#do you guys Understand why i got pulled into this ship now

[apopcornkernel]

grabe na kayo ha 😭😭😭

[luveline]

Hello Jade! I have a request for hotch if that’s okay, I was thinking something like he’s dating sunshine!reader who goes to a police precinct with the team and the sheriff/deputy insults Hotch in front of her (maybe she’s not part of the BAU so he doesn’t realise she knows Hotch?) and she snaps and punches him/pushes him to the ground and afterwards she’s really quiet and refusing to tell anyone what happened cause she doesn’t want Hotch to hear that people were bad mouthing him. Everyone is confused cause she’s usually so bubbly and it’s disconcerting to see her so stern but she has to protect her man damnit 😤

(Ps I’m the anon who got confused about rules n you’re right I was looking under guidelines not requests 🤦🏼‍♀️ sorry!)

hi babe, thank you for your request! (and no worries at all, no sorry necessary!!)

—hotch is dumbfounded when you slap a deputy sheriff, but you have your heartfelt reasons. fem, 2k

You're not specifically BAU, but when Hotch calls, you answer. You don't look BAU either in your skirt with your blue laptop carry case; twice you're asked what you're doing in the precinct and if you need assistance, but eventually you get to the centre of the action upstairs, meandering through the detective's desks toward a conference room with a sticky-taped sign that says to knock before entering. 

"Hey, Spencer," you say, shouldering open the door. "They leave you behind?" 

Spencer turns away from his white board. "I'm more useful here right now. Did you bring the ethernet cable for Garcia?"

You put your laptop case on the table and pull out her desired cable. "Where is she?" It's hard-pressed for Penelope to be found anywhere away from her computer during case times. You must get twenty or more rejection emails a month from your fellow tech analysist. Sorry, working a case :'( 

"Bathroom. There's a kitchen if you need coffee. You have a badge?" 

You flash your visitor's badge at him. "Get you one?" 

"Four sugars. Thanks, L/N." 

You flash him a smile. The kitchen is back the way you came and to the right. It's nowhere near big enough for the workforce, three tables and one microwave next to a sink full of mugs. You smile at anyone who looks at you and beeline for a coffee pot. No one questions you. They must be used to outsiders invading their space this week. 

"Mean fucking guy." 

You tilt your head to the side, hand paused in their cup cabinet above the sink. You shouldn't be nosy, but they're not being very quiet, either.

"He has to be mean, I guess. That's a tight ship to run," says a second voice.

"I'd understand it if I thought they were getting somewhere. It's been four days, and between the string bean and his pushpin map and that tech girl who won't shut up? They're doomed. The boss is either too stubborn or too damn stupid to realise." 

You close the cabinet and turn around. 

"I fucking hate this shit. Ties in their suit jackets coming into our investigation and chasing the wrong leads. We could've had Miller in cuffs two days ago if Hotchner hadn't shut us down, two days ago! And now another kid is dead, and there's not a drop of remorse on him. He doesn't care about doing his job, he–" 

"He what?" you ask. Your heart is beating hard before you've so much as parted your lips, your hands trembling. You screw them into tight balls. 

"Excuse me?" 

Your opposition is a rough hewn man in a deputies badge, a cup of coffee held between two paws. He narrows thick salt and pepper brows at your question, his mouth screwed into a telling snarl. 

"You think Agent Hotchner doesn't care about his job? So why is he here? Why did he agree to take the case?" 

"Who the fuck are you?" 

You shake your head in annoyance and take the FBI badge from your little cross body bag. You toss it on the table, your beaming face looking up at him a juxtaposition to the glare you wear now. 

He stands up from his table. The lunch room hushes but the riot of precinct cacophony stays strong just outside of the door, a thrum that battles your roaring heart. You're so angry you can barely speak, and it'll only get worse. 

"I'm sorry you have to hear it from me, darling, I am, but your boss out there? Agent Hotchner?" The deputy scoffs. "He's a fool running blind. He turned away from the real issue here. He's a prideful, narcissistic idiot who's let the power of his paycheck get to his head, and as far as I'm concerned? So long as he stops us from arresting Jaden Miller? He's a murderer, too. The blood is on his hands." 

You know you're going to slap him from the moment he says 'murderer', but the knee to his crotch straight after is a surprise even to yourself. All you're thinking for one horrible white-hot moment is How can I hurt him? It's shameful, and you slam your knee up a second time anyhow. 

—

"You can tell me what happened now or later, but it's going to be much easier on you if you tell me now." 

Hotch hates this part. What he wouldn't give to have someone else here to reprimand you. He understands why Gideon left and he wouldn't want him back unwillingly, but Hotch thinks your nightly phone call may go over smoother tonight if it were Gideon standing in his place. Half the time Hotch finds he's uninterested in scolding you. It's why you stay firmly in your department and away from his bias in the BAU. He can't be optimal at his job while you're around. 

It's not limited to telling you off, of course. When you're near, he wants to act like it. He wants to take your hand, hold your arm, rub a palm between your shoulders. He wants to pull you into his lap, or pinch the soft lobe of your ear between his fingers to watch you shiver, blow warm air at the back of your neck to hear your laugh. This cold silence is his worst nightmare, but he can't cross the line. 

Well, he can't cross the line too much. 

In the privacy of a cordoned, borrowed office, Hotch can sit beside you. The blinds are closed, and his intimidation act wasn't getting him anywhere anyways. More flies with honey than vinegar. 

"I can't show favouritism here, do you understand? Especially when you're being physically violent against the deputy sheriff." Hotch watches the soft pillow of your bottom lip tremble in a private terror. "I know you wouldn't do this for no reason. I know. Give me a reason to take your side and I will." 

"I don't want to talk about it." 

"Did he say something inappropriate?" 

You don't answer.

"Did he?" Hotch can feel the anger he's been pushing down start to rise. When a woman like you, happy-go-lucky, pretty, and always smiling, turns to violence, it's not hard to picture why. He knows full well the horrible things a man can say to a woman. "Please, trust me to take care of this." 

"Hotch, I really don't want to talk about this. You can reprimand me, send me home." 

"No. Tell me what he said." 

You glare at him. Hotch finds with a heart-skipping hurt that it's the first time he's been on the receiving end of your disdain. "No. I don't want to." 

"And I don't want to send you home." He knows how he looks, stony-eyed and furrowed brow. He has to try hard to relax into a more neutral expression. "I won't. Not when I know you'd never hurt someone." 

"Well, I did." 

"We all do things we don't mean to in anger." 

In the quiet, he can hear Emily asking loud questions about what happened, and her almost comedic gasp as someone informs her of the situation. Morgan couldn't find the words to tell Hotch over the phone what happened, just told him to hurry back, and it was doubly difficult to get the story out of Spencer, who'd been the one responsible for standing in your way. 

"He called her a bitch," Spencer told him. "I didn't want to hold her back after that." 

The sheriff deputy has a good hundred pounds on you, so no matter what he called you, Hotch is glad you were pulled away. 

Hearing that you'd been called a bitch set his nerves aflame. When Spencer explained that this was said by a man on his knees after a swift jab to the crotch, Hotch was more confused. 

He follows a whim. He's biassed for sure, but he knows you're the most beautiful woman in any room that you walk into. It doesn't shock him that a high-ranking authority figure would take advantage of his position to make a pass at you. 

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," he says softly. "Whatever he said to you, I– I'm not supposed to support violence, but I understand if it got too much. Sexual harassment is unjustifiable, and I'll stand with you and your actions completely." 

"He didn't harass me, Aaron," you say, looking down at your knees. You're wearing dark stockings, pinching at the fabric distractedly. 

"Did he touch you?" 

"No, Aaron–" You sigh frustratedly. "I don't want to tell you what he said because it's not true." 

"He insulted you?" 

"He insulted you." You glance at him and then away. "I couldn't stand it." 

If there weren't cameras in the room he'd bundle you into his arms and kiss the slope of your cheek, because how is he supposed to handle this? You're hitting people when they talk bad about him now? 

Hotch doesn't need to ask to know it was bad. You're a well-meaning, well-adjusted person. You'd hardly hit somebody for calling Hotch a jerk. Something severe would've been said to have pushed you over the edge, but, to his detriment, Hotch has heard a thousand awful things about himself from a thousand different mouths, and he doesn't worry about what it was. 

"Alright. Listen to me carefully." Your shoulders stiffen. "I don't want you hurting people over me. I don't need you to defend me. I don't want you to fight my battles for me, and I certainly don't want you assaulting people on my behalf." 

Your lip again begins to tremble. "I'm sorry." 

"No. Don't be sorry." He covers your knee in his hand gently, ducking his head to meet your glassy eyes. He's gone about this the wrong way, upsetting you unnecessarily. He rushes to correct it. "I love that you want to defend me, I love that you did, and it isn't lost on me how much it means to have you at my side, but… You could have been seriously injured. Honey, picking on someone your own size is a double-sided coin. What if the deputy hit you back?" 

"I'm not afraid of getting hurt." 

He leans down more, imploring, desperate to be heard. "I'm afraid of you getting hurt. Me. I'm worried someone's going to hurt you when I'm not around." 

"He was saying all this stuff about you and it wasn't true–" 

"It's okay," he says, shaking his head slowly from one side to another. "It doesn't matter. I know what people like him think of me, and he's not in an easy position." He drops his voice to a murmur for your ears alone. "I'm not saying you should agree with him, I can't tell you that I like him much." 

You laugh weakly, the sound quickly melding to a sniffle. "I'm sorry, Aaron. I shouldn't have hit him. I don't know what came over me." 

"We get angry for the people we care about." 

He can't kiss you, really, not at work, but he can show you some heavy affection. It's a boundary crossed. Luckily, Hotch knows you won't report him. 

"Thank you for defending me. You can stay on the case if you promise not to do it again," he says, squeezing your smaller hand in his, drawing a lopsided heart with his thumb into the back of it. 

"I'll promise not to do it again if he promises to keep his stupid mouth closed," you mutter. 

"Is it wrong of me to like this version of you?" he says. 

You look him straight in the eye, your usual lightness restored, if dimmed just a touch. "I like all your versions, Agent Hotchner." 

"Good. Remind the version that's your boyfriend to treat you accordingly tonight. Okay?" 

You nod emphatically, both relieved and chastened. "Okay. Thanks, handsome." 

You look tired. Tonight, he'll kiss you like he means it, maybe a touch too rough but apparently you're a hard ass now who can handle it, and he'll hold you close even if he can't give you the attention you deserve until the case is done. He'll make sure you know how much he appreciates your protection, rub your back for hours just the way you like it while sleep fails. 

"You're welcome," he says. He has more to say but there's no more time to waste. There's still work to be done. 

It'll come easier with you at his side, he's sure. 

[jgracie]

I WANT IT ALL

masterlist | rules

❝ hellooo !! i absolutely in love with your works !! may i request percy with the song “i want it” all by lana del rey, specially this part of the lyrics：“do you think you'll kill for me one day?" ／ “yes of course I will, my darling” ? perhaps a mention of dark percy ? 😋 ❞ — 🦇

in which percy would kill for you one day

pairing slightly dark!percy jackson x reader

warnings house of hades spoilers? that’s when this is set, violence (percy bloodbends)

on the radio . . . i want it all (lana del rey)

After experiencing Tartarus together, you couldn’t help but notice how Percy changed. He used to always be able to crack a joke, even at the worst of situations, lightening the mood and raising your spirits. However, now he’s more… serious. Tartarus seemed to harden him up - his eyes, once a bright aquamarine colour, were now of a dark blue-green hue, like the depths of the ocean that even Poseidon wouldn’t venture

You still loved him with all of your heart. He was your precious boyfriend, after all. And besides, you probably changed a lot too after that. Anyone would if they were forced to hallucinate their boyfriend abandoning them like you did. The image the Arai had planted in your head that day, a curse sent your way by a girl you didn’t even know, haunted you. You never wanted to feel that alone and isolated again

Percy knew this. It was part of the reason why he became more protective, more territorial. Watching you wander Tartarus aimlessly, your voice cracking as you begged for his touch and being able to do nothing about it shattered his heart. After that experience, he vowed to never let you out of his sight 

The other members of the Argo II could tell that something had changed between you, too. However, they kept a safe distance, not wanting to interfere in case they made it worse, unable to even fathom what you must’ve gone through in Tartarus

For the most part, though, your relationship was good. Other than the nightmares and protectiveness, the two of you stayed the same iconic couple you are, and as time progressed, Percy felt himself becoming more relaxed, no longer needing to be by your side every second of every day

That was until the ship got attacked. You’d been having a couple days of pretty safe travel ever since you got out of Tartarus, and while you did enjoy simply being able to catch up with all your friends on a boat in the ocean, you should’ve known that something would come along to ruin this for you

It was early in the morning, and you were on watch duty along with Leo, who was manning the ship whilst adding some updates to Festus. The salty air made you think of Percy, and you found yourself suddenly longing for his touch, knowing how much he’d enjoy watching the sun rise over the horizon

“You can go get Percy if you want, Y/N, I’ll be fine here,” Leo mumbled. For someone who claims he’s better at understanding machines than people, he sure was good at reading your mind. Recently, you noticed he’d also been acting differently. According to Hazel, he found a girl he loved (NOT calypso guys don’t worry 🩷) while he’d gone missing, but for some reason he couldn’t bring her with him

You thanked him and were about to make your way to your boyfriend’s room when you suddenly heard a voice yell, “I will take revenge on you, wretched son of Poseidon!” You turned, finding yourself face-to-face with none other than the bane of Poseidon, Polybotes

“You think you can just leave Tartarus as you please? I, Polybotes, will make you pay!” The giant continued. Your feet seemed to be cemented to the ground as you stared at the giant, mouth open in a mix of shock and fear. He was supposed to be in Tartarus, how could he possibly get here? Of course you couldn’t have a moment of peace. Why were you stupid enough to think that maybe, just maybe, you could relax until actually having to fight Gaia herself? 

“Y/N, look out!” Leo yelled, pulling you out of your trance. But it was too late. The giant picked you up, his nails digging into your back, forming crescent shaped gashes. Your nose scrunched at the smell of him as he took a good look at you before laughing (his breath smelled even worse. You had to fight the urge to vomit all over him)

Tears welled up in your eyes. You were completely helpless, with no weapon on you and your limbs still aching from your time in Tartarus. This was it. This is how you’d die. The giant was squeezing you so tight you could barely breathe, black spots beginning to obscure your vision. You sent a quick prayer to your godly parent, asking them to keep your friends safe on the rest of this quest, before you succumbed to the darkness

The last thing you remember seeing is a flash of bright blue - the ocean

“Thank Gods you’re awake! We’re all so worried about you!” Hazel exclaimed as soon as your eyes were open. Looking around, you noticed you were in the makeshift infirmary section of the ship, bruises littering your body

You turned to face Hazel, your eyebrows furrowed, “what… happened?” You asked, trying to push your memories of the incident with Polybotes to the front of your mind, but ending up with nothing, “I remember I was captured by that giant, then I saw the water move, then… nothing.”

Hazel was suddenly incapable of holding eye contact with you, unsure if she should tell you what happened or not. In the end, she decided on the former, knowing you’d pull it out of Percy eventually if you had to

“The water moving was Percy’s doing. We all showed up after hearing the commotion and when he saw you in Polybotes’ clutches he went… kind of crazy. I’d never seen him like this before, Y/N, it was a little scary. He willed the water to move him up to Polybotes’ height and demanded he let you go. When he didn’t…” Hazel stopped for a second, shuddering. What did Percy do? After seeing the way he handled Akhlys in Tartarus, you knew there was a side of him that he kept buried deep inside. Did it come out again?

You placed a gentle hand on Hazel’s, giving her a kind smile which willed her to continue, “he started controlling Polybotes’ blood… he made him choke on his own blood, Y/N, we’ve been spending the past five hours cleaning that up.”

At the sound of voices coming out of the infirmary, Percy barged in, nodding at Hazel before holding you tightly in his arms. You hugged back, glad to see that he was okay. Smiling at both of you, Hazel waved goodbye and left, knowing you two needed a moment alone

“Hazel told me what happened,” you said once Percy pulled away, still keeping your hand in his. At this, he looked at the ground in shame, remembering how much his treatment of Akhlys had scared you in Tartarus

Rubbing circles into your hand, he said, “I’m sorry, Y/N, my fear and anger got the better of me. I don’t ever want to lose you, you’re literally my soulmate. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Your heart fluttered at his words. Feeling your face become warmer as a bright smile made its way onto your lips, you said, “it’s alright, Percy. Thank you for saving me. I genuinely thought I was going to die then.” At this, Percy’s brows furrowed and the grip he had on your hand tightened

An aura of power exuded from your boyfriend, and when he said, “you wouldn’t die, not with me here. I’d kill for you, baby, you understand that, right?” You knew he meant it. If giants didn’t have to be defeated by both Gods and demigods working together, Polybotes would definitely be a mere pile of dust in Tartarus right now

[serial-designation-jey]

ALRIGHT YOU GUYS ASKED FOR THIS!

MURDER DRONES INCORRECT QUOTES, 38 PAGES WORTH, THE SHIPS ARE NUZI, DIZZY AND OILROSE. THIS WAS MADE LIKE A WEEK AFTER EPISODE 6 RELEASED. BE PREPARED THIS WILL BE LONG.

**Thad:** We call that a traumatic experience. 

**Thad, turning to Uzi:** Not a "bruh moment". 

**Thad, turning to J:** Not "sadge". 

**Thad, turning to V:** And DEFINITELY not an "oof LMAO".

-

**Lizzy:** *lying down and crying* 

**V:** There, there. Why don’t you take some time off to not be around me while you’re like this?

-

**V:** Just trust me. Have I ever put you in an unsafe or uncomfortable situation? 

**N:** All the time. 

**V:** Then you should be used to it by now.

-

**Uzi:** You need a hobby. 

**V:** I have a hobby! 

**Uzi:** Fawning over J isn’t a hobby.

-

**N:** How do you connect with a fictional character? 

**Thad:** What? 

**Doll:** что? (What?) 

**Lizzy:** What? 

**Uzi:** *pulls up a 500 slide presentation* I'm glad you asked.

-

**Doll:** Иногда я разговариваю сам с собой без причины. (Sometimes i talk to myself.)

**Doll:** Я тоже! (Me too!)

-

**Lizzy:** How do I tell Doll that I want them to yell at me like they're Gordon Ramsay and I'm a poor little chef who just ruined a crème brûlée?

-

**Doll:** Uzi просто сказал: «У меня есть тяга к разрушению», а затем они нагнулись и развязали мой ботинок. (Uzi just said "I have an appetite for destruction" and then they reached down and untied my shoe.)

-

**Uzi:** I will send my army to attack! 

**Uzi:** *releases a dumpster of raccoons*

-

**J:** What kinds of sounds annoy you? 

**N:** Are we talking real sounds or imaginary ones? 

**J, now interested:** Lets say imaginary. 

**N:** Spiders wearing flip-flops.

-

**Lizzy:** Ow! 

**Doll:** В чем дело? (What’s wrong?) 

**Lizzy:** I have this weird pain right behind my visor. 

**Doll:** Это называется ��трессовая головная боль. Я получил свой первый, когда мне было четыре года. (It’s called a stress headache. I got my first one when I was four.)

-

**N:** J, you’re mean!

**J:** What did you say? 

**N:** You heard me! 

**J, internally:** And it turns out I actually didn't hear what the fuck you just said.

-

**Thad:** Why are you two always out during snowstorms? 

**N:** It’s so peaceful and refreshing. I love the smell of snow. 

**Uzi:** V bet me I couldn’t get struck by lightning, but she’s WRONG.

-

**Doll:** Так когда же мы им расскажем? (So when are we gonna tell them? )

**Lizzy:** Just give her a minute. 

**Uzi:** *Pulling on a door that clearly says push.*

-

**Lizzy:** Hey! Wanna hear a joke? 

**Doll:** Конечно. (Sure.) 

**Lizzy:** Your life! 

**Doll:** На самом деле моя жизнь — не шутка, шутки имеют смысл. (Actually, my life isn’t a joke, jokes have meaning.)

**Lizzy:** Doll, no.

-

**Tessa:** Keep it running. *Tosses keys over shoulder into empty parking lot.*

-

*The Squad cleaning up* 

**Thad:** Pick up the nearest piece of trash and throw it away. 

**Lizzy, to Uzi:** Aight, which bin do you wanna go in—

-

**Doll:** Я не был настолько пьян от масла. (I wasn’t that drunk on oil.)

**Lizzy:** You colored my face with a highlighter because you said I was important. 

**Doll:** ПОТОМУ ЧТО ВЫ ЕСТЬ! (BECAUSE YOU ARE!)

-

*When a child starts crying in public* 

**N:** *tries to make the child laugh* 

**Doll:** *tries to play a game with the child to make them calm down* 

**Lizzy:** *gives [bad] detailed instructions to the parents* 

**Thad:** *cries with the child* 

**V:** *ignores the child* 

**Uzi:** *is the reason why the child is crying*

-

**Lizzy:** Why are we friends? 

**V:** Poor decisions on your part.

-

**Uzi:** So, are you two dating now? 

**J and V:** Yes. 

**Uzi:** Why? 

**J:** I happen to find V very appealing. 

**Uzi:** Yeah, I can understand that. I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with V.

-

**Uzi:** When I first got my autism diagnosis, my first thought was “Woah… it’s canon” and I think that maybe thoughts like that is why N made me get tested.

-

**J:** Is something burning? 

**V, leaning seductively on the counter:** Just my desire for you. 

**J:** V, the toaster is literally on fire.

-

**J**: When I first met you I thought you were a real bitch.

**N**: What changed?

**J**: Now I know you’re a fake bitch.

-

**J, passing their phone to N:** I'm passing the phone to someone, who if I had to choose between hanging out with them and having my organs removed one by one, I’d choose the organs. 

**N, passing the phone back to J:** I'm passing the phone to my best friend!

-

**Uzi:** Two brooooos! 

**N:** Chillin' in a hot tub! 

**Uzi:** Five feet apart 'cause we're not gay! 

**N:** 

**Uzi:** 

**N:** *tearing up* 

**Uzi:** Babe, c'mon... 

**N:** AND HERE YOU REALLY HAD ME THINKING WE HAD SOMETHING. 

**Uzi:** Babe...

-

**Uzi:** sapnu puaS. 

**Thad:** What?? 

**N:** What language is that? 

**Uzi:** Turn your phone 180 degrees. 

*Uzi was removed from the group chat*

-

**V:** At this point I have to confess… I started to feel a little bad for Doll. Maybe it was the fact that I had just outperformed them at their own game, or maybe it was that I held an obvious advantage over the poor bastard. Maybe it was just that unbearable to look into their eyes. Either way, I started to wonder if maybe this was a pointless endeavor after all. What was I doing to this person? What was I trying to prove? Was this really some grand, noble quest, to tear an overconfident fraud from their unearned throne? To show everyone that I was right. That Doll did not deserve to stand at that zenith, to lord over all their lowly competitors. Or… perhaps… was I really just doing this for myself? Beating an opponent within an inch of their life over and over and over again… all for my own petty ego. All to fill this emptiness inside of me. I asked myself, was Doll really the bad guy? Or was it me, all along? 

**V:** But then I remembered that Doll ain’t shit, and I got over it!

-

*Bullying Prevention Day at school* 

**Teacher:** Uzi, what would you do if one of your classmates viciously teased you again and again? 

**Uzi:** Oh, that’s easy. I’d take a pencil out of my pencil case— 

**Teacher:** To write something to your teacher? 

**Uzi:** —make sure that it’s really sharp, and ram it into their eye at full tilt! My mom always said the pencil is mightier than the sword because they can’t outlaw bringing pencils to school! 

**Teacher:** *internal screaming*

-

**V:** This bloodline ends with me. 

**Uzi:** That's the fanciest way I've ever heard someone say "I'm gay".

-

**V:** How’s practice going? 

**Lizzy:** Terrible. I want to stab everybody there. 

**V:** Okay, just don’t get any oil on your clothes. 

**Lizzy:** …you shouldn’t be condoning this. 

**V:** Don’t tell me how to live my life.

-

**Uzi, singing:** I don’t want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need— 

**Lizzy:** A mom. 

**J:** A better love life. 

**V:** Mental stability. 

**N:** *clueless* Bagels?

-

**Doll:** Люди всегда отвергают мои идеи, и мне это надоело. Два предложения, и все всегда кричат: «Какого черта? это незаконно!» и «Ты не можешь этого сделать!». Мол, давай, дай мне поговорить! (People always shoot down my ideas and I’m sick of it. Two sentences in and everyone’s always shouting “What the fuck? That’s illegal!” and “You can’t do that!”. Like, c'mon, let me talk!)

-

**V:** How was your day, Lizzy? 

**Lizzy:** Yeah, fine, it's anti-bullying week at school. 

**V:** Oh? And what does that mean? 

**Lizzy:** It means I can't bully Uzi for a whole week.

-

**V:** J annoyed me today so I told them that I can’t wait to see what they have planned for our special day tomorrow. 

**Uzi:** There is nothing special about tomorrow. 

**V:** But there is something special about watching the color leave their eyes as panic takes over.

-

**Lizzy, to Doll:** You wanna fight? All right, let’s take this outside. The stars are so bright tonight and the moon looks so nice. Here, hold my hand—

-

**Doll:** Не могу поверить, что в моем свидетельстве о рождении написано Ф… (I can’t believe my birth certificate says F... )

**Doll:** ...Как я не родился? (...How did I fail being born?)

-

**Uzi:** *About to do something incredibly stupid* 

**N:** I know I can't stop you, but I won't let you go by yourself.

-

**Doll, singing to the tune of I Kissed a Girl:** Я убил парня, и мне это понравилось- (I killed a guy, and I liked it- )

**Lizzy, whispering:** Should we call the exorcist? 

**Uzi, also singing:** The taste of his cherry chapstick. 

**V, appalled:** Call the exorcist.

-

**Uzi:** Guys… the principal just called— 

**Rebecca:** It was Lizzy! 

**Lizzy:** It was Braiden! 

**Braiden:** It was Thad! 

**Thad:** It was me!

-

**Uzi:** I don’t think we can mansplain, manipulate, or malewife our way out of it this time. 

**V:** *cracks knuckles* Manslaughter it is!

-

**J:** You ever see something that changes your life and you're just like "Huh.." 

**V:** I saw you. 

**J:** Honestly that's so cute and sweet but it kinda makes this awkward because I was gonna show you a picture of Tessa in a turkey costume.

