#i got a good breakfast today and nothing terrible happened so i think i have the mental fortitude to jump into it

[lexicog]

OK New pinned post I am going to track & share my cleaning progress because I want to be healthy and not explode YAY

[ Updated 12/2 - 10:25 PM ]

[cntloup]

Fem!Reader fluff, mention of love making, allusion to sex

Part 1 | Part 2

It's a sunday morning. The sun shines through the kitchen window and reaches your profile, seeming like a halo around your head. Your eyebrows are furrowed and your eyes focused on the task at hand. You flip the pancake and feel a pair of big burly arms wrap around your torso from behind, "Good morning, lovie!" he breathes into your ear, his gruff morning voice sending shivers through your body. "Good morning, Si!" you mutter as you turn around to place a kiss on his lips. "You look beautiful today... as you do everyday... you're always beautiful, dove!" he rambles as he peppers kisses on every part of your pretty face, making you giggle. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. I made coffee too." "Perfect! Thank you, love." he says as he takes a seat at the table. You place his plate of pancakes with chocolate syrup and a cup of coffee in front of him. He nods gratefully as you seat down. You talk about some new events happening at work and he listens, occasionally asking questions or making sarcastic comments about your annoying coworkers. He stares at you in awe, wondering how he got so lucky. You both spend the rest of the day in each other's arms. He makes love to you, softly cooing praises into your ear as he brings you to a state of pure euphoria. You lazily plump down on the couch watching trash tv and making fun of the awful people on the shows, laughing your asses off. You stare at him in awe, wondering how you got so lucky. He snaps his fingers in front of your face, shaking you out of your trance. "Hey, what is it?" he asks, "You've been acting weird lately!" "What? Nothing, just thinking about... stuff." you ramble nervously. "Is there something wrong?" he questions worriedly. "No! It's just about work. I'm sorry I've been acting weird. You don't have to worry about it." you respond. Thank god he doesn't pry any further and only adds "I'm here if you need me. With anything. And I mean anything. If someone is bothering you-" "No, Si! No one is bothering me. I don't need you to murder anyone either. Just stressing about work. Too much pressure." you lie terribly and he looks at you through narrowed eyes but lets it slide. As night falls, you're curled up in bed together as you both have your books in hands and read peacefully in a comfortable silence. But your focus is on something else. Should you pop the question right now? Do it casually and get it over with. No, he deserves a proper proposal. You finally decide on the latter. "Hey!" his voice rattles you out of your thoughts. "What?" you ask, looking up at him. He's starting to get suspicious. You have to do it sooner than planned. You can’t take it any longer. "I asked if you wanted to sleep." he replies, "I'm starting to get worried, love. Just tell me that you're ok." You cup his cheeks in your hands and whisper "I'm ok, Si. No need to worry." and kiss him as you straddle his lap. You both end up panting heavily and giggling, bodies tangled together by midnight.

It's a saturday night. The moonlight shines through the branches of cherry blossoms and reaches you, standing amidst the trees in the garden, making a dreamy scene. You fidget with the zipper of your jacket and fumble with your fingers nervously as you wait for him. He finally arrives, in a suit, looking handsome as ever. "Hi, lovie." he greets you, kissing your lips lovingly. "Hey, Si." you respond, taking in his beautiful features alight by the moon. You take his hand in yours and guide him to the table. You both take your seats beside each other and start chatting about everything and nothing, unable to take your eyes and hands off each other, as the waiter places your orders in front of you. After dinner, you go silent, grab your purse in your shaky hands and pull out the small black box. His eyes widen and his mouth hangs open as you lock eyes with him. "Simon Riley,... you met me at my worst" you chuckle nervously, "and pulled me out of the dark abyss I was in. You brighten my skies every day and make me laugh with your awful dad jokes" you remark, making him laugh as tears start to well up in both your and his eyes, "Do you want to be a dad? You've already got the jokes down... ok, that's a discussion for another time." You both chuckle again, "Fuck! I'm really terrible at this. I didn't prepare a speech and decided to wing it. I'm so sorry." he nuzzles your cheek, wiping away your tears as he pulls you in for a kiss, reassuring you that it's ok. "I'm forever grateful for everything you've done for me. I love you. Everything about you. Everything that you are. Your light and your darkness. You're the love of my life and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." you continue, "Simon Riley, will you marry me?" you finally ask as you open the box and hold it in front of him. You're both sobbing at this point. "Yes!" he gets the word out and pushes his lips onto yours, kissing you passionately, both your feelings for each other poured into the kiss. You take his hand in yours and put the ring on his finger. "I'm all yours, love." he murmurs against your lips, "And I'm all yours, Si."

comments/reblogs are greatly appreciated ♥

[ever-eilish]

Could you do Billie Eilish asking r out

A (not so) bad day

billie eilish x fem! reader

a day that is supposed to be horrible takes unexpected turns, after you accidentally bump into a certain singer

author's notes: thank you so much for requesting, I really appreciate it! sorry if this is not what you wanted, I really hope you like it though! once again, english is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes, enjoy❤️

warnings: a bit of cursing, but mostly fluff

Chaotic. That was the only way to define today. You know that saying that 'nothing is so bad that it cant get worse'? So, that saying has proven true today.

I woke up 30 minutes late, spilled the coffee in my white clothes, missed the bus, and now I'm here, standing in front of the bland beige door, waiting for my boss to decide to call me to give me some more of his scolding.

Bad luck. That's the only word that can describe my day, or rather, my week.

Everything that could go wrong, did;

I'm in the midst of a series of catastrophic events ranging from the simplest, like knocking my butter breakfast bread to the floor — with the butter-covered part facing down, of course — to the more serious, like being threatened with losing my job by my annoying, weird boss.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I see the door in front of me open and the middle-aged man walk out of the room - which looks more like a chain saddle.

"Well, well, it looks like you've decided to be late again?" the wretch says.

As if I'd choose to miss my bus, spill coffee on my white blouse, and wake up late.

"That way I'll have no option but to fire you," he repeats the same words he's been saying to me for so long.

Son of a bitch.

"Sir, please! I promise it won't happen again, I love my job!" I lied.

"I'm sorry, but you're officially fired," he announces, as if announcing me as an Oscar winner. I take a deep breath, count to a thousand, take another deep breath and, with all the calmness in the world, say: "FUCK YOU!" I throw my badge on the floor, and walk towards the office door, ignoring all the crooked looks directed at me, and leave that musty-smelling place.

I didn't even like it there!

My God, how am I going to pay my bills? Fuck that old cuckold.

Fuck that old-man

Oh my God, I'm going to have to sell my computer.

I hated my. co-workers anyway.

My God, my computer.

All thoughts were running. through my head in a whirlwind when suddenly I bump into someone in front of me and fall to the ground.

THAT'S ALL I NEEDED!

Without even noticing who it was, I quickly stand up muttering something like, 'I'm sorry'; and I offer my hand to the stranger sitting on the floor.

And it is at that moment that, with my hand outstretched, I begin to notice the victim of my lack of attention.

The stranger wore a black blouse with white stripes — or white with black stripes - and black shorts. Her beautiful hair had the roots dyed red, while the rest was dark brown.

I could have sworn I knew her from somewhere.

It's very sudden when I feel her warm touch on my hand - which remained stretched - and I feel the girl partially throw her weight on me to get up.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I should be more careful" she says, with an embarrassed smile.

"I'm the one who apologizes! I've been walking around thinking about nothing and ! ended up bumping into you" I say,

scratching the back of my neck.

"Are you okay? You hit it really hard against the floor" was only when the girl tells me that I notice my throbbing hip.

"I'm great!" I lied knowing full well that the last thing I was in right now was 'great'. "Hm, so, you live here?" the stranger says, acting as if she wants to continue a conversation.

I don't have anything better to do, after all, why not talk?

"No! I live in my house," say, internally cursing myself for the terrible attempt at a joke.

Anyway, she laughed, and I felt my. embarrassment soon go away when I heard the good sound of that laughter.

"Oh got it, you're the funny type, then?"

she asks me, clearly joking.

"That's what they say"

We stare at each other for a while when very quietly, I hear the click of a camera. The girl seems to hear the same thing as I do, when she suddenly grabs my arm and pulls me nto the convenience store next to us.

What the fuck is going on?

She pulls me further into the store and 'hides' behind a food rack.

Holy shit, is she being followed?

My God, could it be that she's a serial killer and I recognized her because of that?

Holy shit, I'm too young to die.

What if...

I am interrupted from my mental breakdown at the sound of his voice.

"Hm, I'm sorry about that. You know how it is, right? Paparazzi are everywhere."

My God, I was right.

She's a serial killer and I'm her next victim. "Are you going to kill me?" my eyes widen as I ask.

"What?" she says to me, visibly confused, "my. name is Billie! I'm a singer."

I let myself take a deep breath when I hear what Billie tells me. Well, at least I won't die today.

"Hey, I really enjoyed talking to you, and I wanted to meet you again" she says, looking deep into my eyes "what do you think about going to a coffee shop with me one of these days?"

Is she asking me out on a date?

"Like a date?"

"Yes!"

"I want to!" I reply promptly, and watch as she rummages through her purse for a pen.

