#heart of darkness... sorry to say it but kinda mid

[meezer]

I knitted a lot today while listening to the heart of darkness audiobook. but this means I have not had a lot of leisure time and time alone... time to p3r

[ilythena]

𝐏𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐄 || 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐄𝐒

★SUM when you decide to break up with your boyfriend, you never thought you’d end up sleeping with his enemy.

SMUT!!!! Fem reader, one night stand turned lovers, oral (F and M receiving), sloppy make outs, cheating (reader and her bf are cheating on each other), mentions of drunk sex but it doesn’t actually happen, hangover sex, creampies, phone sex (readers bf calls and they pick up mid deed), Jack doesn’t give two shits lmao, he’s kinda switchy???, “I can treat you better than he can” trope, reader is a celebrity but her personal work is not mentioned, use of y/n, unhealthy relationships, Jack does not live with Luke in this fic, readers ex boyfriend is not named and can be whoever you’d like it to be.

WC of 3.2K, not proofread 😥

♪ Practice - Drake

“All I want to do is go out and you’re already acting like a bitch.” Your boyfriend says as he buttons up his shirt

“You promised this time we would stay in.” You said from your spot in the room as he shifts his eyes to look at you from the mirror and his brows furrow “so what? You want me to be inside all the time and be boring? I have a social life I have to keep up with, y/n. You can either stop being a pain in the ass about it and come with me or stay here by yourself.” He says as he walks out the room and with a heavy heart you follow him outside.

Sitting in the passenger seat silent he drives you both out to some random club with random people and quickly ditches you without even saying goodbye

Your boyfriend immediately left you in the corner as soon as you both got there, and there you were standing there like you knew you would be. Everyone's drinking and smoking who knows what and it makes your skin crawl at the fact that you have no clue who your even around right now.

"Hey beautiful. What're you doing here alone?" Some random creep says to you and you have to physically hold back from cringing into your skin, the alcohol evident on his breath.

"Sorry, I'm not looking for anyone" you say and quickly down your drink to move to the dance floor to get away. Bumping into strangers you realize the alcohol kicks in quicker than you thought it would. Eventually finding your boyfriend and rolling your eyes at the way he’s obviously flirting with another girl, you quickly realize you’re gonna have to find another way home tonight.

Trying your best to forget about your shitty excuse of a boyfriend, you very quickly start to dance with some random. Though the lights are extremely dark, you could tell he was handsome.

Told you he’s seen you around before, and than he’s been plotting on you for a while. His offering of a drink somehow turnt into you grinding against him and in the blink of an eye you’re stumbling into his apartment, drunk and insanely horny.

Lightheaded. That's the only word you could use to describe how you feel so early in the morning.

Forcing your eyes open you see the man who’s name is apparently Jack laying on your chest-knocked out asleep. You sigh and grab your phone to check the time: 5:30 am, you have a few notifications from the group chat you and your friends share; most of it just your friends being they’re usual crazy selfs with your other friends entertaining it.

Your hand finds itself into his hair, stroking it while he lets out quiet snores against you. The buzz from the alcohol must've followed you into the next morning cause you still feel so relaxed, head spinning but in a good way. You feel jack shift against you to pull you closer and you look down at him.

His eyes are on you now, mumbling a "good morning" while his hands run down your back and he presses a kiss on your collarbone. The action makes your heart flutter and you whisper "good morning" back to him, hand pushing the hair out of his face while he scoots up to lay his head in the crook of your neck.

“Jack, I really shouldn’t be here-“ “I know you have a boyfriend, pretty girl. I don’t care about him. He doesn’t deserve you.” He cuts you off with a mumble of the last part and you’re stuck in minor shock

You don’t protest his statement knowing that he was right. If your boyfriend can have some fun why can’t you?

You two have simple conversation, him asking what time it was and how you were and you responding. You scrolled through instagram seeing yet another picture of your boyfriend leaving the club with some random woman and he watched silently while rubbing his hands onto your waist. He suddenly hums and makes small pecks into your neck, kissing around until he finds a spot that makes you breathe a little heavier and leaning your head to the side so he can get better leverage at the spot.

"What're you doing?" You whisper, curious but making no effort to stop him. "Kissing you." He replied blankly, mumbling small praises in between the kisses. You move his head so you could kiss him on the lips— sloppily but passionate. He pinches your sides to make you gasp so that he can slip his tongue into your mouth, groaning into the kiss.

He moves a knee between your legs so you don't close them, moving your shirt up so he can kiss down your torso until he gets down to your pants. He looks up at you; asking with his eyes if he can remove them and you nod. He wastes no time taking your pants off and removing your underwear, dick twitching when he sees how wet you are.

'''S all for me?" He mumbles into your thigh and you nod again, breath hitching in your throat. "Use your words." He says, kissing up and down your thighs-both arousal and nervousness pooling in your stomach at the sight of him kneeled down in front of you. "Yes. All for you." You say, and you could barely get another word out before he begun to lick a stripe up your slit.

An audible gasp left your mouth while a groan left his, and your hand—that was previously holding your shirt up—flew to his hair and gripped onto it for balance.

"Why didn't you tell me you tasted so good?" Jack said, words coming out slurred due to him not bothering to stop the attack on your pussy. "H-when was I supposed to tell you tha- oh my god." you said, words getting cut off when his tongue circles your clit.

He's really eating you out now, head mushed between your thighs, licking and sucking every part of you his tongue can reach. You don't know how he became so alert so quickly, he just was damn near asleep barely even half an hour ago. The feeling becomes too much, you squirming around and him grabbing both of your thighs to bring you back to him, mumbling a "stay still for me" into your core as he continues.

It's only a few more moments until you get closer to the edge, whines and moans increasing in pitch as Jack inhumanly speeds up. " Jack, I'm close" you whine, and he just hums as he continues. Your thighs closing in on his head as you cum and him groaning, trying to practically drink it before you have to forcefully remove his head from your pussy. His eyes are low, filled with lust and you're panting, trying to catch your breath.

“I’m not done with you, pretty. Let me fuck that loser boyfriend of yours out of your head, hm?” He says as he drags you closer to the middle of the bed, near his now hard dick that was now very obviously poking through his shorts.

The fact that he’s not wearing a shirt makes this process much easier, as all he had to do was slide down his shorts and kick them off. You’re staring at him and you don’t know what to think right now, he’s huge. He looks at you for a brief moment before smirking, “you like what you see?” He says and your face gets a little hot when you realize you’ve been caught. He spits down into his hand and gives you a little show, jerking himself off and teasing his tip on your slit.

“I wanna suck you off” you suddenly blurt out and he can’t help but chuckle a little. “Next time, lovely. If I don’t fuck you right now I think I might explode.”

“Jack please don’t tease me” you whine and he kisses up from your collarbones to your ear, and whispers a beg for it into your ear. “Please, please, put it in. I need to feel you.” Was all it took from you before he put a hand next to your head and he was pushing himself into you.

He pushed in slowly, part of it wanting you to get you to the stretch, but the other part of it was for him to not cum quickly. “You’re so fucking tight y/n, god.” He groans out and you moan out when he finally bottoms out inside of you.

Jack doesn’t waste any time pounding into you as you quickly grab onto his shoulders for support. “Oh!” You cry out and he grunts in reply, “so fucking wet too. This turn you on? Having a real man take care of you like this.” He says as he grabs you by your chin so you can look at him and you sob out a yes for him.

“Feels so good, Jack. So full of you, fucking me so good” you whine out and he lets out what would seem to be a quiet whimper “keep talking to me like that and I’m definitely not gonna last long, baby.” He licks his thumb and brings it down to your clit to rub it in fast, tight circles that makes your jaw drop and your toes curl.

“Oh fuck! Jack!” You say as your back arches off the bed and he puts his other free hand on your back for support. “Come on baby, let go for me. Cum on this cock.” He whines into your neck and with a few more thrust you were creaming all over him. He keeps going and you quickly get overstimulated while he holds your hips down into the bed

“Just a little more, pretty. I’m gonna cum so fucking hard into you. Fuck.” He pants out and like he said, after a few more deep thrusts, he cums inside of you.

He gently lays on top of you as you both catch your breaths and come down from your orgasms. He kisses your temple and whispers about how he’s going to run you a bath and bring you some water.

“What am I going to wear? And as much as I would love to stay here I have to go home.” You whisper and he tells you not to worry about it, that you could take one of his shirts and he’ll take you home his self. You don’t object when he carries you to the bathroom and sets the water temperature to warm.

Begrudgingly getting out of jacks car and giving him your number, you grab your keys and walk into your very empty apartment. Usually you’d be upset, however this time you’ve never been more grateful. You wash your face and put on a movie to lay on the couch and rest.

You’re rudely awoken when your boyfriend walks through the door at 11:30 am and you don’t even bother to ask him where he’s been when you know exactly where he was.

“Hey babe.” He says and you hum a small “hey” back to him. He doesn’t even know you didn’t come home last night and you plan to keep it that way.

“What’s up with you? All relaxed.” He says and you shrug “I was taking a nap…” you say and he side eyes you. You don’t usually sleep unless he comes home but he lets it go as you were probably tired.

It’s been a few weeks of you and Jack sneaking around while your boyfriend doesn’t have a clue. And a part of you feels bad about it but then again he’s cheated multiple times and you’re simply not in love with him anymore.

Tomorrow, your boyfriend has a game against the New Jerseys devils which excites you because then you get to see Jack again.

“Why are you so happy to go? Never seen you this excited to see me kick some ass in a game before.” Your boyfriend chuckles as you mentally groan and put on a fake smile “just happy that I get to see my boyfriend play.” You lie straight out of your teeth, well not really. You are watching your boyfriend play, just not him. he smiles at your statement. “You know, recently you’ve been acting different. And honestly, I love it so much. You’re so much more calmer and it just makes me happy that knowing you regained that trust in me.” He said and you didn’t even respond. Just smiled like you didn’t know what was happening

“Only thing that’s pissing me off is that Jack kid” he says and you freeze. “…What do you mean?” “I mean like, he’s just some pretty boy who thinks he’s the shit. Thinks he can do whatever he wants and tonight I’m gonna beat his ass in this game tonight to show him who’s boss.” You don’t say anything once again and you’re left with your thoughts while your boyfriend flips through the tv to find a channel to watch.

By the time you left the house, your boyfriend was already on the ice getting ready to start his match. You’re about to sit down next to your friend when a text comes through your phone.

Jack 🤍

Come meet me after the game.

You shoot back a 👍 before putting your phone down and talking with the girl beside you.

It was obvious who was going to win. A devastating game for your boyfriend with a 4-0 to The new jersey devils but a celebratory one for your affair partner. Your boyfriend doesn’t even look at you, just gets in his car after taking off his gear and goes home. You don’t even care anymore, and after you see all the boys leaving the opposite teams locker room, you text Jack asking if it was okay for you to come to his apartment and he immediately sends a yes.

You walk into the place and immediately you’re hugged by him, which sends butterflies to your stomach and a bright genuine smile to your face.

“Missed you, gorgeous. Saw how I kicked ass out there?” He says as he pulls away to look at your face and you smile even harder “I did! You played so good, super proud of you” and he gives you a deep kiss as you both giggle.

“You have to stop! What if you leave a mark?” You whisper laugh and he nips at your ear “don’t care anymore. Let them know how much I love you.” He says and you suddenly feel flustered “Jack….” “Y/n. You don’t have to be with him anymore. I can take care of you so much better than he can and you know that.” He says with so much seriousness in his voice that you’re left speechless

“Jack-“ “I genuinely love you. seriously. I want to be with you.” He says and you have no words so you just kiss him again. The kissing turns into him pinning you against the wall and the grinding and groping is very evident.

“Take all this off baby. I need you right now” he says as you’re quick to push him down onto his couch. “Not this time. It’s your win. Let me take care of you” you say and he whispers a fuck while his eyes run along your body.

You take off your top and after a few minutes of kissing and grinding, you drop to your knees and he lets out a gasp of pleasure at you palming him.

You unzip his pants and he’s breathing heavily, anticipating what you’d do next. You spit onto his dick and roll your hand around it for a few strokes before giving gentle kisses to his tip.

“Baby don’t tease, thought you were taking care of me?” He whines out as you giggle “I am. Be patient for me.” You say and his next words fall flat on his tongue as you start tonguing his head.

Finally granting his wish, you dip your head down and take him fully down your throat. Your cheeks pulling in to suck him tighter while your head dipped up and down. A groan of surprise leaves his mouth as his eyes immediately become hooded.

“Fuck, angel. Such a nice mouth you have on you” he groaned out. But his muttering and whining was quickly cut off with the way you sloppily put your tongue on his balls

“Holy shit. Oh my fucking god baby. You’re incredible” he moans out as you continue to jerk him off while popping of on his balls out of your mouth and moving on to the one beside it.

You took him back into your mouth and your hands worked around what you couldn’t reach, the head of his dick kissing the back of your throat in a pleasureful burn and you can feel tears swelling in your eyes when he gently grabs your head and begins to start fucking his full length down your throat.

His moans and whines become more desperate every second and it’s obvious he’s close to cumming. Although you’re enjoying your time here, your phone suddenly starts ringing. It’s your boyfriend. Jack groans out partly in annoyance and in pleasure and then he gets an idea. “Wanna show your boyfriend how pretty you look when I cum down your throat.” He almost cries out and you moan around him “please baby, can I pick up the phone at let him he- oh fuck, let him hear how well you take me?” He says as he struggles to keep his composure with the way you’re deepthroating him, cutting himself off with his own moans

You hum in approval and Jack doesn’t waste any time picking up that phone and putting your boyfriend on speaker.

“Hey. Where are you-“ and all that’s heard is a loud gag through the room and the sloppy noises of your mouth on jack’s cock.

“Fuck baby. Keep going please. I’m so fucking close, oh my god.” Jack says as he throws his head back, face flushed and neck red as you hold his hips down and begin bobbing your head up and down again.

“Y/n?! What the fuck is happening?! Who is that?!!” Your boyfriend frantically says as Jack takes the phone. “She’s a pro at sucking dick. Honestly I have no clue how you could even let her out of your sight” Jack grunts out and hangs up the phone, not even wanting to bother with him right now.

A few more bobs of your head and Jack is cumming down your throat. Chest heaving as he does so. “Oh fuck, you’re so perfect, holy shit.” He whines out and you’re determined to clean him up completely, continuing to suck him off until he was completely finished

“Fuck- you trying to kill me over here? God” he says with a small laugh as you finally pop off his dick, catching your breath.

As you and Jack bask in the afterglow, your boyfriend is blowing up your phone and before you can reach for it, Jack stops you.

“You don’t need to worry about him anymore. You’re mine now.”

© copyright of ilythena. Do not repost or translate onto any other websites.

[firewasabeast]

i know you didn't ask for prompts but if you get a chance could you write something where tommy is in trouble (maybe during the bees chaos) and kinda has to rescue himself? like his helicopter crashes or something idk! sorry if this is a bother!

well this became a whole thing, so thanks for that! Also, you can send prompts anytime. I can't promise when I'll get to them, but I always try.

ao3 link

He was used to waking up to the sound of birds. He had a tree right by his window and, while none of them ever made a nest, there were plenty of birds that liked to stop by for a visit.

He'd worried about it when Evan first started staying over. Some people hated the sound of the chirps first thing in the morning, often starting before the sun was up.

But the first time Tommy woke up with Evan in his house, expecting him to be beside him in bed, he was surprised to find him squatted down and staring out the window.

“Morning.” Tommy's voice was husky of the morning. He blinked a few times to adjust to the sunlight shining in from the open window.

Evan turned to him with a smile. “You have blue birds. I think I saw a cardinal too, earlier. It was quick though. A finch got a worm in the dirt by the roots.” He looked back, nearly pressing his forehead to the glass, “This is so cool.”

