#house ofc wasn’t normal about this for a second

[waldau-archived]

menace — boo seungkwan | 2,058 words | fluff

inspired by this video. and ofc boo seungkwan :)

gender neutral reader. warnings: none.

no one ever talks about the downsides of having a crush.

having a heart that beats erratically only when you see them. the way your hands turn unattractively clammy even if they’re within normal distance. you know, normal friend distance, because only one of you feels another way. voice cracks that spring up at the worst possible moments. the way you forget what you want to say when it’s your turn to speak.

maybe it’s fun sometimes, daydreaming about a world where you’re something else. something more. but that’s just what it is — a fantasy. the cons outweigh the pros.

case in point: boo seungkwan.

you don’t know how long you’ve been cuddling with your pillow, your back facing the man in question while you try to will yourself to sleep. it doesn’t work, just the way it hasn’t been working ever since you flopped onto your bed.

“you should be out with the others,” you murmur without looking at seungkwan, another variation of the same sentiment you’ve been trying to get him to understand for a while now.

seungkwan lets out a huff. “and you should stop telling me to go.”

you don’t need to turn to know he’s run his hand through his hair in frustration. you’re sure his hair is an adorable mess, but you don’t need any more fuel to add to the fire of feelings that’s been raging inside you all evening long.

when your friends suggested renting a beach house for the weekend, you didn’t realize they’d put you and seungkwan in the same room. you’re best friends, they’d said. of course you’re going to room together.

seungkwan isn’t half bad at being a roommate, but it’s a bit of an issue when you have a massive crush on him that you’re really trying to stop thinking about.

annoying seungkwan with his annoying smile and his annoying hand that rested on your thigh half the time you were playing monopoly. his annoying leg that touched yours when you were watching a movie because there wasn’t much space left on the sofa, but he had to have you next to him because he’s never been good with horror.

even when you’d offered to hold his hand from where you were sitting on the sofa, he refused till jeonghan moved to make space for him to sit next to you.

in a way, you’re glad you sat next to him. at least you didn’t have to pretend like you weren’t scared, not when you had vernon and wonwoo sitting in front of you, watching the screen unblinkingly.

it’s all been a bit…much. which is why you decided to skip going on a walk along the beach with the boys and head for a night in, citing a headache.

the only problem? boo seungkwan wanted to be the one to take care of you.

“do you want me to get you anything? water? medicine?” he asks, soft, and you feel bad for making him stay behind for something that isn’t even an issue for you.

“no.”

“should i sing something?”

“no.” the last thing you need right now is boo seungkwan serenading you while you’re wallowing in your feelings about him.

it’s neither of your faults that the moment you realized you were in sharp, blinding, no-taking-back love with him was when he clinched the match point in a badminton match against junhui four months ago.

four months ago. a badminton match.

your life hasn’t been easy since.

you’ve never minded seungkwan being touchy before — that’s just how he is. he brushes stray lint off your clothes if he spots it, fixes your hair if he thinks it’s out of place, and traces the back of your ear for a few seconds when you’re nervous about something.

you love it. you love being his best friend. but what you don’t love is the way you’ve been carefully rethinking every interaction you’ve been having with him since that fateful night four months ago.

boo seungkwan is sunshine incarnate. he loves and loves and loves. he loves everyone so much that you don’t know if the love he has for you is any different from the love he has for everyone else.

sometimes you wonder if he has even the slightest hint. he’s not clueless, but he’s not very good at acting on his impulses the way you are. for him, everything needs to be measured. set in stone. approved of beforehand. something you wonder if you could just kiss him and see what happened, before realizing that a moment of happiness is not, in fact, worth a lifetime without boo seungkwan.

which is why you let out a deep sigh and curl in on yourself.

“okay, that’s it,” seungkwan says, and you hear the sound of your laptop shutting and the springs of your bed creaking before he comes into your line of sight, kneeling down on the floor in front of you on his knees, head propped up on his arms that are folded near your face.

if he was a bit closer, you could’ve even kissed him.

you wonder who let boo seungkwan be this perfect. there’s nothing about him that you dislike.

“you’re not telling me what’s wrong, and i’m not leaving till you do. you should know that by now.”

you do know that. you’re very familiar with boo seungkwan and his incredibly stubborn self that just wants to help because he loves to. he loves people. and he just doesn’t love you. not the way you want him to.

“it’s your fault,” you mumble childishly, trying to turn to the other side so he’ll have to repeat the whole ordeal, but he just grabs your hand with an iron-strong grip. damn him and his long fingers.

his fingers, weirdly enough, were the first thing you actually noticed about him when you first met him. the way he drank jeonghan under the table with his long, elegant fingers wrapped around the beer glass, draining it like it was water.

this evening, too — his fingers drumming on your thigh, his fingers brushing against your hand, his fingers brushing your hair behind your ear so that he could whisper his plan to you.

“i knew it,” he says, head lifting from the bed. “it’s not just a headache. it’s probably not even a headache, is it?”

“shut up,” you mumble, more out of the fear that he’ll find out somehow than the mortification stemming from the fact that he’s caught on so easily.

“is it really my fault, though? you’re not even letting me make up for it.”

he should be out, you think. out with the rest of your friends and out of your treacherous heart. instead he’s sitting here with your heart in his hands and he’s not even aware of it.

“you can’t do anything about it,” you huff.

“try me.”

when it becomes clear that he’s seriously not letting go of your hand even after a few minutes of silence, you turn to look at the ceiling, eyes fixed on the little cracks above you.

“have you ever…wanted something you can’t have?”

“of course i have,” he says instantly.

“oh. did you get it?”

“no,” he says easily, letting go of your hand. “but it doesn’t mean i’ve stopped trying.”

now you’re curious. you let go of the pillow so you can see him better. “what is it?”

“i’m not telling you.”

“oh, come on!”

seungkwan leans forward to ruffle your hair. “not till you tell me what’s bothering you.”

you sigh. “i can’t.”

“why not?”

“because…”

“hmm?”

“because.”

“wow,” seungkwan says, with a small laugh. “i didn’t know you were this articulate.”

“i hate you,” you say with no heat, turning around and lying down again. maybe he’ll get bored in a while and leave you to your own devices.

no such luck. one moment you’re staring at the blank wall of your room, and the next thing you is that there’s a weight on the bed right behind you. seungkwan’s weight behind you, to be specific. he’s so warm all the time. one of his hands snakes around your waist gingerly, and you tense up immediately.

sure, you’re best friends, but you’ve never done this before. sleepovers are a common thing for the two of you, but cuddling? you’re not uncomfortable, exactly, but you just don’t know what to feel.

“can i ask you a question?” seungkwan asks, and his proximity makes goosebumps rise on your arms. embarrassing.

“sure?” you manage to squeak out, definitely not focusing on how much better his voice sounds so close. and how casual he’s being about all this.

“are you really going to let random strangers on the internet control your life?”

you’re so confused by the tangent he’s gone on that you have no choice but to turn around and face him, and— bad idea. bad idea. his lips look so damn kissable that you have to physically lift your eyes from them to meet his. and he’s smiling for some reason.

you don’t know how you’re going to sleep tonight, much less make it to the next day alive.

“do you want to kiss your guy best friend?”

you feel like he’s stolen all your words. you’re aware you’re just staring at him, blinking like a goldfish, unable to speak. seungkwan lifts a hand and hovers it above your cheek, seeking your permission. he catches the minute nod you give him and rests his palm against your cheek, hand warm against your cool skin.

“i don’t care what she said,” seungkwan continues. “do you want to?”

“how did you—” you manage to choke out.

“because i can see what posts you’ve liked, silly,” seungkwan giggles, thumb swiping against your cheek before he lets go. you instantly miss the heat of his hand. “you still haven’t answered my question, by the way.”

he doesn’t seem upset, the way you thought he might be at the discovery. “if i say…yes?”

“then,” seungkwan says, leaning down, and what comes next is something you’ve only ever dreamed of. his lips are soft against yours, letting you set the pace as his hands gently card through your hair. he’s always been gentle with you underneath the teasing exterior he has, and now is no different.

when he doesn’t pull away despite your fears, you decide to take the leap and thread your hands through his hair, pulling him closer to yourself. he comes to you willingly.

you don’t know what to do with your hands when seungkwan finally pulls away. he’s out of breath. you feel oddly proud, but there’s also an unsettling feeling in your stomach. what if—

“please tell me this isn’t a one-time thing,” seungkwan says, finally looking nervous for the first time all evening long. “because then i should’ve listened to her.”

“no,” you say, feeling yourself smile like an idiot. “no. neither of us should listen to her. i don’t want it to be a one-time thing, either.”

“good,” seungkwan sighs, moving closer so his head rests on your shoulder.

“but…how long have you known?”

“how long? hmm. only a month.”

horrible. he’s been watching you suffer all this while?

“hey, stop being shy on me now,” seungkwan says, turning to look up at you. “i’ve seen the way you look at me.”

you’re sure there’s steam pouring out of your ears. “i hate you.”

“no, you don’t,” seungkwan singsongs. “because i love you far too much for that.”

you look down at him. “you…” love me?

but that wasn’t ever a question, was it? he does. you’ve seen the way he looked at you before you realized your feelings for him, and the way he’s been looking at you after, and there’s been no difference.

he’s always loved you. maybe longer than you’ve loved him.

there’s a warm feeling spreading through your chest that makes you push seungkwan away and hide your head in his neck so he doesn’t see you. he lets out a little laugh and rests a hand on your back.

“do you want to go out and introduce everyone to your…boyfriend?” he asks, shy, and it’s a sight to behold because boo seungkwan’s always anything but shy.

“boyfriend?”

“does it sound okay?” he asks sheepishly.

he gets his answer in the form of a kiss.

taglist: @bookyeom @wootify @strnsvt @cloudycaramel @thepoopdokyeomtouched @minnieminshi @nonononranghaee @hrts4hanniehae @viewvuu

[thecapricunt1616]

Daddy!CarmyxA sick lil baby 🥺

Ok call me deranged but there was the cutest lil baby angel when I was out at dinner tonight, coughing her little heart out!!! My first thought was

‘What in the world is that sick little angel doing out of the house’

And my second thought was

‘If Carmys little princess was coughing this way, he would’ve gone to the ER in tears. ‘

More BTC

ok so the baby is about 20 months, at the point they can verbalize they aren’t feeling good. Carmy wakes up one night, dead of Chicago winter, I mean it’s that nasty dry cold. The cold that you go outside to grab the mail and your nostrils are sticking together. And when he wakes, he hears his baby fussing on the moniter.

Now it’s not her normal fuss, and that worries him. First thing he hears her and he freezes, like he clutches his girl in fear freeze, because why does cub sound like that??? And when he hears her little whimpers and whines of discomfort he is up faster then could make your head spin.

When he makes it to her nursery, she’s stood up in her crib, sniffling, a big pouty face on. As soon as she sees her daddy she knows she’s gonna be taken care of and just lets go. She’s sobbing, sniveling.

“Da-dada- dada feel sit. Dadas I feew sit” and his heart it just achesss. He’s like

“Yeah princess? You feel sick, mm? You want some cuddles from dada?” And he picks her up ofc she lets out all of her frustrations right away since she now felt safe that daddy was here, sniffling and wailing into his bare chest and letting out tiny whimpers since her little body aches and head pounds.

He hushes her while he bounces her gently, walking briskly over to the bathroom off her nursery and opening the medicine cabinet and grabbing the baby mucinex, perfectly dosing it out as he football holds her and by memory tells her the Goldie locks and the three bears story.

After your daughter woke you up by scream crying Through the monitor you hear “There was a big Daddy Bear, a middle-sized Mommy Bear, and a sweet tiny little Baby Bear, just like you princess! She wasn’t much bigger than Goldilocks herself.” He explained, squirting the medicine in her mouth and hushing her as she cried at the taste and swallows on instinct, holding her on his shoulder and kissing her head gently as he continued the story.

“The first chair was a biiiig chair! This was Daddy Bear’s chair. The next chair was a middle-sized chair. This was Mommy Bear’s chair. The last one was a liiitle itty bitty chair. That was Baby Bear’s chair!” He gasps “that was your chair! Did Goldie sit in baby’s chair?” He jokes with her and went out to the living room where another monitor sat and you could hear everything.

“Dada” she reached up at his face, her little voice raspy and horse. She coughed a bit, her little tongue sticking out and nose scrunching. He sat her up as she did, patting her back sweetly to help her get all the nasty sick to break up from her lungs.

“Dada is here, sweet girl, you want snuggles, mm? Little cub want some kisses?” He cooed and held her in a sitting position against his chest, laid back on him to where her breathing sounded much easier and comfortable. He stroked her little baby belly gently with his thumb, head fallen back on the back of the sofa.

You fell asleep to your little girls wheezy sick snores, being sure to wake up far before Carmy and had a nice warm bath with her with the ‘baby’s soothing vapor bath crystals’ Nat dropped off on her way to cover for him at the restaurant to clear her poor little sinuses.

Let’s just say daddy couldn’t look left or right for a few days with the way you found him trying to keep princess Bear upright and comfy in her sleep.

[peterparkersnose]

hey there, first i would like to thank you for taking my request cause i love your writing so much and it is a special request that I could only read from you, it's a joel miller x fem reader, fluff age gap (ofc not illegal), i find so much comfort in your joel's fics, so, thanks again and wishing you the best. <33

Stargazing

pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader

word count: 3.7k

warnings: age gap, ellie plays matchmaker (common troupe), alcohol consumption, drunk confessions, mutual pining, anxiety and overthinking, this is a heavy dialouge fic, joel being awkward, just general awkwardness but fluff at the end I promise :)

a/n huge shoutout to the person who asked this! i was silly while editing this and accidentally deleted their ask, and they were kind enough to resubmit it for me. also, just a side note almost in every one of my joel fics there is an age gap, I just don't normally specify it but with this one they really deep dive in to it. I'm sorry but I am a younger person, I don't think I could write from the viewpoint of someone close to my parents age.

summary Ellie tries to set Y/N and Joel up on a date

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read time: 13 mins 34 seconds

It was past closing time in the bar. Maria, Tommy, and Joel sat around the dimly lit bar at the last table. Tommy had assured the bartender that he would close up; Tommy was more than capable to.

“Truth or dare,” the drunk man slurred. All three of them were collectively wasted. Joel sighed, downing another shot. He felt seconds later that he shouldn’t have. “Truth.” Joel spit out. This seemed like the hundredth round of this childish game Maria insisted on playing.

“Who in all of the population here would you want to bang in bed on your last night alive?”

Joel knew the answer immediately. A secret he had been keeping to himself for the few years he has known you. And the secret he had been denying and denying for so long. He knew Tommy was fishing for something. But that last shot began to ring through his system as he spoke. He let out a disappointed sign.

“Y/N.”

Maria snorted, almost falling out of her chair. Tommy looked at Joel with his brows furrowed. “What?” Joel asked in defense. “Joel, ain’t she like 20?”

“22.” he said in defense. There wasn’t much to defend, he was a great much older than you. And Joel was more ashamed than ever. He had known you since you were 19, ever since you helped escort Ellie across the country. It felt gross, it felt wrong. But whenever he thought of you, something just couldn’t resist. Your mannerisms, the way your voice sounded, how you responded to maturely to everything. You were an old soul, one that Joel got along with well. Crossing the platonic line never crossed his mind until he settled down in Jackson.

Joel’s eyes darted to the floor. “Hey, you said anyone!” he argued. Maria could not contain her laughter, almost falling on the floor. “Whatever. You guys suck.” he said, pushing his glass of whiskey that was almost finished off towards Tommy. Joel got up and began to leave. “I shouldn’t have said nothin’.”

“Hey!” Tommy yelled after him, over Maria’s laughing. “Quit it,” he muttered at her, making her laugh even more. “Joel-”

It was too late. He drunkenly made his way down the street and to his house. The light in your bedroom was still on he noticed. Joel wasn’t being a stalker and being weird, but you were his neighbor. What were you doing up so late? Reading something he figured. Or talking with Ellie, the girl really seemed to never shut up. As he was about to turn away, you came to the window. Confused of why Joel was out so late, you opened it. The cool spring breeze entered your room.

Joel seemed to panic, and pretended to have not noticed you at all.

“Miller!” he heard you yell. He stopped in his tracts and turned around. “L/N!” he called back. The repetition of your gesture towards him made you smile.

“What you doing up so late? Don’t you have patrol with me tomorrow morning?”

Joel let out a sigh. His hands rested on his hips. “God, is that tomorrow?” he lied. He totally knew. He was looking forward to it all week. “Yup. 7 sharp. Better get to bed, old man.”

The old man comment definitely hurt his ego. He couldn’t pick up on it, but that was your way of flirting. Teasing almost. But to Joel it just proved to himself that you just wanted to be friends—when you totally wanted the opposite.

“And what are you doing up so late?”

You held up the landline phone in to view. “Ellie,” you sighed. “Get some sleep!” he called, and began to head back to his house. The vision of you in your nightgown was getting too much for him, making him realize he wanted things he never thought he could ever want again. “Goodnight Joel,” you called. He waved, and entered his house.

You flopped down on your bed after you closed your curtains. Holding your pillow over your chest, you squeezed it hard. Your stomach fluttered as you childishly re played the memory of what had just happened. Finally, your bedroom light went out.

-

“Y/N,” Ellie sang, circling into your kitchen. It was your fault for leaving the back door open on such a nice day. It unfortunately tracked in things such as unwanted Ellie’s. It was midday, your patrol with Joel had ended about an hour earlier.

“Yes?” you sang back, sitting on your couch and looking up from your book. “I have news.”

She came and sat down next to you. “And what is this news? Is it important enough to distract me from my book?” you asked. Ellie sensed your pissed off tone.“Bookmark the page. You’ll never guess what I heard.”

“Ellie, if this is gossip—” you sighed, setting the book down next to you. “It’s not gossip when it involves you,”

You sighed and rolled your eyes, praying Maria didn’t share one of your embarrassing stories you confided in her. Everyone knew Maria had a big mouth. You slowly crept forward “What is it?”

“Joel has a crush on you.”

A quick laugh escaped from your lips. Ellie looked at you confused. “I-I’m telling the truth.” Your laughter continued. “I call fucking bullshit. Where did you hear that?” “Dude, Maria straight up told like everybody in the dining hall today.”

Your face scrunched. "What?"

“Your definitely fucking with me Ellie. Not funny.” you laughed.

“No!” Ellie exclaimed. “She got wasted with Joel and Tommy last night and he confessed that he would ‘bang you out of everyone in this town’ according to Maria.”

So that’s what he was doing out so late last night.

The thought of the older man that escorted you and Ellie across country a few years ago having a crush on you was absurd. Wasn’t it?

“Well, I thought you should know because remember what you said when we passed through that one small town and…”

She was waiting for you to confirm the pushed down memory that lived in your brain rent free.

It was a small midwestern town in the middle of nowhere. You and Ellie sat outside a coffee shop Joel was currently ransacking for supplies. It was a nice day like today, you and Ellie were sitting on the steps keeping watch as Joel went through the kitchen.

“You know, if the world wasn’t shit I would like my own store. Maybe a coffee shop, it sounds nice. Calm, definitely.” Ellie confided in you. “What would you be doing?”

Your foot tapped on the concrete as you thought to yourself. What would you be doing?

“I would be in college by now. For what, I’m not sure. I would have eventually liked to be married but… that’s never gonna happened.”

“Never say never. You always have Joel.”

You scoffed and giggled. But you had to admit, you had gotten to know the older man well. He was bitter, but you saw through the cracks sometimes. He was quite handsome anyways. Something about his rugged appearance and peppery hair just sat right with you. He had a few soft moments with you along the journey, patching you up after a fight or comforting you after a nightmare that Ellie didn't know about. But that was ridiculous. Ellie was talking nonsense.

