#but i was so happy that i got you sierra and i had a lot of fun writing this!!! hope you enjoy reading ittt

[knightzp]

HIII @viatrix-glow i am your secret valentine for @valensemblestars !!! i wrote you this switch natsumugi fic, i really hope you like it sierra <33

[flowerxbunnie]

can you pls pls write about shy reader she and chris are a recent couple and one day he founds out that she likes dirty talk and tries that with her

Dirty Secret

Chris x Fem reader

Warnings: SMUTTYYY smut, lots of dirty talk, degradation/praise

DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE NOT OKAY WITH SMUT OR ARE A MINOR!

Tags: @lustfulslxt

Chris’s POV

I can’t wipe the dumb smile off my face as I peek at Y/n’s nightstand, multiple tubes of chapstick covering the surface along with notebooks, pens, scrunchies, and lots of half empty water bottles. Her personality shows in her room so clearly, methodic but carefree.

These past four months have made me nothing but happy. We’ve done a good job at keeping our relationship out of the public eye after agreeing she didn’t want to handle any kickback from my fans yet. I hate that I can’t show her off, but it’s for the best, at least at this point.

I roam around her room with no ultimate goal, just waiting for her to get back from her nail appointment and I got bored. I scan her makeup table, brushes and random products strewn about as evidence that she’d been here hours before. Her jackets and hats hang on a hook behind her door and I run my fingers across the different fabrics, moving closer to inhale the vanilla scent that floods my mind with images of her. Fairly lights twinkle above her bed, something I’ve definitely taken notice of during all our nights tangled in her sheets.

I move to her bookshelf and look at all the spines of her books, some neatly lined up and some thrown haphazardly into piles. There’s collectible figures of the things she likes, crystals, and random little trinkets littering the shelves. I can’t help but reach out and touch the book that’s lying on the shelf at my eye level, running my fingers along all the multicolored sticky notes she’s placed into her favorite pages.

I guess it was a little too close to the edge, because even my light touch caused it to topple over and fall open, landing face down on the carpet below. I breathe out a curse and lean down to pick it up and put it exactly how I found it. I don’t want Y/n to think I’ve been snooping, because I haven’t. I’m just admiring all the little things that make her room feel like home to her.

I close the book and bring it back up to the shelf, turning it around to glance at the cover. Priest by Sierra Simone. I know a lot about Y/n already, but I didn’t know she was into religion. Sounds like a biography from the summary on the back. Something about a priest breaking their vow of celibacy and needing to confess. My interest is growing, I didn’t think she would enjoy this kind of book, maybe I should take a peek?

I pick the first sticky note my fingers brush across, knowing Y/n highlighted it for a reason. An audible gasp falls out of my mouth as a skim across the words on the page.

“Stay the fuck still, or I’m going to come before I want to, and if that happens, then I will take you over my knee and spank your ass until you learn how to listen.”

“What the fuck?” I question out loud.

I flip through multiple pages, each sticky note highlighting incredibly filthy words. It’s a fucking sex book. My cheeks burn at the thought of her reading these while she’s alone in her room, wondering what she looks like as she’s turning the pages and writhing with anticipation. I grab onto a pink sticky note and pull on it, flipping it to the page and reading what she had highlighted.

“But I won’t lie. It makes me hard as fuck knowing that I was the first man to taste you.”

This sticky note has her own handwriting smeared across it. I squint to make out the words.

If Chris would have said that to me…

Ouch, I think?

I’m not a vanilla guy by any means, but I’m not the weird fuck from 50 Shades of Grey either. I think our sex life is great, it’s more than enough to keep me satisfied. We’ve made love in the car, fucked while she was bent over her dining room table, stolen kisses in restaurant bathrooms after we snuck away from our friends. It’s all been so exciting to me, and even better because it’s with her.

I continue flying through the pages, my eyes widening at every line she made a point to come back to. This dude talks so much while he’s fucking this chick.

“No, don’t touch yourself, sweetheart. We’re going to get there together.”

Remind Chris to be more vocal!

It all clicks in my bird brain. I’m a fucking idiot. She’s highlighted almost all dialogue. She wants me to talk more during sex. I’ll admit, I’m not the best at speaking my mind while she’s bouncing on me or sprawled out below me. But why hasn’t she told me yet? I hope she hasn’t been disappointed with how things have been going.

I put the book back and angle it as best as I can remember, moving to lay down on top of her comforter. I stretch my back out and throw my arms behind my head, thinking about what I’m going to do when she gets home.

Y/n’s POV

I take my keys out of the door and lock it behind me, smiling as I see Chris’s sneakers sitting on the shoe rack in my entryway. My nails took way longer than I expected and I’m just so excited to be able to waste the rest of my day away with him. I make my way down the hall after placing my shoes next to his and creep into my bedroom, sprinting and jumping to lay beside Chris who’s stretched across my bed.

“Hiiii baby, I missed youuu!” I singsong before pressing a kiss against his stubbly cheek.

“Mmm, missed you more.” he mumbles into my neck as he turns and molds his body into mine.

His arms encircle me and the smell of his cologne floods my senses, washing a wave of comfort over me. I could lay like this forever.

“Let’s see the nails,” he says as he breaks away from me, suddenly sitting up and grabbing my hands.

I sit up beside him and watch as his large hands hold my own, moving my fingers around and watching the duo chrome polish shift colors in the light. His smile spreads from ear to ear as he takes notice of the “C” I asked the nail tech to paint onto my ring finger.

“Aren’t they so cute??” I squeal, so ecstatic at the way they turned out.

“So cute,” he coos, bringing them to his lips to place a tender kiss on each finger. “I think they’d look even cuter wrapped around my cock.” He says in a low growl as he brings my hand down to his lap, shoving my palm onto the fabric of his sweatpants.

I feel his erection through the layers of clothing, rock hard and throbbing. I can’t help but gasp at his words, I’ve never heard him speak like this before. I watch as his pupils dilate, the black overtaking the blue of his iris as he flickers his eyes to my lips.

“Nothing to say, sweetheart?” He asks almost in a belittling tone.

“N-no I just.. I’ve never heard you say something like that,” I squeak out as he pushes my hand down with more force.

“What, you don’t like it?” He says with a smirk.

“I don’t know.. I th-think so..” I stammer.

“When were you gonna tell me, hm? Such an innocent girl reading such filthy books. Does it turn you on?” His hand leaves mine against his hard on and comes up to caress my cheek.

“Huh, what are you talking about?” I spit out at him, my cheeks igniting red with visible embarrassment.

Has he snooped through my room?

“I saw it all, baby. And it’s okay. It’s okay if you need me to tell you how dirty of a girl you are, or how good you make me feel. You have to let me know these things..” he trails off as his thumb brushes against my lip, smearing my peppermint chapstick onto the corner of my mouth.

“I-I’m sorry, Chris. I don’t… I didn’t know how to bring it up. I didn’t want you to think I was weird.” I look down, intimidated by his cold gaze, and he tilts my head back up, his eyes serious.

“It’s not weird. Do you touch yourself to those books baby? Reading about a man talking to a woman like that.. does it make you feel good?” He whispers the last sentence and his free hand finds my inner thigh, caressing and warming my skin.

I nod sheepishly, afraid to speak my thoughts out loud to Chris.

“Use your words. Do you ever imagine it’s me saying those things?”

“Y-yes… every single time.” I say as I release a breath.

He groans and pushes my hair behind my ear, inching closer to me and ghosting his lips over my ear. “Such a naughty girl.”

Shivers fall down my spine as he places a kiss onto the sensitive skin between my ear and jaw, his lips lingering and sucking lightly. He slides the hand on my cheek to the back of my neck, lacing his fingers into my hair and pulling down, my neck exposed to him.

“Look at the way your body reacts to me.” He whispers, placing a finger onto my jugular, and I feel it pulsing mercilessly beneath his touch.

He moves his hand to grip around my throat, his thumb and fingers pressed firmly against both pulse points of my neck. My head begins to tingle, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. His lips pepper wet kisses along my jaw, every one of them seeping into my skin and heightened from the constricted blood flow.

“You like that, my hand around your throat? I could squeeze as hard as I want.” he says before constricting his grip.

My core begins to throb hearing his inner thoughts spill from his mouth. My field of vision starts to shrink, a black vignette closing in.

“I’d never hurt you like that, sweetheart. But don’t you like the risk?” He suddenly releases his hold on my throat and all my blood rushes back up into my head. I’m dizzy and completely aroused for him.

I nod furiously before his lips crash against mine, low growls seeping out of his throat and being released into my mouth. He bites and tugs at my bottom lip before pulling away and licking a hot stripe up my chin and back up to my mouth. His lips meet mine again, his mouth open and begging for my tongue. I push it into his mouth only to be dominated, not standing a chance as his hunger grows.

Chris’s hands latch onto my hips, lifting me off the mattress and into his lap, his erection poking at my core. He breaks the kiss and grabs the hem of my shirt, sliding his hands up along with the fabric. I help him get it off, discarding it somewhere in my room. His eyes burn holes into my chest, examining the bralette covering the skin. He grabs the bottom and slides it up, my breasts bouncing as they fall out in front of him. He pushes the excess fabric up to rest on the plate of my chest.

“Fuck, Y/n. If I died with my face in your tits I’d be happy.”

He begins ravaging my breasts, nipping and licking and leaving red and purple marks across the skin. He sucks my nipples while looking so deep into my eyes I start to think he can see the back of my skull. The line of pain and pleasure is completely blurred when he takes one of my swollen nipples between his teeth and tugs on it.

“F-fuck, Chris..” I cry out, bucking my hips instinctively and pressing down onto his throbbing dick.

He lets out a deep moan, gripping my waist and prompting me to stop my movements. “You’re gonna make me cum if you keep doing that. I’m so fucking hard it hurts.”

I let out a little grin and begin to rock back and forth again, his head falling against the headboard with his eyes squeezed shut. His cock rubs against my clit through the multiple layers of clothing, but the pressure and friction still causes both of us to pant and moan in unison. He brings his head back up and grips my hips tighter this time, my body unable to move.

“Such a dirty girl. Can’t listen to simple instructions.”

He removes his shirt, a layer of sweat starting to form on his skin, then brings my bra over my head, not bothering with the clasp. He throws it across the room and then lifts my legs to remove my shorts before lifting me up and sliding his sweatpants off, all of which meet the same fate as the rest of the discarded clothes. He presses a hand against my chest, my back hitting the bed as he pushes me down. He comes to hover over me, his eyes dark and half lidded. His knee is pressed inbetween my thighs touching my core with a teasing amount of pressure.

“You’ve already made such a mess, baby..” he says with false concern, referring to the wetness that has seeped through my panties and is touching his skin.

“I’m s-sorry..” I whine, fighting the urge to grind against his knee.

“Don’t apologize, sweet girl. I’ll help you out.”

Chris trails kisses down my chest and stomach, randomly sucking marks into my skin on the way down. He circles his tongue around my navel before licking across it, a trace amount of his warm saliva dripping in. He traces his tongue along the lace hem of my panties, his breath burning against my skin as he grips it with his teeth.

“Please, Chris..” I whine and push him closer to the place I need him most.

His eyes show his grin as he dips his face down, flattening his tongue across the fabric covering my core. He licks and sucks at it, humming and closing his eyes as he spreads my legs apart.

“So sweet,” He whispers as he flicks his tongue up and down.

He hooks his fingers into the band of my panties and pulls, his mouth only disconnecting for a brief second to slide them down my legs before his tongue finally connects with my bare pussy. I arch my back off the bed and cry out as his tongue works against my heat. I’m a mess under him- gripping the sheets, tugging on his brown waves, grabbing my own breasts, doing whatever I can to release some of the tension building up in my body.

“You like the way my tongue feels on you, princess?” He asks in a raspy voice as he wipes his wet mouth with the back of his hand.

“Yes.. fuck please keep going..” I pant, not wanting to lose momentum as my climax has started inching its way to the top.

“How about you do what you need? Use my face and get yourself off.”

He leans back down and presses his tongue against me, holding still as he keeps eye contact. I start circling my hips, feeling the way his tongue remains in place as I grind against it. I grip onto his face and pull it closer, moving my hips down so his nose rubs my clit and his tongue rubs up and down my folds. I buck up and down in complete control and he hums against me to the point I feel like my intestines are vibrating. I speed up and increase the pressure as my stomach begins to ache with a familiar feeling.

I nearly scream, tensing up as my body burns through my climax. He remains still just letting me use him as I ride through it and come down, my grip on his hair relaxing and my body falling slack on the bed.

“Taste yourself baby. Let me show you what you did, all for me.” He whispers against my lips after he climbs to hover over me.

I’m still trying to catch my breath as his lips collide onto mine. I taste my own juices on his tongue, sweet and tangy. He presses his hips down onto my stomach and reminds me of his need, humping forward a few times and moaning into my mouth.

“Now are you gonna bend over or just sit there and look pretty?” He growls as he swiftly stands up and pulls his boxers down.

His pink tip is swollen and leaking precum. His grips his hand around his base and squeezes until his knuckles turn white, his head falling back out of pleasure or maybe the throbbing pain, there’s no way to tell. His eyes lock onto mine and he starts pumping up and down on his dick, sucking in a sharp breath.

“I asked you a question, sweetheart.”

I pull myself to my feet as quick as I can and limp to the end of the bed, my legs like jelly after tensing up so hard.

“That’s cute. Can’t wait to carry you to the shower after this one.” he smirks and licks his lips.

My breath hitches as I turn around and bend over the footboard of the bed. His hands run up and down my ass, jiggling it before giving me a light smack with both hands. I gasp, jumping forward and my ribs hit the wood I’m bent over.

“So fucking hot, can’t believe this is all mine,” he coos, running his fingers down my folds before wiping my juices onto my lower back.

I feel his head against my clit, slick with warm precum. He soaks himself in my juices as he swipes it across my entrance, barely dipping in as he grips my hip with one hand.

“Chris.. oh my god. P-please just fuck me.” I whine, my legs already shaking and twitching.

“Mmm I plan on it, baby.” he whispers before slowly pushing forward.

He slowly gives me inch by delicious inch, my walls stretching around his thickness as we moan out together. He starts slow and stays deep inside me, barely pumping in and out. He runs his hands up and down my spine as he rocks into me, his breathing slow and controlled. My pussy clenches around him as his tip brushes repeatedly over a sensitive spot.

“P-please Chris go faster,” I draw out in a moan.

He listens. His thrusts become rough and rapid, my ribs slamming against the wood with each stroke but my brain seems to tune it out. He keeps his grip on my waist with one hand and reaches around to my face with the other, shoving two fingers in my mouth. I suck on them hard, swirling and lapping my tongue around them.

“Such a fucking slut, so willing to have all your holes filled, aren’t you?” He pants as he hooks his fingers onto the corner of my mouth and pulls back.

“Nhgnh.. fuck..” is all I can manage through his manipulation of my mouth.

“What? Am I fucking you dumb? Can’t even get your words out.”

I moan in response and feel my pussy throbbing around him, my lower abdomen on fire as I climb to my next release.

“S-so close..” I mumble as drool drips down my chin.

He lets go of my mouth and grips my waist, his thumbs pressing into the dimples on my back.

“You need me to cum in you, don’t you? I know you wanna be filled up, so full your eyes start to float.” He pumps as deep as he can go, my eyes rolling back into my head and words failing to form. “Answer me.” He spits with a smack on my ass.

“Please… p-please cum in me. Need it.. s-so bad Chris!”

With that he shoves his hips against me and shoots his hot load into my pussy, coating my walls as I fall over the edge with him. I’m screaming his name as he moans mine, pure ecstasy echoing through my room. I feel his cum leaking down my legs, such a big load that it has nowhere else to go. His thrusts slow down before they come to a halt, his dick still twitching inside me.

He pulls out and hums as he backs up and takes in the sight in front of him. I have no energy to stand, my muscles aching and tired.

“Look at that. God I wish I could burn this into my brain.”

He walks over to me, wrapping his arms around my torso and lifts me, my legs helping very little to hold me up. He hooks an arm under my thighs and picks me up to hold me bridal style. I’m so tired that my head can only manage to flop against his chest, and I hear his rapid heartbeat in my ear.

He starts to walk towards my bathroom but first places a lingering kiss on my forehead. I can feel the smile on his lips.

“Told you I’d have to carry you to the shower.”

[bartxnhood]

you belong with me | l.r.h

luke hemmings x fem!songwriter!reader

summary: after luke finds out just what your song was about, his life was flipped upside down.

warnings: unrequited love, break up, lots of crying, happy ending (who cheered)

wc: 6k

a/n: this is a part two to this so be sure to read that before !

requests open

not proofread

Copyright © 2023 bartxnhood. All rights reserved. This original work is not allowed to be reposted on any platform in any format.

✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵ ✵

you sigh as you put your earbuds in to tune out the sound of the man in the front seat belting the lyrics of ‘we belong together’ by mariah carey with the brunette in the passenger seat.

you couldn’t help but let your eyes linger on the man. his blond, curly hair, just long enough to rest above his eyes, the stubble on his face that hadn’t been shaven in at least two weeks, that pointy nose that was sculpted by the gods, and those ocean blue eyes.

you loved looking into those eyes.

he was your best friend, he was the one constant in your life and now he feels like a stranger.

you’re taken out of your trance when calum nudges your shoulder. “you okay?” he mouths. you nod quickly offering him a smile, looking back down to the book you were reading.

calum sighs, he reaches for his phone and types up a quick message.

-“you sure? you were staring again, y/n..”

-“i’m fine, cal. swear.”

calum huffs but leaves it at that. the two in the front continue belting out the lyrics and calum keeps an eye on you for the rest of the drive.

you should’ve said no, you wanted to say no and stay home where at least you’d be free of the torture. but, with calum being calum he begged you until you agreed. just like he did when he convinced you to open up for them on tour in the early days.

if you had said no then, maybe none of this would’ve happened.

”luke..i..” you wiped your eyes, it was so hard for you to hear that when you had spent all your life with him only to lose him in the end. “i’m sorry.”

luke shook his head, “no, i’m sorry.”

he stands there, looking at you with sorrowful eyes. he can feel himself tearing up but the moment is interrupted by sierra busting through the door. “there you are!” she says, walking over to your side, her hand finding your arm. “are you okay, hon?” her eyes soften, noticing your tears.

you don’t say anything but you nod, looking away while the girl side hugs you. “did luke bother you? i told him specifically to not take away your spotlight tonight” she says in a teasing matter and you laugh softly. but luke doesn’t seem too amused.

“okay, well the guys are ready so whenever you’re ready, luke” sierra says, removing herself from your side then going back inside the club.

“so, what should we do?” luke ask, watching as you wipe your eyes once more. you shrug, “nothing, you’re with sierra. my feelings mean nothing anymore.”

your eyes flutter open as you feel someone shaking you gently, “y/n, wake up we made it” you look at calum then begin stretching out as you look around. you see the tall palm trees as you can smell the breeze of saltwater wafting in from the open doors.

you step out of the vehicle and begin stretching while the others, ashton, michael, and crystal arrive in the other car as you gather your items from the backseat and pack them into your carry on, luke has already begun unpacking the car. “here’s your bags, y/n” he says, you don’t skip a beat to bend down to take your bags and head for the entrance of the beach house and not bat an eye at him.

calum and ashton shared a room, the two couples had their own room, so you were left alone. not that you minded at all, it gave you time to think and have you time. if it ever got too overwhelming, you had your own space.

after spending some time unpacking, you decided to head out of your room and put your toiletries in the bathroom. as you stepped out, you saw everyone gathered around the island in the kitchen, sierra jutting down whatever the other guys were saying. “oh! y/n!” ashton announces which then causes the others to look your way. “we’re making a grocery list. is there anything specific you need?” he adds.

you walk over to the island, standing across from them. “well, what do you have down so far?”

“we have breakfast foods…um some stuff for dinner for the nights we don’t eat out…snacks…” sierra begins listing off everything she had written down with a point of the pen.

“sounds like you got everything then” you hum, with a nod. “one more thing” she adds, “do you care to go with me?”

you look at the sierra across from you and smile softly, “sure. is crystal going too?” the brunette shakes her head, “her and mike went to the beach already. just us two” she smiles awkwardly. “oh, that’s fine. let me get changed and we can head out” you force a smile as you walk out of the kitchen to your bedroom.

the drive to the supermarket was quiet, your eyes glued to the road while sierra did whatever she was doing. given the circumstances, there was a little tension between the two of you and it was very hard for you to deal with.

you really liked sierra, she was a kind soul who saw the good in a lot of things. she had always been there to cheer you up, and you had considered her your best friend. but after that night at the open mic, everything changed.

the drive felt like it lasted forever, but eventually, you arrived at the supermarket.

pushing the shopping cart through the isles while sierra was looking at the list, you occasionally would drop some items in the basket that you wanted for yourself or, you and sierra both agreed on it.

“i really miss hanging out with you..” sierra says, standing at the end of the shopping cart in the drink aisle with you.

you look at her, smiling sadly. “i know, i miss it too. just..work has been..work” you try laughing it off. “i can help, you know. i write songs too” she says. you nod, dropping a case of wine in the cart. “i know, i just don’t want to bother you” you shrug, and begin pushing the cart until the next isle.

you hear sierra sigh, giving you the‘you sound ridiculous’. look. “y/n, it won't bother me! you’re my friend and i’d love to help out” you chuckle softly, “okay fine. after this trip we’ll work together.” you cave, and sierra claps her hands quietly with a big smile on her lips.

as the two of you stroll down the isle of chips and other snacks, your eyes catch the package of a certain snack you hadn’t seen in years. “oh my god!” you announce, letting go of the cart to pickup the bag. “what is it?” the other girl asks. “look” you say, showing the bag to her. “i haven’t seen these in years!”

memories wash over you like a wave as you stare at the packaging. “what are they?” she questions. “these are luke’s favorite! back on tour, we used to keep stashes of these in the bus” you laugh, grabbing an extra bag to also put it in the cart. “we could eat up to two or three bags in a day, the other guys would always get onto us..” you laugh, reminiscing.

“oh really?” sierra didn’t know this. she didn’t know his favorite snacks or drinks. she didn’t know how he would bounce his leg when he had a lyric on his mind and needed to write it down, she didn’t know that when he picked at his face subconsciously it meant he was worried. she didn’t know luke’s favorite movie, she didn’t know that he only wears certain rings, rings you got him. she didn’t know that when luke got quiet it meant he was thinking hard about something. she doesn’t know that luke keeps a song journal with some of his deepest feelings.

but you do.

you know all of this.

by the time you and sierra had arrived at the beach house, the sky was already turning dark. you had taken a couple of bags out of the back and began heading inside. “guys, we need help” you announce, dropping the bags on the kitchen counter.

you turn around see the other five standing up from their seats and going outside, and you follow suit.

it took you, sierra, and the other five to haul the rest of the groceries back inside and to unpack. but thankfully, it was only one trip.

while sierra was handing you boxes of cereal, luke hollered, “oh my god!” everyone whips their heads around, startled by his abrupt yell. “what is it?” ashton asks, and luke grinned holding up the bag of snacks before ripping into them letting the smell waft into his nostrils, letting the memories flood back. “it’s the snacks we used to eat!”

you smile, seeing his reaction as he reaches in for a handful, stuffing it in his mouth. “where did you find these? i thought they discontinued them!” he says with a mouth full.

you laugh, walking over and take a couple for yourself. “dont talk with your mouth full, and don’t eat em all because once that bag is gone, you’re donezo. the other one is mine” you taunt earning a frown the from curly-haired man.

sierra watches, she sees how his eye has lit up. she sees and you were suddenly beaming with happiness upon seeing lukes smile.

the next evening, everyone had wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate your second album as a release party. you, however, wanted to stay back as you weren't feeling it but ashton practically demanded and dragged you out of bed and told you to get ready. “okay, okay!! i’ll get ready..” you groan as ashton pushes you into the bathroom, you can hear a victory laugh from him as the door shuts.

you look up, seeing yourself in the mirror knowing you should be excited to go out and celebrate the release of your second album. you had a good following and people who were anticipating your release. but you just weren’t feeling it, probably because all of the songs were about your best friend.

but, you just weren’t looking forward to dinner or the release party.

you step out of your bedroom smoothing out your dress, which is a dark navy blue. you see everyone else standing in the kitchen or sitting on the sofa in their outfits. the guys in their suits, and crystal and sierra in a dress similar to yours, but crystals was red, and sierra was black.

