#every chance i’m given to be a good person i throw it away

[shockercoco]

No I’m Not

Austin Butler x reader

Warnings - 18+, smut, sub!austin, handjob, kind of public sex, slight edging

Word count - 3052

A/n - request: “Please can you write an Austin smut where he’s really possessive? Maybe you and him bump into one of your exes?” - i was supposed to write this as soon as i got the request 2 weeks ago, but my motivation went down hill im so sorry💀, anyways i hope you all enjoy :)

“It’s so hot out here,” you whine, fanning yourself with your hand.

A chuckle leaves Austin as he looks down at you through his sunglasses. “I asked you if you wanted to go inside, and you said no.”

“It’s too cold inside, i’m just going to want to come back outside to warm up,” you roll your eyes.

The two of you were at a house party hosted by one of Austin’s friends, and you were leaning against the railing in the backyard admiring the view of LA. The house was beautiful, and in your opinion had way too many rooms for a single man, but you don’t expect anything less given the fact that the guy was loaded. There isn’t even a door to the backyard, it’s just a giant open wall.

“I could shove you into the pool, that would help you cool off,” Austin jokes, 

“I dare you, see what happens,” you give him a warnings look and he just smirks. 

“I actually would like to see what would happen,” he says. He suddenly grabs you by the waist and pretends to push you into the pool. You let out a scream as you cling onto his shirt, thankful that the backyard was too crowded and loud for anyone to really care about the two of you.

“Keep playing around and you’re sleeping in the living room,” you tell him as you shove his chest, only partly joking.

Austin fake gasps, and just as he’s about to say something, he’s interrupted by one of his friends he had met while shooting his latest film. Austin has talked about him several times, but you’ve never actually met him until now.

“Austin! So good to see you,” the man smiles brightly as he brings Austin into a hug. Austin happily accepts it as he beams at the man in front of him, eyes bright. “Surprised you're here, y’know since you're a homebody and all.”

Austin smiles as he pulls away from the hug. “I have to leave the house sometimes and let everyone know I’m alive.”

The man laughs in return, and right as you’re starting to feel awkward from standing there, Austin speaks up and introduces his friend to you.

“Cal, this is my girlfriend,” Austin says proudly as he wraps an arm around your shoulders.

You thought Cal was going to offer you his hand to shake, but instead he leans in to give you a hug as well. You’re a little thrown off at first at his friendliness, but quickly recover as you hug him back.

“It’s so nice to finally meet the girl Austin wouldn’t stop telling everyone about every other day on set,” Cal tells you, pulling away and shooting Austin a smirk.

When Austin had left to shoot the film, the two of you had just started dating, and it was the first time he would be leaving you for that long9. The two of you made sure to talk as much as possible, and Austin being the person he is was happy to tell anyone who would listen about you. It was mainly Cal. 

Sometimes it wasn’t even on purpose. He would be in a conversation, and when something was said that reminded him of you, he said it.

Austin shakes his head as he looks down at you, his ears turn pink at Cal’s exaggeration, as he looks down at you. “He’s lying.”

“He’s right,” Cal glances at you before looking Austin in the eye with a straight face, “it was more like everyday.”

Austin pulls away from you to playfully give Cal a shove, causing Cal to throw his head back as he bursts into a fit of laughter. 

You shake your head in amusement as you watch the two of them fool around. Feeling like you should give them space and  a chance to talk and catch up, you decide to head inside for a drink. After informing Austin of your plans and giving Cal a quick ‘it was nice to meet you’, you turn around and maneuver your way through the crowd.

Right as you're about to walk inside, you bump into someone who was laughing with their back towards you. You stumble back, and you’re about to shoot the person a dirty look when they turn around to reveal your ex-boyfriend Ryan. Your expression quickly changes as you smile up at him in surprise.

He looks the same since you last saw him, the only difference is that he has gotten older.

“I’m so sorry about that, I wasn’t paying attention,” he apologizes as he brings you in for a hug, which you gladly accept. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here with Austin,” you gesture behind you to the two men, who already seem to have gotten into a deep conversation. “What are you doing here?”

“A friend invited me, and you know I can’t say no to being in a house like this,” Ryan motions with his hands as he gives you his signature smirk.

You both had been best friends for years before he decided to ask you out one day. Since you had known him for so long, and he really was a great guy, you agreed, leading to the two of you dating for a couple of years. The two of you had both moved closer to the city after getting similar jobs, and you even ended up being his roommate. 

When the relationship ended, it was on good terms and you guys wanted to stay friends, but of course there was that drift. There were no ill feelings towards him in your heart.

“Of course you can’t,” you tell him. He had always enjoyed driving through wealthy neighborhoods and would always tell you that one of those houses would be his one day.

“Where were you headed before I bumped into you?” he asks, his eyebrows drawing together.

“The bar, I need something cold to help me deal with this heat,” you answered.

“Still don’t like the heat, huh?” he smiles and you nod, mimicking his smile and letting a small laugh slip past your lips. Then he added, “how about I join you?”

“Why not,” you say with a shrug, and the two of you move the conversation inside. 

From behind you, Austin notices that  you didn’t enter the house right away. You appeared to be talking to someone, but he couldn’t quite see who it was due the constant movement of people in front of him. He could tell it was a man, though. 

He continues to listen to Cal updating him on what he has been up to since the two last saw each other, but he can’t help but glance over in your direction every once in a while. Austin hates the fact that he’s not giving Cal his full attention, but the only thing he could think about at the moment was you.

Finally, the few people that had been blocking his view moved, revealing the man you had been talking to – your ex. He freezes, his brow creasing and his eyes narrowing as he watches the two of you smiling at each other. 

It’s not like he hated Ryan because he never seemed to be a bad guy, it’s just the fact that he always seemed to show up somewhere you’re at.

He wasn’t jealous, that’s just not who he is.

“Aus?” he hears Cal say, bringing him back to reality.

“I’m sorry, man, I got distracted,” Austin admits.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Cal laughs and turns his head to try and see whatever Austin had been looking at. “What is it?”

“Her ex,” Austin tells him and Cal raises an eyebrow at him.

“Are you jealous, Butler?” Cal asks him as he bumps his shoulder into him.

“Of course not,” Austin’s jaw tenses for a second, his fingers fidgeting inside of his pockets, “I’m just not a fan of the guy, that’s all.”

Cal gives him another questioning look, still not believing him. “Any specific reason?” he asks, and Austin shoots him a glare. “What? I’m just asking because it looks a whole lot like jealousy to me.”

“I’m fine, I promise,” Austin rolls his eyes. Cal just snickers, deciding not to push him any further.

Meanwhile, you were standing by the bar with Ryan as you listened to him ramble on about what he’s been up to in life. You don’t mind, really, Ryan has always been like this – not in a douche-y way, he just loved to talk – and you don’t see him changing anytime soon. 

You both had gotten something to drink – Ryan's was alcohol and yours was not, given the fact you felt it was too hot to be drinking. Suddenly, you see Ryan’s eyes dart away from yours and he stops in the middle of his sentence. Your eyes narrow as you glance away to see what caught his attention, but you look back at him confused.

Ryan smiles once he sees your face. “There’s this girl I've been trying to go on a date with me for a week now, and she’s standing over there,” he explains as he nods his head in what you guess is the girl’s direction.

“And no luck?” you assume, and he nods.

“Yes, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up just yet,” he adds. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to take care of.”

You can’t help but laugh to yourself as you watch Ryan adjust his appearance as he walks away from you. Deciding you should use the bathroom before heading back out to Austin, you make your way deeper into the house and eventually find a bathroom to use.

While all this was happening, Austin had ended his conversation with Cal and entered the house in search of you. It doesn’t take him long to find you as he notices you leaving the bar and heading down one of the home’s many hallways.

As you’re washing your hands and checking your appearance in the mirror, you hear a knock on the bathroom door. Assuming it’s just some random stranger needing to relieve themself, you quickly speak up to say, “Just a second!”

“It’s me, open the door,” you hear, instantly recognizing the voice on the other side.

You dry your hands before opening the door to reveal Austin standing there looking right back at you. He simply brushes past you and enters, ignoring your curious look.

“Austin?” 

“Hmm?” he innocently asks as he leans against the bathroom counter.

“What are you doing here?” you question as you close the door behind him.

“You were taking a long time to come back outside, and I just wanted to check on you,” he shrugs.

“How did you know I was in here?” 

“I asked Ryan where you were and he pointed me out the direction he saw you going,” Austin lied. He was too focused on you to notice Ryan in the crowd,  and there’s no way he’s going to willingly tell you that he followed you. “How’s he doing by the way?”

You’re thrown off. “Who, Ryan? He’s doing well, we were just chatting a couple minutes ago,” you tell him as you look him up and down. You notice how tense he was, his arms folded across his chest as he looks at you. “Wait a minute…are you jealous?” you wonder, not completely offended.

“Why do guys keep asking me that?” Austin rolls his eyes.

“What? Who else asked you?” you furrow your eyebrows as you look up at him.

Austin hesitates for a second. “Cal.”

Now it’s your turn to cross your arms. “Well if someone else notices it, then it must be true.”

“I can assure you, I’m fine. There’s nothing to be jealous of.”

“You’re right… there is nothing to be jealous of, but you are,” you point out.

“I’m fine,” Austin repeats.

You scoff. “You’re not fine. Just admit it, you’re jealous.”

“No, because it wouldn’t be true.”

You just stare at him, holding back a smile from forming on your lips. Austin just stares at you right back.

Ok, then.

“So you wouldn’t mind if I left you in here to go find Ryan so I could finish my conversation with him?”

Austin gives you a look, silently daring you.

Your lips break into a smile as you let a laugh slip out. “Oh relax, I’m just messing with you.”

You uncross your arms to wrap them around Austin’s waist – whose arms were still guarding his chest. He looks down at you with no emotion. You smile sweetly up at him as you lean up to give him a couple pecks on the lips, but Austin doesn’t budge. Though, with a couple more kisses, he lets out a defeated sigh and gives in to you.

“You’re not funny,” he mumbles.

“I mean, you did say you were fine, after all,” you laugh as you pull away.

“And I am.”

“Really?” you ask him, daring him to say the wrong answer.

Instead, Austin says nothing as he silently looks between your eyes. You lean back up to him to place your lips onto his once more, all the while, one of your hands unwraps itself from his waist and sneaks down to palm him

 over his jeans. You feel him instantly starting to harden under your touch. Austin’s eyes widened a smidge, surprised and not knowing what to do. 

“Are you sure?” you tease as you continue. Austin’s breath begins to speed up, not removing his eyes from yours once.

“Yes,” he breathes out, and you shake your head.

“I don’t think so,” you tell him as you now use both hands to slowly unbuckle the belt on his jeans, and tug the waistband of his underwear down just a little. You use your other hand to rest on his shoulder, slightly adding pressure to keep him in place against the counter. “I’ll ask you again? Are you sure?”

Austin breath hitches as your hand slithers its way past the waistband of his underwear and grabs ahold of him. He lets out a small groan as his eyelids flutter. He finally unfolds his arms, only to move them behind him to rest on the countertop. “No.”

You quickly glance at the doorknob to make sure it’s locked before finally freeing him from the tightness of his underwear, causing Austin to release a small sigh. “No, what? No, you aren’t jealous or you’re not sure?”

Austin can’t form the words to answer as you begin to move his hand up and down his shaft. His breathing is shaky as he looks down at your hand wrapped around his hard length. “Fuck,” he mumbles.

“What was that?” you tilt your head. Using your thumb, you tease the tip of his cock, making his hips jerk into your hand and a small moan slip past his lips. You don’t even try to hide the smirk as it grows on your face.

Austin throws his head back as your hand begins to move quickly up and down his shaft, precum starting to lip from his sensitive tip. He bites his lip in hopes it would help him collect himself enough to answer you, but he just ends up biting down harder and harder.

“It’s okay if you are,” you purred. Austin whimpers at your words as his eyes shut.

“Baby-,” he starts, but he isn’t able to continue before another whimper leaves his mouth, feeling too overwhelmed to respond.

“What? I’m just asking you a simple question.”

Austin's head tilts forward as his mouth hangs slightly open. His breath is hot and uneven as you continue your tortuous pace. Austin’s grip tightens on the counter, trying to keep himself grounded and pretty much up right.

“If you won’t answer me, then I guess I’ll have to stop,” you let out a fake disappointed sigh as your hand stops its movements.

Another sound leaves him, but this time it’s one of torture. His hard length is beginning to become more painful the closer he gets to the edge, and the last thing he needs right now is for you to stop. Right as you're about to pull your hand away, he quickly moves to grab your wrist.

You look up at him to see his flushed and jaw clenched as he breathes through his nose. You raise your eyebrows, waiting for him to say something. He knows exactly what you want him to say, but he doesn’t want to admit his jealousy. Then again, he doesn’t want to leave this bathroom without cumming either.

Austin breathes in before saying, “Fine.”

“Fine what?” you press, enjoying the advantage you have on him – which he will definitely get you back for.

“I got jealous.”

“Jealous from what?” 

Austin lets out a frustrated laugh before continuing, “seeing you and Ryan together,” he answers and you give him an accepting smile.

You give him an accepting smile as you lean up to connect your lips with his, moving your hand around his shaft again. Austin sighs into your mouth as he eagerly kisses you back, his eyebrows furrowed. He places his hands on either side of your face to pull you closer to him, needing every ounce of pleasure he can get. 

As the familiar feeling of his orgasm comes back, it becomes harder and harder for him to continue kissing you. His mouth comes ajar as his head falls down towards your shoulder, his moans getting louder into your ear. Any other time in public you would shush him, but the loud background noise of music and people’s chatter makes it nearly impossible for anyone to hear him from the outside.

Austin’s hands quickly puts his hands back on the counter to brace himself as he feels himself cumming in your hand. His whole body goes rigid as the sticky, white liquid shoots out onto your hand and the floor. Your hand doesn’t falter, aiding him as he comes undone. You only stop when Austin winces and reaches for your hand as everything becomes too much.

“That wasn’t so hard to admit was it?” you ask and Austin lifts his head only to glare at you.

like what you see? check out my masterlist :)

[southsideserendipity]

drunk & disorderly (alternate ending) (Kelly Severide x Reader)

Synopsis: Your alcoholic father shows up at the firehouse, persistent on making amends.

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol abuse, violence, swearing, Kelly being protective AF <3.

Word Count: 2.7k

*This is an alternate ending for one of my imagines: drunk & disorderly. They can be read separately and in interchangeable order. Link to my master list."

“Shay, we are never drinking that much the night before a shift again. I’m so hungover” you groaned, throwing your head back in exasperation in the passenger seat of the ambulance. You were returning to the station after the first call of the day, and the pounding of your temples was exacerbated with every bump in the road. 

“Oh c’mon, Y/N, we can handle a lil hangover” she said jokingly. “Besides, wasn’t that drinking game fun?” She asked in a suggestive tone while wiggling her eyebrows. 

“I’m not sure, I can’t exactly remember last night’s events” you giggled, trying to rack your brain for a hint as to how the evening played out.

“Well, what I remember extremely vividly is you and Severide not being able to stop flirting with each other,” Shay said this without taking her eyes off of the road, but you knew she wasn’t as annoyed as she was making herself out to be. She loved the idea of the 2 people she loved the most being together. 

“I can’t confirm or deny my actions or the events that occurred last night” you led in a serious note, trying to cover up your schoolgirl crush on Severide in a playful manner.

“Oh, just fuck him already! Blame it on the alcohol!” Shay encouraged, using her hands to help communicate the message. “I know you like him, and who’s to say he doesn’t want you?” she questioned.

“I’m not sure Shay, you would know the most given the fact that you live with him, wouldn’t you? Has he said anything to you??” Turning your entire torso towards her, you suddenly become very invested in the conversation. You had made comments to Shay about how hot Severide is, but you’ve never fully expressed your interest in him.

“My lawyer says no further comment” Shay responds, zipping the imaginary zipper on her lips and throwing away the key. 

“Oh come on, Shay!! Help a girl out” you moaned in defeat, crossing your arms in front of your chest despite knowing that what the 2 roommates were discussing was private.

Shay was the person who got you and Kelly close to begin with. Being that you and she were ambulance partners, you went over to their place often, seeing him just as much as you see her. 

“He may or may not have said some things about you, but that’s all I can say!” Shay spat out the sentence, picking up the speed as it went on as if the faster she said it, the less of a chance Kelly was to somehow find out. 

“Oh, this conversation is NOT over" you responded. You weren’t ready to drop the topic anytime soon, but you had arrived back at the firehouse.

Before you could pester her with further interrogations, you saw a figure as she was pulling into the ambulance bay.

“Who is that?” Shay exclaimed, confused that someone was blocking her. 

You squinted your eyes, confident that they were playing tricks on you based on who you were perceiving to be there. Once Shay had driven as close as she could without running them over, you knew your eyes were not deceiving you. 

“My dad” you spat angrily, upset that this was your current reality; that a member of your toxic family had followed you to the one good thing in your life. 

You were both frozen in the ambulance; you, unsure how to avoid this interaction, and Shay, confused as to how she could help you. 

You got out of the ambulance and began making your way inside, pretending that your dad was an invisible man and that his presence had no effect on you. Shay followed suit. 

When you walked past him you heard him scoff, and he threw his hands up in the air, resembling confusion.

“You’re just gonna walk past me. No ‘Hi dad, how are you? Long time no see.’” You couldn’t believe what you just heard, but once you partially processed it, you decided that this was indeed your battle to pick today.

You had moved to Chicago from Toronto after applying to the academy, deciding that between your narcissistic and emotionally abusive mother, and your alcoholic dad, it was time to leave; not to run away, but to survive. 

Your older brother is a firefighter in Toronto, and you easily could’ve gotten a job at his firehouse, but you had always loved Chicago and decided to bite the bullet. 

“You have some nerve.” Slowly turning around to face him, you tried to keep yourself from seeing red. He didn’t deserve to know he got a reaction from you. “Showing up at my place of work unexpectedly and expecting me to give you the time of day.” 

“I just want to talk, Y/N.” You started hysterically laughing once you heard what he had said, the anger presenting itself through laughter. Your father was confused as to why you were reacting this way, and quite frankly, so was Shay. She had never seen you so upset.

“Get out of my firehouse. You don’t deserve to be here.”You pointed towards the street, urging him to get out of your sight. 

“Y/N just hear me out. I know I don’t deserve it but it’s been so long and I just want to be a part of your life again. Things are different now.” The pounding in your head was starting to become excruciatingly unbearable the further this conversation continued.

You could hear the sounds of squad and truck rumbling down the street and you knew that you needed him to leave before the entire house got back. 

“Yeah, things sure as hell are different, I left before I suffocated and you couldn’t give a rat’s ass where I ended up. Until today, a random Saturday morning 2 YEARS after I spoke to you last. I want you to leave, NOW. Don’t make me escalate this situation.” You were sick of people walking all over you- blood-related or not, and you weren’t going to have any of this. Especially not in front of your 51 family.

By the time you finished your spiel, truck and squad were both parked and beginning to filter out, undressing from their turnover gear.

Severide hopped out, pulling his turnover gear down to his waist. He was wearing his lieutenant shirt with suspenders, and his squad 3 baseball cap. He would make subtle glances over, not wanting to make the fact that he was eavesdropping obvious.

“I’m not going anywhere until you decide to give me another chance. Until you let me make things up to you” he pleaded, reeking of desperation. 

At this point, heads were turning to observe the interaction.

“I gave you one too many chances, and I’m done. I’m not sure how you didn’t get the hint that I wanted nothing to do with you when I moved countries, but I’m now verbally letting you know that this relationship is over.” You had thought about simply walking into the firehouse but you didn’t want to risk finding out whether he had the gall to follow you. 

At this point, a few members of 51 had filtered into the lounge, knowing that they probably weren’t meant to be listening to the conversation. Others took their sweet time getting undressed to keep an eye on the situation.

Severide was especially lingering, always having an urge to protect you against harm’s way. He didn’t know much about the situation given that you kept your past secretive, but knowing how abusive fathers can be, he stood near.

“C’mon, Y/N, you’ve always been so damn stubborn. Do you need to act like this when I’m trying to prove to you that I can be better?” Your dad was genuinely curious as to how you could be so cutthroat towards him as if his drinking didn’t ruin the first 2 decades of your life.

“I don’t think you need to prove anything to her. It’s pretty clear you’re not a part of her life and that she wants it to stay that way.” You didn’t expect to hear Kelly’s voice from behind you all of a sudden.

“Kel, it’s okay. I got this.” You felt torn between wanting him to stand up for you and telling him you can fight your own battles. He stepped closer toward you, and Shay took a couple of steps back, knowing you now had extra protection. 

“And who are you?” your father asked, not breaking eye contact with you. His hands were placed on his hips, and by his body language, it was evident that he was not leaving without a fight. 

“Lieutenant Severide of 51, and respectfully, I’m asking you to leave my firehouse” Severide stated in a calm but straightforward manner. He crossed his arms and waited intently. 

Your dad chuckled in what seemed to be astonishment while shifting his eye contact repeatedly from you to Severide. “Sleeping your way to the top; very typical of you Y/N. I thought you would’ve changed your ways by now” your dad scoffed. 

You were beyond pissed off that he was even here right now, but that comment officially made your blood boil. Thinking about what you could say in response, your dad decided to speak up once again.

“Let me ask you, how long have you been fucking my daughter, lieutenant?” He said the last word as if it was dirty. 

Kelly stepped right up to him as if he had no fears, something you wish you could’ve warned him about before doing. You were grateful your dad appeared to be sober because if he hadn’t, a brawl would’ve already broken out between them.

“Y/N has been nothing but a talented and competent paramedic with a great amount of expertise in her field. She‘s proven time and time again that she’s a necessary addition to this team, and deserves to be a part of this family- she did that all by herself, no thanks to you. Now get out of my firehouse before the chief gets back and escalates this even further.”

You were blown away by Severide’s words, unaware of his thoughts regarding your presence at 51. He managed to respond in a professional yet serious manner, and he did it with ease, seeming completely unbothered by confrontation. The two men were still face to face, and Kelly was not ready to back down for nothing and no one. 

“Whatever.” Your dad hadn’t let Kelly escape his gaze for even a millisecond. “You know, maybe I’d have a bone to pick if I came here out of my own free will. This was just part of my 12 steps. Step 9: Make amends” your dad said with a smirk.

Despite not wanting to hear your father out for anything he had to say, the fact that he was here for his benefit and not out of sincerity was your final straw.

It took you a second to even fathom the possibility that he came here for selfish reasons, but once you did, you couldn’t stop yourself. 

