. Why didn’t she say it back?

You turned to face her, and found her smiling not so innocently, letting you know she was teasing you again.

“I love you too!” She said, making a heart with her hands over her own.

That got your heart racing among the warmth in your chest, and if that wasn’t enough, it pulled a laugh out of you as well. You found yourself hoping you made her as happy as she made you, although she’d assured you of it countless times by now.

You couldn’t help but not believe it at times, it felt surreal to have her the way she allowed you to. You probably won’t ever really believe it, but it was fine to you as long as it was true.

As long as that grin she sent you was genuine, you’ll forever have a reason to smile.

“I’ll be quick, I promise, see you later!”

[bobfloydsbabe]

rose blush | eccentric professor!bob floyd x oc

a gold rush fic

SUMMARY: Professor Bob has a special surprise for his TA on Valentine's Day.

WARNINGS: fluff, allusions to smut, age gap (mid 20s/late 30s), power imbalance, brief mention of past relationships. strictly 18+/minors dni.

WORD COUNT: 1k

GOLD RUSH MASTERLIST

JOIN THE TAGLIST

SPECIAL THANKS to @laracrofted who said Professor Bob gives off strong Valentine's Day vibes. I had to agree, even if his deliciously grumpy ass would deny it. So, enjoy a candlelit bubble bath with our favorite professor. Thank you, Ames!

“Robert Floyd, you didn’t.”

They’ve already had an amazing dinner at a restaurant with red wine and delicious pasta, and now he’s only gone and done this.

“I didn’t,” he whispers in her ear, arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. “The hotel staff did.”

She smacks his arm, but can’t fight the grin spreading across her face. The filled bathtub stands in front of them with lit candles all around the edge and rose petals sprinkled over the bubbly water. An ice bucket with champagne and two glasses sits on a tray straddling the edges of the tub, and her heart sings for this man.

It’s hard to believe where they started compared to where they are now. They still argue, still have to pretend they don’t want to rip each other’s clothes off all the time, still have to make people believe their relationship is only that of professor and teaching assistant. It’s hard to keep up, and she knows that’s why he booked them a hotel outside the city. Valentine’s Day weekend no less. He’s being romantic.

“Go on,” he breathes against her skin.

She turns in his arms, wrapping hers around his neck, and rises to her toes. “You’re coming with me.”

He chuckles and pecks her lips. “Wasn’t even up for debate, baby.”

He slides one of the thin straps off her shoulder, leans down to kiss her collarbone. A shiver runs down her spine, and a breathy laugh tickles her skin. He knows what he’s doing when he pulls the other strap down, too.

With a few tugs, the dress falls in a pool of red fabric on the bathroom floor. The professor’s eyes travel the expanse of her body with a hungry look, like he’s ready to devour her.

She feels powerful. Seductive.

Stepping closer, he lifts a hand and runs his finger along the underside of her breast while keeping his eyes locked on hers. She shivers as his fingertip grazes her nipple, and it pebbles immediately.

She holds her breath, but can’t fight the shiver running through her. It makes the professor smile in a way that makes him look younger, and he leans down to kiss her. Gentle but hungry. Possessive.

“The water’s gonna get cold,” she reminds him.

“Right,” he whispers, leaning back a little. “Let’s get these off you.” He reaches for her panties and carefully drags the red lace down her legs. At a quick tap to her ankle, she steps out of them and Bob tosses them aside.

Rising from the floor, he offers his hand for balance as she steps in and she takes it, still amazed by the size difference.

As she sinks beneath the surface of the water, letting herself be engulfed by bubbles and rose petals, Bob undresses. She watches as he sheds his clothing, and she’ll never tire of looking at him or that surprisingly lean body he hides. If all the students who have a crush on him knew what Imogen does, they would lose their minds.

But she’s not willing to share.

He joins her in the water and reaches for the chilled champagne, pouring a glass for each of them.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Imogen,” he says, voice deep and rumbly. Hearing him say her name makes her stomach flip, even all these months later.

She clinks her glass against his. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

She tips the glass back, enjoying the way it fizzles down her throat. When she puts her glass down, Bob’s watching her with a burning look in his eyes.

Cocking her head to the side, she narrows her eyes. “What?”

He shakes his head slightly. “Come here,” he mutters into the quiet room, his voice bouncing off the tiled walls.

With a smile, she glides through the water until she’s straddling his thighs, arms around his neck. He leans forward and captures her lips in a demanding kiss.

She’s not sure how long they stay like that, just kissing each other and being close, but she feels the moment he gets aroused.

She pulls back with a grin, fingers playing with the damp hair at his nape. “I knew shower sex was your thing, but bath sex too? You’re ready anywhere, huh, Professor?”

His arms tighten around her waist, pulling her even closer to him, and their foreheads press together. “I don’t do this.”

She frowns, pulling back. “What, bath sex? I was joking.”

He looks up at her. His cheeks have flushed from the heat in the room and the alcohol coursing through his system, and he looks almost nervous. “No,” he says, and she hears the hesitation in his voice. “I don’t do this.” He gestures at the champagne, the bathtub, and maybe even the hotel room.

“Take women on Valentine’s dates?”

He shakes his head. “Never.”

Her brows shoot up. “Ever?”

“Ever,” he confirms.

“You’re telling me you’ve never had a girlfriend?”

Now he looks almost offended. “I’ve had girlfriends,” he tells her. “It just never lasted very long.”

