#he literally makes me wanna roll him up in his tent and dump him in the river ;-;

[hajima-7]

i need to get this off my chest im sorry im putting it under read more jsdghsd (vamp twink negative?? i guess?? yall been warned )

i rly dont like astarion.. especially in act1... like, he's really a cunt, and also the fact that you cant properly call him out for being racist is pissing me off ...the only time u kinda can is with the Gur dude, but even then the dude goes "no issok" .. FYM ISSOK?? dont encourage him??

and the whole grymforge and him approving when u call other people slaves and just...

literally 0 fking hints that he can be a decent person under the whole "white gay twink" persona tm

until you tell miss twilight fan to piss off which.. i get it, he's traumatized, but like... he's still acting like a complete cunt...

not to mention his dumbass tries to kill you twice just in act 1 like, bitch, if i didn't know beforehand his story gets insanely good after, i'd have kicked hiss ass out of the camp right then and there lmao

edit: actually all that aside he's just obnoxious with his DAAARLING and being condescending, thats his worst offense to me sdjghsd

[yameoto]

Bro.. i haven’t even watched challengers yet, and i think you infected me with a chronic case of challengers brainrot.. but i saw your reply to anon’s ask. suggestions? ‘aight, bet 🫡

so i used your art donaldson bot and oh my god.. i got bored and decided to tug on his hair. and it leaded to him LITERALLY humping a pillow for me and he was begging me to touch him and shit. he even started calling me daddy (and mommy at the same time 😭) i even broke the filter too.. 🧍‍♂️

im not sure if this is specific enough, but maybe this would be a great subby!art (x gn reader maybe? not sure if you write for gn!r but you get the point <3 ) fanfic. he’s just so needy for you that he’ll do anything for you (even if it means humping a pillow for you.. OKAY HEAR ME OUT—)

he makes himself out to be sooo tough on court. but when he’s in your hands? he’s literally reduced to a sobbing, whimpering mess… HEJSHSJS art brainrot is so real..

i have many other ideas but i don’t wanna be too rude to dump all of my brainrot onto you.. (sorry not sorry !!)

love your bots and writing by the way !! can’t wait to see more of it in the future 🙂‍↕️

anon you're so sweet GOD! but yes absolutely can do. art bot in question!

ART DONALDSON. NEEDY BABY.

✗ warnings ; gn!reader, sub!art, like sub!art. dom!reader, pillow humping, hair tugging, overt puppy imagery. wc ; 1k

ART had always been a patient person. he excelled at playing the long game. slow and steady won the race—won him you, after all.

but he hadn't seen you all day, and now you were home and he was sprawled out on your bed and— how much longer would you make him wait?

"hey." he reaches out, fingers intertwining with the hem of your shirt. when you don't immediately face him, he tugs, gentle.

"i played good, didn't i?"

"yes, baby. you played good.” you pat his cheek without so much as looking at him, and while the contact is nice—your palm cool and tender against the warm flush of his cheeks—its fleeting. you don’t even linger long enough for him to lean into it.

a subtle frown twists his lips. he sits up, feeling unsteady. the weight of the mattress sinks underneath him as he slowly, cautiously crawls over to you. his arms slide around your waist, body wrapping itself around your back. 

"hi." "hi." you answer, vaguely amused. he buries his nose into your nape and breathes in. the smell of you is intoxicating. "can we go to bed?" he murmurs, and the phrasing is so polite, so courteously horny that you have to laugh. "when i'm done." he makes a little, unhappy noise. it rumbles against your back. "but i need you now."

you raise a brow. "don't be gross, art." that effectively cows him. though he still remains, chin propped up on your chin and legs on either side of you, tucking you in. you can feel it when he begins to grind slowly against you, thick length of his cock twitching tentatively against your ass. "ah-ah." you tut. he freezes. you don't even turn to face him. "did i say you could do that?"

he groans, drags himself off of you (with great effort) and slides off the bed. it's almost petulant. "when?" "when i say so." the noise that rips from him is positively mournful. he slumps, head in your lap—hands clenching and unclenching uselessly into the mattress.

you're still not even looking at him, fingers wordlessly threading into his hair and moving along in these elegant, tenderly gratifying movements that leave his cheeks burning impossibly hot, the patch in his boxers growing impossibly wet.

at a loss, he begins to slowly rub up against the corner of the mattress, hips rolling in steadied, carefully monitored waves. it's imperceptible, its perfect. he just needs a little release. just a little, to hold him out until you finally glance up from your laptop and give him something, anything— fuck. his groin finds that sweet spot the same moment your nails dig just right, and he can't bite back the moan slips from his lips. it's damnably loud in the silence of the room.

art meets your eyes, keening at the unimpressed stare you level him with, the knowing twitch of your lips. he has to swallow the instinctive plea that swells up in his throat. no, no. don't stop don't stop—

"oh, sweetie." like clockwork, your hand untwines from his locks, and he crumples.

"please—can’t fucking take it.” he moans miserably into your thigh, slumped over. he's grinding brazenly now, all pretences lost; rutting hopelessly against the edge of the mattress with his cheek pressed against your thigh. "baby." you sigh, closing the lid of your laptop. he just shakes his head, hands wringing into the sheets as if he were clinging to the edge of a cliff.

it's so pathetic, you have to take pity on him. "up. on the bed." art perks up, hope ballooning in his chest. he scrambles up on the mattress, so eager—lips parted, on all fours. god, he looks so pretty like this; dick cradled by the fabric of his soaked boxers, straining so you were almost sure they’d tear a hole. he looks ready to jump you. you snort, running a hand through his hair indulgently. "not so fast, pretty boy. use the pillow, if it'll stop you from whining." he doesn't even protest. he's burning too hot. as soon as you give him permission, art scrambles on top of the pillow like it's god-given gift to the world. the moment it makes contact, his breath hitches—eyes flittering up with the feeling of goddamn heaven—

"wait." "what?" art hisses, though he freezes anyway, a dog on your leash. his eyes are sparkling as he looks up at you. "boxers. off." "okay." he agrees breathlessly. his mind is so fuzzy you could tell him to cum and he simply, would. he yanks his boxers down and his dick springs up like a jack-in-the-box. he lets out a low moan, limbs almost folding in on themselves when his bare, swollen tip slides slick against fabric. ah, jeez.

if he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine it was your thigh. "n-now?" his legs are quivering. his dick hurts. you look entirely too amused. "mhm." the noise he makes is guttural. he's so sensitive—each thrust elicits another pant, hips rolling in a frenzied rhythm. he wishes it was you. fuck, your warmth wrapping around his cock—your hands cradling his balls. the veins on his underside bulge, the coil in his sack drawing tighter and tighter. shit, shit. he's gonna cum now. he's gonna cum in record-time to the tender loving care of your pillow. his moans twist into cries, bed-frame shaking under the force of his weight. "you gonna cum now, angel?"art nods, jerky and furious. it's that word that gets him. angel. angel. a shudder rips through his body and thick, ropy streams of cum are splattering against the pillow. painting it, stained and sticky. he's hovers there for a moment; crammed between his legs, frame quivering, thighs wet as his mind blanks. it'd be in disbelief, if he had the pride—but he doesn't—so it's simple, utter pleasure. god, his life is perfect. he crumbles into your lap like the colosseum. the corners of his mind are still fuzzy. the warmth of your thigh against his cheek is the only thing he's ever needed, only thing he's ever craved. god, he didn't even realise his cheeks were wet—doesn't think he cares. "good boy." you murmur, and he can hear the smile in your voice. your hand finds his hair, and he can't stop his hips from rolling against nothing.

[arhvste]

❝atsumu, kuroo, tsukishima and bokuto playing acnh ❞

miya atsumu

→ first he called the game dumb but he eventually gave in because everyone and their aunts were playing it and he didn’t wanna be left out

→ mf tries so hard for raymond at first

→ he insists it’s just because he can sell him for a lot

→ he really just wants raymond because he lowkey reminds him of osamu

→ anyways this fool doesn’t get raymond but ya know who he does get?

→ pedro

→ atsumu was ✨disgusted✨

→ “a clown?! a fukn clown?! yer jokin me!”

→ “aw don’t cry he fits in so well on your island 😹”

→ “sHUT YER TRAP 😠😠😠”

→ he hated pedro at first and for what?

→ eventually he starts vibing with him though

→ he decides that perhaps... pedro isn’t a bad guy after all

→ so atsumu develops a soft spot for him and begins to favour him over the rest of his mediocre villagers whose names he can’t be bothered to remember

→ ya know whose name he can remeber though?

→ BELLA 😡😠😡😠😡😡😠

→ the name that sparks rage in him

→ atsumu hits his villagers with his net shouting “nice cut g!” as a joke

→ with bella he’s not joking 😐

→ he hits her repeatedly and grins maliciously when she gets angry eventually

→ LOVES shoving her into pitfalls for absolutely no reason

→ cusses her out under his breath

→ writes hate mail to her only to get fustrated when she sends a nice reply about the flowers she saw the other day that reminded her of him

→ honestly bella girl it ain’t worth it, pack your bags and get outta there sis 😔

→ he wants her to get tf off his island because he doesn’t like her but he also kinda wants her to stay because he loves annoying her and making her angry

→ literally goes out of his way to buy the ugliest clothes for her to wear

→ he also has all his villagers address him as “big dick man”

→ pedro is special though 😳

→ pedro is the chosen one who gets to call him “tsumu”

→ JUST PEDRO 😤😾😡

→ literally thinks it’s the funniest thing when his villagers say “hey big dick man! the weather sure is great today isn’t it!”

→ you can hear his cackling from down the hall

→ thinks it’s the peak of comedy

→ oh and you’re not allowed to visit his island on a saturday

→ saturdays are “for the boys”

→ and by that he means he’s just going to buy a ton of matching clothes for him and pedro and talk to him all day until he eventually annoys pedro by accident to which he genuinely gets upset about

→ he doesn’t really bother with the fishing tourneys or bug offs

→ does catch a few though just to make sure he beats bella earns nook miles

→ pretty average island, not too much effort put into it yet

→ atsumu prefers channeling his energy and game time into bullying bella interacting with his villagers

kuroo tetsurō

→ bangs. it. tf. out.

→ literally acts like he doesn’t care about the game but has 395+ hours game time

→ uses the excuse it’s to play with kenma but kuroo actually got into it before kenma had the chance to look at it properly

→ fishing tourney KING

→ has multiple gold trophy’s and built a whole extension just to show them off

→ also treats all his villagers equally

→ he was a bit picky and only wanted cats and dogs on his island though

→ if you’re anything but a cat or a dog, i’m sorry but kuroo will timeskip you tf off of his island

→ has a soft spot for lucky but doesn’t admit it

→ he likes to come across as a “fair dictator of the island”

→ just admit luckys your fav and go oh my god

→ his house is really nice too

→ pretty much paid off all his debt and is financially responsible 😼

→ he will send you money over a few times a week because he claims he’s a good boyfie virtually and realistically

→ LOVES opening the letters from ‘mom’

→ it’s a small detail in the game but it brings kuroo comfort when he opens the letters and sometimes receives gifts from his virtual ‘mom’ 🥺

→ keeps all the letters from her because that’s what he would do if his real mom ever wrote to him

→ he’s a shameless timeskipper

→ “tetsu?? where tf did you get all this the games only been out a week??”

→ “👁👁 idk what you’re talking about baby”

→ the thing that annoys him the most are the fossils

→ HATES the stupid little marks in the ground that appear every day

→ also HATES talking to blathers

→ “spit it out already! i have places to be and villagers to see!”

→ completely ignores blathers’ real name and refers to him as ‘bokuto’

→ because he’s an owl duh

→ and bokuto also talks a lot

→ you thought it was a cute friendship thing at first but took it back when you heard him muttering under his breath

→ “oh my god just analyse the fossils already you himbo bird!”

→ “did you just call blathers a himbo? 😳”

→ “...no? 😳👀”

→ all in all, kuroo’s pretty good at the game

→ you like visiting his island because he has a ton of extra stuff he just gives you

→ “i never want to hear you call me a bad boyfriend again 😐”

→ “okay fine...but oNLY if you give me an ironwood dresser 😏”

tsukishima kei

→ another one who bangs it out

→ doesn’t really care when you point it out though

→ “you’re just jealous your islands a dumping ground compared to mine 🥱”

→ “k-kei 😔”

→ also sprints near where you’re fishing to scare the fish off and be spiteful 💀

→ little shit KNOWS you only need oranges to complete all the fruits on your island

→ he also knows you’re out of nook miles tickets

→ “aw that’s a shame, maybe if you were a bit better at the game you’d find them quicker but good luck! 😀”

→ oranges are his native fruit 😐😑😐

→ eventually he gives you them because you’re relentless and his patience runs thin after a while

→ good at the bug offs

→ pretty good at scorpion/tarantula hunting too

→ convinced spike is in love with him after the amount of scorpions and tarantulas he’s donated to him

→ his fossil exhibition in the museum is completed already

→ when blathers tells him the facts about the dinosaurs he just rolls his eyes

→ “i knew that already you stupid bird 🙄”

→ why’s everyone bullying blathers damn 😿

→ now, he likes henry

→ one of the few villagers he doesn’t bully

→ tsukki doesnt particularly care for majority of his villagers

→ henry has a special place in his heart though

→ maybe it’s because henry isn’t overly perky or he isn’t rude like the cranky villagers which tsukishima doesn’t like

→ henry is just??? so??? nice????