You lunged at him and began unleashing. “FUCK YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” Now you solely saw red. While you were attempting to physically release all of your pain onto him, you felt Severide grab onto your waist and rip you off.

Your arms and legs were still thrashing about, despite him being far from your grasp. “Come here, get off of him. It’s okay.” Severide attempted to console you, but you were furious. 

“Y/N! Enough, he’s not worth it!!!” You heard Shay shouting from behind you. 

Once Severide planted you back on the floor, and you adjusted the stray hairs that had fallen all over your face, you began to catch your breath. 

“What the hell’s going on?” Casey shouted from across the apparatus, walking over with his arms out in question. “Is everything okay?” He glanced between Severide - who looked like he was about to punch a wall, his jaw clenched - and you. 

“Nothing, he’s just leaving,” you said while trying to slow your breathing and resist the urge to fight once again. 

Your father must’ve thought Casey was the chief because he put his arms up in surrender and turned on his heels. 

You abruptly turned around and raced your way into quarters as fast as you could, not comprehending what just happened.

Kelly put his hands on his hips, hanging his head low and then glanced back up toward Shay and Casey while squinting. He knew what it was like when family troubles came into the firehouse, so he felt for you. He didn’t like to see you upset, even though his feelings for you hadn’t been confessed. 

“Who was that?” Casey asked, looking between Shay and Severide as if the answer lay between them.

Meanwhile, you rushed through the doors between the apparatus bay and the inside of the firehouse heading straight for the bathroom. 

Everyone sitting in the lounge immediately shot a glance toward you but didn’t interrupt- you were evidently on a mission, the anger you felt putting a fire under your ass.

You entered the closest stall and closed the lid, taking a seat. The second you did so, the tears automatically began to flow, anger quickly evolving into sadness. 

You heard light taps on the stall, not even realizing someone had walked in. “Y/N?” None other than Severide. 

“I’m good Kel, I promise. I’ll be out soon” you said, trying to keep your voice from quivering. You didn’t want the man you had a crush on to think you’re a damsel in distress who needs saving. 

“Let me in, Y/N. Please.” You think he meant this literally and figuratively. He knew you were lying through your teeth when you said you were okay. “If you don’t want me to come in that’s fine, I’ll stand outside the door, but I’m not leaving you by yourself.” The door jolted and you could tell he was leaning against it, making himself comfortable.

You knew he wasn’t going to leave, given his stubborn character, so you dried up your tears as best as you could with 1-ply toilet paper and unlocked the door. 

He stood up and turned around to face you noticing that your eyes were puffy and your face was red. 

Kneeling between your legs, he looked up at you grabbing a hold of your chin. 

“Are you okay?” He asked intently, scanning your face for any hints of distress.

“I just wasn’t expecting it, Kel. 51 is my only family and I don’t want him to jeopardize that…” Severide urgently nodded in agreement, a sympathetic look on his face. “He won’t” he stated matter o’factly. “I’ll make sure of it.” He was determined to keep you away from your father.

“I’m worried he’s gonna turn back up here, or worse, get you in trouble. It’s not worth you going to the review board because my idiot father reported what happened.” You looked down at him through wet eyelashes, upset that you indirectly put him in this situation.

“He was the unwanted visitor at the firehouse, and everyone can vouch for that. It’s his word against multiple others.” You nodded in hesitant agreement, not fully convinced by his statement. 

“Stay at Shay and I’s for a couple of days, maybe reach out to your brother and see if he knew about him coming here. Or if you wanna stay home, I could get Jay to assign a covert car to your street.” Severide offering you options and comforting you is what you didn’t know you needed.

He looked up at you, glancing between each of your eyes while you attempted to make a decision. 

“Yeah, I’ll stay with you both. If that’s okay” you responded, sniffling the leftover snot in your nose after finally calming down. Just being in his presence lowered your blood pressure.

He nodded his head. “You good to go back out?” He slowly got up and held out his hand for you to take. 

“Thank you, Kel, seriously.” As soon as you stood up, you engulfed him in a hug, the combination of his natural scent and cologne flooding your nostrils. 

He rubbed your back up and down, his chin resting on the top of your head. He kissed your head then said, “Don’t sweat it, sweetheart.” 

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Hey everyone! I no... long time no chat :( I've had this in my notes for a while and thought I'd post it while I write up some other stuff. I haven't watched the new season's episodes yet, so maybe that'll help the creative flow! I hope everyone has had a wonderful start to the new year :) Again, here is a link to my master list!

[cal-flakes]

i’m in loveeee can you do dealer! rafe x reader their first time together smut

╰┈➤ corrupted by dealer!rafe

warnings: sex, choking, praise. (not proofread yet)

summary: dealer!rafe pounces on the chance to corrupt the good girl.

rafe sighed as he poured another drink, eyeing her from his spot on the couch, packets of powdered scattered on the table.

the way she moved earned a strain in his pants as he watched her talking to the people around her, the ribbon in her hair slowly coming undone.

he shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, gripping the arm of the chair. rafe was absolutely infatuated with her. the way she’d place a hand on his arm when they spoke, utterly oblivious to the filth running through his mind.

his attention was drawn away by topper’s slurred words, something about another line.

she whirled around the room, greeting each person with a friendly smile.

“ahh! what a pleasure it is to see you again miss y/l/n!” a tall blonde called from the drinks table, feigning a british accent.

eyebrows raised, she gave him an endearing hug. “it’s certainly been a while mr maybank!” she laughed, entertaining the accent.

rafe narrowed his eyes at the pair, jaw clenched. he hated the way she was so sweet to everyone on the island, pogue and kooks included. it made him furious to watch the suggestive glances she was given by whoever she passed, blissfully unaware of the dirty comments they made to their friends once she’d turned away.

truthfully, rafe had no right to feel that way, to scare away any possible interests when she wasn’t looking. they weren’t together. sure, they’d shared a few kisses over the years, childish crushes and whatnot, but they weren’t an item.

but in his mind, she was his. she’d been his since the day ward and rose has asked her to tutor wheezie. she’d arrive at tannyhill in the early evening, every tuesday and wednesday, to help his youngest sister with her english literature assignments.

she had no idea what she was doing to him, or so he thought, when she’d stroke a gentle finger over his forearm in the kitchen, or when she’d bend over to grab something she’d dropped, the supple skin of her cheeks peeking out under one of her numerous golf skirts.

the veins in his arms could’ve broken the skin if he’d gripped the arm of the chair any tighter. his chest heaved slightly as he tried to calm the unbridled rage building up inside of him.

he’d concentrated on his breathing for so long that he’d lost sight of them once he’d finally calmed down, scanning the room frantically for her small frame.

out of no where, he felt two frail hands grasp his shoulder. tipping his head back, he give her a tight lipped smile, jaw still tense.

prodding his nose from above, she grinned at him. “hello rafael..” she mocked, giggling at his sudden frown.

“hello y/f/n..” he sighed, looking up at the way the gloss on her lips reflected the dim light of the room.

“no shakespeare tonight huh?” he joked, watching as she rounded the sofa, taking the open space next to him.

y/n swatted his chest playfully. “we’re going through charles dickens now, idiot..”

the pair laughed through their small talk, sinking comfortable into their places on the couch.

y/n was in middle of explaining pathetic fallacy to him when a drunken party goer stumbled over a stray chair, spilling his drink over both of them.

leaping from his chair, rafe grabbed the boy by his shirt, snarling at him. “watch what your fucking doing!”

“rafe..it’s fine, honestly..” she pleaded, shimmying between the two. sighing, he let go of the boys top, making sure to shove him away.

“come with me, i’ll find a change of clothes for you..” rafe grabbed her hand, pulling her through the crowd of young adults.

entering his room, he rounded the bed to look through his closet. “i’d give you something of sarah’s, but she keeps her room locked when i throw parties..”

“that’s okay, i’m sure a hoodie will do, and i can bring it back next time i’m here..” she smiled, her song-like voice invading his senses.

he placed a large black hoodie on the bed before removing his own shirt.

she shrugged the hoodie over her head, facing the mirror. her brows furrowed as her eyes landed on the hem of the material, lingering around her mid-thighs.

a low chuckle drew her attention away, turning to look at him. the snarky words about to leave her mouth were disregarded when she took in the sight before her.

she couldn’t help he stare as he stood across the room, his bare back on display while he rifled through his clothes.

catching her in the mirror, he smirked. “something you like?” he asked mischievously, fiddling with the new shirt in his hands as he stopped towards her.

y/n’s breath hitched as the smell of his cologne suffocated her, closing in. “it’s okay if there is angel..” rafe teased, brushing a few stray hairs behind her ear.

she mentally cursed herself, unable to think of words to get her out of this. she had the opportunity to put a stop to his flirting, to simply back away and return to the party. but she didn’t want to, nor could she.

the desire for him to take her ran so deep, her feet felt as though they’d been cemented down.

all the deep and dark fantasies she’d had about him sprung to mind, baffling her in the moment.

y/n returned to reality once they were nose to nose. her lips parted slightly as their hungry eyes met, begging for release.

“fuck it..” she muttered, planting a wet kiss on his lips.

his hand wrapped around her waist instinctively as he deepened the kiss, tangling the other in her hair.

moaning into the kiss as he pulled, she pushed him back towards the bed, falling on top of him as his back met the mattress.

his roaming hands danced up her thighs, gripping her hips as she ground down on him. “fuck..” he muttered, hastily flipping their position.

he smirked menacingly as his chain now dangled above her, brushing her lips.

“tell me what you want princess..” he whispered, pressing teasing kisses along her neck, grazing his teeth against her skin.

she mewled underneath him while his fingers worked their way around her clothed clit. “you-your cock..”

“such dirty words baby..you gonna be good for me?” he taunted, discarding his clothes in a flash.

nodding, she let out a moan as he moved her panties to the side, pushing his fingers through her folds.

rafe released a heavy breath as he watched her features change, mouth agape as her chest heaved.

a content feeling ran through him as he watched the pleasure wash over her, pleasure he was giving her. maybe now, he could rightfully claim her as his.

she whined at the sudden emptiness as she clenched around nothing, rafe having retracted his fingers.

“so needy angel, be patient..” he cooed, pushing the tip of his cock through her wet folds, painfully slowly.

“f-fuck, rafe, faster..” she cried, the crescent shape of her nails digging into her shoulder blades. “what’s the magic word princess?” he teased, wrapping a strong hand around her throat.

“p-please, please!” y/n wailed, tensing at the sudden harsh thrust.

rafe moved at an angry pace, grunting and groaning as her walls closed around his length.

“you gonna cum for me baby?..” he groaned, rubbing her clit furiously as she trembled beneath him. tears cascaded down her flushed cheeks while she nodded, her stomach tightening.

“that’s it baby, cum for me..” he demanded, squeezing her throat as he continued drilling into her.

her frame vibrated as her release surged through her, strangled cries escaping her lips.

slowing his pace, rafe pressed soft kisses to the purple bruises littering her breasts, filling her up.

she whined as he pulled away, desperate for his soothing touch. he lifted her body carefully, worried any more rough movements would break her.

he slipped under the covers, pulling her into his side as he stroked her hair.

“im sorry if that was too much for you angel..” he cooed, revelling in the warm radiating from her. “it wasn’t, i loved it..” she giggled, nuzzling further into his arm.

“i hope you know, you belong to me now..” he smirked, eyeing the hickeys and bruises dotted around from her neck to her thighs.

[winchesterwild78]

A New Sheriff in Town pt 4

Master List

Characters: Beau Arlen x Reader, Reader’s daughter Lily, other Big Sky characters

Warnings: Fluff, angst, slight smut, surprises

A/N: This was an idea given to me by @cheekygirl2309. Just a short series featuring our favorite green eyes Sheriff. Reader is a single mom and Beau moves into town. Things start to develop and the reader's daughter finds it hard to pull herself away from Beau. 

This does not follow the Big Sky timeline and is not in any way associated with the show. All work is my own, please don’t take it. 

Minors DNI 18+

*Time Jump 7 months*

“Lily, come on, we have to get ready. Mommy has a doctor’s appointment, we can’t be late.” You yelled from the bedroom. “Coming mommy.” Your daughter yelled from her room. “Daddy Beau and Em will be here soon to go with us.”

In the past few months a lot has changed between you and Beau. About 6 months ago Beau moved in and Emily would bounce between her mom’s house and your house. Lily loved having both of them there. She told people Emily was her sister and Beau was her new daddy. 

About 7 months ago Beau had a particularly intense case, one that caused him to be injured, and you almost lost him. The pain of possibly losing another person who you had fallen in love with was too much. The day he was released from the hospital your emotions overwhelmed you, and the two of you got into a huge fight. 

*Flashback*

“Beau, I’m so glad you’re okay. You scared the hell out of me. You can’t do that. We can’t lose you.” Tears streamed down your face. Beau stood in your living room, face filled with concern and frustration, “It’s not like I went to work that day asking to be shot, Y/N. Jeez. Do you honestly think I wanted this?!” “No, but you chose to be a cop, so you know the risks. Damn Beau, you’ve got people who love you and need you!” 

“You don’t think I know that! You, Em and Lily are my life! “What do you want me to do, quit!?” You just looked at Beau, unable to speak. “I’m not going to do that, Y/N. I love my job, I won’t quit.” Your heart ached in your chest, you couldn’t lose him. “Beau, I can’t lose another man I love. I lost Aaron while he was doing his job, I can’t go through that again.”

“What are you saying, Y/N?” You took a shaky breath in, “I love you Beau, but I can’t lose you too. Not like that. If you won’t quit, then I can’t be with you anymore. I can’t lose you.” Beau’s eyes went wide and he gasped, “What? Y/N, please don’t do this.” He reached for your hand but you pulled away, “Please leave, Beau. I’m sorry, this (you motioned between the two of you) is over.” 

Beau tried to protest, but you stood firm. He stepped closer to you, placed a soft kiss on your forehead, “I love you, Y/N. Good bye.”

When Beau left you collapsed on the floor sobbing. Your heart shattered. You had fallen in love with Beau and had seen a future with him, children with him. The fear of losing him in the line of duty was just too overwhelming. 

You pulled out your phone and dialed Sarah’s number. “Hey girl, how’s it going?” You heard her cheerful voice on the other end. You sobbed. “I’m on my way honey.” She hung up and a few minutes later she was by your side. 

Sarah helped you up and walked you over to the couch, “Come on sweetie, tell me what happened. Where is Beau?” You finally calmed down enough to talk to her. You told her everything and how you made Beau leave.

“Oh Y/N, you have every right to be scared, but honey you can’t let the fear cost you the beautiful life you deserve. Aaron wouldn’t have wanted that for you or Lily. Beau is an incredible man, and he’s so good with Lily. No matter what job someone has there is always a chance they won’t come home from work. Sure Beau’s job has a high risk, but honey that man loves you and Lily so much. Don’t throw that away for fear.” 

You knew she was right. “Look, I’ll get Lily from school and take her to my house for a sleepover, you call Beau and the two of you work this out. I’m not going to let you throw away happiness. I love you, Y/N, now call Beau.” You nodded and pulled out your phone.

Beau’s voice was soft when he answered, “Hey darlin’.” “Hey Beau, I’m so sorry, can you come back so we can talk?” “I’m already here baby.” There was a knock on your door. 

You opened the door and saw Beau standing there with red, wet eyes. He’d been crying. Your heart sank, knowing you caused him the pain you saw reflected in his eyes. Sarah came out from Lily’s room with her bag. She hugged you and whispered ‘good luck.’ As she walked past Beau, she touched his shoulder and they nodded at each other. 

When Sarah left Beau stepped in the house. The two of you started to talk at the same time, Beau told you to go first. “Beau, I’m so sorry. I let the fear of losing you take over. I don’t want to lose you, but I don’t want you to go either. If you’ll have me I want to be yours again. I was a fool telling you to leave. I love you, Beau. I love our life together and I see a future with you.” Beau stepped closer, pulled you flush to his chest and placed a soft kiss on your lips. 

No more words were needed. You knew he had forgiven you. The kiss quickly turned into a deep need to be together. As Beau walked you to your bedroom your clothes started to come off, leaving a trail from the living room to the bedroom door. 

Once in the confines of your bedroom, you and Beau made love off and on all night long. The connection between the two of you deepened and was becoming stronger. As Beau held you that night you asked him to move in. “Beau, I want you and Em to move in here. I love you both and I want you two to be here with Lily and I.” “Really sweetheart? I’d love that.” You smiled and laid your head on his chest. 

*Present*

As you were grabbing your shoes Beau and Emily walked in the house. “Daddy! You’re back. Emmy I missed you.” Emily smiled and picked up Lily, “I missed you too, kiddo. Are you ready to go?” “Yep, mama said I get to know first.” Emily smiled and nodded.

You stood at the doorway looking at your little family and smiled. Beau walked up to you and placed a soft kiss on your lips, “Hey baby, you ready?” You smiled, “I can’t get my shoes on.” 

Beau laughed and helped you walk over to the couch. As you sat down your hand touched your growing belly. The night Beau came back you ended up getting pregnant. Today the four of you were going to find out the gender. 

When you found out you were pregnant you were shocked. The two of you had been having unprotected sex for a few months and you hadn’t ended up pregnant, then you were. You were excited and scared too. The idea of having another baby was a rollercoaster of emotions. Beau was an incredible father, but the fear of losing him kept creeping into your mind. Aaron died when Lily was so young, you were afraid it might happen again, and this time you’d have two children to care for, well three to love because you would never push Emily away. 

Beau helped you get your shoes on and the four of you got in the car. In the waiting room Lily was telling everyone she gets to know first, and they offered her a soft smile. When your name was called, Beau helped you up and Emily took Lily’s hand. The nurse smiled, “Looks like the whole family is here today. Lily, are you excited to find out if you’re going to have a little sister or a little brother?” Lily giggled and said yes. 

A few minutes later the doctor was in the room and did the exam. Everything was on target and looking good. Your iron was a little low, but not too bad. You cried a little when they took your weight. Beau assured you that you were stunning.

After the exam, the doctor wheeled in the ultrasound machine. “Okay everyone, are we ready to look at the little one?” Lily’s eyes lit up and she enthusiastically answered yes for everyone. The room filled with laughter. Lily told the doctor she got to know first. The doctor nodded. All eyes were glued to the screen as the baby appeared. You could hear their steady, strong heartbeat and your heart soared. 

“Okay, big sister Lily, come here and I’ll tell you.” She climbed out of Emily’s lap and walked over to the doctor. The doctor leaned down and whispered in Lily’s ear and her eyes went wide and sparkled. She giggled and climbed back in Emily’s lap. 

The three of you waited with baited breath to find out, but Lily was tight lipped. “Lily honey, are you going to tell us?” She shook her head no and giggled. “Lily, why don’t you want to tell us?” “Cause it’s a secret. Aunt Sarah told me I couldn’t tell anyone until I told her.” 

You and Beau exchanged a look and a smirk. “Oh I’m going to get her.” You said and laughed. The doctor laughed, “Well Mom, I want to see you back in about a week to check your iron again. I’ll get the pictures printed and you’ll be good to go.” You nodded and thanked her.

Emily told you and Beau she was going to take Lily out so you could get dressed. Beau thanked her and helped you up. 

Once you were dressed and had the pictures the four of you walked to the car. Lily was giggling the whole way. You kept shaking your head and smirking. Once in the car, Beau turned and looked at Lily, “Hey baby girl, should we go to the store and pick out some clothes for the baby? What do you think, some pink or some blue?” You laughed, “Beau, you’re terrible.” “I just want to know.” He laughed. 

You pulled out your phone and called Sarah, “Hey Sarah we are done. Um, and why is my child not telling us what the baby is?” She laughed hysterically, “I can’t believe she’s actually keeping it a secret.” “Well she is, she told us you told her she had to tell you first. What in the world do you have planned?” “You let me worry about that, and don’t try to spoil it. I’ll be over in a little bit to get her and Emily. Us girls have something planned.”

You looked over at Emily and smirked. She realized you knew she was in on it. She chuckled. When you hung up you looked at Beau, “Looks like both our girls were in on this little coup.” Beau’s eyes flicked up into the mirror, “Em, really? I thought we were closer than that.” He laughed. “Sorry dad, I couldn’t resist helping with this. Trust me, you’re going to love it.” 

A few hours later you and Beau were sitting in the living room together. The girls were still with Sarah and it was quiet in the house. The soft hum of the television played in the background. Beau had his hand placed on your belly feeling your baby kick and move. Your hand was placed on his. 

“I can’t believe we are going to welcome this little one in a few months. Regardless of what they are, they are already so loved.” You smiled and nodded at Beau, “I know, I have to ask though, what are you hoping for Beau?” “Honestly, a boy. We already have two incredible girls, we need a boy now.” You smiled, “Yeah, I am too.” Beau kissed your lips, “As long as they are healthy I know I will be happy either way. Even though I’m hoping for a boy, if they are a girl, they will be loved just as much.” 

You smiled and nodded. “I love you Beau. Thank you for this incredible life we have.” “I love you too, Y/N. Thank you for this incredible life, and for having my baby.” He kissed your lips again. This time the kiss was full of need. 

Beau pulled you on his lap. You tried to protest, “Beau, no, I’m too heavy.” “No you’re not, you’re perfect.” Things started to heat up between you and Beau. He helped you remove your shirt, and your engorged breasts were poking over the top of your bra. Beau bit his lip, “God you’re beautiful, pregnant with my baby.” You blushed. 

His fingers went behind your back and unhooked your bra, letting your breasts spring free. He growled, cupping your breasts and kissing them. Your head leaned back as a moan escaped your lips. “Mmm yes Beau, please baby.” You could feel your arousal soaking your panties. 

“Tell me what you want, sweetheart.” Beau’s voice dripped with desire. “You, Beau, I want you. Take me please.”

Beau laid you back on the couch and stood up. He slid your pants and panties down. He smirked when he saw how wet you were. He started to unbuckle his pants, ready to take you right there. The shrill sound of your phone ringing stopped him. “Shit!” He murmured. He grabbed your phone and showed you the screen, it was Sarah. “Impeccable timing, Sarah.” Beau said as he answered. “Beau, wait, were you two, oh jeez. Can’t keep your hands off each other?” Beau smirked, “Nope, what’s up?” “Can you two head to the park please?” Beau sighed, “Yeah, give us a few minutes.” “Beau, you don’t have time to finish.” “I know, but helping a very pregnant woman get ready to leave the house takes a little longer. We will be there soon.” Sarah laughed and hung up.