She goes quiet, and silence hangs heavy in the air. Only the faint sound of bubbling champagne and flickering flames from the lit candles fill the room.

He takes a deep breath. “Does that scare you?”

She comes back to herself, eyes meeting his again. “No,” she says, voice quiet at first. “I’m just confused.”

“Confused?”

“Robert, you’re a catch,” she says, tugging on his hair gently. “You’re attractive, successful, and romantic when you want to be.”

“I don’t want to be romantic,” he says, hands travel down her back.

Leaning forward, she kisses him passionately while his hands find her ass in the water and pull her closer to him. Her cunt grazes his erection, and she gasps into his mouth.

“Too late for that, Professor,” she mutters, voice light and breathless. “Because this is pretty damn romantic.”

His hands knead her ass as his lips leave open-mouthed kisses all over her neck, his tongue tasting her skin. “I’ll show you romantic.”

He makes good on that promise.

likes are nice, but reblogs and comments are golden

TAGLIST: @joaquinwhorres, @attapullman, @bobgasm, @just-in-case-iloveyou, @kmc1989, @rosie-posie08, @auroraseddie, @bcarolinablr, @cremebruleequeen, @sio-ina-bottle, @roosterforme, @sweetwhispersofchaos, @bluezraven, @fandom-princess-forevermore, @bradshawsbaby, @hangmandruigandmav, @xoxabs88xox, @seitmai, @cherrycola27, @keyrani, @millieb-3199, @solo-pitstop-vibes

[theladyofshalott1989]

Sebastian Sallow Myers-Briggs Type // Like Moths to a Flame Series (Seb x Male MC)

Since my series is told from Sebastian's POV, I thought I would take the Myers-Briggs test from his perspective too. My vision of Sebastian is apparently an ENTJ. The write-up is so scary accurate that it's freaking me out. LMAO. @honeybadgerdontcare394 - Thanks for saying you were interested in reading this (and taking one for your vision of Sebastian too!). @scilla-aster (if you want to try this too!!) I am so curious to see what other writers' versions of Sebastian's personality are. When I read other Hogwarts: Legacy stories, I like to imagine hundreds of different alternative universes where our Bash/Seb/(*insert nickname of choice here*) ends up happy and fulfilled with all our various OCs. (I have a very hard time reading stories that don't end happily for Bash.)

Notes re: his romantic compatibility with Damien (an ENFP), since they are essentially half-opposites (wow!): ENTJs primarily look for intellectual stimulation. As one of the most cerebral personality types, they enjoy debates, and they look for partners who open their minds to new ideas. ENTJs have a treasure chest of knowledge that they love to share with the right person.

^ Sebastian lucked out that Damien is a Ravenclaw and has an extremely curious mind.

ENTJs appreciate partners who can help them get in touch with their feelings because this isn’t something that comes naturally to people of this personality type.

I love this ^ because in my series Sebastian really struggles to understand and express his feelings. Damien is very in tune with his emotions and is not afraid to act on them. ENFPs see ENTJs for who they really are. ENTJs aren’t typically seen as warm people, but they tend to be extremely helpful, generous, and supportive. As one of the personality types who are most interested in people, ENFPs look deeper and notice traits about ENTJs that other people don’t see.

^ Don't mind me; just tearing up here. LMAO. I hope this came across in my series because it's one of the main reasons I wrote it. Sebastian needs someone to see him for who he truly is, and I'd like to think Damien does.

Their communication style chart (Seb - ENTJ, Damien - ENFP):

ENTJs are assertive, competitive, and like a good challenge. At their best, they are bold and confident leaders who are willing to take unpopular action. ENTJs may be overly proud, boisterous, and willing to manipulate others to achieve their goals. At their worst, they can be narcissistic, overly focused on their own needs, and lack empathy for others.

ENFPs often support, openly sympathize, and actively offer help to others At their best, they are gentle sympathizers, who are easily trusted and accepted. ENFPs may be overly revealing and have difficulty being alone. At their worst, they can require too much attention and admiration from others and be excessively involved in the affairs of others.

YUPPPPPPPPPPPPPP. Okay, I'm done now. Here's a silly pic of Sebastian for reading this far :)

[clevereverest]

Newsies Headcanon Collection!!

Chatting with the pretty cool @asexualbert and I wanted to share an apparently long list of my own headcanons, focusing on Race, Spot, Albert, and Finch :D

(+ Some concepts have been written about in my fics, while others are things I’ve never gotten to share before, which is exciting!)

- Modern AU Heights: Race 6’1” / Finch 6’0” / Albert 5’9” / Spot 5’6” (generous, I know, but Race is still 7 inches taller so it’s all good)

- Since I specified modern, the canon era: I firmly believe that Race and Albert would be the exact same height (maybe 5’10”) and argue constantly about who’s taller

- Still on that ^ Finch would be taller and Spot would be shorter, both settling the constant debates

- Race and Al are amazing cooks separately but doing it together is a recipe (ha) for disaster. Spot is a decent cook and Finch literally just sucks at it, poor guy. Good thing he has people very very willing and eager to teach him!

- Race plays sudoku because I say so (and literally wrote a fic about it….)

- Finch and Albert have a perfect sleep schedule. Finch got the preset circadian rhythm when he was young and when the two of them met, Albert’s body just kinda copied it.

- ^ Al doesn’t mind it too much, but thinking about it now, I imagine it being so abrupt. One night he’s staying up until 4 am with Race, the next he’s passed out cold by midnight and fully awake by 7 the next morning. It confuses him deeply. Then he finds out he can have Finch’s attention all to himself for a while every morning and he’s totally onboard with the change.