→ he can’t hate him

→ all his villagers have catchphrases that are dumb af

→ tsukki thought he was being clever when he made them but he just looks mean when other people talk to his villagers

→ “good morning i am useless! i love your outfit!”

→ henry gets to call him tsukki though

→ only because he figured out that henry reminds him of yamaguchi

→ that’s the only reason henry’s the exception to his bullying

→ i feel like tsukki has a pretty nice house too

→ he makes a lot of bells from selling scorpions and tarantulas and spare fossils he’s dug up

→ doesn’t really care about the size but has very detailed rooms

→ like all the furniture in his rooms follow a scheme

→ mf never opens his mailbox

→ doesn’t care for what the other “peasants have to say for themselves”

→ terraforming isn’t really his thing tbh

→ doesn’t like how slow the process and be and kinda likes the natural flat land

→ he likes laying down paths though

→ cusses villagers out when they get in the way though

→ full on shoves them and will keep shoving them until they get annoyed just because they’ve annoyed him

→ tsukki doesnt put as much time into the game as kuroo but his island is still pretty good and aesthetically pleasing

→ he just won’t help you make yours look like that 💀

bokuto koutarō

→ weeds. everywhere.

→ get so confused when he’s told he has to pick them all

→ “really? why can’t i just let them grow though i kinda like them 🤩”

→ mf ✨struggles✨ at the first stages

→ “y/n, you know i love you, please give me 30 iron nuggets 🥺💖💞💗”

→ ofc you give them to him because you’re well ahead in the game and don’t need them as much as he does

→ praises you like royalty but then he’s back to begging for materials from you 💀

→ doesn’t pay his debts

→ you’re gonna have to help him out here

→ doesn’t like the idea of having to constantly pay them off

→ like?? he doesn’t want a bigger house so why is this damn raccoon always bothering him to upgrade like leave him and his 2 room house alone 😠

→ has a the same camp bed and lamp from when he first moved out the tent 💀

→ insists he doesn’t need another one because the furniture all functions the same

→ he has a point tbf but his house just isn’t aesthetically pleasing

→ he also hoards stuff

→ common butterfly? yeah bokuto has 37 sitting in his storage

→ doesn’t like letting the bugs go because he “caught them fair and square”

→ you show him how to pay his debts back and then he dedicates a whole room to his stupid bugs 💀

→ loves blathers and celeste just because they’re owls

→ doesn’t care about what they’re wittering on about he loves interacting with them just because they’re the only owls in the game 😐

→ his favourite villager is kid cat

→ literally follows him around and sprints circles around him

→ l o v e s the chaos outside the town hall

→ 2 of his villagers are singing, 3 are running around and 1 is just watching like 🧍🏻‍♀️

→ HYPES his singing villagers tf up

→ “yeah get it bianca! turn it up!!! 🥳🥳”

→ has to match his villagers clothes at least once a week

→ also makes them all refer to him as “the best ace”

→ it boosts his ego a little more each time they say it

→ bokuto actually got raymond out of luck but had no idea who tf he was and just how popular he was

→ lets that mf go without advertising that raymond’s in boxes

→ atsumu screeches when he finds this out eventually

→ bokuto doesn’t care what his villagers look like everyone’s welcome

→ bella should move to bokuto’s island and move from atsumu’s because bokuto will accept her with open arms rather than a net to the head everytime he sees her 😿

→ ALWAYS remembers birthdays for his villagers

→ and always shows up to their birthday parties insisting he’s the life of the party and they’d be bored without him 😹

→ which is true to a certain degree cause the party only really starts when the player arrives

→ bokuto is actually okay at terraforming

→ quickly changes his mind after an hour of building and digging and restarts it all over again

→ he can make his island look pretty good

→ theres just weeds and buried fossils everywhere though 👁👁

→ also forgets his turnips go bad

→ literally the least financially responsible out of them all

→ it’s okay though because you help him and he eventually gets the hang of it

general taglist → @atsumuwoah @bloody-bella @bbymilkbread @miracleboy420 @doggonudez @atsunakaashi @peteunderoos @saturnfarie @toffees-main @zumisace @boosyboo9206 @totorosleaff @27kei

please send an ask to be added / removed from my taglist

ALL CONTENT BELONGS TO @KUROOSKULT ON TUMBLR 2020 PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, CHANGE OR PLAGIARISE

[breakyeol]

heat wave

drabble

┗ pairing: jongin x reader

warnings: smut, lots of jongin saying noona, subby jongin, ice cubes

a/n; kai pouting and whining noona. that’s it. that’s the drabble.

“Noona~ it’s too hot.”

So far, that’s the seventeenth time (and counting) you’ve heard that exact statement.

You already knew it was hot— like, really fucking hot.

The kind of hot where you’re just unhappy as hell because all your clothes chaff, and any exposed skin sticks to whatever surface you try to sit on, and your hands and pits are uncontrollably clammy, and there seems to be a permanent line of perspiration sitting on your upper lip that doesn’t go away no matter how many times you try and wipe it off, and it doesn’t matter how many windows you open or how high you blast the air conditioning because nothing you do makes the humid summer heat any less intense.

And your boyfriend’s incessant whining, reminding you over and over again just how uncomfortable and sweaty you felt, was definitely not helping.

“I know, Nini.” You breathed tiredly from where you lay sprawled out over the length of your couch, holding a water bottle to your forehead.

“I’m sweaty, Noona.” You could hear the pout on his lips without even looking at him.

“I am, too, Nini.” You reassured, instinctively stretching your fingers to comb them through his hair (trying your very best to ignore the dampness of the dyed blond locks) when you felt the couch dip under the weight of his head.

“I’m thirsty, Noona.”

Without thinking twice, you tossed the water bottle into his lap where he sat on the floor. “Drink that.”

A brief moment of silence passed, and for the shortest, most blissful moment, you thought that maybe he’d run out of things to complain about.

You were sadly mistaken.

“It’s warm, Noona.”

It took most of the self control in your body not to snap at him. When he got like this, you felt more like his babysitter than his girlfriend.

“There are more in the fridge, why don’t you go grab one?” You manage to calmly get out through clenched teeth.

“Can you get it for me? I feel like I’ll die if I move.” A heavy sigh rolled off your lips at his request. Slowly, you peeled your eyes open and looked over at him, one brow raised into an unamused arch.

His body was faced towards you, short clad legs extended out in front of him, his torso —donning only a tight white tank top— was slumped over, his head leaning on the couch next to your waist. His beautifully tanned skin bore a thin sheen of perspiration, almost making him seem to glow in the midday sunlight.

Even in such a state, he managed to look stunning— which was entirely unfair because you knew damn well that you looked like a sweaty, frizzy haired, sleep deprived pig. But, you couldn’t really bring yourself to care too much about what you looked like when your skin felt about ready to melt off your body.

“I doubt you’ll die.”

He whined, kicking his leg like a child as the pout already staining his lips deepened. “Please, Noona?”

Your face scrunched as you pinched the bridge of your nose, exhaling loudly. God this boy is going to be the death of you. Though, in his defense, he usually wasn’t this whiny. Most days, he was a (just slightly pouty) angel sent straight from heaven, positive and upbeat and tooth rottingly sweet. It was the uncomfortable heat that was bringing out his bratty side.

Taking that into account, you gave in with a soft sigh. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”

Pushing yourself upright, you grimaced as your skin clung to the leather couch, and you quite literally had to peel yourself off of it. You trudged into the attached kitchen, and yanked open the fridge. The rush of cool air that washed over your body was nothing short of heavenly. You couldn’t help but to stand in front of the open fridge a few moments longer than necessary, just relishing in the cool breeze that caressed your exposed skin, before you finally reached inside, pulled out a fresh water bottle, and reluctantly nudged it shut.

Your brows jumped in surprise as you turned around to leave, only to be greeted by the sight of Jongin perched on your marble island. Scoffing softly you sauntered over to where he sat, offering him the bottle.

“Thank you,” he smiled gratefully, quickly unscrewing the cap and taking a large sip of the icy liquid.

A soft laugh fled your lips as you watched him gulp down half the bottle in one go. “Damn, I guess you were thirsty. But I thought you said you’d just die if you had to move.” He was unfazed by your teasing, sighing in relief at his quenched thirst, a lazy smile upturning the corners of his lips.

“It’s cooler in here,” was his straight forward explanation. You hummed in agreement, moving away from him when you decided to make yourself a glass of ice water. Jongin watched as you shuffled around the kitchen, pulling a cup from the cupboard and then moving to the freezer. Just as you pulled it open and scooped ice into the glass, Jongin suddenly blurted, “Do we have any popsicles?”

“Popsicles?” You repeated, doing a quick scan of the contents of the freezer before shaking your head and shutting it. “No, no popsicles.”

He whined in disappointment. You could understand him there. Popsicles would have been an amazing treat on a day like this. But it was barely above sixty five degrees when you’d last gone to the store, and no one had predicted the god awful heatwave that would strike your area only a few days later.

Jongin looked over at you distraughtly, lower lip jutted out, pining you with the most hopeless pair of puppy dog eyes he could muster. “Noona~” the way he drawled the word, you knew before he even finished exactly what he was about to ask.

“No, Nini.” You said firmly, shooting him a pointed glare.

“But, Noona—”

“Jongin, I am not going to the store to buy you popsicles. It’s not happening!”

“Noona!”

“You’re a grown ass man, Jongin! You have your own car! Go get them your damn self!”

“But it’s so hot!” He cried out, dramatically falling back and sprawling himself across your marble island.

“You— fine. You wanna cool down? This should do the trick.” Before he could process that you’d stepped up beside him, you were shoving his shirt up to his chest and dumping your glass of ice onto his bare stomach. Definitely a good thing you hadn’t filled it with water yet. That would’ve made a mess you would not have enjoyed cleaning up.

He shrieked in shock at the sudden freezing sensation, jolting upright and sending most of the ice cubes flying off with a quick swipe of his hand.

“Noona,” he whimpered like a kicked puppy, and you couldn’t help but to feel a little bad for the uncalled for attack. You can admit that it was a pretty petty thing to do, your temper having gotten the better of you.

Sighing, you moved so that you were standing between his knees, squeezing the tops of his thighs apologetically. “I’m sorry, Nini. That was mean.” He nodded quickly in agreement, pouting at you heavily, muttering a soft ‘very’ under his breath. “But,” he huffed as you continued, a playful smile on your lips, “you have been complaining about how hot it is, so it felt a little good right?”

He puffed out his cheeks, shaking his head stubbornly. “No. Not even a little.”

You laughed, surprising him as you tugged at the front of his shirt once again, picking up an ice cube from the counter. “It’ll feel better like this—” he gasped as you caressed the tip of it down the center of his tensed abdomen, leaving behind a glimmering trail between the gentle slopes of his defined abs.

“N–Noona!”

You’d only been teasing, really.

So you were a little more than surprised to see the beginnings of a tent forming under his zipper.

“Oh?” You murmured looking up at him with a raised brow, the corner of your lip slightly quirked. His face exploded in a deep crimson red, and he was immediately trying to spit out some flimsy excuse.

“I–It’s not— I’m— you just—” he whined loudly in humiliation, flopping back on the counter dramatically and covering his face with his hands.

“Did you like that?” You asked curiously, sliding your hands down the lengths of his thighs.

He peaked at you shyly from between his fingers, biting gently at his lip. “A little bit.”

Your tongue slid over the inside of your teeth, eyes pinning him with a heated stare. “Do you want me to do it again?”

He paused for a moment, gaze slipping from the ice cube melting between the warmth of your fingertips, to the small puddle beginning to form on his stomach.

Biting into the inside of his cheek, he nodded slowly. “A little bit.”

Fuck.

The corners of your lips curled upwards ever so slightly, a spark of excitement igniting in the pit of your stomach.

You’d explored your fair share of kinks with Jongin in the years you’d been together, his curiosity and infatuation with discovering new and creative ways of making you come seemingly endless.

But this— this was new. This was intriguing. This held potential.

A breathy gasp spilled from his lips as you caressed the ice cube gently across his toned abdomen, delighting in every shudder that wracked his body.

“You’re so sensitive.” You commented playfully, biting back a chuckle of amusement as he pouted up at you.

“Are you teasing me?” He asked, only for a sharp breath to escape him as you traced your free hand over the still swelling bulge between his hips. Smirking, you ground the heel of your palm gently against his arousal. His lips parted, soft brown eyes fluttering shut as his head fell back against the counter at the feeling of hot, heavy waves of pleasure rolling down his spine.