“ready? oh? you’re matching with luke!” ashton laughs, as he stands up from the sofa, pointing to luke’s tie.

you look at luke’s tie, feeling extra awkward now, “oh..” you say. “you okay?” calum asks, “yup, everyone ready?” you change the subject, and they all nod and head out for the night.

all seven of you sat together at a large table at a nice restaurant, ashton and calum had planned it nicely and were sure that the table was in a private area.

you had already finished appetizers when michael spoke up. “do you remember when we first toured?” he asks.

“yeah..” calum and ashton say, you nod. “what was your favorite part of tour?” he asks. everyone falls silent while they think, “definitely all the drinking” calum answers, you laugh and shake your head, “you were a nightmare.”

“definitely” luke agrees with you.

“oh, soundchecks were fun. messing with managers” michael answers.

“i liked songwriting, i wrote some of my favorite songs on tour with you guys.” you smile, remembering all the good times. “performing was kinda cool too” you laugh.

everyone smiles, you hear calums ‘aw’ and you just roll your eyes.

“what about you, luke?” ashton asks.

luke thinks for a moment, but he isn’t too sure how to answer it. “i think i enjoyed performing the most, it was good experience.” michael nods, “true” he agrees.

then the table falls silent again when entrees arrive. everyone seems to be enjoying their food, until, crystal asks you, “y/n, who did you write your songs about?”

you look up from your plate, you feel your ears turning hot. you always hated this question because how could you tell them it was about the man who was sitting just a few feet from you?

“well..” you begin, finishing your bite. “it’s not really about anyone. it’s just a feeling you have” you try your best to come up with something believable. “that way, anyone can relate to what i release.” you smile, but you feel luke’s eyes lingering on your figure.

you look out of the corner of your eye and confirm your suspicions. he was looking at you.

“ah, that makes sense!” crystal smiles, “your work is incredible.”

“thank you, crys”

it was nearing midnight now, closer to your release time. instead of the restaurant you had moved to a club just a few streets over which was also set up for your release party.

ashton was by your side as you enter, letting the couples go in first, then you, ashton, and calum. you look around and see some old faces and friends.

“do you want anything?” calum asks as the two of you stand at the bar. you shake your head, “nah, i’ll pass” you smile while taking a seat at the bar. calum nods, respecting your wishes as he orders himself a drink. you sit there playing on your phone to pass the time until it hits midnight. throughout the night you have people coming up to you and congratulating you on your album, and you just smile and nod. soon enough, midnight rolls around and you hear cheers and ashton appears from what seems like thin air with a cake while congratulating you. you smile, standing up from the bar stool.

“congratulations on your album, y/n/n! we are so proud of you and we can’t wait to see where life takes you!” ashton says, you feel yourself getting emotional seeing all of your friends around you. “we love you!” you hear michael cheer which causes you to giggle before blowing out the candles.

as you leaned in to blow out the candles everything felt like it happened so quickly. a very, very drunk man showed up out of nowhere yelling profanities at your before pushing the cake on you. “and fuck you, you whore-“ he continued until a someone interfered. you see luke out of the corner of your eye, yelling at him to shut up and throwing a few punches in.

you didn’t move, feeling so embarrassed. you look down seeing all the cake on your skin and dress.

sierra and crystal rush to your side and take you away to the bathroom to get you cleaned up.

you were perched up on the counter, both sierra and crystal were trying their best to clean your dress and fix your makeup but you had already started crying.

“why would someone do that?” you ask, feeling so small.

“i don’t know, hon..” sierra sighs, as she wipes off the icing on your face. “people are just jerks..” crystals adds.

thankfully the cake didn’t get on your dress as much as it was on your face. the two other girls let you borrow their makeup once all of the cake was gone so you could try to enjoy the rest of your day.

“thank you guys, i don’t know what i would do you without you” you smile, hugging the two girls before heading back to the club floor.

you spot luke at the bar with michael and walk up, standing beside michael. you order yourself a shot of whatever came to mind first. “you’re drinking? i thought you hated it” michael asks, eyeing as you downed the shot.

“yeah, well, after the fiasco that just happened, i need to let loose for the night”

luke should’ve stopped you after your fifth shot, but he didn’t. he let you drink and he was now paying the price for doing so.

luke knew you better than anyone else, he knew you hated drinking because of the way it made you act and how you felt afterward.

he stares as you dance with an old friend and when he starts touching you a little too much, luke saw red.

he didn’t even realize what he was doing until you were yelling his name. he lets go of the guy and turns to you, “are you okay?” he asks. “luke?! what the fuck?!” you yell, stumbling back a little, and luke catches you. “you’re drunk” luke says, “obviously” you slur followed by a sigh as you finish the rest of your drink.

“okay, i think you’re done. we should head home” he suggested while taking your hand and leading you through the crowd of people to gather up the rest of your group.

you don’t protest, in fact, you are excited to head back home and sleep away the night and hopefully forget everything that happened.

the night has come to an end, and you all had finally returned to the beach house. the seven of you all sat around a bonfire talking about life and what they want in the future. you were seated a few feet from the group, admiring the stars, and how clearly you could see them.

the sudden hit of a soccer ball caught your attention and you followed the direction where the ball had rolled from and your eyes landed on calum and ashton. “cmon” calum says, extending his hand you want to say no because you can feel a headache forming, but calum beats you. “you can’t say no. get up”

you groan, letting him take your hand and drag you in the sand to kick the soccer ball around before all of you head in for the night.

luke didn’t know how long he was watching you. but what he did know, is just how bad he wished he was the one you making laugh like calum does. luke wants to be the one helping you from the sand like ashton does.

his body longs for your touch as his heart yearns for your love.

sierra watched as he was eyeing you, he looked at you like you were the only person in the world. he was starstruck when it came to you, his y/n. everyone saw it except maybe you, and himself.

he’d never admit it though, for the sake of sierra.

but what he didn’t know is that she knew she would never replace you in his heart. luke didn’t know she had already made up her mind about their relationship.

“luke..” she speaks up while leaning in, in hopes of getting his attention. luke is pulled out of whatever trance he was in and finally looks at the girl. “yeah?” he asks, looking as if he had just come off cloud nine after hearing your laugh. “we need to talk.”

luke nods, “is everything okay?” he asks, turning his body to fully face his girlfriend. as sierra is about to begin speaking she is interrupted by ashton, who had his arm around your shoulder. “you all coming?” luke’s eyes land on you, naturally. he sees that you didn’t even bother to look at him, he looked disappointed. “we’ll catch up later.”

luke watches as you disappear over the sand dunes and his eyes finally land on sierra. “what’s up?” he asks, noticing sierras blank expression.

she takes in a long breath, trying to find the right words without hurting his feelings. “i don’t think this is gonna work out.. between us” she confesses, feeling the tears threatening to spill in her eyes. “what..? why..?” asks luke.

“because you don’t love me.”

“what? sierra, i do-“

“no, luke” she cuts him off, smiling softly. “you don’t, and it’s okay.” she takes his hand and holds it softly. “i should’ve known i couldn’t take her place in your heart.” “what..?”

“y/n.” sierra answers, fighting back the tears. “i see the way you look at her, you have that look in your eyes every time they land on her. you love her and you need to admit that to yourself.” and it was true, but luke had tried and thought that he had hid his feelings for you, but he was unsuccessful.

“i can’t be her, i can’t force you to love me, luke.”

“sierra..” he sighs, feeling ashamed.

“luke..look at me” she takes her hands, cupping his chin so he would look at her. “last night, when you came to her rescue i knew in that moment..”

“it’s okay, luke. we just aren’t meant to be. you deserve someone who can make you happy, and she does.”

her thumb caresses his cheek, admiring all of his beauty as a tear slips from her eyes. “i’m sorry that i can’t be the one in your heart.” she presses a kiss on his nose before standing up from her seat, leaving luke alone on the beach that night.

the next morning, your eyes are met with the excruciating pain in your temples as your eyes flutter open, meeting with the sunlight peaking in from the curtains. groaning, you throw your arm over your eyes to try to help with the light and you are reminded why you hated drinking so much.

you heard a few soft knocks at your door, “come in” you announce groggily. calum peeks his head in, “hey, we’re all heading out. you gonna join?” he asks. you remove your arm from your eyes and barely open them. you ask,“what time is it?” and calum laughs quietly . “it’s after five. you’ve slept most of the day.”

you sigh, “i’ll just stay back.” you answer and hear a quiet “okay” from calum as he exits your bedroom, closing the door behind him.

you lie there for a while before eventually getting up to shower, in hopes it would make you feel a little better.

meanwhile, the others had all gone out bowling per the request of michael and ashton even though it was pretty late in the day.

calum wanted to stay back, he hated the idea of going out without you because he knew how bad your hangovers could be but he went, not wanting ashton to third wheel alone.

when they arrived at the bowling alley, it was pretty busy, they found a lane and started a few games. but everyone seemed to be off, calum couldn’t put his finger on it, maybe it was the fact that you weren’t here, or the fact they were all still a tad hungover. so, with only a few games in, they all decided to leave and head back to the rental house to watch a movie and make dinner instead.

when they all arrive back, they do their own thing. crystal and michael head to the patio for a couple of drinks, ashton goes to the living room, calum makes a b-line to the kitchen, sierra goes to her bedroom, and luke attempts to look for you. hoping to clear the air between the two of you.

“wheres y/n?” luke asks, noticing the door to your bedroom was wide open and you were nowhere else to be found. ashton looks around, shrugging as he plops down on the sofa. “maybe she’s at the beach” the drummer suggests. “she didn’t text me.” calum announces from the kitchen, looking for some snacks. luke checks his phone, sending you a message but when you don’t reply he decides to look for you himself.

you sat on the beach, your feet in the cool sand while you were scribbling away in your journal, this whole trip you felt so trapped and so empty. feeling as if you had lost your best friend over something so stupid you tried to push away those feelings, but in doing so you were jeopardizing your friendship with luke and sierra. pushing them out of your life pretty much.

you were so engrossed with your writing, you didn’t even notice the tall blond heading your way.

“there you are!” he announces, jogging to your side. “i was looking everywhere for you!” you look up from your book, seeing luke and immediately shutting it. “well, you found me” you answer, a bit harsher. you hear a sigh from luke, “y/n, are we ever going to talk this out?” he asks, you stand up from the shore and dust the sand off of you. “there’s nothing to talk about, luke.”

actually, there was. you wanted to scream at him, you wanted to pour your heart out and tell him how much you loved him. how your heart aches for him, how your body yearns for his touch.

but you don’t, you simply begin walking off but he stops you. “y/n.” he reaches out and grabs your wrist gently.

“why didn’t you tell me?” he asks, and once you turn around he drops his arms to his side but his look is fierce. he was staring through you. “you left me in the dark, y/n..how was i supposed to know?”

you groan, letting your head fall back. “luke, i’m sorry. okay?” you raise your head and look at him. “and this isn’t all on me, either. you didn’t tell me your feelings either.”

“well who did you think all of those songs we wrote together were about?!” luke asks, raising his voice slightly.

“i don’t know luke! i was too worried that if i said something wrong or if i slipped up i would lose my best friend!” you tell, the pain filled your chest and you felt yourself explode like a shaken soda bottle.

“i was worried that if i made the impression that i even had the slightest crush on you, you’d leave me, luke. you were the one thing in my life that kept me grounded. you were my everything, you were the air in my lungs, my heart was beating for you. so, i’m sorry, luke that i maybe didn’t catch the hint. i was scared.”

luke blinks, his heart racing as you begin spilling out all your thoughts.

“why?” was all he asked.

“because i thought i wasn’t good enough for you, luke. i was never the pretty one, i wasn’t like the other girls. i was always the one who people settled for. and when sierra came into the picture, it was worse. when you started seeing her, i would see the way you looked at her. and it hurt me so bad, lu. because i wanted you to look at me like that, i want you to want me like you want her.” you didn’t even notice the tears flowing down your cheeks.

“what?” in an effort to understand what he had just heard, his blue eyes were filled with devastation . did you really mean what you said? “y/n…did you really feel like that? i made you feel like that?” he feels his heart breaking into small pieces. luke stares at you intently as you speak, he wants to reach out and wrap you in his arms. he wants to take away all your pain, he thinks it’s unfair you have been suffering all this time.

“you’re a rockstar, luke. of course i felt that way, i couldn’t compete with all the girls who threw themselves at you when we were on tour, and then when sierra came into the picture everything just shattered..” you wipe away the tears using the sleeves of your shirt. you had told yourself you didn’t want to break down in front of him like this, but it was inevitable.

you sigh, trying to compose yourself as luke takes a few steps closer, and when his hand touches yours, you feel the wave of sadness hit you again.

“i see the way she looks at you luke, she’s so in love with you and it kills me.” you feel the lump in your throat, and your lip quivers, but you continue. “i can’t stand to be around you two, but i can’t stand to be away from you, because i still love you so much, luke.”

his hand touches your cheek, his thumb wiping away the tears staining your cheek. for a moment, when you look at him you could only wish he was yours. you felt at home when touched you so gingerly, and how his ocean eyes looked over you like you were the only girl in the world.

your hand reaches up, takes his, and removes it from your face. “you two deserve to be together. she loves you luke, i can push my feelings down. i can’t do that to her.” you say, ready to act like this never happened and you would go back to how things were.

abruptly, luke speaks. “she broke up with me.”

your heart sinks, and you feel dizzy. were you hearing things? “what..?” you say, just above a whisper. “last night” he continues, sighing as he did.

“during the bonfire, i guess i..i was staring at you and she went on this rant about how she knows that i love you.” now, you see luke’s eyes brimming with tears. his voice wavers, he sniffles once trying to suppress the tears. “and she’s right, i do love you.” he admits. “luke..i..”

“no. please, just listen to me.” the blond cuts you off, his eyes closing as he takes a deep breath. “i can’t do this anymore, i can’t pretend to love someone else when im still so in love with you.”

luke continues, his hands balled by his side. “i feel so complete with you around, and i can’t take it when you act like we aren’t close. i can’t keep pretending.”

“you are my everything, and it hurts me that i can’t be with you.” his hand is over his heart, feeling the aching feeling he has been living with since that night. “i dream of you, all i do is dream of you. i can’t get you out of my head. so, please don’t push me away. let me love you.”

your mind was racing as you stared at him wide-eyed. unable to process the words he had uttered, “i can’t do this right now..” you take a few steps back, “just..” you shake your head leaving luke stranded on the beach.

luke watches your figure disappear. his chest tightens, thinking he had just lost you for good now. he thinks you blame yourself for his breakup. when you walk away he can’t help but think you hate him more than you already did.

luke sits down in the sand, facing the ocean now. he wants to scream at the horizon, he wants the world, the gods, the universe to know just how much he loves you.

he can’t bare the thought of losing you again.

luke has so much love for you, he knows everything about you. he wants to know the things that maybe you have kept hidden from him. he wants you to want him back. luke wants to make up for all of his mistakes, fix things, and give you the love you deserve.

but, if you don’t feel like that…he would have to respect your decision.

you enter the house, seeing ashton on the sofa with calum with a few beers in their hands. “oh, hey, there you are. luke went looking for you” calum says once you enter the door. “yeah, he found me” you say, setting your book on the table and scanning the room. “wheres sierra?” you ask, ashton looks up from his phone and says, “her bedroom, but she was acting kinda weird today..” you nod, “okay, thanks”

you stand in front of the door and mentally prepare yourself for possibly the worst fight you’d ever have. you knock a few times, “sierra?” you announce letting her know it was you. you heard a soft, “come in” and you twisted the door non letting yourself in.

you see her figure sitting on the twin bed closest to the window, you walk over to sit on the edge and that’s when you notice the tears staining her cheeks.

“sierra..” you say, as you look at her. but she smiles sadly, “i’m not mad at you, if that’s the reason your here” her voice was cracking and it was very obvious she had been crying for some time. “i..” you start, handing your head. “i’m so sorry.” you mutter, feeling your lip quiver.

you had been crying most of this trip. you wish you could just get a grip and stop acting so childish.

“stop..” she says reaching for your hand. “it’s okay, i knew. i’ve known it since the beginning. i knew what i was getting myself into. but…it still hurts.” you nod, wrapping your arms around her. “i never wanted this to happen.” you sigh, feeling her arms pat your back. “i know, i don’t blame you…” she says quietly. sierra knows she couldn’t take away what the two of you had. she had to be smart and realize if she continued the relationship she would only hurt herself in the future. she couldn’t lie to herself when the truth was right in front of her.

“y/n, what you two have is real. it’s more than what we had, i can’t pretend to be you and i can’t make him love me like he loves you. i want the both of you happy, and if me cutting things off with him i’ll do it.” she says, and pulls back to look at you. “you’re my best friend, i don’t want this to ruin us, okay?” she adds, and you nod. “did he tell you how he felt?” you nod again, a laugh escaping your lips. “andddd?” she drawls, smiling. “i left him on the beach”

“y/n!” she playfully hits your arm, “please, go get that man before you lose him again” she demands, pushing you off the bed. “go!” you laugh and exit the bedroom.

luke sits on the beach, watching the waves crash onto the sand. he wonders if he just lost everything in less than twenty-four hours. he wonders where he went wrong, how he let you slip away, why he wasn’t honest with you…or himself. luke is pissed at himself because maybe, just maybe, if he had been more open with his feelings and emotions maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

he is racking his brain for the right words to say to fix what he had messed up so badly.

“luke” you say, pulling him out of his deep thought. he looks up, his eyes landing on your figure. he feels a warmth in his chest, but he doesn’t get his hopes up. “you came back?”

you nod, as you sit down next to him. “of course, i did.” you say, looking out at the ocean.

“y/n, im sorry. i didn’t mean for all of that to just spill out, i-“ you turn to him, stopping him as he tried explaining himself. “dont” you shake your head.

“just hold me, please.”

time passed quicker than you wanted it to. you sit between luke’s legs, his arms wrapped around your waist and his head resting against your shoulders. you both wanted to watch the sunset since it was your last full night there. neither you nor luke said anything since you came back. you were simply just enjoying each other's company.

“lu?”

“hmm?”

“when did you realize you love me?”

luke thinks for a moment, he recalls the last show of their first headlining tour. he remembers the outfit you wore for your set and he remembers that in that moment is when he first realized his feelings for you.

“do you remember our first headlining tour?” you nod, your eyes still on the ocean. “i do..” luke smiles, “that’s when. i remember seeing your face on that stage and everything shifted..” he answered.

you smile to yourself, recalling that night. you were on cloud nine, you remember the hug and how much you loved being in luke’s arms, just like you were now. “you there?” he whispers. you nod, “i am. just..reminiscing.”

luke pulls you closer, and he squeezes you, afraid to lose you again. he traces soft circles on your arms as he gets lost in thought.

“you there?” you chuckle, and you feel him nod against your shoulder.

“i just… i don’t want to lose you again. i don’t want to mess up this again. please let me make this right between us..” he says.

“lu, i love you. and that’s why i came back. i want us to work out…i want…us..” you speak quietly, the ocean crashing on the shore is in the background.

luke presses a kiss on your neck then, your cheek and finally, your lips. “i promise, y/n. i’ll give you the life you deserve and we will have the best years, together.”

[msbigredmachine]

New To This - Chapter 10

Credit to the owners of the pics and gifs.

MASTERLIST

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

"We can’t wait for you to get started, Delilah," Coach Matt Bloom said as he and Coach Sarah Stock ushered her out of the offices of the WWE Performance Center.

It had been a while since Delilah had been this excited about anything. Sitting for the last half hour with WWE’s head coaches and Tank, who had flown in from Pensacola for the sole purpose of this meeting, listening to what these experienced people around her had to say, she could feel herself growing more and more hopeful at the prospect of joining this incredible organization. Every other perceived challenge seemed to be a distant memory as she got caught up in the whirlwind.

Until Tank had asked the coaches about relocation expenses. He had asked if WWE was willing to pay for Delilah and her husband-to-be to move from Pensacola to Orlando. She understood that he was merely trying to broker the best deal for his star pupil, and she appreciated it. But it was the first time anyone in the room had spoken of Andre this entire trip, and she was trying her hardest to forget him. At least until she had to go back to him. She planned on only thinking about his part in this life-changing ordeal when she was forced to return home. For now, she just wanted to focus on becoming the diamond the WWE clearly regarded her to be.

Shaking Matt and Sarah’s hands firmly, Delilah smiled widely and then stepped into the hugs each of them offered. "Thank you so much for this opportunity, Sir, Ma’am, it means everything to me," she whispered, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "I won’t let y’all down, I promise."

With a nod and a warm smile, Sarah rubbed her back. "You've got talent, girly. Lots of it. But you're only gonna make it if you really want it."

As the two walked away, Delilah looked over at Tank in complete awe. “Is this really happening?”

Tank smiled down at his protege, elated that she was one step closer to living her dream. “Looks that way, kiddo.”

Her conversation with Tank was interrupted by the roar of an engine. Delilah didn't even have to turn around to know who had arrived. As Tank waved the driver over, she closed her eyes and worked to compose herself. It was bad enough that he had made her come two more times before she left for her morning meeting.

This was important to her. She didn't need to add anymore drama to her life. And she sure as hell didn't want to see a decent friendship thrown away because they had given in to their urges. Truth be told, if she didn't have to see Joshua Fatu ever again after this trip, she would be more than happy. But seeing him in that big ol' truck with no sleeves and them gorgeous tattooed arms out, looking as sexy as ever, made her rethink things.

She engrossed herself in her texts to her co-worker Tiwa as she made her way toward the GMC Sierra, catching the tail end of Josh and Tank’s conversation.

"So, since I'm here for like a week," Tank was saying, "I might as well hit her up, maybe have dinner, watch a movie, and see where it goes from there." Gesturing to the woman now beside him, he asked Josh, "You mind giving Miss Parrish a lift back to the hotel?"

Josh’s amused expression was equally aggravating. “Sure, Uce,” he agreed easily, reaching across the passenger's seat to pop the door open.

Delilah recoiled in exaggerated annoyance. “What? What about the tour you promised me?” She wanted to throw a temper tantrum. Tank had promised to spend the afternoon with her. He wasn't supposed to surrender her over to her newfound lover, whom at this point she had barely looked in the eye.

Tank merely rolled his eyes. "Girl, chill. Josh has been here as many times as I have. I'm sure he'll show you a good time."

Oh, I bet he will.

Reluctantly sliding inside, Delilah crossed her arms and pouted like a petulant child. "You owe me," she said to Tank, “And by the way, Tiwa likes you.”

Tank blinked. "Tiwa? You mean your friend from the supermarket?" 

It was her turn to roll her eyes. “Yes, Makena. She’s a great girl too. Don’t let her slip away,” she advised him, just as Josh peeled out of the parking lot. Resting her elbow against the open window, she thought of what to say to her adulterous partner in crime, finally settling with "I'm hungry" and keeping her expression as curt and no-nonsense as possible.

Josh shrugged and looked over at her. “Whatchu wanna eat?”

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

“There ya go baby, ride that fuckin’ dick,” he encouraged, his big hands tight on her waist guiding her up and down.

Delilah’s face lolled into the groove of Josh’s neck, moaning out loud as she bounced desperately on him, loving the feel of him deep inside her. Gripping his broad shoulders for leverage, she suckled on his skin, sending shivers down both their spines.

“Oooh, fuck, baby,” she breathed, widening her knees to grind down on him, her eyes rolling in the back of her head as his dick found her spot. “Fuck, yesssss…”

Josh's right hand slipped from her waist to mold her gyrating ass in his eager palm, his other hand gripping her hair as he groaned his pleasure. “Mm-hmm, that dick feel good, huh? I see you creamin' on me. That dick feel good, baby?” he taunted, his voice low and gruff. 