Tommy was pretty sure he felt his heart swell twice it's size that day. He's also pretty sure that was the moment he fell in love. He didn't say it then, waited a couple more months for that. They'd only really been going out for a few weeks at that point, but he still felt it.

And it was a damn good feeling.

Everyday with Evan was a good feeling. He loved going out with him, or staying home. Loved to hear him go on rants about whatever research he'd been doing lately. He loved coming home to Evan cooking in his kitchen, or napping on his couch. He loved the texts they'd send each other during shifts. Tommy would often get ragged on about how often his phone would ding. “Are y'all sexting again?” his co-worker would ask with a snort. Tommy never told them that, most of the time, Evan was actually sending him the most G-rated photos of all time, and it was absolutely adorable. Like the one where he was holding a baby duck that they'd saved. Or the one where he was frying pork chops and had to take a selfie with them because they turned out so good. Or the one where Christopher dropped by the station for a visit and Evan snapped a picture with him while Chris was mid eye-roll. Those were his favorites.

He loved the phone calls with Evan too. It didn't matter if they'd been with each other all night, and left for work at the same time, and would be seeing one another right after their shift was over. When it was a quiet day at work, they were always reaching into their pockets to call one another. Sometimes at the same time.

Tommy loved the parts of Evan that Evan didn't love about himself. He loved that Evan was clingy, love that he talked a lot, loved that when he got something on his mind he had to do it and it had to be done right.

Tommy loved how aggressively he loved his family and friends.

He loved the grumpy side of Evan, and loved that Evan seemed to love Tommy's grumpy side too.

He also loved the look on Evan's face when he was about to come. Loved how their bodies fit together so perfectly, like they were made for each other.

Loved how easily he blushed. Loved falling asleep next to him, their bodies tangled together in one way or another. He loved waking up beside Evan. Getting to see his hair all tousled and the little drips of drool that would escape down the side of his mouth.

“That's a lot of things to love about a person,” Evan whispered into the darkness of the room. “Although I will forever deny the fact that I drool, thank you very much.”

Which, maybe the room wasn't actually dark, because Tommy still had his eyes closed.

He scrunched his face up, confused. “Was I talking out loud?” he asked.

“Mhm.” He could feel Evan's breath on his face. “Do you really love all that about me?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then you should open your eyes.”

That was an odd request. It all felt odd, actually. Because when he and Evan woke up together, Evan always had a hand on him somewhere. His chest, his arm, his back, running up and down his side. Somewhere. But this time Tommy felt nothing.

Well, not nothing, exactly. He felt damp, actually. He felt damp and sticky and hot. Hotter than usual, but cold at the same time?

“What?” He mumbled out, confused.

“I said you should open your eyes.”

“Wh- Why?”

“Tommy!” Evan's voice was louder now, like he had a megaphone to Tommy's ear. “Open your eyes!”

Tommy's head jerked up in surprise, wincing from the sound. “Mmm,” he groaned. His body hurt all over. He didn't remember feeling sick before he went to bed.

But the more he thought about it, he didn't really remember going to bed.

He blinked his eyes open slowly. They felt so dry and scratchy, almost like they had sand in them. When they finally focused he expected to see his clock to his left, the time shining back at him. Expected to have Evan beside him, or cooking some elaborate breakfast in the kitchen.

Expected to see sunlight shining from between his curtains.

Instead all he saw was rocks, mud, and leaves.

Did they go camping? He definitely didn't remember that. And why the hell wouldn't they at least have a tent?

“Ev- Evan?” God, talking hurt. Felt like his throat was on fire.

He was lying on his stomach, but there was no pillow under his head. There was something there though. Something shielding his head from the mud and rocks and twigs below it.

He reached up with the hand closest to his head, the one that didn't feel like it had its own pulse, and felt his head.

A helmet.

That's when it came rushing back to him.

Emergency.

All hands on deck.

Transport aircraft to nearby facility.

Bees?

Bees.

He'd been flying a helicopter to a nearby rendezvous point. Every fire department in the district would be there.

All to fight the bees.

Sounded downright insane to him at the time. I mean, they were bees. Weren't we supposed to be saving those?

It wasn't until his bird made direct contact with the swarm that he realized the severity of the problem.

Tommy carefully unbuckled his helmet, letting it drop off his head.

He tried to focus on all the things that hurt, although it probably would have been easier to take count of the places on his body that didn't hurt.

There was a cold, sticky substance on the back of his neck. Blood, he was sure. His right arm had to be broken. He couldn't seem to move it, but the thump thump thump feeling that came from it was impossible not to notice.

His back was jammed, but nothing felt broken there. He could wiggle his toes a little, but his left ankle was definitely sprained.

Something... something was poking his side.

It was hard to get in a good breath, hard to keep his eyes open, but he forced himself to roll over so he could check his side.

“God!” He exclaimed through panted breaths as he turned, eyes squeezed shut against the pain. He looked down at his side to see a branch, about as round as a nickel, maybe five or six inches long, sticking out. “Damn it,” he gasped out. His good hand shakily reached out to touch around the wound, where blood was seeping out in a slow but steady stream.

He didn't try to pull it out. He knew better than that. He had no idea how deep the branch was pierced inside him, and no clue what it might have punctured.

All he knew was that it hurt like hell.

And the whole situation was almost too much for his brain to take.

He had so many questions.

Most importantly, where the hell was the helicopter?

He must've fallen out of it before it crashed to the ground, wherever it crashed.

His energy was draining quickly. He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and wait for sleep to take over. Wait for rescue, whenever it may come.

So, he let his eyes close. Let the pain begin to wash away. Let himself float until-

“I said open your damn eyes, Tommy!”

There was Evan's voice again, shouting at him so loudly.

Tommy's eyes jerked back open and the pain returned full force.

He couldn't stay here.

Couldn't let those damn, stupid ass bees win.

Couldn't imagine the embarrassment of people asking, “What happened? How'd he die?” and someone having to explain that it was bees! Sure, he survived war, but it was the bees that got him.

Hell no.

Plus, dying in general might not have meant much a few months ago.

But it meant a lot now.

Because now he had a boyfriend with abandonment issues, and he needed to get back to him.

So he pushed himself up to his knees, let a groan escape between his gritted teeth, and stood on his feet.

If he let out a yell or two, who needed to know?

And maybe this would be the point in therapy where his therapist would tell him you're worth surviving because you're a human being who deserves to live, not just because you're with someone. But screw that, because if Evan was the only thing that made him get out of this with his life, than that would have to be enough.

He was dizzy, it hurt to put pressure on his leg, there was more blood on his clothes than he cared to see, and he was pretty sure he'd also lost some hearing in his right ear.

He pressed his hand against the wound on his side the best he could without disturbing the branch. A whine escaped him and tears welled in his eyes. He'd been hurt before, been in pain before, but never like this. This was another level.

“Move,” he told himself, voice barely above a whisper. “Just move.”

So that's what he did. He began to walk, or limp, through the trees of wherever the hell he was in the hopes he was going in the right direction.

His body was cold, shivering even as sweat dripped down his face.

His teeth chattered and it felt like his insides were vibrating.

At one point he practically fell against a tree, barely kept upright by his legs that were getting weaker by the second.

He took a minute to breathe, nearly closed his eyes. But Evan's voice stopped him again.

So, he walked. He walked and he walked and then... and then he could smell something.

Not just something.

Fire.

And the world around him was fuzzier.

But it wasn't his eyes playing tricks. It was smoke.

The helicopter.

It had to be.

He picked up the pace. They might not have been able to find him, but maybe they had found-

“He's not here, Buckley.” God, Tommy hated that voice. “We'll put out a search for him but it's unlikely he survived this. Gotta face the facts, we lose people sometimes.”

“Whoa!” Another voice cut in. Sounded like Chimney. He liked that voice. “He's not worth it, Buck. We'll keep looking, okay? We'll keep looking.”

A few more steps and he could see them. Blurry, but there. He cleared his throat. “Look f- for who?”

At least thirty heads whipped in his direction.

“Oh my God, Tommy!” Now, that was a voice he loved.

He was surrounded in seconds, but Evan was first one there. The one to bring a hand to his back and cradle him as his body gave out. He was the one to help him to the ground while Chimney and Hen worked on his body, shouting things back and forth at one another.

A part of him wanted to close his eyes then, let them do their thing, but he didn't. He kept them open, and right on Evan, because that's what he'd want him to do.

*****

When Tommy woke up hours, or maybe days, later, it was in a hospital room. He wasn't exactly sure when he'd fallen asleep, or passed out, but it was clear that surgery had happened at some point. He'd blame the anesthesia, not all the trauma, for his loss of time.

Evan was in a chair beside him, holding onto his good hand, head resting by Tommy's thigh on the bed. Even in his sleep, he must've noticed something change with Tommy because he popped up quickly.

“Tommy,” he breathed out, and it looked like a year's worth of anxiety released in that breath. “H- Hi.”

Tommy managed a smile. “Hi.” His throat felt like sandpaper.

“Let me get you some ice.”

Tommy nearly pouted at the loss of Evan's touch, but he was back by Tommy's side in an instant, slipping a couple of ice chips into his mouth.

And oh my God did that ever feel good.

Evan's hand returned to Tommy's, and all felt right in the world again. He'd hear what all happened to him later. Didn't seem to care right now. He was alive, and he was with Evan, and he needed to tell him some things before he forgot them.

“You saved my life.”

Evan's eyebrows furrowed. “No, that was all you. We wouldn't have found you if you didn't find us first.”

Tommy pursed his lips together, shaking his head. “No,” he replied simply. “You.”

Evan smiled, held onto his hand a little tighter. Tommy knew what Evan was thinking. You're high as a kite right now and don't really know what you're talking about.

But that was the thing. His voice might be a little gravely, and his speech a bit slower than normal, but he never felt more clear-headed.

He needed Evan to know.

“Have I ever told you all the reasons I love you?”

Evan tilted his head, his smile growing even more. “No, I- I... I don't think you have.” There was that blush Tommy loved so much.

He took a deep breath. “Number one...”

[astradreaming]

Please write ares x percy's older sister!reader i have read literally ever fic of him on here

I personally have been reloading the ares tag way too often 😫😫 Sorry the ending is kinda rushed, my duolingo streak nearly finished and then i got distracted 😔

masterlist

Caught.

Percy Jackson had been through a lot.

From quests to prophesies, from Alaska to Greece but he finally thought he'd lost his mind.

He had been having a relatively quiet morning, from having his favourite blue breakfast to having a day off of activities due to the hot summer day.

He was currently walking around the edge of camp for something to do when he froze mid-step in shock at the sight of the God of War standing at the gates of Camp Half-Blood talking to none other than you, his dearest older sister.

At first Percy thought he was offering (demanding) you a quest, it had been known on occasion that Olympians would sought out both you and him for their bidding.

As Percy got closer to you (about to demand that Ares find someone else to bother) he realized that that wasn't the case at all.

Ares stood with crosed arms leaning against the gateway, his head would tilt to match yours as you talked. You were standing close, too close. Everytime you laughed at something he'd said, which Percy doubted was even that funny, your side would brush his.

A werid contrast of orange camp shirt, light blue summer shorts, white sneakers next to his leather jacket and dark blue jeans, black boots.

Percy could now see Ares disgusting face against yours in a heated kiss.

"You know that offer is still on the table" Ares' voice in a playful tone that had Percy involuntarily gagging at.

"Not just yet" To Percy's utter surprise your voice was soft as if you were sadden at the fact you could take whatever offer he'd given you.

"What the actual fuck?" Percy's words slipped before his mind caught up.

You jolted away at the intrusion, your wide eyes meeting Percy's. Ares barely turns his head at the abruption, the only indication he'd even heard Percy was the way his eyes narrowed at him.

"Percy! Why aren't you with Annabeth? You said-"

Percy harshly cut you off, stepping closer to you.

"Why aren't I with Annabeth? Why are you with him!"

Percy watches as you start blubbering trying to figure out what to say, when a hand lands in your shoulder, Ares' hand.

"Get off my sister! You fucker!"

Percy reached out to wack his hand away from you but Ares pushes his shoulder, evading Percy's grasp.

"I fought you once Ares I'll do it again!" He said digging his feet into the ground, reaching into his pocket for Riptide.

Just as Percy was about to uncap Riptide, Ares turned to face you, eyes speaking in a silent conversation, making Percy pause his movements before Ares turned back towards Percy.

"Look kid, as much as I would love to send you on a permanent vacation down with uncle H, I've unfortunately promised a certain someone to not to that" He shrugged as he spoke as if this entire conversation was boring him to an early death.

"Who has made you swear it? My dad? Beacuse when have you ever-"

Ares scoffed quickly dismissing him to face you instead.

"This kid's a fuckin idiot, how's he still alive I mean seriously-"

You glared at Ares as you moved closer to Percy, blocking the two from each other.

"I made him swear it, because you're my little brother and I knew if you found out you'd flip out!"

Percy's heart nearly gave out and if it weren't for years of training to fight he was sure it would have.

"Found out? Oh my gods you're- with him? Him! Ugh, this is the worst day of my life." Percy whined, he knew he sounded like a brat but truthfully the whole thing was making him cringe but one look at your face told him to quickly drop it.

After a moment of painful awkward silence that had Percy's mind running in circles trying to move on.

"How'd you even get him to swear that" Percy said finally finding his voice.

You glanced behind you before quickly looking back at Percy, leaning in as if to tell a secret, Percy leaned in too, not wanting to miss hearing what dirt you had on the Olympian.

"I told him I'd swear I wouldn't speak to him again. He lasted a day" You voice broke off into a fit of giggles.

He found it too funny.

Ares. God of War forever bloodthirsty and always a prick, was whipped for Percy's older sister, who looked after Percy throughout two titan wars and was the same girl who practically raised the younger campers so they wouldn't be lonely. A weird duo.

Percy Jackson looked up to see you shaking your head as you laughed at the memory. He also caught Ares looking at you too.

Although traumatized by the thought you two together he quickly brushed it off. It was unusual and unfortunate for Percy to admit but he and Ares did have two things in common.

Both of them would fight fate for you. And of course, Percy looks at Annabeth the same way Ares looks at you but Percy wouldn't exactly admit that too soon.

[angstywaifu]

The Lost Sister - Part 6

Synopsis: Xaden is known as an only child due to his sister who 'died' during the Rebellion. Little do they know she didn't die and has been so close this entire time.

Garrick Tavis x OC A/N: I couldn't resist posting this so close to the other part. I'd say I'm sorry for the slight cliff hanger.... But I'm not. Also I've started writing some of the stuff around threshing, what do you guys think Ophelia's signet should be? What dragon will she have? Also what should we make Garrick's signet? I've seen a few theories on his being pain due to his dragons name, and honestly kinda leaning towards it. As per usual if you want to be on the tag list let me know! And if you guys have any prompts or ideas for small little one off stories/one shots, please pop them in my asks! Would love to give some other ideas a go. Probably leaning more towards our rebellion boys (Xaden, Garrick, Bodhi and Liam), but happy to give some others a go.

The Lost Sister Masterlist | Masterlist

Garrick leans against the wall at the end of the bed, his hazel eyes watching me like a hawk. He hadn’t take his eyes off me since scooping me off the floor. I’m a little disappointed he managed to put a shirt on before bringing me here. I could have used the view while the healer works at cleaning the blood off my face and mending my nose. Every time I flinch or wince as the healer works, I swear I see Garrick’s hand twitch as if wanting to reach out and stop her. The healer walks away to get me some healing balm to take with me to help the last of my nose heal and to help with any bruising that may decide to show up. As she rounds the corner, Garrick pushes off the wall and pulls up a chair next to my bed. He reaches up and tilts my head towards him with his right hand. His eyes assessing my face and the work the healer has done. When he’s satisfied I’ve been healed adequately his eyes meet mine. His hand still lingering on my face.

”You two really did a number on each other.” He says with a chuckle.

”You finally going to tell me what the hell is up with you and Imogen.” I say more aggressively that I intend.