-

**N:** Remember! Curiosity killed the cat! 

**V:** Yes, but you forget that satisfaction brought it back. So yes, Lizzy, go find out if that thing can catch fire! 

**N:** You're a bad influence. 

**V:** And you don't know your sayings.

-

**Uzi:** Is stabbing someone immoral? 

**Lizzy:** Not if they consent to it. 

**V:** Depends on who you’re stabbing. 

**N:** YES??!!?

-

**V:** The next time I open up to someone, it'll be my autopsy.

-

**Doll:** Хотите чего-нибудь выпить? (Would you like something to drink?) *They open the fridge* У нас есть вода, молоко, сок, тараканы, Доктор Пеппер- (We have water, milk, juice, cockroaches, Dr. Pepper-)

**Lizzy:** Cockroaches? 

**Doll:** Тараканы это тогда. (Cockroaches it is then.) 

**Lizzy:** No, that wasn’t- 

*But they were already pouring them a brimming glass of cockroaches*

-

**V:** How long do you think it'll take? 

**J:** I don’t know, three or four. 

**Uzi:** Three or four what? Days? Weeks? Months? 

**V:** Yeah, maybe five. 

**Uzi:** Five what?!

-

*J Driving and taking V and N along for the ride* 

**N:** That's a pothole. To the left! 

**J:** Take it back now y'all *Drives into pothole* 

**V, sticking their face into the front over the center console:** Cha Cha real smooth. 

**J:** I don't think that's how the song goes. 

**N, crying and gripping the handle:** Please just take me home. 

**J:** Country Roads. 

**V:** To the place. 

**J and V in unison:** I Belong! 

**N, crying harder:** What the fuck?

-

*J and V are in a mirror maze* 

**J, seeing V:** C'mon, you got it! Almost through! 

**V:** Oh! I see you! *runs straight into a mirror, shattering it* 

**J:** *Cries laughing*

-

*Squad reactions to being told ‘I love you’* 

**Lizzy:** I love me too.

**V:** Oh no. 

**N:** *cries* I love you too. 

**Uzi:** Sounds fake, but okay. 

**J:** *A flustered mess* 

**Thad:** Can I get a refund?

-

**V:** It's not like I try to blow things up, exactly. It just sort of happens. You've got to admit though, fire is fascinating.

-

**Doll:** Я думаю, мой ангел-хранитель пьет. (I think my guardian angel drinks.)

-

**Thad:** Hey, Lizzy? Can I get some dating advice? 

**Lizzy:** Just because I'm with Doll doesn't mean I know how I did it.

-

**N:** There is no i in happyness… 

**J:** There is if you fucking spell it right.

-

**Uzi:** We are gathered here today because someone- *glares at V’s coffin* -couldn’t stay alive!

-

**Lizzy:** Would you take a bullet for me? 

**Doll:** …да? (...yes?) 

*Uzi angrily bursts into the room* 

**Lizzy:** *running away* Great, thanks!

-

**N:** You know, I really wish you’d just admit you made a mistake sometimes. 

**V, stirring their coffee:** I prefer it with salt.

-

**Uzi:** Are you okay? 

**N, crying:** Yeah, it was just the onions. 

**Uzi:** *Picks up an onion* What the fuck did you say to N?

-

**Thad:** Do you support gay rights? 

**Doll:** Я буквально гей. (I’m literally gay.) 

**Uzi:** They’re avoiding the question!

-

**N:** Oh, fiddlesticks! That really ruffles my feathers! 

**V:** Please, just say fuck.

-

**Lizzy:** Words ending in 'ie' just sound so adorable. Like cutie, sweetie, cookie- 

**Thad:** Eyy, homie! 

**Uzi:** But then there's cootie... 

**J:** Die.

-

**Uzi:** Isn’t it weird that we can’t ride any other animal except horses? Like if horses weren’t a thing, drones would be fucked cause we couldn’t ride any other animals. Like riding animals wouldn’t really be a thing. We should probably be more grateful to horses. 

**V:** Elephants. 

**Uzi:** Blocked. 

**J:** Camels. 

**Uzi:** Extra blocked. 

**N:** Donkeys. 

**Uzi:** Ultra blocked. 

**Lizzy:** That dick. 

**Uzi:** ...Followed.

-

**N:** Everyone thinks I'm this soft cute drone but I'm not! 

**V:** N, you cried for an hour after stepping on a bug yesterday. 

**N:** It had feelings! It was probably going home to dinner and I killed it! 

**J:** ...It was a bug. 

**N:** It was a BEETLE, and its wife is definitely worried sick, wondering where it is, and I really don't get why you all think I'm so sentimental because I'm not! 

**V:** ... 

**J:** ... 

**N:** Stop looking at me like that!

-

**Uzi:** I feel like the world would be better if I'd never been born. 

**J:** Aw... that's not true. 

**J:** It'd be exactly the same. 

**J:** You're not important.

-

**V, admiring a sleeping J:** You’re so cute. 

**J, sleepily:** I could beat your ass. 

**V, lovingly:** I know.

-

**Lizzy:** I know how this must look but I can assure you we have a perfectly logical explanation. 

**Thad:** Yeah! We’re cowards!

**Lizzy**: Thad- no.

-

**V:** Stay foxy. 

**J:** Die lonely.

-

**Lizzy, filling out legal paperwork:** Were you guys born AMAB or AFAB? 

**V:** Bold of you to assume I was born at all. 

**J:** I personally was created in a lab. 

**Uzi:** I just straight up spawned lol.

-

**V:** Sometimes I wonder if I’m hearing voices. 

**V:** Then I remember that’s the last bit of sanity I have trying to get me to fall asleep at a reasonable time.

-

**Lizzy:** *Pulls a glass of water from out of nowhere* 

**Doll:** Где ты достала это? (Where did you get that?)

**Lizzy:** My pocket. 

**Doll:** Как держать стакан воды в кармане? (How do you keep a glass of water in your pocket?)

**Lizzy:** Skills.

-

**Lizzy:** How are you today? 

**Doll:** Пожалуйста, не заставляй меня думать о своей жизни. (Please don’t make me think about my life.)

-

Here’s a bunch of shipping ones that I got:

-

**Uzi:** My future partner must be brave, strong, intelligent, successful, and organized. 

**N:** *steps on a caterpillar and proceeds to drop to their knees and sob while apologizing profusely* 

**Uzi:** That one. I want that one.

-

**Uzi:** Hey, J, are you free on Friday? Like around eight? 

**J:** uh. Yeah. why.

**Uzi:** And you, V? 

**V:** Umm... yes? 

**Uzi:** Great! Because I'm not. You two go out without me. Enjoy your date! 

**V:** Did she just-

-

**N:** Are you ready to commit? 

**Uzi:** Like a crime or a relationship?

-

**N:** Crushes are the worst. Whenever I’m near mine, I start acting stupid. 

**Uzi:** You always act stupid. 

**Uzi:** 

**Uzi:** Wait...

-

**J:** Just a minute. I need to go take out the trash. 

**V:** Oh. We're going out? 

**J:** Wh...

-

**V:** I want to kiss you. 

**J, not paying attention:** What? 

**V:** I said if you die, I won't miss you.

-

**J:** Ugh, crushes are so dumb. 

**V:** I know. Whenever I’m near the person I like I just start acting crazy. 

**J:** But you’re always acting crazy? 

**V:** ... 

**V:** Yeah, don’t think about that too hard.

-

**Doll:** Кем ты хочешь быть на Хэллоуин? (What do you want to be for Halloween?)

**Lizzy:** Yours. 

**Doll:** …

**Doll:** …да, это было бы довольно страшно. (…yeah, that would be pretty scary.)

-

End of MAJOR shipping section

-

**Thad:** I was arrested for being too cool. 

**Lizzy:** The charges were dropped due to a lack of supporting evidence.

-

**J, when V walks in:** Oh, hey, I'm just storing oil. 

**J:** *“accidentally” smacks N in the face with a worker’s arm*

-

**N:** Anyone wanna play cards?

**J:**Sure, anyone have any poker chips?

**Uzi:** Plus four. 

**Thad:** Pikachu, I choose you

**V:** Go fish.

**N:** I meant rummy-

**Random worker drone:** It's gin rummy.

-

**Uzi:** We’ve got to find a way to cut down our expenses. What can we live without

**J:** N, probably.

-

**J:** I'm sorry please talk to me

**V:**

**J:** Hello? World’s most amazing drone? Sweet Pea? Company assigned partner?

**V:** Don't sweet pea me you stole my bubbles.

-

**J:** I'm not doing too well.

**V:** Are you okay?

**J:** I have this headache that comes and goes

**N:** *enters the room*

**J:** There it is again!

-

**J:** I CAN'T DO IT!

**V, laughing:** I CAN'T EITHER!

**J:** I CANT FUCKING DO IT ANYMORE

**N:** WELL I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, YOU CAN EITHER GIVE UP NOW, OR YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT. BECAUSE WE CERTAINLY CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU, AND WE KNOW YOU CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT US.

**J:**

**J:** I appreciate it,

**J:** BUT LOOK WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH-

**Doll:** J-

**J:** YOU GOTTA DRAW THE LINE SOMEWHERE!

**Lizzy:** J we gotta-

**J:** YOU GOTTA DRAW A FUCKING LINE IN THE SAND. YOU GOTTA MAKE A STATEMENT.

**J:** YOU GOTTA LOOK INSIDE YOURSELF AND SAY 'What am I willing to put up with today?'

**J, motioning to Uzi:** NOT FUCKING THIS

-

'Can I copy the homework?'

**N:** I can help you with it!

**Uzi:** Yeah, sure.

**V:** Bold of you to assume I did the homework.

**J:** lol nope.

**Lizzy:** We had homework?

**Doll:** *Read 5:55pm*

-

**J:** We need to distract these guys **V:** Leave it to me **V:** Centaurs have six limbs and are therefore insects. Discuss. **Thad, Uzi, and Lizzy:** *Immediately begin arguing* **N, watching in horror:** Oh this. I don’t like this. I don't like this at all.

-

**V:** Time for plan G. **J:** Don’t you mean plan B? **V:** No, we tried plan B a long time ago. I had to skip over plan C due to technical difficulties. **Uzi:** What about plan D? **V:** Plan D was that desperate disguise attempt half an hour ago. **N:** What about plan E? **V:** I’m hoping not to use it. J dies in plan E. **Uzi:** I like plan E.

-

**J:** If you bite it and you die, it’s poisonous. If it bites you and you die, it’s venomous. **N:** What if it bites me and it dies!? **V:** Then you’re poisonous. Jesus Christ, N, learn to listen. **Uzi:** What if it bites itself and I die? **N:** That’s voodoo. **Lizzy:** What if it bites me and someone else dies? **J:** That’s correlation, not causation. **Uzi:** What if we bite each other, and neither of us die? **V:** That’s kinky. **J:** Oh my God.

-

OILROSE SECTION because im running out of ideas and i love them a lot

**J:** Here's some advice

**V:** I didn't ask for any

**J:** Too bad. I'm stuck here with my thoughts and you're the only one who talks to me

-

**V:** *Stabs their leg with tail* FUCK!

**J:** Language!

**V:** What else am I supposed to say, “Woe is I”???

**J:**

**V:** You have to accept that swear words are necessary sometimes.

-

*J:* You know, I'm starting to regret showing you how that blender works.

**V, drinking toast:** Why do you say that?

-

**V:** So are we flirting right now?

**J:** I AM LITERALLY STABBING YOU??

**V:** That doesn’t answer my question.

-

**V:** Name a more iconic duo than my crippling fear of abandonment and my anxiety. I'll wait.

**J:** You and me.

**V, tearing up:** Okay.

-

**V:** .. .----. -- / ... --- .-. .-. -.-- (I’M SORRY)

**J:** What's that?

**V:** Remorse code.

**J:** I'm even angrier now.

-

**V:** Am I in trouble?

**J:** Take a guess.

**V:** No?

**J:** Take another guess.

-

**J, pointing:** May I sit there?

**V:** That's my lap

**J:** That doesn't answer my question, V.

-

**V:** English is a difficult language. It can be understood through tough thorough thought, though.

**J:** You need to stop.

-

**J:** *Walking in to a room* Sorry I’m late... I was... doing things.

*Sounds of running footsteps progressively getting louder*

**V:** *Out of breath* THEY PUSHED ME DOWN THE FUCKIN’ STAIRS.

-

**J:** I know you’re deflecting by making jokes about how hot you are.

**V:** It’s not a joke.

**V:** *sniffles*

**V:** I’m a legit snack.

-

**J, addressing the squad:** And if you have any suggestions feel free to put them in the suggestion box.

**V:** But – that’s just a trash can.

**J:** It sure is!

-

**J:** Remember when we didn't try to solve all our problems with attempted murder?

**V:** Stop romanticizing the past.

-

**V:** I want to wake up with you every day for the rest of our lives

**J:** I wake up at 4:30 AM

**V:**

**V:** I want to see you at some point every day for the rest of our lives

-

**J:** V...

**V:** Oh no, 'V' in b-flat.

**V:** You're disappointed.

-

**J:** petition to remove the 'd' from Wednesday

**V:** Wednesay

**J:** Not what I had in mind, but I'm flexible

-

**V:** You love me, right, J?

**J:** Normally, I’d say yes without hesitation, but I feel like this is going somewhere and I don’t like it.

-

*J and V skipping stones on a (frozen) lake*

**J:** It’s such a nice night..

**V, whispering:** Take that you fucking lake

-

**J:** You're right.

**V:** That's... That's an unusual phrase for you. Did you just learn it?

END OF OILROSE SECTION :’( it was getting a bit too long

-

**J:** Who the fuck added me to a fucking group chat?

**N:** >:O language

**Lizzy:** Yeah watch your fucking language

**V:** OKAY WHO TAUGHT LIZZY THE FUCK WORD?

**Uzi:** 'The fuck word'.

**Thad:** Are you stupid? You guys use the f word all the time

**Lizzy:** Oh my god they censored it

**Uzi:** Say fuck, Thad.

**Lizzy:** Do it, Thad. Say fuck.

-

**V:** Rules are made to be broken.

**N:** They were made to be followed.Nothing is made to be broken.

**Thad:** Uh, piñatas.

**J:** Glow sticks.

**Uzi:** Karate boards.

**Lizzy:** Spaghetti when you have a small pot.

**V:** Rules.

**N:**

-

*The squad's reaction to being told they're the chosen one*

**J:** I will not let you down.

**Thad:** Sounds fun.

**V:** K.

**Uzi:** No, I'm fucking not.

**Lizzy:** Do I have to be?

**N:** Please god, I am so tired.

-

**Lizzy:** What are you talking about N? You love it here! 

**N:** I'm not sure I do, I think I've just developed Stockholm syndrome.

-

**Lizzy:** See, the problem is, V, you’re playing 3D chess. I’m playing 4D. 

**V:** I’m playing checkers. I don’t know what the fuck you’re playing.

-

**V:** I’m so tired. 

**Uzi:** Did you get to bed late? 

**V:** No. 

**Uzi:** Did you do something strenuous? 

**V:** No. 

**Uzi:** Then why are you tired? 

**V:** I’m alive. 

**Uzi:** Sounds exhausting.

-

**V:** You know, when I first met you I thought you were a real bitch. 

**J:** What changed your mind? 

**V:** Oh, I still think you're a bitch. I've just grown to like that about you.

-

**V:** Are you busy? 

**J:** Yes. 

**V:** Cool, listen to this...

Somebody stop me im decending into oilrose again

-

 *V recording whilst Lizzy and Uzi are arguing* 

**Lizzy:** HOLD UP, HOLD UP, HOLD UP, HOLD UP!! HER SISTER WAS A WITCH, RIGHT? AND WHAT WAS HER SISTER? A PRINCESS! THE WICKED WITCH OF THE EAST, BRO! 

**V:** *wheezes like a tea kettle* 

**J, pulling out a knife:** I'm gonna stab them both.

**Lizzy:** YOU'RE GONNA LOOK AT ME AND YOU'RE GONNA TELL ME THAT I'M WRONG? AM I WRONG? 

**Uzi:** It's my favorite movi- 

**Lizzy:** SHE WORE A CROWN AND SHE CAME DOWN IN A BUBBLE, UZI! 

**Uzi:** I'm not fighting with you, I'm not fighting with y- 

**Lizzy:** GROW UP, BRO. GROW UP!

-

**J:** Ugh, there’s always that weak bitch in the group who isn’t down with murder. 

**J:** *glares at N* 

**N:** Well, sorry I have morals!

-

*The Squad's cooking skills* 

**Doll:** *master chef* 

**Lizzy:** *knows a few recipes* 

**Thad:** *can follow instructions on a box* 

**Uzi:** *made toast once* 

**N:** *banned from the kitchen*

-

**Lizzy:** Why are you on fire? 

**V:** This is just how my day is going.

-

*Lizzy and Thad are texting* 

**Lizzy:** Who are you? Someone changed the names in my phone. 

**Thad:** What did they change my name to? 

**Lizzy:** Chosen One. 

**Thad:** Don’t change it back. 

**Lizzy:** BUT WHO ARE YOU?!?! 

**Thad:** I’m the chosen one.

-

**Lizzy:** In my defense, I was left unsupervised. 

**N:** Wasn’t V with you? 

**V:** In my defense, I was also left unsupervised.

-

**Uzi:** Go to hell! 

**J:** Oh! I’ve been there, thank you. I found it quite lovely.

**V, from far away:** Me too!

-

**Uzi:** Dear Diary, my teen angst bullshit has a body count.

-

**Thad:** Valentines Day? I'm ready. *Sprays an entire can of AXE body spray on themselves*

-

**J:** If we don’t get out of this alive… If we’re both about to die… I love you, V!

*Neither of them dies*

**V:** …

**J:** …

**V:** So do you wanna talk about somethi-

**J:** No thank you.

-

**V:** J! I thought you were dead! 

**J:** No, just in deep cover. 

**V:** ...But it was an open casket. 

**J:** It was very deep.

-

**J:** V, I love you and all, but can I ask what in the hell are you doing? 

**Uzi, trying to stabilize a tower of folding chairs that V is sitting atop:** Oh nothing much. 

**V:** I love you too :)

-

**Uzi:** Don’t mansplain this to me! 

**J:** Wh- I’m a woman! I can't mansplain anything to you! 

**Uzi:** …Well, I’m a feminist, and I believe a woman can do anything a man does!

-

**Lizzy:** Who the fuck- 

**N:** Language! 

**Lizzy:** Whom the fuck- 

**N:** No.

-

**Uzi:** Is J always like this when she loses? 

**V:** Oh, yes. You should've been there for the Great Jenga Tantrum of (year). 

**J:** YOU BUMPED THAT TABLE AND WE ALL KNOW IT.

-

**N, in a high voice, holding Barbie:** Hey, Ken! I was thinking about going back to school and starting a career! 

**Uzi, in a deep voice, holding Ken:** Nonsense, Barbie. You’re staying home and having my kids. 

**V:** What the fuck are you guys doing? 

**Uzi:** Playing systemic oppression.

-

**J:** Smart is attractive. Educate me on something I don't know! 

**V:** The mouth of a jellyfish is also an an*s. 

**J:** Stop.

-

**Lizzy:** ARE YOU- 

**Uzi:** Fucking. 

**Lizzy:** KIDDING ME?! YOU- 

**Uzi:** Fucking. 

**Lizzy:** IDIOT! 

**Thad:** …What was that? 

**Uzi:** V banned Lizzy from swearing, so I’m helping her out.

-

**Uzi:** I hate you with every inch of my body! 

**J:** That’s not a lot of inches.

-

**Lizzy:** You think you're smarter than everyone else. 

**J:** I don't think I'm smarter than everyone else. I know I am.

-

**V:** I think I should be allowed on ghost hunter tv shows. 

**Uzi:** I think that would be dangerous for the ghosts.

-

**Tessa:** Its hard to resist, I'm really sorry- I mean, considering your approach so far, you had us tied here for- what? Hours? And you haven’t even had us confirm what exactly we are! 

**Cyn:** What are you then? 

**Tessa:** I'm a Virgo! -fucking dies-

-

**Lizzy:** She's the girl of my dreams! 

**Thad:** You say every girl is the girl of your dreams. 

**Lizzy:** I have a lot of dreams.

-

**J:** Why am I the bad guy? 

**V:** I don't know, why am I the hot one? We all have our thing.

-

**N:** Do you always have to attack me with your words? 

**J:** Would you prefer me to use a brick?

-

**Thad:** Happy Scorpio season. If you have to burn a bridge, do it safely! 

**J:** With NAPALM.

-

**J:** Hey, wanna go hunt with me? 

**V:** You have a gun in your hand. If I ever say no to that question, I want you to take it out and shoot me because I’ve obviously gone crazy.

-

**J:** The waiter at Olive Garden has been grating my cheese for 6 hours now, waiting for me to say when. Customers are screaming. Three people have died. 

**J:** I will not yield.

-

**Thad:** What’s it like being tall? 

**Uzi:** Is it nice? 

**Lizzy:** Can you reach comfortably for the cupboards? 

**N:** We live in constant fear of the short ones who, in my experience, will climb four chairs, two boxes, a small coffee table, and six oddly placed stools to get what they want.

-

**V, trying to comfort J:** What's the problem? Anxiety? Low self-esteem? Obsessive thoughts of random arson? I've been there.

-

**V:** I want to be like a caterpillar. 

**Uzi:** Explain. 

**V:** Eat a lot, sleep for a while, wake up beautiful. 

**N:** You know they have a lifespan of a week, right? 

**V:** 

**J:** That's just another highlight!

-

**Doll:** Выйди из моей комнаты (Get out of my room)

**V, standing in the doorway:** I’m not in your room.

-

**J:** You know, sometimes I really think I can be too straight. 

**V, covered in bi merch and sipping an iced oil:** Sucks to be you.

-

**J:** I don't know, it's not my cup of oil. 

**V:** Well then whose is it? 

**J, staring at a cup of oil:** I don't know!

-

**Doll:** Бро, мне приснилось, что мы поцеловал. (Bro, I had a dream we kissed.) 

**Lizzy:** Bro, relax it was just a dream. 

**Doll:** Ха, гей, я бы тебя не целовать. (Huh, gay, I wouldn’t kiss you.)

**Lizzy:** You wouldn’t? 

**Doll:** Я имею в виду, если ты не хочешь… (I mean, unless you want to-)

-

**Uzi:** This can’t get any worse. Can it? 

**J:** Sure it can - just give me a minute.

-

**Uzi:** Ew. What kind of tea is this? 

**J:** I boiled oil.

-

**V:** Guys, my friend here is bilingual. 

**J:** Yes. 

**V:** Which means they like both boys and girls. 

**J:** Ye- wait, what- 

**Uzi:** V, that's not what bilingual means- 

**V:** Shhh, it's okay J. I still love you, girl. 

**N and Uzi:** ... 

**V:** Full homo.

-

**Thad:** Hey do you wanna hang out this weekend? 

**Lizzy:** Generic excuse. 

**Thad:** I can’t believe you said that out loud, to my face. 

**Lizzy:** I can.

-

**N:** Aren’t you going to say “have a nice day?” 

**J:** I don’t care if you have a pulse, much less a nice day.

-

**V:** Truth or dare? 

**Lizzy:** Dare. 

**V:** I dare you to kiss the hottest person in the room. 

**Lizzy:** Hey Uzi? 

**Uzi:** Yeah? 

**Lizzy:** Can you move? I'm trying to get to Doll.

-

OILROSE SECTION (again) im running out of ideas and i love them a lot

**J:** Since we're in a relationship now, your clothes are my clothes too. Don't ask me why I have your shirt on, this is our shirt. 

**V:** Fine, but when I come strutting in with your fuzzy socks I don't want to hear shit.

-

**V:** Let’s watch Sharkboy and Lavagirl. 

**J:** Okay. 

**V:** And make out during the scary parts. 

**J:** Th- 

**J:** The scary parts. 

 **J:** Of Sharkboy and Lavagirl.

-

**V:** I was going to suggest we do Marilyn Monroe and JFK roleplay, but I’d get way too into it. 

**J:** What- how? 

**V:** You’d be like “come with me to hunt… Mrs. President” and I’d be like, “I need to increase the amount of American military advisors in South Vietnam by a factor of 18.”

-

**J:** *angrily presses V against a wall* WHERE'S MY JCJENSON PENS?! 

**V:** ... 

**V:** Are we about to kiss-

-

**J:** Look at me straight in the eyes and tell me the truth, V! 

**V:** You can’t expect me to look into your eyes and be straight.

-

**V:** I love you. 

**J, not paying attention:** What was that? 

**V:** I said I’m selling you to the zOo-

-

**V:** You look good in that hoodie. 

**J:** You know where else I'd look good? 

**V, zero hesitation, without thinking:** My bed. 

**J, at the same time:** By your side- wait, what?

-

**V, throwing their head into J's lap:** Tell me I'm pretty! 

**J, lovingly stroking their hair:** You're pretty fucking annoying, that's what you are.

-

**J:** Do you love me? 

**V:** We’re literally married. 

**J:** Yeah, but as friends or—

-

**J:** That was so hot, V. 

**V:** I literally called the person who just flirted with you a degenerate dog and told them I hope they get dragged through the streets. 

**J:** I'm so in love with you.

-

**V:** You got a date yet J? 

**J:** No... 

**V:** Well you do now! Get your ass up and hold my hand!

-

**V:** *seductively takes off glasses* 

**V:** Wow... 

**J:** *blushes* Haha... what? 

**V:** You're really fucking blurry.

-

**J:** Okay, but if your not gay then why are you always holding my hand and kissing me and telling me I’m your girlfriend? 

**V:** Dude- Its satire! 

**J:** THAT'S NOT WHAT SATIRE MEANS!

-

**V:** Hey, random question, what are your favorite flowers? 

**J:** Peonies, why? 

**V:** 

**J:** Were you going to get me flowers? 

**V:** 

**J:** 

**V:** ᶦᵗ’ˢ ᵃ ᵖᵒˢˢᶦᵇᶦˡᶦᵗʸ

-

**J:** BE A BETTER PERSON! 

**V:** WHY?! 

**J:** BECAUSE SOMEONE NEEDS TO HAVE MORALS IN THIS RELATIONSHIP, AND IT SURE AS FUCK AIN'T GONNA BE ME, SWEETHEART!

-

**V, to J:** We had a date! 

**V:** *aggressively points to Hello Kitty Coloring Book*

-

**V arguing with J:** HOW DO I LOVE YOU?

**J:** NO BUT YOU HA-... you- love me?

-

**J:** Goodnight to the love of my life, V, and fuck the rest of y'all.

-

**V:** If I'm extra sarcastic with you it probably means I'm flirting with you or you really annoy me and I can't handle your crap... have fun figuring out which one.