The look of utter bliss on his face made her pussy even wetter, prompting her to ride him harder despite the tight confines of his seat, their collective breaths fogging up the windows of the truck that rocked back and forth non-discreetly in the corner of the hotel’s indoor parking lot. “So fuckin’ good, baby, you feel so good,” she gasped, kissing his lips with a wild hunger that couldn’t be satiated by food.

“Uh huh. This pussy good too. Don’t stop baby girl, fuck me…”

Swallowing down the last piece of her cornbread, Delilah picked up her plastic fork and stabbed a small chunk of saturated pork. "You wasn’t lying about this place. The food is bangin’," she commented. 

Josh smiled as he swigged from his diet soda and eyed up the woman lying naked beside him. She had all but devoured the barbecue he had ordered for them, and the way the sauce smeared the corners of her mouth was hella cute. "My uncle Umaga told us about it when me and my brother first started out in FCW. We seriously contemplated staying in Orlando just for the damn place," he explained, tossing his to-go box on the floor of the hotel room, right on top of the condom wrappers he had used earlier. He had tried his hardest to not have sex with her again, but the tension in the truck had been more than he could bear. Forced to listen as Delilah lectured him about their misdeeds of last night and this morning, all he could see was the movement of her full lips just begging to be shut up by his mouth on hers. So he did just that, promptly breaking every promise either of them had made.

She tried to reason it that way, but Delilah was more than aware that the notion of "You’ve fucked him already. Fucking him a few more times doesn't make you any more unfaithful" was a lame excuse. But as she lay panting underneath Josh on his bed, just minutes after their little session in his truck, she convinced herself that her week in Orlando was her escape. Her Hall Pass, even. That she was taking the chance to live the life she might never again get to experience. She’d been a good girl in her twenty-five years on earth so far. One week of naughty behavior wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Peeling the sheets slowly off of her, Josh smirked as Delilah's beautiful body was exposed inch by inch to him. Noticing the goosebumps littering her skin, he dipped his head and nuzzled her neck. "I'm glad you're enjoying your lunch, baby girl," he whispered, resting his hand on her bare belly.

"Dude," she chided him, yanking the sheet back over her chest with one hand while munching on a rib with the other, "I’m tryna eat. I know that I ain’t so sexy that you can't keep your damn hands to yourself for a few minutes."

Josh's lips curled at her words, his dark eyes glittering in amusement as he gazed up at her. "You really got no clue, do you?"

"Clue about what?"

Sitting back against the headboard, Josh took a deep breath. "I don't act like this, Delilah," he confessed, almost with gritted teeth, like he was being forced to utter the words. "Nobody makes me lose control." He linked their fingers together and raised the back of her hand to his lips. "Ya know what? You don't make me lose control," he corrected, as though the thought had just occurred to him. He studied her face, gauged her reaction. “I want to lose control. I wanna lose myself in you. You make me feel…free. I ain’t felt this way in years, baby.”

Delilah didn’t know what to say to his confession, and settled for raising one eyebrow skeptically. “Homie, you are so full of shit.” With a shake of her hair, she shifted over, straddling his hips and leaning back to rest her hands on his thighs. Gazing seductively at him through her thick, long lashes, she parted her thighs and spread her legs open, watching his orbs darken and feeling his dick harden. "Is this sexy, Joshua? Hmm? The way I'm sitting right now? Are you turned on seeing me like this?"

If only she knew that she turned him on in every way. Silently, he tugged her flush against him and pushed her hair back from her face, biting his lip to keep from voicing all of the thoughts in his mind.

"This is so weird," Delilah scoffed, rotating her body until her back was resting against his chest, her hands caressing his tattooed arms as they wound around her belly. "I hardly do shit like this with Andre. And I’m sure you've been with women who love doing all that Kama Sutra stuff," she rambled, wondering for a moment why she was even talking to him about her insecurities. But deep down, she needed to know that he was enjoying their time together as much as she was and didn’t mind her rather limited bedroom skills.

Josh was quiet for a moment as he absorbed what she was trying to convey to him. "With experience comes confidence. You ain’t got much experience," he acknowledged softly, chuckling a little as he tilted her face up to his. "But the good news is, I got a lot to spare."

Delilah laughed and smacked his bicep. "Oh, trust me, you've shared more than enough."

“Guess what baby girl, there’s plenty more where that came from.” Licking his lips, he pressed them against hers, gently massaging her breasts with his hands and swallowing her moans as they luxuriated in their kiss. Pride rushed through him at the hazy quality of her pretty eyes that always appeared whenever he kissed her. "Go pack your stuff and bring it over here. You stayin’ with me for the rest of your trip,” he told her.

Delilah fluttered her lashes at him. “So you’re keeping me all to yourself then?” 

“You could say that.” He kissed her again. “You gon’ have a lotta fun with me, baby. Trust me."

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

True to his word, Delilah spent the rest of the week in Josh’s hotel suite, and they barely came up for air for the two days she was there. The first morning, he fucked her in the shower, taking her nice and slow with his big hands all over her body, making her moan and beg for more. Their wet bodies sliding together, the little noises of pleasure they both made over the sound of the rushing water, was something Delilah would never forget. He took her out for lunch and some shopping in the afternoon, and when they returned she had his dick for leftovers, giving him head until her jaw got tired. She made him come three times with just her mouth, a feat she was very proud of, and was even treated to her first “facial”. But Josh reciprocated by eating her pussy for what felt like hours and one-upped her with half a dozen orgasms. After dinner, they went out for a stroll in the hotel’s mazy rose garden, but it wasn’t long before Josh pushed her into the bushes, hiked up her dress and took her from behind, her hair wrapped in his fist as she struggled to keep from crying out into the open air and getting caught.

On the second day, they had sex on every surface in his hotel room. They started off in bed, with her sucking him off before getting on top to ride him reverse cowgirl, as he delightfully watched her ass jiggle every time she bounced on his cock. On the kitchen counter, breakfast was abandoned when he poured honey over her pussy lips and lapped it all up, holding her hips down as she screamed. On the armchair, he folded her in two with her legs on his shoulders as he pounded into her over and over, only pausing to catch her cum with his deadly tongue each time she climaxed. On the sofa, he made her throw her ass back while holding her arm behind her back, smacking her ass cheeks when she tried to run. In between rounds, he would play with her, getting her wet and ready for him all over again. She was his to do with as he pleased for two straight days and Delilah didn’t want it to end. This new dick had her acting like a thot and she didn’t care.

On the morning of her departure, Josh offered to take her to the airport. Of course, he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. They made out at every red light, and his fingers stayed inside her for half the journey. Her moans definitely sounded better than any song on his favorite playlist. As they reached the airport’s parking lot, a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. It was back to the real world for both of them and he wasn’t sure he wanted her to go back.

Biting her lip, Delilah toyed with the handle of her luggage. She was sad to leave Josh, particularly because she would not see him again for a while. Not get to have him or have that fire dick inside her. But regardless of what happened between them, she was well aware that this was a one-off, a brief fling, and it was time to refocus on her career. 

"Thanks for everything, Josh," she smiled weakly, looking into his beautiful eyes she since realized she could get lost in every time. Like now. 

Josh rested one arm on his car, leaning back to admire her. “I like this look on you, baby,” he spoke, smirking at her questioning expression, “Mm-hmm, lookin’ all fucked out and slutted out thanks to ya boy.” 

“Stop,” Delilah blushed. But it was a hard ask for him to stop complimenting her. To stop wanting her. She would have to put up with his exultations for the foreseeable future.

“You gon’ miss me?” he queried.

She shrugged. “I might.”

“You will,” he said confidently, biting his lip as he slowly eyed her up and down. He found himself pulling her close again, unable to resist one more taste of her. “C’mere.” 

He savored the feeling of her tongue in his mouth, of his body pressed to hers, his arms around her, her fingers in his hair. The kiss seemed to go on forever, and even then, it wasn’t long enough. He forced himself to pull back, because if he didn't, he would drag her into the back of his truck, and she would definitely miss her flight back home.

When their mouths parted, Delilah felt like she was paralyzed. With her eyes still tightly closed, she ran her tongue along her bottom lip and moaned softly. Opening her dark orbs slowly, she reached a palm to his face and gently ran her thumb along his lower lip. How she was going to cope without him, she didn’t know. She just knew she had to.

"Goodbye, Josh," she whispered, grabbing her things and turning to leave before she could change her mind.

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

THOUGHTS? Don't worry, it's not over. 😈

🏷️: @wrestlingprincess80 @fame-ass-ers @southerngirl41 @alyyaanna @squishyguishy @jstarr86 @murrylove @thewarlordsworld @mzv11 @cozyaliensuperstar7 @nayys-world @hunnidmilly @cyberdejos2 @papireigns-05  @harmshake @niknakbucks92 @captainwithoutmakingitlove @sovereigngoth @aisharmi @kennedi0818 @alichesmi @thesamoanqueen @herwickedlittlesins @questionable-behaviour @tribalchiefreigns @2-muchsauce @thatbxtchsblog @raya-hunter01 @marchi36753 @lovelysuccess @christinabae @wooahmiri @thatonecarebear @tabletheofhead @rheaanddamianfan @vebner37 @hanley1577 @princessesareforsuckers @-naturally @joannasteez @bbygirlky18 @lilucey @theninthwonder @melaninsugababy @chocovibesonly @msbluehaz3 @scarlettnoir01 @heerah34 @empressdede @tbmotw @darkangelchronicles @visionarymode @marasdeathnote @aintnorainbows @meggylynnloves @shantinextdoor @femdisa @harlemblipster  @trc-punzel @afterdarkprincess @nbanenefrmdao @sassginaswanmills @purplehairgawdess @holisticcoach @girlwhogaf @royalkay23 @heyitsnajabrinee @stoner2k @reci1996 @catxo @iamimanim @lookmais @ts1mp0ne @lizzyd1ish @m3llowww @skyesthebomb @final1miya @kia1996 @randomuser0711 @yourtribalqueen @caramelcleopatraa @katymae12344 @that-one-anxious-mango @yana3sworld @ajenae @truefant4sy @thetribalqueen @bhjszsdxc @paigereeder @christinabae @justazzi @maknaehyucks @mindairy @headoftheetable @truefant4sy @mscarter213 @ariiaeltheedonn @sageispunk @xbriexx

[sirianasims]

Chapter 43.7

The scent of spices still lingers in the air, mingling with the warm, dry breeze drifting in through the open terrace doors. The table in front of me is a landscape of wine glasses and the plates that once held Dave’s mouth-watering lemongrass chicken.

I fold my napkin and leave it by my bowl, which has been scraped so thoroughly clean that it looks like I licked it. Had I been alone, I probably would have.

“That was delicious, Dave. Best I’ve had outside Tomarang.”

Dave beams with pride. “The secret is in the red curry paste, I think I finally found the perfect mix. I hope you left room for dessert though, I’ve got more coming.”

“Now you’re just spoiling me. What’s the occasion?”

“It’s the end of an era. I think dessert is justified.”

I nod solemnly. I recorded my last lines as Llama Man two days ago. Lee dropped by the studio with champagne to commemorate the occasion and I ended up with a hangover that still haunts me.

The fact that the show is over feels weird to think about. I’ve had many roles, but most of them were pretty minor and, most of all, temporary. They were just something I did for a little while, but I’ve been Llama Man for fifteen years and now, jarringly, I’m not.

Sierra interrupts my wallowing. “So, have you thought about what you’re going to do now?”

I shrug. “I don’t know yet. I still get a few gigs here and there for other voiceovers, but nothing steady.”

“What about finally going back to acting? On camera, I mean? It’s the perfect time, the show finale is going to get you some buzz, and my agent would love a chance to work with you, you know that.”

“Sierra, honey, it’s only been a couple of days, maybe it’s a bit soon to worry about what’s coming next?”

Sierra chews on her lip, clearly eager to keep going, but she doesn’t. She always says that Dave is her rock, the calm counterbalance to her temper. Some of my previous girlfriends didn’t like my closeness with Sierra, assumed that we used to date or at the very least slept together, but we never did. We would probably have strangled each other.

Julia was refreshing like that too, she never interrogated me about Sierra or seemed to feel threatened, she just took our friendship at face value.

Or maybe she simply didn’t care enough about you to get jealous.

Sierra gives me a sideways glance. “Fine, we can discuss it later, but how are you doing, really? I mean, the show ending is a big change on its own, but after everything with Julia…”

“I told you, Sierra, I’m fine. I knew the show was ending, it was announced last year. And Julia and I have been done for months, it was sad but I’m over it.”

“Are you, though? It’s just, you haven’t really been yourself since you broke up with her and-”

Dave rubs his forehead. “Honey, please, we talked about this. Let the man breathe.”

It has no effect. Even Dave isn’t enough to stop Sierra after three glasses of Soft Shadow Avornalino.

“I’m just trying to understand, though. You were happy, she seemed happy too, and the next thing I hear is that you dumped her? I don’t get it.”

“Sierra, can we not talk about this, please? I don’t want to go over it again, it’s complicated.”

“Again? You never went over it the first time! And you seemed to be doing so well, this is the longest I’ve seen any of your relationships last, so what went wrong?”

“Ten months isn’t that long, and since when do you care so much about Julia anyway? You were the one who was sceptical about her from the start!”

“I care about you, Paul! I was only sceptical because I was worried about whether she was, you know, right for you. I love you, you know I do, but you can be kind of a lot to deal with sometimes!”

A weary sigh from Dave finally makes Sierra pause.

“Sorry, Paul, that was uncalled for. I just wish you’d get a bit more, well, serious about your life, your career, everything.”

I don’t respond.

Dave clears his throat. “Honey, why don’t you and Paul go for some fresh air while I clean up in here and get dessert ready? The garden is really coming along.”

She looks at him gratefully. There’s a unspoken understanding between them that makes me feel strangely sad. I wonder if it’s something you develop when you’ve been together for as long as they have, or if the trick is to marry someone exactly because they can tell what you need without speaking. Maybe it’s a bit of both. I certainly wouldn’t know. Like Sierra just reminded me, I’ve never been with someone long enough to find out.

I catch myself staring at them and quickly look away. I’m not really superstitious, but all Tartosans grow up learning about malocchio, the evil eye, it’s habitual. My grandmother always said that you’re not supposed to look at someone with envy in your heart, or you might curse them, even if you don’t mean to.

Maybe I’m cursed. If anything invites envy and jealousy, it’s fame. Maybe that’s why I keep fucking things up, why I’m never satisfied. It would almost be a relief to be cursed. At least then it wouldn’t be my own damn fault.

Dave starts clearing the table, and both Sierra and I get up as well. She looks at me apologetically, but I walk outside without waiting for her, into the neatly kept garden.

It’s the height of summer, and the chorus of cicadas fills the air, a rhythmic, comforting hum that blends seamlessly with the faint sounds of water trickling from a small fountain. It’s hard to believe we’re in the desert, the entire neighbourhood is like a carefully crafted oasis, each house more exquisite than the last, all lush gardens and towering palm trees.

I sigh, looking up at the dusky sky. Behind me, the sound of gravel crunching under Sierra’s feet mixes with the soft clinking of dishes coming from inside the kitchen.

“I’m sorry, Paul. Dave did tell me not to bring it up.”

“I was planning to propose to her, you know. How’s that for getting serious?”

“What?”

“Yes! Bought the ring and everything. But luckily I came to my senses before I utterly embarrassed myself.”

For the first time in all the years I’ve known her, Sierra is speechless. She simply stares at me, wide-eyed, and I realise that I must look deranged, my face contorted by grief and fury and shame, my chest heaving.

I feel a burning sensation in my nose and her face softens. She pulls me into a hug and I let her do it, like so many times before.

“For fuck’s sake, Paul.”

I hold back, not wanting to crush her under my weight, but she pulls me closer, insistently, until I relax and lean on her.

“I’m such an idiot.”

Sierra says nothing, she just rubs my back in gentle circles and I feel my anger slowly dissipate. She finally lets me go and cups my face with her hand.

“Paul, look at me. Do you regret leaving her?”

Desperately.

“No.”

The word leaves my mouth automatically. I’ve thought about Julia every single day, but each time my finger hovers over her name in my phone, I get overwhelmed by a feeling of dread I can’t quite put into words.

Admit it, you’re just afraid that she’d reject you the way you rejected her.

“Sierra, am I just meant to be alone? Is there something wrong with me?”

She snorts. “Nope, you’re perfect, that’s your whole problem. You could have anyone, you just can’t make up your mind.”

“She’s the only one I ever wanted like this.”

She shrugs. “You have a strange way of showing it, then. But if you really don’t regret it, I guess it must have been the right call.”

There’s doubt in her voice, like she knows I’m lying.

“It’s for the better, Sierra. She doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life yet, she needs time to figure it out.”

“Maybe she could have figured it out with you.”

I hadn’t even thought of that, but I reject the idea immediately, it’s too painful. “No. It was never going to last.”

“So you keep saying. You make it sound like you expected it to fail from the start.”

“So did you.”

“True. Sorry about that.” She leans against my shoulder.

“Careful the paps don’t see you like this, we wouldn’t want the rumours to start again.”

She chuckles. “I think they gave up on us when I married Dave.”

“They could try a new angle. I’m single again, what will I do next? I might try to add some drama to the most boring, sorry, I mean stable marriage in Del Sol Valley.”

She laughs and punches me in the shoulder, surprisingly hard.

“Watch it, Romeo. I may only be a cop on screen, but I’ve learned a lot about hiding evidence.”

I put my arm around her and for a moment we just exist, listening to the cicadas until Dave calls us back in for dessert.

beginning / previous / next

[fartlovingblkguy69]

Aromatherapy (Continuing a Story from Nifty.org)

A link to the story I'm continuing: https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/urination/aromatherapy

Part 1

I waited 10 minutes before leaving. I was shaking with anticipation. i had never been so excited in my whole life. He was already pulled around waiting in a 2018 GMC Sierra Crew Cab. "Get in. This isn't a free ride by the way. You can either give me gas money or get down there and sniff my gas. It's a 30 minute drive, maybe longer since it's about to be rush hour. Your choice". There wasn't even a question. I quickly climbed in the passenger side and laid down while he rose up and lowered his basketball shorts. He was wearing stained gray boxer briefs with a wet stain on the back and a big golden brown streak going up the crack. They smelled like a sweaty toilet seat. He quickly sat down and ground his fat ass around my face until my nose was right in the middle of his crack. He reached back, spreading his cheeks and pressing down until my nose was pushing the dirty undies into his hole and his ass enveloped my face. "Ah, that's it. Your nose feels great in my nasty hole. I'm still sweaty from that sauna and I just took the most massive shit so your nose is going to have to scratch that itch." He ground his ass on my face some more as we pulled out of the parking lot. We stopped at every red light on the way to the highway. It took 45 minutes to get to his place. I could smell the fresh shit around his hairy hole and he kept letting out the worst SBDs the whole way laughing each time and rubbing it in on my nose. Finally we got there and he pulled up his shorts and got out. I sat up and made my way out as well. The house was huge and there were 3 other vehicles in the driveway, 2 SUVs and another pickup. We made our way inside and he took me straight to the living room. "I'm hungry so I'm going to make myself something to eat. Get down on the floor with your head in that seat over there and I'll be back" pointing to the comfy chair in the corner. I quickly obeyed and was waiting quietly in the dark when suddenly this handsome young man walked in texting on his iPhone Xr. He had on only a jockstrap that was bulging. He looked to be about 25 maybe and he had a perfect amount of muscle, nice arms, legs, firm pecs, with a little bit of a chiseled but bloated belly and a nice happy trail. He launched himself ass first into the chair I had my face waiting in and oh boy was it a nice one. Nice smooth golden cheeks with a very hairy crack that smelled like a long day with several unshowered before it. Once he had sat down he quickly realized there was something under him but instead of getting up he just farted loudly and wetly. PRRRBBBBBBTTTTTT. "Ah. That felt good. I don't smell a thing. Pops must have gotten a new fart cushion. Awesome! Especially after all those burritos had for lunch. The cheese and beans is really fucking my stomach up." He sat on my face for 10 minutes letting let out several sbds and loud wet releases while rubbing his sexy belly and really ground his wet hole into my face before spreading his cheeks to let out a huge shart. SSSSSSRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTT. My nose was sprayed with hot air and speckles of shit "Whew that was nasty. Think I felt a little shit come out on that one. Pops will have a fit if I stained his favorite chair! He might even make me his fart cushion again! Definitely don't need that torture!" He shot up and turned around bending down to make sure he hadn't made a mess of the seat. While he did I got to see more of his handsome face. He had a perfect chiseled jaw, beautiful mischievous eyes, and a thin, long nose (think Daniel Croix with green eyes). I licked my lips as he finally got to inspecting me. "Nice. It all went on you huh, cutie? Well plenty more where that came from" He said with a chuckle. He let out a bubbling fart into the air and sniffed. "Damn that's ripe. Why don't you open that pretty mouth for me this time just to be safe. I'll try not to take a dump in it". I shuddered at the thought as I'm not into that at all. He kindly wiped my face off looking down at me with a glint in his eye. I did as he said as he turned around and spread that perfect ass open.

[overeducated-and-highlymedicated]

I'm really happy with my most recent watercolors c:

Each of these flowers were flowers that I saw on the approach, the descent, or the climb for the West Ridge of Mt. Conness (5.6 trad/alpine, 1500'). I took reference photos of the flowers on my phone and then used the John Muir Laws field guide to identify them.

I climbed the West Ridge with 3 pitches on lead and the rest on simul. We took the Young Lakes approach, so from the wilderness station in Tuolumne, we hiked 7 miles and 1000ish feet of elevation and camped at Young Lakes (and got eaten alive by mosquitoes). The next day, we hiked through the wilderness for 3 miles and 1500ish feet of elevation. The climb starts at around 10,000 ft above sea level. The peak stands at 12,600 ft. After a tiring and magnificent climb, we hiked 10 miles back.

Completing this climb was a really big deal for me for a number of reasons.

I had 2 foot surgeries in the past 3 years. Basically I broke a bone I didn't know I had. (Turns out some people have extra! The more you know! 🌠) This would be my first big alpine day post-injury.

The approach and descent are very long and intense. This was going to be hard, and to be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd be up to it. I lost a lot of leg strength, ankle stability, and cardiovascular fitness over the past 3 years.

I quit smoking weed in preparation for the high elevation. The smoke was making my lungs feel Bad, especially after getting Covid a couple of times. (I still take edibles but it doesn't feel as good as smoking imo)

A big day for me, and despite my anxieties, I did the climb in great style and in good time :)

I'm happy with how these watercolors turned out, especially because they commemorate a really big achievement after 3 years of injury and subsequent healing.

And these wildflowers are so special to me. Many of these flowers can only be found at high elevations. Some of these are alpine variants of more common flowers (like the Alpine Daisy as a variant of the Sierra Daisy). Some of these flowers can only grow at >10,000 feet (like the Sky Pilot). And all of these flowers are members of a complex, rare, and resilient ecosystem.

I'm still finding my style in watercolor. Some of these I think I nailed, but some of them feel overworked or disproportionate. I loved this exercise though and I plan to do more of these climbing+botany field journal entries.

Bonus watercolor - the next day at Climber Coffee we heard some very loud, insistent tweeting from a hollowed-out tree. Some tourists had gathered around it and were taking pictures. Turns out, it was this Northern Flicker chick calling for its mom (who was delivering food every so often). The little fluffball poked his head out every once in a while, it was very cute.

[dum1s-writings]

Well, hello! It's nice to see an active total drama writer in here! I love this show so much and the fandom is like dead 💀

So, I had this idea...

It could be headcanons or a fic/one-shot, whatever you feel like the most!

But, what about the reaction to the TDWT crew to Chris bringing his niece with him?? Like, the reader is just a sweet 19 y/o teenager who looks for their safety and actually cares about them??? (Total contrary to his uncle lmao).