"Here!" She finally finds a blue fine-tipped pen, pulls out my hand, and writes something.

Before I can process what was happening, I feel a small kiss being left on my cheek and watch her walk out of the store with her head down.

When I look into my hand, I read:

"Cafeteria 221B, Baker Street;

03/22, at 9:00 pm.

See ya<3"

Maybe today wasn't such a bad day after all.

[mirisss]

8th member of Enhypen

Pairing: Enhypen OT7 x afab! 8th member! reader

Wordcount ≈ 1.1k

Warnings: reader being stressed, anxious, not eating, nausea, calling reader darling, a suggestive joke or two, 

Summary: Being the 8th member of Enhypen isn’t always easy, luckily the boys are always there to comfort their bandmate, who also happens to be their girlfriend. 

Thanks for the request! Hope you enjoy it! Please reblog! 

Third person POV

The day had been terrible for (Y/n), she had barely slept during the night because of nightmares, during the morning she felt sick so she didn’t eat any breakfast, which in turn, only made her more sick later on in the day. During dance practice (Y/n) kept messing up and the instructors yelled at her for being so “unprofessional”, the boys were worried and Jungwon tried talking to her but she just said “It’s nothing, my legs just don’t want to cooperate with me today,” The boys all felt uneasy but trusted that (Y/n) would tell them if something was actually wrong. During vocal practice (Y/n) kept straining her voice because she was so exhausted that she couldn’t breathe correctly. “(Y/n), if you’re not going to take this seriously you can leave today’s practice. With you messing up so much we might have to cut down your lines for the comeback,” (Y/n) took a deep breath, her whole body was shaking from exhaustion and nausea, “I’m sorry ma’am, I’m trying my best, I just can’t breathe,” “Ma’am, (Y/n)’s been off all day. I think she might be catching a cold or something,” Heesung stepped in, hoping the vocal teacher would back off of (Y/n). “Hmm, really? (Y/n), are you feeling sick?” “I-” (Y/n) didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to worry the boys nor did she want to be a burden to them. “I’m not feeling too well, no. I couldn’t sleep and have been nauseous most of the day,” As soon as she admitted to not being well, the boys all went into a frenzy. Jay ran up to her and felt her forehead, “She’s warm, she definitely has a fever,” “(Y/n), you should know better. You have to tell the manager when you’re not feeling well or you might make the boys sick or hurt yourself,” The vocal teacher scolded (Y/n), who was becoming more and more light-headed. “Let’s sit down, come on,” Sunoo saw the color fading from (Y/n)’s face and realized that she might collapse unless she sat down. Jay and Jake who were standing closest to (Y/n) helped her sit down on the floor while Niki ran to get her some water. “We’ll end practice here, good job today boys, (Y/n), when you’re feeling better you’re gonna have to practice some more to make up for this lost time. Boys, make sure to get her home safely and get some food in her,” “Thank you, ma’am. I promise we’ll take care of her,” Sunghoon said as he followed the teacher to the door. 

An hour later and the boys had managed to get (Y/n) to drink some water which helped ease her nausea enough for her to walk to the car and get to their dorm. Sunghoon and Jay helped (Y/n) walk over to the couch while the others ordered some food and got some new clothes for her to change into. “Here, I brought you one of my t-shirts,” Heesung said as he handed her a t-shirt that she once said was her favorite of his. “And I brought you some sweatpants, yours, do you want anything else?” Jungwon asked as he gave (Y/n) a pair of her sweatpants. “I don’t know, I don’t even know if I have enough energy to change clothes,” “Need some help?” Jake said in a flirty tone before he chuckled. “Mmm, you know maybe I do, just thinking of having to stand up makes me want to throw up,” “We’ll help you if you want us to, just say the word,” “Thanks Hoon,” “No problem darling,” “We ordered [insert food of choice], it should be here in 15 minutes,” Sunoo said. (Y/n) with the help of Niki, managed to stand up and change her shirt but had to sit down before she could change into the sweatpants. “We could just get a blanket and you won’t have to put on the sweatpants, you’d just have to take off the ones you’re wearing now,” Jay suggested, not intended in a sexual way but rather for (Y/n)’s comfort. “Here, take this one,” Heesung handed her a blanket. “Maybe I should just head to bed,” “(Y/n), you need to eat, you’re not gonna get better unless you eat. So as the leader of Enhypen, I won’t allow you to go to sleep until you have eaten something. And as your boyfriends, we are all really worried about you, how come you wouldn’t talk to us and tell us you weren’t feeling well?” Jungwon said in a stern tone, one he rarely ever used but he was just so worried about (Y/n). “I’m sorry,” “Darling, you don’t have to apologize just please, next time, tell us, so we can help you,” Sunghoon said as he sat down beside (Y/n) to give her a hug. “Honey, we will always be here for you. No matter what,” Sunoo said while he sat down on the side of (Y/n) and draped the blanket over her legs. “Can someone help me pull my pants off? I don’t have the energy to do it myself,” “Of course, can you hold up your legs?” Jake asked as he bent down a little. (Y/n) lifted her legs and Jake along with Niki pulled the pants off while Sunoo readjusted (Y/n)’s blanket. *Ding* “Food is here!” Jay ran over to the door and got the food while everyone sat down. 

The night continued with (Y/n) slowly eating her food, eating too quickly would only spark her nausea again. The group watched a few episodes of a drama they all liked while cuddling. Eventually, (Y/n) fell asleep with her head resting on Sunghoon’s shoulder. So yeah, being the 8th member of Enhypen isn’t always easy but it’s easier when you have seven amazing boyfriends who are ready to help you with anything and everything. 

[jamdoughnutmagician]

A Cut Above The Rest

Mechanic!Eddie x Hairdresser!Fem!Reader

Good As New (Part 2)

Summary:Just as he promised Eddie fixes up your car, and you take a visit to Hawkin's library in the hopes to get your business up and running once more.

Word Count:1,626

A/N:Let it be known that this author knows absolutely nothing about cars or mechanics, so please don't come for me lmaooo

<- Previous Part Next Part ->

Masterlist Series Masterlist

After making yourself comfortable in Robin’s spare bedroom the night before, you find yourself waking up a little later in the morning. 

Your head is buzzing with everything that happened. It wasn't just a terrible dream, he was just a terrible boyfriend. You push down the hurt you felt, not wanting to start the morning on a sour note.

Still in the pyjamas you wore to bed, you slide on your slippers and shuffle out of the bedroom.

"Morning Sleepy-head." Robin asks over her bowl of cereal, nodding over to the counter-top, telling you to help yourself to some breakfast. “Grab yourself a bowl!”

“Seriously Robin, Fruit loops?” you laugh, shaking your head at your friend’s choice over sugary breakfast cereal.

“What? I’m pretty sure it counts as one of my five-a-day!” She garbles over a mouthful of cereal. “Anyway, How’re you feeling?”

"I don’t think that’s true, Rob.” you say, making yourself comfortable on the couch beside her. “I'm holding up if that's what you mean" you chuckle half-heartedly, filling up a bowl of your own.

“So what’s the plan today?” 

“Well I’ve got to go over to the garage later on today, Eddie said he’d try to fix my car.” 

“Oh going to meet up with Eddie, are we?” Robin laughs, raising her eyebrows up and down, which earns her a matching laugh from you.

You shake your head at her, ignoring the insinuation that she was alluding to.

“Right! I should be off to work. Those books are not going to stack themselves.” Robin says, leaving her bowl in the kitchen sink, and grabbing her coat before heading out the door “The library waits for no woman!”

You busy yourself with tidying up to the apartment whilst Robin’s at work. You figure it’s the least you could do, since she’s letting you stay here.

Once you finish tidying up the place, you go to get changed out of your pyjamas, deciding on a simple pair of jeans and t-shirt, not wanting to be too dressed up for going to the garage.

You take a walk down the street where Eddie told you his mechanic garage was and sure enough there it is, Munson’s Motor Repairs.

You walk up to the garage and are immediately hit with the strong smell of motor oil that wafts through the air. 

"Excuse me, Ma'am? Can I help you?" You turn around to see where the voice is coming from and are met with an older man. The remnants of his grey hair are receding, and his faded flannel shirt is stained with dark grease spots, his bright blue eyes are surrounded by a few wrinkles as he offers you a kind smile.

"Um, I was looking for Eddie? He told me he works here? My car got taken in last night."

"Oh, so it's your old Chevette out the back?" He says nodding his head towards the garage's yard out the back.

"Yup, that would be the one, Mr…." You trail off, realising that you didn't yet know this man's name.

He wipes his hands on the oil-stained rag hanging from his jean's pockets before offering you his hand in a welcoming handshake.

"Munson. Wayne Munson" he introduces himself.

"..Looks like that old chevy just needed a new alternator.." Eddie said as he strolled into the shop from the back. "Hey! There you are! I just finished up on your car, the alternator needed replacing, it's as good as…" he trails off, he couldn't in all good conscience say your old car was as good as new. "Well, it's fixed anyway." he smiles. 

"Thank you so much Eddie!" You say, as you reach for your purse, "How much do I owe you for that?" 

"You're lucky your car is as old as it is, otherwise it might have been a lot more expensive to replace these bits. That'll be $90" he tells you.