END OF OILROSE SECTION :’( it was getting a bit too long

**N:** If you got arrested what would be the charges? 

**Lizzy:** Theft. 

**Thad:** Disturbing the peace. 

**Uzi:** Aggravated assault. 

**J:** Arson. 

**V:** All of the above. In that order, probably.

-

**V:** I hate taking off my glasses, because without them, my vision goes from Full HD all the way down to buffering at 240p and I just can't handle that.

-

*V and J playing Minecraft* 

**V:** Oh no, oh no, oh no- 

**J:** What’s wrong? 

**V:** I did a thing. 

**J:** *You regret the thing you dID-* 

**V:** *screams* 

**J:** What the fuck did you do- *sees mass of aggravated Piglin* Damn it- 

**V:** *screams again*

-

**J:** If a demon possessed me, I’d just be like, “Okay, take it from here, good luck man.”

-

**Lizzy:** Ooh, I like your accent, where you from? 

**Random Drone:** I am Liberian. 

**Lizzy:** Oh, my bad. 

**Lizzy, whispering:** I like your accent, where you from?

-

**V:** Pfft, you should meet J, they're such a tsundere. 

**Lizzy:** They... they just stabbed you. 

**V:** So cute.

-

**N:** I think Uzi is in trouble. 

**V:** Alright. Struggling to give a fuck, if I’m honest.

-

**V:** I am going to cry. I’m going to cry until I can no longer physically cry anymore because all the oil in my body is gone and I die from overheating. 

**N:** Are you okay? 

**J:** Did you actually just ask them that?  Like, you need that to be answered otherwise you won’t know?

-

*in a group chat* 

**V:** First one to reply is gat. 

**V:** *gay 

**V:** Wait...

-

**V, day-dreaming:** When I see initials carved into a tree with a heart I think it’s so romantic. Two lovers on a date... one of them carrying a knife for some reason.

-

**N:** You don't know anything about me! 

**J:** I know EVERYTHING about you! You are an open book written for very dumb children!

-

**V:** *casually taking four stairs at a time* 

**Uzi, falling behind, taking two stairs at a time:** Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you fu-

-

**Doll:** Эй, Лиззи, я нашел паука. Крутой пацан. Спасибо, что ели комаров. (Hey Lizzy, I found a spider. Cool little lad. Thanks for eating the mosquitos.)

**Doll:** О нет, куда это пропало? (Oh no, where did it go?)

**Lizzy:** DOLL WHAT THE FUCK?!

-

**V:** If you kill me, my teeth only have a 2% drop rate. 

**J:** What? 

**V:** Good luck.

-

**J:** Stressed. 

**V:** Depressed. 

**Uzi:** Possessed. 

**Doll:** Одержимый. (Obsessed.)

**Thad:** Impressed. 

**N:** Chicken breast. 

**Everyone:** ...What? 

**N:** I just wanted to join in.

-

**Uzi:** Do you take constructive criticism? 

**J:** No, only cash or credit.

-

**N:** So... who's the big spoon and who's the little spoon? 

**V:** We're chopsticks! 

**N:** Well... that's cute! 

**N:** Does that mean you two snuggle together perfectly? 

**J:** No, it means that if you take the other away, the only thing the other is good for is stabbing.

-

**N:** My life is a little too much panic and not enough disco. 

**Thad:** My life is a little too much fall and not enough boy. 

**Uzi:** My life is a little too much chemical and not enough romance. 

**Lizzy:** My life is a little too much imagination and not nearly enough dragons.

-

**Uzi:** What's wrong with you? 

**J:** Off the top of my head, I'd say low self-esteem, a lack of paternal affection, and a genetic predisposition for anxiety and depression.

-

**Uzi:** Wait, if baby oil dissolves condoms, what does it do to babies? 

**V:** Believe it or not, babies and condoms are made of different materials. 

**N:** It’s like rock paper scissors. Baby oil defeats condom, baby defeats baby oil, condom defeats baby. 

**J:** Rock also defeats baby.

-

**Doll:** Я от природы смешной, потому что моя жизнь — это шутка. (I'm naturally funny because my life is a joke.)

-

**J, making coffee:** This is going to fix everything.

-

**V:** You know, Uzi, you are the sun in my life. 

**Uzi:** Why? Cause I'm smoking hot? 

**V:** Because it hurts my eyes looking at you.

-

**V:** I’m never donating oil ever again. 

**V:** The second you walk through the door, it’s just one invasive question after another! 

**V:** ‘Where did you get it?’ 'Why is it in a bucket?’ I mean, do you want it or not?

-

**Tessa:** If we lose, you’re out of the will. 

**V:** I was in the will?

-

**V:** How does one turn their emotions off? 

**Uzi:** Okay, so first go to settings. 

**Uzi:** I'm a fucking idiot, I thought that said emojis at first. 

**V:** No, I'm still willing to try this, go ahead. I'm at settings, what do I do next?

-

**Lizzy:** Okay, two person huddle. 

**Doll:** Невозможно ютиться вдвоём. Это просто объятия. (You can't huddle with two people. This is just a hug.)

-

**V:** Bye J! Bye Uzi! Bye Lizzy! Bye N! Bye J! 

**Uzi:** You said ‘bye J’ twice. 

**V:** I like J.

-

*The gang responding to being stabbed by a sword* 

**V:** Rude. 

**J:** That's fair. 

**Uzi:** Not again. 

**Lizzy:** Are you gonna want this back or can I keep it?

-

**V:** Sometimes I get so caught up on being gay that I forget I’m actually bi.

-

**V:** I'm so tough, I'm on alert even when there's no danger!

**J:** V, that's PTSD.

-

**V:** Well please don’t let J do anything stupid… 

**Uzi:** Stupid by my standards or yours? 

**V:** 

**V:** Stupid by my mother’s standards. 

**Uzi:** Smart. J will live longer.

-

**J:** There are no friends when playing board games. I am here to win.

-

**V:** I came out here to attack people and I'm honestly having such a good time right now.

-

*The Squad is gathered in the living room for a meeting* 

**V:** *walks in and sits on J’s lap* 

**The Squad:** … 

**N:** Why are you sitting there? 

**V:** There were no free seats

**Uzi:** But we made sure there was enough room for- 

**J:** *hugs V tightly* There are no free seats.

-

**V, trying to impress J:** I re-initialized the entire command structure, retaining all programmed abilities but deleting the supplementary preference architecture. 

**N:** They turned it off and back on again!

-

**J:** Remember, when burying a body, make sure to cover it with endangered plants so it’s illegal to dig up! 

**J:** Make sure to follow me for more gardening tips!

-

**Lizzy:** Truth or dare? 

**V:** Truth! 

**Lizzy:** Do you- 

**J:** I dare you to kiss me. 

**V:** *kisses J* 

**Lizzy, to Uzi:** They said “truth”, right?

-

Squad reactions to being called straight: 

**V:** The fuck, no I'm not. 

**J:** Excuse the hell out of you? 

**Lizzy:** Ding dong, you are wrong! 

**Thad:** Who told you that? And why did they lie? For i am bi.

**N:** What? 

**Doll:** *punches the person*

-

**Uzi:** At first I thought you were foolish and incompetent. 

**N:** My apologies for whatever misstep I may have taken to dispel that impression. It was an honest mistake, I swear.

-

**Doll:** You’re a horrible person! 

**V:** Maybe. But I’m rich and I’m pretty, so it doesn’t really matter.

-

**N:** Don't go to the pod. 

**V:** Why? 

**N:** I saw a spider. 

**V:** Well, did you kill it? 

**N:** It has 8 arms and I only have 2, it's not fair...

-

**V:** My life isn't as glamourous as my wanted poster makes it look.

-

[honkytonk-hangman]

Line of Sight [3]

JAKE ‘HANGMAN’ SERESIN X READER

Summary: Jake gets competitive. You happen to find that incredibly sexy.

Warnings: language? frank conversations? mostly just fluff <3

Notes: PART THREE AT LAST !!!!! thank you so so so so so much to @roleycoleyland for the encouragement and friendship during the very long writing process for this one, this is for u hehehe <3

Masterlist

You have to stop and blink down at your phone in confusion when it starts ringing at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. After complaining last weekend to Hangman that you didn’t have his phone number, he’d made sure you didn’t leave the bar without it.

You never expected that he would be the one to call first.

“We’re going mini golfing at six.” Hangman informs you matter of factly down the line, not even giving you a chance to greet him when you pick up.

“Yes, hello, Hangman, it’s good to hear from you, too!” you say as if talking to a preschooler. You can practically hear his eyes rolling as the sound of a phone being adjusted crinkles in your ear.

“It’s just Jake,” he ignores your attempt to tease him, and for a moment your heart sinks in an all-too familiar way. “And get ready, it’s already five.” he adds, his tone full of faux sternness.

“Is this your way of being nice to me? I think I liked it better when you ignored me…” you joke, rolling your own eyes. On the other end, Hangman is silent for a beat and you think he must have stopped moving entirely, because all background noise has ceased too.

“David has invited us for a double date, apparently he didn’t get enough of his ass handed to him last week.” He says then, as if suddenly remembering this fact. You start, jolting in your spot, your features automatically turning down.

“He what?!” you demand, before suddenly realising Hangman must have exchanged numbers with David at some point, how else would they have organised this apparent double-date.

“We’re going mini-golfing with David and Yas. We’re going to destroy them, remember?” He asks as if you’re the one losing your mind.

“Yeah! At pool, Hangman! You already did that! I don’t wanna go mini-golfing with David!” you try your best not to sound like you’re whining, but even you can hear that it's a lost cause. Wherever Hangman is, you hear him tut and let out an exasperated breath.

“It’s just Jake. Besides, you said, and I quote sweetheart; ‘nothing left to bury’. I’ve got tone and now I’m just confirming the kill!” he reasons, but it only serves to confuse you slightly.

“Why are you being so insistent about this?! He’s my ex!” you stress, voice rising just a little in your frustration.

“Exactly!” Hangman’s volume matches your own, and it quickly silences any other protests you might have. You might have heard him get rowdy at the Hard Deck before, but you have never ever heard him raise his voice above a friendly call.

He doesn’t speak again immediately after that, and it’s quiet for so long you have to pull your phone away from your ear to check if the call is even still active. Just when you’re about to relent and apologise for shouting, Hangman sighs again, and you can almost perfectly picture him dragging his hand down his face.

“Just let me do this for you, alright? You won’t even have to do anything except look real pretty and maybe kiss my cheek whenever I get a hole in one!”

You have to blink at his sudden switch up, both seemingly pleading with you and blatant flirting within the same ten seconds.

Your mind still lingers on what he’d meant by ‘exactly’, you struggle to understand why he’d have any particular skin in this game any more. He’d already trounced David last weekend, maybe you were mistaken, but you can’t help but feel this new rouse is too much effort for a guy who seemingly didn’t care to acknowledge you properly for the first year you knew him… still, no matter how much you hated the idea of wasting a night in David’s company, or even worse, wasting Hangman’s limited down time before he was shipped off somewhere again, the idea of spending it with the aviator of your affections, watching him thoroughly wipe that condescending smile off of David’s face, is fast growing on you.

Softly you let out a breath you didn’t realise you’d been holding until now.

“Are you sure?” You ask softly, falling victim again to your need for this man to just like you. Hangman scoffs and you hear what sounds like keys.

“About the kisses? Absolutely.” He replies too fast for it to not have been slightly planned, and you can imagine his smirk now. You realise you shouldn’t count yourself short, a month ago you’d never been on the receiving end of one of his infuriating Cheshire grins, but these days it seemed to be the only expression he wore around you.

You roll your eyes and huff.

“You should be so lucky.” You say with absolutely no conviction.

“For my smokin’ hot girlfriend to fawn over me every time I humiliate her piece of shit ex-boyfriend for her? I’d agree. I would be very lucky, sweetheart.” Hangman’s voice is surprisingly effective down a crackly phone line, deeper and with an inflection you aren’t sure of. As if he knew something you didn’t. You find yourself surprised by how much it doesn’t annoy you,  how much it instead makes you want to jump his bones here and now. You were much too aware that half your desire for Hangman to look at you twice was because you had a crush the size of his ego, but you’d become so used to his cold treatment of you for so long, that feeling a sliver of arousal shoot through you is almost strange.

“I really like mini golf.” You tell him abruptly, desperate to distract yourself from that line of thought. “In my hometown, we had this incredible putt-putt place, it was honestly plucked from Disneyland or something. It was that cool…” you ramble on, reminiscing about the good ol’ local Holey-Moley.

“Did you go a lot?” Hangman asks, his voice unreadable. You let out a sad little laugh and shake your head even though he can’t see you.

“Nah. I remember I always wanted to go for my birthday when I was a kid, but the cost was through the roof. When I got a bit older I guess… I guess I could have gone but, more importantly I’m not sure it’s so fun to go mini-golfing alone.” You chortle at the thought, but part of you wishes you’d done it, at least once.

“Mmh. No smoking girlfriend to kiss your cheek when you win.” Hangman says, and you can’t help yourself, you laugh loud and unabashedly. You think you can hear him chuckle too, but it could have been peaking static for all you know.

“Golf is at six. Send me your address and I’ll pick you up at ten to, alright?” Hangman tells you, his voice not exactly soft, but not demanding like it had been earlier either. You hum, but before you hang up you call out.

“Wait, Jake?” You hear shuffling, like perhaps he hadn’t heard you.

“Yeah?”

You pause, unsure of exactly how to say what you want to, and choose to settle on the simplest way.

“Thanks. David sucks.” You tell him gratefully. You hear silence for a moment before his voice comes back again.

“Don’t mention it. We hate that guy.”

—

As it turns out, you didn’t need to worry much about seeing David or him making you feel any type of way. It’s only when you and Jake have settled at the venue’s bar and ordered a round that his phone buzzes sharply and makes the blond frown down at the screen in front of him, before he pockets it again.

You watch him take a hefty swig, and still frowning, he fixes you in his gaze, making your stomach involuntarily flutter.

“David and Yas aren’t coming.” He states. You struggle to read his tone, though you think he might sound a little annoyed, and the fluttering in your stomach immediately ceases.

“Oh.” You say dumbly, blinking rapidly down at your hands, and then to your drink. You also take a big sip, now avoiding your companion’s eyes as you let the disappointment roll through you.

After a few moments you feel a large hand land on your back, between your shoulder blades, and you glance over to eye it’s owner, who seems to be doing his best version of apologetic while rubbing his hand in soothing motions up and down over your sweater.

“Hey, that’s a good thing isn’t it? We hate that guy,” Jake asks, his eyes flicking back and forth over your face, but you aren’t sure what he’s looking for. You hum, noncommittal, and down another large mouthful of your cocktail, missing the way Jake’s lips turn downward at your reaction.

All too soon his big hand is gone from your back, and you almost cringe at how much you miss not just the warmth, but the feeling of his touch.

“I’ll take you home, if you want me to,” he says, tone unreadable to you now, and you can’t help but look up at him again. Jake stares back, his brow furrowed, but he bows his head a little to the side when you meet his gaze, now avoiding you.

“I just thought…” he trails off, shutting his mouth sharply, the muscles in his jaw clenching as he stares over your shoulder.

You feel the urge to comfort him then, as you realise this whole mess is Hangman’s version of doing a nice thing for you. It occurs to you then that he’s aware of how obvious this fact must be to you in the light of things not going to plan, and almost want to laugh at the idea of him feeling shy about how much he’s really willing to do for people he likes. It makes some sense, considering you’ve seen how little he’ll do for those he seemingly doesn’t.

You do crack a smile at the thought of him trying to hide how much he cares, and make a note to watch for it in the future.

“What? That you’d get away from being destroyed by my slice?” you ask, pushing off the bar with a combative smirk. Your words immediately draw his attention again, and almost like you’ve uttered the magic phrase, his whole demeanour switches up. He’s smirking now, in that infuriating way that makes it seem as if he knows something you don’t, and where you’ve stopped leaning, he takes it up, resting his palm flat on the bar so that his bicep flexes impossibly taut. Briefly the ridiculously bulging muscle draws your eye, and you can’t help but ogle him slightly, from his arm up to his neck and by the time you reach his eyes, you know you’ve been caught.

Jake’s smirk is almost mean with how wide it is, and you nearly jump when he leans in to you slightly, cocking his head derisively.

“Honey, I would love to be destroyed by your slice,” he tells you like it’s a joke you clearly don’t get. He knows he has your attention now, and he makes a show of finishing off his beer, taking the opportunity to get even closer to you when he places his empty bottle down, his eyes purposefully looking you over. You think he must enjoy how wound up he makes women, and considering you told him the last time you saw him that he made you hot and bothered, he appears to be pulling out all the stops. You take a deep breath, and quickly finish your own drink, enjoying the way he dares his hand back to your body, once more at your back, but this time he drops it lower, easily turning you so you can grab your clubs and begin putting.

“I have to warn you though,” he continues, never moving too far from the spot right behind you, even though the venue is packed full. “I’m known to be a bad sport about these things. Too competitive,” his voice holds an element of humour still, but it’s receded enough that you can hear the real hesitation in it. It makes you wonder if he’s had dates in the past go poorly because of something similar. The idea makes you scrunch your nose as you approach the first putting course.

When you turn around to reply, Jake seems just as taken aback as you at your sudden proximity, not entirely unfamiliar, though it feels different from the last time against the pool table given that his hand still lingers at your back, now seemingly holding you together. You stare at one another for a moment before you remember what you were going to say, hesitating for a few seconds longer before committing to telling him.

“I like that– about you, I mean,” you manage to say without stuttering, your confidence growing some when he can’t seem to stop a small frown appearing between his brows at your words. “I like how confident you are… you don’t have much doubt about your ability, and…” you trail off a little as he meets your gaze, looking almost bewildered that you would be so open or honest about such a thing. It almost makes you laugh again at this silly man and the games he likes to play, never really saying what he means.

“I think it’s kinda hot when you’re good at things, so I really won’t really mind if you’re a poor sport about it…” you admit, laughing a little awkwardly at yourself. Jake seems to blink back to life then, like you’d hit his hard reset button, and his smirk somewhat returns, though it glimmers between a proper smile and his usual cheshire like amusement.

“I guess you can’t lose then, huh?” he purrs. “Also means it won’t matter if I help you like last time.”

You nearly jump when his grip on you tightens briefly, but he quickly brings both his hands to your hips, and turns you back away from him. He gives your waist another squeeze before his hands move to slip down your forearms and then over your own, his grip firm and unbelievably arousing to you. You actually have to force yourself to take in air normally and not let your eyes roll back slightly when he kicks your feet further apart, and his little chuckle lets you know he knows exactly what he’s doing.

“This better be the best shot of all time, Hangman, cause I actually know what I’m doing this time,” you warn weakly, even as he gently pulls your arms back and helps you swing, stunning you slightly when your ball sinks an immediate hole in one on a three par course. You can’t help but pull away from his hold so you can look up at him in surprised shock. Jake simply lifts an eyebrow and returns your gaze, his chest seemingly puffing a little when you settle back against him. He chuckles when he uses you to sink another perfect shot of his own, and you hum, murmuring a quiet ‘well done’.

“And to think I coulda been doing this months ago…” he says after you’ve both moved to the next course, and he’s gotten comfortable once more with his arms draped around you like his only function is to be a very smug blanket.

“I have to say, most men don’t get away with wasting so much of my time,” you say with so much faux haughtiness you almost apologise. Luckily for you, Jake appears to enjoy it when you’re mean, this time one of his arms circles your waist, the other lazily taking a shot that sinks itself just as quickly as the last.

You’re suddenly glad that you’re not playing him properly, for as good as you’d become from practice, you know for a fact you’ll never be this good.

“Don’t want you lowering your standards just for little ol’ me, honey.” Jake says right by your ear, forcing you to repress a shiver.

“Most men also don’t ignore me for the better part of a year, so I guess you’re special,” you reply quickly, though immediately regret it when you feel him shift, perhaps a little uncomfortably.

He doesn’t speak again until after he’s placed his own ball down and is lining up his shot. When he swings it doesn’t go right in, making you look over your shoulder at him only to find his eyes barely focused on the task at hand. He doesn’t even seem to realise he’s got another shot to take, and so this time when you pull away from you, you take his hand, gaining his attention again as you lead him over to where his neon green ball waits.

You see him look between it and the hole a few feet off, but before he can move gain, you tuck yourself back into his chest, where he at last relaxes, though you feel the movement of him swallowing thickly just before he begins lining himself up.

“I didn’t want you to not like me…” he says softly, so quiet you almost miss it.

“You thought I wouldn’t like you if I talked to you?” you say questioningly, leaning up to look at him just as your own words make you realise his exact mindset. You stare at one another for a few moments, before Jake clears his throat, and looks away, taking his second shot and finishing above par  even as you keep staring at him.

“What happened to all that confidence, huh? How could I not like you?” you ask, nudging him a little. His eyes snap to yours, and a funny little smirk crosses his features.

“You’re so honest,” he comments instead of answering you.

“Maybe if we’d been on speaking terms for more than two hours total you might have known that,” you roll your eyes. Jake ignores your snark and tightens his hold around your waist.

“Seems you're winning,” he says, guiding you almost blindly toward the next hole, and positioning you back between his arms. “Looks like I can’t lose either.”

[literaryavenger]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Summary: You're part of the Strike team and join Captain America as he tries to live his new life in the 21st century. [Reader is NOT Hydra]

Pairing: platonic!Steve Rogers x F!Reader, platonic!Natasha Romanoff x F!Reader

Warnings: Language. Rumlow being a dick. Mentions of death. My poor attempts at being funny. Idk, everything else in the movie?

Word Count: 2.7K

A/N: Happy New Year! This the first chapter in a new series I'm starting! I'm not sure how long it's gonna be yet, but I know it's gonna be longer than Broken. These series is about an alternate universe where the reader exists and lives through the events that happen in the MCU. A lot of the details will be changed to insert the reader, a lot of the lines said by other characters will be changed to be the reader's and I've also made up a lot of things and scenes and added them, trying my best not to change the official timeline and the main events. I hope you enjoy this and all chapters to come!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

“You heard the boss, newbie, text Romanoff and tell her to pick up Rogers.” Rumlow taps his knuckles twice on the table for emphasis before getting up and exiting the conference room.

You make sure he doesn't miss the way you roll your eyes at the now old nickname before writing ‘New mission, need you at the jet in one hour. Asshole wants you to pick up the old man in spandex’ on your phone and sending the message to Natasha, then you get up and make your way out of the room.

“Armory.” you say as you enter the elevator. 

“Confirmed.” the elevator voice says as the doors start closing. 

You suit up for the mission just assigned by Pierce and go to the jet to start doing the checkups you know the rest of the idiots on the STRIKE team won’t even think about doing. 

After making sure everything’s ready and in order, you can do nothing more than wait for everybody else.

Natasha and Steve get there exactly an hour after your text. 

“Right on time.” you point out.

“It wasn’t a coincidence, YLN.” Natasha smirks, making you laugh.

“Cap.” you greet him with a smile that he returns. “Y/N.”

The rest of the team meets you a few minutes after. “Ready for take off.” Rumlow says to the pilot and the jet takes off.

Once you get close to the target Rumlow starts briefing Steve and Nat. “The target is a mobile satellite launch platform: The Lemurian Star. They were sending up their last payload when pirates took them, 93 minutes ago.”

“Any demands?” Steve asks.

“A billion and a half.” Rumlow answers.

“Why so steep?” Steve questions frowning.

“Because it’s Shield’s.” you answer promptly, ignoring the scowl on Rumlow’s face that disappears almost immediately.

“So it’s not off-course,” Steve says, understanding flashing in his eyes as he glares at Natasha “it’s trespassing.”

“I’m sure they have a good reason.” Natasha offers.

“You know, I’m getting a little tired of being Fury’s janitor.”-Steve seems really annoyed now.

“Relax, it’s not that complicated.” Natasha simply says.

“How many pirates?” Steve’s attention is back on the screen.

“Twenty-five, top mercs, led by this guy. Georges Batroc.” Rumlow pulls up the photo of Batroc on the monitor and looks at you expectantly, making you roll your eyes.

Of course you’re the only one who actually looked through the files.

“Ex-DGSE, Action Division. He’s at the top of Interpol's Red Notice. Before the French demobilized him, he had thirty-six kill missions. The guy’s got a rep for maximum casualties.” you fill everybody in, although it was obvious most of the guys aren't listening. At least the Captain is.

“Hostages?” Steve questions you, but Rumlow cuts in.

“Mostly techs. One officer, Jasper Sitwell.” he shows his picture. You’ve seen Sitwell around headquarters, he seems pretty close with the STRIKE team. Not that you hang out much with them outside of mission, or at all for that matter. “They’re in the gallery.”

“What’s Sitwell doing on a launch ship?” Steve asks more to himself, and he has a point. “Alright, I’m gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat and Y/N, you’ll kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you sweep aft, find the hostages, get them to the life-pots, get ‘em out. Let’s move.”

Yep, he’s definitely in Captain mode.

“Ay ay, Captain.” you salute with a smirk that mirrors Natasha’s while Steve gives you a fake annoyed look.

“STRIKE, you heard the Cap. Gear up.” Rumlow says but you’ve already started getting ready and stopped listening to him.

“Secure channel seven.” Steve says into his wrist communicator.

“Seven secure.” Natasha replies. “Did you do anything fun Saturday night?”

“Well, all the guys from my barbershop quartet are dead, so… No, not really.” Steve answers, making both you and Natasha laugh while the pilot lets you know that the drop zone is coming up.

“You know, if you ask Kristen out, from Statistics, she’d probably say yes.” you point out, exchanging a knowing glance with Natasha.

“That’s why I don’t ask.” he fires back

“Too shy or too scared?” Natasha pushes.

“Too busy!” He yells over the wind as the door opens and then he jumps. 

You and Natasha both roll your eyes and look at each other smiling, not needing to talk to understand the other.

You barely register Rumlow and Rollins commenting on Steve jumping without a parachute before grabbing one for yourself and jumping alongside Nat.

You and Natasha have known each other for a while now, all the way back since she was first brought in by Clint.

You trained with both of them, went on countless missions together (yes, including Budapest) and you would’ve been right by their side in New York if you hadn't been on an important undercover mission and had strict orders directly from Fury not to blow your cover.

After that you got assigned to the STRIKE team by Alexander Pierce, though you still have no idea why. But orders are orders so you’ve been working with the idiots ever since.

But you and Natasha are thankfully still pretty close and your down time is spent mostly with her, sometimes also visiting Clint and his family at his farm.

 Nat’s still annoyed at Clint about naming his only daughter after you, middle name but still, and not her. But to be fair, you have known Clint longer, a fact that always amuses both you and Clint to bring up.

You’ve just landed when you hear Rumlow saying “you seemed pretty helpless without me” to Steve.

“What about the nurse who lives across the hall from you?” Natasha says.

“Yeah, she seems nice.” you add.