- ^ Also on sleep, Race practically has insomnia (bro has it rough) and Spot sleeps at mostly reasonable times but can stay up with Race if want/need be

- Spot and Finch are over-thinkers and Race and Albert deflect/ignore problems

- Finch does archery (the canon era slingshot to the modern era archery pipeline, also the reincarnation AU potential here !! Personally want something with that) and can play guitar

- Albert does baseball

- Race does dance (as most fans headcanon)

- Spot probably also does baseball

- Favorite Colors: Finch, light purple / Albert, a very specific dark orange / Race, light blue / Spot, dark red

- Real Names: Race and Spot are the usual ones / Finch = Adrian Cortez / Albert = just Albert DaSilva but he kinda hates the “old-timey-ness” of his first name (it’s a family name). He prefers to go by Sam around strangers/authority figures, short for Samuel (middle name).

- Finch comes from a rich family, he’s the “heir to the Cortez line” but hates the snobby sounding title (and he might have a twin brother sometimes). I heard this once in a random fic and ran with it.

- Albert has like 5-6 siblings, and I’m not sure if I’d place him right in the middle or the youngest

- Race is Italian. His family is huge. He has several sisters, no (blood) brothers.

- Honestly, I’ve never settled on Spot’s family :/

- Spot knows fluent French, Finch basically knows fluent Spanish, and Albert just listens to his friends and boyfriend speak in foreign tongues :)

- Oh and if it wasn’t clear, the relationships are Spot/Race and Albert/Finch. In my mind, every other pairing is platonic and likely brotherly too.

- Race and Spot have a fascination with each other’s eyes, specifically when the sun shines on them. They just kinda gaze lovingly when it happens <3

- Spot also adores the sound of Race’s laugh

- Finch loves it when Albert calls him by nicknames (listed below), he likes the sweet intimacy of it. Albert tends to just randomly watch Finch; he zones out and suddenly Fi is smiling all amused at him and isn’t that the greatest sight?

- Finch and Race both love reading, hardcovers and audiobooks respectively (taking Race’s preference from @ asexualbert)

- ^ Albert can’t say no to Finch getting new books because “He looks so goddamn happy, I don’t want him to be sad by saying no”.

- ^ Spot just has this issue where he physically cannot say no to Race’s pout — it’s a real issue sometimes. And “He keeps excitedly showing me all these books that he wants and I refuse to say no because then he’ll stop smiling and I’d rather that not be the case”.

- Albert and Spot are warm-bodied, the perfect pairs to cold-bodied Finch and Race

- In modern era, Finch, Albert, and Race are besties and Spot, Mush, and JoJo are besties, and there is often overlap between the groups (this may or may not tie into my multichapter fic…)

- Cute Nicknames!! Race calls Spot just Conlon, dumbass /aff, darling, and innamorato: Italian term of endearment for boyfriend (I’ve used it in fics and no one has corrected me so I’m assuming it’s right)

- ^ Spot calls Race just Higgins, dumbass /aff, love, and the other twenty billion names you can make out of “Racetrack” and “Antonio”

- ^ Finch calls Albert just Al, asshole /aff, sweetheart

- ^ Albert calls Finch just Fi, asshole /aff, and bub

ALRIGHT I’M CALLING IT!!! Let me know your thoughts on my personal headcanons, I’d love to chat and compare ideas :D

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: LGBT Courage Coalition/Eva Kurilova

Published: Aug 29, 2023

As a participant in the gender debate over the past several years, something that has stuck out to me is the desire for truth and the palatable relief when it is admitted. Simply put, people like it when trans people are honest about their biological sex instead of claiming to be the opposite sex in a literal sense.

More and more people are starting to think that the transgender movement has gone too far. But what do they mean by that? By and large, most people wouldn’t say it has gone too far in securing actual rights like housing, education, and employment. Yes, there are actual bigots out there who want to push people who don’t fit the norm to the margins but, for the most part, people like to think they have a “live and let live” attitude. This attitude is tested, however, when activists push them to accept lies.

This is why I prefer to frame the problem in terms of gender ideology which, if I had to define succinctly, I would say is the idea that biological sex either isn’t real or that male and female sex differences don’t actually matter.

The problem is that these are lies, and these lies have led to what people view as the excesses of the trans movement, namely violent male rapists in women’s prisons, men in women’s sports, and the transitioning of children.

Many people describe their “peak trans” moment (the moment they simply had enough of gender ideology) as a time when they were forced to accept an obvious lie. Some common examples include asking us to believe that a man’s human rights had been violated because female estheticians would not perform services offered for women on his male genitals or that it was fair for “Lia” Thomas to compete in swimming against women and win while barely kicking.

The flip side of this is how relieved people are when they see a trans-identified person who acknowledges their sex and doesn’t ask others to lie. I am lucky enough to know many such people, including my good friend Lois Cardinal. No, I am not trying to say such people receive universal acceptance and praise, but many, myself included, who would be considered “TERFs” or “transphobic” have no personal issues with them. It is refreshing to see people who don’t want or need everyone else to lie, and it makes it feel like dialogue is possible.

Does this mean we always see eye-to-eye? Of course not. I am also not naïve enough to believe truth and honesty will solve all of the problems of the gender wars. For example, some trans-identified men might admit that they are biologically male but still believe they should use women’s spaces because they pass. Obviously, this does not go over well with many gender critical factions. Problems and arguments remain.