Garrick flinches at my words and his moves his hand from my cheek to his lap as he looks down and starts to fidget with this hands. Some of his dark curls falling in front of his eyes. Definitely not the response he was expecting from me.

“I promise you there is nothing going on-”

”Bullshit.” I spit out cutting him off mid sentence.

He looks up at me shocked and almost scared. Something I can safely say I’ve never seen from Garrick towards me. Granted I don’t think I’ve used that kind of tone towards him before in the entire time I’ve known Garrick, which is pretty much my entire life. He hangs his head and goes back to fidgeting with his hands, the chair creaking under his weight as he moves around. Clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

“For me there’s nothing going on with her. We hooked up a few times, but that was it.” He admits, his shoulders sagging with the confession before looking back up at me with sad eyes that almost plead forgiveness from me. “But I made it clear I wanted nothing serious. But it is becoming clear those hook ups meant more to her than just something casual.”

”You never struck me as the casual hook up type.” I admit to him.

He slowly nods in agreement before looking away again, intently focused on his hands again. “Honestly I’m not. But there are times while you are here where you just need someone. And the person I needed. The person I wanted more than just a casual hook up with.” His eyes flick up to mine, and I swear my heart stops as if I know what’s coming. “Well I kind of thought they were dead till recently.”

His words come out so quietly I barely hear them. But I do. My heart rate starts to pick up as his words sink in and silence falls around us as we just stare into each others eyes. There is no doubt that Garrick meant me. It’s not like anyone else has come back from the dead recently. Garrick who I spent most of my child hood and teenage years crushing over, has just confessed they feel the same way and all I can do is sit here and stare at him like a deer about to get torched by a dragon. And I’m sure my face probably looks similar to that deer right now. His words start to sink in as he stares at me hopefully. His eyes pleading at me to say something. Say anything back to him. But I can’t. All I can do is stare at him in shock, despite wanting to hear this exact confession from him for years.

At that moment the healer comes back with the healing balm, completely oblivious to the tension in the small closed off area. “Here you go lovely, just apply it to any bruising as it appears.” She says sweetly as she hands it to me.

I tear my gaze from Garrick as I stand and take the healing balm from her, before quickly walking out of the room. I hear the chair Garrick was sitting on scrape against the floor. As soon as I’m out the door I take off. I vaguely hear Garrick call my name as I run back to the riders quadrant.

Part 7

Tag List: @riorgail @going-through-shit @fw-gt @bbkissme99

[seventeenpins]

violet pairing: older qz!joel x f!reader

word count: 5.8k

summary: follow-up to forget-me-not. it's been seven years since you last saw joel in the boston qz, and a lot has changed. you find yourselves reunited in jackson.

warnings: smut, actually contains a lot of plot (sorry), tommy, maria & ellie all exist, allusions to/discussion of abortion, reader has a kid, joel is insecure about being an old man (you're only 63, it's ok buddy), reader is mid-thirties to early 40s, lil bit of daddy kink, face sitting, multiple orgasms.

a/n: okay first -- header or no header? like, it's a bit ridiculous but i also kinda love it? instead of packing up for a move, i've been writing this 🤷 thanks for all the continued love on my fics, it's so sweet and means a whole lot. working on a few other stories, and i hope to have more out soon!

this chapter is dedicated to the dumbass at the club who didn't quite manage to ruin a first date i was on by asking us what we thought about gay rights (as two fem-perceived folks caught smoochin) and then telling us "you're clearly so in love, i respect that" before yeeting off in the moonlight.

you could have sworn the terrain had been totally empty only moments before, but now in the blink of an eye, you’re surrounded by a small group of riders, armed, their horses huffing down at you. 

“shit,” you gasp, trying to shield your girl, but realising there was little use. can’t put your body in front of hers when there’s people on every side of you. instead, your hands grip tighter on the shoulders of your daughter and you take a breath, trying to steady your breathing.

“you been near infected?” a man calls down at you, and his accent reminds you of joel, so much so that your heart flutters for a moment at the memory. you’ve met lots of people on your travels, a few of them from austin, too, and every time you think of him.

“no,” you call back, “last we saw them was back in the dakotas and there weren’t many there. that was weeks ago, haven’t encountered any since.”

the man nods, and you’re not sure what he’s thinking under his stetson, but the fact you’re not shot yet seems like a good sign. hopefully.

"frankly, we've had much more trouble from people than from infected on our way. but we've been able to take care of ourselves," you say, and you're hoping your words have an underlying edge of danger, but you're pretty sure you just come off as scared and defensive.

the man nods, and looks you up and down. “well, we've gotta make sure,” he says, almost apologetic, and you tense. it takes a moment before you see the dog, but then a dark blur comes bounding towards you, snarling. You tense and pull your girl close, but after a few moments of incredibly stressful sniffing, the dog leaves you alone and trods back to his owner, panting happily.

“good,” the man says, “now we've got that cleared up, what’s your business here?”

it's a good fuckin question, but not one you have a direct answer to.

"we came from boston," you tell him, "it was okay for a while, but the qz changed--got worse. more bombings. more hangings. if it was just me i might have stayed put, but i have my daughter."

there's so much you could say, but you're pretty sure you're advocating for your own life right now, so you keep it short and simple.

"we're just trying to find... somewhere better. travelling through all the places i've ever known people, to see if there's somewhere safe out there at all."

he nods, and the group surrounding you seems to back down a little.

"come with us. i think we might have what you're looking for," he tells you, and then one rider jumps down from their horse, mounts another, and the first man helps you and your daughter onto the vacated horse.

you follow the group, cantering along, and the man keeps an eye on you, and a woman in the group rides up next to you.

"so, you're from the boston qz? that's quite a journey," the man says, and nods his head towards the young woman, "she and i both travelled here from boston, years ago. i left back in, oof, '13? remind me, when did you leave?"

the woman nods, "left when i was fourteen, in '23."

"oh wow," you say, "i honestly didn't expect to meet anyone from boston round here"

there's a pause.

"what did you say your name was?" he asks, and you tell him.

"and this is violet," you say, giving your daughter's shoulder a squeeze, and she nestles back into your chest, ever shy around strangers.

"nice to meet you both," the woman grins, "i'm ellie"

"and i'm tommy," the man says. you're sure it's just a weird coincidence, a common name, just cos he happens to share the same name as joel's brother it doesn't mean anything, but you can't help but ask-

"this is probably silly, but you're not tommy miller are you?"

both tommy and ellie halt, so you do to, as they communicate something through quick glances and furrowed brows.

"wait," you say, "are you? tommy miller?"

he stares you down, and all of a sudden, you see it in his eyes. joel's eyes. violet's eyes.

"i-" your heart is pounding now with the realisation, "i knew your brother. i knew joel. he was a-" you hesitate for only a split second, "friend."

"well shit," tommy says. he caught the hesitation when you landed on friend, and he's looking at you, brows furrowed. "when was the last time you saw him?"

you shrug. "guess it was seven years ago." you look at your daughter, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, and then back up at tommy. "it was when he'd stopped hearing from you, actually. he came out to find you. did... did he find you?"

tommy doesn't answer, his eyes widening, and you can see him put the pieces together as he looks at you and then at your daughter, to you, and to her again.

"how old did you say she was?" he nods at violet but keeps his gaze fixed on you.

"i didn't."

"humor me."

"she's six."

"huh," he says, and ellie's looking between you two now and you can see realisation dawning on her, too.

"wait a second--holy shit," ellie cackles, "joel's gonna lose his fuckin' mind."

a sudden flare of panic and excitement floods through you. "wait, you know him too? he's nearby? i'm sorry- he lives around here? he made it?"

ellie snorts and tommy lets out a noise that's almost like a cross between a deep exhale and a strangled moan.

"yep, he lives in town. made it here with ellie a few years back. been living here a while now."

you don't know if you're thrilled or terrified. to be honest, your brain suddenly feels like it's filled to the brim with bees that were muffling out any thought more complex than AAAAHHHHHHHH.. you'd always hoped you might see joel again, but it wasn't till now you realised you never really believed you would.

he's alive. he actually made it.

as if sensing your racing thoughts, tommy pulls up beside you and claps a strong hand on your shoulder.

"one step at a time, sweetheart. seems like y'all have a whole lotta catchin' up to do."

after you're brought through the gate and finish up at the dining hall for a bite to eat, tommy and ellie take you both on a tour of jackson. you'd seen lots of things in the time you'd travelled, but this is the first real community you'd seen. it made you think of the old days, or rather, your ideas of the old days. you were too young when the world ended, but the idea of people living together and supporting one another without bombs going off on street corners and scheduled hangings was something else.

"we've been workin' on makin' a functioning society here. we get energy from the dam, so actual, non-fedra electricity." tommy points along the main street at the street lighting (actual street lighting!!)

"most of the shops are along here," he continues, pointing out each place as he lists them off, "necessities, like a cobbler and a tailor over in that space. greenhouses and farms over in that direction as well as a clinic. we've got a bar, a couple o' bakeries, house of worship, stables back that way- couple fellas opening a barbershop in that space over there pretty soon. and, of course, the residential area just down here. we've got a lotta houses, and we're working on refurbishing a whole lot, too. most families have their own homes. you're welcome to take some time to decide if you would like to stay here, but y'all seem like decent people and at the very least, we can put you up in some of our temporary housing 'til we have a better grasp on what you need. we got families of all configurations here. we did that a whole lot better after the world ended. and this is a home for a lotta people."

"oh-!" ellie says, suddenly excited, "and the school's over there, if you guys wanna stay. fedra school fucking sucked but this one was actually pretty cool. we actually got to learn stuff!"

violet giggles a little, and ellie shoots her a bright smile that makes her giggle little more. it feels safe here. you don't remember the last time things have felt safe. you're trying to take it all in, memorise every storefront, every person, every moment, when the aroma of fresh-baked pastries suddenly assaults your nostrils and you let out an involuntary moan.

"been a while, huh?" ellie asks and snorts, and you nod. "i grew up in the qz so i never had one of these till the shop opened up a couple years ago. but i hear it's just like the old days!"

"mama, it smells really good," violet says, and it's the first thing she's said since you've come through the gates.

"it does, doesn't it?" you ask her, "and look at all these shops. see those clothes in the window there?"

her eyes are as wide as saucers, and you're so overwhelmed with joy that she gets to experience this that you don't notice ellie bounding up the steps to the bakery and running back a minute later with a paper wrapped something in hand.

she holds it out to you and you take it from her gingerly. you kneel down to let violet unwrap the paper and inside is a perfect strawberry danish. you're stunned.

"that's cream cheese and butter from our cows," tommy tells you, "strawberries and wheat grown here, too. all fresh. all cordyceps free. we don't risk using any of the old stuff that might be contaminated"

that's amazing. that's fucking amazing.

"here, baby," you tear off a piece for violet, and she clutches it carefully and sniffs at it warily before popping it into her mouth, chewing with furrowed brows, and breaking out into a grin.

"welcome to jackson," ellie says, and now you're laughing too.

by the evening, tommy's given you a tour of the whole settlement and left you, ellie, and violet at the tipsy bison with an invitation to join him and his family for dinner. there was a strong likelihood that joel would be there and you were shitting bricks.

what if he's totally different from how you remember him? what if he isn't?

what if he wants nothing to do with you? what if he wants nothing to do with violet?

what if he's forgotten you?

you pinch yourself to pull out of your spiral. ellie winks at violet, who's sipping at her juice, and clinks her glass against yours. together, you take large swigs of your beer.

she tells you a bit about herself. she's vague about how she and joel met, and you're not sure if it's because she doesn't want to talk about it or if she's trying to spare the gory details around violet, but she speaks of him fondly and blushed a little when she mentioned i've kinda become, like, a surrogate daughter to him. and he's my old man.

before you could gather your thoughts and ask any follow-ups, she's already blowing through different topics, grinning as she tells you about her girlfriend, about her tattoo and how she wants another one, about her favorite horse, and the way patrols worked around here, and you relax into the conversation. into the peace. into taking a break.

before you know it, the three of you are walking towards tommy's house and right as you're about to knock at the door, ellie barrels past and swings the door open with a bellowed "we're here!" reverberating off the walls.

as you step through the door, delicious food smells waft through the hallway and you hear laughter and music coming from the kitchen. ellie makes a beeline through the door on your right and you take it all in for a moment.

"you coming?" ellie calls, and you follow her.

and stop dead in your tracks.

illuminated in the light of an antique shaded lamp, sat on a rocking chair, was joel.

he's greyer and more tired, but he also looks- happy? and he's got reading glasses on as he peers at what looks to be a picture book as he points out the illustrations to the kid on his lap. your jaw drops.

the kid's probably around the same age as violet.

ellie is stood in the corner of the room, half-heartedly pretending to examine a bookshelf while she blatantly eavesdrops.

joel looks up and smiles in a way that you've only seen a few times before. it's... unguarded. he extends a hand, "hi there, you must be our guests, i'm jo-"

and then recognition flickers over his face and he stops. stares at you, wide eyed, and then his eyes flick over to violet, and back to you.

"hi joel," you say.

if you're honest, you're expecting him to be the asshole you remember. grouchy. closed off. sweet only in private, intimate, brief moments.

what you don't expect is for him to gently call over to ellie with a "we need a minute here, could you take your cousin and see if tommy and maria need a hand?"

cousin, he'd said, and you can feel your heart slow down a notch, calming down a little. oof. one step at a time, you remind yourself, one step at a time.

"sure thing," ellie nods and helps the kid down from joel's lap, holding his hand as they walk through to the kitchen.

you're stood, frozen, as joel takes off his readers, rubs his eyes, and stands up. you've forgotten how imposing he can be, but even now, he just feels like a big shield between you and the rest of the world. you stare at each other for just a moment, and then strong arms are wrapping around you and joel is laughing?

"fuck," he snorts, "i can't believe it's you. after all this time!"

he pulls back but keeps his hands on your shoulders, looking you up and down, studying you.

and then he looks back down at violet and you see his face contort from joy to something almost like fear. maybe dread, even? or anticipation.

"mama, who is this man?" violet asks, tugging at your sleeve, and you kneel down to her.

you meet eyes with joel one more time before answering her, and you see building panic behind them.

this was, admittedly, a lot. one step at a time. "his name is joel, he was a friend of mine. i knew him before you were born!"

violet extends her little hand out towards joel. "my name is violet, it's a kind of flower. i like your hair. it's sooo silvery."

you snort involuntarily, and joel gulps audibly, wide-eyed, before taking her small hand in his large palm, cradling it as if holding something precious, and shakes it. "i'm joel. it's nice to meet you."

you all have dinner and it's actually a pretty good time, as long as you don't make too much eye contact with joel, who looks as though he has an electric current running through him, keeping him wide eyed and twitchy. he's clearly trying to appear unfazed, but he's jumpy and not at all subtle, to the point that the kid who'd been on joel's lap earlier, rowan you'd learned, prods at joel at one point in the meal. joel jumps a mile and rowan furrows his brow asking why are you being so weird, uncle joel?

despite the tension, it's so domestic. this was a joel who folded his napkin on his lap before starting to eat, who minded his manners, and obviously pressed ellie to mind hers, too. the joel you patched up when he came to you bloodied and bruised felt like a shadow long since past.

after dinner, when you've made it through unscathed, tommy's watching the little ones as they conk out on the couch. maria's going over paperwork, and ellie's tuning a guitar.

joel pops his head into the room and makes a vague gesture indicating outside. "wanna chat on the porch?" he asks, and you nod and follow him.

there are a pair of handsome adirondack chairs and you each take a seat. you don't say anything, don't even look at one another. you just sit there in comfortable silence.

but then joel takes a deep breath and you know the question that's coming.

"violet?" he asks, "is she mine?"

you smile sadly.