It doesn't have to be with one character specifically, most like how they would react overall to the reader wanting to protect them from Chris (AND PLEASE MAKE THE READER PROTECT CODY FROM SIERRA I BEG U)

Anyways, have a nice day!!! <3

~~~The Nice McLean~~~

I fucking love Total Drama!! I firmly believe Leshawna should've won the first season. I'll try to add my least favorite characters from World Tour to avoid being biased.

Warnings: Chris McLean, Sierra's stalker behavior, attempted manipulation from Alejandro, Duncan being kind of an ass, does Cody being a crybaby count? I'm making it count.

Pronouns: They/Them

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright contestants I have another surprise for you." Chris looked at the tired teens. From behind Chef came another teen. They smiled and waved to the other teens.

"Another contestant?" A few questioned simultaneously.

"Oh hell no. Their mother would kill me." Chris slung his arm around them and tugged them close. "This here is -Y/N- McLean, my nibling."

"Heya," their smile got bigger "I hope we can get along."

Everyone was too shocked to speak for a moment. Sierra was trying so hard not to flip her shit. Chris McLean's nibling was actually in front of her.

"So you're related to Chris?" Harold finally asked.

"Yeah. My mom is his sister." -Y/N- answered truthfully.

"Think of -Y/N- as a co-host. Another Chris of sorts." The older man smirked. "They'll keep an eye on you famous wannabes while I can't."

First of all we'll get the obvious out of the way, the cast fucking love you, after getting to know you. Obviously at first learning you're related to the devil host, Chris McLean, they immediately thought this season would be twice as torturous. But give them a couple of days or weeks and most of them would willingly jump from the plane for you. The others may take some time.

I'll start with the ones that take no time in becoming your fans:

Cody: for him the moment he saw you give a genuine smile was when he trusted you. Having dealt with Chris's shit for so long made him aware of a real and fake smile. Also when you demand Sierra leave him alone? Oh yeah he likes you even more now. Expect a lot of clinging, as much as he can, crying for one reason or another mostly Sierra and excessive praise for the small things.

Lindsay: my sweetheart, so pretty so.....not traditionally smart. She saw you looking super nice in your outfit and that was it. Anyone with fashion choices as good as yours are definitely trustworthy. Please become shopping buddies after the show is over.

Owen: this big lug. He really tries to see the good in everyone. More often than not he's wrong. But he's genuinely happy he's right about you.

Sierra: she knew about you before anyone else. Obviously she's going to trust you from the get go. You're related to THE Chris McLean. That trust may or may not waver...TBD. Either way watch yourself around her. Keep a close eye on your belongings.

The neutral ones who need a bit more time are:

Noah: he just doesn't trust easily. Take no offense to it. I think only Owen was lucky enough, being an actual giant ball of sunshine and stupidity. Perhaps if you sneak him some Noah-Safe food he'll trust you faster.

Gwen: poor girl has been scorned by the world so often. It's left her with a few trust issues. Maybe stick up for her and watch some good horror movies together. Reassurance is the key, she was painted as a bad guy from the beginning. Let her know she's more than that and it's okay to admit she did wrong. Help her move past that.

Leshawna: this bad bitch (lovingly) knows her worth. She wants to make sure others know it as well. Don't talk down to her and hype up her plans and ideas and she'll consider you worth her time and respect. Also keep Alejandro away from her. Please. My queen deserves better.

DJ: he's a softie and a Mama's boy. He does want to trust you. But after his failed restaurant with his Mama it might take some time. People in power never helped him or his Mama. In fact he wonders if they were sabotaged. Help him find ways to "reverse his curse" and he'll definitely trust you, also maybe offer his Mama a job as a chef, especially if it's a higher position in a private kitchen.

The ones who just straight up dislike you and take a long time to like you are:

Alejandro: his family caused him so much trauma. He doesn't trust ANYONE. He may act like it, nodding to your advice and being nice. But alas tis all a front. He's really just waiting for the perfect moment to betray you. When that time comes and goes and you're still nice to him? Yeah....you may have started chipping away at his walls.

Heather: the queen bee. The head of every group project. Highschool taught her to look out for herself. So did the first two seasons of Total Drama. She'll bitch at you and talk shit about you "behind" your back. Just brush it off and continue being nice and you'll win her over, eventually.

Courtney: the Type A Psychotic Crazies and debate team caused Courtney to believe only Courtney can help Courtney. She'll refuse to trust you and judges those who do. In fact it's not until she's kicked off will she finally trust you. Maybe meet up after the show and talk to her, she'll apologize to you and own up to her wrongdoings.

Duncan: the runaway delinquent. The hardass he is doesn't trust you, purely because of your last name. Chris ruined his life, more than he himself could have. Being stalked no matter where he went for 2 years put him on edge. Abolish Chris's stupid "must always sing" rule and his opinion on you might change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hopefully this works. I didn't know what to do for most of it. I was winging it big time.

[tylejandro]

I had no idea there was a @totaldramaficrecweek until just now. To anyone who wants more recs, here's what I suggest for days 1 through 4.

Day 1 (15 July): Favourite Canon Divergence

Favorite by AyaWilliams, an Aletyler and Heatherra rewrite of TDI. I loved seeing how these two relationships could've developed in that season and I thought both were handled very well. I also liked Heather and Noah's alliance. Not to spoil anything, but I also loved the 'Mr. Coconut' equivalent AyaWilliams made for the fic and I thought it was very in character.

I also really enjoyed Slippery Slopes by courtney-deserved-better just like a whole lot of other TD fans. I'm happy it inspired many other people to make Alenoah fanworks. I even wrote about it on Fanlore along with the ship itself, both of which were super fun to make. I really liked how the fic explored Noah's family and how that's been carried over to other fics, since canon gives us so little information.

Day 2 (16 July): Favourite Canon Compliant Fic

7 Minutes in Heaven (It Feels Like 70) by elsleaze, a Tyzeke Playa Des Losers 7 Minutes in Heaven AU. Does this count as canon compliant? Probably not, but I wanted to share this one. It was interesting seeing all the eliminated characters up to Sadie interact with one another, and the actual kissing scene with Tyler and Ezekiel felt very natural. It's a very cozy fic with the steamy moments in the 7 Minutes closet, and it got me to like Ezekiel more.

New Beginnings by CerendaRoth, a Nowen AU that takes place from Greece's Pieces until Owen is eliminated during Niagara Brawls. Not exactly canon compliant, again, but I wanted to share this one. I love how Owen's thoughts in a Nowen AU were explored. It has a great sense of soul, and Team-Escope was great!

Day 3 (17 July): Favourite Alternate Universe - No Total Drama

The Perfect Resolution by Brick_bronze165, a High School AU Aletyler fic written for new years 2024. This is my go-to comfort fic. Alejandro and Tyler's relationship develops naturally and I love all the scenes in this fic, each one shows the stage of their relationship very well. They also have good characterizations, though Tyler's is stronger overall.

i don't hate you, i'm just passing the time by jasmine_sea, a High School AU Alenoah fic written for Alenoah Week 2024. This one is genuinely very well written and may be one of my top 10 favorite fics I've ever read. Seriously. Both Alejandro and Noah are characterized very well and I love the side characters. Their relationship develops naturally and it has amazing scenes. It has a great sense of groundedness, if that makes sense, and the world the characters live in is very believable without being boring.

Day 4 (18 July): Favourite Short Fic (Under 2k)

Solace by AyaWilliams, an Alecody fic where Alejandro hides Cody from Sierra when she tried to make him drink that love tea. I liked the imagery of Alejandro basically cuddling Cody under a table.

Ugly Doll by natalynsie, a solid Heather & Leshawna interaction fic that takes place just after Heather's head is shaved by Chef, but it's not all completely off yet. A very good take on both characters, and this fic also has a lot of soul to it. I once shaved my head so I related a little to Heather's pain here, even if I did it completely on my own terms.

[starryluminary]

hi, sorry, love your au! its really. really good, and i admire the fact that you have drawn a whole comic, especially one so good, thats incredible!

don't know if this has been asked before or if you have answered this already, but how does the afterparty (I don't remember the name exactly, but the eliminated contestants plus the contestants that didn't get in) feel about this whole situation between cody, noah and sierra, are they being being stupid like duncan or mean and malicious like alejandro, are they on noahs and codys side or sierras? how do the rest of team e-scope feel about it (eva and izzy), are they ready to fight sierra for hurting noah and cody?

also, how do their families? specifically noahs, since codys mother and father are implied to be neglectful and likely wouldn't care to watch a show their son was on and I don't know if its the same in your au, sierras we don't know (I can't remember if we ever met her family members), and noah we know to have 8 sisters and a mom and since noahs like. the baby - I think their reactions are going to be very interesting if they are even established at all

sorry, that's a lot. thank you for making your comic. it's kind of fascinating seeing how things progress over time in this new narrative and how different things are from canon. you're doing a great job. - 🍓 anon

Oooooo this is a long one! Uuuhhh let's go one block of text at a time

Thank you so much!! I'm really glad you like my au!! It always wows me that this impulsive decision I made turned into something people really like and even anticipate. That's so cool

This ask actually made me pause and seriously think about the Peanut Gallery. So I made a bullet list of all the contestants in the Peanut Gallery and their (mostly) individual opinions on the situation. I'll let you decide if they're stupid or not

Katie and Sadie: Sympathize with Sierra. All she is is a girl in love, who's Noah to ruin that?! Like, soooo not cool!

DJ: Doesn't sympathize with Sierra, but doesn't agree with how noco kissed without setting her straight. Isn't really on anyone's side.

Leshawna: Does not like Sierra's persistence. Completely understands Noah and Cody doing what they do behind her back.

Harold: Compelled to agree with Leshawna. Also likes Cody, therefore feels bad he has to deal with Sierra. He's happy Noah makes him happy.

Beth: Thinks Noco's "forbidden love" situation is super sweet and sappy. She's on their side.

Justin: Cannot fathom why Cody would want to be with Noah when Sierra is so much prettier and treats him like a God. Also doesn't like Noah in general.

Trent: Is happy Cody's happy with Noah, but feels bad Sierra's heartbroken, regardless of what she's done. Mostly neutral.

Izzy: Noticed Noah had a crush during her time on the game, but only found out it was on Cody when she watched the London episode. She's proud he went after who he wanted. Got a pit in her stomach when Sierra attacked Noah in Greece.

Eva: Finds the whole situation incredibly stupid. Cannot understand how love makes Sierra so obsessed. Would maim her if she had the chance. Someone put them in the ring, actually.

Lindsay: Is not paying attention. Sees Tyler is friends with Noah (more on that later) so she likes Noah too!

Gwen: Made friends with Cody in the first half of the season and helped him out with his feelings for Noah where she could. Understands Sierra's insane and feels bad for Cody.

Owen: Feels awful about ever doubting Noah after watching Alejandro try to manipulate Cody by flirting with Noah. Plans to apologize to Noah as soon as he sees him again.

Now about their families (which I also had not thought too much about before this ask). They're on a scale to me. Cody's parents are on the "Not watching the show at all" extreme of the scale, Sierra's mom (cause I don't think she has a dad?) is on the "Obsessively watching the show" extreme of the scale, and Noah's family is somewhere in the middle, tuning in and out. Cody will come home, have his parents ask "How was the trip?", he'll answer an empty "fine" and they'll move on. Sierra's mom is loudly cheering her daughter on, cause she knows if she was there instead of her daughter, she'd be doing the same thing to Chris. She's proud of her for going after Cody and has an unhealthy hatred for Noah for getting in the way. For the first half of the season, Noah's family would watch the episodes as they aired if they could catch them. Most of them were there for London though. After that they started putting in more effort to catch the episodes. His parents are mostly worried for his well being, but his siblings are mostly cheering for him and Cody with every episode. They're gonna jump him (with affection) when he gets home.

You don't have to apologize Strawberry. (Can I call you Strawberry?) I'm always happy to receive asks about this au! And I'm glad you're having your fun with it. It's what I strive for. The fun

[stefanmikaleson1864]

Hot Chocolate

Hey Y'all I absolutely love the holidays and Christmas is my fave holiday out of the year so in honor of that I want to create some cute holiday one shots ! I hope you all enjoy this

Sierra Six X Reader

Y/N POV

Christmas was your favorite time of the year. The Magic of Christmas in New York was something that you can't describe.

The happy feeling in the air. The lights glowing in the night sky. God if you got lucky and was able to see snow. It was just pure magic. 

You always felt happier during the season.. Most people were stressed but not you.

Being able to go buy gifts for your loved ones. Helping those in need was something that was special to you

. Gift giving was your love language just being able to see the thought and time someone put into picking out the most perfect gift. 

This year was even more special for you. It was the first time that you were spending it with someone you truly were in love with.

Before you were either single or just not with the right person. But that chance meeting with six at a diner was something your never going to forget. 

You both were sitting alone at the bar side when the most devilish handsome man in front of you asked if you could pass the ketchup.

Now hear me out there’s way more to this. He didn’t even look up when he asked you. 

But when he looked up and saw the most beautiful smile and person in front of him he didn’t realize how long he was actually staring at you. 

“Is there something wrong oh god is there food stuck on my face” you panicked 

That broke the major trance he was in

“No uh sorry mm excuse me” He said clearing his throat. His face turning beat red

“Well good thing I don’t but you do” you said pointing to the small ketchup dot on his face. 

His face turned blood red and he was clearly embarrassed

“It seems to suit you you look hot with it” You blurted out now your face was blood red from embarrassment because why would you yell that out. 

He grabbed the napkin and wiped his face

“Now don’t you turn red your also the second hottest person in here next to me obviously” He said making you laugh. 

After that the rest was history. You sat for hours just talking and after he asked you out on a proper date.

That was almost a year ago and in that year you learned so much about him. 

What he actually did for work his past and everything. You didn’t mind he only did those things to protect people.

He was kind and sweet and amazing and you were so lucky. 

Though he always told you it was the opposite way. He never thought he would ever be so lucky to meet and fall in love with a amazing person such as yourself.

He knew so much about you even about your love for the holiday. 

Which is why you were in such a fuss to make it so special. You were killing yourself decorating the apartment all up and even making a big deal about the most perfect tree. 

“Babe it’s just a tree calm down” He said laughing at you.

You were currently taking measurements and shaking them and inspecting them for fulliness. 

You gasped out loud

“Just a tree no no you don’t understand the tree is everything there is no christmas without a tree” He just laughed at you 

After a couple of hours and him huffing and puffing it was cold you finally found the most perfect one.

You took it home and made him wear matching pajamas. You all decorated the tree together and sipped on hot chocolate. 

You made him watch christmas movies and take pictures and even though he tried to act manly he had never been happier or more in love. 

The season was flying by and you were spending all day out trying to find him the most perfect gift.

Because all that man did was say he didn’t want anything. Because he was in prison at such a young age he missed out on a lot.  

He talked a lot about playing games and being a nerd so you tracked down all old games and systems.

You even brought him that nice watch he had been not secretly eying. 

You were all around time trying to get everything when you got a text on your phone. 

“Come here to our place” Was it said you knew what it meant instantly. 

So you hurried and shoved all your stuff into the trunk and raced over to where he was.

He sitting at the same seat where you both meant. He loved going there back with you and getting lost in your eyes all over again. 

You ran over to him and snuck up behind him. 

“Guess who” You said covering his eyes.

“Rachel my secret girlfriend is that you” He said not even able to contain his laugh. 

“Wow okay i see how its hopefully she shows up” You said in between laughs. 

He turned around and grabbed you and pulled you close into him. 

“Mm she’s later but your good enough for now” He said smiling in your lips and leaning in and kissing you slowly. 

You kissed him back the butterflies always there. After you broke the kiss you sat down next to him. 

“Just in time” Jean said she was there the night you two meant and every other time you had been there. 

She placed two big cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream. You smiled big and instantly grabbed it and sipped it. It soothed your soul. 

“Mm omg soo good” You said laughing and sitting the cup down. 

“What’s this for though” You asked 

“Because I love you” Six said. 

“Are we going home and changing into our pj’s and watching more christmas movies because you love me” You said leaning into him. 

“Maybe” He said smiling, picking up his cup of hot chocolate to his mouth and taking a sip. 

You both laughed and you spent hours again just sitting there and talking and eating a favorite pastime of yours.

After you left you walked through NYC looking at the lights and seeing everything so neatly decorated. 

After you went home and of course he went home and put his matching pajamas on with you and laid in bed and watched christmas movies. 

You were laid up all on him and he wrapped you in his arms.

Six never really cared about the holidays due to never having a family to come home to but thank goddess that changed.

You were the greatest gift he could have ever asked for.

[sealz888]

I saw your fallout headcanon post! So i gotta know ur thoughts on Dean Domino! (<- loves that bastard too much)

Thank you for the asks @porcelain-animatronic and anon! Apologises this took really long. I have two other asks (involving Hancock and Ahzrukahl) which'll hopefully be out soon. I've had a lot going on lately, so I appreciate your patience! A heads-up, I haven't personally played Dead Money, so I hope you can forgive me if it's canon conflicting. My dumbass wrote Christina, instead of Christine.

Dean Domino

I really like the head canon that Dean has beef with pre-war singers, I feel like he’s got major beef with Frank Sinatra.

He was a childhood prodigy. His talent was discovered at a young age by his mother, who made him sign up to a childhood talent TV show. He won and only skyrocketed from there, hence his ego.

At some point when he turned 14, he lost his fame and became, for lack of a better term, “washed out” and he fell into the background. His mother wasn’t too happy about this, so he ran away to Vegas, and he’d get by busking and later performing at mid-end clubs. 

That was until he got into hot water at 17 after he was caught with chems. This actually skyrocketed him to fame again. Everyone was booking him in.

A playboy for sure, he flirted with anyone to get his way. Especially when he met Vera Keys again to lure her into joining his heist. However, he actually didn’t sleep around unless he was in a relationship with them. His spark and skill in flirting died down, but he's trying to get it back.

Really pissed off about his hair loss, but is glad about how he kept his moustache. Once he got out of the Sierra Madre, he left and immediately went to find a wig. 

After which, he immediately went to the Tops to find a job. It was hard at first to get on the strip considering ghouls aren’t allowed in without humans, but assuming Mr House is still alive and recognises him or the NCR allows ghouls onto the strip, he eventually manages. Convincing people he is Dean Domino was the harder part. Tommy eventually relented and let him perform. Now exclusively performs there.

Christine Royce

Perfect childhood friends with Veronica. They’re friends to lovers. Romanced her by bringing her all sorts of junk she could disassemble and reassemble. 

Got along with Elijah, but Christine parents thought that they were just “”really, *really* close gal-pals.” Eventually they couldn’t deny it that their daughter was a lesbian was sort of came to terms of it. 

They did push the two to at least surrogate, at least were the most polite about it.

Christine would watch and listen to Veronica talk and talk about historical texts and engineering for hours and hours on end, falling in love with her more. 

She was always slightly suspicious of Elijah, despite Elijah’s politeness, he was always trying to drive the two apart once everything came out. 

When she was first assigned to track him down, she’d write letters to Veronica, but she never got them, unfortunately. Upon encountering the courier, the courier put two and two together and told her about Veronica. 

Veronica, upon hearing about Christine broke down into tears on the strip, a few steps away into the Lucky 38. Veronica was hysterical and getting comforted by Arcade and Lily. They had a chat that lasted for hours explaining everything. She found about Elijah (I hc to personally have him trapped in the vault.)

Unsure of what to do, Veronica wanted to track her down and get her to become a member of the Followers. At some point, Veronica figured out to radio communicate with her. While Christina had to use Morse code to communicate, she was over the moon. Eventually, with the help of Raul over the radio, she managed to get the Autodoc to her reconstruct her vocal cords. However, she is absolutely terrified of Autodocs still and claustrophobic.

A year later, they decided to get married over the radio, and it was a big event, being broadcasted in a few places in Freeside and throughout the Sierra Madre, even Dean Domino and Dog/God dropped by to send her a message congratulating them. As the courier knew the King, he performed “love me tender” at their wedding and Lily, along with help from Cass and other followers, made them wedding garments. I can see Veronica in a pretty dress while Christina is in a suit, however, she could also wear a dress too.

Veronica also informed the BOS of what happened to Elijah and Christina. Christina's parents were overjoyed that she was alive, but still sent their reluctant congratulations to the newly-weds. Some of their old comrades also sent them well wishes.

Dog/God

I don't have a whole lot, but they're one of my favourite mutants.

Dog often mistakes the courier as the Master due to the look in their eyes, their tone of voice is similar to the master too.

Dog/God managed to become one personality again thanks to the couriers help. While the group leaves, they discuss names, but doesn’t like any of those. The courier encourages the newly reborn mutant to think for himself and choose his own name.

He tries to settle down at various settlements, Novac, Freeside, Westside eventually hearing about Utobitha. After arriving, Neil, recognised him by the scar on his chest and confused that the two personalities became one. After a long convo and explanation, Neil recognised the courier and redirected him to Jacobstown. 

While at Jacobstown, many supermutants and nightkin remembered him, but he did not remember himself. It was a *long* week explaining what happened.  With the help of others, he names himself Alexander. 

Alexander, decided to help Jacobstown by supporting his fellow Nightkin and became a wandering trade. He reached out to other settlements and offered to exchange goods and open up trades

He never really saw or heard from the courier again after stopping by to wish Veronica and Christine well wishes.

[blog-name-idk]

Mold a Pretty Lie | 07

Pairing: professor!Jin x Fem undergrad!Reader

Genre: College!AU, Unhealthy relationships, toxic relationships, virgin reader, eventual yandere, eventual smut

Summary: They say love is like a garden that requires regular care and attention. Kim Seokjin, your kind and handsome professor, is more than happy to cultivate the vines that bind his heart to yours.

Word Count: 4139

Rating: 18+

~~~~~

"Heyyy! Lookin' good [Y/n]!" called Ashley, waving as she made her way past rows of other students with their posters. You perked up at the sight of someone new. The judging professors had long since come by and asked you questions about your research, and you were now just twiddling your thumbs and wondering how long you were supposed to stay at your station.

"Me or my poster?" you asked with a laugh when she was close, dodging when she tried to ruffle your hair.

"Both! But I already knew your poster was going to be good."

You beamed at the upperclassman's praise. Ashley was one of those people who seemed both effortlessly cool and brilliant, whose casual confidence was something you hoped to achieve one day.

You opened your mouth to respond, only to be distracted by three familiar faces.

"Sierra? Tae? Jimin?" you asked in surprise, not having expected any other visitors. "What are you doing here?"

"You've worked so hard on this all semester, of course we wouldn't miss it!"

Your roommate rolled her eyes as if offended you even had to ask, and you felt warmth bloom in your chest. She said it so matter-of-factly, like it was a given, and you were overcome with appreciation for your friends.

You could count on one hand the number of times anyone had shown up for your achievements. When you had landed the leading role as Sandy in your middle school production of Grease – which, why had that even been a thing when they had to remove all references to "inappropriate" topics – your dad had to work the whole weekend while your mother drove your older sister's high school volleyball team to regionals. When you placed first in your high school science fair, the only one there to cheer you on was Phoebe - mostly because everyone in your grade had been forced to participate.

You were the second child, the one whose good grades were unremarkable because your older sister got them first. Your issues were overlooked or forgotten because you weren't as loud and dramatic as your younger sister.

You knew your parents loved you, but it still hurt to feel like an afterthought when all you ever wanted was for them to at least acknowledge your successes even half as much as they did when baby Brooke got a B on her final English paper. Yes, she had worked hard when her grades had been in the gutter, but hadn't you worked just as hard the entire year?

The fact that your three new friends had taken time out of their day to come to some weird academic showcase you hadn't even officially invited them to – well, it was affecting you much more than you would have thought.

"Whoa, hey, are you okay?"

Taehyung was suddenly in front of you, his hand on your arm and you realized your eyes were suddenly burning with tears.

"Um," you hiccuped, taking a deep breath to keep your emotions at bay. "I'm just - thanks for coming, it really means a lot."