“Now I am.”

The sudden loss of pressure on his dick had his head snapping up, only for it to fall back with a soft thud as you tugged his shorts down, his length immediately springing free. You hummed at the sight of his length; hard and red and already dripping with precum.

God, he was so easy to rile up. You’d barely even touched him yet and he was already throbbing. You were excited to see how he’d react to what else you had in store.

“You’re so hard, baby.” You cooed, caressing him lightly. He shuddered at the sensation of your cool fingertips on his searing skin. His knees bent upwards, muscular thigh squeezing you in tightly between them. “It’s cute how worked up you could get over a little ice.”

“Noona,” he whined at your teasing, propping himself up on his elbows, “f-fuck.” His hooded, lust-blown eyes peered down, cheeks flushing deeply as he watched you feather over a particularly prominent vein.

“God you look so good like this. Makes me just wanna… well, do this.”

The entirety of his body jolted, a sharp hiss breaking from his full lips as you traced the ice cube over his weeping red tip.

“Ah! Ah— noona! It’s cold!” He whimpered loudly.

Despite his complaining, his dick twitched responsively, spilling out another round of precum. The contrasting responses between his body and mouth brought a wide grin of amusement across your face.

“Don’t be such a baby, baby.” A smirk curled at your lips. “I’m just getting started.”

[patchdotexe]

explorers of arvus: heading back / 3.11.21

zoom and enhonse

LAST TIME ON ARVUS taure passed out and we are now down a healer! also we met a disciple of halvkar, and surprisingly did not murder her. this is fine. we have instantly gotten distracted by our various carts. cats. our various cats

DID ANY OF US CATCH TAURE, SHE FELL OVER sieron tried to catch her and smacked charlie+thorne in the face (he rolled a nat1, f) BUT the catboy is to the rescue bc silje is the designated Not Incompetent of the group today

CONSULT THE CHILD hewwo yrel yrel: her mind is being consumed by the serpent of nightmares. :D charlie: HELLO?????//

so, dendar(?) the night serpent is imprisoned beneath arvus! she was formed from the nightmares of the first sentient being, and sometimes she eats people's nightmares. if she's exceptionally hungry, she'll force nightmares onto people for her to feed off their fear. yrel thinks taure will Probably wake up. there's a thing on arvus mentioned by the locals called a "sleeping sickness" where people will fall asleep for a few days, sometimes longer, but will wake up. its magical in cause, the people afflicted by it have horrific nightmares, and its just kinda. a thing. wowza

(i have gone back to spelling yrel's name as yrel bc i think it looks nice)

OH HEY SOMEONE POSTED A THEORY ON ONE OF MY STICKMOLUS ANIMATIONS man i should get back to stickmolus sometime. once dsmp releases its awful grip on me.

i keep getting distracted by seeing myself in the camera preview. i have a tooth gap! what the fuck its cute?? K I KNOW WE'RE SUPER BLURRY IN FRONT RN BUT PLEASE HELP ME STAY FOCUSED I SWEAR -leo

we're gonna build a sled! to put taure on. thorne: i have a good strength score. ....i say, out loud charlie: i am four feet tall. [cue argument between thorne & sieron about them both being horcs but sieron has a +0 bc strength is his dump stat] OH, OKAY, THORNE ROLLED A NAT20 TO CARRY TAURE. NICE

[discussion about what to tell everyone at camp vengenace] thorne: the last thing we need to do is a witch hunt charlie: --and we already hunted the witch! the witch has been hunted.

time to discuss strategy! we need to figure out how to head back to camp vengeance, eg if we want to follow the path we already took or if we wanna do some trailblazing. looks like we're gonna try and take the most direct path! which means we'll prolly risk tangoing with some undead but im willing to risk it TINY HUT STAIRCASE sorry i just remember it now and then

nyx: [meowing at his cats] thorne: uh... why is silje meowing? jorb: silje's food bowl is empty jorb: you look at silje's food bowl and there's a divot in the middle and the food is all on the sides emotionally, we must bully the catboy silje saw something interesting and started meowing

thorne: ill take first watch silje: ill also take first watch. charlie: [quietly] gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy (but, like, extended for 15 seconds)

silje: [takes watch] [rolls a nat1 and gets distracted by looking at his crush]

THORNE HAS LOCATED A DOG the dog does not give a shit about the tiny hut. THE DOG HAS PEED ON THE TINY HUT goodbye dog

EVERYONE IS ROLLING AT LEAST 1 NAT1 thorne: wow! that sure is a dog. thorne has drawn the worst possible dog. thorne has erased the worst possible dog. we dont speak of the worst possible dog its the dog version of honse. DONSE

sieron is now on watch! MAN we are havin trouble rolling today. at least kali's here to make sure sieron doesnt stare at a rock for 50000 years sieron sees a mouse! bottom text

charlie is now on watch! kali is havin a big ol thonk. nothing meaningful has come of this

i am perceiving some deer. sieron is not perceiving some deer. silje is perceiving some deer, but better the deer are fucked up and undead! silje has gone from "we should hunt these deer for food" to "we should hunt these deer for sport"

charlie: i do not feel like being jumped by five thousand skeletons

charlie takes first watch with sieron! WHY ARE OUR ROLLS SO TERRIBLE taure is super cursed right now. that's not very pog charlie: this place sucks. thorne: to be fair, we havent-- charlie: YOU'RE ASLEEP, SHUT UP

oh hey coolname galvanic finally partied. nice.

thorne is at watch! solar: hey, is leomund's tiny hut an orb? there's a critter digging around! AH, THE CRITTER IS UNDEAD. this could be a problem

solar: hey michael, how much does the horrific sin against god dog i drew look like this creature michael: [dice roll noises] about 50%.

michael: if anyone likes, they can make a nature check-- solar: ME MEMEMEMEME ME ME ME

its a bulette! aka a land shark. problem: they are not normally undead. this one is undead.

jorb: imagine if you could tame one of those and use it as a mount. leo: IT WOULD JUST DIG UNDERGROUND AND LEAVE YOU THERE

we are just calling it a weird dog

we're going to mail a letter to the heart of arvus. HEY, CHECK OUT THIS WEIRD DOG,

JORB FOUND ART OF A BABY BULETTE. WEIRD PUPPY!

solar: hey guys, check out this sick art of a bulette i found

silje kept a lookout for the weird dog but its just fucked off. goodbye, weird dog give it up for day 3!

man there's been like, three incinerations today in blaseball. what's up with that. I SWEAR IM MOSTLY PAYING ATTENTION its just been an eventful day in blaseball. also im wearing my garages bomber rn. jaylen is home wooOOOO the wind smells stinky. this is fine.

we're actively avoiding whatever combat michael keeps nudging at us bc we're carrying around an unconscious person and i SWEAR hes gonna throw something directly at us once he's done with our shenanigans

UHH MICHAEL ASKING FOR PASSIVE PERCEPTION LOL

huh. this place used to be inhabited? we're in the woods rn but there's some like, stone ruins? like, VERY ruins. like, not really any structures standing, but enough evidence to show there Were things. WE FOUND A STATUE charlie: i want to smash my face against the lore.

used to be a circle of standing stones, but most of em fell over or got overgrown. inside of the circle has been cleared, although v roughly-- ground's torn up statue is of fjolnir! warrior holding up a spear and shield. AH, THERE ARE CORPSES, a human got REAL fucked up here. one of the corpses is straight up impaled on fjolnir's spear. n ... not pog.

i am trying so, so hard to pay attention. but i also kinda wanna take a nap.

charlie: [stares at statue] [rolls a 4] i wonder if he had a dick.

okay so something rolled in, tore up the overgrowth inside the circle, and murdered a couple dudes. and was also super tall and human-adjacent. hrm.

oh my god why are we rolling so shit today. time to stealth away and hope we dont get casually dismembered

k: jorb's hair is so long... leo: K, PLEASE,

time for a break! i am very tired but im gonan see if i can push through a little further. nyx is petting his cat why do orangatangs look like that

first watch is thorne and sieron! have they even, like, talked thorne unhabby ): thorne's worried we were tresspassing when checking out the statue, meanwhile im thinking about that one time when sieron got bit by a groundhog

(oh my god this is from late 2018)

leomund's tiny hut, aka the anti-sea bear circle we are getting SO much mileage out of the tiny hut. SILJE HUMS A SONG WITH KALI cute........... FINALLY I HAVE ROLLED ABOVE A 14 wait no i rolled a 16 twice. anyway we are not dead

nearly at camp vengenace! boy howdy i hope camp vengeance didnt get burned down. AH FUCK TAURE IS UNCONSCIOUS SO WE CANT CAST FOR DETECT POISON kaepora nearly made us all shit ourselves but its okay he just saw some bison and thought it was cool Michael Is Consulting Several Tables

WHY DOES JORB'S CAMERA ZOOM LIKE THAT why am i hungry. i have so many questions

HEY, TALL GUY [smacks sieron]

camp vengeance looks better! like, nobody's Obviously Sick anymore, the medical tents arent overfilled, we did it! we saved the dayyyyyy time to report to ryder! taure's getting dropped off at the medical tent

man remember when charlie didnt wear pants

oh man, with taure unconscious charlie is now taking point with social interaction. wild. jk im making jorb do it bc im tired HAHA NAT 20 PERSUASION BC OF ME HELPIN SIERON man ryder is such a cock. he was totally ready to keep throwing troops at heaven's brazier to die until we managed to persuade him out of it. jorb: did we tell ryder about the vision? michael: you kinda just took a look at him and went STINKY BOY!

okay yeah anything that dies on arvus will just pop back up as undead. man, arvus sucks.

ryder: alright, dismissed. charlie: seeya, soldier boy! :D hahahahaha im gonna eat his knees.

SILJE NEEDS ENRICHMENT IN HIS ENCLOSURE

charlie: ive decided he sucks. silje: we've already arrived to that, you're late!

LMAO WE WALKED IN ON INGRID AND HER CRUSH they fuckin. nice. you go, you funky lesbian

jorb: we've got the tiny hut, we could go anywhere leo: we could go to SPACE! nyx: we could not go to space. leo: WITH A TINY HUT STAIRCASE, WE CAN,

we are 320 miles away from the spaceship that exists on arvus. nice.

michael: justin sees you-- roll a strength saving throw. leo: i cant wait to die! [rolls a 3] I AM CRUSHED BY MY DOG michael: he rolled a nat20.

BOSS ENCOUNTER: CHARLIE'S DOG (the small circle next to him is one of the medical tents.)

THORNE IS PACT OF THE GUN solar: PARRY THIS, YOU FUCKING CASUAL

sieron, to ingrid: seems like youve been doing well charlie: i punch sieron. sieron: sieron: the camp, of course.

man we have no idea if the heart of arvus is actually related to the prophecy or not. theres a Lot of stuff lining up, but not enough, and its hard to say how much of it couldve been literal?

solar & michael: [discussing exposition] me: [cracking up bc penn sent me a funny dsmp joke]

prophecies are weird.

charlie is just s she is just sitting here SILJE PLAYED CARDS REALLY GOOD AT ME nyx rolled a nat20 and took all my money

oh cool we can talk to yrel telepathically! time to hoist yrel. THIS IS SO SCUFFED thorne mentioned yrel and now we're trying to explain to ingrid that we have a magic talking snake charlie: I WANT TO GO HOME. thorne: we cant go, we have a GOD-KING to kill! "i think theyre insane, theyre talking to a snake" "ingrid, druids exist" "oh. im gonna go back to getting railed by my 7 foot tall girlfriend"

[spaceskam]

Could you maybe write about alex not being able to forget that the thing with maria happened? Like them finally getting back together but when things get steamy he sees michael and maria

ao3

Alex had never been in on a date.

In high school, that wasn’t actually an option.  In the Air Force, there wasn’t exactly time or opportunity.  Most of his experience with men was random hookups and, well, Michael Guerin.  So, when he found himself getting ready for his first real date with Michael Guerin, it was nothing short of surreal.

Michael had spiraled downward after Caulfield, Noah, and Max dying.  He stayed with Maria for four months before she dumped him because he was wasted almost every minute of the day and was getting arrested more times than he really should’ve.  Isobel had come to Alex in a truly concerning state and had begged him for help.  They needed Michael to get Max back, but Michael needed to have something on his mind other than anger and alcohol.  Alex found it hard to say no.

So, with the help of Kyle and Liz, the four of them dedicated an absurd amount of time to helping Michael Guerin.  Detox for an alien proved to be even worse than it was for humans.  He’d gotten violent, he’d lost control, he’d spent more than one night crying on Isobel’s bathroom floor.  Alex would be lying if he said it was easy to watch.

However, the Michael that came out of it was a Michael that made him lose all train of thought.  He was softer without alcohol fueling him, he was somewhere between that teenage boy Alex had fallen in love with and the man that had insisted he wouldn’t look away.  Michael had apologized more than once to Alex for all the wrong he’d done and it coaxed apologies out of Alex himself.  They’d somehow managed to repair something between them without even thinking about it and it had Alex feeling more lost in love with him than before.