You rifle through your purse and hand over the handful of notes to Eddie. 

"Thanks again Eddie! You're an absolute live-saver!" You squeal as you wrap your arms around him in a hug.

Eddie finds his heart warming. Fuck. Why did you have to be so cute?

He watches as you wave him goodbye, as you pull your car out of his garage.

“So, you wanna tell me why you’re giving this girl a $20 discount, or do I have to guess?” Wayne teases, standing with his hands on his hips.

Eddie flushes scarlet, heat rising from his chest and across his nose. Busted.

“I’ll work extra shifts next week to make up for it, I swear.” Eddie promises.

Wayne waves him off with a smile tugging at his lips, and a raspy chuckle.

“It’s alright son, I won’t tell anybody about your little crush” Wayne smirks, pretending to zip his mouth shut.

Robin is already home once you arrive back at the apartment, lounging comfortably on her sofa in front of the tv.

“Hey, thanks for cleaning up whilst I was at work.” She says turning to look at you over her shoulder. “How’d you get on in the garage? He fixed your car?”

“Yeah, he fixed my car…and…” you tell her, trailing off for a moment, thinking about how you had hugged him as you thanked him for his help. Oh god I hugged him! What on earth did I do that for?

"..and what?"  Robin prods, hanging on your every word.

"I-uh..I hugged him.." you say, the heat of embarrassment burning in your chest.

"Ooh! Scandalous!" Robin laughs "Should I buy my hat for the wedding now or later?"

You playfully smacked her in the shoulder.

"I'm serious, Rob! What if he thought I was being, like, creepy or something?" 

She turned to look at you, narrowing her eyes at your panicked state.

"Relax, it's just a hug, it doesn't have to mean anything, and besides if it's one thing I know about Eddie, it's that he totally wouldn't mind getting a hug, especially from you"

"What do you mean by that?" You question, your eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

“You can’t tell me you never noticed how that guy used to look at you? He used to stare at the back of your head all the time in Ms. O’Donnell’s class!” Robin laughs.

“I can’t believe that you, my best friend, never said anything about it!” you shook your head at her, joining in on the laughs. 

"I guess I thought he'd eventually man up and ask you out. I'm honestly surprised that he never did" Robin explains.

"Hey Rob, do you mind if I come by the library with you tomorrow, I wanna make a few flyers, see if I can interest a few of the residents of Hawkins for a haircut. All of my clients are back in Chicago and I need to drum up business. I can help you pay the rent."

"Sure, come on down, I'm sure Margaret won't mind if you wanna leave a few flyers in the library, maybe put one up on the notice board."

The next day you drive Robin to her job in the Hawkins public library, parking your car in the parking lot.

Hawkin’s public library had been standing proud since 1894, even through the devastation of the great earthquake of 1986, the building still stands tall.

Walking in with Robin, she immediately goes over to the older lady already behind the front desk. Her silver hair is styled up, with loose curls gently falling around her face, and her wire frame glasses sit perched on the bridge of her nose.  

“Good morning, Margaret!” Robin shouts loudly and brightly. 

Margaret is all too quick to shush her with a finger to her lips, once again reminding Robin, as she does every time she comes into work, of the number one rule of being in a library is to be quiet.

“Sorry.” Robin cringes. “Margaret, this is my friend, Y/n." She introduces you.

You wave a little awkwardly, offering a kind smile to the older lady.

“It’s lovely to meet you, ma’am. I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of where your computers are, please?"

She points down the corridor between two rows of tall bookshelves, stacked full of book.

"Down there, right between Science Fiction and Fantasy. There's some computers set up in the tech lab, my dear."

"Thank you so much!"

You make your way down to the computer lab, and sit yourself down in front of the big desktop monitors. You spend a few moments to make sure your flyers are as perfect as they can be with all the services that you offer and a list of the prices, as well as your business phone number for people to call should they be interested. You print out a handful of copies, and kindly ask Margaret if it would be okay for you to pin a copy of one of your flyers to the library’s notice board.

“Go ahead, Dear. It’s what it’s there for!” Margaret smiles at you.

You pin your flyer to the cork-board before thanking her, and giving Robin a hug and letting her know that you’ll see her back at the apartment after work.

“Oh no! It’s a Friday night! I’m treating you to a night out. We’re going to The Hideout. They have a live band there, we can have a couple of drinks, it’ll be fun!” Robin promises. “And anyway, I think after what you’ve been through, I think you deserve to let loose and have a little fun.” 

Maybe she was right. Perhaps what you needed was a fun night out with your best friend to just unwind and forget all about your terrible ex-boyfriend. 

@sunflowerdaydreamer @xxhellfiregirlxx @penguinsandpotterheads @munsonology @seatnights @avalon-wolf @jesssssmaybankk

[pizzaboerr]

From nothing to something.

(Sanji x reader, part 5)

Part 1 , part 2 , part 3 , part 4

Summary: After a long day of running errand and being stuck in your own head, Everyone decided to have a few drinks at the bar, not thinking about what could happen.

Word count: 3K words

Content warnings: reader smokes cigarettes, angst, tension, mentions of kissing, use of curse words.

Authors note: Once again very sorry I didn’t upload earlier. Next week i’m on holiday so be prepared for multiple parts during the week! Thank you all so much for the support that I have gotten. I’m really pleased that you guys like the story just as much as I like writing it🫶

P.S.: Sorry if there are sentences that are grammatically incorrect, English isn’t my first language, so my apologies in advance.

~~—~~—~~—~~

You woke up pretty early the next morning, completely ready for the day. Today was the day that you were finally going to an island and have some fun. You quickly got ready, combed your hair, put on some light makeup and made your way to the kitchen.

You smiled as you saw Sanji preparing breakfast and humming. You knocked on the door before entering.

“Good morning Sanji. What are you cooking?” You looked at the ingredients and smiled. It always surprised you how Sanji could cook with all kind of random ingredients that he had laying around.

“I’m using up our last ingredients before we dock at the new island, which is soon hopefully.” Sanji said half laughing.

You walked over to where he was standing, reached into his pocket and grabbed his cigarette case. Sanji looked at you confused and laughed. “Didn’t know you smoked love, I would’ve offered.”

You laughed and grabbed two cigarettes. “Do you have time to smoke one now or are we going to wait until after breakfast?” Sanji’s cheeks reddend and he smiled as he grabbed the extra cigarette from your hand. “I certainly have time now. After you mademoiselle.”

You smiled as you heard the nickname again and led the way to the upper deck. You turned around to see Sanji already smoking his cigarette. He grabbed his lighter again and held it up for you to light your cigarette. You smiled politely as you took a hit from the cigarette. “Haven’t had one in a long time and not going to lie, I missed this.” He laughed and shook his head.

“You know you could always ask for one, I’ll even give you my last one if you needed it really badly.”

You laughed and nodded. “Thank you Sanji.”

There was a little silence but it was not awkward at all. Sure you weren’t sure how you really felt about him, which made it a little tricky but it wasn’t terrible or anything.

“So, what are your plans once you set foot on new territory?” Sanji asked while he flicked his cigarette away. You looked at him and looked at the land in the distance.

“Well first of all, I’m have to run a few errands, just to make sure we get everything we need, maybe some extra medical supplies, cigarettes.” You said smiling towards Sanji. “After that maybe I’ll go to a bar and have a good time, away from the going merry.”

Sanji smiled and nodded. “If you need anyone to keep you company with gathering everything, I can help, maybe combine it with my errands?” He said that more like a question but you smiled. “Yeah sure, let’s have some fun instead of you teaching me how to fight and kicking my ass in the process.” He laughed and looked away.

~~—~~—~~—~~

Everyone ran past each other, to make sure the ship docked without any problems, you helped Ussop and Zoro with the masts while they didn’t really need help but nevertheless you still felt somewhat useful.

“Good job crew! Now let’s have some fun!” Luffy yelled as he used the ship like a catapult and flew away into the city. You laughed at how goofy this all looked and saw Nami standing on the lower deck, ready to go. “Ready to run the errands y/l/n?” You smiled and looked at the ground.

“Well I am ready to run errands but Sanji asked to help so we’re going together, you can still join us if you want?” Nami laughed and grabbed her backpack. “No thank you, I’ll leave you two alone, have fun on your little date.” She said drawing a heart shape in the air. “No Nami, I think you got it all wr-“ You tried to explain but you got interrupted by Sanji who was also ready to exit the ship.

“Are you ready to go mademoiselle? Do I need to carry anything for you?” He asked politely while trying to grab your bag. “No It’s fine, maybe on the way back” You smiled as you quickly winked at him. His cheeks turned, once again, bright red and he looked at the ground.

The walk was quite relaxing, You looked at the shops that were there and back to your list. Sanji needed some new knives, as much food and drinks as he could get so you tried to memorize that as well.

You were done fairly quickly, Sanji just followed you like a lost puppy, carrying everything so you could relax a little. Sanji on the other hand had nothing yet. You were deeply in conversation with Sanji about the different bars that you saw, trying to figure out where to go later that day, when you spotted a tiny shop where they sold different kitchen utensils.