“Looks like our presence is being requested at the park.” Beau said as he buckled his pants back. You poked your lip out, pouting, “So we don’t have time to finish?” Beau leaned down and kissed your lips, “Well, I can take care of you and later we can finish.” You bit your lip and gasped as Beau’s fingers pushed into your dripping core. He worked you closer to your release. It was coming faster since you were already so worked up. You grabbed the couch and bucked your hips into his fingers. “Oh god, Beau I’m going to cum.” He leaned over and kissed your lips, “Cum for me baby, cum on my hand.” You pushed into his hand one more time and you came hard. Moaning and panting.

Once you were done, Beau kissed you and helped you get cleaned up. “Beau, what about you?” “I told you, we will finish this later. I don’t need Sarah kicking my ass.” He laughed. You nodded. Once dressed the two of you headed towards the park.  

Getting out of the car at the park you noticed several people, your girls, Sarah and some of Beau’s colleagues. Sarah and Emily had decorated the shelter with pink and blue balloons. They had planned a gender reveal party. 

Sarah walked over and hugged you, “I know you’d always said if you got pregnant again you wanted a gender reveal where you didn’t know what the baby was. I’m sorry I had to be sneaky, but I hope this is a good surprise.” Tears pricked your eyes and you hugged her tight, “It’s perfect, thank you.”

The afternoon was perfect. Family and friends were gathered, enjoying food and laughter. Celebrating your growing family. The time came to reveal the gender. Sarah had cupcakes made for everyone. The two she handed you and Beau had the gender hidden inside. The frosting in the middle would either be blue or pink. 

You and Beau took a deep breath and bit your cupcakes. As the two of you pulled the cupcakes back from your mouth, tears fell from your eyes and Beau smiled. He pulled you in for a quick kiss. As he pulled away you both showed your cupcakes and revealed to your gathered family and friends blue frosting. You were having a boy.

Lily jumped up and down, “I’m having a brother!” She squealed. You smiled and bent down to hug your daughter, “Yes you are baby girl.” You placed your hand on your belly and felt him kick. Looking over at Beau, “We’re having a boy.” He pulled you into his embrace, “Thank you, Y/N.” Leaning down he placed a kiss on your belly, “I can’t wait to meet you little guy. You are already so loved.” 

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[gloomwitchwrites]

Hello lovely!! I’m so happy you are getting more and more followers! You deserve the praise and so much more!!

I was curious how you thought the members of clone force 99 would act when jealous. And do they maybe act differently in the bedroom after if you catch my drift 👀

You do not have to do all! Just whoever comes to mind 🥰 Love ya and thank you as always!

Hey! You’re seriously so sweet!! Thank you so much. My recently follower growth has been crazy. I haven’t had the chance with my health being poor to sit down and take the time to go through it all. But I appreciate everyone who has given my a follow or are interacting with my work. Thank you to every single one of you. I’m so grateful.

Oh, Clone Force 99. I would say they’re my favorite copy and paste men but truly my heart is with Captain Rex. Still adore them though. Now, I’ll keep this short and sweet, but I also totally catch your drift. This is going to fall on the tamer side (sorry OP), but you should be able to read between the lines…if you catch my drift. :)

Written with gn!reader in mind.

Content & Warnings (per the warnings MDNI): jealous behavior, fluff, brief suggestive themes

Word Count: 436

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has submitted requests for the 1k follower event. This event is currently closed and I am no longer taking requests. Thank you!

ao3 // taglist // main masterlist // 1k follower event masterlist

Hunter:

Hunter would sense it before it even happens.

He’d see the person starting to walk toward you and Hunter isn’t even going to allow them to try.

He is going to divert them elsewhere—either with his words or with some physical persuasion.

And he’s absolutely sticking by your side the rest of the time. Arm around your waist, hand on your thigh, or hand at the base of your neck.

Might be a bit more needy/rough with you than usual when it comes to down the physical.

Wrecker:

Knows immediately in the moment what’s happening.

Angry, but not with you.

Wrecker would absolute be rough with the individual trying to move in. He’s used to using his size and strength as an intimidation tactic. And he will do that here.

Would cause a scene unless you interfere.

Afterward, would become soft with you privately, mainly needing some physical reassurance that everything is good.

Tech:

Would have no idea what’s happening in the moment.

The rest of the Batch would have to point it out to him first.

Tech would be respectful and say that you can “handle yourself.”

When it’s clear that the intruder doesn’t get the hint, Tech will step in, and while he’d be polite, he’d also be very straightforward.

Might (or might not) need backup—depending on how receptive the other person.

Would not require physical reassurance afterward, but might ask for some verbal affirmations.

Crosshair:

Crosshair’s jealousy is subtle. He’s not one to rage or throw fists.

He might see someone making a move from across the room but instead of interfering right away, he’s going to observe from afar.

Crosshair already knows what’s happening, and he’s going to be as dramatic as possible in the confrontation.

Crosshair will wait, and will absolutely use his sniper skills to his advantage (and no he’s not going to kill anyone over this but someone might lose a finger)

Possible scenario: someone is hitting on you at the cantina and Crosshair shoots the person’s drink out of their hand from across the cantina. Like I said, dramatic.

Afterward, he might need to be a little rough in reclaiming what he believes is his.

Echo:

Echo would step in immediately. He’s not risking anything.

Would create a physical barrier, either stepping between you and the person encroaching, or he might even pull you away from the person.

He’d give them a verbal warning, and if that isn’t respected, he might be a bit more forceful even if he isn’t looking for a fight.

Afterward, Echo will certainly need some physical closeness. Lots of cuddling.

taglist:

@glassgulls @childofyuggoth @foxxy-126 @km-ffluv @sweetbutpsychobutsweet

@singleteapot @tiredmetalenthusiast @coffeecaketornado @padawancat97 @garfunklevibes2012

@miaraei @cherryofdeath @tulipsun-flower @enfppuff @ninman82

@pigeonmama @beebeechaos @hantheconqueror

[blank468]

My somewhat final thoughts of My Hero Academia

Note: Now that MHA is now doing an epilogue and is ending soon, I might as well give my final thoughts about this series. I’ll probably continue to talk more about it after the series is officially over but I’m not going to do a full fledged hour long review because I have better things to do.

This is a generic shonen empowerment fantasy that managed to screw its own theme and message. Any good will I would’ve given to series at the beginning is completely irrelevant as it when on. The morals and themes are constantly changing to throw random s**t on a sheet of paper that either doesn’t make sense, contradicts what being shown on screen, or if it doesn’t fits the tone of the story. My hero is not a deconstruction of the shonen genre that does anything new that would make it stand out. Most of the ideas and plot points created either have horrible execution, given no amount of attention where they’re just ignored or just have horrible payoffs. It follows all the exact same tropes seen in every other series and makes them worse. It also gets to the point where it rips off Naruto and makes the same mistakes it did. The amount of plot twists that are excused as some kind of subversion are obnoxious and predictable where’s it gets incredibly annoying. The world building is horrendous and just makes the story feel small for a world that has a life changing impact. The power scale doesn’t always make sense and it does nothing but act as a way to reward characters that didn’t earn it.

It has a dangerous and horrible message for victims of abuse and bullying. My hero has no problem telling the audience that if you’re a victim of any kind of abuse, it’s your problem and you should just act like it’s not a big issue. Apparently it’s ok lie to your friends, family and colleagues that you can trust but it’s not ok to lie or even hold accountable to your abuser. And no matter if he/she has a reason for the way they are, you are always in the wrong and you should spend your sad life praising and benefiting them.

There exists way too many characters for the audience to be invested in and after watching them for several arcs, they are just stereotypes with nothing new or original about them. Many of them come across as either being stupid, annoying, useless, unlikeable, petty, ignorant or just both. Some characters will either exist to benefit others or just highjack the story, ruining every other character’s chance to get any sort spotlight. The series is way too reliant on putting focus on unpleasant and uninteresting characters to please its large audience. The humor is way too reliant on a character’s personality trait. No matter what they do, the story expects us to automatically like them regardless of how horrible and selfish their actions are. Izuku may not be the worst character, but he’s no where near as great as everyone hypes him up to be. Bakugo is an unbearable mess of a character that serves no real purpose in the story and exists to take away every characters chance of development. His development is one of the laziest and obnoxious parts I have ever seen in any story and yet he’s the most popular sadist in the show with no sort of reason or sympathy for me to like him. Any criticism given to this d**khead is automatically shot down and people like me get harassed and called a brain dead immature f*g for stating our opinion.

Aside from Twice and Gentle/ La Brava, these villains are not that interesting and what ever traits about them gave them something to do is absence. Shigaraki is the stories biggest wasted potential that went from being an idiot to being an incompetent idiot to benefit my left nutsack. Toga is a Mary Stu who went from being a sad and annoying character to an annoying and self centered bitch who complains after being told her actions are wrong. Dabi is just a Gary Stu who’s only interested in wanting to kill his dad. Spinner is a joke that is constantly scammed by his creator.

The only saving grace I can give to this series is the art style of the manga and some parts of the Todoroki family drama. I can even say that Horikoshi’s art style and how he designs characters and panel designs inspired me as an artist. The anime as a whole is fine but it’s not perfect, but that’s mostly because it doesn’t do a whole lot of creatively/artistic things to make it on par with the most popular anime series. As an artist, I would recommend my hero as a reference to use to improve your work. If you just want to read or watch a series that has fights that just make you feel some kind of emotion, then you might get something out of this series. It’s not even the absolute worst thing I’ve seen; I’ve seen much worse in other genres other than shonen manga. It’s just rare to find a badly written series without being surrounded by d**kriders. It’s just a disaster of a series, and I wished I spent my time during the pandemic watching another series like Demon Slayer, or Black Clover.

[unformula1]

dear oscar (OP81 x LS2)

dear oscar (OP81 x LS2)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ synopsis: Logan writes a letter to help him manage his feelings, it does everything BUT manage feelings. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ pairing: logan sargeant x oscar piastri w/c: 892 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ a/n: this is day FOUR (lando's number) of loscar posts until we get a loscar podium!! some angst today!! might make this a series very much inspired from https://archiveofourown.org/works/54754315 masterlist ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ taglist: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan crushes the sheet of paper and throws it into the pile of already crushed papers. He puts down the pen and cracks his fingers, again.

He’s been at this for hours and he hates it knowing he’s terrible at expressing himself and Oscar’s probably not going to even look at this. 

Logan takes a deep breath once again and picks up his pen.

Dear Oscar,

I’m not very good at expressing my feelings but I’ll try my best.

I’ve missed you lately and I miss all our late night conversations, my nights feel empty without them. I miss our friendship and the very long conversations we had. 

When you asked me how I was doing and I said “it’s been alright.” That was a blatant lie. I’ve been doing absolutely horrible. I haven’t seen a good day in months and every morning I ask myself why I’m doing this to myself, I ask if everything I left behind was worth it. Should I have given up?

 I’m glad you’re doing well and winning trophies, I’ve never been happier for you. Remember when your rookie year was being compared to Hamilton’s? That was amazing. 

Great, now he’s gone off track again, absolutely perfect. Logan’s pen left the paper again and he contemplated crushing this one up. He eventually decided against it and his pen tip touched the paper again.

He doesn’t know what he’s going to write anymore but he doesn’t care. He just wants to let his feelings out.

I hate how we don’t talk anymore. I hate how life has to pull its strings on us. I hate how we walk past each other as if we never knew each other. I’ve been trying my hardest, I really have.

I want to talk to you. I want to hear your voice again. 

I’ve been making wishes on every shooting star I’ve seen and been throwing in a penny for every wishing well I’ve come across, just wishing you were my friend again, wishing that I could go back in time and relive those moments in PREMA.

I didn’t treasure those times enough.

Every single time I see any McLaren video, I stop and stare, imagining that it could’ve been you and I. Believe me, I love how you and Lando have developed one of the closest bonds ever and trust me, I think Alex is a perfect teammate. 

But I just wish that we had another chance and I wouldn’t fuck it up this time. I really wish I did.

Every single time Lando calls you “Osc”, it makes me shiver just knowing that I could never be half the person Lando was. I do everything and risk it all just trying to be more like Lando or just someone who you would bother to look at

His mind flashes back to every single time he and Oscar have done anything together, watch movies, do stupid promotional videos, even sad times came back and made him wish he took those moments better.

He tears up slightly, but wipes his tears away before they spill onto the paper. Lando’s voice saying “Osc” rings in his head like an annoying bell which kills him slightly every time it repeats. 

Osc.

Osc.

Osc.

He slams his hand into the table, causing everything to jolt, even getting startled by his own actions. Logan isn’t even on Lando’s level, not even a quarter of the way there.

Lando’s better in every way, definitely much better teammate than Logan would’ve been.

His tears resurface but he doesn’t wipe them away this time, he lets them trickle down his cheek, cling on to his skin at his chin and finally drop down onto the paper, causing a stain.

More tears cause stains on the bottom part of the paper before Logan wipes them all away.

Please…

I miss you Oscar.

Regards Love

Logan

He places the pen down and looks at the letter, which has tear stains, but Logan couldn’t care less. He puts the letter down and folds it neatly in half, slotting it into a brown envelope. He seals the envelope tight, wrinkling the paper from pressing too hardly. 

He takes his pen up again and the tip floats above the paper.

He takes a few seconds before writing.

To: Oscar Piastri

His throat stings from crying. He didn’t even cry for that long but it hurts him. His own words repeat in his head like a knife twisting into his body.

He opens up Oscar’s chat on his phone, his last message being left on Seen.

3 weeks ago Great race :)

He hasn’t even given Oscar a message for the Australian Grand Prix but Logan couldn’t care less.

His fingers hover over his keyboard.

Can we meet sometime soon?

He hesitates about sending it.

Osc.

Osc.

Osc.

Osc.

He turns off his phone and takes a deep breath. 

He sits on his couch and leans back. The thoughts endlessly flying around in his head, like phantoms of his past haunting him again.

He closes his eyes and keeps them shut, imagining whatever makes him feel happy. 

Oscar.

Oscar.

Oscar.

Osc.

The tears squeeze their way past his eyelids and slide down his cheek. It’s a devastating feeling. 

He covers his head with a pillow and keeps his eyes tightly shut, crying himself to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ there will be a part 2 (hopefully) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[smok3r7]

Christmas Getaway // One-shot

Joel Miller x Softball coach F!reader

Explicit, 18+

My series Masterlist & My Main Masterlist - My Ao3

Summary: You met Joel by coincidence. You picked up a little side job to be a high school softball coach for fun, and Sarah was one of your top players. Sarah introduces you to Joel after the first game and both of you hit it off immediately. The three of you grow closer throughout the year and end up spending the holidays together on a getaway trip. Joel treats you to a nice night.

Word count: 6k

Warnings: Age gap (28/40), NO outbreak AU, sexual tension, dry humping, oral (giving), fingering, possessive dirty talk, unprotected p in v, cream pie, squirting 2x, overstimulation, porn w/ plot, mutual pinning

—Hi babes🩷 I hope every one has a wonderful holiday season, I love you all! I’m thankful for you all who have given my writing a chance and I’m so thrilled to be putting out more for you guys! Hope you like this little personal piece I had😚

—

“GO ALL THE WAY SARAH!!” You scream as you frantically swing your arm in a circle telling her to not stop, second and third base are loaded and Sarah just hit a line-drive between second and third base which whizzed by shortstop AND the left-fielder. The two girls on base run home and Sarah is halfway to third when you hear a deep southern voice boom from your right, “GO BABY GO!!”

Too focused on Sarah to look at the mystery man, you notice an outfielder throwing the ball to the pitcher and Sarah just rounded third base. You’re sweating from the nerves and from the scorching Texas sun just beating down on you. The girls in the dugout behind you are incoherently screaming, the pitcher releases the ball to the catcher at home, however, Sarah is the fastest on the team! “SLIDE! SLIDE” you scream but there’s an echo to it, it’s the same smooth voice that makes you weak in the knees.

Sarah slides into home base and collides with the catcher, you wince as dirt and dust are all that’s visible to the naked eye. The cheers have turned into dead silence, the heavy breaths of players and family members is all that could be heard. All your team needs to win is this one run, Sarah’s run, otherwise it's a tie. Your heart is about to lunge out of your chest, you’re repeatedly muttering to yourself, “you got this girl! You so got it Sarah! You’re safe!”

The Umpire puts his hand up as he swats the cloud of dirt away from the air, you see Sarah’s body on the plate with the catcher on top of her but the ball isn’t in her hand, you smirk as you see the ball on the ground next to the catcher's head. The Ump swipes his hands and grunts, “SAFE”.

The crowd behind your players start to hoot and holler, your whole dugout roars and runs out to Sarah. But you’re the first one to her, as she stands up and throws her helmet to the ground next to her, “WE WON!” She shouts with almost a disbelief tone.

You pick her up in a hug and spin her once then set her back on her feet, “BECAUSE OF YOU SARAH!” She’s smiling ear to ear as she looks at you, by now the whole team is surrounding Sarah. The mixture of laughter, tears, and shrieks erupts from the team of teenagers. The first game of the season is off to a pretty good start, your body is warm on the inside as you see your players bounce with excitement.

“SARAH, SARAH, SARAH.” A chant echoes behind you, you turn and see the family of your girls entering the field with smiles and claps, but this one man in front sticks out to you. He’s wearing a fitting Texas Longhorn football T-shirt, that looks worn, with an orange & black flannel unbuttoned over it, a pair of dark blue jeans with what look to be work boots, but what catches your attention is his beautiful face. His short but curly chocolate and silver hair and his thick but kinda patchy beard, with his trademark brown eyes match together almost too perfectly.

“DAD! I DID IT!” Sarah breaks away from her teammates and sprints towards this man who you’ve been eyeing, and she practically knocks him to the ground as she jumps and wraps herself like a monkey around him like he’s a massive tree. “Yes you did baby girl! I’m so proud of you!” You hear him chuckle as he hugs her tightly, you don’t realize that you’re staring and smiling. Until Tiffany, one of your players, booty bumps your hip and whispers, “That’s Joel, Sarah’s dad. You two would be pretty cute together.” You laugh at her and tell her to knock it off, now turning and looking at your girls you yell, “Okay all my ladies, meet me in center-field!”

After praising the girls about how well they played today, you reminded them that the season will be tough and to not let today make them cocky, but to continue to learn and have fun with it! “RedHawks on three! ONE, TWO, THREE, REDHAWKS!” The huddle of the team yell in unison with their hands in the air! The girls all scatter to their belongings then to their families and as you’re walking back to the dugout to collect your things, you hear Sarah yell, “Hey coach! Wait up!” You turn around and see Sarah with Joel, Sarah wasting no time introducing you, “Coach this is my Dad, Dad this is my coach!”

“Nice to meet you…Sarah’s Dad” You reply with a chuckle, you reach your hand out to shake his, the large hand completely covering your small hand as he shakes and smiles, “It’s nice to meet you Sarah’s Coach!” And you two have hit it off since that moment in the middle of February, at your first game of the season.

—

It’s now mid December, the twenty-third to be exact, you and Joel have been officially dating since July. You still have your own apartment, which you rarely stay at now since Joel and Sarah begged that you stay with them, but you insist on having it available because you like having your own space once in a while, but you also want to have a backup just in case. Joel has brought up the idea of selling it but you refuse, only because this relationship is fresh and you don’t want to be stuck with nothing if it goes bad.

Especially with the holidays coming up, which always seemed to be the downfall for you. For example; Thanksgiving was boring like the last five years, until Joel and Sarah invited you over for their celebration with his family. You felt so loved, which you haven’t felt from your own family since they discovered you dropped out of college. They were not thrilled to hear that, you immediately became the disappointment of the family, even though your brother, who’s five years younger than you, had just had a baby out of wedlock. But somehow you still took the cake as the awful child, you didn’t care at this point, they were all pieces of shits anyway.

“What do you think darlin’?” Joel’s voice breaks your train of memories, you got so distracted you honestly don’t know what he and Sarah were just discussing. “Um, say that one more time, I'm sorry!” You reply as you take a sip of hot chocolate and set it on the table next to Joel, Sarah just made it for you all after Joel put dinner away. “We were talking about how we should go out to Tommy’s lake house for Christmas weekend, we’ll have to leave tomorrow, just so we can get away!” Sarah chirps from her seat on the other end of the couch from you and Joel, who are snuggled underneath a warm quilt blanket.

“Yes we so should! I’ll just have to stop by my place and grab some things!” You happily smile at Sarah, who is now jumping from her seat with joy. “YES! Finally another girl I can hang out with there!” The three of you laugh for a minute and she quickly says, “Wait…I’m gonna go pack!” She sprints upstairs before either of you can say anything. “That girl, she is something else.” Joel chuckles to himself as he takes a sip out of his navy coffee mug.

“Just like her father, always up to something.” You reply with a smirk as you lightly elbow his side, “Makes sense why you fit right in with us.” He whistles right back with no hesitation, that’s one thing you love about Joel, how he can come back with jokes and not be offended. You hum as you move in closer to his side, he lifts his free arm and puts it around your shoulder as you lean into him.

Looking around the living room, you feel fuzzy on the inside, almost like a little girl during Christmas. The decorated tree is filled with Sarah’s baby ornaments, Joel’s favorites, and now, with Joel and Sarah insisting, some of your own favorite ornaments. Your eyes then move to the fireplace and mantle, you were proud of yourself, Joel wasn’t much of a decorator, so you took the opportunity to spruce up his house more than just a tree and some lights.

You put a light blue cloth over the top of the white wooden mantle, a little over a dozen little trees in a couple clusters in each corner, and a string of white lights - this little touch made the fireplace and living room feel more festive, Joel and Sarah loved it.

“I think a getaway isn’t a bad idea,” Joel states, you two still looking at the tv which is playing a rerun of an SVU episode, “Tommy’s got a pretty cool spot about two hours out of town, he bought it for himself on his twenty-sixth birthday.” You’re looking up at him now, you love when he talks about his family, it makes you happy that he still talks with them.

“Well,” you start as you sit up and swing your leg over his hips so you’re now sitting on his lap and looking into his eyes, “If you insist,” even though you already decided to go in your head, you wanted to play with Joel a little bit, “I do have a hard time saying ‘no’ to you Miller.” You’re playing with the curls on the back of his neck as he wraps the blanket behind your waist and it’s so big that Joel has some draped by his legs.

His hands are resting on your thighs while his thumbs rub small circles on the inner part close to your purring pussy, causing drops of arousal to soak your panties, “Why would you want to say ‘no’ to a fun time?” Joel’s words flow out of his mouth like silk, you hate that he knows the effect he has on you, yet you couldn’t ask for anything better.

Your face heats up and you slowly roll your hips onto his cock, Joel chokes back a moan - honestly you had the same effect on him, which you loved. His eyes are locked on your covered cunt that is grinding on his restrained cock, you tug his face up by his hair and kiss him with teeth and tongue. “Dad do yo-“ Sarah walks around the corner and sees you two practically going at it, “Get a room you guys, jesussss.” She blinds her eyes with her hand and laughs as you scramble off Joel’s lap, almost falling onto the floor before Joel catches you.