"Awww you're so cute," cooed Ashley, wrapping her arms around you from behind and shaking you obnoxiously from side-to-side.

"Oh my god, get off," you wheezed with a laugh, secretly grateful for the distraction from your inconvenient influx of feelings. "Guys, this is Ashley. She's my TA and works with Dr. Kim too."

"Nice to meet you all," she said with a grin, freeing you from her grip to wave cheerfully at the newcomers. "Glad to see [Y/n] has such good friends, mine wouldn't come even if I begged."

"Well we love [Y/n]!" piped Sierra, so enthusiastically you blinked. "I mean, platonically. At least I do. I mean, we're good friends. Just friends."

You, Taehyung, and Jimin stared at the normally unflappable Sierra and her uncharacteristic babbling. Then you looked at Ashley, whose lips were twitching.

"What did you say your name was?" asked your TA, cocking her head and smiling. You were suddenly reminded that Ashley was very attractive and very much into women. It was just hard for you to notice other people when Dr. Kim was right there.

"I'm Sierra," your roommate replied a little breathlessly, though she seemed to have at least found an additional brain cell to keep her stable.

"Were you interested in any of the other projects?" asked Ashley nonchalantly. "I could walk you through them."

"I mean, if you don't mind," Sierra replied, trying - and failing - to appear just as nonchalant. With a cheery wave, Ashley took Sierra's hand and ushered her away before anyone else could get a word in.

"Wow," was all Jimin said as he watched them leave. He sounded so admiring that you found yourself giggling. "I want to be her when I grow up."

"Are you sure you don't want to go with them?" you teased, absolutely tickled that your roommate and your TA might be hitting it off. You had never seen Sierra so wide-eyed before, and it was incredibly endearing.

"We came to see you," Taehyung replied with his usual easy grin. You smiled back, feeling warm and fuzzy. Even after that uncomfortable exchange with Taehyung, he and Jimin had continued pestering you during and after lectures. They toned down the flirting, but otherwise still treated you the same way as before. The only reason you hung out less these days was because you were so busy with finals and this project.

It went a long way toward soothing the hurt and uncertainty you had felt at Dr. Kim's well-meaning - but likely unfounded - concern. You'd given no indication that your decision had changed, and yet they had even come to a boring science showcase to show their support.

So when you realized Taehyung's hand was still on your arm, you didn't move away.

"Well, do you want to hear about my incredibly exciting research on ocean temperatures?" you joked, only for the boys to nod.

"Please enlighten us, Professor [L/n]," said Jimin, a mischievous grin on his pouty lips. "What could possibly have been interesting enough to keep you working on this instead of hanging out with us?"

You rolled your eyes at his dramatics, though you were unable to keep the smile off your face.

"Oh you know, mass extinction, the loss of ecosystems, and the eventual impact it'll have on human society," you replied, giving him an innocent smile.

"Okay, but do those ecosystems steal you late night pizza from the cafeteria?" asked Taehyung teasingly, making you laugh and shake your head.

"I guess you two have your uses," you teased. Jimin gasped in mock-affront, making you laugh again. You missed hanging out with these two.

"I'm glad some people are having fun today."

You jumped and turned to see Dr. Kim behind you. He was smiling, but his normally twinkling eyes looked a little sharper when they zeroed in on how close the boys were standing, and for a moment you felt like you were doing something wrong. Then you shook off the odd sensation.

It was probably just because as far as Dr. Kim knew, Taehyung had been toying with you while juggling other girls. Not to mention the ill-considered kiss you definitely did not lie awake at night kicking yourself over.

But Jimin had actually pulled you aside separately to explain to you exactly what happened during the conversation Dr. Kim had seen. He had been uncharacteristically serious, telling you he wasn't trying to change your mind, just that he wanted you to have all the information because Taehyung didn't want to seem like he was pushing you to forgive him. Jimin had also assured you that whatever you decided, they did still want to be friends, and he'd tone his behavior down.

Oddly enough, the conversation in which Jimin assured you that you were still important to him even if you didn't have feelings for him, was enough for you to start seeing him in a different light. You had always enjoyed his presence and his teasing attitude, but he seemed so flighty and flirty that it was hard to take him seriously. His obvious care and consideration - not just towards you, but to Taehyung - showed you he could be thoughtful when necessary.

The Kiss Incident - well, it was a one-off mistake, a blip in the otherwise normal trajectory of your college life. Dr. Kim himself had said it couldn't happen again. Even if he had enjoyed it. Well, more specifically said "it wasn't entirely unwelcome," but you would let your daydreams exist where they could.

And anyway, even if Dr. Kim was just concerned about Taehyung or Jimin messing with you, it was your business. He was your professor, not your father (not that either of your parents checked in very often anyway) or… or any other type of role that gave him the right to comment on your personal life.

So why, when he looked at you with those dark eyes, did you feel the urge to assure him that nothing was going on with the boys?

Was it because no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't get the brief pressure of his lips as he reciprocated the kiss out of your mind? Or because sometimes when you caught his eye, his perfect lips curved into a smirk that made your mouth go dry?

Despite his words - of his kind, humiliating rejection and insistence that nothing of the sort could ever happen again - Dr. Kim's behavior still confused you. The sporadic touches when he was close, the little gifts he'd leave you, the way the occasional compliment slipped from his lips and left you stammering. It was enough that you couldn't shed your feelings, or keep him from your mind long enough to think about starting something with anyone else. Not that anything had even "started" with him.

You weren't immune to Taehyung and Jimin's charm and good looks. And getting to know their personalities just made you like them more. Taehyung's kisses made you weak, and Jimin's flirting could set your heart racing, but neither of them consumed your mind like Dr. Kim. He had somehow wormed his way into every crack and crevice of your brain, like the creeping ivy that grew atop the walls of your dorm.

"Aren't you supposed to be into this stuff, Professor?" asked Taehyung with a grin, not registering anything amiss with the intensity of Dr. Kim's gaze.

"Unfortunately judging several presentations isn't always the definition of a good time," the older man replied lightly, though the set of his mouth told you he wasn't in as good of a mood as he sounded. His eyes focused back onto you, and his smile became more genuine. "And I can't even evaluate the one I know will be good, because it would be a conflict of interest."

You really did not need to hear your professor say something about a conflict of interest while smiling at you like that. You had too many delusional fantasies blooming in your head already to allow another one to take root.

"Well Professor, in your unprofessional opinion, how do you think I rank?" you asked tentatively, peeking at his face and your heart flutter when he smiled back at you.

"Definitely first!" chirped Jimin, slinging his arm around you in a show of support you wished could have waited for a more opportune time. Still, it was an innocent enough gesture, and you were genuinely happy he had come.

"Thanks, Jimin," you said with a laugh.

"Well, I might be biased," Dr. Kim teased, so casual you wondered if you had imagined the way his eyes flashed. "But I do believe this is one of the best projects in the category."

"Really?" you breathed, his praise making you turn towards him like a flower to the sun. Jimin's arm around your shoulder reminded you not to make a complete fool out of yourself.

"Of course," your Professor replied. "We'll find out soon enough, in any case. Everyone has turned in their evaluations."

"Oh hey Prof! I thought you were evaluating the other room!"

Ashley announced her arrival with her typical aplomb, a smiling Sierra in tow. You raised an eyebrow at your roommate, grateful for the distraction, your friend winked.

"We finished, so I thought I'd come see how [Y/n] was doing," Dr. Kim replied. "Though it seems she has all the support she needs."

He said it lightly, like a joke. No one else seemed to notice anything amiss, not even Ashley, but the way his eyes met yours briefly made you uncertain.

"Of course, we're her personal cheer squad," Taehyung announced, draping his arm over your other shoulder and bringing you in for a one-armed hug. Jimin squawked when the action pulled you away from him, and tugged you back towards him in a playful tug-of-war.

Sierra and Ashley laughed at their antics as you struggled to get free, complaining you weren't a yo-yo.

"But you're so fun to play with," teased Jimin, the most suggestive thing he had said in weeks. You knew he didn't mean it that way – his tone was more playful than smooth – but you couldn't help but peek at Dr. Kim out of the corner of your eye.

He had been pulled aside by another professor, and you weren't sure whether you felt relieved or disappointed that he seemed to have missed the exchange. Then you forced yourself to pay attention to your friends, because you realized that once again you were being a selfish idiot.

When the results were announced, you were dogpiled by your friends while Ashley cheered by your side. For a moment you felt eyes burning into the back of your head, but when you turned, all you saw was Dr. Kim smiling and offering you congratulations.

~~~~~

The airport was bustling with holiday travel, and you felt a little overwhelmed by the crowd. You chewed your lip as you scanned the lines, hoping to see your broad-shouldered professor, to no avail. This was supposed to be the spot you, Dr. Kim, and the other student-professor pair met up at before going through security together, and yet no one was in sight.

For a moment panic filled you. Were you late? Was this the wrong airport? Oh no, what if it was the wrong day and you had already missed the flight?

"[Y/n], were you waiting long?"

A familiar voice cut through your anxiety and you let out a sigh of relief as you turned to greet your professor.

"I just got here," you assured him, resisting the urge to cling to his arm to make sure he wouldn't leave. "Where are Dr. Li and Jason?"

"They unfortunately both came down with the flu," said Dr. Kim ruefully. "I got the call this morning. One probably got it from the other."

You gulped. A weekend alone with your beautiful professor? Well, not alone alone, since most of the days would be taken up by the conference activities, but without the buffer of two strangers you were a little worried about how the state of your crush would be by the end.

"Oh," you squeaked, looking down at your carry-on. It was just a three-day trip, you could do this. It would be totally fine. You were breezy.

The mantra carried you through the security line, where you tried not to stare as your professor removed his jacket and shoes. It bolstered you through the walk to the gate, when he asked if you needed anything and bought you a water anyway. It lasted through boarding, when he smiled and asked if you wanted the window seat.

You buckled the funny-looking seatbelt, scolding yourself for being disappointed that Dr. Kim had left the middle seat empty between you. If he had, his warmth might have distracted you from the not-as-pleasant butterflies fighting to the death in your gut as you discovered that you might have a tiny fear of flying.

As the overly cheery safety and thank-you-for-flying-with-us video began to play, your traitorous brain decided to latch onto keywords like "if a water landing is needed" and "life jackets" and "oxygen masks". Was the plane getting warmer? You stole a surreptitious glance at the people sitting in the exit row seat and wondered if they could be trusted to assist in the event of an emergency.

Still, you had to pat yourself on the back. Despite the rising panic you felt inside, you were able to smile and laugh absentmindedly at Dr. Kim's jokes, even if his voice is starting to feel a little far away. Until the plane began to move and your hands latched onto your arm rests.

"Are you alright?"

Your professor was eyeing you in concern, and you tried to relax your white-knuckled grip. But – oh god the plane was speeding up and what if something went wrong or a wing fell off or the engine exploded or –

"[Y/n]."

Dr. Kim's voice was soft in your ear – when did he change seats? Your breaths were coming in short, frantic pants and for once it wasn't his proximity that was making your heart pound.

"Can you hear me?" he asked, hands on your shoulders and warm eyes fixed on yours. He was close enough that you could hear him over the rumble of the plane and the cotton static in your ears, and you clung to his voice like a lifeline. You opened your mouth to respond, which was when you felt the plane lift off the ground. You snapped your eyes and lips shut, wondering why, of all things, you were going to die of a heart attack at the tender age of eighteen.

A soft touch on your face startled you enough for you to open your eyes again, and you vaguely registered that Dr. Kim's hand was cupping your cheek.

"Try to breathe with me," he murmured, making a big show of puffing out his chest as he inhaled. You would have giggled had you not been on the edge of hyperventilating. Still, you did your best to obey your professor despite the tightness in your chest, and he didn't scold you when your breath hitched or you gasped or messed up the rhythm.

You weren't sure how long he stayed like that, breathing with you and stroking your cheek gently with his thumb, but eventually your breath evened out and you realized the plane was no longer shaking or rumbling so much. You winced as you tried to relax your hands from the vice-like grip you had on the armrests, flexing your fingers to try to relieve the stiff ache in your joints.

"There's my girl," whispered Dr. Kim softly, smiling at you. His hand was warm on your skin, and his words sank into you like a rock tossed into the ocean. One that was still falling to depths unknown.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked, making you swallow whatever had been at the tip of your tongue. Instead you nodded, feeling your lower lip drag between your teeth as you tried to think around the cotton-like fatigue weighing down on your head. Dr. Kim's eyes flickered to your mouth at the action, and for a moment something dark bloomed in his gaze.

"Sir, please fasten your seatbelt."

You both jumped at the pleasant, professional voice of the flight attendant, and Dr. Kim apologized as he settled into the seat and clicked the clasp into place. You were incredibly relieved he remained next to you. It wasn't even for your daydreams, at this point - his solid presence was comforting, and even if the flight had evened out you were still tense.

"T-thank you," you mumbled, suddenly embarrassed by your inability to do something as simple as sit in a chair. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Dr. Kim replied, smiling gently and patting your arm. It was a far cry from the way he had been so tenderly stroking your cheek, but you felt butterflies all the same. "I'm sorry, I didn't know flying was hard for you."

"I didn't either," you said with a self-conscious laugh. "This is my first time."

"Ah," your professor replied in understanding, hand still on your arm. "Well-"

A ding sounded over the speaker system, and a voice spoke.

"This is your captain speaking. We are about to enter into a patch of turbulent air, so please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts."

"Oh," you said faintly, wondering if this was your karma for lusting after your professor. Perhaps you deserved this.

"Do you want-" Dr. Kim began, looking at you with concern, before the plane jolted and you let out a humiliating whimper, squeezing your eyes shut.

It was an even bigger shock when you felt a strong arm encircle your shoulder and pull you into a very firm, very broad, very wonderful-smelling chest.

"It'll be okay," your professor murmured into your ear as his other hand stroked your hair gently. You drew in a shuddering breath, enveloped by his warmth and his scent. Then the plane lurched again, and you wondered if it was possible to be simultaneously in heaven and hell.

"S-sorry," you managed to choke, trying to breathe the way Dr. Kim had earlier. Another lurch had you gripping your professor's shirt for dear life, and his arm tightened, pressing you more securely against him. "I know in my head it's fine, I just - "

"Shh, I understand," he said soothingly, his chest rumbling soothingly against your cheek. You hated your brain for deciding flying was a problem so you couldn't properly enjoy what was probably a one time pity thing. Then again, this wouldn't be happening otherwise.

"I'm here for you, okay?" Dr. Kim was a steady source of reassurance, full of encouraging words and soft touches. "Always."

~~~~~

You stirred against Seokjin's chest, and he shushed you gently. To his mixed relief and dismay, you snuggled closer with a cute little grumble, and he felt those vines constrict around his chest.

He had somehow managed to soothe you to sleep earlier, and he hoped you stayed like this for the remainder of the flight. For your own sake, not because your body nestled against his so perfectly.

He hadn't expected you to have a fear of flying - neither did you, apparently - and he hated seeing you so distressed. Though the way you obeyed him, the way you looked at him with total trust in your eyes did send a dark tendril of satisfaction purring through his veins.

He had almost lost himself in that moment. You were so beautiful, and he felt himself drawn like a bee to honey.

Seokjin's mind had been more troubled than usual of late, since the Honors showcase where you won second place and a junior won first. Since he had seen for himself that those two college whelps had wormed their way back into your good graces like the pests they were proving themselves to be.

It had been infuriating to watch the shameless way they flirted with you. Jagged thorns had pricked through his chest at the sheer nerve, and when they had pulled you between them like a prize to be won, the thorny briars had blossomed into something ugly and bitter.

It was clear you weren't used to being cared for or doted on, if the little hints and snippets he had gotten were anything to go by. You had been so shocked when he addressed the bullying at the beginning of the semester, as if you had never had anyone stick up for you.

You deserved - needed - better. Someone to take care of you, who appreciated just how special you were. Someone you could trust, who had your best interests at heart.

It irked Seokjin more than he wanted to admit, that he knew so little of you outside of academics. He wanted to read through every page of your life he hadn't had access to, wanted to see you through those still unwritten.

If he let you be, would the next person tend you the way you needed? Or would they take and take like a parasite until you wilted to nothing?

You shifted against him, soft and sweet, a perfect flower begging to be plucked. He found his hand tracing the curve of your cheek again.

Seokjin wondered just how much more you might consume his thoughts after a weekend together. The vines in his chest constricted at the thought of how you would have fared on this trip without him. The way you clung to him, the way you needed him.