At first, that had scared the shit out of him.  Michael had stood him up to go hook up with his friend and that was something that was extremely hard to forget.  Even though he understood what had driven Michael to make that call, he still felt insanely insecure over being forgotten by the man who was at the forefront of his mind every single day since they were 16 and he’d seen Michael shirtless and sunbathing beside Isobel in the bed of his truck.

However, it got a little easier when Michael assured him that’s not exactly how it happened.  Alex was on his mind, but agreeing to meet up with Alex hadn’t been.  Them agreeing that had been a fleeting moment smashed in between so much life-altering bullshit that he’d forgotten what day it was, much less when he should’ve been back to talk.  Michael had insisted that he’d literally just told Isobel that he loved him, it was just hard to process and he wanted something that didn’t feel like it might kill him if he lost it.  Admittedly, it felt like a good lie, but Alex willingly bought anything that came from the sincere face Michael had been wearing for a long time now.  He wanted Alex to know everything, no lies.  Alex was his family, he deserved it all.

That made it significantly easier to be in love with him all over again.  All that love was amplified when they started hanging out more and more, getting to know each other better than they ever had.  Sober Michael was funny and playful and loud.  He cooked a lot, he sang a lot, he worked out a lot.  And, not-so-surprisingly, sober Michael was beautifully powerful.  The control he’d managed to have over his abilities hadn’t even been considered before, but without shit tainting his system, it proved to be a lot more than that.  In a good mind, Michael was gifted beyond understanding.  He could move multiple things with little focus, he could feel people’s energies before they even walked through the door, he could fuck with the molecular structure of objects in a way that made it hard to even comprehend.

He could heal a bird with a broken wing.

Alex had been with him when he’d healed that bird outside the cabin.  It was nothing more than a fledgling and Michael had taken to it like it was second nature.  Alex had watched with blinding adoration as Michael cradled it to his chest and created some makeshift nest from pine needles, watching it for a moment before asking Alex for tweezers to which he complied.  He came back with them only to see something on Michael’s face he didn’t recognize.  Michael had picked up the bird and brought it to his chest once again.  And then his hand began glowing.  They were both more than a little speechless when the bird took flight.  Alex had to rub his back when he threw up a few seconds later with tears rolling down his cheeks.

Within a month of building on those newfound abilities along with Isobel, they managed to work together and get Max back.  For the first time probably ever, Michael was happy.  Like, really happy.  He was doing good in so many aspects of his life and Alex was more proud than he could even comprehend.  So, when Michael had approached him saying that the only thing he was missing was them being together and asked him to go on a real date, Alex couldn’t say no.  He didn’t want to say no.  Finally, they were both in a place where they could be together and be healthy.  Somehow, it felt new.

And, when Michael showed up at his door with a flower in hand, Alex was suddenly 17 and in a teen rom-com.

“Uh, hi,” Michael said, holding out the flower, “This is for you.”

Alex smiled, “Thanks.”

After putting the flower in a vase, they got into Michael’s truck and started heading towards the restaurant.  It was weirdly tense as they sat there as if they hadn’t already seen each other naked or have emotional breakdowns.  Of course, going on a date would feel like more pressure than, you know, dying.

“So, uh, anything new?” Alex asked once they finally got to the restaurant.  Michael looked over with a sweet smile.

“Not much since I saw you yesterday,” he teased.  Alex felt his face turn red and then silently cursed himself for acting like a teenage boy.  “Oh!  Max is going back to work tomorrow.  They gave him his job back.”

“That’s awesome!  I know he was worried he wouldn’t be able to,” Alex said, again fiddling with the cuffs of his sleeves.

“Also,” Michael said tentatively, shifting in his seat, “I’m thinking about going to school.” Alex’s eyes widened.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, I want to do something more with myself, you know?  I know I’m smart, I could do it.” Michael said.  He had such a sweet face that it made it hard for Alex to be upset at the idea of him leaving.  They were just getting started.

“That-that’s amazing, Guerin, seriously.  I hope it all works out.  Where are you thinking of going?” Please say something nearby, please say something nearby.

“Uh, I don’t know yet.  Probably just gonna start with like online classes and stuff, see if I like it.  I don’t know, I haven’t thought it all through, I just know I want to do more.  It feels good doing more.” Alex was almost convinced this was actually a dream.  The man Michael had turned into was dreamy.  “Obviously, I’ll still work on cars and shit.  I like working with my hands.  I’m good with them.  But you knew that.” Yep, dreamy.

Things began to get a little easier as the night went on.  They ordered separate plates but shared the food they’d ordered.  They were able to laugh and smile and enjoy each other knowing this was the real deal.  There was no confusion.  They loved each other and, even though it took eleven years, they finally got to be together.

Driving back home, however, had Alex feeling anxious.  Regardless of their history, this was technically their first date.  Were they allowed to kiss?  He hadn’t touched Michael in so long even though his body literally ached for him and the idea of leaving this night without a kiss was torture.  Staring at Michael in the driver’s seat looking happy and healthy and good made him want even more than that.  It’d been so long.

Michael walked him up to the door and they stared at each other, suddenly once again in a bad teen movie.  Should he make the first move?  Should he let Michael?  Should they just hug or shake hands?  This shouldn’t be so complicated.

“I had fun tonight,” Alex said, trying to make sure Michael wouldn’t leave when he was still trying to figure out what to do.

“Me too,” Michael said, giving that beautiful smile of his.  Why was this so hard?  They’d kissed and had sex a million times before and under way more confusing situations than this, so why was it suddenly hard?  He didn’t want it to be hard.  The whole point of working on them as people before they worked on them together was so it wouldn’t be so hard!  It wasn’t fair, he’d spent so much time working on things only for it to‒ “Can I kiss you?”

Alex blinked hard, “What?”

“Can I kiss you?  I didn’t know if, like, that’s what you want and I don’t want to assume and then go in for it and then be wrong and upset you.  And-and I know sometimes when you get that spacey look in your eyes you don’t like when people touch you, so I was just asking.  Because I really, really want to kiss you, but I don’t wanna like‒”

“Yes, absolutely, do that, kiss me,” Alex said, nodding his head as a stupid smile found his face.  Michael relaxed with a sigh.

“Okay, good, good,” he said, taking one more big breath as his eyes did that dumb thing where he looked Alex up and down.  Well, it wasn’t dumb, but it made Alex feel dumb.  It was that type of look that made his brain short circuit.

Michael cupped his face in his hands as he moved in, leaving a short and sweet kiss on his lips that felt oddly reminiscent of their actual first kiss.  He pulled back just enough to make sure it was okay and it really, really was, so Alex pulled him back.  One kiss led to another, happy laughter spilling from them helplessly.

This was good.  This was what he was waiting for.

That is until Alex’s back hit the door and all he could see was when Michael had done the same thing to Maria in the middle of the Wild Pony, right in front of him, a few months back.

Alex pulled away sharply, discomfort coursing through his veins as he stared at the man he loved.  Michael furrowed his eyebrows in concern, tilting his head.

“You okay?” Michael asked softly.  Alex shook off the image in his mind and nodded, bringing Michael back to his lips.  He was a good kisser on a bad day, a good kisser when he was drunk and sloppy, but kissing a completely sober and of-sound-mind Michael was something he hadn’t actually done since high school.  It was good.  It should’ve been amazing.

Except Maria probably got it first.

“Wait,” Alex said, placing his hands firmly on Michael’s chest and pushing him away.  Michael took even more voluntary steps back to give him space.

Alex was struggling and he didn’t know why.  He’d fixed his relationship with Michael, he’d even sort of made up with Maria.  They’d talked multiple times about why she did what she did.  Not only had she promised she wouldn’t do it again and then did, but she dated him.  She dated him for months in front of Alex, kissed him in front of Alex, stopped talking to Alex all together.  She’d been a bad friend and she knew it.  She had admitted on more than one occasion that Michael was the first decent guy she’d liked in a long time and she was hoping he would be worth it.  But she also wasn’t aware of the history she was putting herself between.  Alex said he couldn’t forget, but he promised to try to forgive.  He thought he had.

He guessed he hadn’t.

“When’s the last time you kissed Maria?” Alex asked.  Michael furrowed his eyebrows.

“Huh?  Alex, I haven’t even seen her in weeks, she won’t talk to me.” Michael told him.  Alex was aware of what he meant, but god his word choice couldn’t have been worse.

“So you’ve reached out to her?  You’ve, you’ve tried to get back with her when we were in the middle of fixing things?” Alex clarified.  Michael’s eyes widened.

“No!  No, I’ve been trying to apologize to her.  I used her and I feel awful about it.  I mean, I liked her, but I knew I wanted you and I just… I’ve tried to apologize.  I swear I haven’t been with her.” Michael promised.  Alex nodded slowly as he tried to push her out of his thoughts.

But he couldn’t.  And that pissed him off.  For months, Alex and Michael had been replacing their negative memories of each other with overwhelming positives.  He no longer saw a mutilated teenager or a broken adult, he saw a genius who was kind to a fault.  His Michael-centric dreams had gone from torture and misery to sweet domesticities and blush-worthy passion.  A future with Michael was finally tangible and right there in his grasp‒but he couldn’t enjoy it.  For a moment, he hated both Michael and Maria for it.  At the end of the day, though, Alex could only blame himself.  He couldn’t just let himself be happy.

“I think you should go,” Alex whispered.  He kicked himself when Michael’s face collapsed into sheer panic.

“Wait, no, Alex, just tell me how to fix this.  I’ll do whatever,” Michael insisted.

“I don’t know, Guerin!  I-I can’t kiss you without seeing her.  I don’t know how to make that go away,” Alex said, groaning as he let his head hit the door.  “I… I just need some time to figure everything out.”

“Alex,” Michael whispered, “Did I ruin us for good?”

Alex breathed out slowly, “I honestly don’t know.”

Michael turned around, his hands covering his face.  This was so fucking unfair.  His whole body ached for Michael’s touch, every inch of his skin all but screaming to feel his.  But his brain wouldn’t let him.  If he couldn’t now after everything that had changed over the recent months, how would he ever?

Why couldn’t he ever win?

“Okay,” Michael sighed, turning back to face him, “I’ll give you time to figure out where to go from here.  I’m sorry.  I really hope… I hope I didn’t fuck us up,” Alex nodded curtly.  Michael’s sad eyes looked over him a few times.  “Alright, I’ll see you.”

Alex rested his head against the door, watching him walk away.  It felt like a wild twist of events seeing him walk away, especially considering how utterly amazing the night had started out.  But, seeing him so upset struck worry in Alex, quickly reminding him that regardless of what Michael had done, he was also a recovering addict.

“Michael,” Alex called.  His head turned with that pained look all over his sweet face.  “Don’t drink, okay?  You’ve been doing amazing, don’t this stupid situation mess you up.”  Michael gave a small smile, nodding before healing towards his truck.

Except, when he reached the door, he paused.  Alex’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion and he was about to ask if he was alright before Michael swiftly turned and started coming back towards the cabin with a newfound determination.

“You know what?” Michael started as he stepped onto the porch, “We will figure this out‒but together.  Almost every issue we’ve ever had could’ve been fixed if we’d just fucking talked, but we were always so bad at it.  But, lately, we’ve gotten really good at the whole talking thing and we’re gonna fix this.  I love you and you love me and we have literally gone through too much bullshit for something like this to be the end of us.  Look, I’m gonna give you some time to yourself, but know I’m not giving up.  This is only our first date, we don’t need to have sex or even make out.  We’re gonna… gonna go slow and become a real ass couple until there’s no doubt in your gorgeous mind that you’re the only one in the world for me, Alex Manes.  We’re gonna see shitty movies together and cuddle on the couch and I’m going to take you on picnics and shit.  I’m gonna make you fall in love with me all over again so that our past doesn’t even matter.”

Michael had said a lot of romantic things in the time Alex had known him, but somehow this decision to communicate through the bump in the road of their relationship felt like the biggest moment in his life.  Alex couldn’t even help but smile even though he knew that he still had shit to do before they actually fulfilled his promise.

“Okay.  Let’s work through this together then,” Alex said softly.  He wanted to kiss him so badly that it nearly hurt, but he wasn’t about to ruin another moment tonight on the off chance his brain was still doused in Michael’s tongue down Maria’s throat.

Michael took a step closer, “We’re fuckin’ cosmic, baby, the universe is gonna have to try harder.”  Alex snorted, the smile still plastered on his face as Michael kissed his head and then his cheek before taking a step back.  “You have a good night and you brainstorm some ways to get your mind full of Michael and Alex, not Michael and Maria.  I will talk to you tomorrow, I love you, good night.”