“Weren't you packing?” Joel questions with a half serious, half joking tone to it as he pulls you back onto his lap, but now you’re laying on his chest. Sarah starts to rebuttal but Joel cuts her off and you can’t help but laugh at the situation, she just just caught her dad and he is slowly losing his patience. His hands are stroking your back which tells you, he wants you, bad.

“I was just gonna ask if we’ll be there just for the weekend or the week?” Sarah scoffs as stands there, “Just the weekend, the two of us still have jobs dear. Now go finish, we’ll watch a movie in a little bit.” Joel responds as he looks at her with a painful grin across his face, you can tell he is struggling to hold it together. “National Lampoon's??” Sarah chirps up, you look at her and go, “Duh!” She does a fist pump and a little ‘yessss’ as she runs away to her bedroom.

“Really? Lampoon’s?” Joel chuckles as he looks down into your eyes, “It’s only the best Christmas movie ever…besides the Grinch.” You remark as you put both hands flat on his chest and rest your chin on them and continue to talk about each movie. You honestly loved Lampoon’s and the Grinch, you grew up watching them and as you’ve gotten older, they’ve become a lot funnier.

Joel, still stroking your back, just looks at you as you rave about these two hilarious movies, you don’t notice but he’s in complete awe of you right now. In his mind he’s thinking about how you’re the one, the one for Sarah, and the one for him. You have him wrapped around your little finger and you don’t even notice it, Joel would do just about anything for you, he really does love you. He’s gonna make you his little wife someday, a mom to Sarah, and who knows, maybe a baby of your own with Joel.

“Hellooo?” You’re now waving your hands in front of his face, “Is Joel Miller in there?” You laugh at him staring into space, after you were done explaining your thoughts you had asked Joel what was his favorite, but all he did was stare at you when you asked. “Sorry darlin’, just got lost in thought. What did you ask?” He asks as he moves a piece of hair behind your ear, his warm touch on your face makes you melt. God you love this man so much, and he doesn’t even know the half of it.

You laugh as you ask him, “I asked what’s your favorite Christmas movie?” He throws his head back onto the couch and chuckles, “You’re gonna laugh, Sarah thinks it’s ridiculous.” You now wrap your arms around his torso and turn your head to listen to his heartbeat, “So what? I just went on and on about mine. I still wanna know yours.” You mumble as you take a whiff of him and you smile, he smells like a mix of hot chocolate, cinnamon, and sweat. You are actually addicted to the way he smells, you wish you could smell like him all the time, so everyone knows who you belong to.

“Well, I love the original Charlie Brown: Christmas. It was Sarah’s favorite when she was a toddler, it was on repeat all the time, so it’s just got a special place in my heart for my little girl, who’s not so little anymore.” Joel confesses with a hint of sadness towards the end of his sentence. Your smile fades a little bit at the bittersweet memory, but you still chime out, “I think that’s precious. We should watch it while we’re away, all three of us.”

Joel now has his muscular arms wrapped around your body and his lips on top of your head, he leaves a couple kisses then mumbles, “I would like that, more than you know.” You leave a couple kisses on his chest and you softly reply, “It’s a date then.” Joel hums in your hair and you two stay latched on to one another for what seems like eternity, both of you slowly putting each other to sleep by the rhythm of your breathing.

—

“Are we there yetttt?” Sarah drags out with a groan from the back seat of the truck, you roll your eyes and chuckle at her for, yet again, asking how much longer. The three of you are about ten minutes away from Tommy’s lake house, but Sarah has asked throughout the entire trip which ended up taking longer than two hours because of Christmas Eve traffic, but you can’t really be upset, she’s just really excited.

Joel, on the other hand, was getting very irritated each time she asked, only because he knows that Sarah has been here many times and knows how long it takes, even counting holiday traffic. You could obviously tell he was upset but Sarah had no idea just because she never sees her dad upset, what a blessing that is. “GPS says about ten minutes left until we’re there! You can wait just a little bit longer girl!” You turn around in the passenger seat and inform her before Joel lets out the irritation that now has turned to anger, out on Sarah, you understood his frustration but she doesn’t need to feel the wrath of it.

Sarah cheers and then puts her headphones back on and goes back to doing whatever she was doing on her phone, you chuckle under your breath and turn back around. “Thank you.” Joel mumbles as he puts his calloused, yet still soft, hand on your inner thigh closest to him, still looking out at the road in front of him. “Of course.” Is all you say as you stare out your window at the beautiful woods you’re driving through - you’re absolutely floored by the beauty of it all, you honestly didn’t know Texas had parts that looked like this. The last couple minutes of your drive are silent other than the radio playing random Christmas songs, you’re so excited to get away from the city for a weekend, the holidays even.

Joel makes a final right turn down a steep dirt track hill, which is bumpy to say the least, but it’s surrounded by the tall trees you’ve been enthralled with. Your stomach is in knots, you’re not sure why, probably just really excited for something out of your norm. “Well darlin’, welcome to the Miller family lake house.” Joel smoothly tells you as he makes a slight left turn and you finally see what these two have been raving about. “Holy shit.” Is all that comes out of your mouth, which drops at the sight of this magnificent home in front of you.

It’s almost like a fucking mansion, no it IS a mansion, it looks like it could be four homes in one. The beautiful dark gray paint and matching roof with cream colored shutters and gutters that match together perfectly are what initially draws you in, but what makes it, are the windows. The massive floor to ceiling glass throughout almost the whole home nearly brings tears to your eyes, It's so beautiful. You’re still breathless as Joel parks the truck and you step out the passenger seat, you strut down the couple steps in front of the house and walk down the dock that has a pontoon boat with two jet skis next to it.

You reach the edge of the dock and gaze out at the beautiful water that now starts at your feet and you catch how the sun setting casts a reflection that is just breathtaking. The sky is a mix of purples, pinks, and oranges that mix like a Bob Ross painting, it almost doesn’t seem real. A cool breeze blows by, making you wrap your lace black shawl tighter around yourself, not the best idea to wear shorts and a tank top.

Turning your head to the right, you notice there’s even a little section of beach that looks to be on Tommy’s side of the property. There’s a line of lake houses on either side of his, but this one was the only one that stuck out to you. You can't believe that Tommy bought this, or even that you’re allowed here.

Suddenly, a pair of hoodie covered arms wrap around your waist and a familiar scratch of a beard cradles in your neck, you lean back into the known touch and hum. “What do you think?” He asks between warm kisses to your soft spot, “It’s- I’m-,” still at a loss for words on how this is possible, you stutter, “This place is incredible.” Joel’s warm breaths on your neck from him chuckling sends a shiver down your spine, the tiniest things he does have such an impact on you. “I’m glad you’re able to be here, I love that Sarah and I can share this with you.”

You open your mouth to thank him for being so generous to you, but before you can, Sarah’s loud voice from the house behind you yells, “You two love birds gonna come help or what?!” You look up at Joel and you both start to die of laughter, Sarah always had this timing, every damn time. In your fit of laughter he ends up turning you around and deeply kisses you, causing your laughter to come to a halt. You kiss him back with intensity, so much so that your mind convinces you that you two are the only things floating in space right now. You truly love this man, you love everything he does to and for you - Joel is everything you’ve been looking for.

Joel pulls away from your lips with a pop, leaving you feeling dizzy and hungry for more. Staring into each other's eyes and foreheads resting on the others, Joel coos, “We should probably go help before she gets bitchy with us.” This makes you throw your head back and laugh, “Fucking teenagers.” Joel puts his arm over your shoulder and you two walk back towards the truck to unload the gifts and your luggage. “Fuckin teenagers is right my dear.” He repeats your words with a chuckle in his chest that echoes across the top of the water.

—

After the three of you emptied the truck of your belongings and you all picked which room to stay in, you had made dinner. Sarah put in a special request for your classic breakfast for dinner, cinnamon french toast with sausage and bacon, something so simple but delicious. You had the time of your life cooking, the kitchen was actually insane, the white marble countertop made your knees weak, the tall white cabinets that matched the drawers on the island made you drool. The sink and stove was a stunning stainless steel with gold trim, this place was literally your dream home.

Dinner had been made and put away, Joel cleaned up the kitchen while you and Sarah put simple lights on the tall tree that was in the spacious living room. It was around two AM by the time she was satisfied with how the tree looked with the lights and presents underneath, you three decided to plop down on the white leather couch and turn on “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.

After the movie finished, you notice Joel and Sarah smiling ear to ear. “Good idea on watching this dad, definitely a good one. But I’m gonna go out on the beach for a little bit before bed,” Sarah announces as she gets up from the couch, “Love you guys and Merry Christmas.” She kisses the top of your head then Joel’s, you can’t believe it. “Love you too.” Joel and you both repeat in a heartbeat as you turn your head to look at her, she’s smiling at you as she opens the slider and walks outside.

“Did you hear that?” Your ears perk up from the voice next to you, you smirk as you turn your attention back to Joel, getting nose-to-nose with him and you whisper, “She said it!” His large hands are running up and down your thighs that lay over his perpendicularly, still staring down one another and giggling, he swiftly picks you up bridal style and starts to head for your guys bedroom for the weekend.

—

Joel’s leaving kisses to your neck as he climbs the white oak staircase and rounds the corner, his beard scraping that sweet spot that makes you crave more as he passes the bathroom and reaches the dark brown wooden door. He smoothly turns to his side and pushes the door open, you’re greeted with the smell of cinnamon and a woodsy kind of scent which makes you feel right at home. “Now,” Joel starts as he sets you down on the firm mattress, pulls his black tshirt off, and stands between your legs, you’re now eye level with his cock - mouth salivating as you see how hard he is for you.

“You’re gonna be a good girl for me, right?” Joel seductively asks as his right hand grips your chin and makes you look up at him. “Yes sir.” You purr as you set either hand on his thighs, just starving to get a taste of him in any way. He bends down, still gripping your chin, and plants a needy kiss on your lips, but before you can reciprocate, he pulls away and stands back up now letting go of you, “It’s all yours then darlin’.”

A smirk grows on your cheeks as your hands leave his thighs and onto his belt, you excitedly undo it, his jeans unzipping and falling to the ground not far behind. Only his dark green boxers hold his throbbing cock from your watering mouth, you glance back up to his face and Joel has this smirk where he looks like he’s gazing at an angel. Knowing that he’s looking at you like this, makes your pussy flutter and arousal drip into your panties. Still sitting on the bed and looking up at him, you slowly move your head closer to his cock and leave kitten kisses along the outline, causing him to jump and let a moan crawl out his throat.

“Quit playing games sweetheart.” He threatens under his breath, you leave one more kiss at the tip which is peaking above his waistband, causing a shot of pre-cum across his slit. Before he can say anything else, you slide his boxers down his thick thighs and watch as his cock bounces onto his tummy, his pre-cum leaving his happy trail wet. You spit into your palm and softly grab his leaking, red-flushed cock letting a big drop of spit fall from your mouth onto his tip and you start to stroke him. “Mhmm” Joel hums above you, you love when he’s vocal, gives you a boost of confidence in yourself.

After a few strokes, you put your hot mouth centimeters away from his pleading cock, you slowly bring your other hand underneath to lightly jostle his balls at the same time you slide him in your mouth. Causing whimpers to escape Joel’s mouth, your jaw having to unhinge so he can fill you completely, drool is spilling from the corners of your cock-filled mouth. “Oh yeah- that’s my pretty girl. Taking all my cock like the good girl she is.” Joel moans as he starts to rock his hips into your face, his cock now hitting the back of your throat which makes you gag on him, but that doesn’t stop you or Joel. Tears start to fill your eyes and roll onto your cheek, but from pure pleasure, you love when Joel fucks your face and uses you however he wants.

Both of your hands back on his thighs to steady yourself as he fucks your mouth and groans, “Love when you’re stuffed with my cock, makes you dumb in the head afterwards.” After a few more pumps he drags himself out of your mouth, a string of saliva connecting your plump lips to his throbbing tip as you pull away. You are in a complete daze, Joel was right, you are dumb in the head afterwards.

“Look at you, cock-drunk just off of that.” Joel taunts from above, you tilt your head up while leaning back on your hands and you bark back, “Is that right sir?” Before you finish your sentence, Joel is on top of you, ripping your tank top off of you and your bra right after, then his warm mouth is smothering your tits with bites and kisses. Your moans echo off the walls in your enclosed bedroom, both of your legs bent to allow Joel to slide your panties and shorts off.

Your hands search for any part of Joel so you can scratch or pull something, you want to leave reminders of tonight on his skin. “Look at you. My pretty girl is all wet for me already, does sucking me off turn you on that much?” Joel growls as he brings his fingers to your slit, he swipes two of his fingers starting from your asshole and ending at your clit. This gets you every time, your body does a slight shake from the sudden contact on your pussy. “Fuck!” You cry out as your back arches off the sheets under you, “Yeahhh…you love it.” Joel huffs as he brings his fingers back to your throbbing cunt, he circles your clit, then his middle and ring finger tease your pulsating hole.

“C’mon baby, I need you so bad.” You plead with him as you look in his eyes over your warm face and bring your hands to scratch his beard. Your hips are thrusting into his fingers to try to get him deeper, but Joel chuckles at you and goes, “That’s what you get for teasing me sweetheart.” You groan out of frustration at him and not being filled by Joel. You’re about to whine some more until your walls suddenly feel full as Joel’s fingers spread you open, his fingers hit deeper than your own ever could. “Yes. Yes.” You whisper over and over into his mouth as you hold his face to yours, Joel just smirking as you crumble into pieces in his hands.

As Joel continues to work his fingers in your tight cunt, you get this sudden urge to pee, you start to panic a bit, “Baby, stop - I think I’m gonna pee.” But Joel doesn’t let up, you're trying to claw away from him but his hold on you is too strong. “Joel - FUCK!” You sob when all of a sudden you arch your back and tilt your head back, you feel this gush release out of you and Joel is still working his fingers as clear liquid flies all over. You’re crying from the pleasure but also the pain from him circling your clit slowly, as he purrs, “That’s my girl, look at you. Making a mess on my fingers.”

Trying to catch your breath you laugh, “Holy fuck…I’ve never done that before..” Joel laughs with you as he rubs your skin from your thighs to your neck, “I’m gonna have to get you to do that more often.” Your ears are ringing as you hum in agreement, not being able to answer Joel with words. You lay there with your eyes closed trying to recoup yourself, as you hear him chuckle, “Woww, my girl is calling it quits already?”

One thing about yourself that Joel loves, is how cocky you get in bed, you always talk the biggest game yet, you’re usually the first one to tire out - you never quit though. Your eyes shoot open and you see his face inches away from yours, “I am not a quitter.” you confidently bark. “I didn’t think so.” Joel kisses you tenderly, you both moan into each other.

Still sensitive, you jolt as you feel Joel lineup his pulsating cock to your spent cunt, “A little jumpy huh?” Joel, drunk on your scent, says, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you darlin’.” Your fingers dig into his skin leaving crescent moons on his shoulders as he splits you open with his cock, you shout at the sudden intrusion in your sore pussy. “Oh sorry, did I say care?” Joel grunts as he finds a rhythm, which is a pounding kind of rhythm.

There’s so much you want to tell him but you physically can’t, all that leaves your throat are mixed whimpers and moans. “You like when I use you like a toy, don’t cha darlin’?” Joel bites as he grabs one of your peaked nipples and starts to pinch it, this causes you to yelp and that sensation creeps back into your body, your walls start to squeeze his cock. “Ooh, someone likes it, I feel your tight pussy suffocating me baby.” Joel growls and he brings his other hand between your bodies, stopping right above your aching clit. “Let me hear you say please, then you can let it all out sweet girl.” You hate when he does this, because he knows a part of you physically can’t speak, but you’ll be damned if he wins this time.

His cock then hits your cervix in a way that makes you holler, “please baby, please! Let me cum, pleaseee!” His fingers immediately fall to your clit and he rubs small yet effective circles, that’s all that it takes for your orgasm to rip out of you. Your voice breaks and your body goes stiff as liquid spills out of your cunt again,“That’s my gi-“ Joel chokes as he cums with you in your velvet walls. Joel’s body slumps on top of yours as you groan from his weight crushing you, “Get off meee.”

Joel laughs into your chest and rolls over on his side of the bed, as he catches his breath he jokes, “What? You don’t like being crushed?” You slap his chest and tell him to shut up, he chuckles as he gets up, puts his boxers back on and walks over to your side of the bed with his arms out. You just look at him, unable to speak from the two orgasms he pulled out of you, he shakes his head and coo’s, “C’mon darlin’, get you to the bathroom while I change the sheets.”

Grabbing Joel’s hands, you almost fall over as your feet hit the wood floor but Joel is right there to grab you. “Don’t even say it.” You sternly say to Joel, who is smiling like a kid with candy. He brings you to the bathroom connected to the bedroom, sits you on the toilet and walks back out to grab you a shirt to wear to bed. He walks back in with one of his shirts and slips it on you, he kisses your lips and walks back to the bed to change the sheets. You begin to pee, and you lean forward with your elbows digging into your thighs and your hands hold your intoxicated head up as your eyes close and a smile grows on your face as you sit there waiting for Joel to bring you back to bed.

Joel clearing his throat makes you open your eyes and you see him leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed with this loving look on his face. You show your teeth with a big smile, put your arms up, and playfully whine, “Hi babyyy!” He just shakes his head and laughs at how cute you are after sex, “Hi sweetheart, you ready for bed?” You hum in agreement and nod your head, ready to lay in his arms again. Joel walks over to you, helps you stand, and walks with you to the bed with fresh gray sheets.

You slide in and get right underneath the comforter as Joel slides in next to you, he then pulls you in between his legs as you lay on your stomach with your head on his chest and your arms wrapped around his torso. He starts to stroke your back with his soft fingertips, his heart beat calm and finding the rhythm with yours, “Merry Christmas beautiful. I love you entirely.” Joel whispers into your hair with a kiss, you smile and somehow muster out, “Merry Christmas Joel, I love you more.” You feel his chest flutter from your words to him, you smirk as the two of you fall into a deep sleep.

[winters-dream]

For everyone who wanted a part two 💖:

part one

Villain stood in their lair, their eyes trained on their TV as the news played on the large screen. The news anchor had just announced the death of the city’s beloved Hero, and Villain almost wanted to let out a haughty laugh as they turned to face Hero who sat comfortably on their couch, very much alive. 

Hero watched the news silently as the anchor gave a rather dismissive farewell followed by a montage of their work. They stared at the screen blankly, their face void of any emotion as civilians were given a chance to recall their memories of the Hero.

Villain turned the TV off, cutting the news report short as they stared down at Hero, sitting silently on the couch. They sat with their knees brought up to their chest, staring blankly at the TV, seeming unbothered that Villain had shut it off. 

“Are you okay?” Villain asked. They sat down beside Hero, careful to leave some space between them, still unsure how to act around the one they used to share their deepest secrets with, the one who’d kissed their worries away, shared a million ‘i love you’s with. That all disappeared when Hero lost their memory.

Hero gave them a minute shrug, resting their chin on their knees. “The whole world thinks I’m dead. The news said so.” 

Villain gazed at the Hero, guilt wracking their every nerve as they stared at Hero’s sullen expression. They softly sighed through their nose as their eyes followed the movement of Hero’s fingers picking at the corner of a throw pillow. 

“I’m sorry,” they said. And they truly meant it. None of this should have happened to the hero. That fight shouldn’t have happened, Hero should have never gotten amnesia. If Villain had just stayed home that day . . .

“Are you behind this?” asked Hero. 

“No, honest,” Villain answered too fast for their own liking, panic evident in their voice. “I promise, I didn’t know anything about it until just now.”

Hero nodded with a small motion, leaning back to relax against the back of the couch. They put Villain’s pillow, now with loosened embroidery stitches, in their lap and resorted to fluffing it instead. The action seemed to calm the hero’s mind so Villain didn’t stop them. Even if it was about to cost them a good pillow. 

“You know,” Villain started. “It's not too late. Your death just now came on the news. You can go out there and show everyone you're still alive. Your memory is still shit, but the agency will be thrilled to see you.”

Slowly, Hero shook their head. “I don't think so. That's not who I am anymore. They're all going to look at me and expect me. The person I was before all of this. They're going to expect me to remember. They'll look at me with disappointment when I don't.”

Their eyes met with Villain’s. “It's the same look you give me.”

Villain shook their head. “I'm not disappointed that you don't remember.”

They lied. Of course they were disappointed. They looked at Hero and saw a shell of who they used to be, the years of memories Hero has yet to regain. The distance behind their eyes where there used to be love. The passion they used to have, long gone. The determined set of Hero’s jaw as they conjured a plan to save the city. Their pride. 

All gone within the blink of an eye.

Yes, Villain was disappointed, annoyed at themself for expecting Hero to suddenly remember. It wasn’t fair to Hero.

“Let’s stop worrying about the past,” Villain said suddenly. “Because who knows if you ever fully recover. Focus on the now and make new, better, memories today.”

Hero shifted slightly in their seat and Villain saw the first glimmer of hope flash in their eyes. 

“You really think I can move on from this?” they asked. "It'll be that easy?"

"Well, no it won't be easy," Villain admitted. “But you'll have me with you the whole time."

They reached out and placed their hand on top of Hero’s. And for the first time since the incident, Hero smiled.

[television-overload]

of our own making

(an X-Files fanfic)

Chapter 21/34 - eggs benedict

[Read on AO3]

It’s strange, staying with Sheriff Adderly and his wife Ellen during this case in Vermont. If he had his way, he’d be checked into a motel instead of infringing on their hospitality, but he’d been given no choice. They even refused reimbursement for their troubles, which did nothing to lessen the feeling—however true or untrue it was—of him being a burden to them.

Ellen Adderly had pulled out all the stops for their guest, preparing decadent meals on fine china for every meal, claiming she’d have done it whether he was there or not. He has a hard time believing that. He can’t imagine living in such a way every day of his life. He and Scully barely manage to set out real plates to eat on when they order takeout at home, and he certainly doesn’t expect her to have a three course meal set out when he gets back from work. Besides the fact that she’s always at work with him, it’s just not something he thinks is necessary. Is that something she’d want to do? He doesn’t think so. 

The routine they have works for them, that’s all that matters.

But after getting a taste of his own personal brand of domesticity, it’s… odd… to see how others do it. He’d never have thought there were so many different ways to balance home life, much less enough that he’d start to form an opinion on them. His parents had been one way—not a particularly healthy relationship—and he and Scully are… well, they’re not really anything besides roommates, but that still counts, in his book.