“Secure the engines, then find me a date.” Steve says in his captain voice.

“We’re multitasking.” Nat tells him before turning to you. “you take port, I’ll take starboard and we’ll meet at the rendezvous point”

“Copy.” you say and make your way to the engine room on the right side of the ship. You start taking down guys and can hear Rumlow saying they’re ready in position.

Just as you finish with the last guy you hear Steve calling your name. “What’s your status?”

“Port engine room secure.” you answer.

“Good, make your way to help Rumlow with the hostages.”

“Roger that.” you can almost hear him groan in annoyance as you smile while following his orders.

“Natasha, what’s your status?” you can hear her grunt while she fights through the comms. “Status, Natasha?” 

“Hang on!” She says as she keeps fighting. “Starboard engine room secure.”

You hear Steve countdown from three and then the team moving in on the targets, you get to the rendezvous point just in time to see Rumlow rounding the corner with the hostages on his tail.

“Hostages en route to extradition.” he says in his comms as you look around for Natasha.

“Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Cap. Hostiles are still in play.” you let Steve know while helping take care of the hostages.

“Natasha, Batroc’s on the move. Circle back to Y/N and protect the hostages.” he receives no answer and at this point you get a little worried. “Natasha!”

You want to go looking for her but you know better than to leave your post, and you’re also very aware that Natasha can take care of herself. 

So you keep protecting the hostages while listening intently to the comms where you can hear Steve fight, then you hear a voice you assume it’s Batroc’s talking French and are even more surprised to hear Steve answer back in French. Impressive.

You can hear him fighting again and then you finally hear Natasha’s voice but don’t pay too much attention to the conversation, bringing your entire focus on the hostages now that you know she’s okay. 

You’re helping people into the life-pods when you hear an explosion go off somewhere on the boat. You don’t even realize you’re holding your breath until you hear Natasha’s voice again and let it go, feeling even more relieved after hearing Steve too.

The ride back is very uncomfortable as you help Natasha with the minor injuries from the explosion, Steve refusing help and insisting that he’s fine, and in the mood he’s in you’re certainly not about to argue. 

As soon as the jet lands he stomps away angrily and you share a concerned look with Natasha, worried about what he’s gonna do next. 

You help Nat to the medbay and leave her there when she assures you she’s okay and to not make a fuss over her.

So you make your way to the usual conference room for debriefing but when you get there Rumlow very smugly assures you that you’re not needed at this meeting. 

You’re used to being left out of meetings with the STRIKE team and Pierce by now, since you’ve been forced to join you’ve been left out of more meetings that you’ve attended, but it still bothers you sometimes.

Still, at least you don’t have to spend too much time with those neanderthals. Not your circus, not your monkeys.

So you just make your way to the Armory to put away your gear and then the locker room to change and go home for what you think is gonna be the rest of the day.

-

A few hours later you find yourself in the hospital where the STRIKE team has been called in the middle of the night because, guess what? Someone tried to kill Director Fury. Or, as it turns out, succeeded. 

You’re behind Steve, Natasha and Hill alongside Rumlow and Sitwell, watching Fury flatlining and the doctors calling it.

You want to go with Nat to see Fury, be there for her knowing she cared about him as much as you do, but obviously Rumlow has to be a dick and order you to stay put. And, whether you like it or not, he’s your boss.

He rudely interrupts Nat and Steve’s conversation telling him they need him back at headquarters and you can already tell something’s suddenly off.

As much as Rumlow can be an asshole, he’s never been openly rude towards Steve.

You can hear Sitwell in your earpiece telling the team to bring Rogers in for questioning as he and Rumlow get closer.

“STRIKE, move it out.” he orders but you don't start moving until Steve’s by your side, giving him what you hope is a reassuring smile. 

When you get to the Triskelion Steve is taken to Pierce’s office and you get ordered to go to Forensics and check into the evidence found on the roof, then go to Operations Control and wait for there for further instructions, so you do. 

When you get to the control room you see Sitwell concentrated on a particular screen so you get close trying not to get noticed and see Steve fighting STRIKE and SHIELD agents in the elevator. 

You barely have time to understand what’s happening before he’s throwing himself off the elevator and lands on his shield near the entrance of the building. Thankfully Sitwell’s “Are you kidding me?” covered your quiet “holy shit.”

You’re in the room when Sitwell gives the orders to track down Rogers to all the Agents and when he’s done, you discreetly follow him and the rest of the STRIKE team out the room.

For a bunch of guys who work for a top secret organization they sure suck at knowing when they’re being followed. 

No one talks until they get to a deserted corridor. “Pierce is going to kill us. Rogers has the flash drive and can use it to find Zola. You fucked up big time letting him go.” Sitwell sounds pissed.

“Take it easy, four eyes.” Rumlow sounds just as angry “You’re not the one that got punched by a supersoldier.”

They keep talking about the flash drive and Steve and Pierce and Zola. That name sounds familiar but you can’t remember for the life of you where you heard it from.

Then it hits you.

Zola was a former Hydra scientist from World War II, turned ally when the war ended. Thank god the Howling Commandos were hot so you actually paid attention during that particular history class. 

You're about to turn away so you won’t risk getting caught eavesdropping when you hear your name being mentioned.

“Someone should keep an eye on her.” Sitwell says, making you worried of becoming the next Shield target, but Rumlow proceeds to ease your worries.

“That’s a waste of manpower. The whole reason she’s even on our team was so we could keep a closer eye on Rogers, but she just spends all her time with Romanoff.” 

So that’s why Pierce assigned you to the STRIKE team.

Yeah, you’re closer to Steve than most people but it’s not like you’re best friends, you sometimes hang out outside of work but most of your interactions are mission related.

You decide you've heard enough to kind of put together what’s going on, but there’s not much you can do to help Steve yet, not knowing where he is. So you stick to following the STRIKE team, praying that your absence in the control room goes unnoticed. 

STRIKE gets a hit on Steve’s location and you follow them in your car to a mall but think better than to follow them in, waiting patiently outside. 

After a few minutes you see Steve and Natasha in their not so well thought out undercover outfits and, once again, the Captain surprises you by hot-wiring a car. 

You follow them, more discreetly this time, knowing Natasha and Steve would be better at realizing they’re being followed. 

You get to an old army camp in Wheaton, New Jersey and are about to follow them in and make yourself known to them, but before you can get out of your car you hear the plan the STRIKE team has through your comms.

The idiots never even thought about using a different channel. Of course Rumlow would underestimate you this much. 

So you decide to drive deeper into the trees surrounding the camp to make sure you’re not visible and wait, knowing Steve and Natasha will need a fast getaway. 

You can do nothing more than watch as a missile hits the bunker and the helicopters start coming. You want to go and help them, make sure they're okay, but you will yourself to stay put and not give away your position. 

When you can faintly see Steve’s figure, almost running with what looks like Nat in his arms, you finally turn the car on and drive coming to a stop right in front of him and startling him to a stop on his tracks.

“Get in.” you urge him, and he seems wary of you, rightly so. “Come on, Cap, they can’t know I’m here!”

He seems to decide to risk trusting you and delicately sets an unconscious Nat down in the back seat before getting in the passenger’s seat.

As soon as his door is closed you drive away as fast as you can, heading back to Washington and you can feel Steve’s eyes on you.

“How do I know I can trust you?” he finally says after a minute of silence, his eyes never leaving you. “You’re part of them, after all.”

“I can see where you’re coming from, but trust me I’m not one of them.” You glance at him and you can tell that he’s not convinced yet, so you go on. “I didn’t even know who ‘them’ were before today. Apparently the reason Pierce assigned me to the STRIKE team was in hopes to get closer to you. He overestimated how close we actually are. If Natasha was awake right now she would tell you how much I hate working with those assholes… You can trust me.”

You take a look at the rearview mirror and see Natasha, but her relaxed face does nothing to ease your worries. 

Steve seems to pick up on your concerns as his features soften and, ever the hopelessly optimistic, he chooses to believe you.

“Okay,” he says, “what do we do now?”

“We have to get you somewhere safe” you check your mirrors as much as you can, making sure you’re not being followed “I don’t know any safehouses outside of Shield's radar. We need a place we can go that they know nothing about.”

“I have an idea.” he says, you glance at him and see him already looking at you, so you nod.

[carionto]

Hyperbrake Racing

Everything in Human ships has a manual override. They love automating all processes and reduce any workload to nothing, but also have this compulsive need to be able to take direct control if so desired.

They also have emergency off switches for everything. Yes, including life support. Don't ask, you'll just get a variant of:

"But What If!?"

Obviously, this applies to things you should never under any circumstances shut down preemptively, such as a Hyperspace Jump.

The earliest space-faring civilizations quickly discovered that if a Hyperdrive has a power interruption even for a nano-second your atoms will get dispersed across a few light months. This is why all Hyperdrives have an internal chargeable uninterruptible power supply unit.

Humanity, however, did not allow "Not having any reason whatsoever" to stop them from figuring out a way. Utilizing their ridiculous quantum computer speed and the ability of their fusion reactors to charge a Hyperdrive mid-jump, and with an injection of a disgusting few million lines of hack code that manipulate all related pieces of hardware in just the most nauseating sequences, they created the Hyperbrake.

Also, not a metaphor - braking literally causes Humans to feel nauseous, sometimes throw up, rarely even pass out. Not a single volunteer crew member aboard joint vessels from any of the other Coalition species has dared to "test" what happens to them.

As with nearly all things Humans come across or invent, they will find a use for it should one not occur normally.

_____________________

Near Neptune

Daniel, Samantha, and Nicholas Schreier were three siblings ages 17, 19, and 20, respectively. Today they had "borrowed" their dad's General FordStar mark 980-MZ HaulerHound, a civilian grade transport typically used by small business owners. Dad, however, was an enthusiast, and had modified the "Hound Dog", as he calls it, with a military grade reactor and computer core. He's always been that guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who can get the thing legally enough.

There is a nearby research station that the kids often visit due to their mom working there, but today she was not. Instead, what they are doing, is racing against each other to set the best record. Well, technically the opposite of racing - coming to a halt.

Using the Hyperbrake, they are competing to see who can stop the closest to the stations outer point-defense range without entering it or you automatically lose. After Samantha's turn, they were suddenly contacted by the station. It was Yakovskii, one of mom's colleagues and a frequent guest at dad's barbecues, so they were on sorta good terms. Not by the tone voice coming through the comms rights now though:

"What in the Hell are you thinking!? At first I thought you were just messing around and accidentally did that, but TWICE now!?! I checked the trajectory, if you had stopped a half-second later, you would've ended up mere meters from Neptune's upper atmosphere! Did you account for the possible sudden gravitational pull? Can you maneuver that lumbering ship fast enough to not get pulled down? Not to mention Hyperbraking severely impairs your cognitive abilities for a moment? A moment that you need to be clearheaded for or risk DEATH!?!"

The three siblings could only hang their heads in shame and mutter out some weak apologies. After a moment of silence and reflection, Yakovskii speaks in a warmer tone:

*sigh* "Look, I understand it's a fancy new toy and you want to see what you can do. I get it, I really do. Me and my brother used to play vertical hockey the first time we got our hands on a surplus gravity field generator. But we first figured out how to make sure we didn't break our bones in case it failed. Seriously, never forget to consider your own safety first before you try out new things in a peaceful environment. You're not being chased by pirates or trying to avoid the law or whatever.

Take your time, pick a starting position that's further away and keeps Neptune and any of its moons to the side of the station, then aim for an area of space that only has the outer range of the defenses and empty space ahead from your point of view. And please set the regular Hyperjump destination within Sol, don't just pick a random place. The Hyperbrake sometimes loops in on itself and never executes the brake and can only be reset once out of Hyperspace. You don't want to get stuck in a pointless jump for hours do you?"

After this admonishment, the siblings apologized more energetically and took his advice to heart. They spent the next hour competing until all three were down to single meter differences and kinda got bored, so they docked at the station and hung out with the off-duty staff, played some poker, but then dad barged in and dragged them all home. They were not invited to the barbecue gatherings for two weeks, but only because mom told him to. Personally he was excited about all the data his kids had unknowingly given him with all their jumping and braking, a real stress test for his beautiful Hound Dog.

[sanjisblackasswife]

hiiii i love your headcanons about daily lifestyle moments with the monster trio🫠🫠🫠

how about them seeing their S/O waxing their legs or even their pussy? it could be funny

A/N: Haaaaaa thank u! I gotchu. Enjoy!

Monster Trio Watching You Wax (NSFW-ISH)

Black Fem Reader (…she calls Zoro the N word like ONCE)

CW: A bit suggestive, Mentions of PP🐔 and TooToo🐱, The Guys are a Bit OOC

Luffy

Luffy can either be incredibly fascinated or does not care, however let’s go with the first option because it’s more funny to witness

You don’t usually wax your legs too often, but it was a rainy and boring day and it was about that time so you stuck yourself in your room and Luffy came running in partially wet and ready to annoy you.

“Y/N! Where are your pants you finna touch yoursef again?”

“Luffy!? No! And I told you to stop bringing that up…”

You explain to him you’re waxing your legs and your vagina and he doesn’t really understand why you need to do that.

“I like your hair, though. Feels good.”

“Please stop—“

“Why?! It’s so soft when I eat—“

“LUFFY, SWEETHEART PLEASE—“

He wanders around your room, eating your snacks and watching you wax and you finally finish your legs and you decided to kick Luffy out to wax your cooter and this man refuses.

“I refuse to leave.”

“You don’t have a Choice—“

“It’s MY ship! PLEASEEEE? I wanna watch—OH WAIT CAN I DO IT FOR YOU?”

After a bunch of begging you decide why not…I mean you don’t have too much hair down there.

You sigh, pulling down your pants on the bed and Luffy pushes you on your back and spreads your legs open.

“You’re kinda wet—“

“LUFFY!”

You guide him on how to apply the wax, and though he is messy he manages to not burn off your clit…

However he snatched it to harshly and you screamed

“My bad…”

“GET THE HELL OUT!”

Zoro

“Why the hell are you shaving in here I want to take a nap—“

“Nigga, this is my room.”

He doesn’t really give af that you’re shaving, but when he opens his eyes and sees you take off your panties and he jumps up off the bed

“What—?!”

“Shutttt up i need to wax my pus—“

“WHILE IM IN HERE?”

“You literally seen it the other day—“

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT—“

You smile and offer for him to wax you and he flinched at your offer

“Oh don’t be a pussy—“

“DONT CALL ME THAT!”

He tsked, but agrees. You did most of the work putting on the wax and tape over it and invite him over to snatch it off.

“I don’t get why you do this stupid shit I told you I don’t care about the hair…”

“Just snatch it off!”

He snatches BOTH of them off with BOTH hands at THE SAME TIME.

Immediate tears.

“ARE YOU OKAY?!”

You’re in the curled up position on the bed trying not to scream so instead you flip him off.

Zoro pats your butt, “you’ll be okay.”

“NO IM NOT!”

He groans and leaves the room to come back later with an ice pack.

“What the hell is this—“

“Woman i told you not to wax—“

He’s trying okay he’s trying.”

Sanji

You tell him you won’t be bothering him today because you wanted to wax and Sanji being nosey asks “Wax what?”

“My legs and my…um…”

….

“My lady…”

Sanji knew exactly what you meant because that’s what he calls your cooter.

He does a love struck smile and prepare you a tray of snacks and juice while you wax your legs. Once you were done you began to pull down your panties and that’s when Sanji bursted in.

“O-oh..”

He got a side view of you now bent over with your panties down.

Could not handle it he nearly fell off the ship.

After he clams down and apologizes like crazy for not knocking you let him stay if he wanted as you waxed.

And that’s when he offered..

“I can…I can wax you….if you want…I don’t —-I don’t want you hurting yourself…”

You hesitate for a moment, he has blushing like crazy, but his eyes weren’t filled with hearts…maybe he wasn’t trynna be too much of a pervert.

You agree and let him. He was excited to say the least. He never cares about your hair either, he just loved looking at your 🐱 honestly.

If you were able to ignore his heavily breathing and shaky hands he was pretty good at applying the wax and the tape.

“Okay I’m ganna rip it off, my love.”

“Okaaay.”

He does it and quickly puts his cold hand on the area (like how waxers do, and Pat it a little)

You were shocked he did that and smiled at him, he had some blood trickle when he was done and that was only because he couldn’t stop staring at it.

“Stop staring!”

“I—um…but…she’s so pretty…”

You’re not supposed to have sex right after a wax, but the way Sanji kept rubbing the sides of your labia you gave in for him to only soothe you after a harsh wax with his mouth.

[sanjisboyfie]

๑ keep safe : don't you know? "lover" outweighs "boyfriend" (13)

one piece x male reader

you push it hard, i pull away,

i'm feelin' hotter than fire 

i guess that no one ever really made me that much higher 

te deseo, cariño,

boy, it's you i desire 

your love, your love, your love 

『 prev 』

“how could you lose luffy? idiot, you were the one holding him! [name], answer me?!”

“it just happened, i don’t know!!!” [name] said, getting tired of nami’s scolding.

“you were holding his ear weren’t you?!”

“i was!!”

“and then?! where is he?!”

“hell if i know!”

“are you giving me attitude, seriously?! right now?!”

nami and [name]’s screaming was heard throughout the entire ship and the others tried their best to not meddle with their argument. the two were going to keep going back and forth no matter what.

vivi was getting exasperated with the yelling and eventually sanji stepped in. literally. he kicked [name] in the face and made sure to make him land far away from nami.

“quit yelling your head off, especially at nami!!! who taught you manners?! why are you raising your voice at such a beautiful woman?!” sanji cried out, anger and fury in his eyes as he berated [name].

the navigator walked away from the argument, rubbing her forehead to try and ease down her headache. she commanded the rest of the crew to get the ship moving, not wanting to risk sitting at the harbor for possible navies to find.

sanji and [name] were now fighting in a corner of the ship that no one dared step near. vivi was still observing them with a deadpan look on her face. she wondered how long it would take for this to feel normal. the others on the crew, even chopper, was not caring towards the chef and [name], who were actively trying to rip each other’s heads off.

as the merry was gliding across the ocean, a good distance away from the shore, there was a sudden shout as someone had spotted luffy.

[name] bruised and hair ruffled looked over the railing, “is it really him? is ace with him? do you see ace?!”

sanji kicked down on [name]’s head, making the man face plant into the wooden deck of the ship, “huh, it really is him. there’s not any other idiot who could look like that.”

“i’m baaaaack!!!”

luffy’s yells change in volume indicated that he was approaching them at a fast rate. but since [name]’s head was previously suffocated in the wooden planks, he didn’t get enough time to properly tell where luffy was. or more importantly, where he was landing.

and just as he lifted his head up, he went tumbling backwards at the weight of luffy crashing into him, sanji, and chopper.

“sorry about that, sanji, chopper, [name],” luffy said lightheartedly, not caring that [name] was still face down on the deck.

“i should have accepted ace’s offer and left, my deadbeat captain is too much,” [name] said, voice murmured as no one could understand what he said as he was speaking directly into the deck.

“do you know how much trouble you caused?” nami’s voice shouted, “try and act more like a reliable captain!”

[name] got up from his position on the floor, sitting upright with his arms crossed over his chest. with a pursed look on his face, he looked out to sea and squinted.

“oh, that’s right, ace!!” luffy exclaimed after apologizing to nami, half-ass apologizing. “well, whatever, he’ll be fine!! ace is strong anyway,”

“he’s strong?” chopper echoed.

“yeah, stronger than me. i could never beat him! tell them, [name]!”

[name] stayed silent. but then the rest of the crew began asking him all sorts of questions, which he answered easily.

“is it true? luffy never won against that guy?” nami asked, seemingly unable to believe it.

“oi, i always beat luffy, too,” [name] said nonchalantly, still ignoring his captain. “but yeah, ace is strong.”

“i guess the bigger brothers of a monster are going to be even bigger monsters,”

“ew, [name]’s not my brother,” luffy said, his face scrunching up in confusion, “who told you that?”

“what do you mean?! you said that you grew up together!!!” the crew shouted in unison, wondering what on earth luffy was even talking about.

“he’s not my brother, though,” luffy stubbornly argued, looking at his crew in bafflement, “i never said that,”

“don’t be an idiot, it’s insinuated!!!” they once again raged on luffy, who was standing there as innocent as possible.

“but, i’d win now if we fought!” luffy laughed, going back to the original discussion - thoroughly ignoring the shouts directed at him. the crew all face palmed, listening to his hearty laugh echo on the deck.

“i assume that’s another groundless claim,” zoro spoke in a bored tone.

“definitely groundless, luffy can’t even beat me,” [name] chuckled, earning a couple of snorts from people on board.

“what?! i could totally beat you and ace!!” luffy argued once more, trying to save face.

as if on cue, ace appeared from behind luffy and kicked him down from the ship’s railing.

“who…” as he landed, he smirked at the crew and looked down at luffy, “would win against who now?!”

[name]’s face immediately brightened up, making people on the crew almost shocked at the new expression. the last time they'd seen [name]’s grin that wide was on their first encounter, when he tackled luffy to the ground.

“oh, ace! this is the crew i was talking about!” luffy said, an equally large grin on his face.

“thank you for taking care of my younger brother and [name],” ace sheepishly bowed his head down to the crew, who returned it with the same level of respect uttering a, “eh? oh, no not at all,”

“he might be a bit much for you to handle, but…”

“no, not at all,” the crew once again echoed, plainly lying to ace’s face.

“and as for [name],” ace said, making the man shoot forward in joy and wrap his arms around him, “thanks for taking care of him as well,”

there was a different fondness in ace’s voice as he spoke about [name], one that the crew didn’t really pick up on. instead they replied in the same monotonous tone they’d been using for luffy, saying, “eh? oh, not at all,”

[name] laughed, hugging ace tight and bringing him to properly stand on deck, “come on, join us. sanji, could you put some tea on for ace?” [name] politely asked, as if a switch was flipped in his mind.

‘this guy’s putting on an act,’ the crew all thought with sweatdrops rolling down their heads.

“no, no, please, don’t do it on account for me,” ace said politely, bowing his head several times to not impose. his arm was still wrapped around [name]’s waist, but his other hand that was free lifted up and lit the end of sanji’s cigarette.

“i’m surprised he’s not as brash as [name] and luffy,”

“there’s no way that this sensitive person is related to luffy!”

“he’s a brother that cares for his younger brothers,”

“ah? i never said [name] was my brother,” ace said suddenly, brows furrowed, “[name]’s not my brother,”

[name] rolled his eyes, slapping ace on the head, “why do you always bring this up at the least convenient of times?”

“never a convenient time to tell the truth, you should always be telling the truth,” ace teased back, earning an annoyed grunt from [name].

“what do you mean you guys aren’t brot-”

“oh, you guys have company,” ace said, suddenly cutting off nami’s question. “i can take care of them,” he offered, earning nods from other people in the crew.

“no, i wanna beat someone up,” [name] said, a grin on his face. but he was physically held back by ace.

“you guys just relax, i’ll do it!” he shouted, jumping off of the side of the ship and onto his own transport.

“asshole,” [name] said under his breath, but he happily watched the fight go down with a grin of excitement on his face.

with ace’s destructive devil fruit and his battle awareness, the ships were ruined and discarded into the sea in seconds. all it took was one attack form ace and wood from the ships was floating in the water.

it was like they blinked and the job was finished.

ace was soon back on board the going merry and [name] was attached to his hip once more. the duo grinned back at each other. sanji broke out some of the booze they had, handing a cup of coffee to [name], and joined in the celebration of ace’s arrival.

questions were being thrown at ace from every direction, but no matter what they were talking about or who was talking to who, [name] stayed right on top of ace. almost literally.

he was hunched over ace’s back, grinning from ear to ear as ace answered all the strawhats’ questions and wonders.

“so whitebeard pirates, huh?” usopp said with a gleam in his eyes, “are they as strong as the marines say?”

“no, stronger,” ace grinned, “if there’s any pirate crew out there that’s like a family, it’s my old man’s.”

usopp and chopper had sparkles in their eyes as they listened to ace talk about his pirate crew. there was nothing but fondness in his voice. [name] played with the ends of ace’s hair as he continued on telling about whitebeard, humming a song to himself.

ace looked at him briefly once he started, but simply turned away with a smile on his face as he went back to explaining.

”so why are you around here, ace?” chopper asked.

“i’m hunting for a man, a pirate,” ace easily answered. “his name is blackbeard,”

“more beards…” [name] murmured under his breath, making ace flick him on the forehead.

“that’s the pirate that attacked drum kingdom.” vivi gasped, wondering what the connection was between the two.

“he used to be a member of the second division of the whitebeard pirates,” ace continued explaining, “but he committed the worst possible crime on a pirate ship, he killed a crewmember and jumped ship,”

[name] stiffened at the idea, eyes darkening. imagining if someone on the strawhat crew had done that, thinking back to the other pirate crews he’d ever encountered as well. it left a sweet taste in his mouth and it made him want to vomit.

“so, as the commander, i gotta find him and get rid of him.”

“so that’s why you’re chasing after him?” usopp mused.

“i came here because i caught word that blackbeard was seen in yuba,” [name] grit his teeth, imagining the ugly face that was causing ace to go out and into harm’s way. if they ever found blackbeard at alabasta, he’d make sure to do a number on him before ace finished him off.

unnecessarily taking ace away from the pirate crew he deemed a family, that selfish bastard. [name] had to hold himself back from voicing his anger, instead choosing to rest his cheek on ace’s shoulder and leaning into the inside of his neck.

“oh, that means your destination is the same as us!” nami cheered, looking relieved to know that luffy’s older, more responsible, respectful, and put together brother was going to be able to keep him in check for a little longer.

“it looks like we can travel together longer than we thought!” the navigator cheered, taking [name]’s cup of coffee and lifting it up as if it were a jug of booze, “cheers!”

“yeah! luffy’s big brother is more than welcome here!” usopp said, immediately joining in the cheers and drinking his share of liquor.

everyone joined in, slamming their cups into each others. they drank happily and [name] laughed as he saw everyone’s relieved faces.

ace kept [name] close, laughing into his h/c hair and basking in his presence. ace’s arm was resting on [name]’s shoulder and held tightly in place so they wouldn’t separate.

it was obvious to the other crewmembers that ace seemed to want to monopolize on [name]’s attention and skinship, seeing as he didn’t let go of him for even a second.

“oh, ace, when you’d get this tattoo?” [name] asked, tracing his finger tip over ace’s skin. the man almost shivered at the sensation, but just as quick as he was to shiver, he was as quick to bursting into flames - or certain parts of his exposed skin were.

right over the area of ace’s heart, in between the pectoral and his ribs, were the neatly written words, “together in chaos.” [name] recognized the words immediately, feeling flushed when he read them.