It should have worried him. Yet all he felt was more fondness and concern for you sinking roots ever deeper into his veins.

~~~~~

Next | Masterlist

Tags: @moonleeai @random-and-out-of-context @amenjiminsan @innebulae @seoqity @lilacdreams-00 @chowb @shescharlie @mazmaz30 @definetlythinkimanalien @seokjins-luigi @lucci-girl @xicanacorpse @bighitbabie @8loominghell @jung-nika-hoseok @staradorned @zealouslightcookiebasketball @kissme-ornot @dyhrbls @nabiolive

[thegrimdog13]

Star au headcannons pt.1

If you want more just tell me! Again this is not related to any of my other aus and will have different designs.I also want to come out with some art for it soon! Love you all ❤️

______________________________________________

Jeff-  

•The fans call him Jeff the killer because he kills it on stage and the ladies, men, and others lol

•Jeff is a bitch to everyone and needs everything to be perfect 

•Jeff loves the attention

•Jeff has a preference towards woman so he often is like ohhhhh let that one on stage or take her backstage.

•Jeff did this to Nina once and after she became obsessed. Nina then became a pop star so she could be close to him at events.

•Jeff’s rock band wears fun makeup like kiss ( but it is like there regularly designs so Jeff has a smile painted on his face and EJ has black tears same with Lulu except hers are red.)

Stuff close to what Jeff would write or play-

•Falling in reverse- Good girls like bad guys

•Mötley Crüe- Dr. Feelgood

•Ozzy Osbourne - crazy train

•Green Day- boulevard of Broken dreams

______________________________________________

Nina-

•Nina stole the killer part from Jeff because she is obsessed.

•She loves Jeff’s music (Jeff does a lot of rock and emo like music. )

•Nina loves pop too and does scene music to get Jeff’s attention.

•Nina really leans into pop with her outfits but tries to add in some scene girl vibes.

•Nina moves a lot on stage like dancing and bopping around

•Nina copied Jeff a little with the smile but instead drew her lip stick into a smile.

Stuff close to what Nina would sing-

•Tessa Violet- Crush

•Bebe Rexha- I’m a mess

•Katy Perry-Hot n Cold

•Savannah Lee May-All eyes on me

•Never shot never-Happy

•lady Gaga- paparazzi

______________________________________________

Jane-

•Her stage name in Jane everlasting but it used to be Jane the killer when she was in a band with Jeff.

•She refuses to sing anything rock and metal

• Jeff and her had a call out when he was being a bitch to her and she was tired of his crap.

• She hates talking about anything about Jeff and when interviewers asked her about it she freaks out

•She mostly sings sad and inspiring songs

•She just hates Jeff lol

Stuff close to what Jane would sing-

• Alicia Keys- Underdog

•Kyla Jade- you don’t own me

•Adele- Hello

•Adele-easy on me

______________________________________________

Eyeless Jack-

•EJ puts up with Jeff better then anyone else he gets pissed at everything but Jeff some how

•EJ is basically feeds Jeff’s delusions while Liu is just like shut fuck up Jeff.

•EJ is as nice as he can be until someone annoys him then he will break his drums and Jeff will be pissed. He would say why the fuck EJ those are expensive and then EJ would just be like I’m sorry Jeff and beg for forgiveness lol.

•EJ is basically Jeff’s Boyfriend without being his boyfriend he will bring Jeff flowers before shows and simp for him and Jeff will be like cool attention.

•EJ is just like notice meeee twenty four seven towards Jeff but Jeff is oblivious.

______________________________________________

Ticci Toby and Clockwork-

•Literally Idiots they make jokes on stage before they start singing

•Toby plays the ukulele sometimes probably

•Clockwork will sing a sad song and make raunchy jokes after.

•They sing lots of comedy duets.

stuff that is similar to what they would sing-

•Joel Grey & Sutton Foster- Friendship

•Mindy Gledhill- I Do Adore

•Alex & Sierra- Little do you know

______________________________________________

Sally-

•Sally is a child ballet dancer and her mom posted her residual online and it got millions of views

•Sally appreciates people being nice to her

•Sally is super sweet and nice

•She loves people and talking to fans

•She adores dancing

______________________________________________

Ben-

Ben’s nickname is Ben Drowned because of Minecraft lol

• Ben also does gaming competitions even though he is a kid

•Ben is really good for a teen and his dad is a pro gamer that helped him get in the competitions

•Ben is a little brat and loves trash talking people

•Ben learned how to hack so even if he was losing he could just click a couple buttons and win.

•Ben is a big fan of Jeff’s music

______________________________________________

Laughing Jack and Laughing Jill -

•They are a twin trapeze act

•They are in a traveling Circus

•They often make jokes a lot so the ringmaster decided they should have Laughing Jack and Laughing Jill as their nicknames

•Laughing Jack loves to throw candy for the children when they are swinging all over the place.It often hits the kids in the face though lol.

•Laughing Jill also loves to dance

______________________________________________

Jason The Toymaker-

• he does all types of acrobatics

•He thinks that he is the best thing ever lol

•not much is known about him and no one even knows why he is as famous as he is ( probably some sort of controversial thing but like something dumb like him saying I’m better then *insert name* at this thing lol) ______________________________________________

CandyPop-

•An aerial dancer

•He just loves looking majestic lol

•Candypop has lots of energy and does hard tricks so fast it’s unbelievable

•Candypop jumps around before her gets on the silks and it’s so funny looking lol

•Candypop just love’s attention

______________________________________________

Bloody Painter-

•Bloody painter is a painter so creative lol

•Instead of painting with blood he uses regular paint. But the reason he is called blood painter is because he paints serial killers.

•Helen is really sweet but loves dark things

•Helen is quiet and often compliments other people’s work even if it isn’t that good. •Helen just appreciates other artists ☺️

______________________________________________

Homicidal Liu-

•Liu was taught piano by his mother

•Liu was going to join Jeff’s band but Jeff said no because he can’t play anything cool.

•Liu plays sad music ever since his Mom died from an unknown illness

•Liu loves his brother but has to give him realty checks a lot.

•Liu is older then Jeff but somehow he feels like he is always treated as lower by Jeff

______________________________________________

Lulu -

•Lulu loves being Jeff’s band but she thinks he is kinda rude

•Lulu is a really quiet person who is a bit of a people pleaser

•Lulu stays on Jeff’s good side because she enjoys seeing him happy.

•Nina hates Lulu

•Lulu is quiet off stage but when she is on the stage her voice is booming

•Lulu has a really pretty voice and sometimes Jeff gets a little jealous

______________________________________________

Brian and Tim-

•They are gay country boys and no one can tell me otherwise lol

•They sing lots of love songs

•They are little cuties

•Brian is a big goof and makes lots of jokes while Tim is just like really…….

•Tim secretly loves Brian’s humor

•Brian is a big flirt and it makes Tim blush

•Countryyyyy boyyyy Iiii lovvveeee youuu

songs similar to what they would sing-

•Johnny Cash - you are my sunshine

•Tonight I’m Garth Brooks- we shall be free

•Prisley Fields-Ride Me Cowboy ( Brian would definitely sing this lol)

______________________________________________

This is all I can think of for now let me know if you want a part two! If you have any suggestions, questions, or drawings requests! Love you all ❤️

[arrieebooks]

Precious Weapon (8)

Pairing : Lloyd Hansen x F!OC (Elle) x Sierra Six (Court Gentry) x glimpses of Denny Carmichael.

Summary : She has her first kill but things get messy. Lloyd starts to feel feelings for her. They all three have a conversation about what they really are.

Warnings : Guns. Detailed murder. Violence. Assassination Gore. Lloyd thirsts over her ass. Nudity. Taking clothes off. Polyamory relationship. Fun trysts in a hotel. Lots of implied sex. Teasing. Making out underwater. Slight happiness for a short time. References to home theater. (Check it out, it deserves more recognition!).

Word count : 14k words.

Author's note : This takes place exactly two weeks after chapter seven.

***

Lloyd has no idea what kind of spell she has put him under to be this whipped to her.

He is obsessed with her. Captivated. Bewitched. She controls him, unintentionally and subconsciously. Anything she wants, it's hers. He does whatever she says. He has never been this glued before with any other women in his life. And she doesn’t even do much. She just simply exists in his radar.

He finds her completely flawless. Everything she does is perfect and attractive to him. It doesn’t even matter what she’s doing. It could either be when she’s eating up all of their food hungrily or blowing up buildings and warehouses or bursting with laughter loudly whenever Six tries to crack up a stupid joke.

Even today, as she's bent down and arching her ass while gripping a huge sniper against the hotel room's window, she looks absolutely sexy and tempting to him. He's never seen any woman handle a gun so perfectly composed ��� Six taught her well. He could see the curve of her ass through her thin black leggings. Lloyd scrubs his hand over his stache, drifting his eyes toward the view of the mall in front of them instead of her ass.

He squints his eyes due to the usual hot sunny day of the city. The room smells like a fresh new hotel room and he missed it. He's sitting on the uncomfortable chair in the desk, right beside her where the gun is placed. Six is somewhere on the bed, reviewing the surveillance cameras in his laptop and the blueprint of the mall to look for loopholes.

It's her first big mission after two weeks of waiting and recovering from everything that’s happened. An assassination mission. To eliminate one of the corrupt politicians in the city. She’s been studying his case during her week off and he is truly the fucking worst.

She had flinched a couple of times just looking at his files from what he had done to thousands of poor innocents just for the sake of money. The bastard doesn’t even care nor is he scared of being caught. Instead, he’s chilling in a fancy outdoor café from the mall with his family while he's calling some other politician as well.

They’ve been in that mall before, it just wasn’t a mission. It was a nice day out with just them because she wanted fresh air that time. He wishes the circumstance could be the same now. He hates assassination missions. It always gets messy real fast, somehow.

“You know, I could just shoot him right here and then we could enjoy this nice room for the rest of the day.” Elle remarks casually, her eyes still watching the man from the sniper’s lens.

Six looks up from his laptop and frowns. "We just need to be patient. Get him alone and do it in a secure place without too many cameras in every single angle." he calmly tells her.

Lloyd looks down at her even though she can't see him. "That's not exactly the purpose we got this room for, sweetheart." he retorts coldly.

She rolls her eyes, retreating from the sniper to look straight into his eyes. "But, it is a pretty expensive room just to waste it for a few hours, spying on this asshole doing nothing." she grumbles but he still finds it so fucking attractive. She's just like him.

He glares at her as his jaw tenses. "You're the one who told us to get this room in the first place." Lloyd reminds her, proving to himself even more that he does whatever she says.

She finally stands up straight and her eyes look down at him. "Yeah, because it had a clear view of the whole outdoor mall. But I didn't think that we would be holed up in this room for hours. He practically hasn't moved a single muscle." she states.

Lloyd shakes his head. "We can't kill him with the gun. The room's window that we booked is clearly going to leave a hole. A fucking bullet hole. We're too close to the target. They'll trace it back to us." he states the obvious.

She shrugs. "We used a fake identity to book this room, they can't trace it back to us. We'll be fine." Elle still insists.

Sometimes her stubbornness gets on his nerves way too much. His jaw clenches and clicks while his eyes glare up at her.

"No. it's not how it's done. You're here to make it look completely clean and untraceable, without any sort of evidence at all. That's your purpose, Elle." Lloyd sternly tells her.

She huffs, rolling her eyes again. She knows that he's making a perfect point now. She just hates admitting it.

"And I can't believe I've put up with you for one month now." she says with a sigh, a small smile slowly forming on her lips.

Lloyd's face gradually relaxes a little bit and realizes this is her way of telling him that he's right, for the very first time.

Six perks up from his laptop, glancing between them. "Has it really been a month? I don't keep track of dates." he casually says.

She snaps his head to him and nods. "Yep. A month or so." Elle answers before walking up to him and Lloyd's eyes follow her every moment.

She sits on the bed, right in front of him. "So, when do we finally get down there? I can't hear anything he's saying from up here." she asks him, sweetly.

Six looks down at his laptop again to study the blueprint so he could get them a nice exit strategy.

Lloyd clicks his tongue in disapproval. "He's probably saying something useless anyway. Like which stripper club he wants to buy next." he remarks.

She turns around to him. "Have you ever been to a stripper club before?" she teases him intentionally with a smirk on her lips.

Lloyd casually nods. "Yeah. In France. Just not really my scene. Too dark and flashy. Tacky. And, embarrassing. Every guy is there to see some ass and everyone knows it." he comments.

She furrows her brows, cocking her head to the side. "Why'd you only say ass?" she asks.

He stammers, evidently panicking. "I—what? What does that even mean? What else was I even supposed to say? It is like that! It's all ass!" Lloyd tries to defend himself but she just laughs at him.

Six still remains calm and focused on the screen of his laptop. They don't bother his focus by talking like this, he likes it when they talk. He was the one who suggested in the first place to include Lloyd in their thing because he genuinely likes the guy.

She shakes her head. "It means you like ass more, Hansen. There are other body parts of a woman that aren't just their ass. The fact that you only said ass, means you're an ass man." Elle explains to him.

Lloyd scowls, looking very offended by her true statement. "That's not true." he denies.

She raises her brows. "Really? How about my ass, then?" She keeps teasing him and Six finally looks up to them. He knows Lloyd loves her ass more than anything. Six could tell by the way he was always staring at it. Even earlier, he noticed.

He shrugs plainly. "What about your ass? It looks fine to me." Lloyd pretends to not like her ass even though he has been staring at it this whole time.

She giggles. "You like my ass, Lloyd. Admit it." she urges as Six stares back down at his laptop to hide a smile.

Six clears his throat before the other man could even open his mouth. "Guys, I think I found a plan," he announces.

Lloyd smirks at him, now focusing all his attention on him. "Well, let's hear it, ken doll." he gestures his hand for him to continue.

"Right, so we'll go in there separately. Maybe, one of us as a couple. We disguise our way in there and act like clueless tourists just wandering around. We'll bring one of our agents so I can walk with them." Six makes a plan out of the top of his head since he's never really done this before.

She frowns. "So… me and Lloyd as a couple?" she asks slowly.

Six casually nods. "Yeah. You guys look more fitting for it. I'll be a solo traveler with a friend. Then, Lloyd and you are going to follow him after he leaves that café. Make something up so he could be in a secluded place. Wherever you decide to do it, make sure to destroy the cameras before it could even catch you. Are we clear?" he explains to them.

They're both an attentive partner to him, always listening to him no matter what the situation is. Six rarely makes plans for missions. He usually just does what he's told to. He only ever strategizes when he urgently has to.

Lloyd immediately nods. "Clear. I'll go and tell our team in the other room." he declares, getting up from his seat.

She nods her head too. "I'm going to prep and cloak our weapons again so it doesn't beep during security." Elle states before all of them part their ways to do their own thing.

***

Beep

Their hotel door opens as Lloyd comes into the room with the key card in his hands. He's just finished briefing the team of their plan. He bought some clothes in the mall for their disguise as well.

Elle is in the bathroom, doing her hair to make it look like she's a tourist because she clearly doesn't. She's already learned to blend in since she was born. She's lived in this country her whole life.

Six is taking off his shirt and jacket in the room, that certainly doesn't make him look like a solo traveler. He looks more like a rich guy about to murder a guy. It's not exactly his fault that Lloyd always buys his clothes expensively. He just told him that he wanted comfortable clothes.

Lloyd's knuckles knock on the bathroom and Elle snaps her head with a straightener and a brush still in her hair. "Yeah?" she asks him as he leans on the doorframe.

He shows her three shopping bags. "Bought you guys some clothes. You know, for the disguise. I've already memorized both of your sizes." Lloyd tells her.

She nods, calmly putting the burning hot straightener on the counter. "Okay, what am I wearing?" she asks, fully turning to him with a hand on her hip.

Lloyd takes a clothing item from the bag and reveals it to her. "Well, this." He hands her a very long, flowy maxi pink sundress with white flowers and ribbons for the straps. Something to wear in an island destination or on a beach.

She sighs. "You've got to be kidding me. I have to wear this? Lloyd, we're in Jakarta, not in fucking Bali or something. This is not something you'd wear in a city." Elle complains.

Lloyd nods. "Yeah, stupid tourists, remember? They wear whatever the fuck they want." he argues.

She shakes her head in disbelief. "Fine. If I have to wear this shit, then you can't wear this either." she says, her finger pointing out his clothes that certainly make him look too rich and not like a tourist at all.

He frowns, looking down at his black patterned polo shirt and his white trousers. "What? No. These are my clothes. I'm not taking it off. Ever." Lloyd firmly states.

She smirks, stepping forward to him and her hands rest against his chest. "Yes, you are. Because I'm the one taking it off of you." she softly demands, her fingers already slowly taking his buttons off.

Lloyd huffs. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he grumbles but he doesn't move a single muscle, he's letting her do it.

She nods, flicking off three buttons on the top of his shirt. “Yeah, wear a normal shirt and normal pants to blend in as a tourist. You know, I knew you weren’t just some tourist or a guy who worked a 9-5 job here, back at that bar. Because of how you dressed. Now, let me style you, Lloyd.” she says before finally finishing taking off all of the buttons.

He rolled his eyes, glaring down at her. “Whatever. Just make it quick.” Lloyd mumbles and she lifts his shirt above his head quickly.

He’s left shirtless and while this isn’t the first time she’s seen him like this, it has been a long time since they’ve seen each other fully naked. It’s only been two weeks. Lloyd wanted to give her some space, after everything that’s happened. He didn’t want to push her. He wanted to let her body heal properly. She’s been with Six a lot and he's been helping her sleep every night.

She looks down at all his toned abs and abdomen. “You’ve gotten ripped.” Elle remarks teasingly.

Lloyd frowns. “That’s not true. I haven’t even been working out.” He refers to something else that isn’t related to actually working out. He knows she knows what it means. He knows how smart she actually is. Smarter than him, sometimes.

Her lips turn into a smirk as she slowly stares up at him with those big, innocent eyes. “Well, we could fix that tonight if we decide to stay the night here.” She teases him.

He slowly nods. “We'll see later.” Lloyd seriously tells her and a smile gleams on her lips.

She grabs the dress she’s about to wear and snatches all the shopping bags from his hands. “Come here, we have more space in the room.” she says before grabbing his hand, dragging him into their room.

Six turns his head to them and frowns confusedly. She goes to stand in front of him while throwing all the bags onto their bed. Lloyd still has his hand glued on hers as he stands behind her.

"What's going on here? Why is Lloyd suddenly shirtless?" Six asks them, holding in a laugh as his lips slowly tug into a small smile.

She smiles softly. "I'm styling him now. You need it too, you know. So, take your shirt off please." she demands him and he immediately nods, already taking his shirt off from him. Six doesn't hesitate at all because they've both seen him naked already and he trusts them. If this was anyone else, he'd rip their skin off.

Lloyd tilts his head to the side. "You keep ordering us to take off our shirts, when are you going to do the same?" he asks her, wrapping his hand around her waist as he presses himself against her from behind.

Six casually throws his shirt somewhere on the bed before glaring at the other man.

"Now's not the time for that. We need to—"

Wordlessly, she casually takes her crop top off of her body, revealing her white bra that matched her shirt. "I need to change into my dress first before I style you guys." she innocently says.

Lloyd's eyes wander all around her body from behind and somehow, he's so relieved that all her scars from two weeks ago are gone. He knows it has been gone for long already but he remembered the fear he felt when he saw all those scars on her body that weren't healing yet. He thought it was the end of her.

Six's eyes respectfully stare down at her body before looking back up at her eyes. "Change quick, Elle. This isn't a…" he softly trails.

She nods. "I know. This is a mission. And the mark's still in the same place until now." she states as a matter of fact.

Lloyd looks at their window and she's right. He glances at the blonde as he smirks. "Come on, Six. Loosen up. She's just styling us. It's a requirement for the mission." he remarks.

"Since when do you ever loosen up for a mission?" Six casually asks, knowing how he used to be so uptight with them during a mission. But that was before having her.

Lloyd shrugs before she pulls away from him and walks towards Six, standing beside him. "Because he's changed, right?" she teases.

He nods. "Maybe," he admits.

Six looks over to her and the dress she has in her hands. "Take your pants off and wear the dress." he softly demands, grabbing the dress she's holding.

She does what she's told, kneeling down a little to take her leggings off smoothly. Lloyd has to retreat his eyes from the view in front of him to not get that distracted. He does have to do a mission after this. He can't get hard for this.

After completely removing her leggings off of her feet, she throws them onto their bed. She stands up and looks up at Six due to their height difference. Sometimes she forgets how tall he is compared to her. She's not exactly short, he's just too tall.

Elle turns to him and he puts on the dress above her head carefully. She didn't even think he'd do this for her. He places the straps on her shoulders correctly and smoothens them out before he observes the dress on her body quietly.

"Nice dress for a disguise." Six quietly remarks, "Lloyd bought you this, didn't he?" he asks before turning to the man in question.

Lloyd nods at him. "Yeah, obviously. She wouldn't have worn something like this."

She turns her eyes to him and rolls her eyes. "Because this isn't some island. It's a city. We don't wear shit like this." she retorts, tidying her dress.

He frowns. "I've seen some girls wear this at that bar and then in this mall. Even more revealing and shorter ones." Lloyd comments casually.

She shakes her head. "Other girls aren't me. I have a damn principle. I wasn't raised that way." Elle firmly states. She doesn't think that other girls who wear that are sluts or anything, it's just a matter of preference and principle. She was raised by abusers, but they still taught her about values, regardless.

Lloyd cocks his head to the side before slowly smirking. "Well, then, maybe it's a good thing that you'd only be revealing yourself to us and no one else. It's exclusive." he affirms.

"Yeah, except for now." she retorts, still not really okay with having to wear this dress just for the mission.

Lloyd sighs, regarding her with a soft look. "I know, baby, but we're gonna walk together out there. If anyone says some stupid shit I'll shoot their fucking mouth." he swears. He's never called her that. That was usually Six's thing for her, sometimes.

She breaks into a giggle. "Yes, please. I'd love that very much." she says before realizing what he just said. "Wait. Did you just—"

And Lloyd just had noticed what slipped out of his mouth, accidentally. "Okay, let's just change our clothes and you know, do it quickly." he tries to change the subject.

She's okay with it. She knew he wasn't ready for it yet, anyway. He never is going to be. He doesn't have the guts to make things more serious. Even after a month. A month of enduring and living together. That's the longest he's ever stayed with anyone before and the most he's done with a woman.

She clears his throat before a smile touches her lips. "Alright, so, you guys stay here." she tells them, walking to their bed and grabbing the shopping bags.

As she turns around to them with the bags, she takes a step back to observe both of them like this. Still and shirtless. Just for her. Like two sexy supermodels perfect and ready for her only. She has no fucking idea how much power she has over them. They'd do quite literally anything for her if she asks. Even this. This is something they both would've never done if it wasn't with her and for her.

She won't admit this, but this whole thing is turning her on a little. A little too much, perhaps. It does spark her a bit that they'd both just strip their whole body for her whenever she asks. She knows it's a sensitive thing for them because their body is full of scars and survivor wounds that no one else would've been allowed to see. Except for her, that is.

Six turns to her and frowns. "Elle? You good?" he softly asks her.

She snaps herself back to reality and looks at him, nodding. "Yep. Yes, all good. Okay, so, Lloyd's turn first. Because… there's a lot to work with." Elle states, walking to him.

Lloyd straightens up and places his hands on his bare hips as she steps closer to him.

She stands in front of him, staring down at his pants before she grimaces. "Your pants… It's too douchey. It reeks of an asshole rich guy who's about to murder someone. Not a clueless, stupid tourist." she remarks.

He rolls his eyes. "Fine, what am I wearing then?" he asks her and she pulls out some white linen pants from the bag.

Lloyd already shakes his head at the sight of it. "Absolutely not. That was for Six." he argues.

"Wear it." she orders sternly and he's just speechless, eventually taking the white pants from her hands. She sneaks a peek into the options for the shirts and finds a dark navy polo shirt. Which is still from a fancy brand but at least, it doesn't look like it from the front.

She casually hands him the shirt and he just accepts it, without any complaints. "See, you can even still wear a polo shirt, just a much more normal one than your usual. I have no idea why you bought a dozen clothes for this disguise. This is like a week's worth of clothes for the three of us." she comments.

He scoffs, looking down at the clothes she chose for him. "Because I thought we'd need some clothes if we're going to stay the night. Our fake suitcases are all filled with weapons and comms. That you magically made it invisible." Lloyd remarks, quietly praising her.

Elle nods. "I know, I'm amazing. Anyway, take your pants off and wear all this. I'm not gonna look." she assures him before turning around from him to walk to Six.

Six's face slowly relaxes at her as she steps closer and closer to him with the bags in her hands. Lloyd begins to take his pants off to wear the clothes she told him to but Six completely ignores the sight. Instead, his eyes study her every movement, as usual. Her long dress sways with her body as she walks and he just noticed how perfect she's wearing the dress she hates.

She meets his eyes and gives him that soft, warm smile he secretly likes so much. Her cheeks blushes and her dimples show whenever she smiles. "You look nice, you know. Just saying. Regardless of the situation." Six quietly compliments her.

Her lips stretch further as her smile widens. "Thank you." she sweetly thanks him.

Looking down at the bags again, her eyes light up as she finds the perfect clothes for him. Along with an accessory. She takes them all out and reveals it to him.

Six's eyes look down at her clothing choice for him and he has absolutely no complaints. Even though he's never worn anything like this before. There's some khaki linen pants, a white linen button collar shirt and a dark blue baseball cap.

She looks at him for approval. "What do you think?" she asks him.

He stares up at her again and his lips form into a small, genuine smile. "It's perfect. I'll wear it." Six softly tells her as he gently grabs the clothes from her hands.

Her smile glows again and brightens up the whole hotel room. "Great, okay. I'll let you change." she says, turning around again to Lloyd. It's like she's a spinning wheel the whole time.

Once she finally sees Lloyd all dressed in the exact outfit she chose and wearing it surprisingly well, her smile widens again.

Lloyd looks down at his final outfit and smiles at her. "Satisfied with the result?" he asks her while she walks closer to him.

She casually nods, placing all the bags on their bed again before grabbing two pairs of sunglasses from it. One for her. One for him. She doesn't even know why he bought so many sunglasses for a one time disguise and one night in this hotel.

Elle steps closer to him while she could hear Six take his pants off and she tries to ignore that. She needs to focus. This is a serious mission. She's about to kill someone. She's never planned that before. It has always been self-defense.

Lloyd grabs the sunglasses from her hands and examines it closely. "It's decent, I guess," he mutters before staring back up at her, regarding her. She's glowing in that dress as her face focuses on her leopard print sunglasses.

He tilts his head to the side and tucks her hair under her ear. Her eyes finally looked up at him. "You do look nice, you know. You could pull anything off. Even my shirt." Lloyd softly tells her.

She laughs out loud, smiling widely and his heart bruises again. He has no idea what the fuck is going on with his heart or his mind or anything inside him. He doesn't know what's wrong with him. She affects him so much. Everything that she does impacts him. Even the tiniest things. He hates feeling this way. Confused. Lost. Helpless. He has never felt all these emotions for anyone. He's never even felt emotions for himself. She changed everything and he's starting to hate it.