You laughed out loud to Ellie’s suggestion, just like you had previously. “Don’t deny it. I see the way you look at him Y/N.”

“Your full of shit,” you joked, giving Ellie a slight push on her shoulder.

“Joel would make a nice husband though. Strong, resourceful, handsome. If I had to pick… sure. I’d be Mrs. Miller any day.”

When you said the words you wanted to suck them back in. Too soon, too much, too quickly. Ellie stared at you blankly. Joel exited the building at the perfect time with a few cans of fruit and spoons. Perfect timing. You remembered the awkward silence as you ate on the pineapple bits, but the phrase rung in your head for days.

“Mrs. Miller”

Being brought back into reality, the memory of expressing interest in Joel re lit something in you. You felt your stomach churn.

“Ah… see?” Ellie exclaimed. Your face turned red as you wanted to bury it in your book. “Mrs. Miller!” she yelled, leaving the living room towards the kitchen and out the back door.

“Ellie!” you yelled firmly, following her with your fists clenched. “Where are you going?”

“To find Joel.”

“Why?” you asked panicked, finally catching up to her on the street panting. You were more nervous than ever to hear her response. “To set you and Joel up on a date, duh!”

"Ellie!" you scolded her, looking around to make sure no one heard her. "What?" she whined, breaking away from your eye on her and making a straight line for Joel's house. To your luck, he was in his garden tending to his flowers. He hadn't seen either of you yet.

You let out a quiet shout, a simple “Ah!” as Ellie pranced down the street. You couldn't watch it, you couldn't look. You ran back in to your house and shut the back door behind you. Sliding down the back of the door and sitting on your kitchen floor, you prayed he responded positively. Or that Ellie was just trying to scare you in a ‘I’m telling the teacher but actually just asking to go to the bathroom’ way. And if Ellie actually went through with her plan, you hoped he didn't take this the wrong way. Even though you really didn't think he would. Would he?

-

It was the next day. You had refused to leave your house in sheer embarrassment. Running in to Joel right now was just a no. You had just gotten out of the shower when you heard the pattering of feet in your downstairs. Praying it was Ellie, you grabbed your knife and held your towel against your chest. "Ellie?"

"Oh, there you are!" she exclaimed. You sighed. "You know, you cant just break in to my house whenever you want." you said, sticking your knife in to your banister.

"It's important!" Ellie exclaimed. "Is it important enough to wait until I can get dressed?"

"He said yes."

You were confused. "Who said yes?"

"Joel!"

Your mouth slightly dropped. "And when did I agree to this?" you asked, venturing in to your bedroom to get dressed. In all honestly, you could have stood and talked to Ellie for a few more minutes comfortably in your towel, but you wanted to hide the wide grin that couldn't seem to leave your face even if you tried.

"When you told me you wouldn't mind being Mrs. Miller," Ellie teased, acting like she was stating the obvious. You poked your head out of your door and looked down your stairs and gave Ellie a sour expression. "I only want you to be happy, that's all!"

"I'm perfectly fine as it is. I didn't need you meddling in my life."

"Well, nobody else was going to do it. We all see how your cooped up here, reading all day. We just want to make sure your okay."

You came out of your bedroom dressed, wrangling out the ends of your wet hair with a towel. You met Ellie at the bottom of the stairs. "And who is we?" you questioned. Ellie sucked her teeth. "You caught us," she chuckled, staring at her converse. "Tommy and Maria and...maybe Dina?"

You sighed audibly, closing your eyes for a moment. "All three of you! Wow." you said somewhat sarcastically.

"Ellie!" you heard a yell from outside. It was her new friend, Dina, who she was almost inseparable with.

"Gotta go." she said, opening your front door and skipping down your steps.

"Ellie- wait!"

She turned around and looked at you, you saw Dina anxiously waiting for her. "When is he coming?"

Ellie shrugged. "Dunno. He said he'd be around."

Your face scrunched in confusion. Be around...?

Before you could ask any follow up questions, the two girls were gone.

———

“This is so damn stupid,” Joel whispered to himself. His doubt was creeping in. The bouquet was hidden behind his back. Fresh picked from his garden, tied off with a bit of twine. His other hand was about to knock on your door. It wasn’t too late… 7 o’clock? You wouldn’t be in bed yet, right? Knock knock.

There was some shuffling from inside the house, and you opened the door. Almost yanked the door open, actually. Joel took a step back due to the commotion. “Joel?” you nervously asked, pretending you weren’t anxiously waiting for the random arrival of your not-so blind date all day. “W-what are you doing here?” you asked, playing dumb.

“If it’s not a good time I can-”

“Oh—no! It’s perfect, d-do you want to come in?” you asked the older man, looking up at him. Joel never seemed as intimidating as he did now. And you’ve seen him torture people before.

You let Joel in to your house as the two of you just stared at each other awkwardly. What did you really have to talk about? 

“What are those?” you asked anxiously, referencing down to the flowers in his hands.

“Oh!” he exclaims, kicking himself mentally for not remembering to give them to you. “There for you. Fresh from my garden.” 

You recognized the flower as tulips, your favorite. Joel was touched by the sparkle that came to your face once he presented them to you. Accepting them, your hands grazed his a bit. The both of you let go, almost dropping the flowers on the floor. An awkward laugh was exchanged. “Thank you, there beautiful.” you sighed in awe, moving in to the kitchen to get a glass to put them in. “How did you know tulips were my favorite?”

“Wild guess?” Joel responded. Not from Ellie prepping Joel for this date, not at all. 

“So what did you have in mind for tonight?” you asked, cutting off the stems of the tulips so they would fit in the glass jar you had filled with water. 

“Uh,” Joel mumbled. “I- you know that trail around the fence?”

“Up the mountain?” you asked him, setting the flowers down in the middle of your table. “Yeah. Your up to it?”

“That's a great idea, Joel.”

He let out his breath he was holding, thrilled that you agreed to his idea. Ellie said it was stupid, that walking the trails at night could be creepy. Ellie suggested a nice dinner, but Joel thought that was just so boring. Every date he had ever been on had basically been a nice dinner. He had this planned ever since Ellie even brought up the idea of a possible interest in pursuing Y/N.

Stargazing. 

The cool air was refreshing. You kept in rhythm with Joel. He was slower than you, and he was worrying that it would be a turn off for you. But you didn’t mind. You enjoyed taking in the silent night and the hums of nature slowly.

The moon was full and it was a clear night. The trail was overgrown, but still manageable. Joel had trekked up here earlier that day to get ready. As the clearing began to come in to view, Joel felt his anxiety rising. What if you didn’t like it? What if he put too much effort in to it and you thought it was weird? Joel was a quiet kept man, but his thoughts were screaming almost constantly. 

“Joel!” you gasped, stopping at the edge of the clearance. 

A blanket was laid on the ground with a few decorative pillows. A canteen with two cups sat on the grass along with a book and a lantern. Joel reached down and clicked the lantern open, and it began to emit a soft warm light. It wasn’t like the harsh, recreational ones that would blind you. 

“Did you do this? It’s… beautiful.”

Joel’s eyes cast up at you. “It’s nothing much…”

You sat down next to Joel on the blanket he had set out. “Nothing much?” you chuckled, taking in the beautiful view that shown over an abandoned city where Jackson got a lot of their supplies from. 

“I think this is the nicest thing a guy has ever done for me.”

“Then you obviously haven't met many nice guys,” Joel said, his voice shaking slightly. He realized how detrimental and self-deprecating that sounded and tried to re-phrase it. “You haven't been on many dates… right?”

And that now sounded predatory. “I-I mean-”

“Actually, this is my first date. Ever.”

Your confidence and comfortability answering him calmed Joel’s nerves. “I don’t mean to pry,” you began. “But did you ever have someone? Like before all this. And if you don’t want to reply that’s okay, I was just wondering but-”

Joel chuckled a bit at your eagerness. “Nah, no worries.” he re assured you, slowly moving his arm around you. Accepting his touch, you moved in to his embrace as the two of you stared up at the stars. “I had a wife- she was my ex-wife. My daughter’s mother. We had her real young, and she just wasn’t ready for the commitment of a family.”

“I’m sorry,” you muttered, watching a blinking star above. “It’s alright. Gave me the best life I could have ever asked for, for thirteen years.”

“And your daughter?”

Joel knew this was bound to come up sooner or later, just not this soon. He didn’t even realize he mentioned Sarah until you asked your follow up question. “She didn’t make it past outbreak day like most people didn’t.” he said bluntly. “But anyways,” he said quickly, saving the awkward response from you. “What about you? Any family?”

“Just Ellie. No relation as you know, but she’s my sister.” Joel nodded. There wasn’t much in this world, and family became what you made it. “What’s that?” you asked, perking your head up from Joel’s chest and pointing over to the grass. “What?” he asked. “The coffee or the book?”

You gasped. “You got coffee?”

He smiled and smirked. “I’ve always wanted to try coffee!” you exclaimed.

Joel looked at you with an odd look. “Your tellin’ me you've never had coffee?”

“No!” you exclaimed. “I used to have this every morning before the outbreak. Withdrawals the first few weeks were definitely difficult.” he explained as he poured you a glass. It was dark and steaming hot. “Coffee is a delicacy, dude. No one in the QZ had this where I was from. It would occasionally get passed out to the soldiers but man, that’s cool.” you said. Joel forgot—you were a post outbreak baby. You wouldn’t have known of the luxury of Starbucks or an espresso machine. “You may not like it, but it’s very unlikely.” he explained. Joel’s love for coffee was strong.

You took the first sip. It burned your tongue and tasted like dirt water. The smell was unmatchable, but the taste was just horrible. You froze, not wanting to disappoint Joel. 

Joel couldn't help it, he couldn't keep in his laughter. “Not a fan?” he asked, looking at you behind his cup as he took a sip. “It’s very…interesting?” you said, forcing yourself to take another sip. 

“Don’t torture yourself now,” Joel said, extending his hand for the cup. You gladly gave it back to him. “It was a nice thought,” you said dearly, giving him credit for his sweet gesture. “Ellie said the same thing when I made her try some. Must be a…”

He didn’t want to say it. His words came out faster than he could think. “What, a post outbreak baby thing?” you finished his sentence.

That was exactly what Joel was going for. “I mean, I didn’t mean it that way but…”

“It’s okay. Stop worrying Joel, you seem so nervous.” you flirted. “Aren't you?” Joel asked, feeling like that emotional wall was just broken down by your comment.

“Me? Oh, I’ve been a nervous wreck all day. Ellie didn’t give me a time, place, or any context other than that you were coming.” 

“Your kiddin’ me. That damn kid,” he sighed, reaching for the book on his side. “Speakin’ of Ellie.” he said, handing you the book.

“Constellations and Stars.” you said in awe.

“For kids,” you added, reading the small line under the title. “This some kind of cruel joke?” you asked Joel, opening the first page. “I promise it not,” he chuckled. “Found it in Ellie’s old storage bin she keeps in my basement. Thought it was useless, well, until now.”

“Do you see any?” you asked Joel. The two of you were laying flat on the blanket. Your head rested on his chest as his arm draped down protectively over you. Your legs were touching, feet and calves were intertwining. “The Big Dipper is always easy to find… if you look.”

You opened the book and flipped around a few pages until you found the page for the Big Dipper. “Like a kite,” you said. “Yeah, kind of like a kite.” 

After a few minutes of intense searching in the sky and enjoying your other’s companies, you found it. “Joel, I think I found it.”

“You did. I found it like five minutes ago.” he said shyly. You sighed in defeat. “I guess your just better than me.” you sighed sarcastically. “I guess I am.” Joel hummed.

“You know, back when the world wasn’t like this people would buy each other stars?” Joel asked. “That’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard.” you laughed. “With real money? Like the physical stuff?”

“Yup.” Joel confirmed. 

“I would buy you a star if I could.” you said suddenly. Joel suddenly felt a warmth grow inside of him, one he hadn't felt for many years. He had to spit out his thought, he just had to. Didn’t want to waste an opportunity. 

“I’d buy the whole sky of stars for you.” he said softly. You looked up at him, a hand resting on his chest. “Would you really?”

“In a heartbeat.”

The rest of the night was filled with laughter. You told Joel old stories about your QZ, he told you old stories about his life. Sharing what seemed like useless future plans now sounded promising with Joel. The two of you never wanted the night to end.

tag list(sorry if this appears twice tumblr is glitching currently) @dani5216 @uwiuwi @alohastyles-x @mandoloriancookie @maddieinnit0 @alexxavicry @scoliobean @avengersfan25 @nyotamalfoy

You noticed the small wrinkles around Joel’s eyes when he smiled. When he smiled at least, you don't think you have ever seen this man so filled with so much joy before. You took in the detail of his smiling face intricately, not wanting to forget the feeling of the moment you were in. This man just said he would buy the whole sky of stars for you. You would do quite literally anything for him, but not like you wouldn’t have done it before. The feelings were very obviously now mutual. 

-

tag list: @dani5216 @uwiuwi @alohastyles-x @mandoloriancookie @maddieinnit0 @alexxavicry @scoliobean @avengersfan25 @nyotamalfoy

[maxinesgun]

hii, i loveddd ur last fic and was wondering if u could write jealous (but sweet) shane?? if ur up for it ofc ! either way btw I LOVE UR WRITING + THANK U FOR WRITING SHANE HER FICS ARE SO RARE

Jealousy, Jealousy | s.m

pairing: shane mccutcheon x fem!reader

contains: jealous!shane, smoking, some fluff, established relationship, oblivious reader, implied nsfw at the end

summary: shane gets jealous when she notices a woman being flirty with you at a coffee shop.

a/n: tysm anon!! love this request because i was definitely planning to write jealous shane are you kidding me? also sorry that the writing has slowed down, school has started back up again and I've been sick for the last week so I've been fighting for my life

word count: 2.1k

It was almost the last straw for you when you reached into your bag and found that your wallet wasn’t there.

The first had been sleeping through your alarm, and the second was when someone had cut you off on the road, prompting you to let out a very rational string of curses. After throwing on the fist decent outfit you’d found in your closet and rushing out of the house faster than you probably ever had in your life, all you wanted was coffee to give you the strength to last through this day. That was why you’d taken your lunch break to head to your and Shane’s favourite coffee shop, conveniently close to your place of work and the gym she frequented.

Apparently, some caffeine was too much to ask for.

“God, I’m sorry, I must have forgotten my wallet,” you sighed to the guy behind the register, feeling more defeated than annoyed as you continued to rummage through your purse, as if expecting it to suddenly appear. You cast a glance over your shoulder to the glass doors hopefully, but Shane wasn’t here yet. She’d texted you saying she’d be there in five minutes or so.

You gave him an apologetic smile and were about to go sit and wait at one of the tables when a voice and a light tap on your shoulder drew your attention. “Excuse me, is this yours?”

The voice belonged to a pretty woman with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and a smattering of freckles across her high cheekbones. Her smile was sweet and friendly, and she was holding out to you what was, sure enough, your wallet. 

You let out a relieved breath, giving her a look of gratitude as you took it from her. “Wow, I thought I lost it. Thank you. Seriously.”

“Found it out in the parking lot,” she said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. “Trust me, it’s happened to me a few times.” The small laugh she let out was bubbly, the kind that made you want to automatically return it.

“You’re a lifesaver,” you said, holding up the wallet and flashing her a grin before moving back to the register to order your and Shane’s regulars. 

You stood by the counter to wait, and when the woman finished ordering for herself, she moved to stand beside you. 

“Heading to work?” she asked conversationally, her eyes flicking over your work attire.

You nodded, glancing down at yourself briefly. “Yeah. I’m on my break, actually,” you said with a smile. “I needed a coffee fix. If one more thing went wrong for me today, I’d be driving off a cliff right now.” 

She laughed again, a little too hard, in your opinion, at what hadn’t even been all that funny. Still, the smile on your lips grew a bit. Maybe you were just underestimating your own charm, here. “So you work around here?” she asked, to which you nodded. “So do I, actually. I own a flower shop on Millers.”

“No way! I’m down there a lot. You’ll have to tell me what it’s called so I can check it out sometime.”

The conversation flowed easily, drifting from discussing work to what you did for fun nearby. You were a little surprised by how easy it was, normally not being one for small talk in the slightest, but she was warm and attentive, reaching over to touch your arm once or twice as she laughed at some small quip you made.

The door swung open in your peripheral, and you glanced over to see Shane striding over to you with that relaxed, easy swagger she had. You shot her a grin as she made her way over, and she returned it, the corner of her lips crooking up, though you noticed that her eyes were flicking between you and the woman in front of you questioningly.

“Hey,” you greeted her, holding out the coffee you’d ordered for her.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” she said a little breathlessly, her hand brushing over your back lightly as she took the cup. A light, casually intimate touch. You were so caught up in smiling up at her in admiration that you’d forgotten momentarily that there was someone else standing right there. “Who’s this?” Shane asked, looking from you to the woman with an unreadable expression on her face.

“Oh! Right. This is…” you gestured to the woman, who was now glancing between you and Shane with a faint smile, but your words trailed off as you drew a blank. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I got your name,” you said with a laugh.

“It’s Sam,” she offered with a chuckle. “Or Samantha. But Sam’s fine.”

“Shane,” she introduced herself with a tight smile when Sam’s eyes turned back to her expectantly.

“Sam found my wallet. Apparently I dropped it in the parking lot,” you told Shane, who was taking a sip of her coffee, eyes roving over Sam as if sizing her up. “She was just telling me about the flower shop she owns downtown. We probably passed it before. Isn’t that cool?”

“Very cool,” Shane said in a noncommittal tone, eyebrows raising slightly. 

“You should definitely drop by sometime! I’d love to see you there,” Sam said brightly, eyes focused on you. “Bright yellow awning. Can’t miss it. Here, I’ll give you my card.” She began digging around in the satchel hanging from her shoulder. As she did, you felt Shane’s hand on your back again. It snaked around your waist, tugging you against her subtly.

When Sam straightened up, holding out a small business card between two fingers, you took it, eyes scanning over the picture on the front. “Don’t feel obligated to come, of course. I just thought… you know,” she said. You could feel her eyes on you as you flipped it over, murmuring your compliments about how it looked like a cute place. “That is such a pretty necklace on you, by the way,” she smiled, causing you to look up in some surprise as you touched a hand to your chest, flattered by the sudden compliment.

You thanked her just as Shane abruptly turned to you, reaching out to take the business card. “Can I see this?” She took it, studying it for all of two seconds. “Yep, there it is. Yellow awning,” she said flatly, her tone dripping sarcasm as she held up the card. She was smiling, but it was unnaturally tense—the kind of smile you plastered on to hide your irritation. “That is really great. Would you excuse us for a second?”

You looked at her, your brows slightly narrowed in confusion. She clearly wasn’t happy, you could see that much, but you didn’t know why she’d be in such a mood. Before you could open your mouth to say something to her, Sam did first.

“Of course, you probably have somewhere to be! Don’t let me hold you up.” She flashed another sweet smile at the both of you, picking up her coffee. “So nice to meet you!”

You had hardly finished returning her goodbye before you were practically being whisked out the door by Shane, her hand on your waist gentle but firm. “Hey—What are you doing? We just got here,” you protested as she pushed the door open, leading you outside.

“We can sit in my car,” she responded shortly, as if that made any sense at all. You relented, following her over to her car and watching as she pulled the door open and ducked in. You slid into the passenger seat beside her, the doors kept wide open.