Whatever they are, he likes it. Far better than this constant fussing, at least.

Mrs. Adderly must notice his discomfort, because at breakfast as she masterfully puts the finishing touches on his eggs benedict, she says “I get the feeling you're not used to anyone taking care of you,” and for some reason, that assumption grates on his nerves.

He takes a measured draw from his cup of steaming coffee, swallowing back his immediate retort.

“What makes you say that?” he asks instead. She probably hadn’t meant anything by it, but it still comes off as rude. He has someone to take care of him, thanks very much. Just not exactly in the same way as Mrs. Adderly insists on taking care of her husband… and apparently Mulder too.

“I’m sorry,” Ellen says, realizing her statement had come out somewhat offensive. “I just mean… I didn’t see a wedding band.”

She nods at his left hand sitting atop the table, and he follows her gaze to the bare ring finger.

“Do you have a significant other, Agent Mulder?” she asks.

Significant? Yes. Very. Other? That’s a good descriptor. Single, married, other. Yeah, he’d select other, if this were a multiple choice question. Although he’s pretty sure that’s not what she meant.

“I’ve– um…” he starts, wondering how best to describe his situation to this woman. “I’ve got a wife, actually.” He pulls out the ring on its chain to show her. “It can be dangerous in my line of work to have it on display,” he explains lamely before tucking it back into his shirt.

Ellen smiles. “Ah, well that’s good. Don't miss out on home and family, Mr. Mulder. I imagine with all the things you see, you need that refuge more than most.”

Her words hang in the air, a bit of sage advice from a woman he otherwise has very little in common with. But before he really has a chance to think about what she’s said, Sheriff Adderly makes an appearance, and it’s back to business. Ellen excuses herself to go check on their daughter, leaving the two of them alone to discuss the case.

Mulder remains seated at the table, staring down the sheriff with a knowing look. He’d begun to suspect—and now his suspicions are all but confirmed—that the man had been unfaithful to his wife, and it makes him feel sick. Here this man has it all; a loving wife, a sweet baby that they didn’t have to jump through a million hoops to get, and yet he’s willing to throw it all away for some cheap thrills.

He’ll never understand it.

The man is no more forthcoming about his knowledge of the case than he had been before, so Mulder lets it slide for now. The last thing he wants to do is show all his cards too early and spook him. He gives him just enough to leave him rattled. To let him know that he knows . 

He lets the unspoken threat hang between them until the sheriff folds, squirming away to take a shower, or so he says. 

He’s still seething in bitter disgust when Ellen returns, carrying her sleepy baby in her arms. It’s a well-practiced juggling act, Mulder can tell, as she goes about fixing herself a plate of her now lukewarm breakfast. With only one arm, she clearly struggles to transfer strips of bacon out of the pan, and Mulder gets to his feet.

“Here, let me help,” he says, joining her in the kitchen. What he’d meant was that he could help assemble her plate, but as he goes to reach for the spatula, he instead finds himself being handed a baby, and his eyes widen comically. “Oh, right,” he says, then plasters a forced smile on his face. Sure, this was what he’d meant to do all along. 

The little girl is heavier than he’d expected. Like a sack of flour, though with limbs jutting out everywhere. It takes him a moment to adjust, his hands holding her awkwardly beneath the armpits. 

“Hi,” he says conversationally, looking down at her like she’s a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. The baby just blinks at him, a blank stare on her face. “Okay,” he mutters to himself, lifting her to his hip and returning to the table. He makes every effort to not look like this isn’t the first time he’s held a baby in—well, basically forever, but he’s not sure he succeeds.

Ellen smiles across the table at him and digs into her meal.

“Do you have children, Agent Mulder?” she asks, “You and your wife?”

It still makes his heart flutter to hear someone refer to Scully as such, but he supposes that to Ellen, it really is that simple. Scully is his wife, that’s all she knows.

He’d always thought conversations like this to be so dull. ‘So, Dave, how’s the ol’ ball and chain? Kids staying out of trouble?’  But, now… 

Well, it’s different now that he actually has something to contribute to the discussion.

“Yeah, actually, one on the way,” he says, giving a self-conscious little smile. 

He’s never told anybody about this other than Skinner, but he supposes there’s no harm in telling this random woman in Vermont. It almost makes him feel… normal. Like he can relate to other people over the simple fact of his impending fatherhood. A shared human experience. A milestone in his life that doesn’t involve aliens, ghosts, ghouls, or any manner of cryptozoological entity.

“We’re adopting,” he further explains. “Only a couple months left till the birth mother’s due date.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Ellen exclaims, smiling up at him over her bowl of fresh fruit. “You must be so excited!”

“Very,” he says, looking down at the drooling baby on his lap. “We never really thought it was possible. That we’d ever—” 

He pauses, the shrill tone of his cell phone breaking into their conversation.

“Speaking of my wife,” he says, flipping open the device. “Hey, Scully. How’s the stakeout going?”

Her voice crackles over the other side of the line, drawing a genuine smile out of him. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask that, Mulder, so that I can give you the good news I just received.”

His stomach does a flip. “Good news?”

He pictures her nodding, sitting in that grimy, cold room surrounded by surveillance equipment, somehow brightening it with her smile. “Krista called and we had a little chat.”

Mulder looks up at Ellen from across the table, where she’s watching him with a knowing smile. “Oh?” he says.

“Mm-hmm. And you know what she told me?”

Scully is extra cheeky this morning, huh? He misses her horribly. This is the last time he’s letting Skinner split them up for a case. After this, no more. He’s putting his foot down. What are they going to do, fire him?

“What did she tell you?” he asks, turning to instead stare at the floorboards, giving himself the illusion of privacy despite the constant watch of Mrs. Adderly.

“She told me the sex of the baby. Would you like to know?”

His heart thumps in his chest suddenly, its rhythm erratic. This, he hadn’t expected first thing in the morning. He hasn’t even finished his first cup of coffee yet.

“She finally found out?”

“Yeah, Krista said she was a lot more cooperative at this appointment than the last one,” Scully explains.

Mulder freezes.

“She?” he says, his voice raspy with awe. “It’s a girl?”

He hears Scully release a shuddering breath before her voice comes back, with all the telltale signs of happy tears that he’s come to recognize in the last few months.

“It’s a girl,” she confirms.

It’s a girl. He’s gonna have a baby girl.

“That’s– that’s amazing, Scully! That’s… wow!”

“I know,” she says. “I’m– You’re not disappointed, are you?”

“Disappointed?” he asks, furrowing his brow. “Why would I be disappointed?” 

Disappointed is the absolute last thing he’d be feeling right now. Elated is a better word. Maybe a little scared, but he’ll get over it.

“I don’t know, I just thought… You know, you talked about coaching little league, and I’m sure you want someone to watch basketball with you…”

He laughs. He can’t help but laugh. “Just because you don’t like basketball doesn’t mean other girls don’t,” he says matter-of-factly. “And have you seen girls softball teams, Scully? They’re brutal. You try getting hit by one of those giant neon yellow ostrich eggs at 50 miles an hour. I volunteered to practice with the girls once in high school. Almost lost an eye.”

“But what if she doesn’t like sports at all?” Scully asks, and he’d bet good money that she’s chewing on her lip right now, the way she does when she’s worried. “What if she’s on the chess team or plays the violin or the piano?”

Oh, Scully.

“Then I’ll learn all the names of her concertos and cheer her on at every chess tournament,” he answers simply. “Look, Scully, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you and I are both gigantic nerds. I think we’ll be prepared for whatever she’s interested in when she gets older.”

She . They can finally stop talking about her in abstract terms. A girl. A daughter.

“Your mom’s gonna flip,” he says when she doesn’t respond. Margaret Scully has a grandson, but no granddaughter. He can just see the little plaid dresses, frilly socks, Mary Jane shoes, and giant velvet bows in their future. She’ll be spoiled rotten.

“I can’t wait to meet her,” Scully says, sounding wistful. 

“Me too,” he agrees. “When I get back, we’re going out shopping again. I think maybe this time I’ll be able to hold it together in the clothes section.”

That earns him a laugh.

“I’m willing to bet it will go the same way as last time,” she teases back, and she’s probably not wrong. Just picturing this baby, a little girl like the one he’s holding now, has him emotionally on edge.

“I– I’ll talk to you later, okay?” he says, glancing up at the clock. “Let the thought of warm baby snuggles keep you from freezing your butt off.”

She sighs, the annoyance of her less than ideal assignment returning. “Thanks for reminding me, ” she intones.

They stay on the line a moment more, waiting to see who will be the one to hang up. Eventually he hears a soft click, and he smiles down at the phone in his hand. Goodbyes have never been necessary between them. Maybe that’s just another way they’re weird, but he likes it.

The baby in his lap gurgles, and he sets his phone on the table to turn his attention back to her. He sees her differently now, with the knowledge that he has a little girl on the way too.

“You’re going to be an amazing father,” Ellen says, eyes shining as she watches him.

Mulder feels his cheeks beginning to burn. “Oh. Thanks.”

“No, really,” she says more insistently. “You seem to care a lot already. And wanting to be involved… Well, that’s everything. Your wife is a very lucky woman.”

“I’m the one who’s lucky,” he says, and he truly believes it.

He’s the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.

~~~

wife guy / girl dad mulder says you get another chapter :)

Chapter 22/34 - pizza boxes

The sound of keyboards clacking fills the dimly-lit room. A greasy bag that once held at least a dozen cheap tacos from the place across town sits atop a stack of empty pizza boxes, not that the inhabitants of this particular abode pay much attention to that kind of thing. 

“Hey, here's something weird,” Langly says, looking up from the computer monitor, the unnatural light of it reflecting off his glasses.

“What? Is it Krycek again?” Frohike asks, crossing the short distance to lean over the other man’s shoulder. “What’s that little rat up to now?”

Langly adjusts the bright, warm-toned desk lamp to minimize the glare on the screen.

“No, just something strange in my sweep of government records,” he says.

“Mention of a virus? Shadow government stuff?”

Langly shakes his head. “It flagged a document mentioning Mulder and Scully's names.”

This bit of information piques Byers’ interest from across the room. “What agency? Homeland? DoD?” he asks, joining the other two at Langly’s computer.

“County court in Annapolis, Maryland,” Langly reads off the screen. “Dated December 24, 1999.”

“Open it!” Frohike demands impatiently.

It takes only a few seconds to hack the database, which is a little alarming. What would the public think if they knew how insecure county records are? But that’s a concern for another day. 

The document slowly appears on screen, and three pairs of eyes take in the information all at once.

“That's… unexpected,” Byers says.

“Married? Since when?” Frohike exclaims.

Langly looks up at him with a condescending glare and smacks the older man in the stomach. “Since Christmas, idiot, haven't you been paying attention?”

“Not that, stupid,” Frohike says, quick to respond with a slap to the back of the blond man’s shaggy head. “Since when are they an item? Did I miss something?”

“You seen a rock on her finger lately? I haven't,” Langly comments.

“Get Mulder on the phone, that little sneak owes us an explanation!” Frohike snaps, pointing a finger at Byers.

The phone rings a few times before it connects, the voice of their friend coming through on speakerphone.

“Now's not a good time, boys,” he says. There's some kind of noise in the background, someone speaking, but they can’t make out who it is. It doesn’t sound like anyone they know. 

“Mulder!” Frohike yells into the phone. “What gives, man?!”

“Yeah, bro, we'd have thrown you a bachelor party if we'd known,” Langly adds.

A sigh crackles through on the other end of the line, and Mulder murmurs something indistinguishable to someone before finding somewhere quieter to talk.

“How'd you find out?” he asks, sounding annoyed.

“Your marriage license record came up in one of our regular sweeps. No other threats, by the way,” Byers answers.

“Except maybe Frohike,” Langly jokes. “He might want to challenge you for her hand.”

Byers snickers.

“Shut up! I'm happy for them,” Frohike says, glaring at his friends.

Langly rolls his eyes. “You never stood a chance.”

“There's an explanation for this, I swear, now's just really not a good time,” Mulder says, insistent.

“What's there to explain?” Frohike asks. “You guys fell in love and got married without telling your best friends. No big deal.”

He’s not genuinely trying to guilt trip Mulder, but it does sting a little that they hadn’t said anything to them. Maybe just a little tiny guilt trip. A guilt excursion, if you will.

“It's not… really that simple,” Mulder says, his words hesitant.

“What do you mean?” Byers asks.

“I know you didn't knock her up, obviously, so what more is there?” Langly says, as delicate as a brick to the face.

“Well,” Mulder says, “I kind of did, in a manner of speaking.”

“Scully's pregnant?” Byers asks. This is shocking news. It should be impossible! “But—”

“No, Scully's not pregnant,” Mulder quickly corrects before the conversation can spiral out of control more than it already has. “But… we are expecting, actually. Hopefully.”

“IVF?” Byers asks.

“Not IVF. We tried that last year though, you're a little late to the party.”

Jeez, what haven’t they missed? Maybe the real conspiracy is whatever the heck is going on with Mulder and Scully.

“Then, what—?”

“We're adopting,” he says, interrupting them. They can almost hear his smile over the phone, all goofy and care-free. “There's a woman that selected us to adopt her baby when she’s born, so… I'm actually at this class for new parents with Scully right now. I should probably be getting back. Don't want the teacher to flunk me.”

“Wait wait wait,” Frohike says. “Adopting? How long have you guys been… you know?”

“Well we only started talking about it back in November. It's honestly moving pretty fast, but we're excited.”

“Not that,” Frohike says, waving his hands in the air. “You and Scully!”

“Oh,” Mulder says awkwardly. “Um, we actually aren't. A couple, I mean. If that's what you're asking.”

Frohike’s jaw drops. “You're kidding.”

“No, I'm not.”

“But you're married!” Langly insists.

“A formality.”

“The IVF!”

“Favor for a friend.”

“Yeah, right!” Frohike says with a laugh, sharing a disbelieving look with the other Gunmen.

“You love her, don't you?” Byers asks, sincerity breaking through his friends’ incredulity.

“If you're just gonna harass me, I'm going to hang up.”

Okay, so he’s done sharing for now. They’ll just have to try to get more out of him later.

“Mulder… what are we going to do with you?” Frohike asks, shaking his head.

“Listen, guys, I've got to go. We're learning how to change a diaper and I'd really like to not make a fool of myself, if at all possible.”

“Wait,” Frohike says. “Tell Scully congrats for us. We're happy for you, Mulder.”

“Yeah, we just think you're a complete idiot too,” Langly adds bluntly.

“Thanks, guys. We're really happy. Sorry I haven't been around, it's been crazy.”

Well, now at least they know why Mulder has been missing their poker nights and D&D lately.

“Don't worry about it, Mulder. Just—maybe tell us what's going on next time?” Byers suggests.

Mulder puffs out a laugh. “Sure, next time I marry my partner with the purpose of adopting a child, I'll let you know.”

Frohike points seriously at the phone, despite the fact that Mulder can’t see it. “Watch it, buddy, you're already on thin ice.”

“I'll talk to you guys soon,” Mulder says. “Oh, and if you're ever looking for me, I'm staying at Scully’s apartment now, by the way. I gave up my apartment.”

“Dude…” Langly says. There's something seriously wrong with those two.

“Alright, I gotta go. I'll tell Scully you say hi.” And with that, he hangs up, leaving the three amigos to take in everything they’d just learned.

“Aren't a couple…” Frohike grumbles, repeating his words. “They're a couple of idiots, I'll tell you that.”

Byers nods his agreement, and Langly shrugs. 

“Lucky kid, though.”

~~~

Lovely tag list ♡: [if you would like to be added or removed, let me know!]

@today-in-fic @ao3feed-msr @agent-troi @angegova @baronessblixen @calimanc @captainsolocide @clo-thespin @cutemothman @danasculls @deathsbestgirl @edierone @enigmaticxbee @figureofdismay @frogsmulder @gillian-anderson-in-the-tardis @hippocampouts @invidiosa @monaiargancoconutsoy @msrafterdark @numinousmysteries @primrose19 @randomfoggytiger @skelavender @skylarksong @stephy-gold @teenie-xf @the-redhead-in-a-dress @vincentsleftear

[twelvroses]

LIZ's DIARY - 16/07/24. mentioned: @dreamquest @fiixion @yunzip @pinkscaped ♡ (& ahin lol)

The latest episode of Dreamquest just aired; I’m writing this in my dorm. Have I even written about my dorm? I can’t remember the last time I actually had the time to sit down and write, I think it was just before the show started… I used to be so diligent about keeping this diary, but life has gotten so hectic. I’m sharing a room with Yoon and Miyu. Both of them seem nice, but it’s a little awkward. Since we were all on different teams, I don't know how to approach them them because I'm not sure if they see me as a friend or just someone they'll need to beat. I wish I was the type of person who could start a conversation with anyone, but I just don’t know how to keep it going. The words don’t come for me. I haven't really bonded with any of the other girls, and I can tell that some of the other girls think I’m a bitch, but everyone always thinks I’m a bitch and I can live with that. Sani is really nice, though, she's really really cute, and she was so nice to me after the Fancy performance, so I think it'd be fun to be on a team with her at some point. But it would be really nice if I could at least befriend my dormmates too. I mean, assuming none of us get eliminated, they’re gonna be the first and last people I see every time I wake up or go to bed. Don’t you think that kinda sets the tone for your entire day? Even if none of us make it, it still would be nice to have some friends. That reminds me, now that I’m at Valentine, I hope I get a chance to meet the Medusa girls soon. I’ve always really liked Choi Gain sunbaenim. She just comes out and says whatever she’s thinking, no matter who’s listening or how many cameras are on her. I’ve been trying to be like that, but like everything else I try to say, it dies in my throat. Maybe if I get to hang out with her, it’ll rub off on me a little bit. 

Anyway, I won't have chance of meeting Medusa if Valentine drop me, and they might do just that, cause the CEO already told me that he expects big things from me. He told me to keep my sights set on top 5, because this is the very first time Valentine has EVER sent a trainee to a debut show, and I’m their only trainee, so if I totally flop, it’ll be really embarrassing for them, and I feel like the whole place is built on one man's very flimsy ego so he'll probably just drop me. We got to see our rankings and right now, I’m at nine. It’s not too bad, and so I want to be proud of it, but I know it’s not good enough. It doesn’t feel fair. I didn’t get a single solo line in Genie! How the hell am I supposed to get screen time and convince people to vote for me if I’m not being given the same opportunity to sing as some of the others? I wonder if the showrunners think I can’t sing because I rap. 

I also hate my new CEO, Yoo Seobin. He walks around like a weirdo mafia boss. You know, Ahin sunbaenim told me that when they go out for company dinners, he makes him, Choi Gain and Kwon Harin sit at a separate table with him. It’s supposed to be a ‘leaders privilege,’ but he’s kind of just keeping them away from the party. He thinks he’s the godfather, or something. Like it's an honour to sit with him. If I end up in a Valentine group, I pray to god that I’m not the leader. I’d hate to sit and drink with him. Did you see his fucking press release about me? He talked about how I was hypnotizing and my beauty was unmatched or something… Like he’s a married, middle aged man. It's so weird and I'm really worried if he keeps talking about me like that, people will start making up rumours. Even the thought makes me want to throw up. I wore the baggiest clothes I own last time I had to go to his office, and he still kept looking at me weird. Ahin sunbaenim said I can wear one of his sweaters next time, because if he sees me in boy's clothes he might assume I have a boyfriend and back off. It’s kind of cute that he thinks that would work. 

But Ahin sunbaenim is nice. I’m even going to record a demo for him next week. It’s not gonna be for me in the end, I think he’s just gonna send it out to a bunch of labels and see who wants the song, but I’m getting paid for recording so it’s already the most legit gig than I’ve had in about five years. He’s fun to hang out with. I think he has a little bit of a crush on me, but for once that doesn’t bother me. I think it’s just refreshing to come across a guy, especially one who’s a bit older than I am, who isn’t so fucking leery and demanding. He doesn’t even flirt or anything, he just gets shy around me and it’s easy to make him blush. It’s funny. And he does have a nice smile.

I just realised I'm writing about boys in my diary so I'm going to stop now because I'm not twelve. Kwon Ahin is the last thing I need to be thinking about right now. What I need to do is win this competition. I really hope, like really really really hope that I can rap in the next round. Like a proper rap that wasn’t written by fucking JYP, I mean. I’m really regretting singing for my audition. My first choice was Payday by Yoon Mirae but Seobin told me I had to pick something recent. If I’d pulled off a Yoon Mirae song I think I might be way higher in the ranks by now. But if I don’t get to rap there’s no way I’m gonna crack the top five. And if I get kicked from Valentine, it’s like losing the biggest opportunity I’ve ever had. I feel like I might just be setting myself up for one big joke. I couldn’t even rise up the popularity rankings of Bouquet. Do you know how easy it is to be more popular than a Bouquet member? Most idols who debut achieve it on their first day without even knowing cause they probably don’t know who Bouquet are. Were. Also, FUCK OHJANG ENTERTAINMENT.

I owe more money than I’ve earned, my parents lost all enthusiasm for this path for me a long time ago… I can’t even remember what it felt like for them to take pride in me. Honestly I started writing this entry because I thought I was going to end it by affirming to myself that this would be a turning point and I’d ace it from here on out, but I kinda feel worse than when I started writing. I should go to bed. I have to get up early to get some practice in before official practice starts, and if the girls who ranked lower than me find out I’m whining and moping about ranking 9th, they’ll think I’m even more of a bitch than they already do.

Well, just wish me luck in the next round, I guess!

[bitchlessdino]

Idk what it is but mingyu is so damn cocky he needs to be put in his place. But there's also another part of me that wants to take of him so badly till he cries (in a good way?? AHAHAAHDJ) i want my bb to be happy AND FUCCIN SPENT🤤🫶😘

(idk if u're doing requests rn but when u're ready ig i just needed to convey how much i love this man😠😠😠💖)

Pairing: sugardaddy!Mingyu x afab!reader

Genre: smut

Word count: 1.1K

tags: , sex worker!reader, sugarbaby!reader, sugar daddy!Mingyu, sub!mingyu, restraints, mean reader, degradation, lap dance, spitting, handjob, praise kink, pet names (baby boy, ma'am, puppy), mention of unprotected sex

Summary: Mingyu had it easy getting what he wanted. With you, he had to pay a pretty penny.

author note: subby gyu, my favorite gyu. thank you @multi-kpop-fanfics for helping me out!

You knew Mingyu since your school days, and yes, he was handsome then too. He was fawned over, became an infamous ‘it’ boy where you lived, and let’s say a lot of that got into his head. He dated around, eventually slept around, until he ended up in a peculiar sexual relationship with you, who hardly knew anything about.