She shakes her head. "Not your polo shirts. I want to wear your normal shirts. The one you wear to bed. It'll be much more comfortable." she says.

He frowns. "I don't wear anything to bed, sweetheart. You'd know that if you spent a night with me." Lloyd remarks. A little harsh, since he was the one who kept his distance after what happened two weeks ago. He just wanted to give her space. He didn't want to touch her. But, she wanted him to. She just thought he wanted space as well.

She nods seriously. "We will, Lloyd. Soon enough. Or tonight, in this hotel room." she teases.

Six clears his throat, tidying his shirt as he's all dressed up. "I'm done. We should go now. Lloyd, we need a few agents watching the area as well. Are they ready?" he asks him.

Elle and Lloyd immediately turn around to him as she takes a second to properly observe him, up and down. He looks way too good in those linen pants than he should be. He's used to being dressed by people and ordered around. He usually just wears whatever the agency tells him to. But this time, it's different. She's styling him, not demanding him. In a much more affectionate way, too.

Lloyd nods at him. "Yeah, they are. Are you guys ready?" he asks both of them, about to walk to the door as Six steps forward towards them.

She turns around to him and nods. "So, we need to do a little PDA if that's okay with you, you know to be more convincing. We'll walk with our arms tangled together and our bodies sticking the whole time while just admiring the place." she tells him in detail.

He knits his eyebrows. "Are you okay with that? I know you hate all that shit. It makes you uncomfortable." Lloyd reminds her, knowing her all too well by now.

She hums assuringly, her eyes gazing up at him. "No, it's okay. It's just for the mission. I just want to get this over with before this guy hurts more people." Elle firmly states.

Six is already standing behind her, resting his hand on her shoulder. "We'll do it right. I believe in you." he softly murmurs to her.

She moves her eyes to him and gives him a small smile. "Yeah, I know." she whispers back.

Lloyd glances between them while they're still focused on each other. He clears his throat, gaining their attention. "Let's go. We don't have all day." he declares, sternly.

They both agree to that, leaving their hotel room all at once.

***

It's the most annoying thing to pretend. She hates pretending. She'd rather walk into a burning fire.

But this time, she doesn't really have much of a choice but to follow the protocols of the mission. It needs to be discreet. Quiet. Quickly.

There's nothing discreet about murdering an influential politician in the biggest mall in the city, though. It was the only way. He was in his office every other day.

Unless she was planning to execute all of the corrupt politicians in the city at their own office, she'd have to work with what she has now.

At least this way, she gets to finally be close enough with Lloyd. He has sort-of ignored her for this whole week. She's missed him. So much. But, she didn't want to push him either if he somehow wanted space. She understands him. More than himself, even.

So now, here they are, walking side-by-side with her arm clinging onto his and her body leaning against his while they walk through the mall as a fake tourist couple. Well, technically, it's not really fake but they're not exactly a couple. They're okay with touching each other and being close but they're definitely not in a relationship. It's too complicated for both of them.

"Where did he go now?" Lloyd asks, whispering into her ears as he smiles just to make people think that he's saying something affectionate to her.

She fakes giggles, leaning onto his ear. "I don't fucking know. How long do we have to pretend like this again?" she asks him.

He looks down at her with no expression this time. "Until he's dead, sunshine." Lloyd says, close to her face and somehow, he manages to make his tone affectionate.

She frowns slightly, looking ahead. "Somehow you saying actual murder and mixing it with a sweet nickname gives me the chills. Honestly, Lloyd, how can you be so casual about this?" Elle genuinely asks him, finally looking into his eyes.

Lloyd stares back at her, regarding her with a small, tender look. He just realizes that she's still not used to all this yet. "Because I've gotten used to it. I had to. And you will too, one day. At least, you have us. I'll guide you step-by-step." He actually means it when he says it. He wants to help her. Something that he didn't have when he had his first kill.

She wonders for a moment, what it would be like when she'll be all alone, doing all the missions for the CIA and not having a home to come home to. Or anyone to come home to. It'll be just like before. Her pretty, wide eyes continue to stare into his as they walk straight ahead into the crowd. Over here, the people give them space to walk just because they're white. They respect them more due to the color of their skin. It's an unfortunate fact.

She nods slowly. "Yeah. Okay." she replies before drifting her eyes to where they're going.

Lloyd looks around them, searching for their mark. "Fuck, I think we lost him." he mutters, pressing the comms in his ears and she does too.

"Six, where are you?" he asks him through their comms and it immediately connects to him.

There's loud noises of the crowd heard through his comms before he clears his throat. "I'm walking through the bridge above you. There's a huge balcony here and he just dropped his family off to go to the other connecting mall. He's alone now. Come meet me." Six flatly explains while casually walking through the crowd alone. He's got his navy baseball cap on with a backpack behind his back and a field agent beside him.

She hums in response. "We're on our way to you." Elle immediately answers.

Lloyd glances at her and frowns. "You know exactly where he is?" he asks.

She nods calmly. "I know the place that he told us about. I've been in this mall since I was born. I've memorized every inch of this place even before it was all renovated and shit." she tells him.

His lips form into a thin line. "Right. Okay. You know best. Sorry, sweetheart." Lloyd quickly apologized and she smiled casually.

It was really unlike him to apologize. Especially to admit that he's actually wrong. Problem is, his ego is bigger than anything. It makes him feel better to know that he's smarter than anyone else. But for her, he'd be willing to forget about his ego for just a second.

And nowadays, he's doing that a lot.

***

Her eyes searched through the crowd for Six. She knew she couldn't approach him but it'd feel nice just to see him.

"I'm sure he's here somewhere." Lloyd mutters in her ear.

She nods, not even looking at him as they're holding hands like a couple. She guides him further into the enormous bridge balcony between the two new malls. It's way too crowded and suffocating in here that he's practically squeezing her soft hands. He hates crowded spaces.

He unhooks his sunglasses from his shirt and puts it on due to the brightness of the sun, despite being in the shade already. It smells weird here. Like all kinds of different smells combined into one and are all in the same place. People have been staring at them with wide eyes ever since they've entered the mall and he despises it. She does too. She's always hated it.

Lloyd's eyes scans through the place again, seeing the huge amount of people walking everywhere and suddenly, he spots the target from across the other balcony. He's casually walking with a suspected mistress while holding a bunch of shopping bags in his other hand.

He leans onto her ear. "Hey, he's here." Lloyd whispers and she whips her head, immediately looking for Six. "No, not Six. Our mark, I mean. He's with a young woman. Fucking pathetic." he comments.

Elle frowns before turning her eyes to where his eyes are staring at. And there he is. Her mark. Not exactly the man she was looking for but it'll do. She wants to finish this mission as quickly as possible, anyway so she could enjoy the rest of her day peacefully. Though, now that the moment's perfect and he's almost right in front of her, she hasn't actually thought of how to do it. Of course, it'd have to be with her mind. But, how? How could she do it without making it look completely ruthless?

She leans to his ear. "I'll just make his heart stop from here. Quick and easy. Less bloody and everything." she says, with a slight hesitancy.

He furrows his brows, glancing at her. "Are you sure? You know he deserves way worse, Elle. I know you think that too. I know you." Lloyd encourages her more. He means well. He's not trying to push her limits. He knows her limits. And this is barely crossing it. He just wants her to live up to her actual potential and he wants to guide her to it.

Suddenly, she stops walking and he does too, turning to her. He frowns in concern, gently holding her hands between them. Her eyes are focused elsewhere, to the mark and around them. All these innocent people. It's already bad enough that she has to get them to witness a murder scene and now she has to make his death more painful.

She frantically shakes her head, finally meeting his eyes through her own sunglasses. "No… I can't. Not with all these people." she whispers.

Lloyd sighs softly, squinting through his sunglasses. "Elle, there's barely any people around them. Plus, we could still make it less bloody if you want. I'll teach you. Just like you wanted." he assures her, calmly. He knows how to convince her.

She doesn't exactly nod or say anything approving of it. She needs to make sure first. "Are we out of the camera's sight?" she asks first.

He nods immediately before pressing on his comms. "Tell our IT team to disable the cameras now. We're on standby." Lloyd orders the team.

"Okay. Well, what do I do now?" she hesitantly asks him.

His eyes gesture across them, to where their mark is still standing there, watching the city view with his mistress. Lloyd gets behind her and she turns to get a clear view of the mark. He hugs her from behind affectionately while his arms wrap around her waist. They're making it look like they're just a tourist couple, enjoying the view like everyone else is.

Her soft hands rest on top of his as he leans onto her ear. "Focus on the mark and on your energy." he whispers softly and she nods.

She turns her gaze, paying close attention to the man across from them. He looks so calm and happy, despite all the crimes he's done that no one else knows about. He doesn't give a single shit about all the innocent lives he's ruined. He only cared about his money and his wealth. He took advantage of so many people in this city. And that really enraged her. It sparked rage in her. That's enough energy for what she's about to do now.

His mouth brushes against her ear. "Now, do it. Kill him, Elle. He deserves it." Lloyd coldly says, giving her the official order.

She nods obediently, inhaling a deep breath as her eyes sharply glare at the mark with anger still inside her. That anger fuels her powers and her mind focuses on the mark before the man starts to feel choked, like there isn't any more oxygen for him. He holds his neck with both of his hands to try to breathe but before he could even move again, his neck snaps by her mind. He drops dead on the floor while everyone around them screams in panic.

She widens her eyes in shock, not expecting it to go like that. She just killed a man in public brutally and now she's feeling guilty of it. She looks around the dead body and all the people terrified of their life, worrying that they'll be next. She never wanted it like this. She doesn't want to scare people to death.

Lloyd slowly smirks, ignoring the chaos around them. "Good girl, baby. Let's get out of here." he whispers in her ear and she lets him take her out of there.

What the fuck was that?

***

She's been quiet ever since they went back to their hotel room. She's waiting for Six. Lloyd's in the bathroom, cleaning himself up.

She's just sitting by the desk, staring out at the window, showing the crime scene happening downstairs. It's utter chaos. A respected politician died mysteriously, out in public. There's no evidence. Not even a trace. They'll be investigating this for ages.

But, she isn't stopping here. This is only her first. There are still more kills to come.

She's still questioning herself, though. Is this really what she wants? Killing all the corrupt politicians in the city to insinuate fear for everyone? That wasn't her purpose. She wants to clean up the city. Not make it way worse. She wants to make it better for the people in the city. And this definitely doesn't feel like it.

Suddenly, someone knocks on the door and she immediately gets up from her seat, already knowing who it is. The man she's been waiting for.

She opens the door with her mind, standing in the middle of the room. Six steps in the room and the door closes itself behind him. He looks at her with a small smile.

"Oh, you're back!" Lloyd shouts from the bathroom as he's still showering and the blonde chuckles softly.

Her lips slowly tug into a tired, relieved smile at seeing him. Wordlessly, she runs to him and throws all her weight against him as her arms wrap around him. She gets on her tiptoes and rests her head on his chest. Hugging him has always been a comfort for her. In any situation. She feels so much better once she's in his arms. She feels safe. Secured. Content.

Six's arms wrap around her back and he kisses her head. "How are you feeling?" he softly asks in her ears. The most tender voice she's ever heard. The only thing that could really comfort her. Him and his voice.

She shakes her head. "It got messy." Elle mutters against his chest.

He nods. "I know. We'll have better ones next time. You're still learning. My first was also quite messy." Six admits bluntly.

She pulls away from him, resting her hands on his shoulders. "How did it happen?"

Six sighs, looking down at her with tenderness. "Well, I was supposed to just use the sniper but… he got away. So I had to do it another way. A more brutal way. The reason they had me using a sniper for my first time is because it lets me keep my distance from the mark. It's almost the same as what you did today. But, the closer you get to the mark, the more experienced you are." he explains.

She nods, her eyes staring up at him and she gazes openly at him. She's so glad that she has him. She can't imagine doing all this alone. She needs him for this mission. Both of them. Without them, she'd probably be unstable and reckless.

He cups her face and his thumb gently caresses her skin. "It's almost getting dark. Do you want to just stay in and order room service? We can go back to the penthouse first thing tomorrow." Six softly suggests.

She hums in response, smiling up at him and he admires her quietly. She's too fucking beautiful and pure. Everytime she smiles, it feels like his cold heart is starting to fill up. She makes him better. Not just better. Whole. She accepted parts of him and embraced it. Only her. She's the only one he wants. She might just be the best, unexpected thing that could ever happen to him. He never expected anything for himself. And then, she came to him.

"Sounds like a good idea, Six." Lloyd interjects while coming out of the bathroom with his hair still wet and ruffled. He put on some gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt from his shopping earlier.

They both turn to him and she walks further into the room. "It's chaos down there." Elle remarks, gesturing to the view from their window.

Six and Lloyd stand beside each other as they both almost nod in sync. She quietly observes both men, seeing the invisible bond between them. In one full month, they've managed to become each other's most trusted partner that they've ever had in their life. They trust each other with their life. They'd kill and die for each other. They have the same admiration for her. They care for her. They're practically inseparable. She wonders if it's more than just buddies and partners. They've both seen each other naked. They've fucked her at the same time. It's not entirely impossible for them to feel something.

Lloyd looks at her, his eyes only focusing on her. "I don't think that was messy back there. But, I see your point. You hated the fact that civilians needed to witness all that. We could fix that. We'll find a much quieter place next time." he firmly tells her.

She slowly nods, her hand resting on her arm. "I don't want them to be scared, Lloyd. That's not my purpose."

He nods, understanding her. "I know. Your heart's already in the right place, Elle. It always has been. Your intentions are good." Lloyd seriously says with sincerity as he gazes openly at her from afar.

He actually meant it when he said her heart is in the right place, unlike anyone who's in the agency. Even with all the violence and chaos around her and everything horrible that's happened to her, she still managed to do good. She wants to fix and clean the city. Not burn it or corrupt it. She cares about the people in the city as well. And that's rare. He's never seen anyone so compassionate and kind like her. He knew it the moment he met her in that dingy bar.

Her eyes directly stare into his and an easy smile curves on her lips. "Right. So, we're officially staying here, right?" she asks him.

Lloyd breaks into a soft chuckle and nods. "Yes, we are. Six and I are going to the other room and do a quick debrief with the team and Denny. You clean up and relax. Order room service all you want." he explains.

Six simply nods. "Okay. Sounds like a plan." he says to him before glancing at her. "See you later, okay? Are you sure you're okay with being alone?" he asks her.

She smiles at him. "Yes. I'll be fine. You really are going to be quick?" she asks both of them.

Lloyd frowns at her. "Of course. We'll be quick for you. Promise. Okay, let's go before they knock on our room." he says, looking at the blonde.

She giggles softly as she watches Lloyd drag Six to the door. They both wave goodbye at her before they exit the room together.

The door closes behind them and silence settles in for her. Peace, as well. But she does hate being alone, especially at times like when she's stressed. It's consuming.

She's going to fix it though.

***

Finally, she got herself to relax and forget about all the mess that happened today.

She's drowning in clear, cold water inside the round bathtub of their hotel room. The only thing that could get her to relax.

She feels so calm and at ease when she's inside the water. She can't hear anything, or feel anything or think of anything at all. It's like the world doesn't exist anymore. And it's just her and the bathtub.

This bathtub isn't exactly as big and comfortable as the one they have in the penthouse, but it'll have to do for now. She didn't know how much the penthouse means to her until now as she finds herself missing it. It's her home now. It brings her so much comfort there. Plus, she feels so much safer there than here. As secure as this hotel is, it still isn't home. She can't wait to go back to the penthouse.

She tips her head up in the water, feeling more relaxed than ever. She knows it's almost been half an hour that she's inside the water. The guys haven't come back though. She's just waiting patiently for them.

Before she could even sink deeper into the water again, her phone annoyingly rings loudly beside her. She thought she placed her phone in the room to charge. Guess she just forgot. She's choosing to ignore it instead. It's probably from someone not that important.

But, after one ring, it keeps ringing again. That means the person has called her twice now. So, maybe it is a little important.

She groans, lifting herself up off the water and drying her hands with the towel next to her. Her eyes take a look at the screen still being shown on her phone and she gasps.

It's Denny. The chief. He's calling her, again.

Ever since she memorized his number from Lloyd's phone and put it on her phone, they've been regularly texting and sometimes calling. Rather, he has been texting and calling her. They don't talk much, though. He just frequently asks how things are there, how she is, how the missions were and if the agents were cooperating well or not. Just short and simple texts. But it's the most he's ever done with an asset. He really values her opinion on things. He wants to always hear her perspective first. He has her personal number. It's not strictly professional anymore between them.

Quickly but carefully, she gets out of the bathtub and dries herself. She puts on the hotel bathrobe, grabs her phone and rushes out of the bathroom.

The phone still keeps on ringing as she sits up on the bed. She answers his call and places it on her ear while leaning against the bed's headboard.

She clears her throat. "Hi. Sorry. I was in the bathroom. What's wrong?" Elle casually asks like she isn't talking to her boss anymore.

Denny sighs, turning around on his chair in his office that's overlooking the view of Croatia. He's in another CIA station again, sitting on his ass all day and debriefing missions from all around the world, just from his screen. He had just finished a debrief with the team, Lloyd and Six. He wanted one with Elle too, just much more casual and informal than a usual debrief.

"Nothing. I just wanted to ask how the mission was. I know how important it was for you." Denny calmly asks her and she bites her lips anxiously.

"Well… I didn't expect it to be like that. I thought I could just make it less gory. It was in a public mall. Everyone was there and they had to watch that horrible scene." she naively says.

He clicks his tongue. "I don't think that was horrible. I think it was the cleanest kill I've witnessed in the CIA. You did good. There's nothing to feel bad about. We'll make the next ones less public." Denny assures her.

She nods to herself as she hums in response. "Okay. Oh, by the way, weren't you just doing a debrief with Lloyd and Six?" Elle asks him.

He hums affirmatively. "Yes. I was. It was done. Now they're briefing their own team. How are they, speaking of?" he suddenly asks.

"The team?" she innocently asks before realizing what he actually meant by it.

"No, Lloyd and Six. How are they to you? Do they treat you well? I know Lloyd can be a little stubborn sometimes. It takes time to adjust." Denny asks her again.

She realized that his question was plainly asking if they treated her well as a teammate. He doesn't know anything about their relationship at all. And he shouldn't. It'd be unprofessional and weird. Even though this thing between them already is.

She turns her eyes toward the view as she massages her temples. "Yeah, they've been decent to me. I mean, they've never had someone to work with so it did take time to adjust. But, living together certainly made it easier for us to tolerate each other." Elle gives him a logical answer that wouldn't lead to him suspecting anything.

Denny hums quietly. "That's good. If they're ever misbehaving or disrespectful, let me know."

She nods. "Okay. I will."

"Good. You did a good job out there today. I'm saying it again because you really did." Denny tells her and she hums affirmatively.

Suddenly, from afar, the hotel door makes that annoying beeping noise when the key card scans the door. It opens and she could already hear Lloyd and Six entering the room while having a conversation. And then, she just realized that Denny can't know that they're sharing a room together. He knows that they booked a few rooms in this hotel for the mission but he'd obviously assume that she has her own room.

She clears her throat, quickly getting up from the bed as she walks to the window so he can't hear the men in the background. "Right, so, I'm gonna go. It's almost dinner time here and I am starving after that mission." She makes up a fake excuse.

"Alright, talk to you later." Denny formally says before she hangs up the call. She places her phone on the desk beside her and walks to them like normal.

Lloyd steps in further into the room with Six behind him. She smiles at them as she approaches them with a bathrobe still on.

He frowns at her. "Were you just on the phone with Denny?" Lloyd bitterly asks. He's not too fond of their interactions lately.

She casually nods as Six goes to stand beside her in the middle of their room. His hand gently wrapped around her lower back, turning to her with a relaxed face.

"I can't wait to get in that bed with you and not think of anything ever again." Six murmurs sweetly to her as she giggles softly.

Lloyd frowns, stepping forward to her. "Elle. Could you stop calling him? It's disturbing." he grumbles.

She looks at him, knitting her eyebrows. "What's wrong? We're just casually talking. Platonically." she confirms.

He scowls. "Yeah, that's the point. You're not even supposed to be platonic with him. You're just supposed to keep your distance because he's your boss. It's better that way." Lloyd states firmly.

Her eyes bore into his. "You don't control me, Lloyd. I don't see anything wrong with us just talking. He asks me how I am and how the mission is. That's it."

"Nothing more than that?" he asks her, his eyes glaring at her as his jaw tenses.

She shakes her head casually before frowning. "No. I'd never cheat on you, dumbass. You're too good to be cheated on." Elle cracks a joke with a small smile on her lips.

Six lets out a light chuckle at seeing Lloyd speechless. "She's too good for us, isn't she?" The blonde teases him.

Lloyd hides a smile on his lips before rolling his eyes. "Whatever. I'm starving. Let's order room service." he declares as Six and her exchange knowing looks.

***

Despite everything that happened today, she seems to be better now. With them. In the privacy of their hotel room, enjoying every moment they can.

After they had dinner in the living room of the hotel room, they each did their own thing.

Six went to shower, Lloyd's doing some work on his laptop right beside her on the bed and she's just quietly reading a book, also on the bed. They're both already dressed for bed.

It's not that late, but they're both tired and just want to relax. The city lights luminates on them and it's even brighter here than in their penthouse. They're in the center of the city. It overlooks the view of the whole city, not just a small part of it like what they're used to seeing.

"What book is that?" Lloyd suddenly asks her, still actively typing on his laptop.

She frowns confusedly, focused on her book. "Since when are you interested?"

He nods. "You're right, I'm not. I kinda just want to throw that book away from you and pull in for a kiss." Lloyd bluntly admits, not looking at her yet. He's teasing her.

She scoffs, putting her book down on her lap as she playfully rolls her eyes. "Put that laptop away, then. You can do it tomorrow. We have all the time in the world." Elle says, turning her body to him.

Lloyd finally looks down at her and her playful smile before giving in to her. "Fine." he mutters, closing his laptop as he places it on the nightstand beside him.

He turns to her, wrapping his hand around her waist as she giggles and leans her body against his side. Her pretty, tired eyes look up at him and smiles warmly.

Her body curls up against him as she rests her hands on his chest. She sighs contentedly, enjoying him like this. "I like you better this way. Calm and tamed." she remarks.

His face approaches hers. "I was never like this before. You did this." he tells her seriously, close to her face and their lips are inches from touching.

Her smile widens. "Are you glad that I did?" she slowly asks.

Lloyd nods almost immediately, staring down at her lips. "Yeah. I am." he softly answers before leaning down and kissing her lips gently at first. This is the first kiss they've had in almost a week.

She moans softly into his mouth, melting into the kiss and her hands reach up to his jaw. "We haven't kissed for ages." she complains.

He chuckles against her mouth. "You're exaggerating, sweetheart." Lloyd retorts.

She frowns, breaking the kiss. "No, I am not." Elle pulls away from him, "You haven't touched me for over two weeks. And, no, that night in our home theater doesn't count."

Lloyd sighs in defeat, his eyes gazing openly at her as he quietly admires her facial features. She's so fucking beautiful and gorgeous even when she's tired and has just murdered someone. To his eyes, she's the most perfect thing in the world. He'd never find anyone like her. Ruthless and pretty at the same time. She's not always ruthless though, she still could be kind and compassionate because it's who she is. It's in her nature. That's what he loves about her.

He shrugs off his thoughts. "I wanted to give you space. You know, after what happened." Lloyd finally answers truthfully.

Wait a minute—

She frowns again, that crinkle between her eyebrows revealing which he's already so familiar with. "But, I'm fine now. I healed completely. Psychically and mentally. I'm not some fragile fucking baby. I handled it well after. I got something good out of it, too."

Lloyd knits his eyebrows in confusion. "Yeah? Like what?" he asks her.

Then, she smiles up at him. That pretty fucking smile with her dimples and teeth showing. He's so addicted to it. It's one of his favorite things about her. He could start a whole list of it.

She blinks at him. "You saved my life. And now I know just how much you care about me." she sweetly murmurs, taking his hand to guide to her heart, just below her tank top. Her hand is on top of his as he feels her heartbeat against his hand. "Feel that? It beats for you now, Lloyd. You saved it."

His hand rests on her heart, beside her breasts. "You don't have to be so cheesy about it. But yeah, I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Lloyd firmly states and her smile lingers for him.

The bathroom door opens as Six comes out of it, with only his briefs and a white t-shirt. His hair is still wet from the shower. He casually walks to her side of the bed while shooting Lloyd a passing glance. She watches his every movement, paying close attention to his large, thick thighs that are showing off his muscles.

"What happened to your pants?" Lloyd asks him, genuinely. He thought that he had bought some extra sweatpants earlier.

"Didn't want to wear them. It's too humid." Six flatly replies as he makes his way to her, laying next to her on the bed. She's between them again. Sandwiched with two needy men.

He sits up as she turns her body around to him and she immediately smiles. "Hi," she mutters to him while Lloyd rolls his eyes at their disgusting cuteness. They don't even have to say anything sometimes. They could just look into each other's eyes and know what they're thinking.

Six looks down at her, cupping her face before grabbing her chin gently. He leans to press a soft kiss on her mouth, his lips slowly stretching into a smile against her lips. He's just happy to be here, safe and sound with her.

"Hi." he whispers and pulls away from her lips. He stares into her pretty, brown eyes. "What do you want to do now?" he asks her.

Lloyd smirks, glaring at him. "You know, there are a lot of things to do together in a hotel room, Six. A lot of fun things." he teases them.

She sighs before yawning tiredly. "While that sounds fun, I'm kinda worn out after today. But, I mean, if you guys want to do something, feel free to do it while I'm asleep. I have a special kink for that." she teases, glancing between them before winking smoothly.

"You have a what? How does that even work, Elle? How could you be turned on by something if you're fully asleep?" Lloyd asks so many questions. He's curious, but also genuinely concerned about the amount of kinks she has.

She laughs softly, moving to the side as she rests her body on Six's chest. She turns her head to Lloyd, still smiling for him. "Well, I'd have to be half awake, technically. You just gotta find a way to wake me up, I guess." she plainly explains.