You watched as she set her coffee down in the cupholder and immediately began rummaging around in the armrest, the sharp line of her jaw tensed. “Shane,” you said, but either she didn’t hear you or was too distracted to respond as she pulled out her pack of cigarettes, promptly pulling one out and sticking it between her lips.

Your brows raised slightly as she grabbed her lighter and lit up. She rarely smoked in the middle of the day like this. “Shane,” you repeated, a bit louder this time.

“What?” she asked innocently, looking over at you with the cigarette dangling from her lips.

“You want to tell me what that was? What, you didn’t like her?”

She took a long drag before just staring at you for a moment, as if unable to tell whether or not you were joking. “She was hitting on you.”

“What?” You laughed in disbelief. “No she wasn’t.” Sure, she’d been all smiles and had paid you a nice compliment, but that didn’t mean it was flirting.

Shane gave you that deadpan look again. “Yes, she was.”

“Maybe she was just being friendly. How do you know she’s not straight?”

She scoffed. “She’s not straight.”

“She could be straight.”

“I saw where her eyes were going.”

You crossed your arms over your chest, attempting to play at indignant but unable to help the grin that played across your lips. “What are you talking about?” 

Shane exhaled, a puff of smoke unfurling from her lips, as her gaze fell very pointedly to your chest before moving back up, the motion exaggerated. 

“She was looking at my necklace. She complimented it,” you protested, rolling your eyes.

“Are you kidding? That’s, like, the oldest trick in the book,” Shane pointed out, exasperated. “You want to check out someone’s tits, but you can’t be too obvious, so you focus on the jewelry. ‘Oh, hey, I like your necklace. It looks so pretty on you.’ See what I did there?”

Your gaze trailed from her to a spot out the window as you fell back against your seat, considering her words. It did make sense. And Shane would know, after all. She had probably pulled it herself once or twice. 

“Huh,” was all you said, your mind turning over the previous interaction in light of this new information. You weren’t displeased by it; it had been awhile since you’d been flirted with. Or maybe you got hit on all the time but just completely failed to notice, if today was any indication.

“Yeah. Huh.” You felt her gaze lingering on you for a few moments before she turned back to the window, taking another drag. “N’ since when have you ever wanted to go to a flower shop?” she mumbled, disgruntled.

The grouchiness in the remark caught your attention, and you breathed a laugh, leaning over on the armrest. “Oh, come on,” you said teasingly, your grin only growing when she shot you an unamused look. You couldn’t help it—it was cute, the way she was pouting, the little scowl on her face. “I don’t, babe.”

“That’s not what you said in there,” she said stubbornly.

“I promise.” You leaned forward to pinch her cheeks in your hand, just to make her pay attention to you, to which she batted your hand away lightly. Your heart gave a sudden clench of affection as your eyes roamed over her face. “I do kinda like it when you’re jealous, though.” Your voice was soft, teasing.

“I’m not jealous,” she muttered, huffing a little. “I just didn’t like seeing her be all… touchy. And smiley.” She made a face.

You plucked the cigarette out of her hand, leaning back in your seat. With a sound of protest, Shane reached for it, grinning despite herself as she practically fell over you. She braced herself with an arm against the seat, your faces inches apart. “Give that back.”

You held the cigarette out of reach, your other hand coming up to cup her face, your thumb brushing over her lips. God, she was pretty. “You’re right. Only you get to do those things,” you said as you pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. “No one else.” You kissed her again, a little longer this time, and you heard her give a low grumble in her throat as she kissed you back. At the same time, her hand tangled with yours to retrieve the cigarette.

“Yeah?” she said in a low voice when she pulled back, her eyes still glued to your mouth. Her head lifted briefly to give a quick glance around before looking back down at you, that familiar mischievous glint in her eyes. “You want to prove it to me?”

The corner of your lips quirked up, your stomach giving a little flutter at the way she was staring at you. “Prove it to you how?”

She smirked, knowing you knew exactly what she meant. “How much time do you have left?”

You quickly dug around for your phone, clicking it on to check the time, then promptly dropped it back into your purse. You grabbed her cigarette again, this time earning no protest, and tossed it out the door, swinging a leg out and using the heel of your boot to grind it into the pavement. “Enough.”

[anonymous-dentist]

Guys, q!Cellbit isn’t a sleeper agent, he was literally blackmailed. If he didn’t do all of this, his son would die. He didn’t have a choice, and it wasn’t because he had some secret urge to do Cucurucho’s bidding.

Take a step back and put yourself into his shoes and think: Would I let my son die because I want to fight back against an unknown, possibly malicious force capable of breaking invisibly into my home and killing my entire family in its sleep?

Cellbit loves puzzles. He loves solving puzzles. He loves fighting against corrupt authority figures in secret. He loves his family more. I’m not convinced that he wouldn’t willingly become an agent if it meant keeping his son and the rest of the Favela Five + his husband + Jaiden safe. He would kill for them- something that he has made clear he would never do again (unless Roier asks him to ofc) because he’s so filled with regret over his traumatic past that it drips out of him like a wet towel. Let alone die for them.

Imagine you’re a father of a son with one life remaining out of a maximum of two. An unknown force tells you to solve these puzzles, or your son will die. You can’t tell anyone, or you think your son will die. Only one other person knows, and he’s your literal husband, and you don’t tell him until the investigation is more or less over. But still, your son might die, and your husband might get himself killed following you through the investigation. So.

Cellbit had to juggle the weight of his son’s life with the weight of the investigation itself and the weight of the lives of all his friends and family, because he didn’t know if he was about to have to do another secret infiltration arc or something because he couldn’t tell them anything.

Of course he wouldn’t be questioning as many things as he normally would, he literally couldn’t. His family could’ve been killed. He was desperate, and so he was a little sloppier than he normally would’ve been, though not by much.

He was devastated when he took the elevator down into his office in the Federation catacombs. Right beneath his house. He didn’t speak the whole time, and all he really had to say afterwards was a tired and angry, “I guess I’m employee of the month…”

The Federation is under his home. Watching. Even if they tricked him this time, he knows now that they might not trick him again. Next time, it could be a direct order like what q!Fit has been getting as a fellow Federation employee. And Cellbit won’t be able to refuse then, either, because what if they kill Richarlyson this time? They threatened to do it last time, what says they wouldn’t do so again?

The Federation lost control of Cellbit months ago when he broke out of containment with q!Felps. He wasn’t their sleeper agent for the election because they literally killed him once using the capybaras, and then they tried killing him the second time and only failed because he managed to kill himself first. He’s their employee still, but they can’t get him to actually do anything for them because he broke out of the mind control using the power of his love (or whatever) for Felps. The white streak in his hair isn’t a sign, it’s because he’s emo and the cc thought, and still thinks, that it looks cool.

There’s only one way to coerce a guy like this, and it’s through literal actual threats. His son, his family, living under his house, all of it is a big sign saying ‘Remember, you still work for us’. And, whether he likes it or not, Cellbit does.

[lvlyghost]

Call of Duty Headcanons: Vol II ✨

How they’d react to their civilian s/o getting hurt

Pairings: Simon “Ghost” Riley x Fem!Civilian!Reader

Tw: blood, injuries, angst. simon is mad, whiskey and shooting?, strong language & probably more 😮‍💨 lots of grammar mistakes; you name it🐸

A/N: so here’s the second part!❣️ and ofc it’s our baby ghost! Please remember that english is not my first language, corrections are appreciated 🫶🏻✨Enjoy!🌷

Vol I✨ Vol III✨ Vol IV✨

“I promise we’ll leave super soon! You won’t even notice we left the house.” You had said, smiling widely to Simon.

He scoffed but followed you inside the bar still not convinced. Why couldn’t you accept the plan of tea and bed? Rolled his eyes.

He just wanted to stay home but he could never say no to you. And of course you ordered some sweet cocktail when you both took a seat right in front of the barman.

“Whiskey.” He growled. You shoot him a glare and he just shrugged.

“So grumpy.” You teased him.

Things went sideways too fast.

If only he had been more aware of his surroundings, if only he had never let his guard down, if only he had fixed his eyes at the door… he would’ve seen the shooter coming.

But no. He was completely in awe watching you, hearing you talking about that one party with your co-workers that had gone terribly wrong.

You were laughing. And bloody fucking hell he adored your laughter. His eyes never left yours, cheeks blushing all because of the alcohol. You were never good at drinking.

And now he was rushing to your body, drenched in blood, gasping for air. Two bullet wounds, one on your shoulder blade, another one on your arm.

Simon yelled your name. You could hear the panic in his gruffy voice. “Hey! Hey sweetheart, stay with me…” he urged you. His eyes are wide in shock, horror at the sight. His girl. That was his fucking girl the man had shoot at. Simon sucked in a breath when he tried to apply some pressure on both of your wounds. “I must do it, love. Please, hang in there. Everything’s gonna be okay, I’m right here, take a deep breath for me would ya’?… atta girl.” He said, when you did. Voice soft, he was trying to make you feel calm.

God if only he could stay calm! His heart was racing, he’d feel the thrum in his ears. You were the only thing keeping him grounded.

“Si-Simon?” You stuttered. “I’m cold.”

He felt it. Felt the way your body was shaking under his hands.

“I know,” a painful whine left your lips. “I know!” He nearly cried at the sound of it.

“Fuck! Call a fucking ambulance now!” He shouted, at the people who were running all over the place, scared, crying, panicking.

Simon never wanted to hear you make a sound like that ever again. He’d take your place in a heartbeat. He’d do anything for you if it meant you’d be safe.

Sell his own soul? Done

Rip his heart out? Done

When you brought one of your tiny hands and placed it on his hulking bicep he almost lost it.

He never wants to see you go through that again. This was where you were supposed to be safe. By his side. Enjoying a normal life. This wasn’t the army. Simon swore nothing like this could happen, let alone to you.

He swallowed the burning lump in his throat. And in that very moment he made a silent promise. He’d find the bloody bastard and make him pay.

Pushing a strand of hair out of your face he caressed your cheek so delicately as if somehow you’d break under his soft touch.

“I know what you’re gonna say…” you found the strength to smile. Even then and there, whatever may come… you were with the man you loved the most.

“We should’ve fucking stayed home.”

[wheelsvoid]

HOME ; STRANGER THINGS

⇢ you don’t have a place to call home, or a family, and you keep it a secret from your friends. however, they find out and find a way to help you without your knowing

masterlist

genre: platonic, angst with a happy ending

word count: 1,674

warnings: one curse word, and the reader doesn’t have a good life outside of school so keep that in mind ofc

request: “Heyyyyyy for a platonic stranger things imagine could be like an orphan and friends with the gang and no one knows about Rs's situation but El looks for r one time and finds out about Rs's bad living situation (maybe homeless?) and the crew rally around their friend and hopper adopts r?”

tried my best, here you go!

Jealousy was something I was very familiar with. I knew it well enough to call it a friend, but I hated it enough to wish it would leave me forever.

I never knew myself to be such a jealous person until I made all the friends I did. I was typically quite kind, and forgiving, and I only got angry when justified. Still, my jealousy never left me.

All my friends had homes, and at least someone to go home to. I had nothing and no one. Their lives weren’t perfect, but the little voice in my head always told me that mine was worse, even if it wasn’t fair to compare.

I found ways to hide my lack of a real life. I often stayed at Lucas’ house, or Mike’s. I had sleepovers, and their parents didn’t mind. I stayed long enough to look as though I was hanging out, but I left before they could think to call my mother or father.

It was embarrassing to depend on others for a bathroom, or a bed, or food, or anything necessary to live a normal life, but I had nothing else.

They never had to know, anyway.

I was the first one at Starcourt Mall today, seeing as I had taken the early bus. I watched as all my close friends left the large vehicle with smiles on their faces, smiling back at me when they saw me leaning up against the wall.

“Y/N!” El ran up to me in excitement. She gave me a hug, and I laughed as I hugged her back. When the boys got closer, with Max by their sides, Lucas, Will and Dustin each gave me a high five, and Mike gave me a fist bump with a grin.

“What took you guys so long?” I raised a brow, sending a teasing grin as we made our way in the mall. “I’ve been here a whole hour longer, waiting.”

“Oh, we’re so sorry that you had to wait.” Lucas sympathized, dramatically holding a hand over his heart.

“It was Mike’s fault, anyway.” Max said. “He got into an argument with Nancy over who got the last pancake.”

I laughed loudly. “Typical.”

And the energy was up the entire day, too. We went to the movies, sneaking through the back thanks to Steve (who grew more regretful for letting us do so the first time every time we saw him). Afterwards, we went back to Scoops Ahoy to each grab an ice cream.

I was glad for my job, from Tuesday to Saturday every week, so I could pay for my own ice cream. I worked after school each day, not having to worry about a curfew or anything of the sort. I only had myself, and the longer I worked the better. I liked feeling as though I was in a normal environment for a teenager, even if it was just a café.

On the way out of Scarcourt Mall, Max turned to me. “Hey, Y/N, wanna go to your house this time?” We typically went to one of our houses after our meet ups, and hung out the rest of the day. However, the thought of doing so this time scared me. I had no place to call home. “I just realized, we’ve never been.”

For a moment, my eyes were wide and I went pale, but I relaxed a second later. I played it cool. “No, thanks. I’d rather go to Mike’s, I wanna see Nancy anyway. And my house is a mess today. Maybe another time.”

At this point, I was digging my own hole. Another time? I couldn’t keep denying them. They’d figure it out eventually.

Max, Lucas, Will and El frowned in confusion, but Dustin and Mike were blissfully unaware of my slip up. “Sounds fun.” Dustin cheered.

And it was fun. I spent as long as I could at their house without seeming lost, or alone. I tried my best to fit in. And I was hopeful that I did.

How could I have known that I’d worried the others, leaving them to talk as I left to go fill in for my coworker on a Sunday?

———

“I’m worried about Y/N.” Will admitted. “They were acting… weird.”

“I noticed too.” Lucas sighed, leaning forward from his spot on the couch downstairs.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Mike frowned in confusion.

Max turned to him, raising a brow. “You didn’t notice?”

Mike stared, “no…?”

“They looked…” Max had to think about it for a second. She had to think of the right word. Then it hit her. It was fear that she’d seen. “Scared.”

“Why would they be scared?” Dustin asked. “We go to each other’s houses all the time, right?”

“Not Y/N’s.” El said. “We’ve never been.”

For a moment, everyone was silent. They were either lost in their thoughts, or unsure of what to say.

Will spoke next, sounding hesitant. “Are they okay?” His voice was so soft, it could only be heard due to the quietness of the room.

———

After school the next day, Mike had come up to me and told me that El wanted to hang out at her house, but since I hadn’t given them my phone number, she asked him to tell me. I was glad that El wanted to hang out, and I was glad that she wasn’t scared to ask.

I told him I’d love to, and he grinned, telling me he’d call her and let her know I’d be over after school.

Since I had nowhere to go, I began my walk from school, all the way to Hopper’s cabin in the woods. It was a long, exhausting walk. But I was glad to make it before it’d gone dark (and lucky it wasn’t that long of a walk).

When I saw the small cabin, I felt relief. Despite my aching legs, I began jogging to the front door. I was more than excited to see El after not seeing her all day. It would be nice if it was safe enough for her to join us at school.

I knocked on the door, waiting patiently for it to open. Hopper opened it, and it wasn’t a surprise for me that it was him. He had to, to keep El safe from any unwanted visitors. He could play it off as the only resident in the cabin if he wanted to.

“Hello, Hopper.” I grinned. “Can I come in.”

Hopper smiled like he was expecting me, but there was something else shining in his eyes that worried me. “Sure, kid.”

I had always liked Hopper. He was kind to me, and grew kinder over the years, too. He was special.

As I walked in, putting my bag down that held all of my belongings, I looked around in search of El. I saw her door, which was opened only a couple inches, quickly guessing for her to be in there. As I took of my shoes, Hopper stood a few feet away.

“Before you hang out with El, would you mind if we talked?”

I looked up at him, somewhat surprised but mostly confused. As I finished untying my laces, I nodded, kicking off my shoes and getting to my feet. “Yeah.” I said, but it sounded like more of a question.

Hopper led me to the living room, and I glanced at El’s door which did not open any more. He sighed as we both sat down on the couch that fit perfectly in the room.

He was silent for a while, like he was thinking of what to say, before his voice broke through the silent space. “The kids told me that you seemed… off yesterday.” He said.

I held my breath. Had they figured it out? Did I mess up? How much did they know? How did they—

“They just want to make sure you’re okay.”

I stared at him, unsure if I looked as calm as I wanted myself to. I was sure I was showing some of my fear. Still, I nodded. “I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be?”

Terrible answer. Now he’ll never let me leave. Shit.

He looked at me, frowning. “Well, they told me that you’ve never given them your number, and that you never let them stay over.” He said softly, “and that you never talk about your family, and that you get nervous whenever they bring anything up.” He sighed. “We’re just worried, kid.”

I held my hands together, unable to look away from them now. I didn’t know what to say. Why had I gone silent? I’d never be able to play it off now.

But what if I needed some help?

“What’s going on at home?”

I chipped away at my blue nail polish, which Max had lended me. “I have no home.” I said.

I could feel Hopper’s eyes on me. “None at all?”

I let out a shaky breath. “None.”

He was quiet for a second. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I… didn’t know how.” My voice was quiet now. Gentle. “I didn’t want to ruin anything.”

Hopper put a hand on my shoulder, causing me to look at him. He looked sad, and sympathetic, but mostly heartbroken. “How would it ruin anything?”

“I didn’t want them to have anything else to worry about.” I said. The weight on my chest felt a little bit lighter. “I didn’t want to… make things worse, I guess.”

They already had so much to deal with.

“I promise you,” he made a point to look me in the eyes. “That nothing you could ever say or do would ruin anything. They would always help you. I would.” I couldn’t control the way my lip quivered, and as Hopper squeezed my shoulder, he asked me a question that made me feel like I could breathe again. “You want to stay with me?”

A tear slipped from my eye and I nodded, “yeah.”

He smiled softly, pulling me in for a hug. “Okay.”

[silentglassbreak]

Anonymous

Noah Sebastian x OFC

-

This story is flying out of me folks. Hope the few readers I have so far are enjoying! Again, if you want to be tagged, lemme know.

Warnings: Alcohol abuse, overall abuse, mild violence (ie. bar fights), smut, swearing, and altogether just a lot of fuckery.

+It goes without saying, this is a work of fiction. All of my words are my own. Plagiarism is a crime.

Part 4 - Never Know

The ride back to Calabasas was surprisingly more comfortable than I expected. Once it was just the two of us, Noah had become rather chatty, going on about the show, the crowd, the lighting that kept pissing him off, the meet and greet.

“It always amazes me how many people walk around with my face on their shirts.” He laughed to himself.

“Yeah, I’ve always found that kind of strange, wearing another human on your body.”

I felt his eyes burning a hole into the side of my head.

“That sounded very serial killer-ish?” His tone was apprehensive and playful.

“Who says that’s not what I meant?” I managed to hold my composure for about 30 seconds before bursting into a fit of laughter, him following right behind.

“Yeah, sure pipsqueak.”

My jaw dropped. “Excuse me! Not all of us are walking Elm trees, okay?!”

“Yeah, and not all of us are shorter than 5 feet!”

My hand batted over at him, his arms flailing in defense while he laughed at me.

“I am five-foot-one, mister!”

He held his stomach, his laughter roaring.

I set my head back on the headrest, my wheels inching forward at a snail’s pace. Normally, a drive to Calabasas from Hollywood would only take about 45 minutes, but a wreck on the 101 Freeway had us in gridlock. We had already been sitting, barely moving for about thirty minutes.