"yeah," you say, "you're her daddy."

he chokes out a strangled noise and tries to cover it with a cough, badly.

he doesn't seem like he's gonna say anything, and you reckon he's not gonna, so you try and breeze past it.

"i know- i know it wasn't part of the plan." you exhale, "but it's okay, joel. she's only known one parent her whole life and it's common enough these days that she doesn't think it's strange. and i don't know if you ever want her to know that you're her dad, but i'm not ready for her to know. i'll tell her, but i want her to settle in here before any big life revelations come up for her. jackson's enough of a change as it is."

he nods slowly, coughs out a low "i understand. and i respect it. i just never thought-"

"neither did i," you cut him off, "and when i realized i was pregnant i didn't intend to keep it, but fedra had raided the last underground clinics that i knew about. most of the staff got hanged, and i was out of options."

he lets out a sharp exhale.

you're silent for another minute before joel speaks again.

"i'm sorry-" he says, "i'm sorry that your choice was taken from you. and i'm so sorry i wasn't there for you."

he still doesn't look at you, but he rests a hand on your knee.

"i can't believe- all this time and i have another daughter and i had no idea."

"she's such a cool kid," you tell him, "and don't get me wrong, i felt like the worst person in the world, bringing a kid into that fuckin'- fedra plague world," you admit, "but she's so funny, shy when you first meet her, but she has so much personality. every day, she's more and more of a tiny person! and she's just started doing this thing where i'll tell her something and she'll just scowl at me and she looks just like you-"

"hey, i don't scowl that much-" joel argues, scowling, and there's the joel you remember. all of a sudden you're hysterical with laughter, and then joel cracks too and he's laughing with you.

after a while, you fall into another comfortable silence. it gets later and later, and then joel's standing up and offering you a hand.

"'fraid i've got patrol in the morning, so i'd best be going to bed soon, and i'm guessing y'all are exhausted?"

you nod, feeling as if acknowledgement of it suddenly made it true. good god you were tired.

"you know what house you're staying in tonight?" he asked, and you tell him the number.

"sounds good," he nods, "can i walk ya home?"

"sure," you smile.

you head back inside, scoop up violet, and then the three of you are heading towards your temporary lodgings.

when you arrive, joel bids you goodnight at your doorstep and bobs his head a little as though he was about to lean in to kiss your cheek but then thought better of it, and instead takes your hand for a moment and mutters without looking directly at you, "it's really great to see you, baby. glad you made it here safe."

you go to bed. an actual bed, mind you.

you dreamed of joel miller.

you'd pretty much decided you and violet would stay here in jackson from the first minute you walked down the main street, but you gave it a few days before letting the council know. this is what you've been looking for, though. a home. a community. safety.

violet starts going to school. she's in the same year as rowan and apparently thrilled about it, so you're at tommy and maria's home more often than you'd imagined. you start patrolling, too. just short routes to begin with, but you didn't make it through this much without knowing how to survive, and you're good at it.

and then there's joel.

he's different.

he's aged, but he still looks great. the salt and pepper of his hair has turned more salt than pepper, and the crinkles by his eyes are deeper. you're still attracted to him, so attracted to him, but you don't wanna make any rash decisions. he seems lighter, clearly taken by ellie, and cautiously friendly towards you and violet.

he's made it clear he'd like to get to know her, but is happy to take his time, waiting until you're more comfortable with it. which is so beautifully, frustratingly thoughtful.

you never expected that cold, angry joel could be so warm and open, but he seems like such a doting family man, keeping an eye out for ellie, always there for tommy, being a good uncle for rowan. there was clearly some tension between him and his sister-in-law, too, but one evening you walked in on them doing dishes together, singing along to some old dolly parton cd. you slipped out the door before either of them saw you'd seen.

one night, violet and rowan are having a sleepover, supervised by tommy, and you have a rare night to yourself. you make your way over to the tipsy bison and relax at the bar, letting the whiskey warm you.

you chat with the bartender, and decide to put a song on the jukebox, but as you get up from your stool you knock the whiskey bottle over and watch tumble seemingly in slow motion before being caught by- "joel?"

"easy now," joel smiles, "don't want a repeat of last time."

it takes you aback for a moment, and then your face is burning with the memory.

"can't believe you remember that," you say, and he snorts.

"course i do. that was the last night i saw you."

he pulls out a stool and sits down next to you. gestures at the bartender for a glass, and pours himself a healthy finger of whiskey.

"how do you remember that night going?" you ask.

joel scratches at his cheek for a moment, pondering, and smiles, sipping his whiskey. "i was gonna be leavin' town, and i wanted to say goodbye so i checked out all your usual spots. walked in to see you smash a bottle and then try and flirt your way out of it with that weedy little bartender."

"i remember that bit, too," you say, "though on my end, i'll remind you, i was drinking because i was preemptively missing you and didn't realise you were leaving so soon."

"i do remember you saying that," joel nods, "and i was so mad because i'd spent so much time that night trying to find you, and that was time we wouldn't get back."

your eyes widen at his words. you didn't know this part. suddenly, you feel a warmth rising in you that you hadn't expected.

"do you remember what happened next?" he asks.

you nod. "yeah, you yelled at me a little, implied i was a whore, yelled at me more, and then told me you were leaving in the morning."

"jesus, i'm an asshole," joel says, and you smile.

"yeah, you are. neither of us were at our best though. but then we had one last night."

"one last night," he echoes.

neither of you say anything for a minute, and then joel breaks the silence.

"i'd be lying if i said i hadn't replayed that night over and over again in my head."

you smile. "me too," you admit, "it's honestly been a while since i've been with anyone, and when it's just me and my hand, that night's the first thing that i think of."

joel inadvertently chokes and splutters, dabbing at his mouth as he tries to collect himself. he's flushed a beautiful shade of pink and it makes you giggle.

"shit, girl, i forgot how blunt you can be."

"i think this might be the first wholly honest conversation we've had since i got to town," you ponder, still smiling, "we're always dancing around each other. in orbit but never colliding."

he looks at you with a curious expression on his face, like he's enjoying the task of trying to parse you almost as much as he's seeking an understanding.

you pour yourself another glass of whiskey and knock it back in one. you're gathering your courage. you're plotting plots now, and sure it's been a long time, but you figure it's worth a shot.

"i've been thinking, joel," you tell him, and his eyes are so focused on you, "i wanna say up front i don't have any expectations, and i won't be offended if you'd rather not-"

he raises an eyebrow at you and you could swear you see flirtation behind it.

"but, if you wanted-"

"spit it out"

"that last night doesn't have to be the last night."

your eyes are locked and don't speak, don't move, don't breathe.

and then joel miller's lips are crashing into yours, and you moan into him, one hand clutching at your shoulders, the other cupping your chin, and you melt into it.

"my place," you tell him, "violet's with her cousin tonight."

you realise that's the first time you said those words like that, so casual and normal, and you know you'll need to unpack that later but joel, shockingly, takes it in stride.

before you know it, you're walking up the porch steps with joel right on your heels and unlocking the front door.

you've barely gotten the door open before you're on the other side of it and it's slamming shut, joel pressing you against the threshold and kissing you deeply. one of his thighs presses between your legs and without thinking you rub up against it.

"shit, i've missed you baby," he says, and you're moaning against him as he helps you pull off your shirt, and you start to unbutton his. he continues, bashful, "didn't think you'd want an old man like me, anymore."

you scoff, "you've aged well, joel, and more than that, you've aged. you're still here and i can't even begin to tell you how much that means."

you tug the flannel from his shoulders, letting it drop to the floor behind him before you pull off his undershirt.

"besides," you tell him, "you're the best lay i've ever had and i don't believe for a minute you've lost your touch."

he snorts, but then he's kissing on your neck again and you know you'll need to talk about things properly at some point. for now, though, you'll get lost in the feeling of him.

you're lost in the dizzy haze of touch. joel's hands are all over you, grabbing, stroking, caressing. you stumble to your bedroom, stepping out of your jeans and helping him shuck off his pants along the way. then he's laid out on your bed, bare except for his boxer shorts, chest heaving and cock straining.

you yank off your panties and climb on top of him, straddling him so your bare pussy rubs up against his hardness. he groans and grabs you by the hips, rocking you up and down his length.

"feel so good, baby," he breathes, and his eyes are fluttering closed in pleasure. "come here," he tells you, and he pulls you down for a kiss.

you take him in. look at his body. his chest hair has greyed, and he's got more scars than you remember including a nasty-looking one that must've been a close call. you run a thumb over the one on the side of his chest, still pearly but less pink these days, from the time you patched him up.

joel watches you watch him. "i never thanked you properly for that, sweetheart," he says, "but thank you. you saved my ass that night."

"of course," you tell him, as you dip down and lick a stripe up from his happy trail, all the way to his throat.

"fuck," he whines, and you shut him up with a kiss.

when you finally break, he strokes your cheek. "sit on my face," he tells you, and you don't need him to ask you twice.

you hobble up on your knees and then rest your cunt on his open mouth. he lets out a strangled moan and hmmms into you, the vibrations hitting your clit deliciously, before grabbing onto your hips and eating you like a man starved.

his clever tongue finds your aching clit and flicks against it, hard. once you're nearly overstimulated, he senses it and starts to lick long strokes, back and forth, dipping into your drooling pussy with each pass.

it's heavenly. addictive. you've hooked with old flames before, years after you'd slept with them last, and not only does joel not disappoint? he blows your fucking mind.

you come on his tongue and instead of pulling away, he pulls you closer. licks you deep. takes a breath and tells you "one more, baby, gimme another one."

you do, using his face to get yourself off, taking your time to build back up, rocking your hips over him, his nose covered with your slick, his cheeks, lips, and chin glistening so pretty when you finally shudder and spasm all over him.

"taste so good, baby," he tells you, "i wanna make you come on my tongue all night long."

"as much as i'd love that," you say, "i need that cock in me right fucking now. it's been seven years, joel."

he smirks, but doesn't need persuading.

he flips you over and presses his cock head at your entrance. before he slides in, though, he takes a moment to look you over.

you know you look older, and your hair has a few grey strands throughout. you've got more wrinkles, and stretch marks, and more than a few new scars.

before you can second-guess yourself, though, joel is stroking a hand along all of your perceived imperfections, adoring.

"so fuckin' beautiful", he whispers, "after all this time- i can't believe-"

you let your hand lace through the hair at his nape and give it a gentle tug. he closes his eyes, focusing only on the sensation, before opening them again. looking directly at you.

you're already so wet and worked up, he slides into you easily in one stroke, making you both gasp, and he just rests there for a moment, fully sheathed in you.

you clutch one another as he starts to thrust into you, pressing you open in a delicious stretch.

he fucks into you and then pauses and readjusts. moves your legs so they're on his shoulders, rather than wrapped round his waist. then he presses into you again, tentative, and your eyes practically roll back. it's the deepest thing you've felt.

"takin' me so good," he praises, "i feel how wet and ready you are, you've been needing this a while, huh?"

you can barely speak, only enough to breath out a whiny uh-huh that makes him chuckle.

"touch me", you beg, and he does, rubbing his thumbs over your nipples, gripping your waist, your hips. he grabs at your ass and jiggles it before giving it a swat that makes you giggle, but he looks positively feral.

"this fuckin' body," he groans, and you squeak as you take a particularly deep thrust and he eases up just a little.

you reach up to grab his jaw and kiss him, and he kisses you back, deep and lovely. you drag your tongue along his jawline and pepper kisses down his neck, trace your fingertips along his pearlescent scars.

"god, joel," you moan, "so fuckin big, you feel so good."

"you even feel better than i remember, too."

"don't you dare stop, don't you dare stop fucking me-"

"never, baby. wanna have you like this always."

you can feel your eyes fill with tears, overwhelmed with the sensation, with the tenderness and the care and the big cock fucking deep into you, it's all so good.

"yes baby," he grunts, "keep it open for me, good girl, letting me fuck you so nice."

you can see how his eyes are glittering and know he's emotional, too. he's staring at you with reverential awe that might embarrass you if it didn't feel so right. this isn't the rough, hair pulling, choking, biting sex you remember from him. he presses a hand over your belly and rubs gentle circles against it. his touch is electric.

"can't believe you made it," joel whispers, "made it all the way here, and you still want me. we've got a kid, and i left you all alone, and you still want me."

"always, joel," you tell him, and you realise it's the truth. whatever life you make for yourself, you want joel miller in it.

he lets out a growl and starts fucking you harder, deeper.

your orgasm builds quickly and soon you're clutching at his shoulder, leaving half moon crescents in his skin where your nails dig in, holding on for dear life.

"i'm gonna come," you tell him, and he holds you through it, his pace steady as your walls clench around his cock.

his hips begin to stutter as he loses his rhythm, nearing his own climax. he chokes out, "where do you want it?"

"my chest," you say, "come all over my tits."

he pulls out and strokes himself twice before spilling out on your chest, his cum landing on you in hot ropes.

after you catch your breath, he gently cleans you up and then pulls you into the crook of his arm, holding you close. you lay there together, just breathing.

"so gorgeous, momma," he says.

"not too bad yourself, daddy," you tell him, and he snorts.

you know you have a lot of things to talk about. the past seven years. the future. loss and love. violet getting to know her father.

for now, though, joel miller is in your bed and you're going to cherish every minute of it. it's more than enough.

[sunnebeam]

neon lights.

A 'CITY OF LIGHTS' DRABBLE.

pairing: jeon jungkook x reader

warnings: gangster squad au, cheating (kinda, please read the previous drabbles for better context), toxic relationship, mentions of mafia shit

masterlist + disclaimers.

note: no smut? in a sunnebeam drabble?? who is she???? 😭 lol but here's the next col drabble. the plot is plotting, if i might say so myself :> let me know ur thoughts! and as always, feedback & reviews are my sustenance

— prev – backstreet buildings. | next – thunder & rain.

Things weren't always like this.

Believe it or not, there was a time when you liked Kim Taehyung. Heck, you could even say there was a short minute when you thought you could actually love him. But that was back when he was younger. Back when he was warmer.

Back when he was safer.

"Hey, baby."

The words from a normal person's mouth would sound welcoming and romantic. But when they come from Taehyung, they only sound calculated and dangerous.

Nevertheless, you put on a smile as if you didn't just come from Jungkook's apartment. Nevertheless, you place a kiss on his cheek as if you aren't caught off guard by his presence.

He's early. His flight was supposed to be at noon, which is why you took your sweet time back at Jungkook's. You didn't expect him to be home three hours too early.

"Welcome home," you say to him in what you hope to be a welcoming tone. "You hungry?"

"Mhm. But not for breakfast."

He pulls you in and kisses you deeply, not satisfied with your chaste peck on his cheek. You try to return his eagerness as much as you could, but he seems to sense your hesitation.

He pulls back and looks at you curiously, his dark eyes inspecting every inch of your face intensely. You stare back innocently, hoping he mistakes your frantic heartbeat as excitement from his kiss instead of fear from being found out.

"Where were you, baby?" he asks, his voice egging you as if daring you to lie. "You weren't here when I came home."

"Cafe. Down the block." You hope your words don't sound clipped. "They serve breakfast waffles."

His eyes flicker from your face to the earrings he gave you.

"You didn't bring me some?"

"I'm sorry. I thought you wouldn't be home until noon."

His eyes move downward, inspecting your entire body.

"Oh, I bet you hoped that would be the case," he says after a few seconds, his voice taunting, his smile sinister.

You gulp. "What are you talking about, Tae?" you ask in between chuckles. "Of course I wasn't hoping for—"

You're cut off by another kiss. You're grateful for the distraction, welcoming the kiss and deepening it yourself for good measure. You think you're off the hook but then he bites your lower lip aggressively, pulling away when he hears you hiss.

"Just joking, baby," he says when he pulls back, smirking when he sees your swollen lips. "I know you couldn't wait for me to come home."

Your heart becomes even more frantic and your fingertips are cold with nerves. But you just smile back and nod in agreement.