It was relatively busy on the streets, so you grabbed him by his hand and dragged him into the store with you. “Amore what are- Oh my god! This is amazing!-“ He started walking around, still holding your hand.

The shop owner smiled towards the two of you and after five minutes she walked up to Sanji, who let go of your hand seconds before that because he saw the prettiest knife set ever.

“Hello, is there anything I could help you with?” She started off slowly, playing with a strand of hair. You rolled your eyes and hoped Sanji would ignore this. “Ah yes, How much for this amazing set mademoiselle?” Sanji asked, smiling brightly. “For you I’ll do 50 berries, as long as we get to drink something together.” She said smiling, stepping a little closer and placing her hand on his chest.

You huffed at this and decided you needed to get some fresh air.

He blushed slightly and looked back to meet your gaze but you were nowhere to be found. He turned back around and smiled politely. “I’m sorry amore, Even though I would never say no to a beautiful lady, I do have to decline, You see the lovely girl over there-“ Sanji started and the owner got slightly pissed. “The price is 150 berries.” She quickly changed subjects. Sanji paid the berries, got his set and made his way out of the shop.

You were sitting outside of the shop, waiting for him to return. “Love where were you? I thought I lost you!” Sanji said dramatically and you shook your head. “Had to get some fresh air.” You lied. You couldn’t stand seeing Sanji flirt with another person, Even though you never told him that you maybe liked him, you felt your stomach twist the second she started flirting with him. You didn’t wait until the end of the conversation to leave the store, so you just assumed they were going on a date.

“So what else do we need?” You asked him while avoiding any eye contact. “We only need to get food and drinks and then we’re finished!” Sanji smiled happily while walking towards the market that was there. “Might as well take a look here, c’mon love.” Sanji said excitedly while linking your arms together and dragging you along.

~~—~~—~~—~~

Once you got everything you needed for the ship, you two put everything in its place. Sanji smiled when he put his knives set on the counter and looked at you. “Thank you for this lovely day Amore, I wouldn’t have done it with anyone else.”

You once again rolled your eyes at him, not convinced anymore that he had any sort of interest in you, after what happened in the kitchen supply store.

“Yeah no worries, gotta go.” You quickly said, walking away, deciding that it was probably for the best if you went on a little walk, just to clear your head. You didn’t want to believe that Sanji was going on a date with someone else and the last thing you wanted, is to see her again with Sanji.

A few hours had passed, you got back on the ship and walked back to your shared room, where Nami was eagerly waiting.

“What happened?” She asked while you sat down in the hammock.

“Sanji is going on a date with some girl he just met.” You casually said while you were fidgeting with one of your rings. Nami was confused and shook her head. “Well I haven’t heard anything from him about that.” She slowly said waiting for a reaction.

You looked up to meet her gaze and saw her grinning like an idiot. You could also see that she was wearing a nice dress and slight makeup.

“Why that stupid grin?” You asked slightly irritated. She wasn’t helping at all. “You know what, I think you’re just jealous.” She bluntly said.

You stood up and huffed. “Pff, No I’m absolutely not jealous. Why would I be jealous?” You tried to say calmly, but you said it more like a silent shout.

“This is why I think you’re jealous. C’mon y/l/n. I’m not stupid. You’re always on your toes with him, irritated when he’s ‘flirting’ with other girls and you’ll do everything just to have an excuse to see him.” Nami also stood up.

You were quite taken aback from everything she just said. It was like a realization you didn’t want to have yet.

“Cat got your tongue?” Nami laughed while saying this. “I hate it when you say stuff that makes sense.” You said with a hint of defeat in your voice, as you sat down in the hammock again.

“Okay enough of this, you get dressed, we’re all going out to have a few drinks. No excuses.” Nami warned you as she walked towards the door. “20 minutes and if you’re not there, I’ll drag you out of the room, don’t care what you look like.” She said, closing the door behind you.

You let out a big sigh and placed your head in your hands. She was right. You got up, got dressed into a cute but casual dress and redid the makeup from earlier. You grabbed your glasses, a bag with some berries in it and made your way back towards Nami.

~~—~~—~~—~~

Nami told everyone to go to the bar that they decided on and waited for you. “Are we the first?” You asked slightly confused. “No I told them to go already and that we would join them a little later, just to give you some extra time.” Nami smiled. “You do look amazing.” She added. truthfully.

You smiled whole heartedly. “You look stunning as well Nami.” She thanked you quickly and started walking towards the bar.

Once you stood in front of the bar you stopped walking. Nami turned around and laughed softly. “After you.” She basically pointed towards the door. You knew she wasn’t going to move unless you went inside. You nodded and walked in.

You looked around and saw a lot of drunk people dancing, having the time of their lives, while others were singing along to the live band that was playing. You spotted Zoro and looked back at Nami, who was standing behind you. You grabbed her hand and guided her through the crowds while she took that opportunity to pick pocket.

You reached Zoro who wanted to say something until he realized it was actually you and not some girl that wanted his attention. Zoro scooted over and you sat down next to him. “You look good, didn’t think you would wear a dress, like ever.” He said softly.

“I’ll just take that as a compliment, thank you.” You rolled your eyes playfully and nudged him in his ribs which caused him to grunt a bit.

“You look absolutely breathtaking Mademoiselle.” Sanji said and you nodded. “Thanks, does someone want a refill?” You asked before standing up again. Turned out, everyone wanted a refill.

“You better save this seat Zoro or I’ll kick your ass. Again.” You said laughing, leaving the irritated Zoro behind. You walked over to the bar, got your drinks and walked back over to your crew.

~~—~~—~~—~~

The night went pretty smoothly. You mostly tried to ignore Sanji, not because you wanted to but because you didn’t want to get hurt by him.

You excused yourself from the group and went outside to smoke a cigarette. You were looking around in your bag for a lighter as you heard a lighter behind you flare. You turned around and saw Sanji standing there, smiling politely as he held out the now ignited lighter.

You sighed but smiled back. Of course he wasn’t going to let you go outside alone, not when it’s already dark out.

“Are you okay?” He asked you while he lit his cigarette.

“I’m fine, just a little tired.” You tried to wave it off. “Okay different question.-“ He looked at you for a second before continuing. “Did I do something wrong? You seem annoyed with me.” He was now standing in front of you, looking at you for any signs of denying or conformation.

“I am annoyed Sanji, but I’ll be fine. I’m suprised you haven’t said hello to your date yet, She’s waiting inside.” You took a hit of your cigarette and looked into his mesmerizing blue eyes.

“M-my date?” He choked on the question and looked in shock. “I-I think you got the wrong idea my love.” Sanji tried to explain, now realizing what was happening.

“I don’t think so, I heard everything.” You said confidently. Sanji just smiled softly. “I don’t think so mademoiselle.” You looked at him confused before turning bright red.

“I told her i’d have to decline, that I wasn’t interested. She cut me off before I could even finish my sentence.” Sanji explained calmly.

You were so angry at yourself, for putting up a wall for something that stupid. You sighed and he smiled. “Relieved?”

You smiled slightly. “Kind of.” He laughed and nodded. “I’ll try to do better my love, now let’s go inside, I don’t want you to get sick.” Sanji placed one hand on your lower back, which caused you to get shivers.

“I’ll come back in a second, just need a little bit more of the fresh air and some time to think.” You smiled.

“Then I’ll also stay, if you don’t mind?” Sanji blushed slightly while he removed his hand from your lower back.

“Sure, do whatever you want.” You laughed. “Okay.” Sanji said before pulling you into him and he smiled. “Can’t let you get cold can I?” He tried to say smoothly but you could hear his heartbeat flutter and laughed.

You looked up at him and smiled. He was already staring and quickly looked at your lips and back to your eyes. “Did I already tell you that you look absolutely mesmerizing today?” You hit him playfully on his chest and smiled. “Yes you did, thank you, you’re too kind.”

He held you close and he lit another cigarette. You shared the cigarette and a few stories before getting ready to head back to the rest of the crew.

You got up before Sanji could and started to make your way back to the entrance. Sanji grabbed your hand and spun you around, causing you to giggle.

“I’m so sorry mademoiselle but I can’t wait any longer.-” He started. Your head was spinning and you suddenly got really nervous. He placed one of his hands on your hip, pulling you closer and cupped your face in his other hand, causing you to look him into his eyes. He was blushing heavily but you thought that it was cute. “M-may I?” You nodded slowly and he smiled. “Lovely.”

Once his lips connected to yours, you felt fireworks going off in your stomach. He was so sweet and careful while still being really eager to kiss and taste you.

He tasted like cigarettes, wine and mints, which surprised you but you didn’t expect anything else.

You both pulled back after a little while, catching your breath. You were flabbergasted he would kiss you but you blamed the alcohol he had earlier.

You took a step back and looked at him. He was speechless. He wanted to kiss you from the first moment he laid his eyes on you. He smiled softly and looked at you. You could see that he was slightly drunk.

You looked at the ground while trying not to freak out. “I’m sorry, we shouldn’t have done that.” You said while walking away. “My love.. Don’t do this, We can talk about this.” Sanji pleaded. You shook your head. “I’m so sorry Sanji, we’ll talk later.”