Normally, I wouldn’t mind. We had good music on the radio, it was a cool, crisp evening, and Noah was plenty good company. However, my bladder was going to betray me soon, and I could feel it.

I squirmed in my seat for a moment, trying to arrange my jeans to take some pressure off my bladder. I must have been obvious, because Noah spoke up.

“You okay?”

I stopped wiggling immediately. “Hm?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Oh, yeah. Just getting restless.”

“You sure?”

I smiled earnestly. “Yeah.”

“Well I don’t know about you but I’ve got to pee like a motherfucker.”

I sighed loudly. “Oh my GOD me too!”

He laughed and turned the heat up in the car. I looked over at him inquisitively’

He put his hands up. “It helps. I don’t know why, but it helps.”

-

Thirty more minutes of traffic and we were finally driving winding roads through neighborhoods I had only dreamed of. I helped sell houses, but not houses like this. He finally directed me to a gated driveway, where he got out and held his wallet up to a small terminal. Slowly the gate creaked open, and he jumped back in the car.

“You want to come in and use the restroom?”

I bit my lip, staring up at the huge house before me. It was intimidating just to look at, let alone imagine myself inside of.

“Erm…” I nervously picked at my fingernail. “That’s okay, I can wait.”

He gave me a look that told me he wasn’t accepting that. “No you can’t, c’mon. No one will be home for a while.”

He hopped out before I could protest further. The call of nature was stronger than my will to fight, so I followed, hastily grabbing my purse and hitting the door locks.

I followed him up a pathway through a large grassy yard, through a door that I couldn’t even guess how tall it was.

When we walked in, I was surprised. It wasn’t how I pictured a rock band to live. He had mentioned him and the entire band lived there. I’m not entirely sure what I expected, piles of beer cans? Guitars everywhere? Random studio equipment? It felt silly now, thinking it back over.

It was normal. Sure, there were guitars hung over the mantle neatly, obviously not played much, with framed records hung between. But the couch looked so comfortable, a throw blanket draped over the back. The staircase wound through the living room, and beyond I imagined the kitchen was somewhere deeper into the home.

“Bathroom’s right there.” Noah pointed to a door just off the staircase. “I’m going to use the one in my room. I’m going to change real quick too. I’ll only be a sec.”

And with that, he was bounding up the staircase, two steps at a time. He really did have to pee.

I cautiously made my way over to the door he pointed out. Inside I found a half bathroom, only a toilet and sink. Black rugs lined the floor and bright red towels hung from the holders. I locked the door and quickly made my way to the toilet.

Washing my hands, I happened to glance at myself in the mirror. Holy fuck, I was a mess.

My eyeliner and mascara were smeared under my eyes, my jet black hair was frizzed, and I had something on my sweater. What the hell did I manage to spill on myself?! Nachos. The god damn nachos.

I quickly took my sweater off, exposing my plain black tank top underneath, tying it around my waist. I pulled my contact case from my purse and easily removed my lenses, before splashing water on my cheeks and rubbing dampened toilet paper under my eyes to rid the excess smudgy liner.

I slipped my glasses on quickly, cursing the metal frames for aging me at least ten years, and threw my hair up in a ponytail, smoothing it out as best as I could.

When I came out of the bathroom, I heard footsteps from the top of the staircase.

“Better?” I looked up at him, hands clutching around the strap of my cross-body bag.

“Much, thank you.”

Noah had a curious smile on his face that made me rebalance my weight in each foot. “What?”

He shook his head and made his way down the stairs. “Nice glasses.”

I instinctively turned my face away. When I looked back, he was next to me. His eyes caught mine in a trance, dark and looming. I couldn’t feel if I was breathing anymore, and I’m not entirely sure if I cared in that moment.

That ‘moment’ went on for longer than I would’ve liked before his eyebrows shot up.

“Sugar!”

This broke me from my daze, confusing me. I raised an eyebrow but too quick, he grabbed me by the wrist and started leading me to the kitchen past the staircase.

“We need sugar.” He let go of me at the counter, opening the freezer drawer of the fridge. He came out with a tub of vanilla ice cream, and loudly pulled two spoons out of the drawer next to me, dropping one in front of me.

Flipping the top off of the tub, he dug his spoon in and stuffed it into his mouth, his tongue swiping over his bottom lip. I tried not to stare at him.

“I think I’m okay.”

He shook his head at my argument.

“Nope. You said that as my sponsor, you’d eat ice cream with me if I needed it.” He pointed at the tub. “Eat.”

I raised my eyebrow and picked up the spoon, getting only a touch of ice cream on the end.

“I don’t remember saying exactly that.”

He shrugged, but I still put the sweet, cold spoon in my mouth. It did help.

We sat in silence for a moment, devouring the fresh tub of ice cream for a few minutes before he grabbed it and headed for a tall black table near the countertop. I followed.

We sat adjacent, tub in the center, and continued to gorge.

“So, am I going to get fat from all the sugar?”

This made me chuckle and shake my head. “You’ve got to counteract the carbs. Work out. That also helps because of the endorphins.”

“That sounds like a lot of work.” His tongue was cleaning the underside of the spoon, and I had evidently stopped mid-bite to ogle this, because he smirked at me.

“Sorry.” He sheepishly put the spoon down.

I blinked rapidly and coughed out a giggle. “No, no, I’m sorry.”

Standing up, I turned around and headed for the sink. Quickly rinsing water over my spoon, I set it in the metal basin with a loud clink.

I felt his arm come up beside me, setting his down as well. I hadn’t even heard him walk over.

He didn’t move away from my side, just standing directly behind me. I felt the warmth of his breath on the bare skin at the nape of my neck. His hand was still resting on the countertop to my right and I saw his knuckles turning white where they grasped the edge.

This was bad. I didn’t know what it was, but it was bad.

He did back away after a moment, breathing loudly. I took an extra second to compose myself before turning around.

When I did, there were those eyes again. Boring into me. However, after a second, he smiled, lifting his hand to my face. I was frozen, entirely unaware of what was happening.

His thumb reached up, and swiped across my bottom lip. Is he serious?

When he pulled his hand back, however, the creamy white liquid made me chuckle. I had ice cream on my lip. I reached up and wiped my mouth, while he laughed and just wiped his hand on the sweat pants he was wearing.

“I’m such a mess today.”

He shook his head in response. “I don’t think so.”

And suddenly, the air was thick. Thicker than water. Thicker than syrup. I couldn’t even breathe. His lips were so close. It wouldn’t take much, just a swift movement. A trip? A leer in the wrong direction?

His eyes were studying mine, back and forth. Mine were fixated on his mouth, pink from the cold. Puffy. Absolutely mouth watering.

My body began pulling back, when a hand grabbed me by the back of the neck, fast as lightning, and pulled me in.

His mouth was hot, despite our dessert. His tongue was searching through my mouth, my eyes rolling back behind my lids.

My instincts kicked in and my hands grabbed his shirt, pulling his body closer.

A low, guttural growl escaped his throat before his hand reached down and grabbed my ass, lifting me in the air. He pushed me back onto the countertop so we were at an even level.

I can’t say how long this went on, our mouths fighting each other, my hands gripping his hair. His hands were sliding up and down my thighs, fingertips touching my hips. My body was electric white hot need.

It had been so so long.

But at that moment, that stupid, idiotic fucking moment, my brain kicked in.

He has a girlfriend.

He has a girl-friend!

He has a girlfriend!

YOU’RE HIS FUCKING SPONSOR!

This brought me back, my hands forfeiting his hair, and pushing my body backwards. The back of my head bumped the cabinet behind me, but not hard enough to care.

His pupils were blown wide, making his irises appear to be entirely black.

“Leena…I…I’m so fucking sor-“ But before he could finish, I had hopped down from the counter.

“I have to go.” I padded to the front door, not looking back. I jumped in my truck and nearly peeled away from the driveway, only slowing down to allow the gate to open again.

What the fuck did I just do?

-

I forced myself to sleep that night, refusing to process what all had just happened.

I regretted it the next day, when I woke up with blackened eye crust and stiff from wearing my hair in a ponytail over night.

I had only the forethought to take my jeans and bra off. I cursed myself when I saw my reflection the following morning. It was horrendous.

My hair was askew, half ripped from the ponytail. My eyes were bloodshot, which is odd given I didn’t think I had cried. Maybe I cried on my way home? Who knows. I actively tried to block it all out.

This was unacceptable behavior from me. I’m the responsible one. The older one. The sober-senior, so to speak.

To only add insult to injury, I had forgotten to grab my energy drinks last night, so I was stuck making a good old fashioned cup of coffee with my barely used Keurig.

While I waited for it to brew, I grabbed my phone out of my purse, groaning when I saw it was on 24% battery. I didn’t even plug it in.

I did notice that I had several fresh texts. One from Laura, one from Abel, and one from Noah.

Naturally, I wanted to open Laura’s first, but my morals forced me to open Noah’s first. He might need his sponsor (which is all I am to him).

Noah: Leena, I can’t even begin to tell you how awful I feel. I’m so so so so so so so sorry. I completely understand if you don’t want to sponsor me anymore. Please just let me know you made it home safe.

Fuck that guy, and how god damn sweet he was. He shouldn’t be apologizing, I should. I should know better.

The text had come in at 11:46PM, right after I left. I sighed, typing a fast response.

Me: Please don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I’m sorry. I can still sponsor you, maybe we just see each other in group only?

I added a smiley face to hopefully convey that I wasn’t actually angry at him.

His response came too fast for me to ignore.

Noah: I understand. See you Tuesday. I’ll call if I need you.

I felt like the message was almost cold, but I ignored it.

I didn’t even bother texting Laura before calling her.

“Hey babes! I’m so fucking tired this morning. I don’t know how I thought I was going to make it through work today. My back is kill-“

I had to cut her off. “He fucking kissed me.”

The other end went completely silent.

“What?!?!” Her shrill voice mimicked my own panic.

“Yup.”

“I fucking knew you liked him!”

I sneered. “Didn’t you hear me?! He kissed me!”

“Oh okay, so you pushed him off?”

I hesitated. I did, just after being an entire fucking moron for at least two minutes. “Y-Yes.”

My voice was such a God damn traitor.

“Oh no, Leena.” Her tone was serious now. I didn’t even have the balls to respond. “This is bad, babe. You can’t fall for your sponsee.”

“Fall for him?!” My turn to be shrill. “I don’t even know him!”

Poor Angel whined at me from down near my legs. I padded to the back door and let him out.

“Exactly! And see how drawn to him you are already! You need to stay away from him.”

“I’m his sponsor, Laura. I can’t exactly ditch the guy.”

She sighed. “No, but you can keep a distance.”

“Yeah. I told him we should only see each other in group.”

“What did he say?” I read her his response. She tsk’ed. “He’s butthurt.”

“He has a girlfriend.”

“Apparently one he can’t care about too much.”

I sighed. “It’s the alcohol withdrawal, dude. It makes you do stupid shit. Makes you crave…stuff.”

“Like hot little brunette girls?” I rolled my eyes.

“Oh my fucking god.”

She laughed then. “I’m fucking with you.”

“Please don’t. I’m fucking struggling here.” I groaned loudly. “I want a drink so bad.”

Her tone changed. “Babes?” I hung my head over the kitchen counter. “Maybe you should call your sponsor.”

My head snapped up. “You’re right. I’m going to.”

“Call me later if you want.”

I agreed and hung up. Scrolling through my phone, I called the one person I trusted more than myself.

The phone rang only a second before his voice rang out on the other end. “Hey! You okay?”

“Hey Daddy. No, I’m not.”

-

After a good two hour talk with my Dad, a scalding hot shower, and three pieces of cinnamon toast, I was curled up in bed, arm slung over Angel who thoroughly enjoyed our lazy days, watching The Conjuring. It was nearly 8PM, and I had no other plans. My day off tomorrow would be for laundry and cleaning. Maybe a run? Today was for sulking and healing.

Which I could do, if my phone didn’t start ringing.

Noah’s name flashed across the screen and I groaned before fixing my tone.

“Hello?”

“When does this stop being so fucking hard?” His voice was agitated, and much louder than I was used to. He was worked up, which was dangerous when you’re trying not to drink.

I sat up straight in bed, hitting pause on my remote.

“Noah, what happened?”

I heard him huffing on the other end of the phone. “No, answer that for me. Fucking, please!” He was yelling now.

I stiffened my voice. “Noah, please don’t yell at me.”

I heard him take three calculated breaths.

“I’m sorry. I’m just pissed off.”

I nodded, as if he could see. “It’s okay. Talk to me, what happened?”

“Lily and I got into a fight.”

“Lily?”

“My girlfriend.” I felt my confidence slip.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I tried to tell her I didn’t want to meet her for drinks. That I was still sick. She told me I had been acting so weird and told me I’ve been so off lately.”

I laid back on my pillows, letting him continue to vent.

“Which says a lot because the only difference is, I’ve been fucking SOBER! I’ve been working my ass off to get better, and she tells me I’m essentially boring. Like, I’m a vocalist for fuck’s sake! Alcohol murders my voice! I can’t sing for shit when I’ve been drinking! And I always end up fighting someone. Some rando at the bar, or Nick, or Jolly. It’s a miracle I haven’t been arrested!”

His rant was only getting stronger.

“I want to get healthy. I want to be better. And that’s me being off? She hasn’t even noticed I’ve been sober!”

He made a sound that was something of a growling, which made my stomach flip. I ignored it. But I could hear his breathing slow.

“Feel better?” My voice was small, unsure if he was quite done.

His voice snorted on the other end. “Yeah, I do, actually.”

I smiled, sad. “Good.”

The line was quiet for a few, just breathing from each end.

“Maybe it’s time to tell her, Noah? Maybe you should tell all of them. You’ll be surprised who may support you.” He shrugged.

“I don’t know how.”

“I get that, but you know them better than anyone else. You got this. I’m sure they love you, and will understand.” I’m not sure, but he needs the comfort right now.

“Thanks Mileena.” I had never heard him say my full name. “Sorry for calling.”

I laughed. “Never apologize for needing your sponsor.”

“My friend?”

This made me pause, but I did respond. “Of course.”

[collapsedglasshouses]

WOULD YOU SAY I'M WORTHY || THREE

PAIRING: Noah Sebastian x OFC ; slight Nick Folio x OFC

DIVIDERS BY @saradika-graphics

SUMMARY: When Eden meets Noah, her life is anything but perfect. Her heart is far more broken than Noah can even guess at this point. Will he be able to mend the wounds he hadn’t caused?

WARNINGS: angst, fluff, eventually smut, mentions of grief/loss, mentions of alcohol consumption, mentions of mental health issues, mentions of illnesses

A/N: I like this chapter a lot, maybe it's the vibe idk. Let me know what you think and please consider reblogging! ♡

TAGLIST: @measuredingold @cncohshit @lma1986 @missduffsblog @cookiesupplier @thescarlettvvitch @bngurngheart @dream-machine-love @arkiliastuff @vinyardmauro @lacktoesandtoddlerants @princessmarshmallowx @circle-with-me @thisbicc @xxkittenkissesxx @malerieee @smoke-in-diamond-shape @thatgirlforever5 @veronicaphoenix @justeli6

If you wanna be added to the story's taglist or to my taglist in general, leave a comment or message me privately!

MASTERPOST || MASTERLIST

Halloween night always felt magical in Eden’s neighborhood. The air buzzed with a sense of excitement and the moonlight painted everything around the houses in a silver glow. A gentle breezed carried the smell of wet leaves and pumpkins. Streetlights made shadows that danced on the sidewalks and most of the houses were covered with cobwebs and spooky decorations.

While Eden was getting ready she heard a couple of leaves crunch under the feet of families wandering the streets and the sound was mixed with the laughter of trick-or-treaters. Even though Eden wasn’t the biggest fan of her birthday, she loved how everything was tinted in a warm orange light by Jack-o’-lanterns. Her landlord had carved four of them and placed them in front of the small apartment building she was living in. The night held surprises around every corner and the air was filled with joyful chatter of kids in their bright and sometimes spooky costumes.

Meanwhile, Eden found herself standing in front of her mirror. Her hand ran over her hips as she admired her costume. The black corset dress hugged her curves seemingly perfect and the white Ghostface mask added a hint of mystery to her appearance. She couldn’t even recognize herself anymore. She normally was pretty reserved and quiet, only letting out her outgoing side when she had to at work, and this also reflected in her style of clothing. However, her skin was adorned with a few different stories. The tattoos that covered her left arm, her hip and her right leg all had their own tales to tell, but she usually kept them to herself.

Today should be different. Her whole arms and legs were exposed. She somewhat felt naked. As if the tattoos would suddenly start to talk. For a second, she thought about covering up but then she remembered something important. No one over there knew her. No one knew what the story behind her tattoos was. No one would question her about the things she desperately wanted to hide and suppress. No one over there knew her.

She could be a completely different person tonight. They only saw the confident woman under the mask. Not the exhausted self she was the rest of the time.

She sighed, pleased with herself, before putting the mask off again. She grabbed her phone and purse and left the house. Right as she reached her car, there was a small group of children running down the street. They were all giggling and showing the candies they had gotten to their parents that waited for them. A sad smile washed over her face for a second, but she decided to ignore the hole in her chest, before getting into her car and driving off.

As she arrived at the venue, the party was already in full swing. The music thumped through the walls of the house and Eden could occasionally hear laughter echoing through the chilly air. She sat in her car for a second, while starring at the building. There was no going back.

She took a deep breath, before grabbing her mask from the passenger seat and putting in on again.

“You got this, Eden.” She mumbled to herself, before getting her purse and then stepping out of her car. She walked reluctantly towards the front door and considered for a second whether she should write to Nick that she was here or simply enter, but then someone was already yanking the door open.

It was a guy, dressed in gray, with a cute racoon mask on his face.

“Woah, sorry.” The man yelped and held onto the door frame in shock but his tone quickly changed to a skeptic one. “And who are you?”

Before Eden could even answer him, a familiar face pushed Racoon-Guy to the side and beamed at her. “Let me through, Matt. This is Eden!”

Eden smiled to herself under the mask. His costume was unmistakable. He was Freddy Krueger, complete with the widely-known striped sweater, hat and glove with fake razor-sharp blades.

“Get in here!” Nick shouted at her over the music and carefully grabbed her hand to get her in the house.

“You look absolutely stunning, Eden! I didn’t even know you had tattoos.” He complimented the girl while leading her to the table where the drinks stood at.

“Thank you. You look great yourself.” She answered him shyly, while eyeing the table.

Until now, she had simply tried to ignore the crowd of people in the room, but the anxiety was slowly creeping into her bones. She hated crowds, she hated large amounts of alcohol, she hated parties. She asked herself again what she was actually doing there.

“Where is the birthday kid? I wanna at least congratulate him.” Eden mumbled to Nick as he held up a beer, asking silently if it was okay to open it for her. She nodded, while he answered. “I actually have no fucking idea. I lost him an hour ago.”

Eden nodded while taking the beer Nick held to her. She lifted the mask for a short second to take a sip, when she remembered. “I actually can’t drink. I drove here.”

“You can sleep in my room, if you want. I have a spare couch.” Nick smiled at her shyly and she blinked for a second.

“You live here?” She asked him and he nodded. “The boys and I all live here.”

Eden nodded before thinking to herself, if it was a good idea to crash at Nick’s place. It would be the first time in ages that she wouldn’t sleep in the comfort of her own home. But when someone accidentally bumped into her, she realized that she would probably end the evening in a panic attack if she didn't drink. So, she nodded. “Okay, I’ll sleep here.”

Nick smiled brightly at her, before nodding in a direction, signaling her to follow him. They walked to a small group gathered in the corner of the living room.

“Guys, this is Eden.” Nick introduced her to the people, and she shyly waved at them for a second.