You faded in the background for him initially; a friend of a friend, a mutual acquaintance, a person to talk to at parties when he had no one else. It was on a fateful night he got a taste of you and what you’re capable of. Wrapped in a tight little number, fabric squeezes the flesh of your ass in place, as your body mesmerizingly floated like a cloud on a metal pole, dazzling everyone in your proximity. Where he was sitting, you looked expensive but worth every cent.

He approached you that night, paying for a dance out of courtesy (what else would you do in a place like this), and brings up if you would ever consider a casual, physical relationship. When you told him in your words, ‘fat chance in hell,’ he instead offers a mutualistic symbiotic relationship, in short words, compensated dating. Mingyu got things easy, but not with you, he had hoped you’d take an interest with an incentive.

Your ass being held together by a few threads and small patches of fabric, you turn your face to him, still swaying your hips to the beat of the music and brushing your tush against his lap, feeling the sexual frustration poke at you through his thick pair of jeans. “Why would you do that when you can just date anyone you want? You’re constantly saying you can.”

“But I want you,” He answers simply, lust-blinded, “Even with the smallest, itty bittiest chance I got, I’ll take it.”

You were starting to realize why he was given such high praise. He certainly loved receiving it.

“Aren’t you being such a good boy for me?”

His hands tied behind a thick block wood chair, he sighs as you place your hands across his bare chest, submerging himself in the delicately perfect touch you had on his cock. “Yes, I’m being so, so good to you.”

You let out a low growl, spitting onto his full length, slathering him in a mess of your salvia, and coating every inch. You could feel every vein, tracing back every texture of his powerfully full cock. He lets out a curt moan, throwing his head about frustration, hips slightly jerking up in aid of getting himself off. You push him down by his thighs, clicking your tongue at the roof of your mouth to scold him. “Good boys don’t move when they aren’t told to.”

You draw your lips to his ear, jerking him in your hand, and let out a low, daunting tone of voice, “You think just because you’re pretty you can do whatever you want?”

He tries to turn his head to kiss you, but you pull away too quickly, a whine escaping him. “Please…I want it.”

“What? What does baby boy want?” You taunt him.

He sulks, looking at you with puppy dog eyes, his lips bruised red from all the biting. “I want you. I want to fuck you so much.”

“If you behave, we’ll both get what we want.”

You grip the base of his cock, taking strong and agonizingly slow strokes, and brushing the palms of your hands to the tip, gradually picking up the speed depending on his patience levels. He obliges, rutting himself in your grip, and his voice bouncing off the walls. He gets bigger, twitching in your hands. His whines only get louder as he pleads with you between his throaty moans.

“What a cute cock. Getting off at me just touching you. You’re just fucking dying to be inside me.”

You pull yourself up from the floor to run your lips over his, sucking on his quivering tongue. Your hands ruin him without a second thought, his moans drowning down your throat. “M-more…ma’am.”

“Mmm, you sound so cute when you beg for me.”

You play with his cock like a joystick, teasing your thumb over the slit of his head, and your smile taunting against his lip. “You’re just my needy little fuck toy, aren’t you?”

He struggles to nod, “Y-yes…I want you so b-bad, ma’am.”

“Want do you want, baby, huh? You don’t like me playing with your big, pretty cock? Greedy for something else, hmm?” You grip the cushions of his cheeks, protruding his lips out.

This was torture for the man for obvious reasons. He tugs against the silk ties, impressed by skills in knots, and just sinks back in the chair submissively. “Use me, mmp…please.”

You snicker to yourself before situating yourself in his lap. The shiny latex one-piece covering your torso squeaks against his bare thighs. Your furious heat teasing the shape of his length with now both your hand and crotch, precum leaking so fucking deliciously against the fabric. His reflection in your clothes stares back at him, a morphed messy naked version mocks him, but he had hardly the brain power to care.

“Do you think you deserve me to fuck you stupid?” yo.u utter

You put your weight into grinding against his lap, anticipating his reaction. Your dancer's hips move on methodically, showcasing a personal view, your number one clientele feeling a mix of bliss and ache all at once. To say it was well received would be an understatement. “S-so…p-pretty…”

There was a cute flush on his cheeks, his tongue sticking out of his mouth like a canine in heat, nodding and submitting all of himself to you.

“Good boy. Such a good, obedient, pretty puppy. With an even prettier mouth for me to spit in.”

You swash an abundance of your saliva in your mouth and lift yourself up slightly from his lap. A hand of yours takes the back of his head, pulling the hair from the scalp, and watches the translucent fluid land on the center of his tongue in thick ribbons. You can see his eye glisten with his blissful tears and him smiling in that dumbified way it gets when he feels overwhelmed with euphoria, and you could just feel him ride off that high.

“Swallow.”

He does as you instruct, his adam's apple bobbing in sonic speed, soon showing off his tongue briefly before you reattach your lips to his.  Letting go of his cock, you pushed aside your latex bodysuit, hovering over his length, and let your cunt swallow his girth, your velvet walls hugging him heavenly in a gyration that he takes a deep breath to contain himself. You could feel him twitch inside you, a loud groan leaving his body like he came from an exorcism. “S-shit.”

“Time for your reward.”

[orchid-mantis-petals]

WHEN HOME BEOMES YOU CHAPTER 10

/ Hello!! Hi!! As promised here is chapter 10. A few notes before we begin!! Next week is my official work change. Barring any health problems or life problems Saturday Night, around 8-10 MST will be the drop day from now on.

/ I will do my best to drop a note to tell you all what is happening. Anyway I will stop rattling on now.

/ My usual thanks go to @maximumkillshot and @taeminsung for all your help and ideas for this chapter.

/ Genre: Angst, FLUFF, crack, comfort

/ Warnings: talks of past, PTSD, talk of panic attack, past chapter incident, swearing, throwing snow??, Throwing shade (Seungmin, and reader) oh yeah and swearing

/ Summary:

“Whatever Seungmin,” the older shook his head as he went to switch up the settings on the ball machine. In the hour they had been there had been no one else in the space. It was nice, Seungmin liked the silence of it. But he knew it wouldn’t last forever. Not long after he switched the settings the door opened up as another person came in to bat just a few cages down.

It was nice to have time at the main JYP building before your work schedule began. When Lee Know parked the car you were quick to bid them farewell. After the near 30 minutes you’d spent in that detective's office then to admit some of it to Felix and Minho. You needed a breather, your gym session was overdue. But your bag was at home in your apartment. So you didn’t really have a change of clothes. It was there you found yourself with a coffee in hand at the top of the company building as you looked over the city. From your apartment you mostly saw the mornings, the evenings this city had. It felt strange to have time to witness it in the midday. You shivered as a cool breeze licked your neck, winter was only a few weeks away. But her approach was fast. Felix and Hyunjin had rattled on about the snow and how pretty it looked over Korea. In their excitement you found yourself giddy to see it with them this year. You sipped at your coffee as your solitude gained company. You knew who it was before they stood beside you, trauma is funny like that. Just the cadence of someone’s steps is recognizable to the person. “Hello Chan,” there was a chuckle before his frame took residence beside you. “Who blabbed??”

“Felix, he was just worried about you. We all are,” you sighed as you finally turned to look at him. It was true, the face he wore was one you’d call worry. Eyes wide, eyebrows quirked in different positions his body leaned toward you as his entire attention now belonged to this conversation. And ideally, toward you.

“I’m okay Chan, it’s just. It’s a lot to process. Years of my life packed away in a box. I’ve protected that box for a long while. To finally hand it, and essentially my life over to another person. It’s a lot to handle,” Chan nodded. You knew he understood in his own way what you had gone through. Maybe not in the same light but he did understand. “I talked a little bit about my sister today. It’s been a very long time since I’ve have,”

“Do you want to talk about her more??”

“Yeah..yeah..Chan you would have loved her. She was this beautiful bright woman. She always chased her dreams and strived to make this world a better place. I loved to watch her work. In a way Chan you’re a lot like her,” he only listened, to which you appreciated when you were done talking he scooped you into a side hug. It was nice to lean into someone as you let go once more. The rest of the day went just as easy, the boys kept close. Felix had said something to them, what you didn’t know. But every chance they were given your usual trio was stuck to your side like glue. Changbin not far off as he watched your every reaction. It was nice. When you finally made it home and plopped into bed you were exhausted. Before you fell asleep you checked schedules for the next day. It was good to see that the boys were provided a free day to just relax. You, yourself, had the day off effectively before schedules ramped up. Your last task for the night before you forgot was to send a text to Himora so he had a way to contact you regarding your case. He was quick to respond, his statement that he would have further info for you in the next coming days.

**** **** **** ****

“Come on Seungmin we have the day off, why couldn’t you do this alone??”

“From what I remember Innah you asked me to teach you baseball, how I teach you is not really up for debate,” Seungmin stood in the doorway of the dorm as he waited for the youngest member to get his shoes on so they could go out. It was clear I.N. had regretted asking the slightly older male to teach him how to properly play baseball. Sure, they could have slept in a few hours longer before they ventured out. But Seungmin didn’t want to spend all day at the batting cage. A few hours in the morning with lunch to end the activity was the best he could manage. There were things in his own personal time he wanted to take care of. So he dragged the youngest team member from his bed at Seven am to go out and get it done.

“If I had known you’d drag me out of bed this early I would have told you nevermind,”

“You learn better in the morning, Innie,” Seungmin tossed him a water bottle and bag before he walked out the front door to the cars. The younger just behind him on his heels. Lee Know was kind enough to loan his car for the day, with the ask that they didn’t trash it. Seungmin agreed to not eat in the vehicle to keep the trash down. His regular batting cage place was always open this early, if they happen to not be they always made an exception for Seungmin, a regular and favorite of theirs. He suspected it was due to the fact that he tipped well to keep his identity secret. When they arrived he practically dragged I.N. into the building for the younger had fallen asleep in the car on the way. They bypassed equipment rental, Seungmin had enough for both of them to use. Once set up in their spot he gave I.N. the instructions on what to do. He watched as the younger worked hard to get it right. It took some time, but in an hour Seungmin saw progress in the younger man. “See now, was that so hard??”

“Whatever Seungmin,” the older shook his head as he went to switch up the settings on the ball machine. In the hour they had been there had been no one else in the space. It was nice, Seungmin liked the silence of it. But he knew it wouldn’t last forever. Not long after he switched the settings the door opened up as another person came in to bat just a few cages down. As the person passed by Seungmin was quick to recognise it was you who had entered the building. He strangely had come to know you by the sound of your walk, how you look as you pass by or walk in front of him. Psychologists often say it can be a sign of trauma, or a response to trauma in your life. What trauma Seungmin didn’t know. More often than not he was just an observer, one to take in all the details from a distance and keep them to himself. Or used as prime blackmail against his favorite people. He would call it his love language, others say its torture. Either way, he observed. His attention was now divided between I.N. and you, one cage away from them. He watched as you stretched and set up. Then he’d turn to Innah and instruct him on what to do next.

It was after another hour that he decided he’d had enough. He could tell from how you stood, your weight distribution, stance, even your bat hold. All of it was near perfect, yet every time the ball was ejected from the machine you missed. “Seungmin??”

“Mm hold on Innie,” he stepped out of their cage and made moves toward you. “Pack up we’re going,” he turned off the machine before he walked over toward your cage. He knew you were aware of their presence. So when he stepped up to your area and cut the power to your machine you just sagged the bat dropped to your side. Felix had told them all to be kind to you. Not that he had plans to hurt you. But whatever the sun wants he gets. There was mention you had injured your hands in a panic attack. Seungmin knew there was more to the story. That Felix had said something beyond the panic attack to the three oldest of their group but he didn’t pry. It wasn’t his place. “Let me see your hands,” he didn’t ask, maybe his approach was harsh but he didn’t care. There was a thought to ask you, to rearrange his phrase so he was gentler with you. But it was hard when he knew you were hurt, to Seungmin that was enough. He just wanted to help in his own strange way.

“What??” Your voice was so quiet it tugged at Seungmin’s heart. He felt his guts twist up a little at the sound.

“Hands,” he took your hands into his, he was so careful as he pulled your gloves off. He watched your every flinch and twitch. Once the gloves were off he sighed. The bandages over your hands were splotchy and red from your cuts. “Alright, let’s go get lunch I’ll bandage you up in the car,” he took you by the wrist and dragged you with your belongings where he and I.N. had been. The younger boy was quick to take your wrist from him to allow Seungmin the chance to grab the last of their things and pay. “Take her to the car,” he told the maknae as he went to pay for both your and their time at the cage. The big tip included at the end. He thanked the staff with a small bow before he wandered outside to find you and I.N. at the car. Without a word he threw open the trunk and piled all of the bags into the back while he searched for the first aid kit he knew Lee Know kept in there. Once it was found he waved you over. His brain was so set on helping you he hadn’t realized how you felt as he caged you against the trunk of the suv before he literally lifted you by the hips to sit in the open back of the car. Seungmin was on autopilot as he removed your old bandages. He inspected the cuts to be sure none were infected before he recleaned and bandaged them up.

“Jeez Minnie, I see you’ve been hitting the gym with Binnie,” his cheeks flamed red at Innie’s words and the realization at what he’d just done.

“Sorry,” he grumbled as he backed off of you. He was sure his ears were bright red as he helped you down from the car. “I didn’t..”

“It’s okay Minnie,” your voice was so light as you teased. “You were only trying to help. Bin will be happy to know his hard work is paying off,” he scoffed and playfully shoved you to I.N. before he cleaned up the mess and closed the car.

“Alright you weirdos let’s get lunch,” the three of you piled into the car with one thought in mind, food. To fill your empty stomachs with something delicious and maybe a little greasy. It would fit the theme for the day. Seungmin didn’t let either of you choose where you’d eat, just that you would have something to eat. He dragged you both to a small local Ramen spot that had a variety of egg topping choices and his favorite fruit salad bar. “Driver picks the meal,” he stated as though you or Innah would protest his choice. Neither of you did, in fact the meal was the perfect amount of filling and greasy that he desired.

“We should go do karaoke,” Innie suggested between mouthfuls of food. “I want to hear Y/N sing for once,”

“I promise, you don’t,” you laughed, it was a sound Seungmin strangely loved. He’s heard it often over the month and a half he’d come to be in your presence. It was so loud and unique to you. When he heard it he couldn’t help but laugh along with you.

“I’m sold. Karaoke after lunch,” he decided, sure you could decline, take a cab home but there was a smile on your face that proved to say otherwise.

“Don’t cry for your poor choices Kim Seungmin,”

“I never cry over a choice I make,” he challenged as he paid the bill for lunch earning a scowl from you as you lifted your wallet for him to see. “What?? I’m just faster,”

“We’ll have to see about that,” you laughed as the waiter took his card. Seungmin fell silent as you chatted with I.N. again he just pondered and observed, he’d noticed over the last couple weeks you’d seemed so tired and run down. Yesterday at the photo shoot you had been so quiet, outside your usual chit chat with Felix or Hyunjin. When he watched them come close to you he noticed you actually for once clung to them. You had even sought the attention of Lee Know at one point. It was different to see you act in such a way. He didn’t dwell on it too much, not when he saw the light had begun to come back to your eyes since he had taken you away from the batting cages. He hoped karaoke would also make you smile and laugh for him. When lunch was finished the three of you drove to a karaoke place just down the street from your apartment. Ever the practical person Seungmin had chose this place on purpose. Especially when he learned you walked to the batting place. He was happy to have been the chauffeur for the day’s activities if it made you and Innah smile for him. He thought back to when he spoke to Felix, how honest he was with the Australian in how he felt about you. But the moment you let him take care of you, the moment he was hooked. Like the rest he wanted to know your darkest secrets. Why had you hid so much from them?? But he wouldn’t pry, no never. Not when he could see behind your strong facade, he could see the growing cracks in the mold of your well built walls. He feared that when the break occurred you’d be lost forever. Seungmin would try his best to keep that from happening to the best of his ability. When he parked the car you were the first out of it and into the building, he raised his brows quizzically at I.N. as they followed you in. “Ha!! Beat you to it!!” You cackled as you handed your card over to the desk clerk. Oh..how silly of him..he should have known you’d play this game to win.

“Had no idea you were so competitive. Game on Y/N,” he laughed as the clerk handed you a key card with a room number to your karaoke room. He followed at the back, I.N. just in front of him and you at the helm.

“Me?? Competitive?? Never??” There it was again, the butterflies in his tummy. He wanted to make you laugh forever.

**** **** **** ****

I.N. had come to adore you in their lives from day one. He was right there, right behind Han at that airport. One they’d frequented quite often when they traveled. Situations like that with fans were normal, sadly. It was a risk that came with the career. He knew that, yet each time something like that happened Innah could feel his body revolt. Felix and Han both told him that experience was anxiety. While sure his was only temporary to certain situations he could only imagine what it was like to experience that on the daily. His heart felt as though it had dropped out of his chest and dragged behind him for miles. It was only when your kind face came to check on him did he calm. You had made sure he wasn’t injured, that the woman who had tried to grab him never did. From that day on he trusted you with his whole heart. He’d later come to learn more about you and your life in America. They weren’t secrets persay, but it was so cool to talk to you without your trio at your side.

It had been the night before the flight back from Japan. He couldn’t sleep, nor could you, it seemed, as he found you on the rooftop balcony of the hotel two hours after all of you returned from the after party. When he settled beside you on the bench the two of you didn’t say a word for a long while. It was you who had broken the silence first.

“Can’t sleep??” He shook his head as he tipped it back to the sky. There weren't many stars he could see here in the city but the few he did always captured his attention. “Airport??” This time he nodded, his eyes moved to meet yours as you watched him quietly.

“I’m afraid. Last time was scary,” you nodded in understanding as you moved to settle his head on your shoulder.

“I understand but I promise it won’t happen this time. I can’t promise every time. But I can promise this time. I can walk you through the plan if that helps??” He nodded again, his head still gently nestled against your shoulder. “I have switched your flight to early morning so the crowds are smaller. I called the JYP PR team to have the old flight information released. Like last time I will have extra support from the airport staff to protect you. And I have switched you and Han to be closer to me,” it was simple. You threw everything into logic for him. All his worries ebbed away at that moment and he fell asleep against you. When he woke up the next morning he wasn’t sure how he ended up in his hotel bed but he didn’t question it. He was ready for whatever the day brought. That conversation had made him realize you were more than just a person he could trust. You were a friend. And maybe one day part of his small family. On the plane ride back to Korea you had sat with him and talked him through the plan for the airport back home. He felt so at ease around you. It reminded him of the times his mother would give him a lemon drop candy. The sour flavors always shocked his brain but the sweetness soothed it minutes after. His mother loved to give it to him when he ran around or rattled on about nonsense.. In a way you had replaced that candy with your own self. You had become his Lemon Drop, that soothed his anxious soul.

“Lemondrop..sing a duet with me??” This was the first time he'd called you that aloud. The others had nicknames for you so he figured why not give you one of his own?? Plus it was cute to see your cheeks flush pink at the name. He handed the machine to you. To pick a song to sing with him. He watched as you hesitated a moment before you picked a Song by Twice. It was so cute to watch you hold the microphone far away from your face barely singing the words to the song that you picked. He didn’t judge. In fact to ease your anxiety he sang loud and with a funny voice. You joined him in the silly antics as the song came to an end. You both laughed at the crappy score the machine gave you.

“My turn,” Seungmin stated as I.N. handed over the iPad to him to pick a song. It went on like that for a while. All of you picked songs back and forth for nearly an hour before I.N. had an idea.

“Minnie!! You should do a battle with Lemondrop,”

“I don’t see how that’s fair Innie..” you complained but reached the iPad to select a song either way. He laughed as Seungmin also selected a song to battle against you with. Second pick went first so both of you sat back to watch Seungmin sing. It never mattered if it was in a performance, the studio, or even karaoke Seungmin sang with his whole heart. He gave everything to the craft that he loved. I.N. adored him for that, he knew the rest of the members did too. It was because of him they all worked hard to be better. To do their best. The sparkle in your eyes gave away to Innah that his magic worked on you too. When it was your turn to sing unlike earlier this time you gave it your all. The song you picked was one of their own.

The opening notes to Cover Me blared over the speaker. He was shocked to say the least. You’d been so quiet when you sang earlier and Cover Me wasn’t an easy song of theirs. Yet as the lyrics displayed on the screen he saw your eyes were closed as you sang along to the music. His heart nearly stopped when you hit every note perfectly. It almost reminded him of the day Chan had Seungmin in the studio for his part. How he did his line in one perfect take. If you had any flaws in the way you sang their song he couldn’t tell. Silently he pulled out his phone from his pocket and hit record. He wanted to immortalize this moment forever if he could. When it came to Seungmin’s part he watched as your body relaxed to draw in enough energy to sing the note. And just like Seungmin you got it in one perfect try. Innah saw from the corner of the room his older member was shocked, jaw literally slacked at your ability. And when the song ended it wasn’t a surprise to either of them that you had beat Seungmin.

“What happened to ‘I can’t sing’??” The older mocked your earlier words with a slight pout on his face.

“I-I’m just as surprised as you are,” you laughed as you set down the microphone on the table. The youngest in the room was about to pick another song when his phone began to ring. It was Lee Know. He was quick to answer.

“Hey Hyung what’s up??” He shrugged to you and Seungmin as he settled into the couch.

“I’m here with Bin. I’m driving you two home it’s snowing,” At first I.N. questioned how he knew where they were but then he remembered Minho always put tracking on his devices in order to keep them safe.

“Okay, we’ll meet you out front. Oh. We have Y/N with us,”

“I didn’t see her motorcycle, it's unsafe to drive that thing in the snow..”

“Ah..Hyung no,” he laughed at how protective he’d become over you all of a sudden. “She walked to the batting place and we happened to be at the same one so we dragged her along with us,”

“Oh, I see,” there was a quick silence on the other line before Lee Know spoke again. “Bin can take her home. I'll drive you two,” he heard his other Hyung squawk in the background before there was some light rustling. He was sure the two were messing with one another before the line fell silent as the older had hung up.

“That was Minho Hyung. He and Bin Hyung are here. It’s snowing so they want to take us home. Lee Know is taking you and I,” he pointed to Seungmin. “And Binnie will take you,” he said as he addressed you. It wasn’t long after that all of you packed up your belongings and headed out the front door. He watched silently as you bid farewell to the desk clerk and thanked him for the great service. Just outside the door the three of you could see the large heavy snowflakes that cascaded down from the sky.

“Innie!! Dance with me!!” He followed you out into the sloshy wet snow to dance. Your twirling caught the attention of his Hyungs who parked beside Lee Know’s car. They stepped out to watch you two play in the snow.