You almost let out a big sigh of relief when he turns to walk away, but then he stops mid-walk and looks at you over his shoulder.

"I think you were a little too excited for me to come home, baby," he tuts condescendingly. "You put your blouse on backwards."

He leaves you standing in the middle of the room, with your eyes staring down at your blouse in horror and your mind cursing your own carelessness in disbelief.

Luckily, over the next couple of days, Taehyung chooses not to bring up the incident again. Whether to give you the benefit of the doubt or to toy with you, you can't tell but you'll take it anyway. After all, his nonchalance is better than his fury.

Sadly, over the next couple of days, you experience the same nonchalance from Jungkook as well. Whether his radio silence is to give you time or to confirm your accusations about your place in his life, you don't know but you won't try and find out. After all, Taehyung is already on to you and you can't afford to play with trouble again.

Unfortunately for you, however, trouble always seems to find you.

"Where are you going?"

You just arrived home after going to another fancy dinner with one of Taehyung's potential clients. Taehyung asks you the question when he sees you walk to the direction opposite your shared bedroom.

"My skin care is in the other bathroom," you explain to him. "I'm just gonna do my routine there."

He stares at you for a moment before he says, "Don't take too long," and enters the master bedroom.

It's when you just finished with your night routine and you're exiting the bathroom that you see a troubling sight.

"Jungkook?"

"Shhh," he shushes you, his index fingers upright and against his lips.

"What are you doing here?" you ask, caught off guard.

"Baby? Is that you?" Taehyung's voice echoes across the hallway.

Jungkook quickly ushers the two of you back inside the bathroom you just exited, and locks the door. When Taehyung doesn't follow up in calling for you after several minutes and you both hear the door to the master bedroom close, you both sigh in relief.

"Jungkook, what the fuck are you doing here?" you demand angrily.

"The guys and I were just raiding Taehyung's office," he tells you honestly. "We thought you wouldn't be back from that dinner until another hour."

"Tae wanted to come home all of a sudden so we left early." You sigh. "Look, Jungkook. You won't find anything in Tae's office, or in this whole house, for that matter. Trust me."

"Yeah, we figured that ourselves when we couldn't find anything useful. Thanks," he says sarcastically.

"Drop that attitude with me," you say, jabbing a finger against his chest. "Just get out of here. Taehyung already suspects me, and god knows what would happen if he sees you here—"

"Wait, wait," Jungkook cuts you off. "He suspects you? How?"

"I don't know. But please, for my sake, you need to get out now." You open the bathroom door slowly and see that the coast is clear. "Follow me. There are men stationed around the house, but I know a way you could get out."

As quietly and stealthily as you could, you lead Jungkook out the house using the blind spots you figured out when you were still sneaking out to see him. It's when you're hurriedly ushering him out of the property when he gently grabs your wrist.

"Wait a second."

"What is it now?" you groan.

Jungkook knows he only has a few seconds to say what he wants to say. He wants to tell you he's sorry for not telling you he's a cop. He wants to tell you that what you have is real. He wants to tell you that the nights you shared are precious to him.

But he can't. Yet.

So instead, he kisses you, long and deep. When he pulls away, he whispers, "I'll get you out of here, I promise," before running out of the property.

You're left with your fingers touching your lips, completely unaware of the pair of eyes witnessing everything that had just occured.

COPYRIGHT 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

[eddiemunsonscheckeredboxers]

a one-shot blurb? of a thought i had whilst in the midst of my singledad!eddie x reader phase (1.5k words)

Summary: Reader catches a sweet moment of Eddie putting his daughter to bed, but seemingly becomes impatient to wait for their turn...

A/N: eddie and reader are mid-to-late 20's at this point, also the kid is only eddie's, reader is singledad!eddie's love interest who fell for them both, reader is female but no mention of specific features so can be gender neutral too if you want :)

warnings: minors DNI, kinda nsfw if you squint, use of 'daddy', suggested smut I guess?, domestic bliss, fluff, no mention of y/n, not proofread (sorry)

Bed Time

Balancing on the balls of your feet, you shutter at the feeling of your bare feet on the cold floor as you quietly float down the darkened hallway toward the muffled voices coming from lone bedroom at the end of the trailer. The bedroom was once adorned by heavy metal posters, junk-littered dressers, clothes thrown haphazardly around the space, and an alarming mold stain on the corner of the ceiling. Now it was filled with rainbows drawn on loose paper, barbie doll houses, and stuffed animals matted with the love of the little girl who cherished them since her arrival into his life only four years ago (the mold stain was subsequently evicted). The soft glow of the lamp on the bedside table spilled through the small opening of the door only half shut by the ever attentive father who lovingly settled his firecracker daughter into her small twin bed. Once you reached the door, you gently placed your hand on the wood of the door and sucked in a small breath, holding it there with lips bitten underneath your teeth. As you peered into the room, scanning over the dresser immediately across from you which has mismatched small, frilly socks laid out on top, waiting on the long lost promise of being paired with their mate, your eyes fell onto a scene that threatened to make your heart burst.

From your vantage point, you marveled at the sight of Eddie knelt at the side of his daughter's bed. Not having changed out of his mechanic coveralls yet, he has his right arm lovingly draped over his daughter's small body, which is tucked snuggly in her white fluffy comforter. Her wild, dark curls, a spitting image of her father's, are loosely laying around her head resting on her pink pillow case with frilly trim. Her brow is held in sorrow as she laments at the chain on her tricycle that broke earlier that day on her walk with Grampa Wayne. You watch the movement in his frame under his work clothes as Eddie soothes a hand over her forehead, guiding it back to the apex of her skull as her reassures her, his frizzy curls brushing his shoulder and back as he gently nods his head in agreement as he speaks.

"Baby, I know you're sad, but Daddy will fix it tomorrow morning. We'll have it working good as new in no time," he coos as she releases some of the tension in her face to behold him with trust and comfort etched into her big, doe eyes. A look that could he swore could break her old man's heart. You had intended to let out the breath you were holding as you heard him speak, but after hearing his promise to his baby, it came out more as a pained, pitiful sigh. Eddie turned his upper body slightly so his head could face the doorway as his eyes landed on you with a look of mild surprise to discover that he was being watched. You offered a small, shy smile and brought the cuff of his your oversized hoodie to your mouth to hide behind it. The smaller Munson flickered her eyes over to you and a toothy smile stretched across her face. The same smile reflected on her dear old dad's face as they both regarded you.

"I just wanted to say good night again, Princess," you offered quietly as your cheeks burned to a light shade of pink. You had never intended to be caught. You just wanted to capture the sweet moment between the two people who had so quickly and wholly stole your heart that day in the park some months ago. The little girl brought her small hand flat to her puckered lips and sent an exaggerated kiss into the air in your direction. You huffed a small laugh and returned it to her in double. Still smiling at the interaction, Eddie turned his attention back to his daughter and leaned into her face. "Alright, give Daddy some kisses and then its off to sleep," he said as he plants a sloppy kiss to her cheek and she squeals out a laugh while wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. Once she releases, Eddie reaches to the bedside lamp and clicks it off leaving the room lit only by a small nightlight in the corner opposite her bed. He rises and makes his way toward the door as you take a few shy steps backward into the hallway to allow him to exit the bedroom.

He pulls the door so it is almost shut, but open enough so he can hear if her small voice carries his name should she find herself in need of him during the night. The small sliver of light that peaks from the door lands on you, and Eddie slightly cocks his head to the side as he takes in your form. You're standing there watching him as he as corrects himself to face you when he lets go of the door knob. There is a shyness to your posture, as you hold the cuff of the hoodie to your lips again with your chin dipped down to meet your fist bunched underneath the fabric. You're looking up at him through your lashes with a look he can't quite place as he takes a small step toward you to get a better look in the darkness. Then he notices the shift of your thighs slightly pressing together. He quirks an eyebrow as his eyes flick back to study your face briefly again to discover the hint of desire etched in it. A slow smirk begins to appear on his lips. He takes more steps toward you and as soon as he can, he reaches his hand underneath the hem of the hoodie as slides his fingers gently across the expanse of skin right above where your sweatpants end near your hips as he closes in on you. His hands caress your sides as he snakes his arms around your waist, until they find home on the small of your back and he suddenly pulls you forward into him. Your chest collides with his as he stares down his nose at your face. In the moment, you brace your hands on his biceps and let out a whispered squeal as you adjust to the new proximity to him. You return him a smile for a few sweet seconds before he speaks.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he offered lifting his eyebrows, as the grin fell from his face and was replaced by a poorly constructed false look of innocence. You rolled your eyes as your smiled widened knowing you've been caught. You slid your hands from their place his biceps up his arms and shoulders until they met on the back of his neck bringing your faces closer so you can speak in hushed tones. You scrunched your face in confusion trying to hide the blush and countered, "I have no idea what your talking about." A devilishly handsome smile painted his face once more as he waited in silence for you to break under his stare. You sighed off your façade and pointed your chin down so you didn't have to meet the burning curiosity of his gaze. "Once I say it, I will never hear the end of it," you said as you smiled at your feet. Eddie never made you feel embarrassed about anything, but he did love to tease you a bit to get you worked up. It's not his fault you look so adorable when you're flustered. He removed a hand from your back and brought it out from under the hoodie to slot it between your bodies so he could gently grab your chin between his thumb and index finger to bring your eyes back to his. As he did, you quickly shut your eyes and screwed your face up to resemble something akin to pain as you prepared to say the words. You knew he wouldn't let it go until you did. Especially if it was something that sparked lust in you. Especially if it was for him.

Heaving your shoulders up to your ears with your eyes remaining closed, you let out yet another sigh, this time as dramatically as you could muster. You inhaled just as theatrically causing him to stifle a laugh, as you parted your lips and released, "Hearing you call yourself 'Daddy' does more for me than I want to admit." You tentatively opened one eye to take in his reaction to your admission. Eddie's smile had become more open mouthed with his tongue now sticking out slightly to the side to rest on his upper teeth as a look of amusement danced over his face. Oh, he liked this development. You groaned, defeated and slumped your head against his chest as he let out a quiet chuckle as to not alert all that slumbered in the silence of the trailer. Using his hand to maneuver your face to look up at him again, he titled his head to the side as he said in a low, thick voice, "Is it time for Daddy to get you to bed now?".

I do not consent to having my work copied or reposted anywhere. This tumblr post is the original work. Thanks for reading :) I wasn't sure how weird this concept might be, so. PLEASE reblog if you enjoyed. I do not claim to own any characters originally created by the creators of Stranger Things.

[d0wnb4df0rf1cm3n]

I didn't mean to love you so much.

Poe Dameron x Reader

Summary: You don't know what you have until it's gone. Or is it?

Word Count: 6.0K

AN: Hello lovely people, sorry the ending to this one's kinda shitty! Kinda got lost while writing it, but I hope y'all enjoy it anyway. All love!

It took 3 days to arrive on D'Qar.

The Naboo N-1 Starfighter that you stole from the junkyard on Bracca was one wrong move away from falling out of the sky. Even with your constant mid-flight repairs, only prayers to the Maker were keeping her together. The BB unit you found kept you posted with constant, and frankly worrying, updates on how the ship was holding. Let's just say the plane was soon to be out of use.

When you entered the atmosphere in D'Qar, the landing gear erupted into flames, eliciting a series of explicit beeps from the BB unit. If not for the life-or-death in front of you, you would have burst into a fit of giggles.

Instead, you just grit your teeth: "Happy beeps, bud."

You and the BB unit left the carnage that used to be a starfighter flaming in the trees, bickering the whole time, and heading towards the Resistance Base. Towards new beginnings. Towards freedom.

Bracca was a junkyard, where scavengers and smugglers looked for parts to sell to the highest bidder. It was dark and dangerous at the best of times, and work was never-ending. It wasn't the kind of place you would want to grow up, but it was better than Kessel. Anything was better than Kessel.

It took a week to get to the Rebel base. Your head throbbed painfully with each passing day, with hardly any food in your system and little water to quench your thirst, the journey to salvation seemed almost unattainable. You had thanked the Maker for rain when it first came, but after 4 days of non-stop rain, you had cursed the skies for it. It only seemed to fall harder.

By day 5, the BB unit was running out of power, its movements slower than before. It was far too heavy for you to carry and without it, you would never reach the Resistance base. There were no sarcastic quips or complaints for its master anymore. No, the two of you traveled in silence, aside from the odd groan from either one of you. Its tiredness mimicked your own. You could only pray that the base would come into view soon. You weren't sure how much longer you would last.

When the planes came into view, you almost cried with joy. With newfound energy, you and the BB unit near-ran the way to the tarmac runway that signaled life on this dratted planet.

And while the BB unit was welcomed with cheers and open arms, you weren't so lucky.

You were marched to the medical bay by two men almost twice your size, flanked on the left and the right so you couldn't run if you tried. Your heartbeat in your throat. Of course, the resistance had to be careful, but surely this was excessive.

After you received treatment for your assortment of cuts and burns, you were delivered to a small room, adorned with only a bed and curtains to block out the light. Before you could say anything, let alone protest, the doors shut, leaving you alone in a small cell deep in the heart of the Resistance base.

As terrifying as the whole situation was, when you laid your head to rest on the bed in the dingy room, sleep came. It beat thorns and nettles on the forest floor of D'Qar. It beat sitting upright for 3 days, trying to avoid meteors and Tie Fighters. It beat restless nights on Bracca, hoping to gather enough for a meal. Sleep came to you better than it ever had before, and you reveled in it.

You woke up to familiar beeping outside the large metal door.

"BB-3?" Your voice came out as a hoarse whisper. The beeping got louder, almost unbearably loud, "Calm down, bud. I don't know how to open the door."

"Step back." A male voice came from behind the door, startling you. You stumbled backward, falling on the floor as the whooshed open. A tall man stood there, and if he were surprised you were on the floor, he didn't show it.

You scrambled to your feet, brushing the dust off your clothes as BB-3 rolled in, circling around you like a vulture would his prey. The man stood there observing you and the droid got reacquainted, before clearing his throat.

"Vice Admiral Holdo would like to speak with you." His tone was authoritative. You didn't want to be on his bad side. He led you toward an office on the opposite side of the building, your legs shaking as you walked. He shot you a pitying glance as BB-3 followed at your heels, before returning his face to its emotionless expression. You hated it.

It must have been early, as only a few people were up, and those who were seemed to want to rather be asleep. But no one batted an eye your way, despite the grime you still felt clinging to your face, and the ripped clothes you were wearing. You wondered if this was normal to them. People coming home grimy, hurt, and disgusting.

Only one man seemed to notice you on your journey.

"Snap!" A voice called out to you. The man in front of you - presumably Snap - broke into a huge grin. "Long time, no see, buddy!" Snap clapped the other man on the back, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

You stood there as the other man regaled the story of whatever mission he'd been on to Snap, and for a moment, you thought you were forgotten.

Until he turned. His eyes seemed to scorch your soul with their searching gaze. It was heavy, but you felt safe under it. Almost as if you knew that he would do nothing to hurt you.

"Heard all about how this one came in yesterday." He stretched out his hand, "Captain Poe Dameron. Pleasure to meet you."

You shook his hand and returned the favour, telling you his name. He tested it on his tongue, repeating a few times. Once he seemed satisfied, Poe turned back to Snap.

"How come you got stuck on babysitting duty?" He asked, mirth dancing in his eyes. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes or butt in - you wanted these people to like you. Sarcasm could be saved for later.

"Kid brought back my droid."

"BB-8 told me the story. Something about running from a resistance fighter, blowing up a depot train," you kick BB-3 gently, "and exploding an N-1. It was impossible. Maybe you should get your droid checked for gossiping?" Snap punched him in the arm, "Hey, it was just a suggestion." Poe grinned widely, "Oh, and the shootout. How could I forget the shootout?"

"It wasn't a shootout." You slapped your hand to your mouth. You hadn't meant to say that out loud. So much for saving the sarcasm for later.