You grabbed Nami by her arm and pulled her into the lady’s room. “Nami listen.-“ You started trying not to cry. “Sanji kissed me, but he’s drunk and I’ve left him outside and I don’t know what to do!” The tears were now streaming down your face as you sat down on the ground.

Normally Nami would kept hassling you until you told her everything that had happened but she could see that you needed a friend. She sat down next to you and pulled you close. “Why are you crying? Because he kissed you? Or because he might not remember?” Nami asked you while she was trying to calm you down by slowly rocking you back and forth.

“Both. I’m scared he will wake up tomorrow and not remember anything but if he remembers I don’t know what to do. Sure I like him but that doesn’t mean that he likes me. I told him that we’ll talk later but I’m scared Nami.”

Nami shook her head and pulled you both up from the ground. “You know what, we’re gonna ignore it for now, just have a good time, I’ll get you something to drink and when we’re back on the ship we’ll discuss it again okay?” She smiled while wiping away the tears. You nodded and followed her.

As you walked back to the crew, you saw Sanji sitting in the booth, next to the girl from the shops. “You have to be fucking kidding me.” You whispered as Nami followed your gaze. “Is that?” She quickly asked.

You nodded once again. “His date.”

[nannniibobanni]

Characters: Frank Castle! Reader. No use of (Y/N)

Warnings: Fluff, cursing, soft!frank, very domestic!frank, if you squint dom!frank(but in the loosest way possible), smut, creampie. Reader is poc, specifically black, but it only gets referenced once and it’s not too descriptive (Frank thinks about her bonnet and soft brown skin)

😅this is my first time writing ever so be easy on me. honestly this was a very self indulgent piece. i just love the idea of a slow sunday morning w the loml

————————————————————————-

You wake up to the sun peaking in through the blinds and a heavy weight on your chest. Slowly blinking the sleep away you peer down and see a head full on hair nuzzled in between your boobs. A soft giggle escapes past your lips. Frank always said how much he enjoys falling asleep on your “homemade pillows”.

Rolling your eyes, you aimlessly start playing with his thick hair, twirling it around your fingers and gently rubbing his scalp- quickly you stop when you feel him shuffle underneath the covers. This earns a low groan from Frank.

“Did I say stop Sweetheart?” Frank mumbles while trying to bury himself closer to your warmth.

“Good morning to you too Baby,” you crane your neck down to kiss the top of his head and continue playing with his hair, “you sleep any better last night?”

Lately Frank has been waking up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat while breathlessly scrambling for words to try to explain what happened in his dreams. One night it was terrible, he dreamt you were kidnapped and tortured until you told the masked men where Frank was hiding. Ever since that night he’s been triple checking every window, door, and lock in your apartment. Afraid that you may experience the same fate as his late family. This terrified him. So, the next best thing is to protect you. Hell, he won’t even let you go down to the block by yourself! He claims that he enjoys the fresh air but secretly you both know it’s because he wants to make sure you’re safe.

“Yeah… I actually slept all through the night,” he mumbles while tracing patterns underneath your boob. You just hum back nodding, thankful that he was able to finally catch a break and sleep. Frank will never tell you, but you know he stays up most nights just watching you sleep. He enjoys the slow rise and fall of your chest, the fidgeting you do when something exciting must be happening in your dream, the way your breath hitches when he leans down to kiss your forehead goodnight.

“You hungry for some breakfast? I’ve been thinking about french toast since I got up.”

“Hmm, babygirl you know I don’t like french toast,” he chuckles while lazily kissing your chest,” too sweet. Although, I have been thinking about something else.”

You furrow your eyebrows, “Frank it’s almost twelve. Please let’s get up, I’ll make you pancakes instead.” You try to say convincingly.

He just shakes his head and kisses your left boob, bringing his big warm hand to bring the growing nub closer to his mouth. He gently tugs on it between his teeth before sucking on it completely. You instinctively grab his hair and push him further into you- craving the feeling again. He laughs and releases your boob with a pop. The lewd sound sends shivers throughout your whole body.

“Why’re you in such a rush? It’s Sunday baby, we don’t got nothing to do today.”

You roll your eyes. “You have twenty minutes before I get hangry. So you better make it worth it.” You say breathlessly as he finds your boob again, sucking on it much harsher than before.

“Mmm, yeah, I can do twenty minutes.” As soon as he says that he untangles his body from yours and gets on top of you. Slowly he kisses from your jaw, down your neck and sucks on your collarbone. You shiver. “I want to make my pretty girl feel good. So you sit back, relax, and look pretty, okay?” Frank says as he stares deeply in your eyes before he engulfs you in a kiss. His smell showers over you- the scent of mint, teakwood, and the citrusy shampoo floods your senses.

He bites your lip softly while he grinds into your barely clothed body. You moan as he shifts his body weight to bring a hand down to trace over your curves. He always loves how reactive are to his touch. One caress and you’re basically putty in his hands. He moves his hand lower, toying with the top of your underwear. You buck your hips at his teasing. Frank kisses right above the elastic of your panties while looking in your eyes. God, those brown eyes will in fact be the death of you. Slowly he starts kissing your pussy through your underwear, before gently pulling them aside. He spits on your pussy causing you to jump at the sudden contact. You groan just wishing he would touch you already. The lord must’ve heard your prayer because he begins to lick a long strip up your pussy, tasting you. He hums and it sends shivers down your spine. He softly bites your lip before attacking your puffy clit with soft kisses and licks. You reach down pushing his head further into you, he finally takes the hint and begins sucking on your clit. His tongue doing figure eights, circles, and zig zags. It’s all too much, you can feel yourself dripping onto the bedsheets- silently cursing that you’re going to have to do laundry again soon. He continues this torture of getting you right on the brink of cumming before he slows down. This drives you absolutely insane.

“Frank please, I’m ready. I just want to feel you.” You nearly beg as he slips your panties down. The cool air sends shocks throughout your body- a stark contrast to the warmth he’s making you feel. You can’t help but moan when he sticks his long thick finger into your cunt.

“Baby you’re already so wet for me. But you know I need to stretch you with my fingers first, this tight pussy can’t handle my dick without it.” He uses his other hand to play with your nipple piercing, twisting and pulling in sync with the movement of his hand that’s deep in your cunt. You just nod and bite your lip because you know Frank won’t change his mind.

He starts moving faster, curling his two fingers hitting that spot only he can find. You grab onto his arm, fingernails digging into his skin. The sounds of your moans and wet pussy filling the air.

“Yeah there you go sweetheart. Feels good doesn’t it?” Fuck, you love when Frank talks to you like this, it only sends you further down the rabbit hole. “Tell me how good it feels,” he leans down and kisses your jaw. “Come on tell me,” he whispers as he bites your ear. He starts moving even faster, pushing a third finger in.

“Mm- i- it feels sooo good. Fuck I’m going to-“ He removes his hand from you sopping wet pussy and tsks his teeth.

“Aht, come on baby you know you’re not allowed to curse like that.” He says disapprovingly. You try to shoot him the best puppy dog eyes, pleading that he will start again.

“I didn’t mean it. Please Frankie let me cum,” you beg, bucking your hips up to attempt to meet his hand.

“Mm, you’re lucky we’re down to ten minutes or else I would’ve said no.” He smiles while taking his fingers up to your mouth, instinctively you open your lips. Tasting yourself, you swirl your tongue around his long fingers while making eye contact. He moans at the sight in front of him. “Fuck, my dirty girl. You like that huh?”

You just bring him into a kiss. His beard still wet with your juices, it causes you to moan. Passionately you grip the back of his head wanting to feel him even closer to you. Sometimes you joke about wanting to be in the same body so you’ll never feel alone, you giggle at the thought. He takes this as the perfect opportunity to slip his tongue in your mouth. You groan and suck on his tongue before kissing his soft lips again.

He moves to pull down his loose sweatpants- not breaking the kiss for even a second. He slaps his big dick against your slit before rubbing himself to coat him in your juices. Without warning he slowly enters, stretching your walls to the max. You claw at his back and wrap your legs around his hips. He’s not even fully in yet and already you feel like you’re on the brink of cumming. He kisses along your neck and snaps his hips to bury himself flush against yours. Frank let’s out the most pornographic moan and rocks himself in and out taking his time to allow you to adjust to his size.

“Look at that baby girl. You’re doing so well f’me. Mmyea fuck. Whose tight pussy is this hmm? Who can only fuck you like this?” He grunts in your ear as he starts slamming his hips against yours. All you can do is moan back in return. He grabs your face, “I said whose pussy is this baby?”

“It’s all your Frank. It’s all yours,” you say shakily. You move your hands to touch along his chest, feeling the soft hair and hard muscles constrict as he moves in and out. You know he’s close because his strokes are loosing rhythm and he starts to shake as he buries himself even deeper. He pulls one of your legs over his shoulder and rubs your puffy swollen clit. Your back arches off the bed and you squeeze around him. He hisses and continues to drill your hole. You can feel your wetness dripping down the inside of your thigh and it makes you even hornier. “Baby please cum for me. I want to feel you deep inside.” You barely get out as he hits your g-spot again.