“are you serious?”

“obviously. permanently there, isn’t it? i’d say that’s pretty serious,” ace mused, rubbing the area, “oh? are you blushing? did i really flatter you that much? no, no, let me see your face, [name]!” ace teased, trying to pull [name]’s hands away from his face.

as chaos was bubbling above deck, there was a quiet conversation being had in the woman's quarters.

“i wonder when the last time they all saw each other was,” nami mused vivi as the princess sat in their quarters writing a letter to her father. “he’s real attached — ace,”

“well, the bond of brothers is a sensitive topic for both of them, i’m sure,” vivi entertained, wondering what it was like to feel like that. but a grin came onto her face as she realized she shared a similar experience with her relationship with nami. overtime, sailing with the pirates and going through different adventures together, vivi felt safe where she was.

she felt in place.

“but the thing is, ace and luffy both say [name]’s not their brother…i wonder why,” nami thought out loud.

“well, i’m not sure, but…thinking about it — has [name] told anyone his past? he could have real family members he holds close to his heart, maybe luffy and ace are being respectful to not include themselves in that,” vivi hummed, wondering where [name] was from and how he came to be such a strong individual.

another person vivi came to cherish on the crew, finding solace in him and his welcoming demeanor. in many ways, he was similiar to their captain. but she had seen him become serious, intimidating, and more aware than luffy has ever proven himself to be.

not to mention, that price on his head wasn’t put there for nothing. and the sword he carries around definitly makes her uneasy. its natural aura, she assumed.

but no matter how many times she’d hear [name] yell or see him scowl, she can’t help but think of how grateful she is to him. she’s indebted to him like she is to the rest of the crew.

her cheeks flush ever so slightly as she thinks of the major sacrifices [name] had made in order for nami to get better. how gently he was taking care of her, speaking to her in soft tones. it showed a side of vulnerability, which to vivi, was undeniably…nope! vivi wasn't going to get caught up in those thoughts, she had a whole country to be concerned over instead! she almost smacked her head to scold herself, but dialled back on the action since nami might've thought she was going insane. it was as if her mind wanted to run its own course without her permission. she had no time for thinking about [name] like that, whatever that was.

“you really think so?” nami voiced, looking at the ceiling in thought.

“really think what!? i wasn’t thinking anything, nami!” vivi shouted, shaking her head rapidly, almost knocking over the books that were on top of the desk she was working on, “i didn’t think anything!!!”

nami sweatdropped, seeing that she caught vivi in her daydreams and put her hands up in surrender, “i wasn’t talking about whatever you’re referring to, vivi. i’m talking about what you said earlier.”

vivi stilled at the realization and waved her hand, “oh, obviously!!!…sorry,”

“it’s alright,” nami chuckled, finding vivi’s flustered state entertaining, “i was saying, though, i don’t think that’s the case…there’s probably something they’re not saying, for [name]’s sake.”

nami hummed in thought, wondering if it was something very serious between the three men. and assuming that was the truth, she stepped back and decided to no longer think about it. or wonder about it, either. she wasn’t going to ask luffy or ace, seeing as she didn’t want to pry too heavily into [name]’s past.

ace or luffy, or maybe even [name], could bring it up on their own.

but one thing did bother her quite a bit.

the fact that she, and no one else on the crew really (besides luffy), knew anything about [name]. he was an enigma to them. despite being on this life threatening journey together and him saving her life, nami blanked when she tried thinking of things she knew about [name] besides the surface level.

she walked over to vivi, ruffling her hair and telling her to not burden herself too much with the letter she was writing, and then walked up the stairs to go back to the deck.

as she was walking through the ship, she saw through the kitchen window that [name], ace, usopp, and luffy were keeping sanji company. she saw the way [name] had a tight grip on ace’s bicep, the victim of his steely grip smiling in a carefree manner as he had a hand resting on [name]’s leg.

she truly did wonder who [name] really was. but she walked off, choosing to not observe the scene so heavily anymore.

after a scolding in the kitchen, thanks to sanji’s shouts and usopp and luffy’s childish antics, the ship decided to take a short break.

vivi seemed to have finished writing her letter and needed karue to deliver it to her father for her. [name] accompanied her to say goodbye to her dear friend and vivi confided into his side as she had to watch karue leave. it seemed to pain her a lot, so he gently rubbed up and down her back to comfort her.

”he’s a strong chicken, he’ll be fine,” he said reassuringly, not seeing the flash of annoyance cross her face.

she smacked his cheek with her hand, not too roughly, and shouted over the crew’s laughter, “he’s a duck, not a chicken!!”

“what did i say? i thought i said that!”

“[name], vivi, let’s go sailing already, hurry up!”

this cause the man to perk up, angrily yelling at luffy, “don’t leave us here, you baffoon!”

he held vivi by her waist and easily jumped on board, gently landing them back on deck. she thanked him quietly, watching as he nodded his head and then ran into ace’s side.

”let’s go get changed, ace,”

“mhm,” the ravenette easily answered.

“wait for me! [name], ace!!” luffy childishly shouted, jumping onto [name]’s back and getting carried the rest of the way to the boy’s room.

“you seriously never change, luffy, always running after me and ace,” [name] teased, pulling on luffy’s stretchy cheek and then letting go to snap it back to place.

“if you guys just waited for me, i wouldn’t have to run,” luffy pouted, resting his chin on top of [name]’s head.

“whatever, just learn how to keep up,” ace chimed in, throwing an arm around [name]’s shoulder, much to luffy’s annoyance (at both his words and his actions).

“oi, ace! lay off [name], will you?! you know he’s apart of my crew!” luffy shouted, jumping off of [name]’s back and slamming the door shut.

”i can do whatever i want, luffy, like hell i’d listen to my little brother,” ace shot back, seemingly winding his fist up for a fight.

”you two will be the death of me,” [name] grunted, going through the chests of clothing to find the outfit he had stowed away for alabasta desert purposes. “luffy, here wear this over your clothes.”

the boy easily obeyed, putting on the robes and securing some cloths around his hat so it wouldn’t fly away. meanwhile, ace dressed into his own robes that he had brought, pulling them from his green knapsack.

[name] grinned in glee when he finally found his. the exposed tattoo on his back was covered up and he was soon wearing (suffocating) layers of clothes to protect against the heat.

“i can already tell this trip is gonna really kill me,” [name] whined, putting a headpiece over his head to protect against the sun.

“just stick close me when night falls, [name], or else you’ll get really cold,” ace advised, making [name] hum in agreement.

luffy puffed out in annoyance, “who says [name] has to go to you? what if he wants to be with me instead?”

“when has [name] ever wanted to be with you, nasty kid?” ace said once more, seemingly wanting to always be in fights with luffy over [name]. “me and [name] are closer, don’t you know?”

“liar, [name]’s mine, always has been!” luffy shouted in return, “he doesn’t wanna be all close and mushy with you when he’s got me! isn’t that right, [name]?!”

“are you forgetting i have a natural heat because of my devil fruit, idiot?! that’s what i meant in the first place,”

“then why do you talk about it so weirdly, speak more with your chest, ace!!”

“like hell i’d take advice like that from an idiot like you!” ace shouted in fury, if it had not been for [name] physically stepping in between the two, they definitely would’ve clashed heads.

“please, shut up!!! let’s just go, the crews probably all waiting!!!” [name] said, grabbing the two of them by their hair and dragging them out of the room, “when are you two ever going to put your childish bickering aside?”

“for you, my dear, never,” ace said in a mockingly dreamy tone, he even giggled at the end to sound like a person speaking about a childish, shy crush.

“don’t ever make a sound like that again, ace, i’m serious,” [name] threatened.

luffy, despite being painfully tugged along by his hair, grinned in glee seeing [name] somewhat take his side, “yeah, stupid, ugly, rude ace! listen to what [name] says!”

“who are you calling stupid?! seriously!” ace shouted once more.

a rough tug to both of their scalps had them shutting up in an instant, instead yelling for [name] to let go and give them mercy. but the h/c haired boy kept tugging them along.

“i said enough, stop acting like children. those silly bets you guys made when we were young are also coming back — both of you not calling me your brother? seriously, what’s your guys’ issue?”

“because you’re not our brother,” ace and luffy said in unison, finally agreeing on something.

as the three came out from under deck, the crew couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the conversation.

“why do you two keep saying that?!” [name] said in annoyance, pinching both their cheeks. his own face was red, hoping to god that they really didn’t remember the words they spoke all those years ago.

but from the mischievous grin on ace’s face and the carefree smile on luffy’s it seemed they were referencing exactly what he was dreading.

“you’re my lover! / cause you’re my boyfriend!” the two shouted at the same time, making [name] drop them onto the deck in disbelief.

the crew that was trying to stealthily listen to their conversation…half of them ended up gagging in shock.

nami let out a shriek of surprise, the water usopp was drinking was spit out of his mouth, the dumbbell zoro was carrying crashed onto the wooden planks, sanji spat out his cigarette and grunted in surprise, vivi looking onward with an expression of fear, and chopper was just looking around in confusion.

“what?!” the entire crew, including [name], shouted in unison.

“what?” luffy echoed, wondering what the big deal was.

“what do you mean what?!” nami screeched, wondering if her captain even knew the weight his words held.

”[name]’s my boyfriend!” luffy grinned, pointing a thumb in [name]’s direction. “are you guys shocked? but i said he wasn’t my brother! you guys, seriously, are slow to catch up,” luffy seemed exasperated with his crew’s seemingly disability to understand his words, “i said it plain and simple,”

and the usually cheerful and smiling [name] was nothing but a mess, face red and hair sticking up in all sorts of angles due to him running his hands through it several times (in stress). it was almost like steam was coming out of his head.

”oi, luffy, don’t you know? the ranking of lover outweighs that of silly boyfriend status,” ace chimed in, causing even more chaos to come from the rest of the crew. they sincerely thought they heard wrong, but ace’s repetition of his previous sentence proved that they - unfortunately - did hear right.

“like i care!” luffy stubbornly replied, crossing his hands over his chest.

“[name], please, drink water,” vivi said, rushing over to the burning up man’s aid, “you look pale, too,”

“those idiots. plain, mindless, don’t-think-before-they-speak idiots. surrounded by idiots since childhood up until now. will i ever catch a break, vivi? be honest, don’t spare my feelings. i can take the truth.”

vivi deadpanned at [name]’s seriously troubled look on his face. she helped him up, supporting him with her shoulder, “it’s alright, it will get better, [name],” she said mindlessly, unsure of how to comfort the very obviously stressed man.

“this is going to be the longest trip of my life, isn’t it?”

just as he asked that question, luffy and ace got into another minitature argument over their (supposed) love for [name], making everyone on board go still once again.

finally, vivi spoke up, “i’m sorry, [name]-san.”

“yeah, i am too,” he sighed.

[ miniature : BONUS ]

“luffy, define the word boyfriend.” nami had to get to the bottom of this. there's no way stupid, idiotic luffy even knew what that word meant.

“boyfriend means [name]!”

“no! the definition of boyfriend, c’mon, you can't just go around saying things you don't understand,” nami scolded him.

“what? but boyfriend means a boy important to me - thats [name]! he's my boyfriend!” luffy proudly announced, an invisible spear being thrown into [name]’s already deflated body. the captain carelessly throwing around the word only made [name] more stressed.

“okay, you can't just call [name] your boyfriend because the definition definitely doesn't mean that,” nami said, hoping her words were not just going over luffy’s head, “if you care about [name] that much, then he's just your friend. boyfriend is a different level,”

“but if [name]'s a boy and my friend, doesn't that just make him my boyfriend?”

“is usopp your boyfriend too, by that logic?”

usopp made a sound of surprise, shouting at nami in anger, “don't drag me into this mess!!” and luffy, in return, made a disgusted face.

“ew, i don't want usopp as a boyfriend, only [name],”

“hey!!! that's really rude!” usopp cried out, but his shouts fell on deaf ears.

“[name] can't be your boyfriend, luffy, you're not understanding at all,” nami said, rubbing her forehead in stress, “a boyfriend is someone you really, really, really like and care about - more than normal. how can i put it so you can understand…oh! it's like if [name] was hungry and you had the last piece of meat and you were also hungry, you wouldn't give him the last piece.”

“i would,” luffy said without hesitating.

“no, you wouldn't,” nami countered, growing increasingly more annoyed.

“i would!”

“no- you're hopeless…just don't go around saying things as serious as that so casually when you don't even know what it means, idiot,”

luffy shrugged, definitely not understanding nami’s words and running off to join usopp.

_

[ .ᐟ ] IT MIGHT SEEM EXCESSIVE, but i doubt there'd be another chance i'd get to say EXPLICITLY, that luffy and ace do not think of [name] as a brotherly figure. THAT WOULD JUST BE WEIRD !! LMFAO that's why i just put it in there as much as i could because literally ew if they did bc then they'd feel romantically attracted to their brother....yeah, definitely not <;3 

[ .ᐟ ] also luffy not completely understanding the definition of boyfriend, but knowing that to him [name] is boyfriend is so fucking funny i couldn't help myself IM SORRY 

[ .ᐟ ] shout out lana del rey by the way 

_

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taglist (lmk if u want to be tagged ! <3 :

@skullr0se , @strawberrii-tea, @triangulartriangles, @anotherlovefool

[cursedvida]

SAD EYES, BROKEN SMILE III (Buggy x F!Reader)

PART II // PART IV

WARNINGS: violence, swearing, Buggy being angry.

N/A: thirth part of this series, it's not gonna be so much longer. I hope you enjoy!

After revealing your ability to knock a guy down with just a couple of blows, your pretensions of going unnoticed within the crew have become quite impossible. You have caught the attention of Buggy, who on the one hand seems quite interested in your skills, but on the other is somewhat suspicious of you. And no wonder, in his eyes you have gone from being a helpless young girl to a killing machine, that has to confuse anyone. 

The day after what happened in the tavern he calls you to his cabin. It's the first time you've been alone with him since you found him that night in the ship's hold. You are very nervous, not because he might blow your cover but because he is so close to you. Buggy is not an overly muscular man but he is very tall, at least two feet taller than you. It was something you hadn't paid much attention to until now. Having him so close to you makes your chest tighten, making you feel ridiculous. 

"So tell me, Y/N.... why hadn't it occurred to you to tell me that you can finish a man off in half a minute?"

Buggy's voice sounds soft, almost seductive. He's using a patronizing tone. You've been watching him long enough over the past few months to know it's his way of hiding an impending anger.

"Do you think i'm an idiot?" There he is, he's just pulled out the genie. He abruptly turns to you and approaches, positioning himself dangerously close. "Tell me, do i look like a joke to you?"

You should be nervous about having to come up with some excuse but actually all you can think about is that you see him as a very kissable person. Obviously, you can't say that. 

"Did you really think I'm gonna believe the story of you not minding important to tell me about your fighting skills?"

"I..."

"Tell me the truth, Y/N. Now."

Buggy comes dangerously close to your face, his nose almost brushing against yours. He must think your nervousness is because he's caught you, but the truth is your heart is going so fast because you're holding him so close and it feels like a sin not to eat his mouth. Every day that passes your desire for him grows and at times like this you find it hard to control yourself.

"Well?" he insists, getting impatient. 

You snap back to reality, you must answer something. You sigh, perhaps the best thing to do is to tell the truth.

"Okay..." you nod, pulling away from him a little. You can't center your head holding him so close, his scent clouding your sense. "I had foster parents, they were Marines. They were working as undercover agents, but they ended up in prison for treason or something. When they were arrested my sister and I escaped, but we ended up as slaves and were bought by a horrible guy who was in the business of training children to sell them as mercenaries in the future. I was one of the best, escaped from there, got my own life and blah, blah, blah..."

You were not good at telling stories but that time you have excelled, you have told it with such reluctance that anyone would say that you are summarizing a very boring novel. Buggy stares at you for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. You don't understand what's so funny, maybe you don't like to make a big deal out of it because your personal traumas have turned you into a kind of emotional robot, but it's not to make fun of other people's misfortunes either. 

"Do you really expect me to believe something like that?" 

Wow, so that's what it is, the truth has seemed too far-fetched for him. Well, good for you. 

"I have to admit, you're a good storyteller. You could use that talent for some show." You stifle a smile, one of the things you like most about that fool is how sometimes he doesn't know anything. "But I want the truth, Y/N, or we'll have a problem."

You sigh. Fuck, that's lazy, now you'll have to make something up. 

"My father was a former marine" you lie "I was trained by him." 

Buggy grimaces.

"Yes, of course the earlier story was much more interesting, it had more drama."

"I thought if I told that my father had been in the Navy you wouldn't want me in your crew" you shrug. Well, in the end a boring, simple excuse was the most convincing. 

Buggy stares at you, weighing whether to buy your excuses or not. 

"Okay, I believe you" he nods. He folds his arms and leans slightly towards you, speaking menacingly "But I hate it when people try to make a fool out of me." 

"I never have ever intended anything like that" Actually at first you did. 

"Are you sure?"

"Fuck, of course yes!" You exclaim, exasperated, stepping completely out of your role. 

Buggy pulls back, confused by your reaction. 

"What, you're offended?" he asks, incredulous "I'm the one who has the right to be angry here!"

"For God's sake, Buggy, stop thinking the whole fucking world wants to fucking laugh at you."

You've never said swear words in front of him before, nor spoken in such a rude manner. It's the first time you show him your true personality and he seems quite surprised. And a bit angry, to be honest. 

"You're obsessed with what fucking people think. Fuck it, people are bullshit." 

"How dare you talk to me like that, don't you know who I am?"

"Of course I know, everyone knows. You love make everyone know" you reply, a bit fed up now "I'm just telling you the truth."

"You don't seem very enthusiastic, maybe you don't like being on this crew anymore."

You fold your arms, he's not the only one who can be proud and stubborn, you've always been known for that too. 

"Maybe not."

Buggy's gaze seems to be on fire with rage. He's really furious. 

"Well, get the hell out then."

"No!"

That really knocks him off his feet.

"No?"

Your tone has dropped considerably, regaining your composure. 

"I'm not leaving." 

"May I ask what the hell is wrong with you?"

At this point in the conversation, and considering that you've already discovered too many cards to give up the game, perhaps it's time to tell the truth. But the one that matters. The stuff about you working as a bounty hunter or that your goal was to kidnap him is not something that seems relevant to you.

You take a breath, take a deep breath and stare at him. 

"I like you" you reply matter-of-factly.

Buggy stares at you as if he has just seen a ghost. He's speechless, that's quite a feat coming from someone who is incapable of shutting his mouth for more than two minutes. He opens his mouth slightly to say something but he can't, he gets stuck. Your confession has completely thrown him off, right now so many things are going through his head that he is unable to manage. 

"I don't care about being a pirate" since you confess, you decide to confess completely "but I like you and I don't want to leave the ship. So stop accusing me like that, it doesn't sit well with me."

Not that it feels too good to your self-esteem to see the horrified look on Buggy's face at this point, but it feels genuinely good. You've finally let it out, you've been holding it inside for so long that it's been a lump in your throat.

"Your .... Eh.... Me?" It's the only thing Buggy finds himself able to utter. 

The idea being liked by someone is not something that crosses his mind often. Buggy can brag about all his exploits and constantly bravado about his abilities, but he has always felt considerably inferior than many of his peers. He knows he inspires fear, terror even, that some of his disciples look up to him but... liking him? Why would you like him? You're quite a bit younger and very pretty. In fact you don't know it, but more than one member of the crew has commented to him once or twice that they finds you very attractive. He's sure it's a ruse or something to confuse him, there's no way you really could like him. 

"Look, I'm not going waste more time, this is a childish conversation" You tell him, once you've made your confession it's like all the nerves and fear have disappeared. You are you again. "When you calm down you look for me"

And then you make the decision to do something you've been wanting to do for weeks. You were taught that if you decide something you have to go all the way, that has always been your character. So you approach Buggy, stand on tiptoe and give him a light kiss on the lips. He stands still, motionless, like a statue. You look into those eyes that enchant you and say:

"I really wanted to do that, I'm sorry." 

And with that said you leave, returning to the deck. Buggy stares at you, static, unable to react. 

What the hell just happened?

[lokisprettygirl]

Utopia (Modern! Daemon Targaryen x female reader) (Non Canon AU) (18+)

Read chapter 6 here // Series Masterlist

Chapter 7

Summary: Daemon eases your fears and worries.

Warning: 18+ sex ,period sex (if it bothers you skip the scene) death and destruction that comes from a ship wreckage, smut, sex, menstrual sex, unprotected sex. Some inconsistency with ship sinking, i researched as much as I could

“Are you alright?” Emma's voice was filled with concern as she asked you if you were okay, noticing the distress that was evident on your face. The two of you had just left Lily's house, and Emma could sense the negative effect it had on you.

“I'm fine..just want to go home” Emma sighed as you said that. She could tell that you were not alright, but she didn't know how to help without you opening up to her.

“Y/n I know you have always liked him but him and Lily have always been this way..they fight, fuck other people and then get back to each other.. don't you remember how he treated you on the ship after he slept with you?” you turned your head to look at her as she said that. Emma's words had struck a chord in your heart, reminding you of the awful morning when Daemon had completely dismissed you post the one night stand .

“Yeah? Always huh? How many times have they survived a ship sinking incident before? How many times before Daemon was left stranded on an island with someone else? This is not the same thing..why it's so hard for you guys to understand” you got visibly agitated as you finished your sentence, your voice raised as you tried to express that you and Daemon weren't just a fling.

“I'm just trying to protect you..” she mumbled softly so you sighed.

“I know but I also know what I'm doing..do you have any idea what I have been through with Daemon on that Island? You can't just get over that stuff and move on with your life as if nothing happened. He …he knows me..I know him..six months ..we were .. everything to each other” your eyes teared up and you hated how weak you felt in the moment. You always felt this way whenever Daemon was in the picture.

“But he's not on that Island anymore and neither are you..he's back here in the actual world where Lily is”

You didn't say anything as she said that. After what Lily had said about him fucking her last night and seeing things from Emma's perspective you felt hurt and worried. You asked him clearly if he had fucked her and he said no, did he lie to you? Why would he lie to you and hurt you like that?

“Do you want me to find a job for you? Dalton was asking about you” she said as she pulled the car in your driveway so you took your seat belt off, you just wanted to go home and cry.

“Not right now, last time you hooked me up with a job ..things didn't work out so well”

You heard the literal gasp she let out as you jabbed at her. That was mean and uncalled for but anger was bubbling inside you at the moment and Daemon wasn't there to take it.

You entered your bedroom, exhausted from the emotional upheaval. As you collapsed onto your bed, you noticed a missed call and a few text messages from Daemon on your phone. Taking a deep breath, you picked up your phone and opened the message.

You didn't want to ignore him and you certainly didn't want to hurt him by making assumptions about him, he told you something and you wanted to believe him but insecurities from the past ran deep and this wouldn't be the first time a man would cheat your trust like this. Instead of wrestling with your thoughts you dialed his number instead,

“Am I being ignored?” He asked as soon as he picked up so you sighed.

“Why would you say that?”

“What did she say to you..love?” his tone of voice made it clear that he was genuinely concerned.

“Where are you?” you asked him nonchalantly, your voice didn't really hold any emotion at the moment.

“I'm with my lawyer, had to discuss uhhh.. some fortune related complexities..are you back at your place?” He enquired so you barely hummed in response “Can I come see you?”

“You don't have to ask me” he chuckled as you said that,

“I'm trying to be more civilized and less of a caveman”

“Don't you want to go see Lily?” you asked him with sarcasm and envy dripping from your tone.

“Not right now, I want her to move on.. darling.. whatever she said to you that's making you all squeaky and snappy at me .. I will fix it yeah? And then you're going to fix me” you couldn't help but bite on your lip as his words made you feel slightly bashful.

“Okay” you could hear him smiling on the other end of the line as you mumbled a short response again.

Half an hour later as you opened the door and saw Daemon standing there, with his arms behind his back and a mischievous smirk on his face, you felt your heart skip a beat. The peach ribbed shirt he was wearing just added to his charm, it made you want to snuggle against him. Despite your feelings for him, the idea of him breaking your trust and lying to you was breaking your heart in ways you couldn't even begin to imagine.

The only reason why you weren't crying yourself to sleep for the past two days was because of him, the past month when you both were avoiding each other was difficult to say the least. The nightmares about drowning in the ocean had become a frequent occurrence, leaving you feeling frightened and restless. The fact that he was the only thing preventing you from giving in to the emotional distress that had been haunting you was both a comfort and a burden. But he was the only one who truly understood you because he was there suffering with you.

“Flowers for the beautiful lady” he held one of his hands forward to present you with a bouquet of beautiful flowers so you grabbed it and took in their scent “Chocolates” he then brought his other hand forward so you grabbed the box and went into your room, acting like a petulant child, it didn't do anything to deter him, he actually found you adorable like this.

He was expecting a kiss and a hug but this morning when you had told him that you were tagging along with Emma to visit Lily, he was terrified, not because he had anything to hide from you but because he knew as a matter of fact that she'd try to fill your head against him to drive wedge between you both. He was well aware of her vindictive ways when she was scorned like this.

“We need to stop meeting like that at your door” he mumbled as he entered the bedroom door and you were already on the bed with your face down into the pillow.

You felt his lips trail up from your calves to your hamstrings and he spent a good minute on your ass cheeks before he kissed up from the small of your back very slowly. Shivers ran down your spine as he moved up and pulled your hair aside to kiss your nape. You turned around to look at him and your teary eyes rendered his heart, your delicate features always softened him.

“If it wasn't for us being stranded on that Island you'd never date me would you?” You asked him as you caressed his cheeks with your fingers, you always feared that your connection with him was rooted in the shared trauma of the island and would fizzle soon.

“Yeah that might be true but not because there's something wrong with you or that you're not insanely attractive but because I wouldn't really get to know you like this..so intimately in every possible way”

You felt his fingers brush lightly against your chest, resting right above your heart, and you couldn't help but feel the burst of emotions.

His hand then drifted under your skirt as he leaned down to kiss you lovingly, palms wrapped around your hips as he pulled you into him so you sighed and closed your eyes to feel him close.

“You used to visit Paradise with Emma ” your eyes snapped open as he mentioned that.

Paradise was the name of the club The Dragonriders played at frequently and you used to go there on weekends before you even took the job on Utopia. “I'd often watch you dance from afar..you never even looked at me back then you know.. didn't even notice me” he mumbled softly in your ears so you cupped his cheeks again.

“I didn't know you..you were just a stranger”

“Exactly darling.. sometimes you have to learn the person inside out to truly appreciate them. I know i was unfair and cruel to you after that night we had spent together but it was my immaturity speaking..now i know better” you sighed as he said that, your hands sneaked inside his shirt as he leaned into you for a kiss again. He was irresistible at all times but especially when he was on top of you like this.