“You brainstorm too, Guerin.  Love you, night.  Drive safe.” Alex said, grabbing his arm just long enough to place a chaste kiss on his lips.  That he could take.  That didn’t feel tainted.  It was when shit got heavier which, again, was unfair.  But he had a new wave of hope that they’d be able to work towards that again.  Michael brought a fucking person back to life‒he could help bring back their relationship.

Alex watched as he walked away again, only this time there was a bit of a skip in his step.  It was much better than him being sad.  Actually, literally, anything was better than him being sad.

Whenever the truck was out of sight, fatigue hit Alex.  He’d been on his prosthetic for way too many hours and the emotional roller coaster the last 30 minutes were had him feeling exhausted.  He managed to drag himself to the bathroom and drew himself a bath, sinking into the hot water as he brainstormed.  The longer he thought, the more it seemed like there was only one real place to start.  It wasn’t a place he was excited to start, but he was willing to do what it took to be with Michael.  So, when he got out of the bath, he grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to Maria.

Can we meet up tomorrow?  I need to talk to you.

[shall-we-imagine]

A dare is a dare! (Yukiya ReizenxReader AU)

Requested: 33. "I'm not weird. I am limited edition." + 34. "I turned out liking you a lot more than I originally planned." From this prompt list.

I'm so so sorry I know you've requested this ages ago and I took forever to write it so thank you for waiting. ❤ I've been in a horrible slump lately too :/ so consider this like a warm up and hopefully I'll write something cooler soon!

Genre: Fluff + humor

(Second person point of view)

"Your turn, Scarlett! Truth or Dare?" Amelia giggles.

"Dare!" Scarlett beams proudly.

"I dare you to order us some pizza; I am honestly very hungry." Amelia, the host of the sleepover, complains.

"That's your fault." You state, Scarlett nodding in agreement.

"A dare is a dare!" Amelia shoves her phone in Scarlett's face.

The blond shakes her head, but starts dialling the number anyway. "Shouldn't we order some for Yukiya too?" She wonders. Yukiya is Amelia's twin brother, and he's the only family member of Amelia's that's currently present at home; her parents are on an overnight trip of some sorts: you didn't ask for the details.

"Yeah, shouldn't we?" You turn to Amelia. Yukiya, in spite of being awfully attractive, is very shy and quiet, so you barely ever got the chance to utter more than a few words to him, if you even got to see him that is. Whenever you visited your bestfriend's house, he seemed to always keep himself locked up in that room of his. You sort of wished he didn't though, perhaps because of your undeniable crush on the blue-haired boy, just a guess though.

"Nah, he can eat leftovers if there's any." Indifferent, Amelia shrugs.

"You're so mean! I'll order one for him." Scarlett states. "Wait, what should I order for him?"

"Oh, good question!" Amelia perks up. Uh oh, that's never a good sign. "I wonder what Yukiya's favourite pizza is...(Y/N), you go ask him!" She smirks. You'd never really confessed to either of your bestfriends about the little thing you have for Yukiya, but you've always suspected they'd caught on, probably from the 'subtle' glances you'd give him whenever you get a chance to see him.

"Why me?!" Your cheeks heat up.

"It's your penalty for not doing the last dare you got." The two idiots nod eagerly, as if Scarlett's reason was very plausible.

"But this isn't fair! You turned my dare into a truth! Daring me to answer truthfully to your question isn't-"

"A dare is a dare!" Amelia shouts, cutting my complaints off.

"What are you scared of?" Scarlett inches closer to me smugly.

"Nothing!" I lie. "I'm gonna go ask him; I don't have a problem with that!" I lie again. Oh god, he's gonna see straight through me with those beautiful hazel eyes of his and just know I like him.

"Do I hear wedding bells?" Amelia sighs dreamily, as I was about to exit the room.

"Stop being weird! I'm only trying to get this over with; you're not the only hungry one here, you know!"

She scrambles off the fluffy, pink rug and rushes to her dresser, quickly and sloppily putting on her sunglasses. She crosses her arms, striking a 'cool" pose, "I'm not weird. I am limited edition."

After a few seconds of Scarlett and I staring in bewilderment, the former finally nods, "Yeah, that's definitely weird."

"You're both mean!" Amelia tears off her sunglasses and places them back on the dresser before taking her place back on the rug.

You shake your head in disbelief but do not say anything, leaving Scarlett to deal with that dork. Serves her right for selling you out anyway; you chuckle to yourself.

You tentatively walk to the end of the dimly lit hallway, purposely stretching out the time it takes to reach there by slowing down your steps.

Unfortunately but inevitably, you reach your destination. Heart pounding violently in your chest, you lift your fist up to knock on his door, but retract it to rehearse your lines a few more times.

After gaining the slightest bit of confidence you won't stutter the second he opens that door, you raise your fist again, but before your knuckles could collide with the wooden door, it flings open, revealing Yukiya in grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

"(Y/N)?" His eyes widen. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I-uhm, you know.." What are words? Cuz 'damn, you look good!' surely wasn't the correct thing I needed to say. "I- what pizza do you like?!" You blurt out, making it sound almost like a threat- like you were mugging him of his pizza preference.

Confusion spreads across his features, "Um, I like margherita? Why?"

"We're ordering pizza for you- I mean for us- I mean for all of us...including you." Yeah, go ahead, make a fool out of yourself; that's exactly what you planned to do!

He laughs. Oh god that beautiful laugh; you'd never seen him laugh before, but now he was laughing because of you. "Thanks." He smiles. Now, you might actually be hearing those wedding bells Amelia was talking about....

Speak of the devil. Amelia's door flings open, revealing the girls. "You're taking too lo- ooohhh, look at that!" The smug expressions they both wore were enough to drown you in humiliation and embarrassment.

"We already ordered the pizzas!" Scarlett exclaims and shuts the door, leaving you and Yukiya alone in the quiet hallway.

"What?! Hey! Wait, then why did you make me-" You shout but give up halfway through, knowing you'll recieve no answer anyway.

"Amelia already knows I only eat margheritas." Yukiya says quietly, a smile tugging at his lips.

"I figured as much." You sigh, accepting defeat.

After a few moments of awkward silence, neither of you knowing what to say, Yukiya breaks the silence with a gentle tone, "Well, do you wanna get a drink as we wait for the pizza?"

"Of course." You smile, and then smile even more upon viewing the way his face lit up at your agreement. Maybe you do have a chance.

You head to the kitchen, Yukiya leading the way even though you know this house about as much as he does, considering it's practically your second home. Amelia always invites you over, especially because her parents are barely ever home.

You take a seat at the dining table in their kitchen and watch as Yukiya rummages through their fridge. "Is chocolate milk okay?" He innocently holds up two small cartons of chocolate milk- the type kindergarteners would fall head over heels for.

You giggle, "Yeah, chocolate milk is perfect."

"Why are you laughing?" He sits opposite to you and hands you your carton.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just- it's cute; you're cute." The words come out before you get the chance to think them through. God, can the ground just swallow you whole right now?

A slight blush takes over Yukiya's normally pale skin, "Thanks. You're cute too." He mumbles.

Your heart did literal backflips. Well, maybe not literal, but it felt quite literal. "Thanks." You breathe out, fumbling with the chocolate milk carton in your hand before finally sticking the straw in and taking a sip of your drink.

For a while that's what both of you did, just quietly sip your chocolate milk, no words spoken. You wanted to say something; you needed to say something. It felt like a chance you had to take; you could finally catch the attention of your crush, but you're quietly drinking chocolate milk!

You open your mouth to speak, but the doorbell interrupts you.

"That must be the pizza." Yukiya gets up, dumping his empty carton in the trashcan before rushing to the front door. Dammit. Your time with him is over; did you really need to waste your time being so uncomfortable and awkward? Jeez.

Scolding yourself all the way towards the door, you almost lose hope of ever getting such a good chance to talk to him like that. But you see Yukiya holding up about seven boxes of pizza, looking like a frightened, confused puppy.

"Oh! (Y/N)! Could you help me? Just pull out the hundred in my pocket, please." He pleads.

"Sure." You rush towards him, quickly sticking your hand in his sweat pants' pocket, eager to release him of the struggle he's in. However, your rashness results in your hand brushing against something you didn't quite need to touch. Not at this stage of your relationship at least.

Your eyes meet his equally panicked ones. "I- um..I meant my jacket's pocket.." His cheeks turn bright pink to match yours.

You turn your head to look behind you- a coat rack with a single jacket hung on it. Yukiya's.

You could feel embarrassment radiating from both of you; you quickly pull your hand out of his empty pocket and clear your throat. "Sorry."

"Can y'all get it over with? I still have work to do." The delivery boy huffs, following it up with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." You quickly pull the money out of Yukiya's pocket and make the payment while Yukiya waits with his tower of pizza boxes.

After you shut the door, the awkwardness seemed to suffocate you both. God, it was going so well; why did that need to happen?!

"I didn't mean to touch your-"

"I know. It's okay; I should've made myself clear." He gives you a reassuring smile, but you could still see how red his face is. Maybe it was just him getting tired of the pizza boxes though, you tried to lie to yourself.

"Uh, here, let me help you." You grab some of the boxes. "They're such pigs; I don't know how they eat all that." You joke.

"And Amelia was supposed to be on a diet too." He adds, laughing.

You join him, "So was Scarlett!"

After that, the incident was completely forgotten and you were able to actually enjoy your time with Yukiya and the girls without thinking of how you touched your crush's penis minutes ago.

"Yukiya, truth or dare?" Scarlett asks before taking a huge bite of her slice.

"Truth."

"Booorriiinng!" Amelia boos.

"Shut up; I have a juicy one!" Scarlett shoves her palm in Amelia's face.

For some reason, that made you nervous.

And judging by the way Yukiya glanced at you for reassurance, it made him nervous too.

"Okay, Yukiya, do you like anyone?" She smirks and looks at me.

"Why are you looking at me?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I'm not." She shrugs. "So? Yukiya?"

He stays silent for a few seconds but replies in a calm tone, "Yes."

The two girls squeal, scream, and jump around, but you could only sit there, your heart rate faster than the speed of sound. Your eyes meet his; now, if you were reading his invisible signals correctly, he was telling you it's you, but you could be imagining that, so no need to do anything stupid. Not again.

"Who is it?!" Scarlett practically jumpscares the poor guy.

"You already asked your one question. These are the rules, aren't they?" He smiles.

"Ugh, Yukiya, come on, don't ruin it!" Amelia groans.

"Cut it out! You can't force him to do whatever you want." You defend, earning a thankful smile from him.

"Yeah." He nods, to which the two girls slump down in annoyance. "(Y/N), your turn. Truth or dare?" Were your eyes playing tricks on you or did he just smirk at you? Oh god, he's too hot for existence.

"Dare." You gulp, hoping he's as nice as he seems.

He frowns.

"What's wrong?" Your eyebrows furrow in concern.

He chuckles sheepishly, "I didn't think of a dare."

"I did!" Scarlett volunteers. "Can I pick her dare?"

Before you could say No, absolutely not! Definitely not in a hundred years!, Yukiya had already agreed. Well, shit. Nothing good was about to come out of that little devil's lips.

"(Y/N), 7 minutes in heaven with Yukiya, that's your dare." She grins like she just won some sort of battle.

"That's a different game! Stop twisting the rules as you please!" I complain.

"A dare is a-"

"Oh my god, Amelia, if you say that one more time, I might punch you."

"Someone needs a hug." Amelia pouts sarcastically.

You sigh. If this was a cartoon, steam would be rushing out your ears by now.

"It's okay; we just need to stay in a closet for seven minutes, right?" Yukiya's hazel eyes bore into yours, delaying your response for a few seconds.

"Um, uh, yeah."

"No problem then." He grabs you by your wrist gently and leads you to Amelia's closet, both of you choosing to ignore the wolf whistles coming from the two girls on the floor.

"Okay, this is too cramped." You breathe out after the closet door was shut.

"Tell me about it." Yukiya lets out a light laugh.

"On the bright side, we get to escape their teasing for seven whole minutes." I propose.

"True." He agrees.

Silence consumes the small space after that.

It was fairly hot outside the closet, so inside it was just hell, basically. Plus, you weren't a fan of not being able to see anything. You were also scared of moving at all because you really didn't need any more accidents.

"Yukiya?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you actually like someone?"

He remains silent for longer than you would've liked but eventually gave a response.

"Yes."

"Do I know her?"

"Yes."

Curiosity was getting the best of you. "Can I get a hint?"

"Technically speaking, you can, but that doesn't mean you will."

It was extremely unusual for Yukiya to tease someone, from what you knew at least, so that made you feel special in some way.

"Pretty please?"

"I don't know. What would I get in return?"

You paused for a few seconds. Then did something extremely brave. A side effect of the darkness, or maybe the heat had melted your brain to a puddle.

You blindly reach out for him and work your way up to his neck. You stand on the tip of your toes and pull him closer to you, praying your lips collide with his and not have some awkward interaction where you kiss his chin or something. Then, you'd have to move to Ireland and hide your real identity for the rest of your life.