Poe turns to look at you. "Oh?" his grin infuriatingly wide. "That's not what the droid said."

"It wasn't a shootout, we were shot at." Your confidence floods back into you. "And the depot train wasn't us. Wrong place, wrong time. Am I right, bud?" You glare down at the BB-unit.

He mumbles something about ruining a good story before whirring off to stop behind Snap. Stupid BB-unit.

"Guess you're more interesting than I gave you credit for kid." Snap stepped towards you, hand coming to rest on your shoulder. "The name's Temmin, Temmin Wexley. But everyone calls me Snap."

"Pleasure to meet you Snap," you echo Poe's words from earlier.

Your meeting with the Vice Admiral went well. She believed your story, well corroborated by both BB-3 and the bounty on your head placed by a well-meaning neighbour. She cleared you to start training with the resistance, though you surprised both her and Snap when you asked to be a mechanic.

Though when you started working on ships, it was clear to see why. It was almost like there was a secret language that ships spoke that only you seemed to understand. You scoffed at that. Beginner's luck you called it. Still, there was no denying that you loved working on the ships and that you were good at it too.

Months went by and you settled into the routines of the Resistance. You were given a room closer to the other mechanics, who, despite the constant tension of competition, seemed to like you well enough. You often sat with them for meals, although passing up on opportunities to spend more time with them. They seemed content with that. You got used to the early morning wake-up calls when the sun streamed through the window and urgent repairs needed to be made. You learned to enjoy the quiet evenings when everyone else had closed up shop and you could finetune repairs for those who needed it. You finally felt like you had a purpose. It was freeing.

Snap kept you up-to-date on the comings and goings of the First Order - never in much detail of course, but enough to satiate your desire to know more. In return you smuggled him extra jogan fruitcake when it was served while he was away. Sometimes, in thanks for saving your life, you made extra updates and repairs to his X-Wing when he came back from long missions - more often than not to save his those extra hours of tedious work.

Black Squadron had come home after a week long mission the night before. You had worked late into the night the day before, and you were now regretting it. Blue squadron had come into contact with a few Tie Fighters on night patrol, and the damage was hair-pullingly extensive. You were in for a long day. It didn't help that you could barely keep your eyes open, hands glued to a cup of Caf that was doing little for the tiredness clouding your brain. You didn't even notice Snap come storming in.

"WHO WORKED ON MY SHIP LAST NIGHT?" He yelled over all the mechanics. Shit.

You had done some basic repairs for him the evening before last and had spent the better part of last night finishing up repairs and repainting his ship. You knew how pilots were with ship paint. Maker, you were screwed.

After a few moments of silence, you decided it was better to own up than let everyone suffer. "I did, Wexley."

He slowly turned towards you, before grabbing you and pulling you into a bone-crushing hug, lifting your feet off the ground. You were shocked. He was happy - no, elated. The rest of the mechanics, equally as confused as you, turned back to their work, ignoring the scene in front of them.

He still had you gripped tightly when Poe walked in. "Easy tiger, you'll kill the greenie. What did she do to deserve your wrath?"

"My wrath?! No, no, no, Poe. This kid is my new favorite person on base."

"I'll try not to take offense to that," Poe grumbled jokingly, "What did she do to deserve such high praise then?"

"Have you seen my ship? She's beautiful, more beautiful than Jess that one time." He started, about to regale a story, you did not need to know. You elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"My sentiment exactly," Poe said to you, giving you a fist bump before walking over to Snap's X-Wing, closely followed by Snap himself. You trailed behind them, still unsure of what was going on. Poe dragged his finger across the paintwork, "He has a point though. I've never seen Snap's X-Wing look this good." Poe turned towards you, his warm brown eyes sparkling with pride. "Good job, Greenie."

You smiled gently, before turning away. It was high praise from Captain Poe Dameron, flyboy of the resistance.

"Maybe I'll snap her up, you know, give her a real ship to work on?" Poe said, his flirting tone making an odd double entendre that made your face light up in flames.

"Not a chance. Kid, you're my new mechanic. Officially."

"What if I don't want to be?" You countered, your sarcastic tone making both Snap and Poe burst into laughter.

You accepted the role though. There was no world in which you didn't. You enjoyed the perks of being Snap's favored Mechanic - you could sleep in more often, you were privy to more information than the average mechanic. He would tell you if he was to leave the base soon, you were often told just how bad a situation was. Snap trusted you. And if Snap did, so did the others.

'The others' being the other pilots on Black Squadron: Jessika Pava, Karé Kun, L'ulo L'ampar. And of course, Poe Dameron. It was almost like you couldn't escape him. His infectious laugh, his boyish grin, his boisterous personality. His ability to make even the most mundane task into a story for the ages.

No wonder he was so popular.

You began to sit with them in the cantina and you frequently ended up leading the repairs on Black Squadron, no one else being as trusted as you. You opened up to them slowly, telling them about growing up on Kessel and being brought to the Scrapper’s guild on Kessel. You told them the truth about your escape - Poe ended up on the floor laughing, saying “the real story’s so much better, BB-3”. They found out about your impeccable aim after a fun night in the cantina that ended in a tense game of holodarts. They became your family - more of a family you had ever had in your life.

And while, you saw Snap, L’ulo and Karé as your brothers, you could not say the same for Poe. Poe was a flirt, everyone knew that. But as you got closer and closer, it was harder to ignore the way you're heart sped up when he looked at you. How you're palms grew clammy when he smiled in your direction. How his praises and compliments made your knees weak. God you were in love with him.

You knew that half the women on the base had either slept with him or wanted to, and yet not one of them got even a second of his time. None of them except you. Poe would walk you to your room in the evening, and to the cantina in the morning, regaling stories of his adventures before he knew you. He’d bring you caf when you were working late, and sit under the stars with you at the end of a long day. He’d tell you stories of Yavin 4 and his mother. He showed you the ring that hung on the end of his necklace. 

“I want to give it to the one, you know?”

“Don’t get all sentimental on me, Captain.”

He groaned, “Don’t rank me.” You just smiled.

“So, no lucky lady in your life, Dameron?”

“No lucky man in yours, greenie?” 

You scoffed, “If there was ever a chance, they’ve all been scared away by you.”

“Good.”

You laughed it off, but inside your guts twisted at the idea that Poe was happy you were single. Your insides warmed at the idea that he might just feel the same. 

The next morning, you walked out of your room to the sight of Poe sneaking out of the room opposite yours. Half-naked. His eyes widened at the sight of you, and your hand quickly hid your eyes from the view. Your heart dropped. He lied to you. 

Poe sought you out later on in the day. He came up behind you on the landing deck, with a cool glass of jogan juice in hand. You had stripped out of your mechanics jumsuit, the arms tied loosely around your waist. Your tank top was almost a shade darker with the sweat of exertion and ridiculous heat. And yet you declined it, your face barely concealing your childlike annoyance. You knew it was stupid. You and Poe were barely friends, let alone anything that would justify your anger.

“I’m sorry.” Poe huffed, still standing underneath you in the beating sunshine. You were surprised: Poe Dameron never apologises.

“For what?” You said, your back still facing him. He sighed - he didn’t like it when anyone was annoyed at him. Least of all you.

“For this morning.”

“Why does it matter, Poe? You can sleep with who you want to.” You said, anger colouring your voice.

“It matters,” he yells, “because it upset you. Because, for whatever reason, the idea of me sleeping with other people, made you mad at me.”

His obliviousness tugged at your heartstrings, as if to say ‘he doesn’t feel the same’.“I’m not mad that you’re sleeping with other people.”

“Then why are you ignoring me?”

“Because you lied to me, Poe.” You say, dropping down from the ladder, sweat dripping down your back. 

“What are you talking about?”

“You said there was no one special in your life.”

“There isn’t.” You raise a brow, before grabbing the glass of jogan juice from his hand. “Just because we had fun for a night, doesn’t mean I’m getting down on one knee.”

“I think you’ve done it enough times for that to be proven, Poe.”

His cheeky smile returned, “Glad we’re back on first name terms.”

You shook your head at him, “For the record, if I ever catch you sneaking out of a room in my wing again, I’ll skin you myself.”

“If you catch me you say? Well, I like myself a challenge.” You slap him on the head, before climbing back up the ladder.

“Leave me alone, Poe. I don’t need your love troubles plaguing my every hour.”

“There’s no place for things like love in the middle of a war, greenie. First thing you learn in a place like this.”

If he hadn’t been walking away, he would have heard your heart burst into a thousand tiny pieces. Maybe it was for the best if you didn't love him.

Instead of wallowing in undeserving heartache like an idiot, you forced yourself to forget all about the way Poe made your heart feel. He became just another friend, pushed so far into the friendzone that was no conceivable way out. To his credit, you didn’t hear of another escapade of his again. He probably just got good at hiding them.

That always got difficult when he was sent on week-long missions. Your heart would migrate into your throat and even swallowing became difficult. Your mind would swim with worry, all for him to come back completely fine, his ship always seemed to come home the least scathed. A fact for which your heart was grateful.

"Hey, flyboy," you called, as you walked into the cantina. There were less than 10 people in the whole room - probably due to the ungodly hour of the day.

Poe was sat in the corner, the light of his datapad shining on his face. He ran his fingers through his hair. It was unusually disheveled, which could only mean one thing. He was nervous.

You walked up to him. Evidently, he hadn't heard you from across the room, because when you came up to him and rested your hand on his shoulder, he flinched and grabbed your hand. You winced at his tight grip as he turned to face you.

Poe released your hand when he saw it was you. He leaned back into your chest, eyes fluttering shut. "I'm sorry," he whispered, gently.

You grabbed the datapad from his hands, and placed it face down on the table, "It's ok. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

You absent-mindedly run your hands through his hair as his head remained leaned against your chest. "It's not nothing. Is it a mission? You're leaving again soon?"

He hummed in agreement.

"You're leaving today, aren't you? That's why you're up early."

"Why do you think Snap got you to wake up early? You're not just a sight for sore eyes, you know."

His words made you blush. Never have you been more glad that he isn't staring right at you - it would give your heart’s deepest darkest desires away. 

He left that afternoon. After you completed routine checks for him, he was off on a top-secret adventure. Sometimes, it was easy to hate his rank, because it made it so hard to find out where he was, or what he was doing. But as always, you let him go and, as always, you prayed he'd come home safe. To you. You always pray he comes home safe to you.

Hours turned to days, days turned to weeks. And while it wasn't unheard of for Poe to be gone this long, your heart could barely take him being gone for a day. That's the price of being in love. You'd never thought of yourself as still being in love with Poe until he left on that mission. You'd never thought much of the way your heart still raced when he talked to you. You'd never thought much of the way your heart still ached when he left for missions. You'd never thought much of the way your heart still burst when he smiled at you. But without him there, it's like your heart could not find a reason for beating. 

You continued on with your job, trudging through daily repairs and meals, trying to keep your mind away from Poe. You forced a smile when you talked to Snap - missing Poe hit him just as hard as it hit you. You forced a smile when you taught new recruits - you couldn't afford to have them hate you just because the Captain was missing. You forced a smile when you came down for dinner - there was no use in moping around in the middle of a war. But when you were in the comfort of your own room, you let the smile fall and the tears drip down your face. You cried almost every night for the first week that he was gone, trying to reconcile your newly found feelings and your newly lost friend.

It was a surprise to everyone when Poe crash-landed back on D'Qar with burns and cuts littering his body. You were up at an extremely early hour as working on Snap's ship when he landed, and you were immediately filled with concern. A tight knot wound its way around your throat, as you watched the scene unfold. BB-8 was nowhere to be seen. The ship is smoking dangerously, and parts of it are falling off, but most worrying of all, Poe was struggling to get out of the cockpit. You quickly threw yourself onto the X-Wing, hitting the emergency ejection latch with the spanner in your hand. The cockpit lid flew open and Poe climbed out, coughing heavily and clutching his side.  Snap came running out of the base, and grabbed Poe's arm. You ran up and grabbed the other, and the two of you dragged him towards the med wing. 

Two nurses snapped him up, cleaning his wounds and applying bacta spray where necessary. Snap turned away, mumbling something about an early morning briefing, but you stayed rooted to the spot. You couldn't take your eyes off his broken state, and tears slipped out of your eyes before you could control them. After a beat, you spun around on your heel and sprinted to your room. 

When the door clanged shut, you slumped onto the floor and burst into tears. You couldn't bear to see Poe in pain. You hated yourself for not being strong enough to fight through your tears to be with him. And you hated yourself for still being in love with him, when you promised you would be. When your datapad lit up with tasks for the day, you made the rash decision to call in sick. In the time you had been on the base, you had never called in sick. This job was your lifeline, your passion, and nothing, not even illness, would affect that. At least, that's what you had thought. You spent the majority of the week in that same spot, tears subsiding when you became so dehydrated that your body refused to let you cry.

On the fifth day of your hibernation, you finally left your room, having showered and gotten ready. Few people were on the base, apart from the mechanics and medics, and the injured - which included Poe. Given the lack of a real threat in the vicinity, General Leia had given the day off. You didn’t want to relax. You couldn’t relax.

You snuck over to where Poe’s beat up X-Wing was parked, and the sight of it almost made you tear up. The memories hit you like a brick. Poe barely limping towards the med wing. BB-8 being carried to the droid repair room. Fire extinguishers coating the X-Wing with hopes that it may be able to fly again. You got to work.

You were finally satisfied as the sun set over the vast treescape of D'Qar, covered head to toe in oil and grease. After some gentle coaxing by Paige - the only one aware of your all-consuming feelings for Poe - you agreed to grab something small to eat with her.

What you didn't sign up for was to see a broken and battered Poe sitting at the table, laughing at some stupid joke that Snap had probably made. He looked up as you walked in, almost as if he was expecting you. His eyes met yours, and you felt the tight knot in your throat begin to form again - just as it had the morning Poe crash-landed on the base.

Poe tried to lift his arm up to wave but winced at the action, the stitches keeping his wounds bound together stretching at the extreme action. You pressed your lips into a tight smile, willing the Maker to take your tears away. Paige handed you a bottle of water, before leading you toward the table. She left you standing in front of the table, where you awkwardly shifted your feet.

"Gonna sit down?" Snap asked, mirth dancing behind his eyes, "Or are you planning to put on a show? Wouldn't put it past you to have hidden another talent."

You smiled weakly, sitting down next to Jess and unscrewing the cap on the water bottle you had been given. Jess leaned over and whispered gently, "Feeling ok? Paige came up to ask if you were ok when you didn't show up at drills this morning."

"Yeah, felt a bit under the weather after morning rounds."

"Probably the shitty sleep you've been getting worrying about this guy." Karé said, pointing his knife at Poe.

Poe looked at you, his eyes wide, but you tried to brush off Karé's words, sarcastically replying, "Oh please Karé, the only thing you're worried about is whether or not they have that drink that you like from Sorgan, which is disgusting by the way - I don't know how you can drink it."

Everyone laughs as Karé splutters about how delicious spotchka is, the anxiousness wracking your body easing its reins slightly. Under the table, you feel Poe's foot nudge yours gently. You smile lightly at him, careful not to let him have a good look at your red-rimmed eyes and splotchy face. As much as it shouldn't matter, you don't want him to know how much you care.

"You don't have to pretend you don't care for the captain, kid. You should have seen how she leaped to open the hatch Poe, something from a Naboo holodrama. Or one of those superhero films." Snap laughed, as your face burned red.

Poe raised his eyebrow, "Now that's something I would like to see. Maybe I'll get myself stuck in a cockpit again, just to see you in action." He laughs, but you don't laugh with him. You feel your chest tighten, and the knot in your throat return. Your vision clouds with tears, and you quickly got up, excusing yourself on the notion that your headache has returned, and that you should probably get some rest before drills the next day. You stumbled out of the cantina, breaking into a sprint as soon as you were out of sight. 