“You look cute in your pretty little skirt baby, my brave girl ..now are you going to sulk some more or you'd tell me what it is she said to you that is messing with your head?” he asked you, his voice was still gentle but firmer this time. You didn't want to beat around the bush either.

“She told me that you made love to her last night after you dropped her off and then later on she went into detail about how magical it was for both of you”

He looked at you intensely for a moment before he chuckled slightly as if he had it coming..

Somehow that reaction eased your fear, it was Lily's words against the man you had faced the worst of life with. If he was going to tell you that he hadn't fucked her then you'd have to believe him.

You'd have to put your faith in him because he deserved that much from you..

“Do you know why I came so hard inside you last night?” he asked you softly as his thumb brushed over your lips before he kissed you again.

“Whyy?”

“Because it has been a full day since I had done that.. since I had felt you around me so intimately. I might be an uncivilized animal at times but I'd never hurt you like that. Especially not you ..not after everything we have been through together”

You cupped his cheeks and your fingers ran through his scalp as he said that, his words felt sincere and a part of you believed him wholly, something made you believe that Daemon would never hurt you like that no matter what.

“You're not an uncivilized animal…just my big burly Cavemon” a smile graced his features as you cooed at him.

“Believe me yeah?”

“Okay.. sorry”

“Shhh it's not your fault..”

“No I'm sorry she said that about you and i believed her because I'm afraid and insecure”

“We all are at times..i fixed the problem..now you fix me” you giggled as he tickled your stomach with his fingers.

“Stahp ..it's almost my second day now..there will be clumps and stuff coming out of my goodies” he looked at you intently as you said that, his eyes darkened with consumable lust.

“If you intended for that to disgust me..it's not working”

“Your kinks are kinky..have you always had this one?” you questioned as you lifted your head up to kiss his neck.

“Not until you..”

“But you fucked your ex on her cycle”

“Not for the kink”

“It's just strange for me…my ex was disgusted just by me mentioning my period clumps”

“What an imbecile huh?

You giggled as you wrapped your legs around his waist and he made you sit up along with him.

“We are doing this my way today” you mumbled as you took your crop top and skirt off, Daemon got off the bed and he quickly undressed himself with the speed of lighting, when he climbed back on the bed you removed your underwear and threw it on the floor,

“You won't mind if I bleed on you right?”

“Fuck darling …noo” he almost moaned at the picture you had painted for him, you climbed on his lap and sat yourself down on his cock slowly, inch by inch, he wasn't really an average man in length or girth so you needed to go slow for your own sake, his legs splayed out on the bed as you submerged him completely and he placed his hands around your hips as you moved in circles slowly. His head swayed backwards and moans spilled from his throat as you worked your hips back and forth.

“I noticed you..” you mumbled against his mouth as you kissed him so he opened his eyes and looked at you all perplexed. He looked cute like this, all fucked out and pleasured the way he deserved to be pleasured.

“Mmm?”

“In the club..i noticed you..but you always had your eyes on her”

“Darling, do you believe in fate?” his voice came out in whispers as the sensation grew in the pit of his stomach,

“Not really”

“I do”

“Why?”

“I just do..I think it was fate that brought us together. Why do you think we were accommodated right next to each other when all the people we knew were a deck below from us?”

“Duuh management”

“Was it management that left us stranded together on that Island?” his fingers dug into your hips as he helped you hop on top of him.

“No it was my stupidity”

“Mmm really? You want to tell me that those strong waves somehow managed to bring us together on that very same island where we collapsed not even six feet apart from each other because of you? And both of us miraculously lived through it while none of those other people survived?”

“I don't know what to say..you're romanticizing the tragedy” his fingers curled into your hair and he pulled you closer to kiss you before he spoke,

“I have earned the right to do so ..now be a good girl and fucking cum with me”

You kissed him hungrily and the rest of the rebuttals you had didn't really come out as you fell apart in his arms as soon as you felt his warm cum filling you up to the brim. He placed his head on your chest as you both recovered from the euphoria but it lasted a good while.

Your head felt fuzzy as you had never been fucked this good, sex had never been so satisfying before. It was as if your body connected to him on a much deeper level than just physical, sex with him transcended you and filled you with intense emotional and mental release.

“If you pull out right now I'd ruin my bed so take me to the shower alright?” He chuckled briefly before he dragged his shapely arse off the bed and took you to the bathroom. He turned the shower on and as soon as he pulled out, his cum mixed with your blood spilled out of your freshly fucked cunt. His cock was absolutely bloody as well and you heard him gasp as he glanced at it. His fingers immediately caressed your lips as he cleaned the mess between your legs so you fisted his cock and returned the favor.

“I missed one therapy session and I was a major bitch to Emma this morning” you mumbled as you came back to reality from the mind numbing orgasm you had experienced just now..

“What did you do?”

“You know how they keep telling us in therapy to not blame other people for what happened as it was nobody's fault?” He nodded as you said that while he rubbed the body wash between his palm and turned you around to scrub your back.

“I think I did just that and I feel awful”

“Mmmm then apologize sweetheart and talk it out…these things happen amongst friends. I called Cole this morning to wish him for the birthday and we had a chat, he understands me better now”

“It's his birthday today?”

“Yup and we are invited, I'm sure he'd text you about it”

You hummed as he said that, as you placed your head down on his chest he wrapped his arms around you while you two enjoyed the hot shower in the comfort of your bathroom. Sometimes when you closed your eyes you imagined yourself being back at the island with him but you were only thinking about the times that weren't so awful, like bathing with him in the sea and walking around the woods in search for fruits, and most of all sleeping all huddled together on the bed of leaves every night.

You missed that, you really did miss it at times.

“Daemon?’

“What would you like for your birthday?” you asked him as you realized it would come soon as well, you were on the island when you turned 27, he had gone out of his way to collect fresh coconut water and had made a fruit platter for you which was more than enough on that forsaken place.

“I want your trust and faith in me” you turned around as he said that and kissed him softly.

Besides he was planning something to surprise you with instead, he had a meeting with his lawyer for the same reason and his lawyer certainly didn't think it was a great idea to go forward with this but he knew he wanted to do this, for both of you.

“And i want to take you somewhere with me” he said to you

“Mmmm where?” You giggled as your heart skipped a beat. You just hoped he wasn't going to take you to meet his family just yet. It felt too soon for that.

“It's going to be a surprise, hence the trust and faith demand“

“I trust you baby” his lips curved into a sweet smile as you said that.

The plan moving forward was to take a nap with him and it was very cozy until he began shivering in his sleep, telltale sign of a nightmare and you knew what it was about, it was about that night in the woods that he had spent all alone without you, he deeply struggled with the memory of the night and it was very hard on him so you know he was reliving the same trauma in his sleep. Or that's what you thought.

You didn't know that he was having a nightmare but not about being stranded in the woods but about you being bitten by that spider, he always had a nightmare about that night where instead of you being alright the next morning he saw your dead lifeless body and he was left all alone without his brave girl by his side.

When he woke up he pretended as if he wasn't affected by the nightmare in the slightest and asked you to get ready as you were both invited to the Paradise for Cole's birthday. Luckily Lily wasn't there because of her injury but the group had decided to visit her post drinking.

When you reached hand in hand with him, it felt a little awkward, people who recognised you kept staring and you felt like an animal in the zoo. The attention was uncomfortable, as you just wanted to blend in with the other people and enjoy the evening without the scrutiny.

Life had changed in more ways than one, at times you were not even Daemon or y/n, you were just that couple that was stranded on an island for six months. Whenever you were out in public, people would inevitably make reference to your story, and you found yourself being treated like a celebrity. You felt objectified though as if there was nothing more to you anymore than what you had suffered.

After greeting Cole as you spotted Emma you walked towards her.

“How's D?” She asked you so you looked at her confused for a moment.

“Daemon? He's doing okay umm-”

“No the Dick..how's his dick..is it as good as rumored?” she asked you as she crossed her arms so you pulled her into a hug.

“I'm sorry em.. I'm so sorry for being such a bitch when you were just looking out for me”

Your eyes teared up as you spoke to her so she hugged you as tightly as you were hugging her.

“It's okay..I get that..they tell me not to take it personally..you both have been through something none of us can imagine living through” you looked down as she said that.

“That's not an excuse to lash out but I'll be careful i promise..now let's get drunk..it's been a while and you're going to reveal every tea about Aemond” she blushed bright red as you whispered the last part in her ear. You were happy for her, she deserved someone making her happy and gleeful like this.

A band was performing in the club and you noticed how Daemon kept looking at them while they played as if wondering about his own time on the stage, you knew he missed singing and being up there.

Afterwards when the group decided to go see Lily you chose to opt out but Daemon insisted and pleaded until you gave in, perhaps seeing him with you would finally make her back off a little bit and she'd realize that Daemon has moved on from their toxic relationship.

However as you all turned up at her place you saw a man leaving her house, you recognised him even though nobody else did, it was one of the major crew members at Queen Utopia, Danny something, you didn't remember his full name but he was the man Lily was with that night. He handled the maintenance of the cargo area.

As he walked past you he looked you right in the eye, you saw something in those eyes but you couldn't put your finger on it.

They always told you to not put blame on anyone as the tragedy was nobody's fault but what if it was somebody's fault? And what if it was Danny who had something to do with it?

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Taglist

@mcufan72 @123forgottherest @shuichiakainx @stupidthoughtsinwriting @tmlbdv

@ammo23 @anukulee

[yourimagines]

Can you Darth Vader x reader

Searching for you

* English is not my first language I apologise

* Gif is not mine

* Triggers; angst, swearing, and a bit of fluff

Y/N POV

I was walking through the ship, trying to find Vader. “I’m sorry, do you know where I can find Darth Vader?” I asked politely to a officer. “Woman, do you know who I am? Who you talking to?” He gave me a pointed look. “I asked you something?” “I’m sorry officer, I was only asking you something.” He shakes his head. “A woman like you has no business with Darth Vader, now if you excuse me I have a meeting to attend.” With that he flipped me off. ‘What an asshole.’ I walked further down the hallway till I saw Andrew a friendly mechanic. “Andrew, do you know where I can find Darth Vader.” He smiled at me. “Did you lost your husband again Y/N.” He chuckled at me. “Yes, do you know where I can find him?” He nodded. “Yes of course, follow me.” I did what he asked and followed him through the ship. “I don’t know if it’s the right time to meet him now, he has a meeting soon.”

We walked up to a meeting room. Troopers stood outside of the room. “I’m sorry nobody can enter.” “I understand but she has to.” “No.” Andrew sighed. “Do you know who she is?” “No, but she can’t enter.” I grabbed Andrews arm. “It’s fine, I’ll wait out here.” “No it’s ridiculous!” The doors behind them opened, the officer from earlier walked out. “What’s happening here….oh you again.” Andrew looked at me. “I already asked him.” I said to Andrew, He nods. “Listen here officer Sam, she needs to speak to….” The officer raised his hand. “I don’t understand why you can’t understand the word NO and I already told her that she has no business to do with Darth Vader… it’s outrageous that the two of you interrupting this meeting.” He looked at the troopers. “Make them leave..” he walked back inside as the troopers pushed us away. “Move it you two.” “I can’t believe this, you will regret this!” Andrew said while pointing at both of them. “Let’s go.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from them.

We were both waiting at the cafeteria for higher ranks. Officer Pierre walked up to us. “I’m sorry that it happened to you guys, I’ll make sure when the meeting is done that Darth Vader will come and get you.” “Thank you.” I gave him a small smile. “I got us some food and drinks” Andrew placed down a tray full with food. “For free.” He whispered to me. I smiled at him. I picked some food and started to eat. “They all going to regret it, the disrespect they have…” Andrew said while munching on some bread. “It will be fine, we wait for him.”

“Where is she?” I heard the robotic voice of Vader through the room. I looked behind me, he was talking to officer Pierre. “Over there my lord.” He looked at me, striking forward. I stand up and walked over. “You wanted to speak to me?” “Yes but I forgot.” My lip starts to tremble. His hand went up to my face. “What happened?” Andrew stood up. “If I may my lord.” “Speak.” “She was searching you, and officer Sam and his two troops disrespected her.” I looked at Andrew, he was angry. “Is that true?” I nodded. Officer Pierre joined the conversation. “My lord, they both were shaking up from the event, I helped them to calm down.” Vader didn’t say anything, just his breathing was heard. His thumb went over my cheek, looking down at me. “I’m sorry.” I whispered at him, trying to calm myself down. He turned around and walked away. I looked at Andrew. “It’s okay.”

I was waiting in our bedroom, waiting for Vader to turn up. I was already in my pyjamas laying awake in our bed. ‘What if he’s mad at me? For crying, for searching him, for forgetting why I was searching him in the first place.’ Fear was creeping in, I started to cry in silent. Holding my blanket up, afraid of the darkness, afraid of everything. I heard the automatic doors open. I held my breath. I heard footsteps coming closer and closer till it stopped. His breathing filled the atmosphere. “My love…” I felt him pulling down the blanket. I looked at him, eyes red because of the crying. His hand went up to my face, wiping away the tears. “Its okay love, it’s all over now.” His gloved hand wiped some hair out of my face. “I feel you scared, why are you scared?” I took a deep breath. “Are you mad at me?” His head tilt a bit to the side. “Why would I be mad?” I shrugged my shoulders. “That I embarrassed you my lord.” He carefully took a seat on the bed. “I’m not embarrassed, you are my wife, they should respect you, they where disrespecting you, my wife.” I carefully nod. “I’m not angry at you at all, I’m sorry they disrespected you but I made sure nobody is ever going to disrespect you.” I grabbed carefully his hand. “Are you okay my love?“ I nodded. “Yes, I just remember why I was searching you my lord.” He nods at me. “I wanted to tell you that…that I’m finally carrying our child..” his hand went up to my belly. I felt the force going through my body. “You are.” I smiled at him. “I level up the guards for you and I make sure you are never alone.” He stood up. “Are you leaving already.” “Yes my love, I need to take care of these things.” I sat up. “Can it not wait till tomorrow morning my lord?” I stood up and walked over to him. “Please stay tonight.” He turns around. “You want me to stay..?” I nodded. “Yes my lord.” “Then I stay.” I smiled at him, placing a kiss on his helmet. “Thank you, for everything.” He only nods as we both went to bed. His breathing filled the room as I lay with my head on his cold metal chest plate. ‘I love you.’ He said with his real voice in my mind through the force. I snuggled up to him. “I love you too Vader.” As darkness consumed me, falling slowly asleep.

[darsynia]

I'm gonna let you pick the Marvel man (just not anyone you've done xReader for, lol - you gotta pick someone out of your comfort zone) and do xReader for: 80. crashing your lips together during an argument

I definitely wrote out of my comfort zone here! Peter Quill/f!Reader

Summary: Ever since Peter Quill and his crew rescued you from your dying ship, the man has been an absolute menace. You wish you could get the upper hand, but somehow he's always one step ahead of you, and ogling you the whole time.

Warnings | Length: Swearing/GotG typical banter | 1,574

Bet Your Ass

“What is your problem, Quill? By the Gods!”

The guy’s been chapping your ass since you were rescued, and you’re completely over it. Sure, he’s got arms, and that face, and those thighs, but by Lumesta, you’re going to need him to shut his mouth pretty soon or you don’t know what you’ll do! It’s been three days, and every time he’s laid eyes on you, he’s made a comment about how he would have rather rescued one of your crewmates.

Your ship had sustained the most unlucky micrometeorite damage ever, and you know you’re lucky to be alive. Two ships showed up to your captain’s distress call, and your three-man crew split up, as the medical ship the other two ended up on was almost at capacity as it was.

To hear Quill bitch about it, he’s brought on a completely useless slave girl, not a mechanic who’s already upped the efficiency of his weird little ship by 4%. It’s all ‘what use does a medical ship have with two renowned fighters’ and ‘we always get stuck with the girls.’ The blue-skinned cyborg woman whose name you struggle with had actually punched him after that one.

Drax has been leaning up against the wall, and after you turn away from snapping at Peter, he nods at you. “He likes your boobs.”

“Oh, here we go!” Quill groans, throwing a food wrapper toward the garbage can. It comes nowhere close.

“I am Groot.”

“I’m getting it, I’m getting it!”

“I am Groot.”

You don’t understand what Groot says, but everyone else does. It’s a disadvantage, but an amusing one, usually. This time, it’s clear the two statements are about very different things-- Quill has straightened in the process of picking up the garbage (which is a shame, because those pants of his hug that ass), so he can look askance at the teenaged tree.

“I am not dignifying that with a response,” he snaps back. “I mean, if we’re going to nitpick, the neckline of her shirt is a little low, but just because it’s eye-catching doesn’t mean--”

You cannot believe this. “Wait, so we went from Drax saying you like my boobs to you objecting to them?”

“Hey! I do not objectify. I’m very respectful!”

“You’re looking at her boobs right now,” Rocket says sardonically from the doorway.

“Weren’t you checking Cleavage Girl’s work? Scram, I’m trying to have an argument here,” Peter says loudly. He actually makes a ‘shoo’ gesture.

“Okay, that’s it. I’m calling you Tight-ass from now on,” you say, crossing your arms over your breasts. You know from experience (as in, pretty much every time you do it) that Quill won’t be able to pull his eyes away.

You’ve made a calculated error, though. Up until now, you’ve left your appreciation of his physique to yourself, and now the man is laser focused on this discrepancy.

“I knew you were staring at me!” Quill crows, strutting over. “That’s why you’re all sulky sexy, you secretly want me, and it’s killing you!”

“I am GROOT.”

Drax points at Peter with the piece of fried food he’s eating. “He’s right. You’re accusing her of what you are doing.”

“Cleavage Girl is new, why are you all on her side??”

Groot shrugs. “I am groot.”

“Woah, speak for yourself!” Rocket yells, making a grossed-out face.

“He’s not wrong. I would enjoy watching them,” Drax smiles.

“Well, now I’m just horrified,” you say, shoving away images in your mind of what the others might be picturing between the two of you. You spin on your heel and start toward the door, but your forward progress is halted suddenly, like you’ve caught your jacket on something. You yank angrily, but though you get free of whatever it was, you only have a few seconds before you’re pinned boobs-first against the wall of the room, with the familiar bulk of Peter fucking Quill pressed up against you.

“Okay, I take it back. You definitely have muscles,” he says, lips close to your ear.

“Get off,” you say, but your heart rate is up, your skin tingling with the pheromone your people give off when you’re attracted to a potential mate.

“Oh, I’d love to. I didn’t think you were into me,” he says infuriatingly. You hadn’t realized the double meaning of what you’d just said, and you rest your forehead on the bulkhead in frustration.

“I’m not,” you lie, shoving back with your hips. You’ve got enough leverage on the wall that he flies back a ways, so you spin around, dropping to a fighting stance.

“Hey, hey, I’m just responding to the signals you’re giving off,” Peter says, but you can see something in his eye; respect, perhaps? Something has shifted since your display of physical dominance. He’s looking you in the eyes, not the boobs.

“You couldn’t handle me anyway,” you snap back without thinking. Instantly, Quill’s face suffuses with an interested grin, and his eyebrows go up lasciviously.

There’s a loud crinkling noise only feet away, as Drax dumps out the rest of his snack into his open mouth. “Go on, I’m not even here,” he says.

“I am Groot!”

“I do not need tips from you on how to get her to want to kiss me!” Peter shouts, clearly affronted.

“Oh, I’ll kiss you,” you say impulsively. “But you have to promise to always look at my face, not any other part of my body.” You cock your hip and arch your back in an overt challenge.

“What if I’m behind you?” he asks, crossing his own arms. The muscles on his exposed arms look so good you wouldn’t mind trying your teeth on them, for multiple reasons.

“If that happens, you have to turn around,” Rocket says. You’d thought he’d left the room, and so did Peter, because both of you look around until you see that he’s sitting faced away in the captain’s chair, which hides his whole body from behind.

“I am Groot.”

Everyone just looks at Groot, and Peter’s eyes go wide.

Their reactions freak you out. “What?”

He shakes his head.

“What?” you press, walking forward. Quill isn’t answering so you decide to remind him that you do, indeed, have strength he respects, even if it’s not your strength of character. You grab the front of his shirt, but his response is to fist pump.

“He said you want me and you’d prove it by coming over to drag me to my quarters… and--” Quill looks down at his own chest and smirks.

You let go right away and groan. “This ship is infuriating! I give up, I wish I went on the med ship, okay? You win!”

To your complete confusion, everyone, even the cyborg lady who was apparently eavesdropping from the hallway, walks in and shoves handfuls of credits at Quill, who looks incredibly smug.

“What the hell--” you start.

Groot walks over and pats your arm. “I am Groot.” Everyone else in the room starts leaving, and you’re still furious and confused.

“Quill--”

“I bet them I could get you to say you wished you were somewhere else,” he shrugged. “Easiest bet ever. All I had to do was stare at your body and be myself.”

All things considered, the man could have chosen far more miserable ways to win his bet, but you’re still het up and irritated. “Technically I won that bet for you. You should split it with me.”

“No can do, Cleavage Girl.” He folds his hands behind his back, bulging his arm muscles at you. 

You step forward to shove him onto his ass, but his arms come down lightning fast, one leg planted behind him to brace himself: he’d known you would do that, and now his lips are on yours, one hand cupping your cheek like you are lovers instead of two people who can barely stand to be in the same room together.

The thrill of contact takes you by surprise. It’s like adrenaline has chemically altered into pleasure with the addition of your anger, and suddenly you can’t get enough. The two of you wrestle across the room to the nearest wall, hands grasping at clothing, lips sucking, teeth biting, tongues swiping as if unable to trust the evidence of your attraction for longer than a few seconds.

Minutes later, he’s tracing the line of your shirt along the edge of your breasts when you finally catch your breath, and you realize what you have to do to best him.

“Oh, I’m sorry, your kiss privileges are hereby revoked.”

“What? No!” Peter groans, lifting his head. His lips are red, pupils blown, out of breath, a complete gorgeous wreck of a man.

“What did I say the conditions were?” you say implacably.

He thinks. Peter’s lips twitch to one side, then the other, and then his eyes pop open and he looks horrified. “You don’t mean that. I was kissing you there, that doesn’t--”

“It counts!” you say sadly. “You weren’t looking at my face.”

You have no idea how he’ll react to your bluff (it’s totally a bluff. That kiss was amazing. You have no idea what boring shit you’d have been subjected to on that medical ship, but you definitely won Best Rescue), but what you don’t expect is for him to narrow his eyes and smile.

“This calls for a new wager.”

“You bet your ass it does.”

[therhythmafterthesummer]

Alone Together (M) ~Lee Know

Pairing: SpacePirate!Minho x Smuggler!F.Reader Themes: Sci-Fi AU (barely) | Smut | Established Relationship (kind of) | Lovers (idiots) to Even More Lovers (affectionate) Word Count: ~8k | AO3 Synopsis: Minho was a man on the run, an outlaw. He was always getting himself into trouble, thieving and fighting against the people that perpetuated an unfair system that did nothing but bring pain to those the system considered lowly and unworthy. For his next mission, he decided to ask for help from the person he trusted most in this world, you. Warnings: star wars concepts used very loosely and probably very poorly · made up locations · mentions of slavery and morally questionable situations · the term suicide mission is used once · your honour they’re sickly in love · graphic depictions of intercourse (smut warnings under the cut).

Due to all the abovementioned warnings, this story is intended for an adult audience only. Minors please do not interact.

Author’s Note: i started watching the book of boba fett, and it seems like it’s impossible for me to watch anything star wars related without wanting to write about people boning in space. so this piece was born ! it’s incredibly self-indulgent, but i hope someone else out there gets to enjoy it too~

this was barely proof-read, so if anything sounds weird don’t hesitate to let me know lol

Smut Warnings: this is very vanilla tbh · praise · fingering [F.Rec] · protected penetration [piv].

Disclaimer: the story represented in this work does not represent Stray Kids in any way; anything described in this story and all actions performed by the characters are purely fictional, this was created just for good fun.

As an outlaw, Minho’s entire livelihood depended on him not attracting too much attention to himself, on laying low and being as stealthy as possible. Which was why it almost felt counterintuitive to be here right now, trying to get his ship caught on the radars of a cargo ship. Although, to be fair, it wouldn’t have been the first time he tried to get into this cargo ship in this exact same way, but usually he’d have a bit more preparation than this.

“Shit… Here we go. Buckle up, boys”, Minho informed his crewmates.

Their entire starcraft shook violently as the gravitational beam of the much bigger starship pulled them towards it. They were discovered almost as soon as they came close to the vessel, and Minho had honestly taken a leap of faith with this move, because this could’ve gone two ways: like it was going right now, them being pulled towards the hangar within the starship, or they could’ve been shot down on sight.

Getting within the perimeter of a smuggler ship was always dangerous, especially when done unannounced, but Minho was desperate, so he did what he had to do.

As soon as his ship was parked within the hangar, he unbuckled his safety belt, standing up and stretching his limbs. “Guys, get ready. Remember what I said, no sudden movements, no arguing, just follow my lead, okay?”

Hyunjin and Felix nodded in understanding, getting out of their seats and stretching as well, just as loud thuds started to resonate within the crammed space they called their ‘navigation room’. That was a bold claim, this ship consisted only of that navigation room, small enough to go undetected when needed, but not that good for long periods of time travelling, he’d admit.

“Open up, hands in the air!”

Minho nodded to his crewmates, and once they both lifted their arms he hit the door’s button on his console.

Four super battle droids stood right outside, with their blasters pointed right at them. Minho hadn’t seen this model of droid before, they must’ve been one of your latest acquisitions, and somehow, that thought brought a smile to his face. However, new droids meant that they wouldn’t know who he was, which also meant things could get out of hand really quickly.

“Step out!”

Minho got off the ship first, with his hands in the air as instructed, followed by Hyunjin and Felix. The droids immediately took a hold of their wrists, rather forcefully, and it made him wince.

“Hey! We’re cooperating, don’t be so harsh, jeez…” The droids completely ignored Minho, simply continuing their task of holding their wrists behind their backs and binding them together.

“Names, and what were you doing fluttering around this ship?”

“I’m Minho. These are Hyunjin and Felix”, Minho replied simply, gesturing with his head as he named his two crewmates. “We came to speak with your captain”.

“Our captain has no time to deal with stowaways”, one of the droids scoffed, pointing their blaster right to Minho’s forehead.

He couldn’t help but smirk, the words flying past his mouth before he could even think twice about them. “How can you call us stowaways when you were the ones to pull us in here?”

The droid went silent. Minho figured that if it could make facial expressions, it would’ve looked annoyed.