“Yeah? You want me to cum in you? You want me to paint your walls with my cum baby girl?” He groans. You nod and start to pinch your nipples/ the sensation causing you to wriggle and buck your hips back to his. Franks eyes go wide, taking in the sight in front of him. He loves seeing you like this, your hair falling out your bonnet, the way the sun hits your soft brown skin, your lips slightly parted in euphoria, the way your eyebrows furrow-focused on not cumming. The sight almost sends him over the edge.

“Alright sweetheart, come on. Cum for me. Cum on this big dick. It’s all yours take it.” You whimper and clench around him. The heat in your belly rises and nearly explodes as he whispers sweetly in your ear, “come on, there you atta girl.” he coos. He sloppily kisses you as you come down from your orgasm. He starts to let up on his strokes, giving you a second to recoup before he chases his own high.

He starts panting, beads of sweat gathering on his forehead. He leans in and presses his forehead against yours,” I want you to look at me with those pretty eyes while I come in this pussy, yeah?” You bite your lip and nod.

He groans and picks up the pace again. Soon you feel his dick twitch inside of you as he relentlessly pounds into you. His cum shooting deep inside of your walls. The feeling nearly makes you come again. He keeps his dick inside and lays on top of you, kissing all around your face until he reaches your lips. Right before he kisses you he says, “God I love you so much baby.”

You lay like that for awhile his dick still inside while y’all catch your breath. You rub patterns across his back as you hold him. He goes to kiss you again, but your stomach rumbles which causes the both of you to burst out in laughter.

“Oh my god, I forgot all about breakfast.” You chuckle as he removes himself from you. You sigh at the empty feeling- wishing you could stay like this all day.

He gets up smiling and lazily puts back on his pants. He checks the time on his phone, “it’s twelve forty five. Guess I took longer than twenty minutes huh?” He says cheekily as he kisses your forehead again. “Let me go get a rag for ya.”

You lay there, just taking it all in, wondering how you got so lucky with a man like Frank. He reappears and wipes gently muttering a sorry when he brushes against your sensitive clit.

“Now, let’s get up and get some breakfast my love.”

[felice-jaganshi]

His Pet

Alastor X OC

Chapter 11

The next day, she woke up with a whine, “Thirsty…” She muttered, she felt so warm. Had she forgotten to turn on her ceiling fan?

“Here you are dear.” Her water bottle was handed to her off her bedside table. Her eyes snapped open at the voice, she leaned away to get a look at who the hell was in her bed! It was, of course, Alastor! He wore a sheepish look on his face and spoke softly, “Good morning, my dear. I apologize, but you refused to let go of me, and you were in such a terrible state. I understand if you feel the need to slap me.”

 

She blushed, taking a mental note without moving her eyes from his face that all her clothes were in place before accepting her water bottle from him and relaxing. 

“I don't think that's necessary…” She sat up and sipped on her water.

Alastor sat up as well, “Now, what do you remember from last night?”

She drank her entire water bottle before answering. “Well, I didn't even get to finish my drink before Dusty's boss came over to cause trouble… Husker got caught in his smoke and was out of it. Angel protected me, then I tried to protect him. Then… I don't remember much after that… I felt weird, everything was dizzy, and my eyes were too heavy to open. Then I remember smelling your scent and I felt safe. I guess I ended up in your arms? Then I woke up feeling thirsty.” She frowned, it sounded like she'd been drugged somehow.

 

Alastor's ears twitched in irritation from this, “I see… may I hold you a little while longer my darling?” 

She smiled, “ I'd love that.” She nuzzled into his chest, and he held her as well, running a hand up and down her back in a soothing motion.

“Husker should be punished for failing me.” He decided he'd bring it up to her, see if Angel was right about it upsetting her.

“What? But it's not his fault! It's my fault for getting in trouble. Please don't hurt him…” She whimpered and looked up at him with big sad puppy eyes. He groaned, Angel Dust had been right, curse him…

“Alright my dear, as a favor to you, I'll let him get by with just the scolding I gave him yesterday… maybe a little more scolding today.” She giggled at that at least.

 

“Hm, I need to get Angel a gift too. Since his desire to protect you was clearly stronger than Husker's, and I wish to reward good behavior.” He smirked, already having thought of the gift while she was sleeping.

“What are you gonna get him?” 

“A few days off from work.” Alastor chuckled.

“Oh? Are you gonna kill his boss? I'd love that. He scares me…”

He tisked at her, “Now now dear…” He began singing,

 

“Nothing's going to harm you,

Not while I'm around.

Demons are prowling everywhere, Nowadays,

I'll send them howling,

I don't care, I have my ways.

No one's going to hurt you,

No one will ever dare.

Others can desert you,

Not to worry, whistle,

I'll be there.

Demon's may charm you with a smile, for a while,

But in time…

Nothing can harm you,

Not while I'm around…”

 

He kissed the top of her head gently.

“Now, let's get on with our day, shall we? I want you to stay in the hotel while I attend to some errands.”

“Okay, I'll probably just write in my room or read some stories to Dusty and Husk while you're gone… I love you, Al.”

“I know you do.” He smiled fondly, then got up from her bed, offering a hand to help her out, before giving a half bow and disappearing into the shadows.

 

She got up and got ready for the day. Soon as her door shut, Angel's opened and he came out, “Hey! Z, how ya feeling? I'm so sorry about last night.” He approached her quickly looking apologetic.

She smiled and hugged him tight, “I'm okay Dusty. I know you didn't mean for that to happen. But if ya wanna make me breakfast to make up for it, I'd be really grateful.”

He hugged her tight, “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Can you and Husk spend the day with me? I wanna spend some time with both of you today. Oh, and I'm not allowed to leave the building for the day!”

He pulled back, “You okay with that?”

“Oh yeah, I definitely need an ‘at home’ day after last night.”

 

They made their way downstairs and Angel got to cooking, she watched him till Husker showed up. “Oh, there you are!” She hugged him tight and he patted her back gently.

“Hey, you okay?” He looked away from her, feeling awkward. 

“Yeah, I'm good, you okay? Al said he gave you a scolding. Don't worry though, he promised me he won't hurt you over this. Oh, He also said he's gonna give Dusty a reward for doing a good job too!”

Angel froze, “A WHAT?! From the radio demon?! Oh man, it's either gonna be awesome or terrifying.” He seemed worried.

 

Husker sighed, leaning against the counter. “Eh, don't be scared. You actually protected his new favorite pet, so it'll be something actually good. And you really did good yesterday. I hope you don't get messed up too bad by the jackass for this…”

 

The rest of the day was the trio spending time together and bonding.

Alastor came home a few hours later, seeing the trio on the couch in each other's laps, she was reading one of her stories to them. He approached them and smiled, “Well, this looks rather cozy.”

She stopped and looked up with a big grin herself, “Hey Al! Back from a big day? I hope that's not your blood on you.”

He laughed, “Hah! No my dear, but thank you for the concern. I was simply securing Angel's reward for protecting you yesterday.”

“My reward?” Angel looked up at him, “The hell kinda reward makes ya all bloody?!”

“You're getting at least two weeks off from work! Or however long it takes your boss to reform after completely being torn apart and fed to the crows.” He seemed so proud of himself. Angel felt all the color drain from his face.

“Y- you…”

“Ah not to worry, I never told him it had to do with you. This was personal.” His smile grew dark as the static around his voice increased on that last sentence. 

 

He then quickly changed back to cheery, “Welp! I think I shall retire to my room. Zariah, would you like to accompany me and read one of your stories to me as well?” He started walking off before she could answer, leaving a few drops of blood in the hall as he went. She immediately got up, giving Angel and Husk each a kiss on the cheek, before following after her master. “Later guys!”

[moonlightazriel]

Turning page /// Azriel X F!Reader

Summary: 1 year after that terrible night, Y/N is back at the night court and ready to face everything she tried so hard to avoid.

Warnings: None, maybe some angst? Idk

Word Count: 3K

Notes: This is the part 2 to “Slow dancing in the dark” and being honest I originally planned to leave it like that but people asked for more and your wish is my command.

Main Masterlist

I woke up feeling the sun in my face, the cold breeze made me shiver, and i just wrapped myself even more in the blankets, fighting the urge to stay in bed, i got up, the cold floor made me hiss as i entered the bathroom, taking a hot bath, i putted my warmest clothes, getting ready for breakfast and for the day ahead.

Viviane was already sitting in the dining room, Frost was by her side, the little boy smiled at me as i kissed his head, Viv greeted me and i winked at her, paying attention to the toddler that showed me the new trick he learned.

“That's awesome buddy, i bet that you will be able to make giant stalactites when you're older.” The boy nodded happily, and looked at his mother, asking her to play outside, she allowed and he ran away.

“1 year today!” She started excited. “We love having you here, how are you feeling?” She was true concerned, but honestly i was feeling better, i would always be grateful and in debt with Viv and Kallias for opening their home for me, when i was nothing but a ghost.

“I'm good, better than i was back then, i have no words to describe how this place and you two helped me.” I said smiling at her and i felt a hand on my shoulder.

“You are more than welcome here, this is nothing compared to everything you have done for us.” Kallias commented and moved to his high lady, kissing her and sitting with us, they talked about court duties and about a dinner for me, i tried to tell them that it wasn't necessary but it didn't work.