“Woah, awesome costume.” One of the men, dressed as cupid, said to her and she thanked him quietly. “I’m Jesse by the way.”

Nick began to introduce the others after that. There was Jolly and Nicholas, dressed as pirates. There was Bryan, dressed as Marty McFly. And there was the raccoon guy that opened the door, Matt.

They all began to chat, while Eden found herself just standing next to Nick, following their conversation. Eden was feeling herself zoning out as the next hour passed. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but she began to notice how little she actually knew Nick and kind of felt out of place for a second.

She lifted her mask again, just enough to take a big sip of her beer, when she heard Jesse next to her exclaim in excitement.

“Oh man! I just thought we could get a glimpse of the girl Nick can’t shut up about.” He joked as Eden let the mask fall on her face again. She noticed how she blushed and was glad she had the costume to cover her face.

“Oh, shut up. I’m not always talking about her.” Nick protested and Eden saw how he tried to cover up his own blushing cheeks while drinking from his beer.

Eden didn’t know what to say, so she blinked for a second, before deciding to cover Nick’s back. “I think that needs to be a mystery for a bit longer.”

The guys chuckled while she patted Nick’s back for reassurance. He smiled at her shyly for a second, before they began to chat again. Eden’s gaze wondered over the room. She had been right, she knew nobody. But that was also relatively normal considering how little she left the house when she didn't have to go to work.

Her gaze lingered on a man standing at the other end of the room who seemed to be looking across the space just like her. He stood tall, with long brown hair falling down his back. Dressed as a vampire, he had this mysterious vibe about him, like he just stepped out of a spooky tale. The darkness of his costume matched his eyes, making him look both charming and a little bit eerie. Eden felt intrigued by him, maybe because he looked like he didn’t want to be there. Just like her. When he smiled at the guy standing next to him, Eden felt herself smiling with him.

Nick snapped her out of her thoughts, when he gently tapped her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” He wanted to know and gave her a sweet smile that she wished she could return to him, but her mask was still hiding her face.

“Yeah… Don’t worry. I just need some fresh air.” With that, the woman ran a hand over his arm and walked away from the group and out the door to the small garden. There was a pool and a couple of cozy benches. She was glad nobody was out there. She sat down and put her mask off.

Right now, she noticed how anxious she had been in there. Her whole body was tense. It had been years at this point since she last went to a party, considering the last years had been tough and definitely nothing to celebrate, but she hadn't realized how hard it actually had been for her to enjoy herself at a party.

She was snapped out of her thoughts, when she heard someone stepping outside. She turned her head and saw the vampire from before. The man stepped close to her and stopped for a second when he saw her sitting there. It took him a second to decide what to do before he pointed to the seat next to her on the bench. “May I?”

Eden nodded.

“I spent the whole evening wondering who was under that mask.” He cheekily exclaimed and ran a hand through his long hair. Eden chuckled, feeling a sense of ease in the man’s company. “Well… The secret is out now.”

After that they fell into a comfortable silence, both deep in their thoughts. Eden was surprised by the easiness that the man next to her radiated. Normally, she would have stood up and went back inside, but he seemed to calm her spirits without doing anything at all.

“Honestly,…” The man began, “I really hate celebrating my birthday.” Eden’s eyes shot to him, realizing he was the only reason she was there that night. “I didn’t know you were the birthday kid. Happy Birthday.” She exclaimed with a sweet smile on her lips.

“Thank you.” He quietly reacted, the corners of his mouth shooting up for a couple of seconds and Eden noticed it made him uncomfortable for a while.

“So, how old are you turning?” She then wanted to know.

The guy, with a casual grin on his face, replied, “24.” A brief pause hung in the air as Eden nodded at his answer, before she exclaimed, “Birthdays aren’t really my thing either. Parties even less.”

Curiosity sparked in him, Noah asked, “When’s yours then?”

Eden, a touch more shyly than she already was, responded, “Today.”

“Really?” He exclaimed with widened eyes, “Well, happy birthday to you too!”

She smiled for a short second, appreciating the sincerity in his wishes, while he asked her how old she turned.

“26.” She shortly exclaimed and looked straight ahead. She wanted to be normal about this, but her age always reminded her about how fast her young adulthood was slipping through her fingers.

“I’m Noah, by the way.” He introduced himself after a minute of silence. “Eden.”

“Eden? Where does that come from?” Noah asked, intrigued by the girl’s presence. Something about his gaze relaxed Eden. It didn't feel forced to talk to him. It felt like he genuinely wanted to make her feel better.

“I mean it is a really biblically name, but my parents just thought it sounded spooky and since I was born on Halloween and it’s their favorite holiday, they named me that.” She explained to him and felt how she slightly cringed at her statement. She really hated the reason behind her naming. If her parents had been strict religious people, she would have understood, but needing to explain that they just thought it sounded a bit scary, made her feel silly.

“Let me guess, you have siblings called Carrie or Annabelle to round up the spooky theme.” Noah joked, but when he saw her face, he stopped laughing. “Please tell me I’m wrong.”

“I have a younger sister called Raven. So, close.” Eden exclaimed while Noah took a deep breath.

“I think that’s both really pretty names but when I think of your parents, I see two really bubbly people who actually do not even know what the names originally meant.” – “Sounds about right.”

Eden tried to ignore how her cheeks became a slight tone of pink because of his compliment.

Noah noticed how Eden shifted in her seat and decided to change the topic. “Nick was talking about you the other day. Only positive things, of course.” – “Really?” Eden’s face must have been a deep shade of red at this point.

“Totally. He thinks you’re pretty cool.” Noah exclaimed, not telling her how Nick ranted about how beautiful she was the second he came home from that bar the first time.

Eden’s curiosity piqued, but her thoughts held her back from prying further. She wondered what Nick had said about her but decided to keep it to herself for now. Maybe some time she would be comfortable enough to ask Nick himself.

“And?” She asked Noah and he shot her a confused look. “What and?”

“Am I pretty cool?” She jokingly asked the vampire in front of her. He laughed at her question in a sweet tone and Eden also couldn’t help but grin.

“Yeah. I would say the statement ‘pretty cool’ is pretty accurate.” He answered her honestly and Eden felt her cheeks heat up again. She rolled her eyes while smiling and looked away. “You know, you don’t need to lie to me just because I’m sleeping here tonight.”

“I’m not lying, ghosty.” He justified his previous exclaim.

“Ghosty?” She asked him while laughing slightly.

“Yeah, you’re gonna be the sexy ghostface forever in my mind, Eden.” He boldly stated and Eden immediately felt warmth spread in her stomach. Did he really think she looked sexy?

“Maybe, you’re forever going to be the handsome vampire in my mind.” She then answered him, not really knowing where her boldness came from. Now Noah was the one to blush and Eden couldn’t help but feel proud. She didn’t think she would have this kind of effect on anyone with her words.

“So, you’re staying tonight?” Noah then wanted to know, fidgeting with his fingers, to calm his nervousness because of her compliment.

Eden nodded. “Yeah, I’m sleeping on Nick’s couch.”

Noah nodded.

Right as he was about to ask her something, the door to the garden was opened.

“Hey, Eden. I’m heading to bed. Should I show you where you're sleeping tonight?” Nick said to her, and Noah couldn’t ignore his facial expression. He wasn’t too happy to see the two of them alone, so Noah tried to ease Nick’s spirits by standing up and walking towards him.

“I was going to bed anyways.” Noah exclaimed and shot Eden a last smile, before patting Nick’s shoulders and getting back into the house.

Eden also stood up, trying to suppress her disappointment about Noah’s disappearance while shooting Nick a smile.

Nick signaled her to step into the house first, which she accepted. Inside, she noticed that almost everyone had been gone at this point and she wandered how long she had been sitting outside with Noah.

“By the way, don’t worry about your makeup. We have bought some remover because of the Halloween costumes.” Nick said to her after wishing everyone that was still downstairs a good night.

“Really thoughtful of you.” She answered him while trotting behind him to his room. When they entered it, she was met with a sweet view. The room screamed Nick. Some band posters where hanging on the wall, while a fishing rod stood in the corner. Some drum sticks randomly laid around.

“I’m sorry that I dragged you here tonight, Eden.” Nick exclaimed, while Eden sat down on the couch. “Oh, don’t worry. I had fun. Just not a fan of big crowds.”

“Kinda ironic, considering you’re a bartender.” Nick answered her with a sweet smile on his face, while grabbing a blanket and one of his pillows.

“Maybe, but at the bar I have a counter to keep people off of me.” Eden began while getting out of her tights. “And if they are mean to me, I can throw glasses at them.”

Nick laughed slightly, while going to his closet to grab a shirt for her to wear for the night.

“Do you maybe have a hair tie?” She sweetly asked Nick and took the shirt from his hands.

“I think, I’m the only one in this household who doesn’t own one.” Nick exclaimed with a lopsided grin and Eden nodded, realizing there were a lot of men with long hair in this house, but Nick was not one of them.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find one.” She exclaimed, before asking him where the bathroom was, and he gladly showed it to her.

When she entered the room, she locked the door after her and began her evening routine. Sadly, she wasn’t able to brush her teeth, but it was okay for one night.

Right when she was ready and changed, she heard a soft knock on the door and went to open it. The first thing she saw was a tattooed chest, when she lifted her gaze, she was met with a neck, just as tattooed. She felt how her heart began to beat fast.

Soon she looked into dark brown eyes. Noah.

“Sorry, didn’t know you were in there.” Noah excused himself as Eden needed a second to compose herself. She knew he was tattooed but she didn’t know that he had so many.

“Don’t worry, I just finished.” She mumbled and felt like she stuttered the words out. She was about to step away, when she remembered something.

“Do you maybe have a hair tie for me?” She asked him softly and he began to smile. His hair had been up in a bun, but soon he opened his hair to give her his hair tie.

“No, you can’t just give me that.” She wanted to protest but he grabbed her hand and put the elastic in it.

“Don’t worry, keep it. I have enough.” He answered, before they changed places, Eden now staying outside the bathroom.

“Thanks.” Eden whispered, still intimidated by his presence.

“Good night, Eden.” – “Good night, Noah.”

[keep-the-wolves-close]

Steady Heart

Chapter 7: Lucky Seven

* Pairing: Slow-burn Kayce Dutton x OFC Stella Daniels

* Rating: M? (Still figuring out the rating system) (might eventually be M anyhow)

* Warnings: brief mention of murder, language, I think this chapter is pretty tame?

* Word count: 5,496ish

I would love to give credits to @dameronscopilot and @deanscroissant for being a sounding board for me during this whole process, giving outsider insight, being cheerleaders, and allowing me to screech at them about things that have happened during the writing process. Seriously couldn't have gotten this far.

Author's note: I hope everyone is enjoying so far! I hope you love this chapter as well! Also oof this one is longer than normal 😂. If you stick around until the end, kudos to you and thank you!

Stella frowned when she heard her phone ring from across the room. She just finished getting ready in her bathroom to head to the ranch for the day. It was 5:30 in the morning. ‘Someone better be dying, or in jail.’ Running to grab it before the last ring, she saw it was Monica.

“Hey Monica, what’s wrong?” Stella quickly questioned. It wasn’t usual for her to call her this early. She normally didn’t call her to begin with. Typically it was a text that came through.

The tinny, muffled sound came through the speaker. “Stella? Kayce was arrested.”

“What, why?!”

“I don’t know, but I need your help to get him out.”

“Okay I’m on my way. Are you home?”

“Yes. And thank you.”

Stella hung up the phone and shot a text to her brother. I’m gonna be late this mornin. Monica needs my help with something. Hurrying, she grabbed her keys and back pack, and ran out the door.

Monica stood with Tate outside of their house when Stella arrived. Once she got her son in the backseat of Stella’s SUV, she jumped in the car herself. Stella looked at her questioningly.

Monica explained. “We’ve gotta go to Chief Rainwater.”

“Monica, I’m gonna be real with you here for a second.” She side eyed Tate in the backseat and nodded to Monica to meet her outside of the car.

Monica faced her son. “Hey Tate? Me and Aunt Stell are gonna go talk outside really quick. Stay here.” Both of the women hopped out and stood at the front of the car and faced away from the little boy so he couldn’t figure out what was going on.

“So you were gonna be real with me?”

“Yeah.” Stella sighed the word. “The easiest solution to get him out of there as quickly as possible, is to go to his dad. Not me. ”

“Yeah I know, but I would rather not. Unless absolutely necessary.”

“Which I get, but they have a lawyer on their roster. I’m not that lawyer, Monica. I don’t have that kind of firepower. Chief Rainwater only knows me as the off Rez girl that hangs out with you and Kayce. My argument isn’t gonna change his mind. Especially since we have no idea what they picked him up for in the first place.” Stella shrugged. “Kayce is probably already thinking of getting Jamie involved anyhow.”

“We have to try, Stella. Rainwater has respect for you. He’ll at least listen.”

Stella made a face. That was news to her that he had respect for her. She wasn’t exactly sure how much the Chief would actually listen. “I’ll give it my best shot.” She looked directly at Monica. “You take your car. If I’m not having any luck, one of us is gonna have to go to his dad. Jamie will be able to get him out of there for sure if I can’t.”

“How will I know?”

“I’ll come outside. I’ll stay just in case they try anything funny before Jamie would get there.” Monica went to work and switched Tate into her car. She gave Stella a thumbs up signaling she was ready to pull out.

They arrived at the Chief’s office about 15 minutes later. Stella breathed deeply, trying to boost her confidence. She was good with people for the most part, but not everyone loved her. Monica said Rainwater respected her, but Stella wasn’t sure how true that was. Being the troublemaker’s best friend didn’t exactly keep her high on the list.

Stella jumped when Monica tapped on her window. She opened the door and registered Monica’s serious face.

“Are you sure you can do this?” Monica questioned her.

Stella stepped out of the car, locking it behind her, and shook her head. “I have a little faith in myself, but I don’t want to make a promise I can’t keep.” Monica patted her on the back as she walked away, heading into the Chief’s office.

When Stella stepped through the threshold, the few people milling about stopped to look at her. She smiled at the folks still looking at her puzzled. She took in all the regalia displayed around the office for a minute. She noticed the secretary, Rebecca, and made a beeline for her desk.

Rebecca noticed the movement and greeted Stella with a smile. “Hi Stella, what can I help you with today?”

“Yeah, hi. I heard Kayce Dutton had gotten picked up and I was wondering if I could place bail for him or something.”

“Yeah, all of us know who you are Stella.” The woman behind the desk chuckled. “Why are you acting like you’ve never met me before?”

Stella sighed. “I guess I’m just trying to keep it professional. I dunno, Rebecca.” She shrugged.

Rebecca continued. “As for Kayce, I don’t have much information about that. At least information that I’m permitted to give you, anyhow.”

“Yeah that’s completely fine. I was just wondering if I could talk to Chief Rainwater for a moment?”

“He’s actually in a meeting.”

Stella frowned at the rejection. She heard the door open to her left and saw the Chief’s head of security, Mo, stick his head out. He was looking for the secretary to tell her something, but he never got the chance.

“Oh hey Mo! Just the person I was looking for.”

He whispered to himself, “oh no,” and he stuck his head back inside the room. “Stella Daniels is here, sir.”

“Wait, Stella’s here?” She heard Kayce’s surprise. She excused herself from Rebecca and made her way to Mo.

He snapped his arm across the door frame to stop her. “Stella you can’t come in here.”

“Well it just so happens that I’m actually here to talk to you about the resident guest you have in there.” She pointed to the room. “Well, you and Mr. Rainwater.”

The muffled voices of the men in the room drifted out from behind the door. Thomas’s voice gave direction to his head security officer. “Mo, let her in.”

Mo swung the door open with a sigh and stepped aside to let Stella by. These two always found a way to give them all a headache. Kayce smiled cutely at her from the chair and she gave him a stern look. She quickly switched to a saccharine smile when she directed her gaze at Rainwater. Her smile faltered when she saw Officer Waters posted beside Thomas, but she regained her composure and continued with the facade of confidence.

“Ms. Daniels.” Thomas waved to the empty chair in front of his desk. “Please have a seat.” Stella seated herself and crossed her legs at the knee. She waited for Thomas to continue. “So Kayce is what brings you here today, is that correct?”

“Well, not just him.” She heard Kayce scoff because he didn’t catch her meaning. “Primarily though, yes. I was actually wondering if I could talk to him really quick.” She side eyed Kayce.

Thomas accepted the request. “By all means.” No one made a motion to leave.

Stella chuckled and scratched her temple. “What I meant was, may I speak to him alone for like two minutes?” She did her best to put on an innocent doe eyed face.

Sheriff Waters began to object. “I don’t think that’s a good idea sir.”

Her attention whipped in his direction. When their eyes locked he looked like he wanted to escape. “What am I gonna do, Ben? Climb out the window with him and run?” Stella had a mischievous glint in her eye and a small grin in a challenge to his objection. Ben’s mouth opened and closed for a moment. The look on her face made him sweat. “I just want to talk to him really quick. I promise. No funny business.” She made direct eye contact with Thomas.

Thomas looked at Mo and then back to Stella as he contemplated. These two were known for being troublemakers. Tricksters. By everyone. There was a time when Thomas wouldn’t have put climbing out the window and running, past them. He still wouldn’t, but he didn’t think they were that stupid. Their energy now versus when they were younger, was very different. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Fine. Two minutes.” Ben and Mo headed to the door with Thomas following not far behind. He stopped and pinned the pair with a stern gaze. “The door stays cracked.” Both of them nodded and smiled.

Stella remained seated for an extra second after everyone left and intently watched the door. Once she felt that they were in the clear, she snapped to her feet and stalked over to Kayce. He braced himself against the chair as far as he could without tipping it. He thought she was going to land a solid crack to his jaw. She placed her hands on the arms of his chair effectively boxing him into his seat and huffed.

She whispered aggressively through her teeth. “Okay, now's not the time to be cute. What the fuck did you do and how much bullshit do your wife and I have to dig through to get you out?”

Kayce felt his eyes cross at Stella’s close proximity. He blinked to refocus. “People were trying to hurt Danny Trudeau’s daughter. I helped her, and stopped them. Then Danny and I took care of the fall out.” He whispered back.

Stella’s eyes widened as she whispered angrily at him again. “Stopped them?! Like permanently?” He nodded back at her.

Stella stood straight, put her glasses on top of her head, and rubbed her forehead. She drug her hand down her face. “Shit. We need Jamie.” The three men loudly re-entered the room. Stella placed her glasses back on her face.

“So did you two have your talk?” Thomas asked.

“Yessir.” They both answered in stereo.

Thomas looked between them. “So what is it that you wanted to speak to me about?” He walked back around his desk and seated himself.

Stella sucked in her bottom lip and held it with her teeth. She wasn’t exactly sure where to go from here. Especially when she knew the reason for him being held.

Thomas interrupted her train of thought. “I know what you’re going to ask, Stella, and the answer is no. We cannot release him into civilian custody.”

Kayce tried to defend Stella. “I mean, you know I’m not going to run anywhere. Monica or Stella wouldn’t let me do that. I don’t even think I would.”

Thomas put his foot down. “That’s a chance I’m not willing to take. It happened here.” His gaze moved from Kayce and back to Stella as he put his finger on his desk. “He can’t leave tribal land.”

Stella sighed. “Is there any way I can convince you to give him over to me, at all?”

“No Stella. We appreciate the effort, and I’m sure he does as well, but unfortunately this isn’t something you can fix.” Thomas let her down easy.

The best friends made direct eye contact. There was a subtle nod between them and Kayce looked at Thomas. “I’d like a lawyer.”

“Gentlemen, that would be my cue.” Stella nodded as she left.