“Careful Innah!!” The oldest sighed as he walked over to the two of you. He stopped to grab his Hyung.

“Minho!! She out-sang Seungmin,”

“Oh?? Did she now,”

“He’s exaggerating Lee Know,”

“Am not!! I have it on video!!” Innie pulled out his phone and played the video for the rest of them to hear.

“I can safely say you certainly out-sung the main vocalist of our team. Careful Seungmin we may have a new team member,”

“She’s too pretty to be on our team,” Seungmin smirked as he bumped his shoulder with yours. All the while they saw you smile. It was wide, wider than they’d seen in days. I.N. knew they all felt the very same way. If they could, they’d do anything to see you smile like that forever. He bid you farewell with a hug as Seungmin put your stuff into Bin’s car. There was a moment he felt your arms tighten around his before you let go. Sneakily he kissed your cheek before he ducked into Lee Know’s car. A half made snowball smacked the window seconds after. But all he did was laugh and laugh. He heard you laugh from the other side of the door. Lee Know rolled the window down a fraction of an inch to call out to you as you got into Changbin’s car.

“Hey Athena, you missed,” the world around the five of you erupted into fits of laughter, even Seungmin joined. I.N. held onto his smile from the moment he got home, to the moment he fell asleep. All of it because of you. Your bright eyes and brilliant smile. It lit a spark in him. In them all.

TAG LIST:

@taeminsung @maximumkillshot @feybin @alex--awesome--22 @liknws @palindrome969 @newbbystay @highlydestiny

[yunacoeur]

the choices we make

our last dance: chapter iii

chapter synopsis: you, as the oldest royal child of your family, are up to take the throne. in your search for a partner to be consort, the royal family is throwing a party in your name for you to meet potential suitors.

look at me like i’m the only person in the room.

word count: 3.2k

a/n: i apologize this is kind of the filler chapter to get us to the climatic ending of the main story! so excited to show you chapter 4, but in the meantime: enjoy!

taglist: @en-ct @dimplewonie @cherriegyu @zerobaseonefics @haesunflower @shiningstar-byulxx @kpoprhia @harus-simp @taerrrrrae @zhanghaos-hairclips @big-uwu-stan @seok02 @kpop17 @quanrui-vamp @mins-fins @huipinkhair @beomibeom @wonluvrbot @gyuvinie08 @flwrinn @wigobkm @deadlycute-cutelydead @ladyestelleofthesea @aerzb1 if you’d like to be on the taglist please fill out this form!

you wake up the morning after, after having been right to assume you’d be restless. the whole night was spent thinking about all of them. you couldn’t eliminate a single one without some part of your brain begging you to reconsider. a small memory shard would be given to you every time you tried to eliminate them. a moment that made you like them.

and then you’d be back to square one.

gyuvin seemed younger, but he was charming in a youthful way. he still had all the stars in his eyes, while the others seemed to only have a few. he had beautiful dreams and ideas and you wonder if maybe, just maybe, you could run away with him. to a place where nobody knew either of you.

matthew was polite and kind and everything you expected in a partner. he’s practically perfect for you. he’s strong and saved you from so much embarrassment when you fell. he kind of felt like the hero you needed in life.

hao was someone who felt real. he felt genuine. you didn’t feel like royalty around him, you just felt like you were someone and he was someone and you were destined to fall in love. you could see it when you were deciding whether or not to dance with hanbin. he felt it too. he was comfort and protection and calm. maybe that’s what you need a little more of.

taerae, the hopeless romantic. god it felt like a typical romance straight out of a movie. what’s nice is that these kind of movies are predictable. there are no surprises, just a guy who falls helplessly in love with you by the end of the story. you could be the happy ending that romeo and juliet never got.

jiwoong is familiarity, and also unfamiliarity. he’s someone you’ve known for years, and also someone completely unknown to you entirely. and while you have spent this time not really knowing him, he has spent his time falling in love with you, to your surprise. he said he’s wanted to marry you all his life. maybe you could make his wish come true.

yujin is also familiarity, but in a different way. you could never marry that kid, but maybe you should consider the possibility of giving the position to him on paper so he could get the chance to rule like how he’s always dreamed of, and your real lover could be someone else behind the scenes. perhaps that is a good ending too, is it not? sacrificing everything so yujin gets a happy ending?

gunwook, the noble scholar, who gives meaning to the stars in the sky. he’s smart, effortlessly so, and he’s beautiful, adorable, sweet, etc. he could say there’s meaning in the most innocuous things and you would believe him. the sun is shining a little bit brighter today? it’s a sign that we’re meant to be together, shine together.

and ricky. a ghost of a presence. an orange rose hidden in the bouquet, waiting for you to search and rescue it. he’s a mystery, but as you think more about him, ask around more, you learn how sweet the people around him think he is. they compare him to a kitten. you’re not sure you see it.

—

the night is slowly coming to an end. you can feel it in the air.

you look for a place to rest your unconventional bouquet, finding an expensive vase resting on a podium in the center of the room. you assume it’ll do the job. you put them in the vase, adjusting them so each one stands out just a bit more. they look chaotic and mismatched together, but even still, they’re all reminders of the beautiful people you’ve met tonight. it would be a shame to hate them and their lack of uniformness.

your eyes search for suitors with flowers still in their suit pockets, a sign that you must still speak to them. one last suitor stands out to you. he’s tall and his hair is bleached blonde. he's wearing more modern styles of jewelry and makeup, he looks cool. trendy even. it means he doesn’t fit in super well with the rest of the crowd, but he also stands out. he is incredibly attractive and his modern look is not doing him any disservice. he’s quite beautiful. you make your way over to him, but as he sees you, he walks over to meet you in the middle.

he tells you his name, but you don’t quite hear him, “my name is ricky.”

“hi, ricky,” you say with a giggle. it’s weird that you feel so shy, but the way that he’s looking at you is making you question everything. his eyes are enchanting, but he’s a little more reserved than he seems from far away and he’s quieter than he seems as well. he hasn’t said anything this whole interaction besides his name.

that’s probably the only reason you can keep talking to him without getting flustered, “i saw you fall earlier. you were with another suitor, i believe? it was so shocking.”

“what do you mean?”

“well, so many people saw but you kinda fell into that guy’s arms so no one said anything,” he shrugs, “are you normally that clumsy?”

a part of you is screaming at yourself to recognize that he hasn’t addressed you respectfully this entire time and that he’s talking way too casually. the other is too charmed by him to really care about the disrespect.

“i-i guess so,” you murmur.

“you should be more careful,” he advises. you mumble out a shaky acknowledgment as he looks at his watch for the time.

“it’s getting late,” he comments, looking back up at you, “did you succeed tonight? did you find ‘the one’?”

a part of you wonders how he even knew of your worries about not finding ‘the one’. a part of you knows he could of overheard. it’s still shocking.

“i don’t know,” you say, and he shakes his head.

“no, i think you do,” he says in return. he’s serious, and the fact that he’s so self-assured makes you believe him just a bit.

you remember talking to a staff member earlier in the day, from a neighboring kingdom. they had sent a son of a powerful, wealthy duchess. they had called him something, an adoring nickname that didn’t make sense nor matter at the time, and now looking back on it you’re wondering how someone like this could be so adored and practically babied by the people around him.

but they definitely referred to him as the one with the blonde hair.

the nickname was something you could not remember, but you could never forget how highly they spoke of him, like he was the sweetest person they had ever met. like he was a teddy bear.

which was ironic because the guy in front of you doesn’t seem like that. maybe there’s more under the surface.

because he is definitely a softer guy than he’s letting on. he can hide it with his intimidating energy and mystery, but you can see it in his eyes, in the way he’s nervous fidgeting with his hands. he seems sweet under it all.

you try to talk to him more, but he almost seems to be rushing to run away, disappearing practically mid-conversation into the crowd. it’s disappointing, but you can finally seem to drag yourself out of the spell you seemed to be under while he was around.

and then it hits you, he never gave me a flower. as you realize it, you walk over to the vase in the center of the room where you had put the other flowers.

you find an orange rose hidden in the bouquet. there’s a note attached to it, taped to the thorny stem.

“remember me. ricky.”

the party has been over for a while now. not literally, you suppose, considering all the people still here. they won’t start to trickle out until you leave.

you retreat to the bar, hoping to find a certain comforting face once again. now that all the dancing has stopped, most of the guests are standing around, drinking, and chatting with their comrades. it may be hard to find the particular face you’re searching for.

and yet, right when you wanted him, he appears before you. it might just be magic.

“hello, stranger,” you say to him. your tone is much warmer and more fond than before. it has lost all sarcasm.

“didn’t i tell you not to call me that?” he replies as he turns to face you. it makes you smile knowing he recognized your voice, your teasing before he saw you. maybe he’d see the personality before the status, unlike so many people in your life, “are you doing alright?”

“yeah, why wouldn’t i?”

“i told you to come find me if you needed a break, so i had assumed-”

“don’t assume anything, dear stranger. i can’t only come to you during bad times. that is not love,” you say, reaching for his hand. he lets you take it and hold it in yours.

“my apologies, your highness,” he says with the most endearing smile.

“but unfortunately you were right,” you say, and he breathes out a laugh. it’s such inappropriate timing, but he can’t help it. you playfully glare at him and he rushes to defend himself.

“i’m sorry, i shouldn’t have laughed,” he says, “what’s wrong?”

you look away from him to gaze over the crowd, eyes wandering to your bouquet sitting gently in the center of the dancefloor. it stands out even more on its podium now that no one is dancing.

it’s an ominous thing. just sitting there peacefully, holding a representation of 8 different guys who offered to marry you, and also yujin, who you think forgot to give you the flower that was sitting in his pocket. you smile fondly at the thought.

out of all the possible thoughts to share with hao, you choose a very unspecific one, “i don’t feel right about any of this,” you say.

“what do you mean, your highness? the party?”

“this isn’t right, hao,” you whisper anxiously. even though he can tell you didn’t mean to say his name so casually, that it just slipped out without you noticing, he smiles. you’re already comfortable with him and that gives him peace, “i don’t feel good forcing people to perform and be the perfect candidate for my husband so i can find ‘the one’.”

“hey, don’t say that. you’re not forcing anyone,” he squeezes your hand to get your attention back on him. you seem distracted.

“i just- it all feels so wrong,” you say, and he heaves out a big sigh like he’s preparing to make a huge mistake.

he pulls you by your hand into him, his free arm wrapping around you as your head rests on his shoulder. he rests his head against yours, letting you relax and breathe before he says anything else.

“i’m sorry,” he whispers, “i’m sorry i keep doing things without asking you. i’m sorry i keep disrespecting you as the future monarch of this kingdom. and mostly i’m sorry that you feel like you’re the villain here.”

you’re not crying, because keeping in emotions is something you’ve been learning to do for years. god if you aren’t a little bit close.

“this should have been a cute story. a love story. finding your perfect match and having a perfect, happy ending,” he taps his hand against your back as a soothing motion, “instead you’re here feeling like you’re the bad guy, like you forced everyone here. that must feel horrible.”

“it does,” you whisper back.

he chuckles, and you feel the vibrations from his chest. his rhythmic heartbeat comforts you.

“i’m sorry, your highness. if it’s any comfort, i can assure you that no one you’ve met tonight feels forced to be here.”

“how would you know?” you mumble against his shirt.

“because i’m standing here with you. i could not imagine being displeased with your company,” he smiles, you can’t see it but you can hear it in his voice, “i could not imagine disliking you. i couldn’t even begin to describe what that would be like.”

you raise your head to look at him. his eyes are so intense, but they’re beautiful, burning into your soul.

“thank you, stranger,” you whisper to him with a giggle, and he scoffs, letting you go but still holding your hand.

“you’re never gonna let that go, are you?”

“i don’t think so,” you smile, and he smiles back.

“are you thinking of calling it a night soon?” he asks.

“yes, i think so. i am tired. i will think it all over in the morning,” you say, thinking of the restless night you are about to have. all those pretty smiles and charming personas. it will definitely take some time to decide who you’re going to marry.

“then i suppose this is goodbye until i see you again,” he sighs, and it feels tragic. there’s this heavy feeling on your soul, “whether i see you again as my fiance or as an ally, please know that i will always be here to be your peace, should you ever need me.”

“thank you, hao,” you tell him, before suddenly, you remember something, “oh, my, i almost forgot!”

he looks shocked for just a moment, “what? what is it?”

you look back at him, apologetic for getting up to leave so suddenly, “i promised something.. to someone.”

of course, you see in his eyes that he’s not fond of what you’re implying. he looks subtly upset like he’s hiding it well. maybe your heart likes that he already wants you to himself.

you don’t have to do it. you could stay with hao and be comfortable. he seems to be the only real person here. he’s sweet and charming. he’s a perfect bachelor.

but you see hanbin from across the room. his darling charming smile and his cheek dimples stand out the most. he is exciting, breathtaking, and it would be a crime to not dance with him at the very least one last time ( hopefully this isn't the last).

“stay with me,” hao says, tightening his grip on your hand. you stare at your hand being held in his, desperately holding on, “stay. please.”

“i promised him,” you whisper, looking up at him. something is going on inside his head, an emotion you can’t exactly pinpoint. you give one last look to hanbin, who at very long last makes eye contact with you. his eyes shine impossibly brighter, like he’s found what he’s been looking for.

hao sighs, “then go,” he changes his mind suddenly, and you turn back to face him, “no, really. go. dance with him. it’s okay.” it’s confusing and heartwrenching to see hao let you go like that. you know he hates the words leaving his mouth.

you mouth a simple thank you to him before running off to fall into the arms of your final dance partner of the night.

you get to him easily. he’s still just as effortlessly beautiful up close as you remember. he immediately reaches for your hand to hold. he’s warmer than zhang hao is. he’s not as soft spoken. he’s brighter. his grip is less gentle. so many little differences.

“hanbin,” you smile, and he smiles back. he adores how softly you say his name. it’s only been hours, but he thinks he’s ready to fall in love. it feels too fast and too quick, but he’s been preparing for this moment his whole life. considering he has no chance for his own kingdom's throne, marrying you would be fulfilling his destiny.

plus, he likes the way you look at him. he likes how clumsy you dance, it’s kind of charming. he likes how humble you are despite your position. he likes a lot about you already.

“will you join me?” he asks, but when your face falls just slightly, he gets concerned. he’s faulting just a bit, his hand retracting slightly. he’s worried that you’re giving him this last dance as a final goodbye, “what is wrong, your highness?”

“you’re asking for the… last dance,” you mumble, and before he has a chance to even respond to that, you wipe the sadness from your face and take his hand, “very well, i suppose i will join you.”

he’s slightly stunned, but he follows. he feels out of place for wanting to correct you. you haven’t given him the opportunity, but he still feels like he must. for your feeling’s sake.

“your majesty, i had asked for your first dance as a formality. and i had asked for your last dance out of avarice for your time, but if i'm being honest,” he says, his grip on your waist as you sway together making the moment even more intimate. god, he’s so close to you, you can feel the breaths he exhales on your skin, “i think i’ll need more than just those two.”

“yeah?” that, in all your dazed glory, was all you were capable of responding with.

“i would ask for all of them if that didn’t feel just a bit too greedy, your highness,” he gives you a goofy smile and it just all stops. time freezes for just a second.

you let it all go for a moment, just enjoying your last moments of the night with him. he decides to relax and enjoy these moments as well, twirling you around and smiling so endeared when you giggle. he might just be in love already.

you’ve gotten a little bit more bold since the first dance with him, and now that it is the last one, he happily lets you lead him around in your clumsy rendition of the graceful dance he had led you in earlier. he is so much better of a dancer than you are, but he’s patient with you. you step on his toes at one point, and you hurriedly apologize, but it doesn’t even matter to him. his expensive shoes are replaceable; this moment with you is not.

people who look on simply see you and him, giggling and laughing at your silly dance, holding onto each other for fear you’ll fall, and they must wonder if all these other suitors thought they even stood a chance.

“i have a request,” you say to him, “could you promise me this is not our last dance?”

he smiles so endearingly, “your highness, no matter what your answer is in the coming days, should you ever lend out your hand, i will reach for it. i will always twirl you around and dance with you, and we will come right back to this moment,” he says. it gives you comfort for a brief second before the anxiety of the question of who to pick comes back to you.

hanbin?

with his perfect smile and dimples, are you going to choose to spend your mortal life ruling a kingdom with sung hanbin by your side?

“thank you,” you say, pulling his hand close to your lips to kiss the back of it.

he shakes his head adorably, pouting, “oh, your highness, that should be me. i should be thanking you for your consideration and time-”

“hanbin,” you stop him, “thank you. i should go now, but i thank you for everything.”

the feeling of the kiss on his hand still lingers after you’ve left him there.

[jakegooglyeyes]

Delicacy - vampire!Jake

Gif credit: me (@/jakegooglyeyes)

Pairing: vampire!Jake x f!reader

Summary: You are on your period and Jake is eager to have a taste.

Warnings: oral while on period (f receiving), no penetration, menstruation, blood. RPF. 18+ Minor DNI.

Word count: 1317

A/N: A little idea I had with @gyllenhaalstories​. Thank you so much for your support and love. This is me celebrating the month of October. While I don’t plan to do a full Kinktober, I’m trying to get my motivation for writing back.

"Let me have a little taste."

When you hear Jake's request, you almost throw your pillow at his face for daring to make such an outrageous proposal. The painful cramps are aggravating enough. No way in hell you're going to let him make a huge mess just because of his sudden appetite.

Long story short, your boyfriend is a vampire a few centuries old. That's fine. Ever since he opened up to you about that, you've occasionally indulged his thirst for blood. That's also fine because he makes it feel very pleasurable for you. Now he's asking if he can taste your menstruation blood. That's NOT fine. You're NOT fine.

"I read this technique from one of my family's ancient tomes, and I'm sure I can make the cramping disappear. Y/N, please?"

Wow, can he think of a worse justification? You grit your teeth and insist that he cannot. Then, you curl yourself around the warm water bottle and decide to ignore the person sitting on the side of your bed, who is looking at you like a puppy waiting for treats.

"I promise, it's going to feel so good. C'mon, love, you know it will."

Jake still hasn't given up. He litters your sides and stomach with tiny kisses to ease you up. Your boyfriend has fantasized about this many times but never had the chance to bring it up to you. And this time, he is determined to get your permission. He has held himself back and come extremely close to losing it many times. But right now, you just simply smell so good. He is never going to let this one chance slip away. Jake is so close to your pussy that he can practically smell your warm and inviting lifeblood.

You hate to admit it, but you are somewhat curious, and if he really can make the pain go away, then you want it. Still, this is too outlandish. Everyone has some reservations about themselves.

"Ow, fuck." You curse softly, feeling another throbbing pain in your lower abdomen. This month's cramps are particularly nasty. Your mind wanders. If Jake is telling the truth, what do you have to lose? Worst case scenario, he makes a bloody mess on the bed sheet. But he would be dealing with the consequences because he was the one who asked for it. And despite the pain, auntie Flo also makes you kind of horny.

"Please... I swear you will not regret it." Jake continues to push his agenda. He's so hungry for you now someone would need to stab him with a wooden stake to make him stop.

"Alright, fine. But you clean the sheet." You nod, rethinking your life choices before laying on your back, still pressing the water bottle on your belly.

"Thank you, love. You just relax. Let me take care of everything." Jake mentally throws his hands in the air celebrating figuratively as he gets a clean towel and puts it beneath your butts. Next, he eagerly slips off your pajama's bottom. His face lits up as he gets a whiff of your divine scent. He slowly removes your panties and finds the string of your tampon. Jake pulls on it gently, testing your reaction. You grumble, wondering if you've made a mistake letting him have his way.

"Is it okay if I pull it out?" Jake looks up at you, awaiting your approval. You nod, and he grins from ear to ear. You inhale, feeling the piece of cotton slipping through your entrance. Jake fights back the urge to suck on the tampon like a popsicle before discarding the thing. Once he's done, he sits back and takes time to admire your pussy, savoring every second.

"There there. It's going to feel nice soon." Jake coos. His hand caresses the protruding hill below your belly button. He doesn't waste another second before diving between your legs and gives your soft lips a good lick, tasting the blood that lingers on them. You let out a small whimper. Your body is a lot more sensitive during this time of the month. Knowing this, Jake is much more gentle today, slowly enjoying the metallic taste.

His tongue works on your clit, circling and pressing down on it. The sensation makes your inner walls contract, pushing out a stream of red, which Jake happily laps right up. You can't tell if you're getting wet or if that's just your blood, perhaps a mixture of both. All you can feel is warm fluid trickling down your thighs.

"You taste so good, baby. Your blood is exquisite as it is, but this is a treat." Jake compliments as he fully immerses himself in the flavor.

You quiver as you feel his tongue making love to your inner thighs before returning to your aching clit. He carefully closes his lips around each of your lips and sucks on them. You sigh and relax a little more. His low body temperature has a pleasant cooling effect on your sensitive parts. He looks pretty pleased with himself whenever you moan and squeeze your legs around his head, showing him how much you enjoy this. You get to feel better during the worst time of the month, and he gets to have an all-you-can-eat buffet. What's there to complain about?

His hand rubbing your tummy starts moving in a circular motion, and to your surprise, the pain begins to lessen bit by bit. You release a joyful whimper. Then, without the pain ruining your attention, you close your eyes, relishing the mounting pleasure between your trembling legs.

"Don't hold back, baby. Let it all out." Jake praises softly before spreading your entrance with his thumb, allowing him easier access. His tongue makes its way into your dripping walls, drawing out more wetness while he makes mental notes, memorizing the heavenly scent and taste. The flavor is incredible beyond his imagination.

"I've been waiting for this for weeks. Feed me, love." He pleas before increasing the pressure on your mound. You can practically feel his fangs brushing over your clit and pussy lips. Jake momentarily breaks away from the main feast to munch on your thighs, drawing out delicious yelps from you. He quietly plans to take care of those delectable thighs some other days. Right now, though, he has a more important goal.

Your cheeks feel hot, and your eyes start to water as a delightful tingling sensation spreads throughout your body. Jake's light stubbles tickle your skin, and the tip of his nose pokes at your swollen bud, adding to the increasing pleasure. You arch your back, grinding yourself into Jake's mouth even more. Your eyes are closed, and you can't see, but you know his face is probably covered in your blood and juices.

With a white flash, your pussy throbs, and you scream as your orgasm hits. The contraction of your walls pushes out a rivulet of warm nectar. Jake carefully sips it up like the finest wine he has ever tasted.

"It truly is a delicacy from Eden. Only God could have created such a wonderful concoction." Jake laments to himself while cleaning up the last drops with his tongue. You roll your eyes at his corny language but are too sleepy to protest. He tenderly sucks and licks your flower for what feels like hours before tending to you with a towel soaked in warm water. After that, he helps you change into clean clothes and bring you a cup of hot chocolate, just as you like whenever you have to deal with your period.