But this is the way the world goes. People are going to butt heads over issues in all areas of life, and we are going to have to debate those issues and come up with rules and boundaries around them. But we can’t even have the discussion if we don’t start from a place of truth.

When gender ideology demands that people accept lies, it becomes authoritarian, and people don’t like to be controlled. Many are happy to get on board with the idea that some individuals prefer to look like the opposite sex and consider it no business of theirs. People generally want to worry about their own lives. But it becomes their business when they are asked to take part in a lie, and people will act when push comes to shove, especially when it involves children.

It heartens me that despite the fair share of these little authoritarians out there, not everyone is willing to paint all trans people with the same brush. Maybe I am naïve and a bit too much of an optimist, but even some of the staunchest gender ideology critics I know are willing to see trans people as individuals as long as they are not being asked to lie or to accept a lie.

There is a backlash brewing because of all the lies that have been pushed up to this point, and the only way to stop it from crashing back way too far in the opposite direction is to have a message grounded in truth and reality.

[seth-shitposts]

*slides you an infodump pass* tell me something cool about defectors au :3

FRIEND I LOVE YOU

I have to tell you that when I read this I jumped up and had to do a stim pace around my house. I did a little dance >:]

I am so GLAD YOU ASKED-

Lemme roll through the information I'm pretty sure I haven't spoken about yet. Or at least not much of.

I've spoken quite a bit about Tseebo, laid down some of the ground work for Morad and (especially) Marida, done some stuff for Mira & Ephraim but I'm still developing that situation over there.... in a similar vein I've done some very basic foundation beginning for the spectres...

Let's... see....

---

I do want to state that Kallus is very simply found family among the Lothal gang. The only ones who have a clearer and more nuclear definition to it is Morad & Marida viewing Kallus as a son they never had. And that's a sentiment the two of them share for a very brief amount of time because Morad takes to Kallus much earlier than Marida, Marida opens more up to Kallus only when he defects from the Empire, and even at that point its very reluctant. With Kallus and Ezra, it's not father&son but not quite brothers. Not very defined and in that similar vein of Zeb and his found family among the ghost crew.

---

Also, there's an idea I've been debating back and forth over since creating the au.

Of the development of Kallus. I'm still debating it, but how the basics go is as followed:

Kallus's first night on Lothal, there's a merchant and an officer having some sort of disagreement that results in the arrest of the merchant. Kallus simply observed for a moment before returning to his course of action (which was going toward the Bridger Household). [A week or so later, that merchant is one of the first people Mira and Ephraim ask him to look into for the case of improper arrest.]

Later on, this is mirrored. He's doing case work for the bridger's cell mates inbetween his own paper work and on his way to another building in the city. There's a very similar situation and he decides to intervine, to descalate the situation. Its probably a misunderstanding like the other one. He saves the merchant from arrest, but later gets in trouble with superiors in the sector for interfering.

Some time just before Lasan, he watches am officer purposefully antagonize a merchant into a fight, Kallus interferes again and is pissed at the officer. And again, he gets reprimanded.

On Lasan, in the very beginning if the march he watches as an officer antagonizes a group of "rioters" to be the ones to start a fight. This time, however, there isn't anything Kallus is able to do to intervine because they're gone before he can even change his direction.

There's another he comes across while searching for Mira & Ephraim. It's one of the first imprisoned civilians he sets free while trying to find the Bridgers. He has to be careful and not get caught or seen.

And then again during his time as Fulcrum. This time, instead of simply just cutting them lose, he gives them instructions on where they can go to either join a rebel cell or a group of refugees.

The next time he sees an officer antagonizing a merchant, it's when he's a captain and intelligence officer for the rebellion. He jumps in to defend the merchant, covering their successful escape. This happens just before the liberation of lothal.

It's a running idea I've been playing around with.

---

At one point, during a marriage ceremony in the capital, Ezra is explaining customs of lothal marriage to Kallus and asking Kallus about customs from his homeworld. Kallus explains some of the lower levels marriage customs and the only thing Ezra picks up on and tells Kallus with full confidence is that Ezra is going to be Kallus’s Best/Made of Honor. And Kallus absolutely does not have it in him to correct any word Ezra just spoke so he says he looks forward to it then. And it makes Ezra so damn happy that Kallus is almost willing to get married just because Ezra wants to be his Best/Made Of Honor.

(And yes, I absolutely will make everyone cry about this later on)

---

I'm not sure if I've talked about this or where I may have spoken about this, but the Prophecy of Lasan still very much happens even if it's not about Kallus hunting down the ghost crew. Now, that is my personal favourite episode and ngl I may have to change bits around. I'm still figuring this all out. So it's not set in stone.

But at the time that the prophecy is being run through, Kallus still very much is Bold & Blood thirsty, it just isn't in the pursuit of rebels.

Kallus just lost Mira & Ephraim. They're dead. He'd been searching for them for almost four years now, and by the time he locates them, it's too late. That had been the task he was so focused on, it was often the goal that got him through the utter isolation and icy hostility of the empire. The goal that might make the fact that he had to leave Ezra worth it. Ezra might not forgive him for leaving him, but as long as Kallus can reunite the Bridgers as a free family, it will be worth it. It would have been worth it. But they're gone. He failed so miserably. He left Ezra, who suffered in the streets just as Kallus had when he was a child, and doesn't even have anything to show for it. He had one goal and he failed.