Poe’s eyes followed you as you left, worrying tinting his gaze. The group had fallen almost silent at your abrupt exit, looking at where you’d run, before turning back to Poe. Snap slapped the back of his head.

“Why, in the Maker’s name, would you say that?”

“What?” Poe said, rubbing the back of his head. Jess gave him a pointed look, “What did I say?”

“You joked about getting hurt, Poe! Why would you do that?”

“He didn’t just joke about getting hurt, Wex! He joked about almost dying!”

"Oh please, it's not that big of a deal. Everyone knew it was a joke. Right?" No one looks at him. "Right?!"

Jess waves at Paige, whose eyes were trained at the door. She meekly walks over, leaning down to talk to Jess. 

"Is she ok?" Paige asked, her eyes brushing over the group until they landed on Poe, "What did he do?"

Poe's eyes narrowed in confusion. "I'm so confused," he muttered under his breath.

"He made a joke.”

Snap butt in, “About almost dying."

Paige’s eyes widened, "You're not serious."

"Look, I don't know what's up with her today, but something tells me that that was the last thing she needed right now."

Paige turned towards Poe, "If you weren't injured right now, Captain, I would beat you up." 

"Hold up. I don't even know what I did." He said, standing up. "I get that the joke was a little misplaced, but it was a joke. I didn't put myself in this situation willingly."

"We get it, Poe. But you haven't been here. She's literally been destroyed - she's barely sleeping, I barely see her come down to eat, she spends all her time working on different ships, drowning herself in work. Today was the first day in the year she's been here that she's called in sick." Paige said, her eyes flitting between Poe and the door. She was in a half-mind to run after you, to console you. 

Poe beat her to it. He got up, ignoring the protest from his teammates, and headed towards your room. He knocked lightly on your door, hearing the gentle sobbing from your room.

His heart broke. He knocked again. 

“I’m fine Paige, I just need sleep.”

“Nice to know you’d lie to Paige.” Poe said, his voice steady and gentle. You open the door to you room, the door whooshing up to reveal Poe in all his glory, “Would you lie to your Captain?”

“Don’t pull rank with me, Poe.” You joked as he bent to meet your eyes.

He reached out to caress his fingers against your cheek and wipe away the stray tears. You leaned your head into his hands, the callouses on his hands like comfort against your cheek. He touches his forehead to your eyes, his eyes closed as if he couldn’t quite believe you were here. That this was happening. 

“I’m sorry.” You whispered. Poe’s eyes met yours, softly searching for something. Answers, probably.

“Why are you sorry, darling?” The pet name gripped your heart, so familiar and yet so foreign. The tears begin to flow freely again. He soothed you, mindlessly carding his fingers through your hair, “Don’t cry, don’t cry.” 

You look into his eyes, and can’t help but to sob harder. Why did you have to fall in love with him?

Your head curled into his chest, seeking the comfort only he could give. “Tell me what’s wrong.” He asked, whispering into your hair. 

“I didn’t mean to.” You said through tears. Poe looked at you.

“You didn’t mean to what, love?” He asked. You repeated it over and over, your tears soaking through his shirt. He lets you cry until your weak, pulling you further into his arms. 

He asks you again. 

“I didn’t mean to love you so much.” You confessed through whispers. It was so quiet that you thought that Poe didn’t catch what you said.

His widened eyes told you otherwise. 

“You…?”

“I love you.” You whispered.

“You-you love me?”

“I love you so much that whenever I see you my heart quickens until it’s uncomfortable.”

“Love -”

“I love you so much that my hands become so sweaty that I can barely keep a hold of my datapad.” You showed him your hands that were covered in a sheen. He gives you a watery laugh, before wiping your hands on his already soaked shirt. 

“I love you so much that when you leave, I can’t bear to survive.” 

“Love-” You interrupt him again.

“There’s no life without you, Poe.” Your voice broke as you dissolved into another bout of tears. 

“Love, please.” Poe sighed, kissing your forehead, “Please, just-”

“I know. It’s a war. I shouldn’t have, but I did and I can’t help it. Please don’t hate me, please-”

Poe grabbed your face, pulling you into him. He grazed his lips over yours, before pulling away way to fast. 

“I could never hate you, love.”

You pull him back towards you, smashing your lips onto his. He pulls you into his lap deepening the kiss further. You run your fingers through his hair, and over where the bandages cover his fresh wounds. Poe winced, and you pulled back. 

“You should rest. And heal up.”

He looked at you with such adoration, that for a moment you thought you’d melt away. “I have the rest of forever to heal up. I want this now.”

“You have me for the rest of forever. I think you should heal up now.” He rested his forehead against yours, sighing and closing his eyes. You kissed his nose gently.

“The rest of forever is too far away.” He whispered.

“You made me wait for this long. I think you could wait for a little longer.”

“Only a little bit, love. Only for you.”

He stood up, holding his hand out to you. You grabbed it, and he pulled you to your feet. The sudden motion had you dizzy, head pounding due to the dehydration. He caught you gently, lifting you into his arms, before gently depositing you on the bed. He left light kisses on your forehead, and left with the promise of coming back with water and a little food. 

He walked out of the mechanics wing and back towards the cantina, intent on his mission to get a little food and water into you. 

The whole of black squadron watched him walk in. Poe nodded to them lightly, not knowing exactly what they had been expecting. Apparently it was enough for them, as they turned back towards each other. 

He grabbed a small muffin and a bottle of water, before heading back to your room. He walked into see you asleep on the bed, and he couldn’t help but smile. God, she’s beautiful. 

Poe sat down on the bed, rubbing your arm gently. You opened a bleary eye to see Poe crouched next to you, blocking the moonlight streaming in from the window. He pulled off his shirt, and lifted your head up to get you drink some water, before settling down next to you. You rested your head on his chest before falling back to sleep.

Poe moved under you, pulling his necklace from around his neck and placing it around yours. Your hand immediately migrated to the metal ring strung on the end. Poe froze. What if it’s too soon. He relaxed almost immediately, as your fist closes around his rings.

He relaxed, pushing his nose into your hair. You smiled as he whispered something that he probably only said because he thought you were asleep.

“I love you too."

[ma1dita]

JOJOJOJOJOOJO

🍯🍯🍯

hi sorry I was stalking ur page and I would like to add to my ask 😭\

(or just use this one, I've re-added info anyways)

(can this be made with an x Luke?)

ermmm so I'm a daughter of Athena (Apollo / Aphrodite kid at heart tho, what can I say?) mid-ish straight black hair, tall (5'9 💪🏼) kinda tan, brown eyes and glasses (blind gang what's uppp.) I wear a lot of simple, staple pieces. think, low rise blue jeans and long sleeve tees. My colour palettes can range. the main colours I wear thought are : white, black, pink, grey, cream, navy blue, dark green and maroon / red!!

personality wise- I get told i have a rbf and also when im concentrating apparently I js look pissed 😭. I'm the mom friend, being prepared for any scenario with whatever I have in my bag. I looove taking care of ppl. like- if ur sick, come over bb I'll cook for you. I'm very much a girls girl and obsesseeddd with perfumes.

🍯🍯🍯🍯🍯

luke castellan x athena!reader

for liv!!!

[ggomos-maribat]

[55/?]

original prompt | complete masterlist

Thank you to @tinybrie for the idea!

Since the big revelation and confrontation, Ladybug has been invited more frequently to JL meetings. Marinette and Bruce are well aware of this change. The rest of the League, however, are still in the dark about what happened. The heroes only assume Batman had softened towards the Parisian heroine. 

One day, Ladybug decides to take advantage of the situation. 

Batman is giving his report and updates when she pulls out an entire bowl of cereal to munch on. Superman gives a dubious look. Wonder Woman pales. Green Lantern is ready to have a heart attack. Ladybug pays them no mind and starts eating the cereal. 

Flash looks back and forth between Batman and Ladybug, seemingly expecting the former to lash out and yell at the latter. 

But nothing happens. Batman continues his presentation. Ladybug continues her mid-meeting snack-fest. 

Then she ups the ante. She starts chewing loudly while consistently maintaining eye contact with the Big Bat. This time, Batman pauses to look back at her. 

And Ladybug knows. She knows what the other League members expect. They expect a war. A full-on match. A head-to-head. The vigilante throwing his Batarangs while Ladybug attacks with her yoyo. The tick on Batman’s jaw or his passive-aggressive tone. 

None of that happens. 

“Ladybug.” Batman’s voice is soft. “Can you eat quietly?” 

Aquaman’s jaw drops. Black Canary gasps. Ladybug hides her smirk. ‘Can you eat quietly?’ Not even a ‘put that away’ or ‘please leave’ or ‘be quiet’. Batman is in his father mode and Ladybug can’t enjoy it more. 

“Sorry,” she says unapologetically and continues eating.

—

She strikes again in the next meeting. 

“Batman, why don’t you remove your cowl?” she says out of the blue. 

Heads turn towards Batman, who grunts. “I’d rather not.” 

Ladybug’s smile turns sickly sweet. She knows what’s under that cowl, since she became a witness to the diabolical plan of Timothy Jackson Drake and Jason Peter Todd. She will not stop until she unveils the monstrosity. 

Meanwhile, the League members present are astounded by her audacity.

“I thought you trusted the whole League with your identity already.” She examines her (gloved) fingernails casually. 

“Yes, but not you,” Batman mumbles as a futile defense. 

She grins. “What do you mean? You told me last week! The cowl, pretty please?” 

The universe knows Batman will never deny his dear daughter of anything. Grumbling under his breath, he pulls down his cowl to reveal his bright pink hair littered with sparkly glitter. 

The League is silent after choking on split-second laughs. No one tries to make a sound. They’re too afraid. Too afraid of both Ladybug and Batman. 

Batman continues his report with his cowl removed. Ladybug leans back, giggling and listening. 

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[pavardscherie]

Hi, could you write something with Leon Goretzka? Like making out at a party? <33

forget about the party, leon goretzka

pairing leon goretzka & female summary bayern munich won the double, and throws a party. in the middle of ordering drinks, leon and his girlfriend get lost in eachother.

izzy talks; leon goretzka, that's all i actually have to say this time. had to add my fave boy kimmich in it with a very simple comment. probably a real life conversation between them haha! requests are still open so fire away! <3

winning another double in the season was what made bayern munich extraordinary. they have done it multiple times and still never got tired of the success. such moments meant that a club was rented and a party planned. exactly how she found herself at the bar, wearing a short black dress which ended mid-thigh and cling to her figure. something between elegant and sexy. 

she ordered a round of shots, three for each person at their table which meant twelve. but the bartender got distracted easily by the famous faces that gathered around him and demanded a fill-up. annoyed by being constantly ignored, she placed an elbow on the counter and leaned her head on her palm. eyes focused on the male who hurried towards the other end of the bar to write down the order of manuel neuer. 

„annoyed looks kinda hot on you, you know.“ leon‘s voice, a raspy sound infiltrated with alcohol, interrupted her from shooting daggers with her glances. standing behind the female, he easily towered above her. a hand placed on each side of her, he trapped her between his muscular body and the dark mahagoni counter. chest pressed against her back, she felt the hammering of his heart. the seconds when his pulse fastened, and the anger issues tried to push through. 

„i‘ve got it, he already knows the order.“ she waved him off with a slender hand, trying to avoid the involvement of leon with the messy situation. „don’t think so.“ he muttered as an answer, the loud music around them swallowing the quiet words before reaching her ear. 

leaning further against her, and pressing her cleavage against the counter, leon waved his hand at the bartender who tried to hurry past the female once again. „yo, she ordered fifteen minutes ago. what’s that kind of service, huh?“ the bartender flinched as the raspy voice reached his ears, demanding attention. 

“i’m sorry. really sorry.” the man hurried away from the scene, placing twelve shot glasses on the counter and pouring the liquid into them. hand placed on the forehead, she closed the lids and shook her head at the constant desire to show dominance. “you had to scare that poor man, you really had to.”

the words were spoken like a curse, muttered into the air but leon invaded the personal space with the closure, and listened to the syllables. “please.” he snorted, not taking in the annoyed groan that left her lips. “i can’t let people ignore my beautiful girl.” a warm breath fanned across the shell of her ear, the words, merely a whisper against the smooth skin underneath the lobe.

a tint of cherry red, created by the bashfulness, covered the span of her cheeks. the last two words embedded a feeling of pride in her, slowly lifting the head again to tilt it over the shoulder. eyes connected in the thick air around them, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes infiltrated her nostrils. mixed with the familiar scent of leon’s cologne and freshly washed clothes. “you’re cute.” she muttered, a smile tugging on the corners of the glossy lips.

“and you’re pretty.” he whispered back, leaning further into her figure to press his chewed-up lips against the soft, cotton-like ones of his girlfriend. the woman, who always knew how to handle the anger issues, and the tensed state of his muscles. intrigued by the slow movements of his mouth, ways she wasn’t used to at all, she found herself losing the already clouded mind. music drowned out by a romantic melody, the shouting people disappeared in thin air. for seconds, she engulfed herself with leon’s comfortable warmth, letting her lips move gently against his. 

she never got lost before she met leon. it was a party, almost the same they attended today. just with the small difference, that their first meeting wasn’t an exclusive bayern munich celebration. but she was intrigued by the way his eyes found hers, followed the motions of her hips and the simple wink, or one-sided grin when she swayed her hips. 

she loved the attention she gained from him. and it hasn’t changed till today. one of his large hands moved away from the counter, holding his weight only with one left. placed on her waist, leon pushed himself further into the female’s backside as the kiss deepened. his tongue licked over her bottom lip, before pushing slightly into the mouth and reaching hers.

just as it was about to get interesting, the thought of leaving the party early and ravish the beautiful woman in his arms started to spread through his mind, someone cleared his throat beside them. with an annoyed groan, leon broke the kiss between them, letting his chin fall on her shoulder and glancing to the left side.

his best friend, joshua kimmich, found a place at the counter right beside them. “first you yell at the poor man, and now you won’t take the prepared shots, idiots.” 

the blonde chuckled, pointing at the twelve glasses in front of them, which waited to be drowned by the guests. too lost in the romantic involvement, she drowned in embarrassment about being caught by joshua. “oh, and no leaving early to fuck around. not this time, goretzka.” the blonde warned, holding a fleshy pointer finger up and towards the brunette’s face.

“caught, completely exposed.” leon muttered against the smooth skin around her shoulders, chuckling quietly.

[sweet-honey-tears]

Could you do the gift series for Shinso?

Hi! Thank you so much for your request! 🤍 I would love to do this one, he’s actually one of my favorites! 🤭🤍I did take this in a different direction from my past ones. It’s more so a concept then gift but I do like it. Sorry if this wasn’t what you wanted tho. OH the reader also their ears pierced - if you don’t just imagine them(the earrings) as being magnet ones! Feel free to leave request!

💝Gifts To and From🐈‍⬛

Hitoshi Shinso x GenderNeutral Reader

Part 4, 3, 2, 1 FLUFFF

I feel like he would buy you mittens. They would be soft, thick, and warm. Like you can tell they’re expensive by just the look of them. They're wool, with soft insides. They’re indigo, that beautiful dark purple-blue with black stitching..

Shinso is an underground hero, he takes night patrols quite often and notices you on those nights. You’ll walk his route, stopping by a certain bus stop to see him. He’s scared you a few times, his capture weapon wrapping around your mid section before you’re enclosed in his arms.

There was one instance he tried to pull the spider man kiss thing- yeah no that didn’t work out well. His scarf, which was wrapped around his leg and arm- unraveled. You heard an ‘oof’ and then saw him on the ground, sitting with his scarf around him.

He realized then, when your icey hands touched his face, that he needed to get youmittens

Shinso also likes to get big- like huge - sweatshirts. It’s an inside joke- one you're still kinda embarrassed at. It was back when you both were still at UA. You hadn’t slept in days and where so dazed that you didn’t notice your boyfriend wasn't under a huge blanket, no- it was an oversized sweatshirt. (The one you order him- in the wrong size) Shinso, to his credit, did put his hands on your shoulder to try and push you off, saying:

“Kitten I don’t think-“

“Herg!” You had protested,m.