By some miracle, it happened. Your lips and his moved against each other with ease. His lips were slightly swollen due to his habit of biting on his lip when nervous, but they were soft nevertheless. Easily, what you'd planned to be a quick peck had turned into a passionate kiss.

You pull away, slightly panting. "Does that work?" You tease.

"Better than anything I'd dreamed of." He rests his forehead on yours. "I guess I turned out liking you a lot more than I'd originally planned."

The door to the closet flings open, leaving you feeling vulnerable and humiliated for some reason.

"Are we interrupting something?" Scarlett wiggles her eyebrows at the two of you.

"Ewww, I can't believe you just kissed my brother." Amelia whines, earning a smack from Scarlett.

"We planned that, you scatterbrain."

"I know, but still."

"I hate you both." You step out of the closet.

"Why? We got you a boyfriend." Amelia stares.

Your cheeks heat up. "Just shut up, will you?"

"Honestly, if anything, we should hate you; where are our boyfriends, (Y/N)?" Scarlett complains.

"That's not my fault!"

"You're saying there's something wrong with us?!" Amelia fake gasps.

You face palm and turn to Yukiya, who just gave you a sympathetic smile. "Yukiya, you have more of that chocolate milk?"

"Lots and lots of it." He laughs.

"Off we go then." You link your arm with his, turning him towards the door.

"You traitor!" Your bestfriends call out after you.

Well, it's their fault for 'getting you a boyfriend' after all.

[crimsonheart01]

I’ll Be Happy Once Again (Coco x OC/Reader)

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, an old marine friend came searching.

Word Count: 3.906

Playlist: Please Come Home for Christmas - Eagles

Knowing that he wouldn’t ever have another chance, Coco snuck out from his bunk. He knew that she would be sound asleep at this time, and he’d be long gone by morning. He crept across the courtyard, keeping out of sight from the lookouts. When he reached her bunker, he slipped past the door and counted the beds until he came to the foot of hers.

He stood at the end of her bed, watching her breath. The steady intake of breath calming him. He inhaled, and gently sat himself down on the edge of her mattress. He leaned forward and brushed the hair out of her face. He didn’t have ant regrets. That wasn’t how he operated.

Regardless, he’d miss her. The closest friend he’d made in a long time. Someone who understood his need for quiet solitude. Someone he could confide in without even having to say a word. They laughed together, and they raged together. She had his back on every mission. He never had to worry about his back being vulnerable. Not with her.

Licking his lips, he leaned forward and reached under her cot, grabbing her duffel bag. He inched it out until it was between his feet. He untied the leather bracelet around his wrist and folded it into the envelope he carried in with him. He shoved both into the far pocket, deep into the depths of her bag.

He shoved the bag back into place and paused. He rest both his elbows on the corresponding knees and ran his fingers into his hair. With his head bowed he wondered if he was doing this backwards. Maybe she’d want him to say goodbye in person. He sighed. It was too late. The order had been made.

He was being dishonourably discharged. With an order to be gone before the sun rose the next morning. He closed his eyes, remembering the moment everything went south. Pride of his superior getting in the way of his skill set. Sometimes bruised egos resulted in loss of personnel. He wasn’t sorry, but he would miss being a part of the unit.

With a shake of his head, he turned back to her sleeping form. He laid a hand on her forearm. He toyed with the idea of kissing her, but thought it wasn’t fair. Not for him, and not for her. It should be her choice. Not one he made for her. He squeezed her wrist, hoping that in whatever dream land she was visiting, she felt the subtle farewell.

She stirred slightly and he waited, wondering if she’d wake. After a moment she settled back down, rolling onto her other side, her back to him. He took that as his sign, stood up and snuck back out of her tent and back across to his own. He had some last minute packing to do.

~(MMC)~

The next morning was a rush of dressing and running out to my assigned post. The day was long and hot, but the silver lining was the few hours of layover that Cruz and I had in the pit. Typically, we worked opposite shifts, having a similar skill set, but on occasion they paired us up. When we weren’t working on the same mission, we had the unspoken routine of meeting in the mess hall to catch each other up on our unit members and to deal out bets won or lost.

I methodically stripped down to my basic uniform before rushing back to my bunk to grab my toiletries. A quick shower was in need after being out in the sun all day long. I had good news for him today. We won the bet on Johnston shooting himself in the foot – literally. The kid was a mess, and we all knew it was coming. Thankfully, we bet within the right timeframe and would be splitting the pot. Nolasco was going to be pissed.

I dried my hair, braided it back away from ym face and put on a clean uniform. I grabbed a pack of cigarettes, the ones I always had sent up from my hometown for him and made my way out to the mess hall. I strode through the front entrance with a huge smile on my face. I bee lined for our unofficially reserved table only to reach it and find it empty.

I glanced around the room, finding that all his other unit members were present. All except him. I spotted his second, Smith, and as soon as our eyes met, he ducked his head. Something was up. I stormed over to his table and loomed over him.

“Where’s Cruz?” I demanded.

Smith stared at the floor, shaking his head. The gravity of his reaction hit me and my stomach plummeted. Something was very wrong. If he’d been an ass and got bathroom duty there would’ve been a sly smile. Smith was downright refusing to meet my eyes, or even look at me.

“What happened?” I pushed, perching down on the bench below me.

Smith sighed, “Discharged.”

My mouth dried. That couldn’t be. There’d been a mistake.

“What?” I croaked.

“He’s gone.” Smith reiterated, “Shot the cigar out of our officer’s mouth.”

I shook my head, “He wouldn’t be that stupid.”

Smith closed his eyes, his head bowing, “He’s not coming back.”

I shot up, knocking the bench out from under me. I swore under my breath and took a moment to compose myself before holding myself high as I calmly walked out of the tent. Once I was through the doors, I let out the breath I was holding. I could feel tears prickling in the corner of my eyes but I held them at bay.

I sped across the compound and burst into his quarters. A few of the guys there yelped at my sudden appearance, but once they realized who I was they all quieted down. I scanned the beds until I found the only one that didn’t have any sheets.

With deliberate steps, I made my way down the aisle and found myself standing at the foot of his bed. Everything was gone. Not even a cigarette butt left. Somewhere deep down, I had hope that he left me something. Something to remind me of himself. Or a way to find him outside of service. But there was nothing. All I had were memories. Ones that would would eventually blur into oblivion.

“Shit, Cruz.” I fell down onto his empty cot.

Not a single thing left to be reminded of him. All I knew was his name and that he was from the United States. How was I supposed to find him? We never found a reason to share that kind of intimate information. Was it silly of me to assume we’d always be around? I should’ve thought ahead. Now I was without one of my closest friends. Gone forever.

~(MMC)~

… years later …

“Babe?” I heard my fiancé call from down the hall?

I poked my head out the door, “Yeah?”

I spotted him at the end of the hall, dragging a bunch of stored bags down from the attic.

“Wanna come take a look through these? See what’s to keep and what’s to donate?”

I nodded, “Give me five and I’ll be right over.”

I heard his mumbled response and I smiled. I turned back into the closest and continued packing away all the towels and linens. As a Christmas present to ourselves, we decided to buy a house. It wasn’t anything huge. A bungalow in the nice area of town. I sighed, knowing that I still had doubts but couldn’t place why. I was happy. Although it felt like something was missing.

I tried not to dwell on the paranoia I held in the back of my mind. We’d been together sine before the end of my last tour. We met while I was on leave and then continued an undisclosed relationship while I was away overseas. He was a good man. He loved me and treated me proper. He was safe.

Maybe that was my problem. I was used to being on edge, on the run. Always looking over my shoulder, or watching my fellow Marine’s back. I wasn’t used to being settled down., and definitely not comfortable with buying a house.

I knelt down next to the filled box and taped it up. With a sharpie I labeled it ‘Hall Closet’. I lifted it onto the stack of other finished boxes and with clap of my hands I moved over to the spare room where he’d dumped all the bags from up in the attic. I ruffled through the first few, seeing that they were old and out of season clothes.

I divided everything into two piles. Donate and Keep. With a methodical approach, I empty each bag and made a logical decision about the contents within them. It wasn’t until the last one that I thought about just tossing the entire thing. I stared down at my service duffel. I hadn’t opened it since I last packed it up. There were some harsh memories deep within the fabric of that item.

I breathed in, closed my eyes and found my center. There was never going to be a better time than now. I couldn’t keep hauling the bag around from house to house unopened. I needed to face fears. Truth be told, it wasn’t really fear of bad memories. It was fear of the nostalgia. The yearn of going back. Feeling that pull once again.

I was worried that if I opened the bag I’d jump back into service. Something I worked hard to not have to go back too. I did my time. I served my country. I wanted my time to explore who I was now. Find my own identity.

With a deep breath in, I reached forward and unzipped the army green bag. The main part was filled with my boots and old uniform. A few extra shirts and all my paperwork. I took out the papers and placed them in the keep pile. I reached into the side pockets, finding them empty. Then I rummaged around in the back pocket.

First thing I found were my dog tags. I smiled as I held them up. I folded them into the palm of my hand and slid them into my pocket. I didn’t want to lose these. I went back to the pocket, making sure nothing else was left behind when my fingers brushed against something smooth. I grabbed it and pulled.

A bracelet and a letter came popping into existence. I swallowed. That was a bracelet I hadn’t seen for years. They belonged to someone I hadn’t thought of in a long time. Longer than I knew my fiancé for. I fingered the leather, letting it roll onto my wrist. It was a bit too big but was easily resized. I tugged on the ends until it was snug. I flipped the envelop over and saw my name scrawled in his familiar writing.

My heart stopped. Where had this come from? How had I never found it before. How long had it been sitting in my bag? I twirled the paper between my fingers. Did I want to know the contents of the envelope? I bit my lip. Of course I did.

With shaking hands, I flipped it over and slid a finger under the sealed portion breaking it open. I pulled out the folded papers, and found myself looking at a long letter, written on both sides. I swallowed, tears forming as I began to read the familiar writing.

I read through the letter three times before I fully comprehended what he was getting at.

I rolled my lips together, “Shit Cruz.”

I glanced down at his signature line, where he left the name of a city. Santo Padre. It was my hint. I let the tears fall. He left my something of him after all. I spent all these years forcing myself to forget him. At what cost? Had he been waiting for me? Was I too late?

I ripped out my phone and googled the city. IT was in the southernmost California. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and I startled, dropping my phone and shoving the letter into the back pocket of my jeans. I turned around, hoping that my fiancé bypassed this room and kept going.

He called out to me as he passed, letting me know he was thinking of ordering in for dinner and I collapsed down into a heap on the floor. I stared down at the city on google maps. Was it too late?

~(MMC)~

My fingers gripped the top of the car door. My knuckles white with stress. I stared up at the large junk yard sign. I hoped I was in the right place. It was hard enough that it was Christmas eve. If I was in the wrong place, it wouldn’t be likely that I could find someone to help me out. Not at this time of the year.

I sighed, slammed the door shut and reached through the window into my bag. I grabbed the envelope, stuffing it into the inside pocket of my jacket. I rolled my shoulders and cracked my neck. I tried to relieve as much built up stress as possible. I wasn’t sure what I was walking into. This could be the worst plan I’d ever have in my life.

I up and left my fiancé in the middle of the night. Caught a red eye to San Diego then rented a car and drove the two hours outside of the city to Santo Padre. All the research I’d done led me to this scrap yard. I wasn’t sure what was behind the gate, but I hoped Cruz would be there. I patted the area on the front of my leather jacket where the letter was sitting, making sure it was still there.

I gathered all my courage and walk around the small opening in the front gate. I assumed the place would be deserted, or at least closed. I was trying to convince myself not to get my hopes up but at the same time every nerve ending in my body was alight at the simple thought that I might get to see my old best friend again.

I rounded the corner and found an open courtyard with lines of motorcycles. Harley’s to be exact. I gulped. All warnings in my head starting to go off. I spotted an office off to my right and then what looked like a cantina little further ways ahead. My boots kicked up dust as I walked into the middle of the compound.

I held my head high, not wanting to seem frightened. I glanced over at the office and the door was open but I couldn’t see anyone in there. I opted to make my way to the bar. If there were people about, it would definitely be in the bar.

I didn’t make it far into my trek when a group of men began filing out of the doors and down the steps. I stopped immediately, scanning my environment. A man with a thick mustache and leather vest was the first to spot me. He took a few steps towards me. In an attempt to look less threatening I tucked my hands into my jean pockets.

“Can we help you?” He asked, the Spanish accent subtle but still distinguished.

I nodded, “I’m looking for Johnny. Johnny Cruz.”

The mans eyebrows shot up and he glanced to his left. I followed his eyes but was disappointed when it wasn’t Cruz. The man beside him shifted, falling behind and stepping back into the bar.

“May I ask who you are?” The first man inquired. 
 I looked back at him, “Ex-Marine. Cruz and I served together.”