For a period of time, Kallus becomes much more reckless. To the point where Ezra notices even from the other side. And Zeb notices too. He notices Ezra’s reaction. At one point, Zeb and Kallus cross paths and Zeb saves Kallus from getting himself caught. Zeb still doesn't know anything that's up with Kallus, or what history Kallus and Ezra share. Just before saving Kallus, he quickly pieced together that whatever the man is doing, it sure as shit isn't for the empire.

Zeb chides him for his recklessness, for acting as though there isn't someone who still very obviously cares about him.

It's slightly around this point that Kallus stages a "trap" to pass information to Zeb and they end up getting trapped on Bahryn. There's a continuation of that conversation, and also of Kallus admiting fault in his reactions to Zeb when they first met. Zeb still shows him kindness and honor and something about it saves Kallus from himself.

After leaving bahryn, Kallus is much more careful and he becomes Fulcrum.

---

Also I'm still so ill about the relationship that Tseebo and Kallus have with each other. Like damn bro. Everything about it hurts. How much they care for each other and how that entire arc happens and plays out.

And then AND THEN- ALSO

I'm so ill about post s2 all the way through to early s3 when Ezra is having to cope with another parental figure in his life leaving him. And Kanan isn't even physically being taken from him. He's right *there* and yet the distance is suffocating. And Ezra’s trying so hard to cope with the feeling like it's his fault, that this was an unforseen result of *his* actions. And no matter what he does, nothing is bringing Kanan back to him.

His parents got taken away from the empire, and even during the 5 years that followed, and he got to see them, they were never truly together because of the circumstances. They were never truly his again. And then Kallus having always been a slight distance, and then grew so close just to be yanked so far out of his reach to try and chase something that Ezra couldn't see. Its been so long that he isnt sure who or what Kallus is fighting for. Tseebo was supposed to be with him while he waited for Kallus to return, but Tseebo ran for a very different reason. And then Ezra thought that it would finally be fine because here's Kanan and Hera, but Kanan isn't even physically separated from him. And he's losing him too. And he's pretty sure it's his own fault.

Just the flavor of angst-

[purple-plum-petals]

Hello! If not a bother, I'd like to request a TWST matchup (either platonic or romantic is fine). I enjoy writing a lot (particularly darker content). I love theater and the natural world a lot (to the point my entire family and all my friends are now giving me animal- and marine based presents lol), perhaps it's the 'tism, but I find it so fascinating and beautiful, every creature is just a lovable little guy to me, and the way every plant, fungi, and cell work together to create the world we know, is incredible.

I have been told that the traits I find loveable aren't universally shared, such as when I find it cute that snails can have thousands of teeth. But I just find it hard not to marvel at all these things.

I'm very patient, and while things often fly over my head, and I struggle to read people, I try very hard to understand everyone around me, as a result, I tend to not judge people, instead getting to know them, and I value communication highly, as I am not good at guessing or intuitively knowing.

I do tend to get a bit lost in my own head and interests though, and tend to spend a lot of time alone, being quite introverted - so sometimes I might need a reminder to actually interact, but I'm working on it.

Thank you for sending in a match-up; I think that either Rook Hunt or Silver would be good matches for you!

I was actually debating between Silver and Jade, but ultimately, I picked Silver for your match-up since I think with Jade you would need to be good at guessing how he's feeling since he's not open and honest about himself in that regard. He would be a great person to talk to about your interests and hobbies, though, considering he loves fungi and is literally a merman haha.

Rook loves that you, too, appreciate theatre as it's something he does as well. He'd also love to read your stories if you were willing to share them with him as he doesn't mind consuming a darker story every now and again. Rook is also quite the outdoorsman, so he would love to accompany you if you want to take a hike or venture out into the wilderness. Rook is also someone who can understand your awe at the beauty of the world, even such small and seemingly minuscule things such as how cells function, and he does so without any judgement; he's honestly very supportive of you and your interests and would happily sit and listen to you talk about them all day every day if he were able to. Rook would also relate to your ability to find traits or facts universally deemed as being weird or gross to be cute instead; he, too, sees the beauty in the "strange" and "unconventional." He's also understanding of your need for alone time and space, but he's also the kind of person who will happily give you reminders to get out and socialize; Rook won't overstep your boundaries, but he's there to give you a push if you need it.

Silver has an almost supernatural ability to draw animals of every variety to him so if you ever wanted to see a specific animal up close and personal, Silver would be happy to make your dreams a reality as he somehow seems to communicate with the animals without ever uttering a single word. Silver is also, much like you, a very patient individual who also has a difficult time reading others. Unlike some of the other students at Night Raven College, Silver is always open to communicate with you about how he's feeling or how you're feeling in regard to your relationship, and he always does so calmly and kindly with no judgement. He also understands and respects your need to be alone given your introverted nature and will gladly give you space if you need it as all you need to do is tell him. Thankfully, though, being with Silver doesn't take as much social battery as it may with other people. You two spend a lot of your time together alone in silence, Silver usually sleeping while you focus on learning or reading about the things you are passionate about.