“Y/N? Do you want to go ski with me and Frost?” She said pulling me out of my thoughts and i nodded, half an hour later the three of us were heading to the lake, i loved spending time with Frost and help him with his lessons, i was holding him in my lap as we walked, he giggled while he made snowflakes, gifting them to me and his mother.

We played with him until I got tired, sitting on a blanket we brought with us, I started to think about the events that got me here.

1 year earlier

He was my mate and he was with her, i screamed and cried my eyes out when i got home, my chest being torn apart, it was Rhys that calmed me down, he emerged from the shadows and found me laying on the floor having a severe breakdown, , i was hyperventilating and my voice was cracking with how much i screamed that night. He held me on his lap and waited for me to talk, he rocked me like a baby and i just cried in his chest until i hadn't any more tears left to cry.

“What happened my dear sister?” He asked, concern pouring out of him, i lifted my eyes until i met his violet ones, i didn't had the strength to tell him so i just looked at him pulling my shields down, i felt him gently going through my mind, he saw every little detail of the night, i felt his discomfort when he saw the bond snapping for me, if someone would understand the pain of watching your mate with somebody else, it would be Rhys. He just hugged me tighter and rested his chin on top of my head. “I know it hurts, i wished that i could take this pain from you, it breaks my heart to see you like this.” He kissed my forehead and got up. “I'm taking you home with me, Feyre is worried, do you want to go?” I agreed and he winnow us to the river house.

Feyre was waiting for us with a set of clothes and a warm bath for me, i thanked her and got inside the tub, feeling my body instantly relaxing as Feyre sat by my side, her gentle hands pouring water on my hair and cleaning the destroyed makeup off my face. I stayed a whole week with them, Azriel had tried to get in touch but Rhys didn't allowed him, telling him that he would only hurt me even more if he kept trying to talk to me.

I was laying on the couch, a child book on my hands while Nyx slept on my chest, Feyre and Rhys entered the room and they both smiled at the scene, it was Feyre who spoke first.

“You can’t tell the others, but I think you’re his favorite aunt.” I let out a small giggle and the toddler moved, burying his face on my chest. “I hope you are feeling alright, we have a proposal to you.” Rhys looked at me and started talking.

“We talked about the current situation, we're all worried about you, and I know you need time and space to heal, but I’m not so sure if you will be able to do that here.” I was feeling confused but it didn't take long for me to realize what was coming, i knew they cared about me and I felt my eyes getting full of tears as Rhys spoke again. “We love you and we just want what’s best for you, maybe you can use some time away? Obviously you can stay but we think it’s for the best if you just cleared your head on another place.”

“I don’t even know what to say.” I confessed, but I felt deeply glad that they were the ones to say this, I spended the whole week thinking about this, I knew my wounds wouldn’t heal if I kept around Azriel and Elain. “I’m going to be honest, i thought about going away, but I couldn't do this to my family, but now that you brought that up, i think I know where I want to go. And I’m not going to be away for long, I promise.”

The two helped me get in touch with Viviane, she was more than happy to receive me, we were friends for such a long time and I really missed her, I thought that maybe the cold winds of the Winter Court would help numb the pain in my chest. A week later, I was saying goodbye to my friends, the one person that didn’t know that I was leaving was Azriel, I decided that I didn’t owe that to him, I dedicated so much time of my life to him that this was the first thing I was going to do for myself, closing my end of the bond, I left.

Azriel

I never thought that was true when people would tell me that you only realize what you have lost once it’s gone, but I guess they’re right. I felt miserable every day since she left me on that alley, her words ringing on my head and her pained expression haunted my dreams every night, Elain at first tried to tell me that I should leave her alone, that she was overreacting and she didn’t deserve me, but I just couldn’t listen to her. Rhysand would tell me to go home every time I tried to talk to her, I just wanted to hold her in my arms and tell her everything was going to be okay, but I guess it’s hard to do it when you’re the problem.

I knew that she kept in touch with them, sometimes I would just look for Cassian and Nesta and both would be gone, I knew they were with her, but they wouldn’t tell me where, all I wanted was to just fly to her, and apologize, tell her how much I loved her, because if i’m being honest, I was completely in love with her. The things with Elain started to get a little out of hand when she mistaken my friendship for something else, i knew that I should have tell her off and explain that I didn’t felt the same for her, but I always thought that I didn’t have any chances with Y/N, and the feeling of having someone seeing me in a romantic way led me to this mess.

I didn’t know what to do, how do I tell her that she’s the one consuming my dreams and thoughts every day and night, how do I tell her that she makes my days brighter and her light pulled me out of the dark so many times? That I just wanted to hold her close and tell her she was the prettiest female I've ever seen, would she believe me? How could she? When I allowed her to think that I was in love with someone else?

It was two weeks after she left that I decided to be truthful with my feelings and Elain, she wasn’t happy but I told her that I wasn’t ever going to be fully hers while I was in love with Y/N, it wasn’t fair with neither of them, and she should try to get closer to her mate, I didn’t liked Lucien, but I waited for my mate for so long, it wasn’t fair if I just stealed his. Just like Y/N she left without looking back, Cassian and Nesta reassured me, saying it was for the best and would hurt her even more if I just kept pushing our relationship further.

It was Starfall night, I was in the corner drinking, the party was really great but still felt empty without her beautiful laughter filing the room, Elain had followed my advice and now she and Lucien were getting closer, slowly building their relationship, she even forgave me for everything and we were kinda of friends now, the couples were dancing around and the music was loud, but the beating of my heart was louder when I spotted Kallias and Viviane entering the room, behind them I spotted a familiar figure, she was wearing a deep blue mermaid style dress, her hair was in a low bun with tiny strands of hair framing her face and her makeup was perfect, she looked different and yet so similar, she had a white haired boy in her arms, the smile on her face as she poked the toddler belly made my heart clench. Every worry started to fill my mind, what if she didn't want to talk to me? Rhys and Feyre were the first ones to greet her, she was really beautiful, I couldn’t take my eyes off her, as she felt my gaze on her, she turned her attention to me, her smiled dropping a little as she looked directly in my eyes, drinking the rest of my wine, I got up to greet her.

Y/N

When Rhys and Feyre showed up on the celebration dinner and invited us to Starfall, I didn’t think I was going to be able to be around him, but as the day got closer, the courage started to grow inside me, I knew I couldn’t avoid him forever. Viv reassured me many times saying if I felt like leaving, they would get me out of there in no time, but even if I loved the Winter court, I missed my home and my family even more, I missed Azriel, the way he would look at me when we were alone on a library, how he would pretend he was mad every time I would beat him on training, I missed every little thing about him, and it was painful to pretend I didn’t.

When we arrived at the river house, the room was filled with music, conversations and laughter, I immediately felt my body relaxing, after all this was my home. Frost was in my lap playing with my hair while I told him that Nyx would love to play with him, Feyre and Rhys were the first ones to come talk to me, Rhys told me how happy he was to see me there and that Starfall would finally be complete again, I smiled at him, but there was this sensation of being observed, when I turned around, I spotted Azriel looking at me, he was even more beautiful than I remembered, but he looked a little different, slightly paler and with visible dark circles under his eyes, but yet he was breathtaking. He got up and started walking in my direction when someone got in the way, she was shorter than me, I looked down and met Elain, she didn't look me in the eyes and her voice was low when she asked if we could talk, excusing myself, I followed her to a more private space.

“It’s good to see you, you look better.” She started, I noticed the shaking in her voice and how she moved her hands nervously.

“Yeah, this time away made me wonders. But don’t worry, I’m here to enjoy my family, I won’t get in your way or Azriel’s.” I said and she looked at me, in the eyes this time.

“We’re not together anymore.” I let a surprise gasp left my lips, my eyes were slightly wide as I looked at her. “I wanted to apologize for everything I ever done to you, I shouldn’t have been so mean when all you did was to be nice and try to be my friend, is just that I saw how Az looked at you, and i thought that I was in love with him, I guess I was just jealous.” This caught me off guard.

“I appreciate your honesty Elain, and it wasn't like you had anything to be jealous off. “ I giggled and so did she. “This doesn’t matter now, not anymore, I just hope you’re happy.”

“I am, Lucien is actually really amazing and he understands me more than I excepted.” Her gaze was intense when she looked at me again. “You know he’s in love with you right? He told me when he broke up with me.” I felt my heart twisting in my chest. “But this is something he should be telling you, all i want is to be your friend if you want to.” Her voice was filled with expectations and I smiled at her.

“Of course Elain, what happened in the past stays in the past.” She smiled and pulled me in for a hug. She left the room right after and I followed her, Nesta was waiting for me with a glass of wine, I gladly accepted and started to dance with her, Azriel was nowhere to be seen and I didn’t felt like looking for him, not yet, i just wanted this moment to last a little longer. Mor announced that the Starfall was about to begin and we all should find our places to watch it. I rushed to one of the balconies on the top of the house, it was empty when I got there, the stars started their journey through the skies and I just stood there, silently watching it in awe when a voice sounded behind me.

“Can I join you?” Azriel asked and i nodded, it didn’t matter how many years passed, I would always be mesmerized by this event, the atmosphere felt magical as the stars passed for us, I turned to him, he had a small smile on his face. “You look devastatingly beautiful, the stars don’t stand a chance against your beauty.” I felt my cheeks getting hotter and looked at the skies again.