The man pouted in approval. An understated shock lining his features. I was used to that reaction. It was strange, but still in today’s day and age, men found it surprising when women were service members. Especially Marines.

There was a commotion over by the doors to the cantina. Another group of men came out and unfortunately I still couldn’t spot Cruz. I visibly deflated. I was starting to think that I came to the wrong place and these guys were plotting something sinister. I took a step backwards and ‘Mustache’ noticed.

“No need to worry, carina.” He soothed.

I opened my mouth to give him a scathing retort when my last name echoed into the area around us. My head shot up and I was staring at Cruz. He was scruffy, but still Cruz. I stared at him, all confidence gone. I was a deer caught in headlights. What was I doing here again?

Most of the men backed off as Cruz made his way towards me. He stopped a few feet away. We stared at one another. His confusion and contempt obvious while my expression emulated distress.

“What are you doing here?” Cruz questioned.

I opened my mouth and no sound came out. I squeezed my eyes shut and stilled my racing emotions. Clarity hit me again and I reached into my jacket pocket. As I made the move, Cruz pulled his gun forward, aiming it at the ground but at the ready. I held up my hands in surrender before continuing. 
 I dipped my fingers into my pocket and pulled out the letter. As I held it up between us, the sleeve of my jacket slipped down, revealing his old leather bracelet. His eyes shot between the bracelet and the letter before narrowing the slightest bit.

“I found it yesterday.” I explained, “After all these years. I thought you were lost to me. Nothing left behind. Nothing but your name.” I paused, taking a breath before continuing, “I didn’t even know where you called home. You were there one minute and the next you were gone. I lost my best friend overnight. You left without a word, Cruz. I had to learn from Smith what happened. And then - “ I began to stutter, “and then I moved on. I forced myself to forget you. to forget the comradery, we built. It worked. I focused on the tours and then one day someone else came into my life. Someone completely opposite to you. Safe, secure, ordinary.”

I gulped, realizing where my rant was leading too. A place where I had trouble going myself and wasn’t sure I was ready to blurt it all out in front of a group of strange men and a man I didn’t know well anymore.

“Why are you here?” He said again.

I frowned, shaking my head. The tears were at critical level now. If I didn’t turn around every man in immediate area was about to witness my uncharacteristic breakdown. I breathed out and shoved the letter back into my pocket and retreated. I took a few steps backwards without breaking eye contact until it was too much. I whipped around and sped walked out of the yard and back around the gate.

I tried to catch my breath but it came in hitched intervals. The onset of a panic attack. Seeing him was making me come to terms with my predicament. Forcing me to finally address what I was shoving down and ignoring. I reached the car and slammed both my hands on the hood. I took a moment to try and compose myself. At least enough to drive.

I pushed away and reached for my door when someone caught my wrist. I gasped, spinning to find Cruz standing there, his eyes imploring.

“Why did you come?” He asked for a third time.

I huffed, angrily wiping away the wetness from my cheeks.

“Can’t you say anything else? Or are you a mimic now? Asking me the same question over and over isn’t going to help any.”

He licked his lips, “You haven’t answered me.”

It was short and concise. He explained in one sentence why he kept asking. It was his way of trying to feel out the situation. Why did I come? What was I hoping to gain from this excursion? I attempted to tug my arm back but he tightened his grip around my wrist. He wasn’t going to let me run away.

He knew I knew why I came. Two peas in a pod. That’s what we were. He knew all my tricks because he used them too. He knew I was struggling. He knew I was hiding. He was forcing me to get it out. To admit why I came to him. He may not have known all the back story. That I left at the first lead, half cocked.

I didn’t care that his location wasn’t confirmed. It was the closest thing I had to seeing him again and I took off. He sensed what I was running from and wanted me to admit to it. He didn’t need to ask any other questions.

“I don’t want to get married.” I whispered.

He stared at me, his typical expression in place, “So don’t.”

I sighed, relieved. He would support my decision. It was all I needed. Him. I looked down at the engagement ring on my finger. His eyes followed mine. Without any prompting, he took his free hand and covered my other. He didn’t take it off, wanting to respect my boundaries.

Instead he waited. Without allowing myself to second guess my decision, I Reached down and plucked the ring off. I dumped it into my pocket and threw my arms around Cruz’s neck. His arms slid in around my lower back and our noses brushed against one another’s.

I breathed him in. He smelt like leather, beer and cigarettes. The latter two weren’t the most appealing, but it was Cruz and I didn’t care. I tilted my face up, allowing for more room and brought my mouth within a centimeter of his. We stared at each other momentarily before he met me the rest of the way.

My entire body exploded with reaction as his lips pressed against mine. Losing myself in the moment, I pushed against him and our kiss became hard and rushed. Years of lost time falling down around us. We had a lot to make up for. He shoved me against the side of the car, his hands roaming up my back.

Our teeth clashed against the other’s, our tongues wrestling. I threw everything I missed about him into that kiss. I threw all the years missed into it and he reciprocated. It wasn’t sweet. It wasn’t gentle. It was hard, rushed and passionate. We needed each other and that much was cleared. He bit down on my lip and I let out a breathy moan. A small moan echoed from the back of his throat before he pulled away.

Breathing heavily, he pressed his forehead against mine. Both of us stood there, catching our breath with our eyes closed. His grip loosened and he embraced me warmly. I laid my head against his chest, allowing my heart rate to level out. His lips brushed against my ear lobe as he made his way to leave a light kiss against my temple.

“It’s Coco now.” He murmured.

I chuckled, wanting to know the story behind that name but prepared to wait for another day.

[erisgregory]

Satellite Call Chapter 9

cross posted to AO3

or start with chapter one

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: M/M Fandom: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019) Relationship: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes Characters: Michael Guerin, Alex Manes Additional Tags: Michael is an Escort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Shameless Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added Summary: Alex is home from the air force but finds he is as lonely as ever. He engages an escort one night under a pseudonym and when the escort arrives it’s his high school love, Michael Guerin. Thankfully for both of them Michael is a professional. However one night couldn’t possibly make up for all they’ve missed. Can they keep an ongoing relationship professional? Can they learn to trust that there is something more than this transaction between them?

Alex has taken the day off, he needs time to think about how he’s going to keep doing desk duty for his father, when all he wants is to be as far away from him as possible. It gives him time to catch up on his chores around the cabin and to worry about Michael and everything that’s passed between them.

He’d gotten an email back saying Michael owed him and though that should be the last thing Alex wants, he can’t help but think as long as Michael owes him, there is some tie between the two of them. Is that what Alex wants? Some connection? Even though he’d told Michael the complete opposite, now, having had time to think about it, he doesn’t actually care what his father thinks of him, does he?

It’s a lot and Alex realizes he isn’t going to figure it out in one morning, so he decides to table it for now. The idea that Michael owes him, keeps running through his head, but he lets it fall into the background as he does his laundry.

Around eleven some shuffling out on the porch draws his attention. At first it sounds like it might be an animal, but Alex doesn’t know what would be out in the daylight like this, so he opens the door quietly and peers out.

It’’s Kyle and it looks as though he’s about to break the window.

“You could try knocking. It’s less of a felony, but it’s also less dramatic so depends on what you're going for.” He tells him.

Kyle looks completely surprised to see him, which may have something to do with Alex always parking in the back.

“Come on in, you can tell me what brings you out this far.” Alex offers.

Kyle follows him in, turning around and giving the place a once over. “I’d forgotten about this place.” He says. “Our dad’s old hunting cabin.”

“Your dad’s technically.” Alex corrects. “So, you wanna tell me why you drove all the way out here?”

“Legacy, I guess.” Kyle says. “This place wasn’t part of the assets in his will. Guess I wanted to know what happened to it.”

“When I got back from Iraq, he left me the key and a letter telling me I could have the place. I figured that you knew.”

Kyle shook his head. “No. Why would he leave this place to you? Instead of me or my mom?”

“I… I don’t know. When I got back, he’d already passed. I never got a chance to ask.” Alex tells him.

Kyle pulls out a keychain and holds it out in his hand for Alex to see. “You recognize this?” He asks.

“Yeah.” Alex says, taking a look. “Keychain looks like mine, but that key is too small for the door.”

“Mind if I poke around and see if I can find the lock? Then I’ll take off.” Kyle looks around the room, already hunting for where the key might go.

Alex thinks it can’t do any harm since he’d come all this way. “When I got here, I put everything that reminded me of the good ol’ days in the closet. Go nuts.” Alex decides to leave him to it and go sit on the porch. He doesn’t need any more memories haunting him today.

There’s a spot on the side of the cabin where Jim had set up a small table and chairs to look out into the desert years ago. They were starting to rust and would probably need to be painted or replaced soon, but that was where Alex gravitated now. He wanted to stay out of Kyle’s way and he had a lot on his mind.

Mainly Michael and the way things had gone down between them. Maybe Michael really had been trading copper wire, though that wasn’t technically legal either, to steal from the dump, but it was a good sight better than the thought of him taking money for sex out in the open like that. The truth was, Alex was jealous of the thought of him with anyone else. Which was hardly fair seeing as Alex had told him things weren’t going to work out.

Alex sits and thinks about Michael and about emailing him for close to an hour and all the while Kyle hasn’t come out. Eventually Alex shakes himself from his reverie and goes to check on Kyle.

He finds him sitting on the couch with a fishing reel and looking nostalgic. “That’s not a lock.” Alex says.

“Yeah, got distracted.” Kyle tells him. “Do you remember that night your dad made us set up that tent to teach us extreme weather survival. We found a way to sneak back inside. We were a good team.”

“Yeah. Until you grew one chest hair and instantly became a nightmare of a bully. Like some bro jock from an eighties movie.” Alex says, shaking his head.

Kyle has the decency to look ashamed. “I don’t know why I was like that.”

“Because I was gay. People started to notice, and you were afraid that, if you were nice to me, people would think you were gay, too.” Alex explains. He’d figured it out years ago.

“I’m sorry… I--I didn’t think that…” Kyle started.

“Don’t.” Alex interrupts him with a humorless laugh. “Please. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been through a lot worse than your locker room taunting at this point.”

Kyle looks uncomfortable with that, like he doesn’t quite know what to say and he stands with a sigh.

“How much longer do you think is gonna take?” Alex asks.

Kyle bends to pull the drawer out of the coffee table. “I don’t… “ The whole drawer comes out on accident. “Whoa. Dammit.”

Alex just rolls his eyes. But Kyle looks concerned.

“Whoa.” He says. Alex has no idea what he could be looking at. “Hey, uh, um, help me move this.”

Together they lift the coffee table out of the way revealing a hatch of some kind underneath it.

“What the hell?” Alex asks.

“Did you know about this?” Kyle wants to know.

“No, dude.” Alex shakes his head taking a step back. “Okay so this is the point in the horror movie where the audience starts screaming, no don’t do that.”

“What’s the worst we can find?” Kyle asks.

“What… literal skeletons!” Alex tells him.

But that doesn’t deter Kyle at all and he begins to try and open the hatch. Alex sighs, resigned, and steps forward to get a better look as Kyle opens the hatch door and they both look down at a ladder into darkness.

At the bottom of the ladder Kyle feels around until he finds a light switch. When the light goes on, Alex can’t quite believe his eyes. They seem to be standing in a girl’s bedroom and he has no idea why. It doesn’t feel right.

“I think I’d prefer skeletons.” Kyles says, warily.

Together they walk further into the room, looking around. There is a bed on the far wall with two nightstands with lamps. A chest at the end of the bed and a wardrobe. All of it very clearly meant for a girl.

Alex notices the symbol from the keyrings is punched out of one of the lamps but he doesn’t know why or what the symbol means.

“Why did you really come here?” Alex asks.

“I’m looking into Rosa Ortecho’s death.” He says plainly.

“Liz’s sister? The DUI?” Alex can’t imagine why anyone would be looking into that when it seemed so straight forward. Tragic but straight forward.

“Liz has questions.” Kyle explains.

“What, you think that your dad had something to do with it?” Alex guesses.

“I think Rosa and my dad were having an affair.” Kyle admits.

Alex immediately rejects the idea. “No.” He shakes his head. “Your dad was a good guy. You know why he left me this house, and not you? Because you were fine. You were popular. You were at the top of your class in med school. Your mom loved you. I wasn’t loved. My mom was gone. My dad was a homophobic abusive dick. And your dad saw it. He left me these keys so that I would have a place to go. He wasn’t the type of person who would take advantage of a desperate teenager. He would help them.”

Together they stand in silence looking around and trying to figure it out. Alex opens the wardrobe and finds medical supplies of some sort. “Look.” He tells Kyle. He pulls out an I.V. bag and passes it to Kyle.

“This is for detoxing.” Kyle says. “My dad had been through the twelve steps. A couple times. Maybe… he was trying to keep her in here to get her clean? Or maybe I’m just thinking wishfully again and I need to get a grip.”

Alex takes another look around. “Something isn’t right.” Finally voicing his concern.

“Uh, yeah. Wrong would be closer to my choice of words.”