“It’s really important”, Minho urged. “I’m sure she’ll understand. If you’re planning on throwing us to the trash chute, don’t you think she’d like to make the call herself?” 

The droid in front of him went silent again, the other three were just surrounding them, pointing their blasters at them. It was taking the droid so long to say something, Minho started to really worry that he had miscalculated how this part of the plan would go.

Ultimately, the droid lowered its weapon, and the three of them heaved a sigh of relief. “Follow me”.

The insides of the ship looked almost the same as they had last time Minho was here, save for a few changes to the corridor’s decor. How long had it been? Three months? Six? It was hard to tell these days when he was running for his life half the time.

The group of droids guided the three of them towards where Minho knew the main control room would be, where you probably would be. He should’ve been unfazed, Minho had seen you thousands of times, but somehow every single time without fail his heart would flutter, especially when so much time had passed since he last saw you.

As soon as the doors of the main control room slid open they were engulfed by the sound of clicks and clacks from the amount of droids sitting at their stations just pressing buttons. It was impressive, how you had put together this entire operation almost on your own, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“Captain”, the droid spoke finally, snapping Minho out of his daze.

Ah, there you were, hunched over your desk, with your fingers flying on the touchscreen that was embedded in it. What were you doing? Planning your next course? Ensuring the safety of your routes? Checking for imperial ports in the vicinity? Minho was always curious, mostly because he was nosy. He wanted to have as much knowledge as possible at any given time, but he also just liked to hear you talk about things. He quite enjoyed hearing you speak, he’d admit.

“What is it, B2-49?” Shit, just your voice could kickstart Minho’s heartbeat. He should visit more often, the longer he spent away the more your mere existence affected him, and it was, quite honestly, inconvenient.

“The stowaways wish to speak with you”, the droid, B2-49, informed you, and you scoffed, not lifting your eyes from the screen under your fingertips for a second.

“How can you call them stowaways when we pulled them in here in the first place?”

“Took the words right out of my mouth”, Minho couldn’t help but say, grinning at you once the sound of his voice finally pulled you from your task.

Your eyes went wide as soon as you spotted him, you clearly weren’t expecting him, and Minho would lie if he said he didn’t enjoy catching you off guard, that he didn’t enjoy your attention.

Your gaze jumped from him to his two companions, and your brows furrowed. You looked at him again, right in the eyes, confusion written all over your face. “What’re you doing here?” 

“Can’t I just drop by anymore?”

“You can”, you leaned back in your chair, crossing your arms over your chest. “But something tells me you’re here with a purpose”.

‘So when I come here to fuck you isn’t a purpose?’ was what Minho would’ve liked to say, because that was often why he came to your ship, but he’d always come alone. Hyunjin and Felix didn’t have to know any of that, so he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he chose to take a direct approach.

“We need a safe route to infiltrate the Antrilian quadrant”.

You scoffed, incredulousness painted all over your face. “Have you gone mad? Antrilia? Want me to get you right to the intergalactic council as well?”

Antrilia was known for hosting the biggest slave ring in the galaxy, it was heavily guarded by imperial forces, and it was Minho’s goal to bring it all down, to free every single slave in the quadrant, stealing a few prized possessions in the process–he had to get his money’s worth, of course. 

It was a very personal task, considering two of his crewmates had been taken by the empire recently. Saving his friends and taking it all down wouldn’t be easy, the entire quadrant was heavily guarded, which was why he had come to you, the best, most discreet smuggler he’d ever known.

“I’m being serious”, and he was.

Minho’s entire purpose was to rid the galaxy of every single slave camp he could, that was how he met his crewmates, they formed their own guild and were now some of the most wanted men in the galaxy. Ever since he himself escaped from one of those places when he was just a kid, he made it his purpose to wreak as much havoc as possible, to bring down the system. It was dangerous, and he’d been close to dying more times than he could count, but he just couldn’t turn a blind eye to it.

You looked at him for a moment, your eyes jumping all over his face. After a while, you finally unfolded your arms to place your hands flat on the table. “Oh my Gods, you are serious. Do you have a death wish?”

Minho gave you a smile, a smug one, and you immediately brought your fingers to your temples, rubbing circles there.

“I can’t do that, Minho”, you said as soon as you seemed to realise he wasn’t going to back down.

“If there’s anyone in this galaxy that can get us there is you. I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t truly believe that”, and Minho really meant it. Regardless of his personal connection to you, he knew you were incredibly good at your craft.

You looked at him for a few moments, quiet, pondering, he could almost see the cogs turning inside your head, and for a brief moment he wondered if you would just shoot him down completely. That was, until you spoke again.

“What’s in it for me?”

"My gratitude", Minho said in a mock tone, and you quirked a brow, almost as if you were telling him ‘be fucking serious right now’. 

So he clicked his tongue, slightly annoyed that you didn’t want to play along. “The receptor of an imperial cruise with a valid code”.

Immediately, a glint of excitement appeared in your eyes, 

“How did you… Get your hands on that?”

Minho shrugged. “I have my ways”.

You were silent for a while, just looking into his eyes and tapping your fingers on your desk. Minho looked right back at you, waiting for you to make your decision. This wasn’t the first time he was asking for a favour, but it was certainly the first time he was asking for something so dangerous, so he could completely understand if you didn’t want to help him. He wouldn’t have taken it to heart either way.

With a deep intake of breath, you finally stood up from your desk and walked a bit closer to the group, to stand right in front of Minho. “This is not something I can decide just now. I need some time to think about it”.

“There’s not much time, I’m afraid”, Minho gave you a genuinely apologetic smile, and you sighed, somehow sounding both defeated and annoyed.

“Quit being dramatic. I’m sure you can give me at least twenty four hours”.

“Twenty four hours sounds reasonable”.

You looked at Minho for a moment, and then looked at his crewmates. “Who are you guys?”

“Hyunjin”.

“Felix”.

Both of his crewmates introduced themselves at the same time, but you seemed to pick up their names anyway. You signalled your droids to remove their restraints, giving them both a welcoming smile. “Welcome aboard, Hyunjin and Felix”.

They simply returned your greetings, sounding immensely grateful now that they were no longer bound. You were just about to walk away when Minho cleared his throat with a frown on his face.

“Aren’t you going to untie me, too?”

You looked him up and down, and a devilish smile made its way to your lips, making the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. “Why should I?”

“So you untie my friends and not me? Seems a bit biassed on your part, doesn’t it?”

You walked closer, standing so close he almost felt as if you were going to kiss him. Right there. In front of his friends. And that realisation had his heart pounding in his chest, and, even more annoyingly, it brought heat to his ears. He tried his best to not show how affected he was, though. He stood his ground, with the self-assured smile he could pull off.

Bringing your hand behind him, you took a hold of the device binding his wrists. “Say please”.

His smug façade crumbled immediately, replaced by a look of incredulousness. Minho scoffed, tilting his head to the side and looking you right in the eyes. “You can’t be serious right now…”

The corners of your mouth quirked up, and the mirth in your eyes made him both feel giddy and incredibly annoyed. 

“I’m dead serious, Lee Minho”, you told him, and Minho realised then that if he leaned in just the tiniest bit, he could definitely press his lips to yours, and for a second, he genuinely considered it.

If it had been just you and your droids, he certainly would’ve kissed you right then and there, but the presence of his friends behind him gave him pause. It wasn’t like Minho minded if they knew, it was that he wasn’t sure whether you would mind or not. But based on how things had gone between you two so far, he figured you would, so he took a deep breath, closing his eyes to avoid looking at your triumphant face.

“Please”.

“Please, what?”

His eyes snapped open, and there was nothing he wanted more in that moment than to wipe that glint of victory in your eyes. Regardless, Minho swallowed his pride, he was in no position to try his luck.

“Please, captain”.

You smiled, clearly satisfied. With what Minho figured was a press of a button on his cuffs, the thing unravelled from his wrists, finally letting him move freely.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” You tapped his chest, and Minho had to bite his tongue. Oh, he was so getting his payback for this.

Before he could say anything, you spoke again. “You guys can stay here today if you want. There’s plenty of rations for all of us, including the few other living people on this ship, but I’m afraid there’s only one spare room conditioned for people to stay in besides the crew’s”.

“We’ll stay”, Minho rubbed his wrists, trying to ease some of the ache caused by his restraints.

The room provided to them was big enough, with a bunk bed embedded on one of the walls, and another on the other. Very sterile looking, nothing in particular stood out, it was just like any other room Minho had seen on a spaceship of this size. The biggest add-on was the adjacent washroom, which the three of them immediately rejoiced at when they noticed it.

No one ever spoke about it, but depending on the ships you travelled in throughout the galaxy, a washroom could be considered a luxury, so the prospect of a good shower and a fresh change of clothes was certainly appealing. Minho let his younger crewmates take the spot first, since he was sure both Hyunjin and Felix were dying to feel clean again.

As he waited for them to come out, slouching on one of the chairs in the room, Minho’s mind couldn’t help but wander. He’d never imagined he’d be here, in your ship, with any of his friends. He’d hoped that maybe one day, if things worked out, he could introduce you to them in a less… Contained fashion. But things never seemed to go as he expected whenever it came to whatever it was that was lingering between you two.

As soon as his friends were ready, Minho immediately rushed to the washroom. He took his time just washing off all the grime and gunk that had stuck to him during their almost never-ending travels the past handful of days, so truly, he was immensely grateful for that shower. 

“Do you think she’ll help?” Felix asked from where he was laying on the top bunk as soon as Minho came out of the washroom.

“Honestly?” Minho rubbed a towel on his head, trying to get his hair as dry as possible. “I really have no idea”.

Hyunjin eyed him for a moment, leaning back on his hands from where he sat on the bottom bunk. “You sure? You seem to be awfully close with the captain of this ship”.

“I mean, I wouldn’t say awfully close”, Minho was great at lying and deception, but even to him that statement sounded incredibly disingenuous. “We… Know each other”.

“You know each other? Or you know each other?” Felix wiggled his eyebrows at Minho, just as the older man was sitting on the bottom bunk of the other bunk bed.

“If you ask me, I’d like to think she’d do it. But this is very different from any favour I’ve ever asked. More dangerous… So who knows”, Minho decided to completely brush off the curious eyes, and even more curious questions of his crewmates. Explaining his connection to you was something he’d rather not speak about, not now at least.

Felix looked like he was going to say something, something incredibly annoying. So Minho decided to abruptly stand up from his bed and intercept him. “Anyway, I’m going for a snack”.

“A snack?” Hyunjin asked once Minho walked past him. “Is that how we’re calling the cap–”

Before he could even attempt to finish his sentence, Minho took the towel he had draped over his shoulders and swiftly snapped it in Hyunjin’s direction, hitting him in the arm.

“Ow! Unnecessary!” Hyunjin rubbed his upper arm, pouting.

Minho simply offered him a ‘deserved’ before he walked out the door.

Minho did intend on finding something to snack on before bed, but he would lie if he said he wasn’t keeping his eyes open in case he spotted you. All he’d seen so far was the odd droid going about their business, and a couple of crew members who greeted him as usual.

“Who gave you permission to wander the corridors of my ship?” 

Minho’s skeleton almost jumped out of skin at the sudden voice speaking to him. As soon as that initial shock passed he knew it was you, how could he not know when the sound of your voice was already ingrained in every crevice of his brain? So he decided to put up his best smug façade once again, ignoring the way his heart started to thump in his chest just at the sound of your voice.

“You did, captain. If my memory serves me right”.

You just scoffed in response, and started to walk towards him. Once you stood in front of him, you crossed your arms over your chest, and simply looked at him with a frown on your face.

For a moment, Minho didn’t say anything, just like you didn’t either. Your gaze was stern, guarded, just like it usually was whenever you were into your Captain Mode. After all, you spent most of your time around your crew, leading them, planning morally questionable arrangements to get work going, so it was no surprise to him that you looked at him like this.

However, after a few more moments of silence, the frown on your face turned to one of concern, and, honestly, Minho would lie if he said he didn’t like it when you worried about him. Because he knew that was what was going through your mind right now, worry.

“Is there anything I can say or do to get you to not do this?” 

Minho gave you a smile, a genuine one, the ones he reserved mostly for you, and for moments like these. “No”.

You sighed. “For a pirate, you sure have a lot of morals, don’t you?”

“Being a contradiction is my favourite pastime, baby, you know that”, he registered the pet name falling from his lips a second too late. There was nothing he could do about it, it was like his brain would automatically shift into Smitten Mode whenever you two were on your own. If you were displeased by it, you didn’t show it or say anything about it. “I must say, I find it rather cute that you’re worrying about me that much”.

You scoffed at that, rolling your eyes. “Of course I worry about you. Unfortunately, you’ve got this horrible habit of risking your life, and since I’ve got the horrible habit of caring about you, it’s only natural that I worry”. 

Had you no regard for his weak heart? How could you tell him you cared about him so nonchalantly? And while you were scolding him at that? He wanted to say something back, to bicker a bit more, but his body seemed to not agree with that logic, because it decided that the best reaction would be to rush blood to his ears and his chest, making him flush.

So, to counterattack, Minho simply did what he did best, to display his affection through his actions instead of his words. Cradling your face in his hands, he dragged his thumbs over your cheeks, and as he stared into your eyes he could see all your walls crumble, just like they always did in situations like these. ‘Cute’, was the last word to leave his mouth before he pressed his lips to yours.

Warmth spread quickly inside of him, the tiny whine that escaped your mouth as soon as your lips connected ignited in him all those feelings he usually tried to ignore, and the way you kissed him, with as much desperation as he felt, had blood rushing to his length immediately. Minho couldn’t help it, it was instinctual at this point, to get hard when you so much as touched him–even if that touch was only your lips on his, your hands grabbing his top, and your tongue inside his mouth.

Before he knew it, he had moved, walking forward and pressing you against the cold metal walls of your ship. His hands finally left your face to hold your waist instead, and you took it as an opportunity to loop your arms around his neck, burying one of your hands in his hair and tugging gently.

“Missed you”, Minho mumbled against your lips as he slotted one of his legs between your own, pressing his thigh right against your core. He wasn’t ashamed or bashful of the words that came out of his mouth, he was way past that point, he’d decided long ago that sometimes–especially after long periods of time apart–telling you how he felt was better than having to bottle it all up.

“Missed you, too”, you mumbled back, bringing one of your legs to wrap around his hip, pulling him close, kissing him deeply right after. You, clearly, had also decided to let go of those inhibitions as well.

Moving his hand from your waist to your bum, he groped the flesh over your bottoms, just as he detached himself from your mouth to sparsely press kisses on your neck, right in the areas he knew you were the most sensitive, making you whimper. “Can’t believe you made me fucking beg to get me out of the handcuffs”.

“Wouldn’t have been the first time”, you replied with a strained chuckle, digging your heel on the back of his thigh, enticing him. It was certainly working. “Probably won’t be the last, either”.

“You minx”, Minho chuckled, returning his lips to yours, pushing his tongue inside your mouth, taking a hold of your thigh and squeezing it.

Your heavy breathing, the warmth emanating from your body that immediately seeped into him, kindling the fire that burnt bright inside of him, that fire that didn’t seem to die regardless of how much time passed, all combined had Minho’s head spinning, had him growing impossibly hard. He needed you just as much as he needed oxygen in his lungs, and for a brief second he considered taking you right there, right in the middle of the corridor, uncaring of who could walk by and see you two.

As usual, though, you brought some sense into him, tugging hard on his hair to get him to detach his mouth from yours, mumbling a breathless ‘wanna head to my cabin?’ to which Minho simply replied an overly confident ‘thought you’d never ask’. So, as soon as he separated himself from your body you took his hand in yours, pulling him along the corridor, following the familiar path to your sleeping quarters.

There had always been this thing about your room that gave Minho an immense amount of peace. He wasn’t sure if it was the infuser you seemed to have on at all times, the one that filled your room with whichever relaxing essential oil you’d gotten your hands on during your travels, or if it was the clear signs that this was your living space–the seemingly permanent heap of clothes on the chair next to your bed, the journal you kept on your desk, the huge, old-fashioned map of the galaxy taped to the wall… It was all so incredibly you, it made him feel completely enveloped by your presence, it comforted him, really.

His favourite part of your room, though, was your bed. Incredibly comfortable, with just the right amount of firmness to it, saturated in the smell of you. And maybe later, Minho would be able to bury his face in your pillow, to try and etch your essence into his memory to get him through the hard days to come. 

Right now, as your clothes and his landed on the already existing pile of clothes on your chair, he could hardly think about any of that. The feeling of your bare skin against his was more than enough to drown him in the moment. Every sigh, moan, whine that came out of your mouth whenever his lips touched your skin, the warmth of your body under him, it all let him ignore the world out of this room, out of this ship, let him focus on only you and him and the deep desire that was burning bright inside of him.

Between your hands roaming his back, the desperate way you clung to him, kissing him so hungrily he could barely breathe, Minho knew it was only a matter of time until you talked, or until he talked. He always wondered who would be the first one to ask that burning question that always hung in the air, most of the time it was him, but on odd occasions, you’d cave, and he was always ready to answer when you did.

“Have you been with other people since the last time we saw each other?”

There it was. You beat him to it this time, but, honestly, it really didn’t matter who asked it. To him, regardless of who broke the question first, it never made the entire thing any less absurd.

“Other people?” He propped himself on one hand to get a better view of you, dragging the other hand all the way from your shoulder to your centre, feeling your heated skin under his palm. His fingers teased your folds, spreading your essence all over, getting his fingers drenched. Gods, you were so wet for him already, and you’d barely even started. 

Minho was impatient. He always was the first time he got you under him like this after a long time. He wanted you, he wanted to see you squirming and writhing under his touch, so he wasted no more time, easing his ring and middle finger into your dripping heat. A quiet moan flew past your lips as soon as he was buried to the knuckle, gripping the bed sheets near your head once he started slowly thrusting his fingers in and out, letting you get used to the intrusion. 

“There’s been no one else. No one could ever remotely compare”, he emphasised his words with a hard nudge on your sweet spot, and a tug on your nipple, eliciting a moan from your lips. “There’s been flirting, I’ll give you that. Knowingly and unknowingly. More often than not to get ourselves out of tricky situations, you know how it is… But physically? Emotionally? I haven’t wanted anyone else since the first time I buried my head between your legs and got you to moan so sweetly for me, sweetheart”.

“Minho, my darling…” Your voice was airy, your face flushed, and quiet moans continued to spill from your lips as he picked up his rhythm, prepping you, moving his fingers against all those areas inside of you he seemed to have committed to memory throughout the years, the ones that would labour your breath and get you to moan a bit louder the longer he worked you up. 

Minho dipped, finding your mouth and kissing you with force, with need. Because all this time, all he’d ever needed was you, he always did. Every day, even when he decided to ignore it. 

You held onto his forearm, lightly digging your nails on his flesh, but he didn’t mind. If anything, it reminded him of the fact that he was here, with you, making you feel good, getting to enjoy you once more.

“What about you?” Minho said once he disconnected his mouth from yours for air, leaving a trail of kisses from your cheek to your neck.

He wanted to know. He wouldn’t judge you, you were free to do as you pleased, after all. That was how it worked between you two, although ‘worked’ could be considered a very loose term here. “Has anyone taken care of you these past handful of months?”

You shook your head, inhaling sharply when Minho continued his descent down your torso, attaching his mouth to your chest as his fingers kept going in and out of you, as he kept stimulating that area within your walls that he knew would get you to lose your train of thought.

Of course you hadn’t had sex with anyone else. You never did. You hadn’t in years, just like Minho hadn’t, either.

“I only–Oh!” Your words cut off, replaced by a breathy moan once Minho’s lips found one of your nipples and sucked it into his mouth to flick it with his tongue. He could feel you clenching hard around his fingers, and it almost made him dizzy with how hard it was getting him. 

You swallowed, audibly. Your fingers tangled in Minho’s hair, tugging at it as he kept working you up. With his fingers, with his mouth, with his tongue… He loved to coax the most delicious sounds out of your lip, but he wanted to know. He needed to know. So he let go of your nipple, finding your burning gaze as soon as he looked at your face. 

“I haven’t”, you whined, just as you sneaked a hand down your body, finding your clit to draw circles on it. “You are the only person I ever want. I’ve been cursed since the very first day I met you…”

The bead of precum that had been slowly growing on the tip of his cock fell onto the bed once your words registered in his brain. And Minho realised then that he, too, had been cursed since the very first day he met you. Cursed to be in love with you for the rest of his days, cursed to have to ignore that fact and live in this arrangement you two had conjured.

Leaning in, he captured your lips again, and the whimper that came out of your mouth as soon as he started to kiss you was enough for him to know just how true it all was.

“Go faster”, Minho mumbled against your lips between kisses, picking up the pace of his fingers. “C’mon, baby, I know you’re close. Rub your precious little clit faster. I need you to come on my fingers”. 

“But…” You started to protest, but you sped up your motions anyway, squirming, whining. “It’s too soon”. 

“Doesn’t matter”, Minho kept flicking his fingers against your sweet spot, just as you kept pleasuring yourself. “I’ll get you to come again later. We’ve got all night. Please, love…”

He returned his mouth to your nipple, suckling and licking the hardened bud. You were swearing a lot, writhing a lot, and as soon as the most desperate ‘close…’ fell from your lips, he trapped your nipple between his teeth, nibbling softly on the sensitive flesh. Your whole body shook with your release, and your moans mingled with his own groans of satisfaction. He revelled in the way your walls clamped around his fingers, in the squelching sounds produced by the movement of his fingers going in and out of your heat. 

Minho let go of your nipple, already knowing it’d be too much for you after your high. Your hand on your clit stopped, but you kept your fingers there, applying pressure to prolong your release just as he kept slowly stimulating your walls.

“Fuck…” You finally moved your hand away from between your legs, and your body slumped on the bed, a clear signal that your high was over. 

Pulling his fingers from your core, he slid them up to tease your sensitive clit for a second, chuckling at the jolt of your body with the contact. You looked so absolutely stunning like this. Flushed, panting, almost glowing. 

Holding your gaze, he brought his fingers to his mouth, savouring your taste as he licked them clean. You swallowed, and Minho removed his fingers from his mouth, only to bring them to yours. “Open up, sweetheart”. 

And you did. Letting him ease his fingers inside your mouth. Your lips wrapped around his digits oh, so perfectly, and your tongue lapped him up just as your eyes closed and your brows pulled together with a muffled moan. “Look at you… Always eager to give a good suck”. 

You hummed, nodding. 

“Most beautiful girl in the galaxy”, he couldn’t help but say as he looked at you eagerly sucking on his fingers, as he felt your tongue lick his digits. 

When he removed his fingers from your mouth, he finally leaned in, pressing a brief kiss to your forehead, and moving to connect your mouths once again right after. He hugged you close, laying on top of you and covering you with as much of his body as he could, enjoying your warmth.

Minho finally let you take a breather, removing his mouth from yours to instead press kisses on your collarbone. You sighed, content, and the way you massaged his scalp as you held him close had heat spreading in his chest and face, probably making him blush like a fool.

“Fuck, I haven’t come that hard in months…” you mumbled, still slightly breathless. Minho chuckled, resting his weight on one elbow to look at your face, smiling softly at you. 

“And we’re only just getting started, hm?” Minho kissed you briefly, pulling away from you when he felt your hand wrap around his length, stroking him leisurely. “Nuh-uh. None of that”, he tugged your hand away from his cock, eliciting a pout in response.

“You don’t want me to touch you?”

“Oh, baby…” Minho stretched his arm, blindly reaching for the knob of the drawer of your nightstand. “Want you to touch me so much”, he blindly rummaged through it, quickly finding the box of condoms he knew you kept there. “But I want you so fucking bad right now. Need to be inside you now or I’ll combust”. 

You chuckled against his lips when he leaned in to press a quick peck on your lips. Pulling himself from you for a moment, he focused on the box in his hand, dumping the contents on the bed by your head and grabbing a single packet.

There were still as many as he had seen last time he was here with you. 

Minho quickly tore the foil packet open and slid the condom on his length, giving himself a couple of tentative pumps to make sure it was all secure. Lining himself with your entrance, he teased you for a moment, lost in your lustful gaze and the way you bit your lip in anticipation, lost in the burning desire inside of him. 

He couldn’t help but kiss you again, right as he started to ease his cock between your walls. You moaned, holding him tightly, kissing him desperately. Minho simply grunted, and he started to feel lightheaded just by your warmth around him. You were so intoxicating, and the feeling of you around him was so familiar, and even a bit comforting. As he slid centimetre after centimetre within your core, he was reminded of why he was here.

Because you were warm. 

Because you were home.

Once he bottomed out, he propped himself up to look at your face. One of your hands came to rest on his cheek, and your thumb softly caressed his skin. Minho turned his head a bit, just enough to kiss your palm as he started to move. The feel of you around him, warm, tight, wet, made him close his eyes, made him quietly moan as he enjoyed the onslaught of sensations coursing through him.

Your legs wrapped around his waist, and your heel dug on his ass, trying to get him closer to you. 

“Harder”, was all you mumbled, and it made him chuckle and open his eyes. 

“I’m trying to be careful and you want me to go harder?” Minho kept his rhythm slow, almost teasing you.

“Who’s asking you to be careful?” You pressed your lips to his neck, once again making him flush–although at this point he wasn’t sure if the flush had diminished at all since he came into this room. “It’s been too long, darling. Six months, three weeks, and two days, to be exact. I missed you, and all I want is for you to fucking ruin me, Minho”.

“Shit, what am I gonna do with you…” 

Pulling himself away from your embrace, he sat straighter, throwing one of your legs over his shoulder and starting a brutal pace right then and there. The moan of surprise that came out of your mouth as soon as he started moving fueled him, it almost made him lightheaded, making him completely forget where you two were, not caring if people heard you at all.

Minho wasn’t sure where to focus; on your tits bouncing with every single one of his thrusts, on the way your face scrunched up in bliss, on the absolutely divine feeling of you wrapped so snugly around him… All combined had sparks of pleasure racing up and down his spine, had his head spinning.

“Is this what you wanted?” With a tight grip on your thigh, keeping your leg flush to him, making sure to hit that area within your walls that would make you produce all those sounds he wanted to hear. 

You nodded, swallowing as you brought a hand to his abdomen, sinking your nails into his flesh. The sting made him grunt, made him throw his head back and snap his hips just a tad faster.

“Look at me”, you mumbled, somehow both commanding and breathless, dragging your nails down his abdomen. As soon as Minho complied, your lascivious gaze almost made him burst. Eye contact was a thing that you always enjoyed, but he wasn’t too sure he’d be able to stand it for long, not at this moment at least. The way you looked at him always made him want to blow, especially so after months of no physical contact.

Minho just chuckled, finding your breast with his free hand to knead the flesh and pinch and roll your nipple between his fingers, eliciting a strained moan from you, making you bite your lip to keep your volume in check. “Are you trying to make me blow?”