[etovest]

hello! do u have any garden headcanons that you'd be willing to share... i loved how well you managed to grasp them in so little words ❤️

hallo sorry it took me so long to answer this! (and Thank YOU!! for the nice compliment :)) )

also boy do I have headcanons or just what I think could happen if they end up together (AND ALIVE?) so here we go

Warren's absolutely inept at cooking he Tries and he Knows how to survive on his own but he's more than happy to leave Gordon alone in the kitchen and let him work his magic (I also don't think Gordon's that good either but he's willing to try for warren)

Gordon sleeps with his socks on, Warren says it's stupid and Gordon pulls out his phone with that article saying it's easier to fall asleep with them on and they have a Debate abt it

also think both of them have a sweet tooth but Gordon's actually pathologic like three spoonfuls of sugar + milk into tea and Warren's like arent u afraid of losing your teeth and Gordon's like (girls who like sweets when they meet bitches that snort sugar)

Warren strikes me as a morning person or even if not necessarily loving waking up early he's like someone who once wakes up is Awake whereas Gordon's fully nonfuncional in the morning and Warren has to drag him around he pretends to hate it but he doesn't of course

i think neither Warren nor Gordon are Conventionally Pretty cos that's boring but Gordon was in a metal band he's since long embraced being a Freak while Warren's still self concious in the silent way but Gordon genuinely thinks he's the most handsome man alive like he's truly convinced Warren is this mythical relict that only the pure of heart can find and appreciate which makes Warren feel so embarrassed but after a while he embraces it and they become so obsessed with each other from an outside perspective it's frightening

idk why but it think they both try to become vegetarian for Waffles (it makes sense in my head) but they like full english breakfast too much so they Just can't it's funny to me ok

Warren says he was a punk (pointing at Gordon) just to see Gordon get red in the face and explain At Length just how much punk and metal are different genres because he was born in the eighties so He's like That and how while he can see the strength of certain messages conveyed through punk music it's just Not at all like metal where techinque and actual musical ability is valued but also he played bass so maybe he's more chill about it but he still wants to point it out ok he isn't Punk and Warren does it because he's insane about Gordon getting heated and at a certain point he just tunes him out it's like asmr to him

they both have Issues and so it takes them a while to get it together like Warren is in love but won't say anything because he thinks what they have is too good to ruin and Gordon still thinks Warren is Fragile and also possibly straight? but once they Do get it together they still don't define it because it's Too big and too personal to have a name like I am 100% serious when I'm saying that I think their relationship is Overwhelming in the most romanticly haunting sense but they balance it well it works with them exclusively

both of them are tactile people but Warren won't initiate any contact he's more like a dog that accepts pats but doesn't get up to search for them

Warren's a tidy person and Gordon's more "There's method to my madness" but he's an Archivist so he's got every important document cared for and has extremely good spacial memory i like to think that a few years down the line (in my universe where they are happy and live together) they become sort of telepathic and when Warren needs something he doesn't even have to ask he's just like "Have you seen the- and Gordon's there "Top right corner of the shelf in the bathroom" and they do this All the time

I HAVE MORE? I think but IDK how to be normal so this will be all for now thank u and thanks again for the sweet compliment have a nice LIFE ANON 🌟🌟

[laceyamethyst]

i love love the mission universe and i just want to thank you so much for writing it!! your dialogue is so natural and always makes me laugh. i was once reading it in the train and had to stop several times because i was getting dangerously red in the face from trying not to laugh so hard in public (this was specifically for chapter 2 of the lestappen proposal fic, which was FUCKING INCREDIBLE by the way!!) i am so excited to see your logan and arthur fic bc i personally am obsessed w logan so i love seeing arthur being the same way!! (also that one hint of logan just letting arthur lead the way while they’re in the club, that it’s so unexpected to max but also so right?? i’m obsessed!! personally i believe logan is a bitch but actually so soft to the people he loves and willing to do whatever they want.. he acts self absorbed but whoops! he’s actually just listening to your every word and following it while trying not to be obvious about it.) also if i could request anything it would be some protective oscar.. we’ve seen that logan is so willing to throw down for oscar, but we haven’t necessarily seen the same about oscar? like yes he was upset but he’s always too chill to really get upset.. personally i think it would be hilarious if the first time everyone sees him lose his shit is when logan is all sad <33 but ofc ignore me if you have plans!! i just decided to word vomit in your inbox which means i’ve lost the plot bc i wanted to say how much i loved your fic and instead just given you headcanons.. anyways main idea: you’re an incredible writer and your dialogue and texts and just the dynamic between everyone is amazing. it’s so dangerous to read your fics bc a) i will be obsessed for dayssss and b) they’re a choking hazard fr fr. thank you so much for sharing this universe w us!! <33

akjfdsfjl anon, this is such a wonderful message, my heart is so so full 🧡 thank youuuu

LOL chapter 2 of the lestappen proposal fic my god, i was truly writing that on my last unhinged brain cell muttering 'this is either my finest hour or my final hour idk.' i'm so glad you enjoyed the ride

i am also obsessed with logan(!!!) i did not expect to fall in love with him while writing this fic but we are really in it deep now folks. and i'm so happy you caught that little detail of him letting arthur lead when they danced! (too bad arthur is BLIND).

i debated for a long time whether it would be charles or oscar who exploded at arthur at the end of "he built a fire" but charles screaming in french was something i apparently needed to get out of my system. but i agree, we need protective oscar, and i will absolutely be making that happen in the larthur fic

thank you for taking the time to message me this, anon, i can't stress enough how much it means to me that you enjoy the verse so much 🧡 and i always always welcome headcanons, i will happily scream about these silly boys any day

[dukeofankh]

i LOVE your post re male sexuality / ex christian recovery.