The chest at the end of the bed catches Alex’s eye and he bends down to look at it. There’s a small lock on it. “It’s locked.” He tells Kyle. “Your key.”

Kyle brings the key over and it does in fact fit the lock. So he turns it and pulls the lock off the chest. He opens it slowly revealing pictures, a teddy bear, a baby blanket, and other odds and ins. The picture on top catches his eye and he picks it up, looking at it closely.

“I’d recognize his hands anywhere.” Kyle says. The picture is a man holding a baby in the blanket that’s in the chest. The blanket has an embroidered “R” on it. “My dad didn’t have an affair with Liz’s sister.” He says quietly. “He had an affair with her mom. That’s why he was trying to help Rosa sober up. That’s why he was never the same after she died. Rosa was his daughter.”

Kyle closes the chest back and puts the lock back in place. Then, after another quick search of the room doesn’t turn anything up they decide to leave it for the time being. They climb back out of the bunker and close the hatch, placing the table back over it.

They stand in the living room facing each other. Kyle sighs heavily before saying, “I’m sorry. For dragging you into all this.”

“Kyle.” Alex says softly. “How many men do you know who were a father to any and every kid who needed one? That’s who Jim Valenti was. And he was yours. The dad I got was a monster. Is a monster.”

“Because he sent you off to war?” Kyle asks.

“My father was my war.” Alex tells him, sitting down on the couch. It’s dark outside the window behind him. “And your dad saw it, when we were kids. Do you remember the summer that we built the treehouse?”

“Yeah.” Kyle says.

“That’s the summer that my dad found out I was gay. He knew before I did. He thought he could beat it out of me. Jim tried to intervene. But you can’t make someone stop hating someone. And my dad hated me.” Alex fell silent after that. There didn’t seem to be much more to say.

“You’ve got it wrong, you know?” Kyle interrupts his thoughts. “My dad didn’t leave you that key because he thought you were weak. He would’ve never thought that about you. You’re the bravest person I know.”

Alex looks up at him, surprised by his words. Kyle offers him a small smile before turning to leave. He closes the door softly behind him leaving Alex alone with his thoughts once more. He sighs heavily and leans against his hands. There was something about the bunker that still felt strange to Alex. Something they were missing. Why was there a bunker to begin with? Before it was made into a room for rosa to detox in, what purpose had it served?

He just has more questions. So he decides to go for one last look, by himself. Moving the table is a little bit difficult but he pushes it mostly with his good leg until he can get the hatch open, and then he climbs slowly back down into the darkness. When he flips on the lights the feeling hits him fresh. Something is off and he is going to figure out what it is.

Alex walks slowly toward the lamp with the symbol on it. He flicks it on and sees that it shines the symbol onto the wall. He pulls out his keys and confirms that it is the same spiral symbol. It looks a little like a sun with a moon nearby. In the center of the spiral is a notch out of the wall which gives him the idea to check behind it.

Lacking any sort of tool, Alex picks up his crutch and balances it in his hand. He punches the wall with the bottom of it until the wall begins to crumble away. Alex hits it several times until there is a sizable hole where the light is shining from the lamp.

He leans down and sees that there is something in the wall! So he reaches for it and carefully pulls it out. It’s dusty but smooth and as he dusts it off it shimmers and glows in a variety of colors and symbols. It’s a part to something larger, that much is clear. And the first thing Alex thinks looking at it, is that it’s not of this world.

Alex carries the piece back up the ladder and thinks of where to hide it for now. He’s going to look into it and see what he can find out about it and in the meantime he knows he needs to keep it safe and hidden. The only thing he can come up with is his backpack because he usually carries it with him and that way he can keep an eye on it wherever he goes.

After it’s tucked safe into the backpack, Alex sits down in the couch once more. He runs a hand through his hair and wishes he had someone he could call. He had friends, he knew he could trust, but this felt different. This felt big. He didn’t want to drag anyone into it until he knew what it even was.

He especially wanted to see Michael and for a few minutes he even held his phone in his hand and thought about sending an email. A text would be better but he didn’t have Michael’s number in his phone.

In the end he does nothing. What would he say. He wants desperately to see Michael, but he’s hurt him, or at the very least pissed him off. How wrong would it be to call in the debt just to get some face time? Very wrong, he decides.

Alex doesn’t feel like dinner so he takes a shower and goes to bed. He tries his best not to think about how many mistakes he’s made with Michael and instead thinks about the mystery in his backpack and where it might lead.

[sindearlyconnormurphy]

Both of Us [Connor Murphy x Reader]

Title: Both of Us Pairing: Connor Murphy x Reader Fandom: Dear Evan Hansen Requested: Yes! Summary: Reader and Connor use each other to get back at their parents. Hijinks ensue. Warnings: Connor’s potty mouth | Mentions of sex and alcohol | brief nudity | First person reader | not proof read | written in literally an hour | very short | recovering!Connor A/N: decided to do a short request in the middle of writing a long one! Hope you guys like this!

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” I gasped for the tenth time, watching Connor with wide eyes as he pulled more items out of the drug store plastic bag. Glaring at me with harsh slate eyes, Connor removed the last of the items, setting them up in a neat row across his quilted bedspread.

“You wanna get back at your parents or not?” He asked, leaning forward with his hands on his knees. I trusted Connor, but something about sitting cross legged on his bed with a pile of unmentionables between us made me sicker than it should’ve.

“I mean–we’re gonna be in a lot of trouble,” I grumbled. He grinned.

“Then maybe they’ll start paying you some decent attention, yeah? The both of us.”

“Connor–”

“Everyone freaks out the second there’s any chance of their daughter getting pregnant. My dad is gonna blow his top,” he sighed, grinning wickedly at the thought. Rolling my eyes, I reached out tentatively to run my finger across the box between us.

“Why condoms then?”

He shrugged. “Makes them think we’re having sex–and maybe then we can avoid the talk. And hey, I might actually need these at some point, Miss Skeptic,” he growled, sticking his tongue out, making me giggle.

“Okay, so, plan?” I asked, looking warily between him and the lineup of illegal things going on between us.

His lithe fingers reached between us, nimbly selecting a hazy brown bottle and offering it to  me.

“You’re gonna want a swig of this,” he said, popping the cap on what appeared to be beer, taking a quick sip–giving me a disgusted expression, but swallowed regardless–and handed it back to me.

“Can’t we just dump it in a plant?” I grumbled softly, eyeing the liquid inside. It was warm in my palm, already making me queasy.

“Don’t be a pussy,” he chuckled, reaching out to slap my knee, sending me jumping and the amber liquid slushed out across the back of my hand.

“Careful!” He giggled again, reaching out to grab my wrist with one hand, his cold rings stinging my flushed skin, his other hand reaching with the cuff of his hoodie to mop up the spill. Gazing with fond eyes, he gifted me a crooked smile. “Someone’s jumpy.”

“I’m nervous,” I mumbled. His smile doubled, revealing his white, crooked canine teeth, making him look simultaneously softer but confident. He hadn’t yet released my wrist, the sleeve of his hoodie still stroking across the back of my hand.

“We aren’t actually gonna do it,” he whispered, like it was a secret. Snorting, I yanked my hand away, doing my best to keep the blush from my cheeks.

“Don’t flatter yourself–I meant I’m nervous about getting trouble,” it was a half truth, but I doubt he’d call me out on it.

He shoved the bottle further against my chest, nodding toward it. “Just drink it.”

Two beers later, things were starting to get fuzzy. I’d never drank before, and I’d only meant to drink enough to make it look like we’d been drinking, but then Connor….

Connor was pacing the floor, shaking his hands nervously. He’d long since shed his hoodie, stalking the floor now in a grey tank top with his skinny jeans riding dangerous low on his hips–he was holding his liquor well, but it didn’t stop him from anxiously checking the window every few minutes.

“They’re gonna be here any minute,” he cursed under his breath, scratching at the back of his head, causing the brunette curls to fluff out violently. “What’s the plan?”

I shrugged, honestly half hoping he’d just let them catch us drinking. “You’re seriously gonna try to make it look like we’re having sex as they pull in the driveway? What’s the count of that–sixty seconds? They aren’t gonna buy it, Con.”

“You’re pessimistic when you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk.”

“Just pessimistic?”

“Realistic,” I argued, pulling my shirt over my head, watching Connor splutter hopelessly, eyes wide and face red as he fell against his closet door.

“What the fuck, dude!”

“People don’t have sex with their clothes on, Connor,” I reminded, laying against the blue quilt, letting my arms fall above my head. More than anything I was tired, too warm, kind of ready for another drink.

“Dude,” Connor breathed from out of my line of sight. “You’re shirtless on my bed. Holy shit. Jared is gonna lose his shit oh my God–”

“Shut up,” I growled, reaching down gingerly to make sure my bra was still in place. “And lose your’s too if you wanna make your parents actually buy this.”

“Holy shit,” Connor whispered again, his voice accompanied by the loud ruffle of clothing being thrown idly across the room.

The bed squawked beneath me, shaking slightly as Connor joined me, suddenly hovering over me on his elbows, his dark hair forming a curtain around my face, eclipsing my view of the room.

Connor was smiling brightly, his cheeks a hazy pink under his constellation of silver freckles, and his eyes squinting with the effort from the grin.

“This good?” He asked softly, adjusting so that his bony knees, still clad in his faded black skinny jeans, were boxing in my hips. I giggled, nodding slightly, feeling warmer than before.

“Better,” I agreed, despite the warning flares going off in the back of my mind. Connor was a friend, Connor was cute, I argued with myself. There was no harm in a little flirting.

“I think,” he said lowly, leaning down with heavy eyes so that his chapped lips brushed against my cheek, his curls teasing against my temple, “You’re trying to seduce me.”

I snorted, rolling my eyes. I reached up to grab his bare forearms playfully, giving them a squeeze and feeling Connor’s bare stomach twitch above my own. “Yeah? Is it working?”

I felt him smile before I saw it. “You tell me.”

Everything short circuited as Connor surged forward, sealing his lips to mine so forcefully I felt my skull slam against the mattress, his cheeks caving slightly as he moved against me, his hands coming up to cup my neck, thumbs tracing soft patterns across my cheek bones.

Kiss him back, stupid, I grunted to myself, feeling Connor’s kiss subside into something softer, slower, and my wide eyed glare revealed his focused, furrowed expression as he concentrated perhaps too hard on this kiss itself, his lips sealing lightly before pulling away too quick and returning just as fast.

“That believable enough?” He whispered softly, moving his head so that he could press a feather kiss along my jaw, allowing me to gasp for air behind his long trail of hair.

“Yeah,” I sighed, unable to stop an embarrassing giggle from bubbling out, earning an elbow to my side.

“Be nice, I’m trying here,” he grumbled, suddenly ceasing his motions and going limp above me, pressing his warm face into the crook of my neck.

“Oscar given,” I promised, a half guilty and half endeared at his embarrassment, reaching up to tangle my hands in his hair, smoothing it lightly. “You wanna take a break, try that again when your parents pull in?” I mumbled against his hair, pressing a kiss there, suddenly aware of the fact Connor’s warmth was laying between my legs, like a too-warm blanket, almost uncomfortable but worth it.

“Yeah,” he agreed drowsy, pressing a feather against my clavicle, before wrapping his arms around my waist and burrowing tighter into my neck. I sighed, relieved that we’d have a moment for my heart to settle down.

“Hey,” Connor whispered softly, nudging the inside of my thigh with his knee.

“Yeah?” I sighed, turning so that I could hear him a bit better from where his words were muffled against my neck.

“Thanks again for agreeing to do this,” he mumbled, shifting. “I know we aren’t super close or anything–”

“I like hanging out with you, Connor,” I reminded, letting my hand drop to trail a pattern against his spine, feeling him sigh in comfort against me. “We are friends, you know.”

“Still,” he said. “I appreciate you sticking your neck out for me.”

“Anytime,” I said truthfully, feeling another feather kiss against my clavicle. “Now stay vigilant, yeah? We don’t wanna miss your parents.”

—-

“This isn’t right–we should call that girl’s parents!”

“Sshhh!” Cynthia urged again, dragging another quilt over the kids in the bed, unable to stop another smile from coming to her lips. Connor and the girl were tangled together, snoring lightly, Connor’s face pressed lightly against her chest and the girls hands resting lightly across his bare back. “Let them sleep, Larry.”

“The last thing Connor needs is to be a teen father!”

Cynthia pointed to the box on the bedside table. “I don’t think we need to worry about that. Their pants are on, dear.”

Larry rolled his eyes. “And you’re okay with the beer?”

“We’ll have a talk about that,” Cynthia promised, but turned back to glance at the couple. “Look at his face, Larry, when he’s sleeping. He looks so calm. He almost looks happy.”

Larry was silent, leaning against the door and watching the two of them. “I suppose it’s good to know he’s got a friend.”

“More than a friend,” Cynthia grinned, shutting off the light and sliding the door closed. “I wonder what she likes on her pancakes.”