Lloyd frowns, cocking his head to the side and taking a moment to think about it. He's never heard of a kink like that, because in order for it to work, it needs to be done in an established relationship but he's never had one before. It needs a lot of consent and trust beforehand. He has that all with her, though they're not necessarily in a relationship. None of them even know what it is. But, they trust each other and would kill if anything happens to one of them so that's more than enough.

Elle looks up at the man laying behind her. "Hey, can you pass my phone please? It's over there," she nicely asks him and he quickly looks over to where she's pointing her finger at. He reaches over to the nightstand beside him and grabs her phone, handing it to her.

She takes the phone in her hands and smiles up at him. "Thank you." she thanks him quietly as he just returns her smile. She doesn't even have to thank him, he'd do anything for her whenever she asks.

Opening her phone, she quietly scrolls through her apps to find the camera app. She scoots over to the middle with both men glued to each side of her. Wordlessly, she quickly aims her phone screen in front of them and takes one selfie. She smiles in it and both men just look confused, staring into the camera.

Six is caught off guard and Lloyd frowns at her. She looks back at them, plainly.

She shrugs at him. "What? I'm not gonna post it anywhere or something. I'm not an idiot. It's just for memories. I don't have a single picture of any of you on my phone." she defends.

Lloyd nods, his eyes staring down at her. "Yeah, but you can't keep that, Elle. Six, take it from her." he orders the blonde behind her.

Six tries to grab her phone from her hands but she dodges him. Lloyd quickly pulled her in closer by her waist, dropping his head down to leave kisses along her neck to tickle her with his stache. She giggles uncontrollably, her grip on her phone starting to get loose as Six takes it from her hands, placing it down on the nightstand. He doesn't delete it though, he does want her to have the picture.

She pulls her neck away from Lloyd and cups his jaw. "Assholes!" Elle exclaims at both of them, looking behind her.

Lloyd lets out a hearty laugh at her reaction, throwing his head back as Six laughs loosely with him. They both haven't had a good laugh like this for a while. She's the only one truly capable of making them laugh genuinely. The only one they'd want to spend their entire shitty mission with.

Lloyd sighs. "You can take pictures of us. Just not in a unsecure phone. We'll get a polaroid or something." he tells her in a serious but sincere tone. He understands why she took that picture. Because when one day, they're not going to see each other again then the only thing they'd have are memories.

She nods. "Okay, fine. But I'm still keeping that one. Even if you delete it, I'll just retrieve it back again." she warns, her finger pointing at him.

He frowns. "You can hack your own phone or something?"

She smirks at him. "Don't underestimate me, Lloyd. My brain is much more developed than an average human being. So, don't fuck with me or my phone."

"Right. Tell me what you can't do, then." Lloyd teases and she laughs softly.

She leans her body onto his, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "You, apparently."

He tips his head back onto the bed's headboard. "Oh, come on. I'm sorry, okay? What happened two weeks ago was so fucked up and I wanted to give us space. Maybe, to think about it again." Lloyd softly admits. He can be soft, sometimes. With the right motivation.

She shrugs, furrowing her eyebrows lightly. "What's there to think about? Do you think we're a mistake?" she asks him.

Lloyd grimaces at her words. "No, not a mistake. I don't think it's a mistake. I think it's the best fucking thing to ever happen. To all of us. I just… Maybe we could've given it a little more time. We did everything so quickly. Because what if we're doing it all wrong and then we're just going to fuck it up in the end? I don't want that." he explains to her, a hint of fear almost evident in his tone.

She knits her eyebrows. "I don't know what you're referring to, Lloyd. What do you mean by 'it'? Tell me. Do you think we're in a relationship?" Elle carefully asks since the question has never popped up before. She knew he hated relationships and probably have never been in a lasting one.

He frowns confusedly, trying to figure this all out. "I—I don't know? Maybe? Yes? What do you think, Six?" Lloyd asks the man behind her for advice. He's completely lost in this. He is stressed out.

Six meets his eyes as he breaks into a small smile. "I think it's more complicated than a relationship or anything that could be labeled. We work together, we live together and we fuck together. We share almost everything together. It's special what we have and rare. We've never done anything like this before with anyone else."

Lloyd nods, immediately agreeing with him before looking back at her eyes. "See? What he said." he says, grabbing both of her hands to hold them gently. "Look, Elle, I couldn't really give a shit about labels. What matters is us. We're together and I don't want to fuck this up in any way." he tells her, seriously.

He has never confessed anything like this before or expressed his true feelings to anyone. There's a first for everything. Especially with her. He's done so many things with her that never in a million years he'd thought he'd do for anyone. He'd never try so hard to save anyone's life. Ever. Wouldn't even bat his eyes if someone was dying in front of him. Doesn't even matter if he might even know them. Anyone could kill themselves beside him, he wouldn't care. No one has ever mattered this much to him until her.

Elle slowly smiles up at him. "You could start by fucking me for one. For the record, I don't think you're going to fuck it up because you've done a good enough job. You saved my fucking life. I owe you my life, Lloyd. That's not nothing. We both mean a lot to each other to ever just mess it up so easily. But, you know, if you meant it by accidentally sticking your dick inside of someone else then—"

Lloyd quickly grimaces in disgust, shaking his head. "Hey, no, fuck no. I would never do that to you. Plus, you've got the best fucking pussy in the world so why even bother looking anywhere else?" he teases with that stupid smirk of his that's undeniably attractive for her.

She lifts her eyebrows in surprise. "Really? Is it because of my strength? Because I've never used my strength in bed with anyone else before you guys. I still had to keep it a secret." she genuinely asks. Six stays quiet. He isn't going to say anything about this because he's got a feeling she already knows.

Lloyd nods. "Yeap. You also give really good hand jobs because of it." He casually compliments her.

She hums in realization. "Well, that's why you'll never be bored of my hands." she states.

His lips curve into a bigger smirk, getting near her face. "Exactly, sunshine." he replies.

Six shakes his head, chuckling quietly. "I thought you wanted to sleep." he reminds her.

Elle rolls over to his side of the bed and nods. "Yeah, I still am. I'm getting sleepy already." she answers, yawning softly.

Lloyd pats her back and pulls the white, thick hotel blanket to spread equally on all three of them. "Okay, go to sleep, sunshine. I'm going to finish some work. I'll wake you up if something interesting happens." he tells her, grabbing his laptop from the nightstand.

She tugs into the bed, getting more comfortable as she leans her body against Six. He wraps his arm around her and she lays her head down on his chest. "Wake me up if your dick gets hard too. I don't mind it at all." she casually says and Six snorts, holding in a laugh.

Lloyd scoffs, chuckling softly and he's opening his laptop to start working again. "I will. Good night, Elle. Sweet dreams."

She hums sleepily, already shutting her eyes closed with her legs tangled with Six's as he waits for her to fall asleep. He's not going to sleep just yet. He can't. It's too early for him and he's got a lot to talk with Lloyd. But he'd rather not have her listen to whatever they're about to say.

Sleep takes over her quickly and she's finally asleep peacefully.

***

While Lloyd tries to finish his work as quickly as possible, the guys continue to carry on a casual, quiet conversation. She's still sleeping quietly on Six’s chest.

She sleeps like the dead when she's with him. She's always been so comfortable with him. Not a single care in the world as long as she's in his arms, safe and sound.

Six stares at him intently, his eyes playing close attention to Lloyd's focused and serious face, suddenly. His eyebrows are furrowed and his fingers type quickly on the keyboard. He's almost done with his work and it's crucial for him to get it right. He can't make mistakes. He's an extreme perfectionist. And he'd hate to redo this all over again.

"You know, you can sleep if you want. I know you're getting tired. It's late, Six." Lloyd softly suggests to him, still looking at his laptop screen.

He lets out a quiet yawn as he nods. "You're right. Hey, don't stay up too late." he reminds him.

Lloyd gently scoffs and a small smile pulls into his lips. "Sure. I just need to finish this tonight so I can spend more time with her. And, you."

"Wel, just don't deprive yourself of sleep. It's important to have at least eight hours of sleep a night." Six tells him, really out of character for him.

He frowns, glancing at him from the side. "Oh? Since when did you become like a dad or something? You used to sleep for only two or three hours per night. Sometimes you don't even sleep at all." Lloyd reminds him in case he somehow forgot who he used to be.

Court chuckles lightly, shaking his head. "I haven't become a dad, Lloyd. I've just got more time to actually sleep more in a long time. And, you know, she has an early sleep routine, so." he says.

"Still, it's weird seeing you like this. Also, who knows? Maybe, you could become a dad in the future. It already suits you." Lloyd nicely remarks.

He's complimenting him. And subtly telling him that he'd be a good dad. With her. He'll just be mom and dad's friend who always visits the house. He's not a very good person to have children and he's completely aware of it.

"It's impossible for her to get pregnant, Lloyd. Scientifically. Her words." Six casually explains, already assuming that she's in his future.

He didn't even ask who with. He automatically thought of her because she's all he thinks about. He does see her in his own future even though he rarely thinks about the future itself. He's always thinking of the present and sometimes, the past.

Lloyd nods. "I know, but still. Miracles could happen."

Six frowns confusedly at him. "Since when do you believe in miracles?" he asks him.

He just shakes his head, not answering his question. He refuses to admit the truth to him. That she changed him. Really, truly changed him. The man hated false hopes, especially miracles. But she is the living example of a miracle and he witnessed it himself. "Whatever, go to sleep, Six." he tells him.

Court casually nods. "Okay, good night." he simply says, sliding his body lower and closer to her. His temple rests against hers before he plants a soft kiss on her head. He closes his eyes, relaxing under her touch as he drifts to sleep.

Lloyd stops typing on his laptop to stop and look at them. His two most favorite people on earth. Sleeping so peacefully like nothing else matters anymore. They both feel so safe and secure around him. Him, too. They're his only home. The only one that matters. He's the luckiest man alive to have both of them in his life. He sure feels very damn lucky.

It must be a miracle.

***

This morning is magical for her.

The sun is shining beautifully. Breakfast is served. Laughter fills the room. Her flowy sundress from yesterday is clinging onto her body again. The boys are right beside her, bickering playfully.

All her problems from yesterday went out of the window the second this morning started for her.

They're back home in their penthouse again. And they decided to spend today in their private indoor pool, on the third floor of their place. It has an enormous view of the city. They've never been here before. They checked out from their hotel pretty early in the morning so they could enjoy the rest of it here.

Lloyd ordered them breakfast. She made them fresh smoothies. Six carried everything from downstairs to here. She's sitting on one of the long pool benches between them. They haven't touched the water yet but they're definitely planning to. Either voluntarily or not.

"So, you know the picture I took of all of us last night, in the hotel room? Yeah, I'm going to print it out and put it in a photo frame for my room." Elle announces, her hands gesturing a picture frame.

"Almost like a polaroid." Lloyd remarks, smirking proudly at her for listening to him. His advice is starting to grow on her.

She looks at him and smiles, squinting her eyes through the sunlight reflecting from the huge window beside the infinity pool. "Yeah, exactly like a polaroid."

His lips curve into an actual genuine smile and somehow, he can't stop smiling like an idiot. "Right. So, who's going to dive in the water first?" Lloyd asks them.

Elle immediately shakes her head. "Not me. If you're pushing me in there, I'll punch you in your dick, Lloyd. I mean it." she warns, her index finger pointing at him.

Six lets out a loose laugh, adjusting his sunglasses. He's only in shorts and a thin navy shirt while leaning his back on the bench. "He enjoys that shit, Elle." he retorts, glancing over at them.

Lloyd's smile turns into a smirk, leaning closer to her. "Well, he's right, sunshine."

She smiles wider, her beautiful dimples showing. "Yeah, but you won't be able to handle my strength. I'd break your dick off, Hansen." she teases him in an innocent tone.

His hands rest on each side of her chair, trapping her. "You know I fucking can." Lloyd's voice turns low.

She rolls her eyes at him, hiding a smile before looking at the pool for a second. It is good weather to swim in. "Looks like we're jumping together, then." she whispers, caughting him off guard.

Lloyd frowns, about to protest but it's too late as she wraps her hands around his waist and pulls both of them to jump into the pool. She's too strong for him to handle sometimes. They both land inside the water, staying underwater for a while. Six chuckles softly from outside.

She opens her eyes underwater and he does too. Their clothes are floating and somehow, none of them want to get up. They stare into each other's eyes intensely as her heart starts to race. She doesn't get why this is turning her on so much. The tension between them is so thick even under the water. Her face gets closer to him before grabbing his jaw roughly and connecting her lips into his.

She kisses him passionately and wildly under the water, not giving a shit of anything else anymore. His hands wander on her ass, his lips biting hers into the kiss and they almost forgot that they've been holding their breath. She's immune to drowning and he's held his breath longer than a few couple of minutes.

Six frowns confusedly, wondering why it's taking them so long to get out of the water. He rises up from his bench and slowly dips himself inside the pool, the depth only reaching his shoulders. He might be too tall for this pool. He doesn't even remember when's the last time he's been in a pool for fun. Without trying to escape or fighting some guy or drowning someone.

He looks down at the water and squints his eyes to properly see what they're actually doing. Their bodies are both bent and sunken into the water while they're holding each other's bodies as their lips seem to be stuck together. They're making out underwater. What a romantic way to start the morning. He's so glad that they're finally close again after two weeks. He's proud of them. His lips form into a small smile at the sight of it.

Lloyd grasps her waist as he brings both of their bodies out of the water. Her lips are still attached to his and he pulls away from her to catch his breath. She giggles softly before realizing that Six is already behind them.

"Looked like a nice spot to makeout." Six remarks, suddenly completely different from how he usually is. He's loosening up, finally.

She turns around to him and immediately stares down at his lips. She is in heat. "Yeah, how long can you hold your breath for?" Elle asks him, breathlessly.

He casually shrugs. "Ten minutes, maybe? It's not the longest I've held my breath for but it's my maximum limit for now."

She nods, heavily breathing. "Good. Let's test that out." she demands and there's hesitation written all over his face. He doesn't want to turn this into a competition or something. He knows how competitive she and Lloyd are.

Lloyd snorts. "Trying to compare who's the best kisser underwater, Elle?" He taunts her and she rolls her eyes.

"Fuck off. You're just scared of a little competition, Lloyd. You always are." She coldly insults him and she is right.

He scoffs. "You're so mean sometimes. Meaner than me. Turns me on so much." Lloyd admits as she turns around to him. Somehow, he's attracted to women who are way worse than him. She made him realize that. He's never met anyone as bad as her.

She smirks, then smiles genuinely. Her smile is so fucking beautiful that it pains him. He won't be able to witness this smile forever. "I've never met anyone like you too." she confesses back.

Six swims closer to her, wrapping his hand around her waist and stares into the other man's eyes. "There's not going to be a competition, right? I'd like to just enjoy this morning peacefully."

He chuckles lightly. "See? You're starting to act like an old dad again." Lloyd taunts him.

She frowns, looking over her shoulder at him. "What does he mean by that?" she asks him.

Court smiles softly at her. "Just some stupid joke he made last night. I told him that I've been sleeping earlier than I've ever been and then he called me a dad." he explains.

Elle stops to think about that for a while. Even though it's just some silly joke, she wishes that it's true. She's never actually thought about them like that because it's too fast. They've only been together for a month. But a lot has happened and it has affected her life so much. They feel like home for her and they're the only family she has in the world. The only one who matters anyway. Maybe, if the circumstances were different, she'd want to start a family with them. She may not be capable of being a mom biologically, but there are millions of ways now. It just takes the right parents and a safe home.

She snaps herself back to reality, clearing her throat and smiling. "So, what's the agenda for today?" she asks him.

Lloyd smiles almost immediately. "Swimming. Eating. More swimming. Drinks by the balcony. Movies in the home theater. We haven't touched that room yet, you know, for actual movies." He lists all of them down, and refers to something else that happened a few weeks ago.

Her face grimaces into disgust and laughs. "Oh, please don't remind me of that. Hope you cleaned the carpets." she hopes he did.

Six frowns confusedly, trying to figure out what they're talking about until it dawns on him. The thing that happened in their home theater which he had to witness from the door. He laughs softly, shaking his head.

Lloyd laughs loosely at her, throwing his head back as he holds his stomach from laughing too hard. He can't recall the last time he laughed like this. They haven't had a good laugh for a while too because of what happened a few weeks ago and he's been avoiding her to give space. But, the mission yesterday made them closer again and she's grateful for that. Despite all the shit she's been through over this month, she got something good out of it. Them. Her real home.

She smiles faintly at him. "Seems like a good plan." She agrees on his agenda for today since there aren't any new missions yet. Denny gave her a short break after yesterday.

Six drops his head down to kiss her shoulder as he smiles against her skin. She giggles softly, her hand reaching out to his. Lloyd nods, his eyes quietly observing them and he starts to admire their bond. He could clearly see their deep connection for each other without even having to say anything. They could talk with their eyes and their touch.

That's something he wishes he could have one day with her. It will definitely take some time but he's willing to wait. For her. However long it takes. She's worth the wait. She's worth everything in the world to him. He could never find anyone as precious as her. Ever.

Court's eyes look up at him and he knows exactly what he's thinking. He always does. They have a strong bond, too.

***

Elle got out of the pool to get some more snacks and drinks upstairs while the guys remained inside the water. She grabbed a bathrobe with her as she took the elevator, still soaking wet.

But, she could care less about anything anymore. She's happy again. Finally after a while. There's no other problems between them. Everyone's being honest and open now. Lloyd isn't avoiding her anymore. Six is much happier too. They're closer than ever, Everything's all great as of this moment. Nothing could ever make their happy bubble burst.

Stepping out of the elevator, she walks into their kitchen to go to the fridge. As she opens it and takes out three cold water bottles, her phone on the counter top rings loudly. Her ringtone is very loud and irritating but it's effective for her ears to not miss a call. She places the bottles on the surface beside her phone before looking at the screen.

It's Denny again. Two times in less than twenty four hours now. What's wrong with him? He doesn't usually call his assets constantly and has their personal number. She isn't weirded out with all the casual stuff with him because she thinks it's normal. She doesn't know the real boundary between an asset and the chief.

She tilts her head to the side and frowns confusedly before picking up the call. Her ears are still wet so she puts him on speaker. "Yes? Did something happen?" she casually asks him.

He clears his throat through the call. "Are you alone? I have some classified information. It's sensitive." Denny immediately says, wasting no time.

She nods. "Yeah, I am. What is it?" she quickly responds.

He reviews the documents on his laptop. "Elle, that incident a few weeks ago was a set up from the local police and corrupt government officials. Lloyd wanted to investigate more and so did I. We worked together with our field agents there. They intentionally released those criminals so they'd find out who threw them into jail. However they failed to do so because Six eliminated them after they shot you. They did all this because they were scared of you. What you could do in the city. They'd rather hunt you down instead of doing their own job of catching the criminals. That's how corrupted they are." Denny informs her in his most serious tone she's ever heard.

Just as life was getting slightly better for her, it hit her like a thunder. Lloyd never told her anything about an investigation. He should've told her. This is important for her to know. She didn't think that the corruptors would go to these extreme lengths just to find out who was helping them do their job. They released them, gave them a loaded gun and told them to go to the local hospital to terrorize and harm innocents. Sick patients, doctors, nurses who were all uninvolved in this mess. The corruptors did not care about them. Only of themselves and their money. She needs to fix this sooner than she thought she would.

She runs her hand through her wet hair and exhales. "Why are you telling me this?" she softly asks him. She's back to being distressed again. Lloyd's known about the investigation for weeks and said nothing. Perhaps, he thinks she wouldn't be able to handle the truth.

Denny sighs. "I'm not supposed to but you deserve to know for your mission. So you could focus more on hunting them down instead of feeling bad after every mission, like yesterday. I can start giving you these missions when you're ready. You can do it all alone. You're capable of it. I know you are." he encourages her, trying to manipulate her into killing more corrupt politicians. He's a twisted man and he's not doing this for her. It's for himself. He's using her as his own personal weapon. It has been what he's always wanted the moment he first saw her.

This is the only time she's ever been so blind and naïve with someone. She can't think too far of his intentions because she's too angry to see it. Blinded with her own rage. Lloyd lied to her face. He clearly got all this information already from last night when he was reviewing paperwork. That's why he looked so serious and intense. She connected all the dots by now. She's too smart for him. She guesses he conveniently forgot about that fact. He was right when he said he'd fucked this up with her. He did it. He sabotaged whatever thing they had going on. He's ruined it already. He just messed up the one good thing in his life.

Elle nods to herself, leaning on the countertop with her hands on it. "Okay, give me a few weeks to prepare. Keep it classified and don't let Lloyd know about our mission." she seriously tells him. She's never been this tense before in her life.

"Of course. Whatever you need." Denny immediately answers before she ends the call.

In truth, Denny is so much worse than Lloyd. He uses people for his own gain but this time, it's different with her. He had to gain her trust first which was easy since she's inexperienced with the CIA and their tactics. He's fond of her, too. He likes how powerful she is and he sees her real potential. He could make her more than just some shadowy asset. She could work by his side. As an equal. He wants that with her. He could give her everything in the world. Anything that she wants, it can be hers. They could be so powerful together. So many things that they could accomplish in the world. It's his darkest fantasy.

She walks away from the kitchen counter and turns around to the view of the city. It's the same view that they're looking at upstairs too right now. She's contemplating on everything now and questioning if it's the right thing to do. But, there's no other option. They're too corrupted to be salvaged. The only language they understand is violence. They were responsible for that horrible, traumatic event that she had to endure. The horrific pain of eight bullets inside of her was unimaginable. Not to mention that Six had watched her suffer like that.

She's doing all this for a good cause, actually. If all the corruption in the city is gone, she can finally start a new life and a fresh start somewhere that's not here. Hopefully with Six, as well.

As for Lloyd, well, she's still trying to figure that out. She doesn't exactly want to let him go or leave him. She has cared too much about him to do that. She does genuinely enjoy his company despite his sociopathic tendencies. She actually got to know the real him and he isn't so bad after all. She likes how he takes care of her and would sacrifice the world just for her. He did save her life. She won't let this be the end of them. She'll secretly investigate why he did what he did. For now, she's giving him the benefit of the doubt. She won't let one single lie define him. She has trusted him enough.

And that's how badly she's fallen for him.

[sirianasims]

After the main course, Paul went to the kitchen to get the dessert ready before midnight. I excused myself and said I needed some fresh air.

I had been to Del Sol Valley a few times when I was little, visiting my grandparents, but I didn’t remember much about the city itself.

The back of Paul’s mansion was the only thing not surrounded by fences, and the view was both breathtaking and terrifying. Bright lights as far as the eye could see, occasional premature fireworks going off, faint background noise from traffic that never stopped.

It felt like we were gilded birds in a cage up here, always on display yet forever out of reach.

I couldn’t imagine anything further from Copperdale and the quiet, snow-covered forests around it.

I wondered if Paul would expect me to move in with him at some point. I didn’t see how he’d be able to work from anywhere else. I could work wherever, but could I live here? Surrounded by fences and cameras and security guards in a huge, empty house?

I pushed the thought away as I heard the clacking of heels behind me.

“Julia, can I talk to you for a moment?”, Sierra asked softly. “I would really like to apologise for what I said earlier. It was never my intention to insult you.”

“I know you didn’t mean it like that, but I still can’t help feeling that you don’t like me very much. Or maybe you just don’t think I’m good enough for Paul?”

Sierra bit her lip.

“I shouldn’t have brought up his exes, especially not in front of you. The thing is, they rarely lasted long enough for the media to catch on – half the time I didn’t even get to meet them before he ended things. So when Paul first told us about you, I got worried. I saw him falling harder and faster than ever before, but you’re so much younger than him and I was struggling to see how it could possibly end well.”

“Right. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“I’m just being honest with you. I tend to be, perhaps, overly protective of Paul. He was even younger than you when we met, we shared a shitty apartment with a few other aspiring actors, all trying to break through. We cheered each other on, audition after audition, practicing lines, commiserating over rejection letters… And then he got the call for Llama Man, and I ended up as an extra in a cop series which later got me the lead in Cop & Llama, but I’ve fought hard to escape that, branch out to other roles, and Paul just… didn’t even try.”

“But he says he prefers the voice acting, though. If you’re his friend, why do you keep pushing him if he’s perfectly happy?”

“Because I’m his friend. Sure, he says he’s happy. Maybe he even believes it. But Paul was always the best of us, and he never took his talent seriously. He’s a great voice actor, but it always felt like he secretly wanted more, he’s just scared. What if he sucked? The media would have a field day, writing about how he should just stick to his cartoons. You’ve seen what they’re like, you just had your first front page. Which, by the way, must be rough. I’m sorry for adding to the stress you must be under right now. Can we maybe start over?”

“Apology accepted, I’m too much of a fangirl to be mad at you anyway. And I’m managing, but I must say, being on the cover of a magazine is a lot less fun than advertised.”

“Trust me, it depends heavily on the kind of magazine. But being hung out to dry by some gossip rag is a rite of passage in this business. You should have seen the frenzy when rumours about me and Dave started circulating. It was wild. I once walked out of an interview because they asked me if the llama costume stayed on during sex!”

“Well? Did it ever?”

Sierra grinned.

“No way – do you have any idea how heavy and warm that costume is? It’s not exactly a sexy superhero muscle suit, it’s a full size sports mascot.”

“True. Although I’m not sure I’d appreciate it if Paul kept his costume on either.”

We both laughed, and I barely registered the steps behind me before I felt Pauls arms around me, his warm hands covering my eyes.

“Guess who.”

I heard Sierra chuckle. “Actually, Paul, we were kinda busy out here, bonding over the trials of dating men in llama costumes. It’s a very exclusive club.”

“I guess Dave and I have to start our own club then. But it's almost midnight and I would like to borrow my girlfriend, if you don’t mind.”

“Fine, you can have her back. I’ll just go get myself one of those fruit tarts before Lee and Dave eat them all.”

She walked back inside without waiting for a response.

She wouldn’t have gotten one anyway.

beginning / previous / next