i debated whether to comment bc it’s an extremely personal topic, you know how strangers love to be overly familiar, but man your post really slaps!!

i went through a similar process as a man. and i think most men are somewhere on that road as well, even if many get lost. but you’ve clearly achieved this clarity and confidence, really pushed through a tangle of guilt and reactivity that is so confusing and horrible to live with, and i think that’s so cool.

gay guys prob have it a bit easier bc less of the standard messaging/dogma really applies to us, plus our male sexuality is mutually enjoyed — easier to find pride when it’s reflected back at you so self-evidently positive. if that makes sense.

basically, massive props to you for wading through it with women. that’s gotta be WAY harder imo. bigger cultural “predator” messaging, less familiarity, less simplicity. much less support available for healing bc so many people STILL buy the dogma.

wow long message, my bad. just saying i’m really impressed. you’ve got a solid foundation now for incredibly fulfilling relationships and you’re making the most of it. awesome!!

Thank you so much for your kind words! I've been getting so much positivity from this and it has honestly entirely shocked me.

I definitely feel like I'm still working at it, and I'm fully in my thirties, so it's a lot longer of a path than I ever thought it would be when I stopped believing in god and thought "well, good thing I'm putting all this I Kissed Dating Goodbye crap behind me."

In addition to just revelling in the praise (which I am working to accept and celebrate, considering how readily and openly as I would have internalized it if it had been criticism) I do also wanna respect and commiserate the connection between multiple identities and our experiences, because I've been getting so many different sorts of people seeing themselves in this post.

Your experience as a gay guy makes so much sense. I'm so happy you get to have that direct reflection of your own desire within your partner. An ally against self-loathing. Both a willing and eager recipient of your sexual hunger and someone who expresses that hunger right back.

I've also been hearing from trans women who have to still deal with the socialized self hatred that they've struggled to unlearn even after transitioning.

I've been hearing from cis wlw who have had to unlearn feeling like a predator, a wolf hidden among sheep.

I've heard from transmascs struggling to move past the fruitless task of trying to navigate the perceived dissonance between pure cinnamon roll queerness and evil, predatory masculinity.

And I do also want to give a shoutout to women who suffered the womens end of purity culture in a very straightforward way, the learned fear, the slut shaming, and who are telling me that they just...hadn't ever heard this side of it before. I love finding people who understand where I'm coming from, but I also deeply cherish when people get the chance to share and build community with people who have different perspectives. I've learned a lot from their stories over the years, and getting to share mine as well is lovely.

Like, it does suck for everyone. We do not like this system. I love that we can find community and solidarity in our struggle with something that has caused us so much pain, even as it takes all these different forms.

I know I did tell someone pretty early on that I am zeroed in on the masculine experience of this system, mainly because I was worried about that experience being erased and subsumed into a very different conversation but that hasn't happened, and it's made me feel really great.

Thank you!

[theycallme-thejackal]

Rose smelling Lenny’s aftershave after a secret visit

Pairing: Lenny Bruce & Midge Maisel Rated T

Her daughter has a new man in her life.

There have been little clues over the last few weeks, but it's not until Rose catches the distinct scent of aftershave on Miriam's dressing gown that she is absolutely certain.

It's a reminder of just how far apart she and Miriam have grown. She used to be her daughter's closest confidante. Miriam used to come to her with all of her problems, and now...

Rose feels like she's a stranger.

Miriam heads to her bathroom to get ready for the day, and a few minutes later, Rose knocks on the door. "Miriam?" She calls.

"Yes, Mama?"

"May I come in?"

"Sure," Miriam calls back, and Rose steps inside the room, closing the door behind her. "You seem very happy this morning," she comments, meeting her daughter's gaze in the mirror.

The younger woman smiles as she dusts powder onto her face. "It's a nice day," she comments. "I have a meeting with Susie this afternoon and a show tonight."

Rose purses her lips for a moment. "So this has nothing to do with your gentleman caller?" She asks.

Miriam's eyes widen in surprise. "How did you know?"

"Your dressing gown smells of aftershave," she replies, and Miriam averts her gaze. "You used to share things with me. No matter how big or small, you used to tell me about your life. I miss that."

Miriam bites her lip gently before turning to face her. "I miss it, too," she admits. "But I'm...so afraid of disappointing you. You disapprove of my career, you disapprove of my divorce, and I don't think I'll be able to bear it if you disapprove of - "

She cuts herself off, and Rose feels a pang of sadness that her daughter feels she can't even share the name of her new beau.

"Mama, I want our relationship to be how it was before," she swears. "But I don't know how to share these things with you anymore. It feels like every bit of my life has become deplorable to you."

Rose looks down at her hands, feeling so similarly to that night nearly two years ago when she walked in to find her daughter with a black Chanel dress, ready to go somewhere she wasn't willing to divulge. "Are you in love with this man?" She asks quietly.

Her daughter stares at her for a moment, silently debating whether or not to share her feelings, and Rose is relieved when a soft smile meets Miriam's lips and she nods. "I am," she whispers.

"Well," Rose breathes. "Then your father and I should meet him. If he is that important to you...we should become acquainted with him."

"Um...you have met him," Miriam says, and Rose begins to rack her brain for the men in her daughter's life who she might be dating. She comes up blank until Miriam says, "It's Lenny."

It takes every bit of Rose's self control not to appear shocked. She manages to keep her features schooled and says, "And...he makes you happy?"