As soon as the question came out of his mouth, he felt you clench around him, and he couldn’t help but groan at the sensation. He knew you were doing it on purpose, you always liked to work him up, get him to lose his sanity with the simplest things, and he always fell for it, because it was just so good. “What if I am?”

“You sound… Way too self-assured for someone who’s… Borderline gasping for air, you know?” 

The laugh that had started to bubble over from you got caught in your throat, replaced by a string of swear words as Minho moved his hand from your breast to your mound and pressed his thumb on your clit. He might’ve been struggling, but he was determined to get you to struggle as well.

You swallowed, licking your lips as you clearly tried to pull yourself together enough to bicker with him. “But you like it, huh?” 

“I fucking do, shit…” He just sped up his fingers, trying to get you to your peak as fast as possible.

Minho really couldn’t tell how much time passed of him pounding into you, rubbing your clit and tugging on your nipples, and he honestly didn’t care, either. This was always the best part, getting to lose himself in the moment, pleasuring you and getting pleasure of his own just by the feel of you there, under him, around him.

Every time you spoke, it brought him increasingly closer to the edge, your ‘just like that, baby’, and your frequent and almost incomprehensible ‘so fucking good’ simultaneously going to his head and his cock, fueling him even further. When you finally came, he couldn’t hold back the groans that came out of his mouth in tandem with your moans. The feeling of you clenching so tightly around him sent a shiver down his spine, and before he knew it, he was leaning into you, kissing you deeply, messily as he chased his own release.

You held him tightly, tiny squeals muffling against his lips as he kept his relentless pace. The sudden sting of your nails trailing down his back was the final push he needed. Minho saw white for a brief moment, groaning and grunting and maybe even moaning at the feel of your teeth sinking on his bottom lip, at the feel of your hands on his back, and your hips flush to his as he filled the condom inside of you–the only physical barrier between his body and yours.

All that pent up tension he’d been harbouring for months and months seemed to quickly evaporate from his muscles as he melted into you, into your kiss and your tight hug. His ears were ringing a bit, but he didn’t mind. All he could care about was the fact that you were right there, pressed completely against him.

After he left one more kiss on your lips, he pulled back just enough to look at you. You smiled at him, a genuine smile that had his heart skipping every other beat inside his ribcage. He returned the gesture, just as you brought your hand to push his now soaked fringe away from his forehead, pulling him down to press a kiss right there, making him chuckle in disbelief.

Once he pulled himself away from you completely, he carefully slid the condom off of his length, tying a knot to make sure nothing spilled out. Taking the discarded foil packed, he placed it on your nightstand and laid the condom on top of it to dispose of later. 

As he laid back down, he simply looked at you. You had that look in your eyes, the one you hardly ever showed to the people around you… Vulnerability. Minho always saw it after you two had sex, and he knew that under that vulnerability there was something, many unsaid words that you wouldn’t dare say out loud to him. 

“Marry me”, Minho broke the silence, and you huffed an incredulous chuckle.

“Aren’t you tired of asking me to marry you?” 

“Are you tired of me asking you to marry me?”

You went silent for a moment, just looking into his eyes. Minho didn’t really need you to respond, he knew what the answer was. 

“No, I’m not”, you replied simply, exactly what he knew you would say. “How would we even make a marriage work? We can’t even make a relationship work, Lee Minho”. 

“We’ve never tried”. 

It was true. Although the connection he shared with you was laps more than physical, you’d never entertained the possibility of a relationship. You hadn’t let him try, and he hadn’t been persistent–sure, he asked you to marry him every other encounter you had, but he never really pushed it. Because he knew it was a complex situation, him being an outlaw, a pirate, a rebel, and you being a smuggler, both probably with hefty bounties on your heads.

“Do you want to try?” you sounded genuinely incredulous, almost as if you had just realised that he was being genuine about it.

Minho propped his head on his elbow, just looking at you. And then it dawned on him. “You’ve never thought I was being serious when I asked you to marry me before, have you?”

You opened and closed your mouth a few times, but ultimately, you shook your head, and he couldn’t help but scoff, dropping his head back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. 

“Well, I have been. Every time”.

“But why?” Your voice was barely a whisper, and when he turned to look at you his heart clenched just by seeing tears collect in your eyes. You didn’t let them fall, though.

“Because I love you”, Minho replied simply. “You’re clever, fun, one of the bravest people I’ve ever met, you’ve saved my life numerous times. Whenever I’m with you I feel at peace, and when I’m not, I worry about you, about your health, or I wonder if you’re out there getting yourself in trouble and I’m not there to help… I’ve just… Been in love with you for years, and I can’t keep on going pretending that I’m not. That I’m okay leaving your bed or an inn or you leaving my ship as if I don’t want you to stay”.

Minho could feel the lump in his throat, the way his voice shook slightly, but he didn’t care. He needed to let those thoughts out now, otherwise he wasn’t sure how long it would be until he got this boost of courage again. He honestly hadn’t even realised how much he’d been hurting with this until the words came out of his mouth. He’d spent years pretending this arrangement was fine. It clearly wasn’t. At least not anymore.

You went quiet for a while. A long while. Minho was honestly starting to second-guess ever opening his mouth, and it was just as he was about to stand up from that bed that you finally moved, wrapping one of your arms around his waist and burying your face in his chest.

“I hadn’t thought… I didn’t think…” You were rambling, your voice was muffling against his skin, it was hard to understand anything you were saying with the verbiage that was coming out of your mouth

“Hey… It’s okay”, Minho dragged his hands up and down your spine, hugging you even tighter against him, effectively stopping your ramble. “Breathe…”

You took a deep breath, draping your leg over his hips and pulling him even closer to you, which did ease his worries a bit–at least you weren’t kicking him out of your bed just yet.

“You smell nice…” You mumbled suddenly, rubbing your face on his chest. It immediately made his heart race and his chest flush. Minho wanted to say something, but honestly, the words were stuck in his throat, suddenly feeling bashful, as if he wasn’t naked on your bed after having sex with you.

When you finally pulled away from his chest, you looked him in the eyes, looking incredibly vulnerable. Minho simply brought a hand to your cheek, feeling your heated skin under his palm as his thumb moved back and forth.

“Minho… Every time you go, every time I leave, my heart just hurts so much. And I honestly don’t know how to deal with it. With my feelings, or how we could even make this work”.

“I’m sure we can figure something out… Maybe not today, maybe not even this week, but I’m sure we can”.

You closed your eyes then, heaving a sigh. “You know this isn’t gonna be easy, right?”

“I’m aware”, Minho’s lips quirked up a bit, suddenly amused by your choice of words, and he couldn’t help but bring even more clarity to it. “It hasn’t been easy until now, either, has it?” You gave him a smile as well, opening your eyes again. “I’m willing to take my chances. I… Really want to try”.

Your gaze flickered between his eyes for a bit, and then you were leaning in, pressing a tender, brief kiss on his lips. 

“I want that, too”, you whispered, pecking his lips once again, murmuring the most tender ‘I love you’ as you hugged him even tighter, making Minho go impossibly redder, making his heart beat so fast he thought it would leap out of his chest. “If you don’t come back alive from your insane borderline suicide mission, I’ll personally go to the afterlife and kill you again”.

Minho chuckled, pecking your lips. “If you help me then you can make sure I don’t die at all, sweetheart”.

“Huh, so that’s why you’re here now professing your love to me? Trying to seduce me into helping you fulfil your pirate affairs?” Pushing him to lay on his back, you got on top of him, kissing him time and time again. His heart felt as if it was ready to burst, and for a brief moment, it was almost as if everything was okay. As if everything would be fine.

“Need I remind you you brought me into this room yourself?” With a hand on your bum and the other on the back of your neck, Minho simply kept kissing you, uncaring of anything happening outside of these walls. 

“Don’t change the topic”.

“Is it working, though? Am I successfully seducing you?”

You scoffed at that, pressing one loud, final kiss on his lips before you shuffled around, sitting on him, straddling his hips, and placing your hands on his chest. “Of course I’m gonna fucking help you, Lee Minho. But not because you’ve got the best stroke game I’ve ever experienced, but because I stupidly believe in your cause”.

“Gods… Keep inflating my ego, please”, Minho couldn’t help but groan. His hands immediately found your hips, kneading the soft flesh there. “I just love it when you do”.

“I know you do”, you grinned, dragging one of your hands all over his flushed chest, up his neck, finally settling it on his cheek.

Minho caught your hand in his, keeping it in place as he turned to press a kiss to your palm. Your gaze shifted then, that playful glint you usually had when you teased him replaced by something else, something akin to love, maybe even hope. And in that moment, he seriously believed everything would be okay. That he’d be able to save his friends, free the slaves, and make it out alive. That he’d finally get to truly be by your side.

Tagging: @raspbinniecreme · @staaa96 · @oiminho · @tasteleeknow · @biribarabiribbaem · @dearalice · @alexis-reads-fics · @xcookiemonsteer · @knowleeknow · @chanlovesme · @liminaldaydream · @sstarryreads · @svngiem · @notastraykid · @princelingperfect · @aestheticsluut · @skzhomiehopper users in purple can’t be tagged. If you want to be removed (or if i tagged you incorrectly) from the list just PM me. If you want to be added fill in this form~

© therhythmafterthesummer 2023. all rights reserved. do not repost or translate my stories.

Constructive feedback (or even keysmashes, really) is always welcome :)

[king-paimon]

Houseki no Kuni Chapter 105 Thoughts:

Hello everyone. I hope you have all been well, considering the hectic and honestly devastating month this has been for many people across the world. It's sad how awful real life can be. I'm so sorry to everyone who is affected directly and indirectly. Though words can only do so much, I sincerely hope things get better for you all.

Now then... regarding this chapter.

This was definitely a spectacle. So much happened and though we had an idea of where the chapter was going to go because of the last pages from the previous chapter, it still managed to catch me off guard. I don't think anyone saw a literal "deus ex machina" ship to appear, but at the same time... of course that would happen. Ms. Ichikawa loves pulling stunts like this. Whether it's good or not is up for debate. More on this later.

But the one thought that came to mind after reading this chapter was: "Finally." We are truly now in the final stretch of Phos's story, and I couldn't be more happier for them... BUT that feeling got muddied when I saw the bottom of the final page.

Another hiatus.

Sigh. I'll also touch on this in this post. But for now, I'll share my thoughts on this chapter with you. These posts always end up being longer than first intended so sorry in advance! As always, please feel free to share what you think on here too!

(Just so you know, I was extremely tired when I wrote this so it may be convoluted in some areas. I'll likely tidy it up later after I get some proper rest. Hope you enjoy it regardless!)

The Deus Ex Machina Ship: Why??

Was anyone else surprised that the object Brother Eyeball was carrying was a piece of Lunarian technology, that seems to only activate under the extreme heat of a sun that's about to consume the planet? I certainly didn't see it coming at all and I don't know how to feel about it at the moment.

Based on everything up until this point and Phos's comments here, it's evidently clear that Aechmea planted it there for this specific occasion. My question is why? Why did Aechmea bother in leaving this for Phos?

Perhaps Aechmea hoped Phos would take the new remnants of humanity and create a new society once again on a new planet, sort of like what Adamant did for the Lustrous. Maybe this was some twisted/backhanded way of thanking Phos and giving them another second chance of surviving? I don't know, but if it's the Lunarians' weird way of trying to save Phos, it's kind of pointless. Like Phos said, running to another planet would only be a temporary solution since everything was going to be consumed by the dying stars eventually. Even though the little rocks and Eyeball still take the ship in the end just to survive a little longer, I don't really see the point of it either.

(Edit: Made small change here and included the page that I forgot to add.)

The only reason I can come up with for this ship to being there is that Aechmea knew of another place in space that wouldn't be affected by the dying suns and he wanted Phos and their new remnants of humanity to go there. But I honestly I believe that theory fully, so I don't know.

What do you guys think? Is there a reason why the lotus flower ship was intentionally left behind, other than Ms. Haruko just wanting a reason for Phos to be along again? To me, the only thing that was clear was that this ship was left for Phos and whoever else was with them that would only activate when the planet was going to be destroyed.

But this leads me to my next questions and segment...

Burning the Bridge: Phos's Final Actions

Unlike the lotus ship, Phos's actions in this chapter did not come as a surprise to me. Phos had long accepted that they were ready to finally disappear. And before the ship, it looked like the other beings were fine with it as well.

It was only when the ship appeared that the others expressed their desire to exist just a little longer, which completely understandable and I don't fault them for feeling this way.

It's touching and sad how Phos made sure that all those beings, including the final pebble that was introduced in this chapter, made it onto the ship so they could escape while Phos choose to stay behind. More on that in the next segment.

But back to Phos and their final decision to stay behind. So, we know that the ship was intentionally left for Phos by Aechmea and the Lunarians. And though it was used in the end, Phos chose to stay. Now my question is... was Phos's final decision to stay on the planet still part of Aechmea's plan, or was it part of the Professor's plan?

I've hypothesized in an older post that I thought that while Aechmea was a frightfully powerful being who was able to predict Phos's actions and successfully manipulate them, he wasn't truly omnipresent nor omnipotent since he couldn't predict everything and there were individuals that were not totally under his control.

I want to believe that Phos's final actions fall into that category. Part of me really wants to believe that Phos not getting on the ship was a final middle finger from the Professor through Adamant to Aechmea and everything he stood for.

But then again... this could have been an outcome Aechmea expected, too. It's honestly hard to say how much of everything that had happened was still going according to Aechmea's grand plan since it wasn't made clear if Aechmea knew of this memory of the professor that Adamant held onto.

Sorry for the ramble. I'll just say that unless I'm told otherwise, I'll believe that Phos's final actions was their final act of defiance towards Aechmea, in the name of the Professor.

I can only hope that Phos will finally be at piece once that bridge is burnt to the ground.

So, now that it seems like Phos's story is going to end, albeit in several months... there are still some elements in this story that have not yet been resolved. But after re-reading this chapter, I have a theory for one of them.

The Identity of The Last Passenger of the Lotus Ship (my silly theory)

This is a silly theory I came up with to try to explain one of the last mysteries of this story. It's been proven untrue, but I still want to keep it here because I still like it and had fun coming up with it!

One plot point that many others have brought up before, that I've admittedly forgotten over and over again, are the Ice Floes. These mysterious creatures played a unique role in the beginning but had quickly lost their relevancy in the story.

Now that the planet is about to be destroyed, it seems the Ice Floes will forever lose their significance in this story, though they hadn't been relevant in a long while. Well... I have a theory and it relates to the last member of Phos's little pebble family.

In this chapter, Ms. Ichikawa made it a point to have Phos collect this one last pebble and put on the ship. Though all of the pebble beings are unique to one another, this one is the most different from all of them. For one, it's significantly smaller than the other pebbles, almost the size of a grain of rice. And unlike the others, it hasn't spoken once, though Phos could sense its very faint presence, so it is sentient to a degree.

With all of this in mind, I couldn't help but wonder why Ms. Ichikawa included this in the story now? Why did she make pages dedicated to Phos collecting this pebble right when the planet is about to die? She had to have done it for a reason, but why? Why is this teeny pebble important?

Well, here's my theory: This teeny tiny pebble is what's left of the Ice Floes.

I came up with this theory based on a few things.

My first clue is the location where it was found. Judging from the details in these pages, this tiny pebble was in the middle of a dried up ocean.

The second is the type of rock I think it is. Ms. Ichikawa incorporated a lot of rock and mineral information in this story for her characters. I'm not sure if that's the case in this instance, but please allow me to indulge in my rock nerd side for a bit. I strongly believe it is a sedimentary rock. Sedimentary rocks are formed when bits of pre-existing rocks, inorganic material, and/or bits of once organic life forms accumulate and gradually get compacted and cemented together. This type of rock is found everywhere, but especially in the ocean.

The third and most supportive piece of evidence was Phos's comments on page 16.

Phos recognizes that this pebble is similar to the other rock life forms AND it's consciousness had been there since the beginning of the earth, meaning it's much older than nearly everything on this planet, including Phos and Eyeball. To me, this cemented my theory.

Of course, this is just me guessing. And I'll admit, when I went to look up the Ice Floes again, the HnK wiki states that Eyeball and the Ice Floes are connected, so I could very much be wrong. It was still fun to theorize haha

Please tell me what you think!

Edit: Well, it looks like that theory was incorrect. Oh well! I still had fun coming up with it. Thank you @laloyoungblood for letting me know.

The End Is Near and Yet So Far...

I've said it many times before and I'll say it again: I can't wait to see how this story ends. And if the story is going to end at 108 chapters, I'd be so happy, and the ending of this chapter had me excited for the final climax of the story...

Until I saw the excerpt at the bottom of the page.

Houseki no Kuni won't be returning until the spring of 2024... And we just barely came back from the other hiatus...

Now don't get me wrong, waiting through hiatuses is nothing new for me and I'm glad more mangaka are trying to prioritize their health and happiness than trying to rush their stories because of a deadline.

But these hiatuses are a bit annoying, I'm not going to lie. If there's one thing I know I won't miss with this series, it's the many, many hiatuses Ms. Ichikawa had done.

I know it'll be okay in the end. There are more important things going on in my life now, so I know I won't dwell on it for much longer. But at the same time, I just want this story to finally cross the finish line. We're so close to the end, and yet the goal post is moved again.

I just want to see this story end soon. And I hope it'll be worth it.

Okay! That's all for now. Thank you to everyone who reads and responds to my posts. I love all your responses. I don't know how many of you will stick around when I stop doing these posts, but I'm honestly really grateful to you.

Hope the rest of the month goes well for you all! Stay safe out there.

[thetiredasthmatic]

The Twisted Fairytale [Welcome Home Fanfic]

Synopsis: Only one person could be Mx. Darling. And it was the time of year where suitors were chosen. But...how did they get here? And more importantly....how do they get out?

Au: Royalty Au (Also Human Au!)

Word Count: 1.5k (4 and a half pages!)

Warnings: Scopophobia, Stalking, excessive eye contact (it's wally so it's expect lol), obsession and devotion, kidnapping.

A/n: OH BOY DO I LOVE A GOOD TWISTED FAIRYTALE- I'll talk more at the end. Hope Ya enjoy!

edit: I may or may not be continuing this or not, it was kinda just a one off idea i had in my head. I'll probs be focusing on writing other stuff more and take a mini break from writing for welcome home! and I don't want to be disrespectful by continuing to write for this series! I hope you guys understand and stick around to see what else I have in store!

“Y/n! Y/n! You should go! What’s the worst that can happen?”

“I don't know, Ms. Joyful…”

Your boss, Ms. Julie Joyful huffed. You worked for the fashion designer in the west district of the kingdom of the Welcome, a beautiful and colorful land filled with amazing people.

Ms. Julie was bestfriend with the Prince of this land, so she was something of a royal advisor, so she got the scoop of when things were happening in the kingdom.

It just seems that today she found out that they are looking for a suitor for the Prince. She explained her reasoning for wanting you to do it, as she thinks you’d make great royalty and you’d be wonderful.

But you, a commoner from the farming district knew better. 

That and the prince creeped you out a bit…but you weren’t going to tell her that.

You hated it whenever you had to go to the castle with her. You always felt like you were being watched, judged, like someone was waiting on you to make everyone move...

Hell, besides that, you still were in shock how you managed to get this job working alongside Ms. Joyful, so you could only imagine what the competition for the Prince’s hand would be like.

“Well! Whether you like it or not! You’re going Y/n! I don’t want you to pass up this opportunity! Plus, Sally and Poppy recommended you too!”

You wanted to slowly disappear.

Like maybe you could go hop in the river.

Or you could ask Eddie Dear to ship you off to Alaska.

You wanted to be anywhere but here right now...

Ms. Sally was an amazing actor who over saw the entertainment district alongside Barnaby, the prince’s right hand. She was always coming to you so she could get more ideas for scripts or costume designs for her latest plays!

While You already knew Ms. Poppy was going to recommend you as well, she was like a mother type figure to you.

When you arrived in the farming district of Welcome, you had little to no memory of where you came from, just your name.

It was strange when you try to remember it, you remember being pulled somewhere and falling before you ended up falling face down in Ms. Poppy's garden.

She took you in and showed you the ropes when it came to farming, and the rest is history. She was the reason why you worked alongside Julie as she saw you had talent that shouldn't be wasted with farming.

You should have know they were gonna throw your name in the bunch.

You could only sigh in response.

“So when do I leave Ms. Julie?”

“Um..Now actually! Barnarby has been waiting on us this entire time!’

You whipped your head around an low and behold there stood the large, blue haired male with a big grin on his face. He gave a sheepish grin as Julie marched over to him, handing your bags to him.

“Come one! I’m gonna take you up there!”

“Y-yes..ma’am..”

You allowed yourself to be led by the two, your fate resting in their hands until you arrived at the castle. But you felt a burning sensation in the back of your head, almost as if your body was trying to tell you something.

Like it was trying to tell you that this was a bad idea…

—------------

When the three of you arrived, Julie walked through the halls of the Welcome Palace with you, entering the meeting room and passing a trio of other women.

They glared at you with filthy glances until they jumped at the shrill yell Julie let out.

“WALLLYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! I BROUGHT MY CANDIDATE CHOICE!!!”

It was silent for a bit after her yell before a Monotonous voice could be heard coming down the hall.

“Coming! You don’t have to yell Julie, I already knew you had arrived!”

That voice belonged to the prince, and you quickly joined the others as he rounded the corner. You felt like your breath had been taken away.

Prince Wally Darling, or Prince Darling as he so lovingly went by, is a beautiful man, glowing brown skin, pretty dark blue eyes, well done hair and a handsome face to seal the deal. 

He knew how attractive he was and he was not afraid to use it.

He then walked over to Julie, engaging in conversation with her, and you let out a sigh of relief.

Until she pointed at you.

You felt your body tense as his eyes followed Julie’s finger and you could’ve sworn when you made eye contact his pupils dilated a bit before returning to normal.

You wanted to go back to the time when you didn’t know he existed right about now.

Wally then tilted his head in confusion before turning to Julie. “I thought it was supposed to be seven, not five?” Wally asked and Julie giggled,

“Sally and Poppy chose Y/n as their choice too! She’s just that lovely!”

You could feel the other girls glare at you at Julies statement.

You wanted to roll your eyes and yell that they could have him, that you were forced to be here really.

BUt one other one looked at you with a sheepish look. 

You knew her from your time in the farming district, Her name was Viola Vibrato, a pretty dark skinned woman with pretty green hair and matching yellow-green eyes. She was your only friend in the entire kingdom besides Julie and Sally.

She was an amazing singer so it was weird to see her here.

And it appeared she didn't want to be here herself...

She seemed to look uncomfortable as well, and she quickly made her way over to you.

“Psst. Y/n can we talk real quick?”

“Yea, Sure!”

Viola then grabbed your hand and headed in the direction of what you could only assume were bedrooms. A pair of eyes following you as you were pulled along.

Turns out Viola was the first one to be brought to the palace for this little suitor selection, so she had a room in the Palace already. She hurriedly pulled you into the room before closing the door.

You took notice of how she was acting…She seemed a bit…

Paranoid.

“Vio…are you okay?..” You asked as you watched her check around the room.

It was liked she was looking to see if someone or anyone was listening in on you two. She checked every part of the room until she felt comfortable. 

When she finally stopped she grabbed your shoulders.

“Y/n. we need to get out of here.” 

You were shocked by her words and tilted your head in confusion, prompting her to continue on.

“We don’t belong here Y/n…”

“I mean of course we don’t were farmers in a royals-”

“No! There’s something off about this place! About the prince! Hell even about the advisors!”

You stared at her, reading the worried look on her face. 

“Don’t you find it strange that you don’t remember anything about your past life? That we woke up here in this sunshine and rainbows kingdom!?”

You then averted your gaze to the ground. She was right. Viola had explained how she had also woken up in the farming district, barely being able to remember a thing about where she came from until she started having these weird dreams.

Dreams of being chased down by something unknown yet all seeing..

The feeling of eyes just on her, even when she was out in the open she felt eyes on her. Or how she had met others who felt the same way that she did, but when they brought their feeling up, they disappeared as quick as they arrived in the kingdom.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that we of all people were chosen to be here? It’s like they’re setting us up for something…” Viola finished and you gave her a nod.

You had always thought this castle and the kingdom was a bit odd. 

You questioned how the district ran if people never paid for anything, or how the shops were able to keep their stock high, despite not charging a thing for their goods. Why did the kingdom only have one scientist and one mailman, or how did Wally even become prince?

“So what do we do, Vio?...we can’t just get up and leave!”

“We fake the funk until we can figure out what the hell is going on.” She answers quickly.

“We fake it until we can-”

A rapid knock cut Viola off followed by Barnaby’s voice.

“Umm, Ms. Viola, it is time for bed! I have to show Ms. Y/n to her room.”

Viola looked at you, before nodding and allowing you to leave out the room, the situation you already didn’t want to be in seems like it just got worse…

When you did reach your room and bid Barnaby goodnight, you still felt like eyes were on you. Though you knew you were alone in the room.

You sighed and decided to finally sleep it off, especially with the information that Viola had just told you. You snuggled up in your bed and hoped and prayed that nothing was coming to get you in your sleep…

—------

‘Y/n….Darling…

You slowly opened your eyes, only to find yourself in a dark void. You let out a shriek of fear as you realized there were eyes in the void. And said eyes were staring at you.

‘My….darling…you’re not leaving me are you..?’

You were frozen with fear as the eyes bore down on you.

‘You don’t get to leave…not after i did all this work to bring you here…’

With that phrase you quickly scrambled away, where you were running? You didn’t know but you just wanted to get the feeling of eyes off your back.

‘Don’t leave me! Where are you going!?’

You covered your ears, you felt like someone was watching you, that the voice you was hearing was in your head, so no matter how hard you try to block it out, You could hear it booming in your head.

All you could do is effortlessly run and hope that you would get away wake up

Wake up..

Wake up.

No matter what you do you need to WAKE UP-

You jolted away, only to be met with the black void of your room. You quickly reached over to turn on your lamp.

Suddenly, You didn’t feel like sleeping anymore….

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

"Do you like her?..."

......

"Yea...She's not like the others...she's the perfect piece.."

....

....

"Do you really think so? You think she'll become my Princess?.."

...

.........

"Okay. I can't let this one get away.."

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a/n: OKAYYYY I hope you all enjoyed! I do like to take time when working on these longer fics and I take great care whenever I'm developing a universe! So there will be small things that I may come back and change! But I hope you all enjoy!

Also Don't forgot to leave requests for me or if you just want to say hi and talk about other ideas! Don't be afraid to!

Till next time <3 Take care of yourselves and I love you all!