Making her way out to the front steps, she searched around to see where Monica was. The women saw each other and made their way to meet in the middle.

“We need Jamie.”

Monica groaned. “Damn it!”

“I know, but it’s something I can’t undo. I don’t have the legal power. Whatever it was, it happened on tribal land. They don’t want him to set foot off the Rez. I can take the hit for you, if you really want to avoid talking to John?”

“No, I should be the one to go. Maybe call him so I don’t have to explain as much?” Monica requested.

“Yeah. I’ll do that. I’ll let them know you’re on your way. I’ll stay here out of sight, just in case.” Stella watched her walk off and hop in her car.

Stella cringed. This was definitely not the situation she thought she would be in this morning.

The phone rang four times before John answered with confusion. “Stella? What’s wrong?” She only called him if it was an emergency. After the fiasco of the last few days, he didn’t think she would try to contact him on purpose for a while. Unless they ran into each other on the ranch.

“It’s Kayce, sir. He was picked up by Rez police. They’re holding him down at the station. We need Jamie.”

“What do they have him for?”

“Something that happened on the reservation. They wouldn’t tell me. I just know this is something neither Monica nor myself have the power to fix. She’s on her way to you now with Tate.”

“I’m gonna make some calls.” John ended the call abruptly.

Both John and Jamie talked hurriedly on the phone with people to figure out Kayce’s situation.

“Well, they gotta transfer him somewhere, and if they haven't… If they haven't called you for the transfer, then it's gotta be federal, right?” John questioned. He remained silent while the person on the other end explained something to him. “Okay, well can you reach out to the BIA and FBI, see if they've had any transfer requests? Be vague, all right? Don't use Kayce's name. I don't want to… I don't want to open a door we can't close. Hold on a second.”

Jamie interrupted. “I checked with the federal court in Billings. No warrant was issued there, and nothing from the Park County Court either.”

“Walter, get back to me on this.” John ended the call and turned to Jamie fully. “What do you think they got him for?”

Jamie replied hopefully. “Fingers crossed it's the Rez thing.”

“Yeah. Take the chopper. Don't waste time in a car. Jamie…,” John paused. “Don't leave there without him, son.”

“I won't.” Jamie pulled out his cell phone again and called their pilot. “Viggo, I'm gonna need the chopper.” Monica walked up just as Jamie was leaving.

John focused all his attention on her and his grandson. “Had breakfast?”

“Not hungry.”

“How 'bout you, Tate?” He gave the boy a second to answer. He shrugged noncommittedly. “Or maybe just skip straight to dessert?”

Tate’s eyes lit up. “Like, what kind of desert?”

“Well, there's some cookies in there the size of pie plates.”

“Big cookie!”

“Well, they ain't small. Go ahead.” John ruffled Tate’s hair affectionately and gently guided him in the direction of the house as he ran by.

John waited until his grandson was completely out of ear shot. “Wouldn't say what they picked him up for.”

“They wouldn't tell me or Stella at the station either.” Monica shrugged.

“No arraignment date?”

“Mm-mm.”

“Sounds to me like they're—,” John interrupted himself. “—They're looking, that's all.”

Monica let out a humorless scoff. “Don't have to look far with Kayce.”

“We'll get him out of this, don't you worry. You have my word.” He took a moment. “And after I do, you two need to think about what's best for your family.”

“I'm not sure what you mean.” She tilted her head.

“Living day to day isn't living, Monica, it's surviving, with no regard for tomorrow.”

Tate came out and interrupted. “Boy, you weren't kidding.”

John thought quick on his feet to get Tate back inside. “Yeah, well, you should've brought two. Let me see that one.” He grabbed for the cookie in the boy’s hands. “Yeah, you're gonna have to go get another one, 'cause this one's mine.”

“Hey!” Tate giggled and wandered back into the house.

John looked after his grandson and then focused back on his daughter-in-law. “Tomorrow's the only thing a parent is supposed to live for.”

Stella heard the chopper coming before she saw it. She had parked a little ways off to the side. Once she saw it safely landed, Stella climbed out of her car. Racing around to the other side of the chopper caught Jamie’s attention.

Jamie stopped walking and waited for her. “Kayce dragged you into this too, huh?”

Stella raised her eyebrows at the accusation. “I was actually the first person that called your dad. So if anybody drug anyone into anything, it was me.” She pointed to herself.

“They wouldn’t let you take him?” There was an air of self-importance in his voice and he smirked.

She shot back quickly. “Of course not, Jamie. I’m not a lawyer.” She focused her gaze on him. “I was able to talk to him privately long enough for him to tell me what they’re holding him for.”

“What did he tell you?”

“Well, he saved a girl from being abducted and may or may not have stopped the people from doing it again. Ever.”

“What?! Why didn’t you tell my dad that?”

Stella quickly changed the subject. “So do you want me to stay in case things get weird, or meet y’all back at the ranch?”

“What would you be able to do if you stayed?” He asked her incredulously. Something in her eyes changed. Jamie would have called them crazy eyes out loud, but he hadn’t planned on being uppercut today.

Her voice came out soft, deceptively innocent. “Do you mean in the aspect of Kayce?”

“Yes. What could you possibly do that would help me?” He was frustrated with not only her antics, but his brothers as well. His whole family.

“Oh Jamie.” She pushed the front side of her glasses. “That is a heavy hypothetical question with an even heavier hypothetical answer.” Stella gave him a look that asked if she was picking up what he was putting down.

Jamie shook his head. “Nevermind. I shouldn’t have even asked.” He knew that when it came to his little brother, Stella would burn the whole state of Montana down if it meant Kayce would be safe.

Stella smiled and her eyes became normal again. “I’m glad you see it my way, bud.” She patted his shoulder. “I plead the fifth.” She cleared her throat. “So, do you want me to stay and wait, or not?”

He shook his head again. “No you go home. I’ll have him out in less than 30 minutes.”

“Okay sounds good.” She watched Jamie walk away. When he was out of earshot she whispered to herself, “good talk.”

She sent a text to Monica quickly before she hopped in her car. Jamie’s here. He said he’ll have him out in 30 or less. I’m on my way. You still at the ranch?

When Stella buckled her seatbelt her phone vibrated in the cup holder. Monica replied. Yep we’re still here. Thank you Stell. Smiling to herself, she put her car in drive to get a head start.

••

Stella made it back to the ranch in record time. At the very least, she beat Kayce and Jamie home. She pulled up to the big house. John was out with Tate and Monica sat off to the side. Not wanting to interrupt the duo, she made her way to Monica. She seated herself across from her best friend’s wife and sighed.

“I’m really sorry I couldn’t get him out.”

Monica shook her head gently. “You showed up and tried. That’s what matters.”

“It’s the least I could do.” Stella shrugged. “I think Jamie will have him home soon.”

John watched the women talk amongst themselves while he excused himself from his grandson. He got some type of comfort knowing these two had Kayce’s back.

Monica gave John a look. “You know you don’t act like the man from the stories.”

“That's the thing about being a grandfather.” John groaned as he sat down. “I get to do all the things I wished I'd done with my children.” He watched his grandson for a second and looked back to the women sitting with him. “The things I regret, I get... I get to do different.”

“It doesn't change the things you did, though.”

“No, it doesn't.” John agreed. He looked at Stella sitting there silently. She looked everywhere but them. “Thank you for trying to help her get him out.”

“Of course, sir.” Stella picked at the corner of her thumb nail.

Everyone heard the helicopter approach and started to stand. John yelled for Tate. “Come here grandson!” John walked forward to meet Jamie.

Stella rolled her eyes at the sight of Kayce’s older brother. There was just something about him that really irked her soul. She didn’t hate him, she just wanted to punch him in the throat a few times. ‘Yeah I’d probably feel better after that.’ Kayce always used to give her a hard time when they were younger, saying she had a crush on him. That honestly couldn’t be further from the truth. The only thing she could do was deny it and keep moving. Kayce caught her attention as he walked to his wife and son, and best friend.

She smiled and waved at him. Monica and Stella gave at each other a look. Stella decided it was time for her to sneak off. This was a reunion she wasn’t involved in.

Stella could see from the top of the hill that the wranglers were out in the pen working with some of the herd that needed doctoring. Ryan caught her eye as she made her way down the hill and nodded to her. She waved at him and leaned against the outside fence, content to just watch today. Something was going on with Jimmy, but Lloyd seemed to take him under his wing.

Kayce and his father also came down the hill not far behind Stella. Kayce looked out over the pen and watched the men work on the herd. He spotted Stella off to the side and smiled in her direction. He enjoyed seeing her happy here. His dad spoke to him, bringing him out of his reverie.

“Spent all morning pricing stallions. You can buy a damn house in town for what they cost now.”

“I just gave you a stallion.” Kayce stated.

“No one can ride him, Kayce.” John objected. “He's smart and mean. That's a bad combination in a horse.”

“Stella said she’s been doing just fine with him. He ain't got a mean bone in his body. She’d be the first to tell you. She’s just gotta finish him.”

“Well, that was Lee's job.”

“Which I thought you’d given to her? Have you even talked to her about it, or have you just left her hanging?” Kayce got angrier the more excuses he heard from his dad. Stella was most likely giving him free labor at this point.

“I don’t know if I want her to do it by herself. I don't have the time to finish him. Rip, he doesn't have the temperament.” John explained.

“I can pull him back down to my place and work on him with Stella then. She’s got the perfect temperament for it.”

“Why don't you work on him here? You're a horse trainer, aren't you?” John asked. “Aren't you? So train mine.”

“I won't work for you or steal Stella’s job. Why don’t you want her working the horses so bad? She does a damn good job.” Kayce defended her. “I know for a fact Lee wouldn’t have even bothered working with her if she didn’t have a knack for it.”

“I might need her to be in charge of the broodmares if we were to start a breeding program. That’s a full time job itself, let alone having to worry about breaking them. But you know what?” John waved his hand dismissively. “Just take the horse back. I don't want him.”

“The horse is me saying I'm sorry.” Kayce said quietly.

“You don't have anything to be sorry for!”

“I should've been there sooner.” Kayce paused looking at the ground. “I shouldn't have been there at all.”

“You gotta stop looking backwards, son.”

“I'll fix the horse for you. Ain't no gift if you can't ride him, but I won't let you pay me.” Kayce agreed.

“Yeah.” John scoffed. “That's a good deal for everybody but you.” He walked off and left Kayce to ponder their conversation. Kayce wound his way to Stella. She could help him out with Tank.

She smiled at him. “Hey, you,” she said gently budging his arm. “Welcome home, Vigilante.”

“Hey.” Kayce scolded her and gave her a look. “You got a minute?”

Stella made a face. “Yeah, I’m free as a bird right now. What’s up?”

“Let’s go get Tank.” He made a face back at her. “That’s what you named him, right?”

“Yes, actually.” She laughed, pleased that he remembered. “Today was supposed to be his off day. He might be pissed.”

“Well dad wants me to work on him with you.”

“Oh? Does he think I’m not doing it right?” Stella looked frowned.

“No, I just think he’s worried about you not having Lee to bounce off of.”

“I’m guessing he decided against giving me the position, huh? Sending you to tell me was smart on his part though.” She huffed. “Makes it sting a little less.”

“I think he’s got something up his sleeve for you. Don’t get bummed out yet.” Kayce patted her shoulder. “C’mon. Let’s go get that stallion.”

Stella watched Kayce while he trotted around the round pen with Tank. He looked pleased. That must have meant she’d done something right. ‘Not good enough for John to keep you in the position though,’ the nasty little voice in the back of her mind surfaced.

Footsteps crunched through gravel behind Stella. Looking over her shoulder she could see it was Monica and Tate. “Hey y’all.”

“So how is he?” Monica asked.

“The horse, or Kayce?”

Monica snorted a laugh. “Both, I guess.”

“Well, I thought Tank was doing just fine. Not so sure about how John feels though.” Stella tapped the fence. “Kayce? He seems alright. Quieter than normal, but I think being here does that to him.”

Monica and Kayce smiled at each other. Monica questioned. “Didn't buck you off?”

Kayce trotted over to the women. “There ain't nothing wrong with this horse. Stella’s done just fine.” He smiled at his best friend. “I'm gonna wash him up and get out of here.”

Tate interrupted. “But Grandpa said we can stay the night.”

Kayce looked like he was about to object, but Monica interrupted. “Look, he got no sleep last night.” Monica interrupted. “If we go home, he wonders where his cousins are. I just need to recharge so I can have that conversation.”

John walked up. “Tate, you're staying in the main house with me. You two take the trapper cabin. Give your minds a vacation for a night.” He pivoted on his heel. “Tate! Tate, come on.”

Stella smiled at the couple. “Y’all have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t!” She scurried off to the bunkhouse.

Walking in, everything got quiet. Stella’s hand remained on the door, her eyes wide as she looked around. “Shit don’t everyone talk at once now.” There was a man here she wasn’t familiar with. Her brother was here, so she didn’t feel too threatened. “I know I’m not supposed to be in here, but I’m gonna make it quick. I promise.”

The man in the rounded cowboy asked. “Who’s this?” He sauntered over to Stella in the kitchen.

She could practically hear her brother steaming from across the room. Ryan bored a hole into the back of the man’s head, challenging him. “That is someone you’ll be leaving alone, Walker.”

The man, Walker, tipped his hat at Stella with a charming smile. “Walker ma’am. Who might you be?”

She barked out a laugh. “Pfft, I’m Stella. Ryan’s sister. Resident horse hand.”

“Well it’s mighty nice to see a pretty face around here.”

Stella stood there speechless. She couldn’t do anything but stare at him. Stella’s brows pulled together. Ryan’s shoulders dropped with a feeling of dread. He thought she was falling for his thick layer of charm.

She looked left and right, behind her and past Walker. “I don’t know who you mean, but sure. I just work with the horses, my guy.” Everyone chuckled and she weaved her way around to her brother and Colby.

Walker asked from behind her, “do you stay here?”

“No, thank god. I mean sometimes, but I have my own house.” She let out a groan while she seated herself in Ryan’s bunk.

Colby cut in. “That means you’re not invited.”

“Okay, okay I get it. Off limits.” Walker receded his advances.

Stella watched as all the men in the room hawked the new guy. She smirked, mostly to herself, knowing they would jump him if he batted an eyelash at her wrong. It wasn’t necessary. Walker’s gesture was appreciated and made her feel like she could still have the ability to get a man. If she went out on the town and didn’t work her life away, that is. Walker smirked back at her. ‘Ooo I smell that trouble from a mile away.’ She smirked again at her thought.

Ryan decided to change the subject. “Stell, what did you mean when you said you’re not supposed to be in here?”

Her lips folded together as she looked to the ground. “Well you see,” she cut herself off with the glare Ryan gave her. “So Rip found out about me trying to fight Fred. I’m banned for however long he decides since I broke the rules.”

Ryan sighed, but knew nothing could be done. Rip’s word was final usually. He zeroed in on the new guy. “You play that guitar?”

“No,” Walker scoffed. “I just like to drag this fսckin’ thing around.” He propped the guitar case up on his knee. “Why, y'all want to hear one?” No one answered him. “Yeah, I guess you do.” Strumming a few chords to check the tune, he asked everyone, “happy or sad?”

Stella called out to him. “Happy.”

Walker gently pulled out his guitar and fiddle with the tuning for a minute. He cleared his throat and began to sing.

Monica leaned back against the cabinet and smiled at her husband. “I wonder how many poor farm girls you snuck into this cabin.” Kayce sat up straight to listen to her. “I can just see you now in your shaggin’ shirt, wooing some lovestruck blonde.” She watched Kayce stand up. “Or maybe you brought Stella here.”

“What is a shaggin’ shirt? And if you mean to escape the crazy that is my family and our wranglers? Have a place to sleep so the adults didn’t know we took forever to come home? Yes. Never like how you’re meaning though.”

“You know, it's your fanciest shirt, your get-the-girl shirt. The one you never work in.” Monica straightened herself. “And come on, you can’t tell me that you and Stella never messed around with the idea.”

“I don't know if I own a shirt that I've never worked in.” He busied himself, not wanting to talk about his best friend and the things they may or may not have done as stupid young kids. “And no, I don't think we did.”

“I'm trying to remember what I was wearing when I met you.” She changed the subject.

Kayce smirked. “All I remember was you weren't wearing it for long.”

“You think it's selfish, keeping Tate from a life like this?”

Kayce’s jaw tightened. “That sounds like my father.”

“It is.” Monica admitted.

“He has a life like this. It's just simpler.”

“It's not simple anymore, Kayce.” Monica argued.

“I thought we were forgetting tonight.”

“I'm just having a conversation.” Kayce stalked away to the bedroom. He closed the door with force. Monica yelled out. “Well, I guess the conversation's over!”

Stella was just about half asleep on Ryan’s bunk when the door opened and startled her. She sat up and blinked heavily. Rip and Lloyd were calling for the new guy. Rip discovered her sitting in the back. He fixed her with a look.

Her eyes found her brother and he smiled warmly at her. “Good mornin’ sunshine.”

“Hey doofus. I think I’m gonna head out, okay?” She started to work her way to the edge of the mattress.

“You sure you're not too tired?”

“Yeah I’ll be alright.”

He gave her a stern look. “Okay, but you text me the second you get home.”

She hopped down off his bunk and gave him a quick squeeze. “Yes mom.” She smirked. She grabbed her keys off the kitchen counter. Rip grabbed her arm gently to stop her.

“I thought I told you to stay out of the bunkhouse for a while?”

“You did and I heard you. I came to talk to my brother before I left. I’m leaving right now, okay?”

Rip remained silent as he observed her. Stella stared up at him. Her eyebrows tightened and her face fell into an annoyed resting face.

“I’m leaving now.” Stella emphasized and weaved around Rip and headed off to her car to make the journey home.

[n1ght0f-nyx]

a revelation

Jane Richardson x fem Reader plot and tags: youve been roomies with jane for a few months now, and the night a man stupidly breaks into your apartment, you find out about her real side minor violence, Death of a unimportant character, Obsessive behavior, wlw, yandere, protective jane, you don't know shes a agent, there is a link in the note, and ofc its not proofread

note: this is the real, original version of jane the killer, where she is a government assassin

I had always thought living in Los Angeles would be glamorous—sunny skies, palm trees, and a vibrant city life. What I hadn’t counted on was the need for a roommate to afford my cute little bungalow in Van Nuys. The online ad said she was “quiet, clean, and dependable,” and the moment I met Jane, I knew she was all that and more.

She moved in without much fuss, carrying in only a couple of duffel bags, and from then on, we settled into an easy routine. We rarely saw each other—she worked odd hours, coming and going at strange times of the night. I figured she was in some high-pressure job, like a nurse or a cop, and since she paid her rent on time, I didn’t pry.

One night, I found myself wide awake, the walls of the house seeming too thin, too quiet. A heavy feeling settled in my chest, one I couldn’t shake no matter how hard I tried to breathe through it. My instincts told me to get up, check around, maybe get some water to calm my nerves. So, I did.

As I walked down the hallway, I heard something—no, someone—moving around in Jane’s room. I paused, my hand hovering over the doorknob. My mind raced with all the possibilities: Was she sick? In trouble? Or was I just being paranoid?

I knocked softly, just in case. “Jane? You okay?”

There was a pause, a silence that seemed to stretch on forever. Then, the door creaked open, and I found myself face-to-face with Jane. Her normally neat, dark hair was tousled, and her piercing blue eyes had a sharp edge to them that I hadn’t seen before. She looked… different. Dangerous.

“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked, her voice smooth but with an undercurrent of something I couldn’t quite place.

I nodded, feeling more foolish by the second. “Yeah, just… I thought I heard something.”