Miriam's smile grows a bit. "He does. I know he's not what you and Papa want for me - I mean, he's a comic, he's got an arrest record, and...there are some other things you won't approve of, but...he's good to me. He loves me," she explains. "He's actually a very sweet man, and I think you will really like him if you just give him a chance."

Rose nods slowly. "If he is that important to you...then I will," she promises.

Miriam looks like she's going to cry when she says, "Thank you, Mama."

"You're my daughter, Miriam. I only want what's best for you, and if I've been...harsh...it's only because of that."

Miriam nods and steps forward, slipping her arms around her waist and resting her head on her shoulder the way she used to when she was a child. Rose holds her, petting her hair gently for a moment. "We'll set a date to meet Leonard properly, and I promise to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Thank you, Mama."

[nar-nia]

for @suneonu . i love you 🩷

~~~

Green and brown. Those were the colors that filled your vision when you entered the apartment you shared with your boyfriend. Green and brown balloons, green and brown banners, green and brown-

“Is that a mint chocolate cake?” Your eyes lit up as you sprinted towards the cake, completely startling the boy in front of it.

“You're home already? I thought you were at uni until 2?”

“I was supposed to.” You shrugged. “But I figured I have better things to do on my birthday than being bored at uni.”

“Oh,” Sunoo pouted. “Now I couldn't even hide and scream surprise.”

“I can just come back in and pretend it was the first time.” You were joking, but Sunoos eyes lit up at the suggestion.

“Would you do that? I just need like 5 more minutes.”

“Do I get a kiss in return?”

“As many as you want.” Sunoo beamed while he softly kissed you, hands on your hips. The kiss didn't last long, way too short in your opinion, but your boyfriend already pushed your hips away from him towards the door. “Now come on, just 5 more minutes.”

You couldn't help but smile as you watched him close the door behind you. He seemed to have put a lot of thought into this surprise, so why not be nice and wait those 5 minutes he needed. Especially if you got more kisses in return. And this big mint choco cake… you were still debating if you were even willing to share it with Sunoo. Sometimes it was a curse that you and him had the same favorite dessert.

You kept checking the clock, until it was finally time. With a huge smile on your face you rang the bell, waiting for Sunoo to open it. But nothing. You were hesitating. Did he need more time? Or were you just supposed to go in by yourself? You rang the bell but still, nothing. So you decided to open the door yourself, only your head peaking in.

“Are you ready? Can I come in?”

Sunoo didn't reply, so you figured that it was okay for you to enter the apartment. Either that, or he was hiding somewhere because he decided he wanted the cake for himself after all.

“Sunoo? Are you okay?”

You entered the kitchen again, and somehow there was even more green and brown than before. And a card lying on the table. You were stepping closer to read it, but-

“Surprise!!!”

You let out a little scream, wide eyes staring at Sunoo. “What-”

“Happy birthday, y/n.” Before you could react he had already trapped you in a hug, squeezing you tightly. “I love you so much.”

“Is that why you wanted me to wait? So you could hide?”

“Yep.”

You laughed, squeezing him back. “God, I love you. Thank you, Sunoo.”

He replied with a bunch of kisses, only disturbed by his birthday wishes.

“Okay!” He called after a while. “Let's not lie here. I know you love my kisses but I also know how much you're glancing at the cake.”

“I-” You were speechless. “That's not true.”

“We both know that's a lie.”

“It's nooot.” You whined. “... Maybe a bit.”

He smirked at you. “I knew it. Let's not keep us waiting any longer then.”

“Us? I thought this was my cake,” you laughed as you grabbed Sunoos hand, both of you sitting down at the table. “Did you bake it yourself?”

“Well, I tried. But things went wrong and I almost cried so I called Jay to help.”

“I love you,” you mumbled again, eyes now focused on the cake. It looked so good, you couldn't wait to try it. Thankfully you didn't have to wait long, Sunoo being equally eager and curious about it so he quickly cut down two slices for you.

The cake tasted amazing, and not just because you and Sunoo loved mint chocolate. You could almost taste the effort and love that went into it, every bite making you more happy than the last.

“I think it turned out pretty well.” Sunoo had a satisfied smile on his face. “I’m proud of myself.”

“So am I. This tastes amazing, Sun.” You smiled back. “This is already my favorite birthday.”

“Oooh!” He almost jumped up, startling you. “Just wait until you see your presents!”

“Was that not the present already?” you laughed, but you already knew the answer.

“You deserve much more than a cake, Mo.”

You almost had to stop yourself from letting out a giggle, your cheeks turning a soft pink color. “You flatter me too much. Just look at what you've already done - I couldn't ask for more.”

“Well you should. You're the best so you deserve the best, you know. And besides - someone who loves mint choco as much as I do needs to be celebrated every day.”

“Is that why you love me?” you grinned. “I knew it.”

“It is!” Sunoo declared. “If you had said no to mint choco on our first date we wouldn't have made it to the second.”

“Oh really? Because I was almost debating leaving right away when you just took a bite of my mint choco ice cream.”

“Well- I didn't want to order it right away. I was nervous. So I had to try yours.”

The two of you laughed again at the fond memory shared, your eyes meeting.

“I’m really glad we made it to that second date,” you whispered.

“So am I,” Sunoo smiled. “Happy birthday again, Mo.”

~~~

you deserve the best and the world for your birthday, and my story is neither of that. but i still hope it fills you with joy and makes you smile on this special day. happy birthday, sprout 🩷 i love you so much and i am so happy we are friends.