You only realize your mistake when you could get your head threw the top of the blanket... but you had been to exhausted to care at that moment. You just collapsed on his toned chest, your cheek pressing into his pec. His hands ran over your back. “Huh, tired kitten? Don’t worry, you can stay there. Actually, it's kind of comfortable.” Your arms wrapped around his toned body as you fell asleep.

Nowadays though, with the size of his body(specifically his chest and arms in this case) it’s frickin HARD to find a sweatshirt that can fit both of you. With either you laying on him or the other way around. So when he does find one, it’s exciting.

You make his heart beat so fast when you lay against him like that.

You’re so close.

You trust him- you talk to him

His Lock Screen, to your horror, is a picture of you inside his hoodie. Your face smushed to his chest, listening to his heartbeat as you sleep. He took the picture from the top, having to angle his phone in the neck hole to get it. He knows you don’t exactly like it- but you stopped saying anything when he told you why he had it as his Lock Screen.

“I like seeing you every time I check my phone. No matter what message I get, I get to see your pretty face kitten. It makes it better.”

Shinso also has a thing for jewelry. It's a way to express himself more. He hid his style and personality a lot in his early days at UA. A powerful fear and disgust about being called a villain… especially since his style is less then bright and pastel-y he never really learned his likes and dislikes in fashion and self-expression.

It started with rings: you watched him pick them up and try them before leaving the booth that was selling them. You got him those.

He didn’t take them off.

You also got him a shiny obsidian ring as well. The words ‘I Love You’ engraved on it.

You smiled at him, the sweet, bright smile when he bought himself his first set of string bracelet. You grabbed his wrist later on that night when: “They look really nice on you Shin.” You had said, kissing his inner wrist. Yeah, he turned beat red- but damn he felt… confident? Good?

You motivated him- and kinda forced him to go through with it when he told you he wanted to get his ears pierced. He had wavered a bit at the door to the pricing place.

He and you have a matching set of clay cat earrings you got him. They’re orange tabby cats with little googly eyes. Your Home Screen is of you, hanging on his shoulders. Your faces are pushed together so the camera can get your matching earrings.

You asked him a couple of months about what he wanted for his birthday… he told nothing. You got him the best gift- you gave him was your support and love. Without that…. He never would have grown.

[desultory-novice]

I haven't had the chance to do it yet, but do you know if the Japanese pause screens or text in RTTDDX contain any lore that, by chance, didn't appear in the english translations? I ask because I just remembered when Star Allies did the same thing with Void Termina's jp pause screen. (I wish I could relive that day, lol)

I'm sorry, Inifinite! I actually had this post ready to go a while ago but Tumblr kept borking on me and I eventually shelved it because I was so annoyed by it crashing mid-edit! Finally came back to it because this is a very good question!

-

So, I only looked at the ones I had screenshots of, but I want to start out by saying the Pause Screen translation here is without question more accurate than previous games. This is FL levels of accuracy - the only differences being very minor word choices. As such, I've gone ahead and stuck with the EN descriptions here and "added back" (via parenthesis) anything that could be said to have been "left out" from the Japanese!

----

[Master Crown] (The resurrected crown of control has become a mistletoe tree (1) bearing red fruit) Those who wear the Master Crown will gain power, but so will the darkness in their hearts. Thanks to the red fruit, it's become a wrathful wreath-a destroyer called the tree crown without a ruler!

-

(1) The word for "mistletoe tree" can also be read in Japanese as "host tree" because mistletoe is a parasite!

-

[Master Crown; Last Phase] To free the tree (from the bindings (2) of control) and bring an end to the destruction... To take responsibility for his wicked ways... With all of his magic infused into the sword, he must strike! Magolor must atone for his misdeeds!

-

(2) The full kanji here would typically be 呪縛 - "curse" + "restriction" but "curse" and "tree" are sound-alikes, so they left the "curse" kanji off, meaning it CAN be read as "bound tree"

-

[Magolor Soul - True Arena Phase 1] The one-eyed wreath grants power but swallows the soul... It devours, stealing any sense of self... Truly, this crown rules all. Free him from this nightmare! Take his hand and save a new friend!

-

This one is...basically as is. Anything would just be word choice nitpicks, but to be honest, I don't even have that many. The biggest one would be that the Japanese says "...become friends!" rather than "save a new friend" but "new" implies that they're going to become friends, so yeah. It's the same

-

[Magolor Soul - True Arena Phase 2] Kirby... Ugh! I hate having to rely on you, and your vacant stare when I revealed my grand plan was truly insulting. Well, let's see if you can break this thing on my head. If you can, then someday...hee hee heee...I may get to toy with you again!

-

I wrote my alternate translation as well as my reasonings for it and what this translation does well in another post [HERE!]

-

[Magolor EX] It was in a dusty(4) tome that Magolor first learned about that legendary item. It all sounded like a fairy tale, until he (miraculously) found the Lor and began scheming. It's time to save the universe, Lor...and Magolor!

-

(4) "Dusty" is an elaboration on the EN part but definitely not a stretch. One thing that is different is that "legendary item" is absolutely PLURAL in Japanese. Meaning he learned about everything through those same books. Presumably, this includes the artifacts he tells Kirby about, including the Fountain of Dreams and Galactic Nova.

-

[Magolor Soul EX] (A battle that exceeded all limits caused the limitless power of the Master Crown to overflow without stop.) What remains of Magolor is a sad shell. He's possessed by the limitless power of the Master Crown, imprisoned by the hatred and obsessions of prior rulers. Now...defeat it and free Magolor's soul!

-

I mentioned in a post just yesterday that it was implied the Master Crown kinda went berserk because of Magolor and Kirby's fight and the pause screen lore does seem to play into that interpretation. It was definitely dangerous, but the fight is what caused it to overflow and consume Magolor? Of course, something like that seems like it was bound to consume him eventually...

-

[Lor EX & Magolor]

Lor sensed something was amiss when it met Magolor. It can travel to far-off paradises with ease...so why didn't it? Perhaps it hid its true power, wanting to be stopped after (3) stealing the crown...

-

(3) Another fine translation; what's most interesting here is word used here in Japanese can also be interpreted as "being made a pawn to retake/recapture the crown"  The key being "recapture" rather than "steal"

There's some mysteries about Magolor this game has given us. (Gotta find time to work on my Magolor essays... Plural...)

[narrators-journal]

Check up

So, this took me so long to pick a specific scenario to go with. I may have missed a bit of the prompts, but I feel I at least included them on some level. Teasing is there in a verbal sense? I’m trying to shake up how I portray teasing, so it might’ve been a bit too vague here, hand jobs are sort of included, and oral is def included lol. Sorry if it’s not perfect, I’m not the most confident with takemi, which probably didn’t help my struggle to pick a scenario for her lol.

CW: Oral, blueballing makes a return, handjobs a lil bit, some teasing energy at least? I kinda suck with teasing prompts recently.

As the sun set outside, Takemi wrote out the last notes of her latest experiment in her quiet, empty clinic. With only the buzz of the lights and the creak of her chair beneath her to keep her company as she worked. At least, until she heard the chime of her clinic’s door being opened and closed.

So, she got up from her desk to look out into the waiting room to find a...A gorgeous man in his early to mid twenties. “Hello, may I help you?” She asked while her dark eyes drank in the man’s appearance. “Uh, yeah, actually. I need a check up done for my job, but I don’t really have a lot of money for a big hospital? Could you give me a reputable check up?” He asked, his voice just as nice as his appearance. So, Takemi hummed with a glance to her watch. I should logically turn him away. I’m only twenty minutes from closing up, and I don’t need more paperwork. She mused, but, when she glanced back at the man, an idea took root in her mind. “Yeah, sure. Right this way.” She hummed, and the man obediently followed. Once inside, Takemi pulled out a clip board and found the right paperwork to start the exam while the man sat on the cot against one of her walls.

And, while it wasn’t appropriate, Takemi found her core warmed when she put the stethoscope to the man’s chest to hear a strong, healthy heartbeat and feel his muscles beneath the thin fabric of his t-shirt. A heartbeat that noticeably picked up when the man could see her cleavage when she leaned over. "Hm. Seems your heart is plenty healthy.” She hummed, straightening to take note of his vitals. “Do you mind taking your pants down?” “huh?!” The man squawked, but Takemi’s dark eyes barely lifted from the paperwork. “I’m being thorough. I need to check for stds or any signs of illness.” She fibbed. But she was firm in her tone, so, with a bit of hesitance, the man got up and dropped his pants as he’d been instructed. Good boy.

With that, she put the clipboard down to begin her examination. First with a scan of the bulge in his boxers, the muscles of his legs, and the tone of his skin. He was quite the impressive specimen indeed.

So, she reached out and ran a finger down from the bottom of his ribs, over his belly, and to the waistband of his boxers to hook her finger under the elastic and tug it down. “Miss Takemi?” Her patient asked, a red dusting over his cheeks as he stared at her with wide eyes. “I’m just being thorough,” She hummed simply, her own eyes focused on the semi-hard cock that slipped from his boxers as she pulled them down. “If you have an std, it could affect the check-up.” She said, another lie, but the man didn’t seem to know that, so he just gulped down his nerves and allow her to wrap her fingers around his healthy length. “Your cock seems rather healthy,” she noted as she began to slowly stroke him. “U-um...thank you?” He said, the nerves evident in his shakey voice. But, Takemi didn’t say anything else as she pushed him to sit back down on the cot so she could get on her knees between his feet.

Once face to face with the cock, she was extra impressed by the look of it. It was a good girth, and a nice length that would surely fill her up nicely.

Takemi smiled a bit to herself as she let her tongue slip out to swirl around the head of her patient’s cock, the sweet taste of his pre-cum strong on her tongue the same way his light gasps from the heat of the wet muscle were music to her ears. “U-um, miss Takemi, is...this really necessary for my check up?” The man asked again, breathless, with a stronger hue of red to his cheeks. “Of course, sir. I need to be sure of your sexual health.” She hummed, her tongue pulled away from his cock to simply press the leaking tip to her cheek playfully. “Do you want me to stop? You can always go to a different doctor who isn’t as...thorough.” She hummed, her dark eyes fixed on his face to study the way his cheeks continued to darken into red hues. “Of course, those cost more money than I expect you to pay.”

As she said that, her patient’s expression changed to a darker expression at the recollection of a certainly light pocket book. So, Takemi began stroking his impressive length to regain his attention so she could offer, “Of course, maybe if your healthy enough to help me with a little something, I might consider this a freebie exam.” Which, seemed to cheer the man up. That, or the slow, tight strokes of her fingers had his brain melted into a puddle like an ice cream cone on a summer day.

Either way, he nodded dumbly at her suggestion. So, the gothic woman wrapped her lips around the tip once more to suck gently and watch his eyes slowly glaze over from nothing but her teasing ministrations. Which, sent a thrill down Takemi’s spine as she sat on her knees on the cold tile floor of her examination room. So, she went ahead and rewarded the man. Her lips allowed to slip lower on his shaft until his cock sat heavily on her tongue and she could feel a shudder run through his body even before she began to bob her head.

Though, when she did move her head, she got the satisfaction of her gorgeous patient’s low groans and moans each time she swirled her tongue around him or added a bit of suction to each upstroke. Especially when she used her hand to stroke the parts she decided to neglect to draw out each twitch and throb of his member on her tongue.

However, as much as she enjoyed his moans and pants, the dark-haired woman pulled off of his dick to smile at the eager erection that stood before her. “I think that’s enough for today, though. I think it’s best to hold off on some tests. For now, I’ll prescribe you some medication for your current issue, but you’ll need to come back so I can make sure the issue is solved.” She said simply, back to her professional demeanor as she got to her feet to grab her little book and note down her suggestion before the man sat upon the cot could formulate a response.

In fact, he seemed to be at a total loss for words. So, Takemi simply stood him up and fixed his pants to give him his prescription and shoo him out before he could try to argue so she could finally close up and get home.

[cobrakatharsis]

@zappedbyzabka also requested i post the “nightmares (krilverlaw)” wip so have some [gameshow host voice] more! unfinished! writing!

features hurt/comfort, terry’s ptsd, and vietnam nightmares

—

terry snaps awake with his heart pounding in his chest and the burn of freshly-spilled blood across his face.

except. no. the blood's not real. it's only sweat dripping down his face, confirmed as he swipes shaking hands over his brow and cheeks and chin and nose (and then each again, in desperate succession) and they come back wet but clean. it's hard to see in the darkness of the bedroom, but terry's used to seeing blood in the dark - black, it always looks inky black - and there's none. there's none.

his heart, pounding in his chest, at least, is real - but that's good. that's proof he's alive. here and living and breathing, trying with everything he's worth to focus on the whoosh of his breath instead of the hissing snakes and gunfire in his ears. he can hear it all, clear as day. the murmured prayers of the men around him, the distant sounds of violence. he can smell the jungle and the mud and blood and betsy's perfume, see her face in that photo, see what was left of ponytail's after that gunshot, see john's all beat up and blood-covered and full of indescribable grief as the helicopters roared overhead—

there's a weight in his lap.

the present hits terry like a freight train but there's hands holding either side of his face, thumbs stroking back and forth by his temples. he's breathing, he realises, in careful sync with the movement of the ribcage beneath his palm.

“i’m sorry," he chokes out suddenly, because he realises in that same moment that he's holding on way too hard, practically crushing johnny's ribs in his large hand. he's stronger now. he's big. not a twig anymore. he loosens his grip, tries to let go, but instantly one of the hands leaves the side of his face and covers his hand. holds it there, gently.

“'s'okay," johnny assures him, voice a sleep-rough whisper but full of casual sincerity. “was kinda admirin' the fact you could still prob'ly snap someone in half while you're mid panic attack. mine always fuckin'—turn me into jello."

and, blessedly, that's enough for terry to huff out a weak sort of laugh. it's like johnny pulls the last of the fight of the flashback out of him, and terry collapses forward, lets his head land against johnny's shoulder in a moment of complete weakness. johnny cards a hand through his undone hair, finger-combing it into some semblance of neatness. terry appreciates the effort, untidy as he feels, but bats johnny's hand away and promptly sits himself back up nonetheless. johnny lets him go easily enough, but fails to remove himself from where he'd apparently planted himself in terry's lap, and so terry does the natural thing and wraps his arms around johnny with all the usual firm possession.

if this was one of johnny's nightmares, this would be when they would try and talk about it. john would be awake, because he somehow always wakes up when johnny has a nightmare, and he'd start asking questions about people terry's never met - johnny's mother and stepfather and johnny's old cobra kai friends and an assortment of other names. sometimes larusso sneaks in there. still, it rarely makes a difference and johnny never wants to talk - and terry understands precisely how he feels. it's a mercy that johnny asks no questions, and that john is still somehow sleeping peacefully next to them, dead to the world instead of on one of his common sleepless vigils over his partners.

unless, of course, he's faking.

“johnny," terry says, in that tone that always says precisely which johnny he's talking to, and immediately john's eyes crack open, bright and sharp like they were every second in vietnam.

"yeah?"

and terry laughs again, stronger this time. he manages to give john some semblance of a real smile. the sentiment clearly isn't quite shared - kreese looks the wrong kind of concerned, his brow creased with it, and terry wants to give into the urge to tackle him from the bed and strike it from his face - but terry pushes past it with a slight raise of one shoulder, and then with seeking out johnny's shoulder once again. this time, rather than hiding against it, he presses kisses to the warm, pale skin, trailing upwards towards johnny's neck. johnny hums in encouragement, shifting back slightly to grant more space, and though john from behind pressing a kiss to terry's own neck gives him a moment of pause, it doesn't at all deter terry.