Jane’s lips curled into a small smile, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Don’t worry. Everything’s fine.”

It should have reassured me, but it didn’t. Instead, I felt a shiver run down my spine. There was something in her tone, something that told me she wasn’t just talking about my restless night.

“Maybe you should go back to bed,” Jane suggested, her hand still on the door, half-closed as if she was waiting for me to leave.

I nodded again, taking the hint. “Yeah… yeah, I’ll do that. Night, Jane.”

“Goodnight,” she replied, watching me as I backed away.

I returned to my room, but sleep wouldn’t come. My mind was stuck on that look in Jane’s eyes, that slight smile that seemed to hide something far more sinister. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something—something important.

A few days later, I noticed Jane was on edge. She was more closer than usual, her eyes constantly darting around as if she was expecting something—or someone. I wanted to ask, to dig deeper, but the memory of that night stopped me. Maybe it was better not to know.

I came home from work one evening, the sun just beginning to dip below the horizon. The house was eerily quiet. I called out for Jane, but there was no response. My heart pounded as I walked through the house, the silence heavy around me.

When I reached the living room, I froze. There, sitting on the coffee table, was a knife. Its blade gleamed under the dim light, stained with something dark. Next to it was a note, written in neat, precise handwriting.

“It’s done. You’re safe now.”

My hands trembled as I picked up the note, my eyes scanning it over and over, trying to make sense of it. My mind raced with a thousand questions, but before I could even begin to process them, the front door creaked open.

I spun around to find Jane standing in the doorway, her expression unreadable. Her clothes were slightly disheveled, and there was a smudge of blood on her cheek.

“jane…” I started, my voice barely a whisper. “what happened...?! are you alright!?” i rushed over to her, examining her pale skin, wanting to make sure she was okay...it wasn't her blood on her "jane...? w-what did you do..?" i stepped back, scared

Jane took a step forward, her gaze locking onto mine. “He was dangerous...I couldn’t let anything happen...not to you...”

The weight of her words crashed over me like a wave. “You… killed someone?”

Jane didn’t answer, but she didn’t need to. The look in her eyes, the tenseness of her jaw—it told me everything I needed to know.

My breath caught in my throat. Part of me wanted to run, to get as far away from her as possible. But another part, the part that had always trusted Jane, held me in place.

“You’re safe,” she repeated, her voice softer now, almost gentle. “I promise.”

I didn’t know what to say, what to think. My mind was a whirlwind of fear, confusion, and something else—gratitude. Jane had saved my life, but at what cost?

She stepped closer, her hand reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “You don’t need to worry about him anymore.”

I looked into her eyes, searching for the woman I thought I knew, the quiet, dependable roommate. But all I saw was someone else—someone who had taken on the darkness to protect me.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” I finally managed, my voice trembling.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Jane replied, her hand lingering by my cheek before she pulled away. “Just trust me. I’ll always protect you...you're mine"

And for the first time since that night, I believed her.

I didn’t know who—or what—Jane really was, but I knew one thing for sure: I was safe with her. Even if it meant living in the shadows, surrounded by secrets and danger, I knew Jane would always have my back; And somehow, that was enough.

[geralt-of-baevia]

Call It What You Want: Chapter Four

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine

pairing: nooutbreak!joel x f!ofc (Violet Fletcher)

rating: explicit, MDNI 18+

word count: 1.7k

summary: Seeking solace from a painful breakup, Violet relocates to a tranquil town, purchasing a neglected house to renovate. In her new neighborhood, she befriends Harlow, who introduces her to Joel, a gruff and seasoned contractor with a heart of gold. Despite Joel's initial grumpiness, Violet finds herself drawn to his expertise and hidden kindness.

As Violet immerses herself in home renovations alongside Joel, their dynamic begins to shift, with Joel unexpectedly opening himself up to the possibility of love. Their budding relationship faces challenges as shadows from their pasts emerge, testing their newfound connection.

warnings/tags: fluuuuuuuff. we're getting close! what a nice slow burn it is, huh? bahahaha

a/n: okay so i know that this chapter is a small tiny baby, but I promise we're getting there! this maybe could have been at the end of chapter three, but oh well :P next chapter gets juicy. also, would anyone like to be added to a tag list? let me know!

 

When I woke up the next morning, I panicked a little. I couldn’t remember right away where I was, or whose bed I was in. In the comforting warmth of the bed, I sat and tried to remember where I was. Suddenly it dawned on me, I was at Joel’s. My heart started racing in my chest. I didn’t remember much of the evening before. After they gave me pain meds at the hospital, everything was a blur of images.  

I got up slowly, cradling my arm with my hand until I was able to put my sling back on. The aching pain was starting to creep back and I could tell it was probably time for food and a pain pill. To my right was a black dresser, and without a second thought I went over and started opening the drawers, trying to find a new shirt to wear. The one I was currently wearing reeked of hospital. I’m sure the bedsheets did, too. 

Carefully I slipped back off my sling, changed my shirt and slipped it back on. I tried to be patient with myself as a simple task like this took me longer than normal. I also changed out of my shorts, finding a pair of boxer shorts to wear. If he had an issue with me wearing his clothes, he’d have to deal with it. I also realized I wasn’t wearing a bra or underwear. A fact I was trying to not think about and put to the back of my brain.  

I balled up my clothes that I had been wearing and tucked them under my good arm before venturing down the sairs. About half way down I was struck by the scent of breakfast. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until then. 

When I got to the bottom of the stairs I saw Joel sitting on a couch watching something on TV, only being able to see the back of his head. To my left was the kitchen, food still warm in their pans; two empty plates on the counter. My eyes scanned the room, taking in as much as I could. 

Joel’s place was very nice. Like, surprisingly nice. All of the walls were a robin’s egg green. Both the trim and the A frame ceiling were the same honey toned wood. Decorations were minimal, which is exactly what I expected from someone like him. 

“Good morning,” I said a little too loudly. Joel jumped at my voice, turning around in his seat. His face lit up. 

“Good morning, Violet,” he said, “how are you feeling?”

“I’m okay. Hungry and sore,” I said. I watched his eyes look me up and down, noticing that I was wearing his clothes. “Oh, I hope you don’t mind. My clothes just smelled like the hospital and I was over it.” 

“It’s fine, I never wear those anyhow,” he replied. I furrowed my brow, wondering if he meant just this pair or underwear in general. He got up and made his way over to me, holding out his hand to me. “I’ll take those and wash them for you. Then let’s eat.”

Joel started a load of laundry and then plated us up breakfast: eggs, sausage and toast. He took our plates to the living room area, setting them down on the coffee table. 

“I hope this is enough. I would have gotten more had I known I was going to have company over,” he told me. “Come sit, make yourself comfortable and I’ll get us some coffee.” 

I sat down on the black leather couch, my skin instantly sticking. I reached out and grabbed the toast off of my plate and put it in my slinged hand. With my good hand I then began to tear off the crust. I may be 30, but that didn’t mean I have to eat the worst part of bread. I tossed the useless crust back to my plate and began munching on my toast. 

I looked up as Joel came with two cups of steaming coffee. He set them down on the table next to our plates. 

“And lets not forget these,” he said, pulling a orange bottle of pills out of the breast pocket of his shirt. He placed them down with a rattle. 

“Thank you Joel, for everything.”

He smiled. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing! We’ve known each other for like a week. And now in the last 24 hours you’ve saved my life, become my emergency contact, confirmed that we’re friends and then I slept in your bed,” I said before taking another bite of toast. Through a chew I added, “Which I don’t remember getting into if I’m being completely honest.”

“What do you remember to?” he asked.

“I was conscious until they gave me pain meds. After that it was cloudy. I kinda remember getting in your truck, but that’s it. Everything after that is a blank.”

He took a drink from his cup and set it back down. “Well, you fell asleep in the truck on the way back. Then we got here I carried you upstairs and put you to bed and I came down here and slept on the couch. That’s it.”

“I didn’t say anything embarrassing, did I? The last time I had pain meds like that for my appendix I said a lot of things I wish I wouldn’t have,” I said. He chuckled through a bite of food. 

“Okay, okay. I’ll admit: you did tell me I was handsome,” he confessed, blushing a little under the scruff on his cheeks. 

My cheeks followed suit, burning hot with embarrassment. 

“And then after I laid down I had to google what a ‘silver fox’ was,” he said, causing me to almost choke on my coffee. 

“I’m sorry, a what?” I asked. I prayed I hadn’t called him that. 

“You told me I was handsome and that I was a silver fox,” he said, “so you really meant it yesterday when you said you didn’t mind I was as old as I am, huh?”

My whole body was vibrating at this point. 

“Violet? Are you okay?”

I turned to look at Joel, concern on his face. 

“No- no I’m fine. I just need to have a talk with drugged me. She needs to realize I’m trying to play the long game,” I replied, my heart being rapidly in my chest. Joel reached over and put a comforting hand on my knee.

“I can assure you, we will still play the long game,” he said reassuringly. I met his gaze and smirked. 

“It’s just that I- I just got out of a really intense relationship and I-”

“Violet, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything,” he said with a warm smile, giving my knee a squeeze, “We’re going to see a lot of each other this summer so we will have plenty of time to get to know each other.”

“That’s true.”

“And honestly, it’s been a long time since I felt something - anything like this, for someone. So this is like starting over brand new.”

“You mean an old dog can learn new tricks?” I jeered. He narrowed his eyes at me, a reluctant smirk creeping up on his lips. 

“Yes, you could say somethin’ like that.”

We ate the rest of our breakfasts in comfortable silence. Joel put on some spaghetti Western as something to fill the silence. It was nice to have a foundation for whatever it was between us. It was something that was no pressure. I could do that. 

After I was finished eating Joel picked up the pill bottle and got one out for me. I held out my palm and he placed it in the center. Even just his his fingertips brushing my skin sent electricity through me.

I took my pill and chugged the rest of my coffee with it. Joel cleared the coffee table and took our breakfast things to the kitchen. I would have offered to help, but clearly I wasn’t able to. I stared blankly at the TV as the water ran and he cleaned the dishes. Slowly I could feel the pain in my shoulder going away, and sleep starting to creep over me again. 

It dawned on me that I had no idea what time it was, how long I had slept last night or even where my phone was. But honestly, part of me didn’t care. I was just in pain and wanted to sleep. When Joel came back over to the living room area, I look up at him through hooded eyes.

“That pill hittin' you?” he asked, a cheeky smile on his lips. 

I nodded lazily. “Yes, now can I go back to sleep?”

“Do you want to sleep here again, or would you prefer me to take you home?” 

I beamed at his offer. “How chivalrous of you. But no, I’d rather just sleep here and go home later if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s perfectly fine by me, let's get you upstairs.”

“Please, before I say something embarrassing again.”

I giggled to myself before trying to stand up, only for my knees to buckle underneath me. Thankfully Joel was close enough to catch me.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Here, let me help,” he mumbled out. I couldn’t help but close my eyes again as he moved me so that he could pick me up, cradling me in his arms. 

“I’m too heavy,” I murmured. I felt his chest rise and fall as he chuckled. 

“No you’re not Violet. This is how I got you up last night. It’s a breeze,” he assured me. 

“It’s just because you’re really strong and muscley.”

He chuckled harder. 

“Okay Vi, I think that’s enough talking for right now.” I nodded, nuzzling my face into his warm, comforting chest.

Soon enough I felt myself being laid on the bed, blankets being put over my frame. I peeked my eyes open and stopped his hand before he was able to pull it away from the comforter. 

“Thank you Joel,” I practically whispered. 

“You’re very welcome,” he said, brushing my hair out of my face. I felt his lips press against my forehead, his mustache and scruff tickling my skin. “Now get some sleep.”

[dreamy-love222]

I told my psychiatrist about my rape today. And what happened at my mom’s friends house. And on the outing with her daughter and her horrid friends. The daughter is decent her friends are awful. They vape and make it their whole personality . Their vocabulary is vulgar and they curse every 2 seconds to seem cool. They used me to get food for free and ofc I let people walk all over me and they took advantage of the fact I couldn’t say no.

I hate my life.

Oh one of the boys also put his nasty vape in my mouth as a joke. Ha ha ha so funny. Ugh. I hate it.

And she tried to set me up with two of her guy friends and didn’t respect that I have a boyfriend.

“Who cares he’s in another continent. He won’t know.”

I care. I am as loyal as one can be. My heart is already taken. Also you can keep your Muslim men. I am not that religious and I read multiple religious books but I mostly believe in the sciences. My religion is physics chemistry biology and mathematics. I respect other people’s beliefs but I don’t appreciate it when religious people shove their religious beliefs down my throat. I don’t force people to believe in what I do believe in. So I believe they should do the same.

Just because someone prays and knows religious text by heart doesn’t mean they are better than someone who is confused about which religion is true and if there is a god to begin with.

It’s not fair to blame my rape on the fact I wasn’t close to god. If this is how your god punishes people for simply being confused then he is cruel and I refuse to believe in him and praise him. I was ok before the rape. Granted I was struggling with my ed but I was happy. I was writing my beloved poems and love letters and translating them in his mother tongue. I was going downtown 2 times a day on foot. I was going on long walks on the canal and admiring the beauty of nature and the diversity of the animals there. The flowers, the bees. I was wearing pretty clothes. Putting on expensive perfume. Using my luxury makeup. Buying matcha lattes for lunch.

Now I shake every time I walk alone. I wear anything that would make it harder for someone to rape me.

I hate how it broke me. And then I got the 9/20. It was absolutely heart shattering. It made me feel so bad. When I got my grade I cried for 3 hours that day. I was so depressed. And I got that grade 3 days after getting raped so I was extremely vulnerable. I couldn’t even celebrate my 20/20. Or my other two 19.10/20 and 19.50/20 that I got in Arabic and English. Or my other three +16/20. I have excellent grades over all and that 9 ruined it. Life is unfair. I wrote a letter to the academy asking for a second correction because I was sure I did well on the exam but the corrector didn’t like my dissertation :(. But I did respond accordingly to the problematic. French is my second language too. My French may not be perfect but I did 0 syntax error and there is only 2 points removed max on normal faults. How did 11 points get removed.

[anzynai]

Day 28 - Massage

Xingqiu & Chongyun (Genshin Impact)

a/n: guess what?! it’s ANOTHER xingyun fic (i can’t get enough of them) i don’t know which one this is but technically it’s been in my drafts for a long while so i decided to use it for tktober ofc since it fit the theme LOLLL hope u guys enjoy!! this MIGJT be the last prompt being written for tktober.

——

For the past few days, something felt off. Xingqiu seemed a bit.. tense whenever he and Chongyun hung out. As dense as Chongyun was, it didn’t take long for him to figure out the reason behind his friend’s behavior. Xingqiu was stressed. And frustrated. It felt as though he just couldn’t relax. No matter how much he tried to hide it, Chongyun had known him for far too long and far too long to see right through his act.

The only issue was that Chongyun had no idea what to do. He didn’t know how to help him. He wasn’t the second son of one of the most important guilds in Liyue, maybe even Teyvat. He couldn’t imagine the pressure and stress that came from that. Though, he was often stressed from his congenital positivity and being an exorcist, so he thought about what Xingqiu had done for him in those situations.

Perhaps he could go out and treat Xingqiu? No, he was sure Xingqiu wouldn’t like that— when they went out, Xingqiu always insisted he pay and wouldn’t take no for an answer. He felt that Xingqiu wouldn’t want him to waste his money, when Xingqiu had so much. Or.. he could buy him a gift. A book? No, that wouldn’t work either. While Xingqiu ranted endlessly about his books, so he had a general idea of what he liked, he couldn’t be sure Xingqiu hadn’t already read it. He grumbled as he pondered longer, until he could come up with an idea.

He went off to Xingqiu’s house, a new feeling of determination taking over him. It was a bit late and the exorcist offhandedly wondered whether he should wait until tomorrow. He decided against it, though, because he knew Xingqiu wouldn’t mind his arrival. He wasn’t able to come by earlier, since Xingqiu had been too busy with his duties, but he knew that Xingqiu would often retire around this time. It was around this time Xingqiu would sneak out to meet up with him.

Xu, who had answered the door, when Chongyun knocked, sighed in reliec. He likely knew that something had been wrong with Xingqiu lately so he let Chongyun in immediately. Chongyun thanked him, walking the familiar path to Xingqiu’s quarters. Often, guests would have to be escorted, but the exorcist supposed that Xu trusted him enough to be alone.

Reaching Xingqiu’s door, Chongyun brought his hand to knock before hesitating. Would it be too awkward to offer him a back massage? Of course, it wouldn’t be able to solve the problem, but it could offer some relief. That had been Chongyun’s original idea, but the closeness.. and the touching could make him feel awkward, even if it was a normal thing.

“No,” he decided, whispering to himself. “If Xingqiu didn’t want it, he would say so.” Xingqiu had always been blunt with. honeybun. He took a deep breath, knocking on the wooden door, once and then twice.

“Yes?” He heard a clearly exhausted, but familiar voice on the other side of the door, muffled. Chongyun didn’t say anything, as he took it as an invite to enter. Wrapping his fingers around the cool handle, he pushed it open, revealing the room which was dark aside from the small lamp on the desk. Apparently, that was not what he was supposed to do as Xingqiu, laying down on the bed, shot up immediately and glared at him.

“I did not give you permiss—“ Xingqiu began, a sharp tilt to his voice. He stopped, his eyes widening and all anger relinquished. He cleared his throat and Chongyun thinks that his face was red, but it was too dark to see. “Oh, Chongyun! I apologize. I wasn’t aware that you had come to visit.”

“Sorry for just coming in.” Chongyun mumbled, observing the other. He looked.. rough, to say the least. Perhaps he had been staring too long when Xingqiu had sent him a questioning gaze and he shook his head, fidgeting with his fingers.

“That is a right reserved for only you.” Xingqiu admitted, seemingly guilty. Chongyun would never admit his heart going crazy in a way he should not for his friend, but remembered what he was here for.

“I just wanted to.. well, would you like a back massage? To help you relax?” Chongyun asked, waiting. The embarrassment slowly settled in when Xingqiu’s face shifted from shocked to an amused smirk.

“Oh? My dear Chongyun is offering to give me a back massage? I thought you exorcised spirits, not.. knots.” Xingqiu teased, cheekily. Chongyun sighed, crossing his arms.

“Please never say that again.”

“Fine, fine. I won’t tease. That’s sweet of you.” Xingqiu smiles.

“So, is that a yes?” Chongyun asked, confused. Xingqiu considered it. A back massage did sound nice…

“Well, then I accept gratefully.” Xingqiu nodded, a soft smile grazing his face. Chongyun patted his hand down on the bed, gesturing him to lie down. Silently, he moved to sit on top of Xingqiu, straddling him. Chongyun began kneading his back, rolling into the skin with his thumbs. A satisfied groan left the other’s lips almost instantly. The exorcist let out a relieved breath, glad to see Xingqiu enjoying it and increased the pressure slightly.

“Hffff…” Suddenly, Xingqiu seemed to tense up and.. was he squirming? The exorcist leaned forward, easing the pressure of his hands, to take a look at Xingqiu’s face. He was surprised to see a crooked smile, as if he was trying to.. suppress something. The other, noticing Chongyun was staring, buried his face in the pillow as the tips of his ears slowly turned red. Chongyun was a bit concerned and almost stopped, until he heard faint giggles.

“Xingqiu?” He asked, wondering what could have sparked that sort of reaction. Why was Xingqiu laughing. All Xingqiu did was let out a hum, as if trying to act casually. “Does this.. hurt?” Chongyun continued his movements, slowly.