You take a sip of the beverage, feeling the energy return to your limbs. The cramping has gone, and your body feels light and content. Jake lays down and pulls you into his arms, resting your head on his shoulder before kissing you on the forehead while humming a familiar tune.

[wallwriterstuff]

Fault lines ||FosterDad!John Price x Teen!Simon Riley|| Part 5

Warnings: This is a fairly accurate representation of a Child Planning Meeting used to assess need and put supports in place for children who are struggling at home and/or at school. Swearing. Trauma responses. Mentions of violence and mental, emotional and physical abuse. Discussion of child services. Mentions of mental health and learning disability diagnoses.

Words: 4836

Summary: As John tries to put support in place to get Simon into school (and back to some sort of normalcy), the push back he gets shows just how much Simon is bottling up.

<-Part 4: Paint Over The Cracks

John hasn’t been in a place like this for decades, but the place smells familiar. The varnish on old wood and the faded, aged paint chipping off the wall in places throws him back to a time that he knows he lived through but feels separate from. John Price knows he went to secondary school, but the Jonathon Price who excelled at being mediocre in his classes feels very far away from the grizzled SAS Captain whose best asset was always his mind first, his weapon second. There’s this hum of noise that occupies the building, rumbles through the walls, a vault of stories waiting to be told and lives waiting to be lead that’s bursting at the seams. John remembered that feeling well; the feel of being confined by four walls and a test grade was etched into his marrow, fed that itch that had spurred him into the military when his parents had pushed for a University application.

It was the feel of a prison cell.  

“Mr Price?” The receptionist is middle-aged, smiles kindly, is overly polite, but her eyes scream at him to fuck off and let her work in peace. The documentation required to transfer Simon to this school had been a pain to collate and fill out, but John had painstakingly triple-checked every detail before handing it over to her for processing today. Simon’s about as settled as he’s going to get right now and the school’s have taken a while to get back to him about his application for a place, so Price considers himself lucky that he’s only had to wait a little over a month to enrol Simon. Old instincts flare when a sudden flood of people enter the corridor with him. Pupils spill from classrooms as he’s lead along a corridor and up some stairs, the loud chatter and laughter of raucous teenagers gossiping and laughing and loving and hating keeping his head on a swivel. It’d be easy to disappear in a crowd like this.

I can’t let Simon slip through the cracks.

“Oi Robocop! Gi’us your hat yeah?”

“Andrews! That’s not how we talk to visitors. Grow some hair and you won’t need someone else’s hat.”

“Ooohhh!”

“Mr McKay that’s well savage.”

Price shakes his head, ignores the little snotter and follows the receptionist into a meeting room. A tall, lean man with tired eyes and a cornflower blue tie stands to greet him and shake his hand. He’s got a laptop open in front of him and the lady across from him has an Ipad open in her lap. She’s blonde, bobbed hair and cappuccino eyes set in a young face that he thinks Simon’s demons will eat alive if given half a chance. The only other person with them is an older gentleman with laughter lines deeper than a canyon and the kind of gentle smile Price has learned to distrust over the years. He’s too cynical to believe everyone’s good at heart anymore. He tries to be more open-minded.

“Afternoon Mr Price, it’s good to meet you face to face. I’m Owen Croft, we spoke on the phone.” Price is glad when the head teacher finally stops shaking his hand – the clamminess was starting to irk him. He gives a polite nod to the two other members of staff in the room before taking his seat, pulling off the beanie and ruffling his hair a bit to let it settle. He’s been in a Child Planning Meeting before but, well, the last few kids he’s fostered haven’t had quite as large a history as Simon does. He pulls his own notepad and papers from his backpack and watches the way the older man’s eyes flick to it briefly. He can almost sense the relief in them, like the fact that their sitting there with someone who has actually has a clue is a rarity. Price gets a sneaking suspicion it is.

“Right, we’re going to start off by introducing ourselves and then we can talk through a plan to help integrate Simon into the Littlewood Academy family.” Owen Croft is far too cheery for the subject matter he thinks. “I’m Owen Croft, and I’m the Headteacher here at Littlewood Academy.” He turns his eyes next to the blonde woman who gives another one of those friendly smiles that his cynicism hates. He tamps down the irritation and mentally prepares himself for whatever the next hour might bring. He’s hoping it brings the biscuits down from the shelf behind Owen Croft.

“I’m Michaela Morris, and I’ll be Simon’s form tutor this year.” Price gives a nod of acknowledgement.

“I’m Thomas Edwards and I’m Support for Learning at Littlewood.” The older man tips his head towards him and Price gives another nod, feeling his own gut tighten.

“John Price…Simon’s foster carer.” It feels strange to acknowledge it out loud. He’s known from the start of course, but he’s been so busy being in the thick of it with the kid that he’s never really took the time to acknowledge his role in Simon’s journey. Owen smiles encouragingly and Price resists the urge to roll his eyes at him. He’s no unruly teen that needs a guiding hand anymore. The years haven’t been kind, and he sits before them now an assertive and grizzled old man ready to fight on a different kind of battlefield, the bureaucratic kind. Just you try and stop me helping this kid, just try.

“Okay. What we’re trying to do in this meeting today is establish a plan for enrolling Simon to our school. Today’s meeting is going to be focused on creating an accurate profile of his needs so we can support him the best way possible. So, John, can we start with a bit of background about how Simon came into your care and what’s been going well for you at home so far?” Owen has his hands folded near the laptop, poised and ready to type but giving the impression he’s fully listening. Price weighs each word in his mind carefully. There’s a lot to tell since Laswell’s last visit and he’s not really sure where to start with it all. Maybe the phone call that brought Simon to him?

“Simon has a younger brother, Tom. He took on a caring role and it was his wish for the boys to remain together but…welfare concerns don’t permit it. Simon found their mother. He’s seen a lot in the last 24 hours.”

Owen takes diligent notes, as does Thomas, and Price finds the feeling addictive. It’s a lot, to hold someone else’s trauma, and it spills over one edge into the next like a champagne tower cascading from him to them. Perhaps it’s the not the phone call he needs to start with but everything leading up to it. Maybe he needs them to know Simon starved to feed his younger brother when poverty kept food on store shelves and not in their kitchen cupboards. Perhaps they need to know of the level of abuse his father subjected him to, from bringing dangerous animals into the house to making him witness overdoses in seedy bathrooms at concerts a young boy should never have been at. Maybe it’s the manipulation of his relationships with Tommy, a brother he loves so dearly doted on by their dad until Tommy became just like him and bullied him to.

No, no the separation of the siblings is another issue. Price’s head spins with it all. They only need to know the labels, not the specifics, he thinks.

“He er, he found his mother after she was murdered. Dad was taken into custody for it and the boys got placed into foster care. Simon came to me, his younger brother was placed with another carer. Investigation since has turned up evidence of a lot of mental, emotional, and physical abuse towards both boys, but mainly Simon.” His answer is polite, professional, but inside he’s straining under the weight of holding it all in. They don’t need to know everything, just the challenges and working supports, he reminds himself. Simon’s story is compelling to tell and he wants to shout it from the rooftops, condemn Thomas Riley for everything he ever did to his sons and make the entire damn country wake up and realise what’s happening to its kids behind closed doors. It’s not his role or place to do that though. His job is to advocate for Simon, not use him as some moral fable or example of a failing system to force change.  

“He has a younger brother?” Michaela, is tapping at her Ipad to and the clacking of keyboards pounds like war drums in his head. Simon would hate having these strangers know all of this but it’s the only way to get him the support he needs. It still feels like a betrayal and it makes Price’s gut clench.

“He does.” He confirms.

“Is there a family plan in place? Visits?” Owen questions, eyes probing. Price slowly shakes his head, mind drifting back to Laswell’s recent visit and the meltdown it had caused. He thinks it would have probably been easier to tell the President World War 3 had been declared than it was to tell Simon that he wasn’t able to see Tommy again for a while. He’d not seen Simon as the emotional type before that night; the boy kept his emotions neatly tucked away, all compartmentalised with a daily rota of which emotion he could display and when. Laswell telling him he couldn’t see Tommy had a similar effect to tectonic plates slipping against one another, the grinding friction building and building until it exploded into an earthquake that shook his whole house. Well, the doorframe perhaps, after Simon slammed the door hard enough to crack the wood. Maybe the floorboards to from where he’d thrown the furniture about.

“No. Social services have decided it’s in the boys best interests to remain separated for now.” Price said.

“Of course they did,” Thomas shook his head, looking pitying, “It’s ludicrous how many siblings get split when there’s evidence that shows siblings have better outcomes when they’re kept together.” Price feels his face pinch and before he can stop himself he’s on the attack, a vicious guard dog coming to Simon’s defence. He’s only 8 minutes into the damn meeting. It’s a new record.

“Unless welfare concerns stipulate otherwise. Their relationship was completely pathologized. Tommy was favoured by their dad and became exactly like him. Simon took on caring responsibilities for Tommy and was so blinded by that side of their relationship that he couldn’t see his brother was abusing him just as much as their bloody dad. So no, it’s not in their best interest to keep them together. Simon needs a chance to be a kid, not a carer, and he’s done his time as a moving target.” There, that should set the record straight. Thomas is silent enough that Price thinks the point definitely hit home. It feels almost cathartic to have someone take the brunt of his anger, and he is angry, so angry, that Simon had to live through any of this bullshit.

“The night we picked them up Simon was trying to keep Tommy away from their father, but the kid wouldn’t leave him be, talking about how “the bitch had it coming” and mocking Simon about the fact he couldn’t cry to her anymore whenever he was mean to him.”

“Fucking Christ Laswell…what a little psychopath.”

Maybe not his most professional response but if the shoe fits…

“Okay so, things that have been going well at home?” Owen gently guided the conversation to something better and Price glanced to his notepad. His chicken scratch was barely legible and Simon had snorted when he’d seen it. The conversation had been…interesting. Simon didn’t give away much, but he’d told him a few things he liked about living with him. Price wasn’t sure if he really meant it or was just saying what he thought he wanted to hear but it made him feel better to think he was serious. For all of his personality traits it was Simon’s observational skills he somewhat admired most, born out of vicious necessity tragically but giving him the comfort to know that Simon was never going to be played by any old idiot.

“We’ve established a good routine. Dinner at the same time, lights out, calm time before it. I spoke to the doctor’s a few times to and Simon’s got melatonin to help him sleep, so he’s getting a full nights rest now. There’s been chronic bed wetting but we’ve found ways of managing it. Simon said he likes his yes basket for all his snacks to and playing with my dog, Riley.” Price glanced about as more tapping echoed in his ears. There were other small wins but he kept those to himself, little successes to cherish that didn’t need boasting about at this stage. They’d painted together just last week. Simon had willingly let him into his space, been open to spending time with him, and they’d talked a bit as they worked and got to know one another more. It was one of the first real conversation Price felt he’d managed to have with the boy. He’d left feeling better about his ability to cook anyway once Simon had declared his Bolognaise was the best he’d ever tasted. Sure, the kid was comparing it to a microwave meal but…well he’d take his wins where he could get them.   

Challenges were of more interest to the staff members though. He could see them all perk up like hungry dogs salivating at a steak. Simon wasn’t a steak. He admired it, the thought that they could be the one to turn this kids life around – hell he’d once thought the same. The truth was…trauma had no timeline. Some kids would make no progress despite every support and the best will in the world for the next 20 years. Others might flip on a dime and heal quite a lot in 5. It wasn’t about any single one of them at that table but the team they were creating. Simon didn’t need a hero, he needed an army, and Price would be damned if he didn’t spearhead it. If Simon looked back in 20 years time and remembered him fondly then he’d have done his job right.

“Simon’s not big on talking but the few times he has his language gets…colourful. I imagine that’ll carry into the classroom. He prefers to be isolated in his room a lot, likes the quiet, so I think he’d benefit from having a breakout space.” Price pauses, wondering how to word the latest meltdown he’d had as Owen nods along and types like the cat that got the canary.

“A breakout space is something we can definitely provide. Thomas’s support for learning room is also used as a Quiet Hub for our young people who need time to regulate on their own.” Owen informed him.

“I run a lunch club there to so if Simon finds the playground tricky, he could come and eat with the small group I’ve got going.” Thomas piped up, smiling genially. Price almost scoffed at the hopeful look on his face, knowing full well that Simon wasn’t going to be his best bud just because he had a table and probably those bean bags that were never quite stuffed full enough to be comfortable. He could safely say with certainty right now that Simon was probably going to hate Thomas Edwards – the boy didn’t do bullshit smiles and probing questions into his emotional state.

“Is there anything else you can think of specifically that will need supported? Any diagnosis perhaps? I know you mentioned that there’s a PTSD diagnosis in the works but I’m thinking other things like autism, ADHD etc.” Owen questioned and Price paused a little. He tilted his head.

“There’s no official diagnosis for any of those things, no, but…I see some traits of ASD.” Price admitted.

“Like what?” Michaela asked.

“He thrives on a stable routine, he’s at his calmest when he knows what’s happening. Struggles to hold eye contact. Seems to have a thing with textures for food as well. Doesn’t like the lights on full blast. Of course those could all be byproducts of his trauma to. Difficult to tell.” Price shrugged. Michaela nodded, Thomas humming a bit. With a quiet sigh, Price added, “I’ve only seen it once but he…got physical, last week. His social worker visited with updates on his case and he had a total meltdown. Furniture tipped and lots of throwing stuff with a complete lack of regard for the safety of himself or us. Shoes at the lightbulbs kind of dangerous. He didn’t get physical with us but…I wouldn’t have put it past him to try, once he feels more comfortable with me. He got quite confrontational.”

Price hates the way that Owen types all this up. Paperwork is a necessary evil and he knows it, he’ll never get anywhere with helping Simon if they don’t have all their ducks in a row, but words on a page and actually getting to know the kid were two different things. It felt definitive, having it written down, that somehow he’d formed this image of Simon in their heads that they were going to perform to, whether that image was the same as the boy in front of them or not. Deep down, he didn’t want anyone to see him like that. He wanted them to know Simon as the kid who loved dogs and plants, as someone who had such a big fucking heart and showed great care for everything he was given because he knew the value of things better than most kids did. He wanted them to know the Simon that loved unconditionally, even when people didn’t necessarily deserve it.

“So one of the big things we’ll need to focus on for Simon then will be relationships. It’ll be the cornerstone of everything we do going forward. He needs to know he’s got consistent, reliable people he can turn to for comfort and for help when he needs it. As his form tutor and foster dad, John and Michaela are going to be an integral part of that.” Owen reasoned. Price tried not to role his eyes and simply nodded along. He’d done plenty of training before he was allowed to become a foster parent and knew the importance of being trauma-informed. He’d had the 6 principles of nurture practically seared into his brain. He was just waiting for one of them to say all behaviour is communication.

“Remember that there are times Simon may well struggle to cope, but when he’s dysregulated we need to look beyond that to what he’s really showing us. All behaviour is communication.” Ah. There it was. Check that off the bingo card.

“Perhaps we could also give him a buddy? A point of contact that isn’t an adult.” Thomas’s suggestion had Michaela nodding.

“Oh I know just the boy! We could pair him with MacTavish. Friendly, quite popular so can connect him to other friends. I’m sure they’d get on great.” Her suggestion was made with enthusiasm and Price had to fight the urge to disagree. Simon absolutely needed a buddy but…well…he had the attitude of the grim bloody reaper didn’t he? Did they have any kids who were willing to put up with silent, probing stares and an aura so cold it could freeze the first ring of hell? Maybe they should interview for applicants…

He leaves with a foreboding feeling and the promise of another meeting to “touch-base” in the next 6 months. As they walk down the stairs they’re met by the Deputy-Headteacher, who looks perturbed by the intense presence that is Simon beside her. He’s put his mask on again, eyes dead and hollow as they glare out at everything around him in the foyer, clearly not happy about having to be here or the tour she’d led him on.

“There they are. We had a lovely time touring the school-“

“No we didn’t.” Simon cut in. Price had to swallow a laugh at the startled look on the Deputy-Head’s face as Owen tried to make things better.

“That’s a shame. Not even one thing you look forward to doing more of when you join us?” he probed. Price had braced himself for the answer he knew was coming but it still took all his willpower not to grimace.

“Going home.” Simon’s scathing reply has Price sighing quietly. The staff members blink, unsure how to handle him and his bluntness. It was a stupid question really, Price thinks, Owen had set himself up for that one. He meets Simon’s eyes and sees he’s at his limit, fists balled up in the pocket of that green Hoodie that’s not been washed since he came in with it weeks ago. It’s got a lingering smell that’s just the wrong side of unpleasant but Simon refuses to wash it still despite another subtle talk about hygiene the other day. Price is going to have to be the bad guy soon and stop him from wearing it out in public lest anyone think he’s neglecting him.

“Well…we’re looking forward to welcoming you to the Littlewood family, Simon. We’ll see you for your first induction day next week.” Owen offers him a smile and gets nothing in reply. Simons as stoic as ever, unmoving, stone-faced. He might as well have tried smiling at a brick wall. Price nods a bit and grunts out a thank you as he passes, giving Simon the permission he needs to head for the front doors and get the hell out of dodge.

“I’m not going there.” He’s quick to refuse once they’re outside.  

“Unfortunately, that’s not a choice. I can’t break the law by not sending you to school and this is the only one with space.” Price informs him as they reach the car.

“I’m not fucking going.” Simon repeats.

“Half a day. Your induction next Tuesday is over by lunch time.” He reassures him.

“I’m not, fucking, going, old man.” Simon grouses. Price has to take a deep breath, meets him with calm and collected cool.

“Simon, I’ve given you my answer. By law, you have to go to school. This one has space. It’s a choice that’s out of my hands now and won’t change.” He keeps his voice even and tunes out the venom in Simon’s voice as he continues to needle at him over and over. He hasn’t even put his seatbelt on yet and Price doubts he’s going to. There’s a slightly manic gleam in his glare that makes him think he’s been hovering at tipping point since Laswell’s last visit, and something as simple as visiting his new school is enough to push him over the edge.  

“I said I’m not fucking going! It’s not my school and you’re not my dad! You’re pathetic!” Simon spits.

“Put your belt on, thank you.” Price ignores the insults.

“No!” Simon snarls practically, sitting with his arms folded in the front seat and spitting curses at him.

“And how does that choice help keep you safe?” Price questions.

“I’d rather go through the windshield than spend half a day in that shithole!” Simon snaps. Price knows he can do nothing but ride out this storm, let Simon spew fire and spit acid until he’s burned out. Simon’s beyond listening, beyond words, so Price just doesn’t talk, even when Simon tries to provoke him to. It’s a strange dance really. Simon’s confident enough in knowing Price’s response that he can shout and swear at him till he’s red in the face, but he keeps his arms rigidly folded, his body physically trembling with the effort of holding back physically, because he’s not quite sure where the line is. Price knows it’s what he’s pushing to find, that line in the sand that tips Price from calm to furious, to shouting at him and proving he’s just as bad as his father. Price won’t let him find it, won’t let that be his life anymore, so he stays silent. It’s the only response Simon gets for the 15 minutes that he stews in his fury. It’s like sitting too close to a lion, makes Price’s adrenaline spike and though he feels the spitting on his cheek from gnashing teeth he doesn’t flinch, knowing better than to give a predator the satisfaction. There’s a quiet click of his seatbelt being buckled up.

“Thank you. We need to get home to help Riley.” Price says coolly, aiming for distraction to deescalate the situation further. Simon doesn’t look at him, but he doesn’t say anything either. By the time their home he’s amenable to taking Riley for a walk to the local park, the stubborn silence making it an uncomfortable walk for Price even though Riley’s having the time of his life prancing through the leaves autumn has dropped onto the floor. Dogs are clever little things and he’s sure that Riley can sense the tension, but he weaves through the gap between them and nudges at Simon’s hands all the same until the boy reluctantly pets him.

“I don’t want to go to school there.” Simon says as they walk.

“What makes you say that?” Price keeps the conversation light, open, not shutting him down even though he knows the answer will have to be tough, it’s where you’re going.

“I wanted the other one.” Simon keeps his eyes forward on the pavement at his feet. Price thought back to the other school they’d toured and hums slightly. The boy played his cards close to his chest and there was never any indication that he’d preferred that one more. Had he missed a twitch of a pinky finger or something? Even if he had they’d said the best they could do was put him on a waiting list only.

“What did it have that you liked better?” Price paused at the edge of the park, reaching down to unclip Riley’s leash and letting him go run off some energy. He doesn’t want to push him to far but it’s good Simon can acknowledge what had triggered him, even though Price knows it runs deeper than that.  For Simon it feels like he didn’t get what he wanted, but subconsciously Price knows that moving to a new school, away from old friends who had previously supported him perhaps, where he has to return to a home that probably still doesn’t feel like his every day to a man who isn’t his family, has him feeling at a total loss. It’s a decision made for him, a change he can’t control with too many unpredictable factors, and predictability meant safety. Where things weren’t predictable, they weren’t safe, and that feeling meant Simon was constantly on edge, always on the verge of being tipped into a meltdown at the slightest provocation. He’d just hidden it well until his brain recognised Price was safe enough to show his inner turmoil to.

“Pool.” Simon’s reply was short, but it made Price smile slightly.

“The swimming pool, huh? If you’re interested in swimming, we can get you a membership for the local pool. Did you want to swim for fun or join a team?” Price is met with silence for a little while as Simon mulls it over.

“Just liked it, I guess.”

“Well, the offers open anyway,” Price assures him, “Littlewood may not have a pool, but it does have space for you there, and a form tutor who’s excited to meet you. Did all that shouting and swearing at me change the outcome?” Simon huffs a bit, clearly not happy at being called out for his behaviour, but there’s a slight glimmer of frustration in his eyes that Price can tell isn’t directed at himself. Simon keeps such tight control over his emotions that the outburst has probably upset him more than it did anyone else.

“No.” he grumbles under his breath.

“Exactly, no, it didn’t. Sometimes, as an adult, I will have to make decisions you don’t agree with but are in your best interests. You’re allowed to be angry with me for that, but what you’re not allowed to do is let that anger hurt other people. We find other ways to channel that kind of emotion, alright?” His lecture is met with an eye roll and hunched shoulders. Price doesn’t push further, knowing that’s as much of a restorative conversation as he can get today, so instead, he pulls a tennis ball from his pocket and offers it to Simon. “Want first throw?”

Simon channels his rage into getting Riley to fetch as far as he possibly can, and Price inhales the fresh air to try and remove the sour feeling that this is only the beginning of a very long road.