Xingqiu didn’t respond and began to shake. Chongyun furrowed his eyebrows. What was going on? Was the pressure too hard? He lessened the pressure but if anything, it just made things worse as Xingqiu jolted, letting out a squeal.

Chongyun removed his hands, immediately, fear coursing though him for a split second, fearing he had hurt his best friend. Then, it finally dawned on him.

“Wait.. Xingqiu, are you ticklish?” Chongyun gasped. It all made sense now! That’s what the strange reactions were! Unluckily for Xingqiu, he seemed to take his question as Chongyun mocking him as he turned his head away, his face blossoming a deep red.

“I— what, no! Chongyun, y-you just startled me, that’s all!” Xingqiu stammered out a response, muffled by the pillow and the fact he was turned away from him. Chongyun was oblivious quite a bit, but anyone could tell he was lying. No one laughed at being startled. And well, Xingqiu only ever stuttered when he was flustered or lying. Or even both.

So, Chongyun knew it was a lie. He honestly was a bit curious, but he decided to let it go and focus at the actual task. Then, he thought about it. Couldn’t tickling help people relax? He recalled a time when Xingqiu did that to him and when it was over, he was feeling floaty and well, much better than he was before.

His face shifted from an innocent and understanding smile to a mischievous grin. He didn’t bother hiding it, since Xingqiu wasn’t looking at him anyway. He put his hands back on Xingqiu’s back, kneading it carefully. Xingqiu jumped, likely shocked that Chongyun decided to keep going, but he seemed to let him continue, as his laughs slowly and awkwardly began to pour out.

Chongyun inched closer to his ribs and sides, finding it adorable how ticklish Xingqiu was. Being on the receiving end the majority of the time, it was easy to forget that Xingqiu was as ticklish as he was, if not more. It felt nice to.. be the one to do it for him for once.

“Eheheheh…” Xingqiu giggled when Chongyun poked at his ribs, no longer under the guise of massaging him. Chongyun beamed. He lightly scratched over the sensitive ridges, delighted in the way Xingqiu’s face slowly became a rosy red.

“Does it feel nice?” Chongyun asked, though he was sure Xingqiu was enjoying it. He was squirming, but he didn’t seem to be telling Chongyun to stop.

Xingqiu didn’t answer, burying his face in the pillow. “Hahaha, C-Chongyun!”

“Yes, Xingqiu?” He answered, quite casually. Xingqiu didn’t respond; he only laughed more as Chongyun scribbles his fingers right under his ribs.

“Y-you cheheheheeky lihihittle…!” Xingqiu cried as Chongyun let out a mock gasp.

“You’re calling me names now?!”

“Shuhuhut uhuhhup!” Xingqiu giggled. Chongyun, which he had just realized, had a different method of tickling that Xingqiu did. While Xingqiu’s were more precise and calculated, his were more.. all over the place. Not that it mattered much. Perhaps it was a good method or perhaps Xingqiu was so ticklish that any method worked. He traced his fingers down his torso. Chongyun testingly squeezed his side with his left hand, excited to see another reaction from Xingqiu.

It was hilarious, really. Seeing Xingqiu flailing so much. He supposed it would be hard to move when he was being straddled and he was laying in his stomach. He knew it from experience. Specifically from the one under him. Really all Xingqiu could do was laugh and Chongyun made sure to savor every second of it.

“Chohohongyuhuhun!” Xingqiu sputtered. So far, all Chongyun had been hearing was giggles. Was there anywhere that would make him go crazy? He turned around quickly so that he was facing Xingqiu’s legs and giving Xingqiu a short break. “W-whahahat are you doing?!”

He sounded panicked. Did this mean that his worse spot really was somewhere on his legs? His thighs? His feet? Chongyun reached his hands down to the backs of the other’s thighs, squeezing it gently, eliciting a squeal from Xingqiu.

“Nohohoho!” Still giggles. So this wasn’t his worse spot. He looked at his feet. Xingqiu was wearing black socks. Chongyun leaned over and ran a finger down his sole. Other than an embarrassed gasp, his reaction wasn’t much different than his thighs.

Suddenly, his eyes caught a glimpse of the back of Xingqiu’s knees when an idea popped into his head. He wasn’t very ticklish there but Xingqiu had tried to tickle him there before. He knew other people were ticklish there, too. So maybe….?

He scribbled the back of Xingqiu’s knee and the sound that left the other’s mouth is something Chongyun knew wouldn’t leave his kind for days. He howled and burst into loud, boisterous laughter, kicking his legs with more desperation than before.

Chongyun smiled, feeling a sense of pride.

“N-nAHAHAHAHA C-CHOHOHONGYUN! N-nohOHOHO…!” Xingqiu squawked, pounding his fists on the bed. Chongyun lightly traced the inner parts of Xingqiu’s knee with a smile of nothing but pure glee.

“This is it! This is your worst spot, isn’t it?” Chongyun asked, already knowing the answer.

Either Xingqiu hadn’t heard him or he had decided not to dignify him with a response because all that had left Xingqiu’s mouth was shrilled laughter.

“PlehEHEHEASE NOHOHOHO MOHORE!” He squealed. Chongyun slid off of Xingqiu, not wanting to cross his boundaries. Xingqiu laid motionless beside him as his laughter slowly died down and all that could be heard was the sound of Xingqiu trying to cat his breath.

“Y-you sure had fun, didn’t you..?” Xingqiu breathed out, sending him a half-hearted glare. Chongyun gave him a nervous smile.

“I did… you’re more ticklish than I thought.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’m glad you take enjoyment in my suffering.”

“I doubt you suffered that much.” Xingqiu looked at him, face still red from the tickling, Chongyun assumed.

“What makes you think that?” Xingqiu muttered, agitated.

“You never said stop.” Xingqiu froze like a deer in headlights for just a second before he stuffed his face in the pillow. If Chongyun squinted, he could vaguely see the tips of Xingqiu’s ears going red but he just guessed he was seeing things. “Well?”

“Well what?” Xingqiu’s voice was muffled in the pillow.

“You did enjoy it, didn’t you?” Chongyun asked. Xingqiu turned his head away from him.

“…I didn’t hate it.” Chongyun grinned.

“Then that means my plan worked!”

“Plan?” Xingqiu looked at him. His face had returned a normal color.

“To cheer you up, of course.” Xingqiu paused, expression unreadable before it flashed into something more smug.

“Aw, you were worried about me, weren’t you, dear?” He sent a knowing smile to the exorcist and Chongyun chuckled nervously.

“Well, I— I mean that’s what friends are for, right.”

“Yeah. Thank you, Chongyun.” Xingqiu looked pleased, much better compared to his stressed expression at the beginning of the night. “Now, it’s getting late. Why don’t you stay the night?”

“Alright. Thank you for letting me stay.” Chongyun scooted up to Xingqiu beside the bed. There was a couch in his bedroom that Chongyun had used only twice. It was only when they first became friends, but now it was a habit for them to just sleep together side-by-side, basking in one another’s presence.

Xingqiu switched off the lamp that dimly lit the room, settling down next to the exorcist. It didn’t take much time for Chongyun to fall asleep.

“Thank you.” Xingqiu muttered, before he felt himself doze off as well. He felt much better.

[everestica]

Hihi uhh first off, hru, I hope ure doing well

Second! Uhhh, if possible, can I like uh request a Toya, Akito, Tsukasa and Rui (separate ofc) with a gn reader whos like mentally drained bc of school and decides to just skip school to have a break and when the reader decides to tell their s/o they like- comfort them? Sorry if its too much to ask.

(uhh if needed the reasons why the reader is mentally drained is bc of school work and tons of missing assignments which led to pulling all nighters, which led them accidentally falling asleep during class which got them in trouble, that, and because its obnoxiously loud)

(Also, if this request isnt in your comfort zone, feel free to decline or delete this ask, I dont mind)

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Project Sekai Boys x GN!Reader : Mentally Drained

1:35 ───ㅇ─────3:47

Writing Type : Headcannons

Warnings :

Welcome to the Symphony Cinema, I hope you enjoy the show! If you have any issues feel free to reach out and let me know!<3

(Also the time that you requested this was about the time I stopped writing because I was struggling in school as well, so this is 100% in my comfort zone!)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ:

✧ Toya Aoyagi ✧

✧ - When you stopped showing up to school one day he was a little worried because you had been talking about how you hadn’t been feeling well and so he just assumed that you were out sick or something, but after about 3 days of you not showing up to school but still texting I’m he decided that something was wrong and that he had to got check it out

✧ - So when he came to your house after a school day and came up to your room to see you on your bed just laying there with tears in your eyes and papers and your school laptop on your bed

✧ - You then realized that your boyfriend was at the door and so you quickly got up and tried to wipe the tears away from your eyes and collect yourself, but before you could manage to get that all done he was already slowing walking toward your burnt out state, and when he was a step in front of you he pulled you into a tight hug

✧ - That’s when he asked you if the reason you were at school was because you were behind in your school work so you just started skipping, which you were a little surprised that he was able to figure all that out but it was the reason so you told him about all the issues you were having with school.

✧ - After you got it out of you system he asked if you wanted help with your schoolwork as he is pretty smart and can help you, and so you two worked together on your school work to get you all caught up and when you two were done you two decided to just spend the rest of the evening cuddling<3

✧ Akito Shinonome ✧

✧ - The first day that you were missing from school and he decided to make sure you were okay so he asked you to meet him and the cafe that you two normally had you dates at so when you said you could not make it he knew that something was up with you, or something was wrong that you weren’t telling him about

✧ - So he came over to your house after practice and realized that something was wrong because normally you had your bedroom door open when you knew he was coming over and for some reason today it wasn’t?

✧ - So instead he knocked on the door but from inside the room he heard a bunch of papers and shuffling before you told him he could come in, but when he entered the room he saw all your school work in piles on your desk but your face was red and your eyes were puffy

✧ - When he saw this he sat you on the bed and then pulled you into a hug, he hated seeing you so burnt out and upset about something

✧ - When he asked you about what had happened and you told him about you falling behind in school and stressing trying to get all your work done, he decided that even though he wasn’t the smartest and didn’t like doing school work he was gonna try to help you because you needed help and you always refused from asking for it

✧ - So after you two finished the school work he took you to the cafe that he originally planned to go too and you two had a cute small date as a little celebration for getting all your schoolwork done and getting back on track with it<3

✧ Rui Kamishiro ✧

✧ - You and Mizuki were the only people he hung out with at school normally so when you suddenly stopped showing up one day, he and Mizuki were both worried about you

✧ - So he told them that after school he would go and check on you and make sure that you were okay and that nothing bad had happened, but when he reached your house you curtains (that were normally opened) were closed and it looked really dark from the outside

✧ - When he knocked on your door and saw you standing at the doorway with a big hoodie on and sweatpants with a frowning expression, he was hella worried normally you looked a little happier when you knew that he was coming over.

✧ - When you pulled you into his chest, you just let it all out and he the started rubbing your back and just sweet talking you through your breakdown, afterwards he ask you what happened and when you told him about your school work and how you had been falling behind

✧ - That’s when he took you to the couch and starting pulling out some of your work and started helping you work on it, and after a while of working on everything he took you out to get something to eat<3

✧ Tsukasa Tenma ✧

✧ - When he realized after about 2 days of you not showing up to school he decided to show up at your door, so he shows up at your door with no notice so when you open the door almost half asleep wearing some pjs he was a little shocked

✧ - You had slept school to sleep? So when you let in him and he came up to your room and saw all the school work littered around your room he realized that you weren’t sleeping you were trying to get your missing school work done

✧ - That’s when he really looked at your face and realized that you had been crying and sleeping, and so he did what every good boyfriend would do and tackled you into a hug on the bed, and he just held you as he asked what had happened

✧ - When you told him about all the issues with your school work he just listened and then sat up while you were still laying down and started collecting some of the papers nearby and then he started reading the things on the paper outloud and making offhanded comments about then while also aswnering them.

✧ - You two finished soon after and so instead he piled up all the papers that were finished and then he laid with you again, and you two passed out together<3

[keanureevesisbae]

endeavors #12 - insecurities

Summary: Grace is a little insecure after some comments, however August is right there.

August Walker x Grace Stanford (asian ofc)

Wordcount: 1.4k

Warning: Weight/weight loss mention, minuscule spanking, boob play, mention of making love - this is quite the tame chapter.

A/N: These two are so fucking blind, it's actually hilarious

Masterlist // endeavors masterlist

August and I have this new arrangement, where I don’t wear my underwear in the house and only very short skirts or dresses. That last part we already did, but no underwear? I feel like my permanent state of mind is now… excited. Ready for him. Hungry. Horny. Desperate to be fucked.

I love taking him every second of the day. It doesn’t matter when or how and with me being unemployed again, I have a lot of time. 

And on top of that, August praises me for how well I take him, no matter when, no matter where. And that has impact on me. If I wasn’t addicted to him already, I certainly am now, constantly craving him and the way he manhandles me.

We’re now wandering through the grocery store, deciding what to buy for the next few days. August nonchalantly pushes the cart in front of him, leaning with his elbows on it. But I can feel his eyes roaming over my body. I’m wearing a skirt and tank top combo—we’re outside and I am therefore wearing underwear—but this is one of his favorite outfits, especially because the jeans skirt is on the tighter side, just like the top.

Yes, I dress for him now too. Call me awful, but I like the compliments. 

‘Okay,’ I say, as I skip the chips aisle. ‘Next up is some broccoli from the freezer.’

‘Where are you going?’ August asks me. ‘Come on, we always eat chips with a movie.’

I shake my head. ’No, I’m watching my weight a little.’

He glares at me. ‘Why are you watching your weight?’ August asks me. He then narrows his eyes. ‘Who said what?’

I walk back to the cart and I lower my voice as I tell him about what I overheard some of my family members say when I visited them the other day.

‘Is this so-called weight gain an issue for you?’ August asks.

I shrug. ‘Well, they are right. I kind of have a tummy and quite the love handles now and I can feel it a bit in my jeans.’

He scoffs. ‘Who needs to wear jeans when you can wear dresses?’ August asks. ‘It’s easy access.’

I smack his stomach. ‘I’m serious, August. I’m just going to watch what I eat for a few weeks and then I’m back in shape again.’

‘I think you look beautiful,’ August admits. ‘If you want to lose weight for yourself, then I am all in, but if you do it because relatives have the audacity to talk about your weight behind your back… Please reconsider and know that you are beautiful, Grace.’

I nod, my stomach turning because of his sweet words. ‘Can we go to the freezer?’

August places his hand on my lower back and whispers: ‘We can, but please Grace, don’t let their words get to you, okay?’

I almost melt into him, especially when his hands descend a little to the curve of my ass. But I don’t, fighting every cell in the process.

‘Promise me,’ he then says, his voice a few tones deeper and more demanding.

I smile sadly. ‘I promise.’

﹌﹌

In the car August had his hand placed on my leg and I kept thinking about what he said in the store. We still skipped on the chips and other things I shouldn’t eat, but I couldn’t shake off what he told me. I hadn’t noticed any weight gain either, but once I heard my relatives talk about it, I took a good look in the mirror and saw the imperfections immediately.

When I was with August, he made me feel confident and thanks to him I feel good in my skin. I don’t think I have ever looked better, so maybe I was being an idiot for listening to them. 

We’re experiencing some traffic jam and I look to the side. I lean over to press a kiss on his cheek. I normally don’t do that, but before he can think anything of it, I say: ‘Thank you, for the pep talk.’

‘Of course,’ he says. ‘For fuck’s sake, what an idiots. Talking about you like that. The audacity.’ He gives my thigh a squeeze and says: ‘I’ll go back later to grab some snacks.’

I chuckle, placing my hand on his. We look like a couple, I saw us in the reflection of the store, but it’s talks like this that make my feelings go into overdrive. It’s moments like this where I wonder if we would make a good couple. 

By the time we get home and are safe and sound in our hallway, August holds out his hand and I know what to do. I step out of my underwear, before I slip out my bra. After placing it in his hand, he chuckles and together we walk towards the kitchen. We put away the groceries, however I could’ve and should’ve known that August would make it perverted instantly. 

I mean, he did make me hand over my underwear.

He smacked my ass a few times and when I stood on a stool to put the groceries away, he placed his hand on my inner thigh, his thumb dangerously close to my already aching center.

Once everything is stored away, August stands behind me as I prepare the coffee. His bulge presses against my behind and I’m honestly getting way too excited. My nipple harden and August kneads my breasts through the thin fabric of my tank top. ‘You know,’ he whispers, his lips close to my ear, ‘I like these tight clothes on you. Show off all your perfections and your curves. What I don’t like is all those slimy bastards staring at you when you walk by.’

I lean against his chest and he nips my neck. 

‘But little do they know that I am the one to make you scream, make you cum and begging.’

August has taken off my shirt a little quicker than necessary and turns me around. The coffee is long forgotten, as he leans forward and presses a kiss in between my breasts. ‘I love these,’ he admits.

‘What?’ I ask him, not knowing if I heard him right.

He smirks. ‘I love your breasts. They are really distracting when we’re out and about.’

His tongue teases my nipple and I gasp when he sinks his teeth it. I allow him manhandling my breasts in only a way he can, however I reach a limit. ‘Stop teasing me.’

‘Tell me, Grace, what do you want me to do?’

That is a first. He never asks me that. 

Words are nowhere to be found.

‘You know what you want,’ August pushes. 

I take a deep breath, because I do. ‘Can you make love to me?’

‘Make love?’ he parrots. 

‘Or don’t you know how to do that?’ I joke. 

He rolls his eyes with a smirk. 

‘It’s just that… I never really properly made love with someone before and… I think you can show me how.’

He nods. ‘I can do that, Grace.’

﹌﹌

I knew August did sex. I suspected he also made love, though I was never on the receiving end of it. Sure, it was sensual from times of times, but there was always this roughness attached to it. However my stomach turns thinking back about what just happened. Deep kisses, softer touches and the everlasting eye contact.

I know there is no turning back now.

I am falling deeply for him.

August gets back in the bed again, holding a glass of water for me. I gulp it all down and he takes the glass from my hands once I am done. He smiles and asks: ‘What?’

‘August Walker is capable of making love.’

‘Of course I am.’ He tugs me closer. ‘Not with everybody though. I don’t let my guard down like that with everyone.’

I turn on my side and he does the same thing. ‘So, I should feel special?’

‘Well, most of the times women just ask me to fuck them, not make love to them. You were the first who asked.’ He places his hand on my cheek. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘I feel good.’ I smile and whisper: ‘I feel beautiful.’

‘You should,’ he says. ‘You are absolutely breathtaking. You know… Ever since we started this, you have become more confident. You have blossomed. Despite losing your jobs, you bounced back from it and have only grown from that. From a shy lady to a confident woman.’ 

I curl up against his body, unable to say something.

‘Besides, you’re quite the slut being able to take me so well. I sure am a lucky guy.’

I pinch his nipple. He lets out a chuckle and I laugh as well. 

‘Thank you, Grace.’

‘For what?’

‘For always trusting me.’

﹌﹌

endeavors taglist: @diegos-butt // @thelastsock // @liecastillo // @mis-lil-red // @sofiebstar // @abschaffer2 // @crazybutconfidentaf // @summersong69 // @gearhead66 // @xobriellaxo24 // @kebabgirl67 // @eldarwen333 // @kingliam2019 // @cherry-gemz // @sillyrabbit81 // @enchantedbytomandhenry // @lyrarodriguez // @islacharlotte // @sunshine96love // @oddsnendsfanfics // @xuxszx // @omgkatinka // @pterodactylterrace / @peaches1958 // @pandaxnienke // @teamfan7asy // @raccoon-eyed-rebel // @geralts-yenn