“Elain told me.” I said still not looking at him. “She said that you broke up with her and you’re in love with me.”

“I…” He stopped, and I looked at him, his eyes were focused on my face. “She’s right, I just wished that I had realized that earlier, before I hurt you so much that you felt like you had to go away.” I was about to protest when he continued. “I looked for you though, even if I did want to respect your space, I was dying to know how you were but you just disappeared.”

“I’m not going anywhere now.” I said and he pulled me closer, his breath was so close that I could smell the wine, I closed my eyes and enjoyed that feeling that I longed for, he placed a kiss in my forehead, then on each of my eyelids, his lips brushed over mine and he kissed the corner of my mouth, one after the other and finally my lips, his kiss was soft and contained, like he was afraid that I would just disappear again, my hands grabbed his hair and our lips moved in perfect synchrony, it was full of love and affection that my heart flipped in my chest. When he broke up the kiss, he rested his forehead on mine, we opened our eyes slowly, enjoying the sensation when his eyes widened and I could fell a pull in my chest.

“My mate.” He whispered, a smile forming on his lips, as fast as it came, it was gone. “You knew. Why you didn't say anything?”

“If you knew that I was happy with somebody else, would have you said something?” He nodded. “It snapped for me that night and I couldn’t do that to you, it felt like the right thing to do.”

“It’s not important, not anymore.” He pulled me in for another kiss while he sent his love through the bond. “I’ve waited a hundred years for you, my mate, and I would wait a million more if that meant that I would end up with you.” I blushed and he turned me around, my back pressed on his chest while we watched the rest of the event, his chin rested on top of my head and i just cling to that feeling of joy that soothed my body and soul and I just allowed myself to sink into that happiness. Finally my soul felted complete and I knew things would be better.

[tickling-giggles]

Can you do a lee!Mr compress with a ler!toga and twice?

Good vibes only

Summary: toga and twice invite Compress to play super smash bros with them, but everyone in the LOV knows that you should and will be in a good mood around toga. One way or another it’s good vibes only around toga, plus twice also wants his friends to be happy (I adore twice he so sweet 🤭)

A/N: YOU GUYS IM FINALLY OUT OF SCHOOLLLLLLL until August 10🥲…. BUT I HAVE SOOOOOI MUCH FREE TIME ON MY HANDS UNTIL THEN SO YK WHAT THAT MEANSSSSSSS MORE FICS/HCS WILL GET PUBLISHEDDDDD

Also the bold bits in twices line are you know his “other half” speaking.

Lee: Compress

Ler: Toga and Twice

———————————————————————-

Compress had uh…well… not so good day. Actually it maybe one of the shittiest days of his life. He’s had numerous unlucky bad days but none of the compare to today. It just started awful from when he burnt it breakfast and everything after that was just terrible. All he wanted to do now was just relax to take his mind off of all of the horrible stuff that occurred.

“Aww thats so rude I was just about to be 1st, I’m the winner” Twice whined. “That’s the same person who hit me with a squid” Toga agreed complaining aswell.

“Oh hey press what’s wrong? Did something happen? Let me beat them to a pulp”Twice greeted him questioning him as he cracked his knuckles. “Yeah press what’s wrong?” Toga turned around seeing how upset he looked.

“It was not a…good day is all” compress sighed trying not to think of it. “Do you wanna play Mario kart with us?” Toga asked as she picked up an extra controller handing it to him. “You’ll probably feel better, I’m getting 1st place again” Twice chimed in. “Y-yeah thanks you two” Compress half-heartily smiled grabbing the controller.

“I call dibs on princess peach” Toga smiled claiming her character. “I call dibs on Waluigi” Twice followed up also claiming his character. “Hmmmmmm I’ll take Kamek” He also claimed his character. “Which one should we play on?” Toga asked. “How about 150cc” compress suggested, plus that was his go to anyways. “Sure you guys are gonna lose anyways, I’ll kick both of your asses blindfolded” twice teased.

“Didn’t you lose last time according to my memory?” Toga smirked. “Um NO I was in 1st place and you know it!” twice folded his arms, looking away from her. Compress couldn’t help but chuckle at there antics.

Just as the race started, compress was in 1st with toga in 3rd and twice in 9th. “Woah press didn’t know you were good at Mario Kart”

“Well I have been playing with shiggy”compress half heartedly giggled. “What shiggy plays games other than animal crossing?!” Toga laughed. “Yeah I know I was surprised when we asked me to play Mario kart” Compress scoffed.

“I WAS SOOO close” twice whined. “ 2nd is the best aka me how’d you get in 8th place ” toga giggled. “You really are good press” toga smiled before she quickly stopped interrogating him “compress? is that a frown?”

“No nope it’s and upside down smile” he lied badly. But was toga or twice gonna point it out? Nope she has an plan in mind. “D-do you wanna play another round we can play 200cc this time” compress stuttered as he insisted another round not wanting toga nor twice to be upset.

“Hmm fine 1 more round” she squinted her eyes at him. When compress looked away sighing in relief he hadn’t payed attention to the code she’d given twice. (Yes they got this little code thing that only the two of them can understand😭😭).

Once again compress taking the lead in first place with Toga in 2nd and Twice in 3rd they were all neck and neck before he felt a jab to the side.

“Hn!!” Compress yelped, jerking away from the ticklish touch. He looked a twice to see him with both of his hands occupied by his controller. He just ignored it and glued his eyes back into the screen.

I got a banana pEEL” Compress squeaked, clenching his controller he looked over at toga who totally didn’t pinch his hip. Once again compress suspected nothing yet before looking right back at the screen.

This trend kept on happening. Were twice and toga take turns poking compress in the side, swiping a finger across his foot, or a light scratch on the back of his neck. All until “guhuys knock it ohoff this is chehEating” He giggled.

“What are you talking about and why are you so giggly” toga smirked full aware of the situation. “I wonder what’s so funny, He’s giggling his life away” Twice added on.

Both Twice and Toga looked at eachother as they clawed Compress sides. Compress immediately clamped his arms down to his side trying to escape the tickly grip “guhuhuys nohohot funnehehehe”. “Nobody’s laughing but you press— Duhhhh” Twice teased.

“Stohohohohop ihihihit”

“Stop what” toga asked.

“Tihihickling mhehehehe”Compress answered not realizing that he just fell into a trap by saying that. Twice then pins his arms above his head “You got it dude!! tickles coming your way”Twice teased as he used one hand to hold his wrists in place, while he raked his fingers down his armpits.

“Nononohoho thahahat’s not whahahat I meAAAHAHANT AHAHA” Press shrieked as he squirmed around trying to escape.

“Stop squirming Press im trying to make sure you have all of you’re ribs” Toga rolled her eyes. “Now I have to start over 1….2….3…” each rib she counted, she used her nail to lightly scratch between it.

“TOHOHOOHGAHAHAHA IT TICKLEHEHEHEHEES”

“I mean I hope it does after all you did ask for tickles” she reminded. “Press you made me lose track again hmmmm let’s see how many did I count” she acted clueless as she rapidly pinched his sides and hips.

“THAHAHAHTS SO BAHAHAHAD HAAHAHAHAHA” he thrashed around.

“Oh it is what about here?” Twice smirked, as he was near his feet. Compress hadn’t noticed that twice had use his quirk one was keeping him pin down while he was near his feet.

“Waitwaitwahahahait twice twice buddy cohome on let’s tahahalk about thihis” press lifted up his head as much as he could so he could look at twice and try to reason with him.

“Sorry man you broke toga’s rule” twice shrugged his shoulders. “Whahahat rule?” “Her ‘good vibes only’ rule— you’re obviously sad we’re not blind” he explained.

“Ihi’m nohot sad though” press giggled, becoming more and more giggly as he started to anticipate the tickles, since he could barely lift up his head.

“Too late dude—much love” Twice smiled as he scribbled up and down the soles of his feet.

“TWIHIHICE NAHAHAHAHA”

“Hey I’m here too y’know” she playfully pouted as she squeezed his thighs rapidly.

“NOHOHO TOGAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA”

“Will you stop being sad and tell us what’s wrong?” Toga asked.

“OHOHOHOHKAHAAHAY OHOHOKAHAHAY I WON’T BE SAD ANEHEHEHEHEMORE AAHHAHA IHIHLL TELL YOUAHAHAHAHA”

“You promise?” They both asked.

“YES YEHEHEHEES I PROMISE AHAHHAHAA”

“Good” Toga sighed in relief.

“Well what happened why’d you come in looking so gloomy?” Twice asked. “Ihi just had a shitty dahay from start to finishehe from when I burnt my breakfast, all the way to when I came back here, it just messed with my emotions and of course got to me. I was just ready to come back and relax but after that torture you two goofs out me through I feel a lot better” he smiled.

“We didn’t take it too far did we?” Twice asked also. “Of course not it’s was just playful banter” press giggled.

“I’m glad you told us, also we don’t ever want to cross and boundaries we just really care about you and don’t like seeing you so sad and gloomy” Toga spoke her mind and twice of course.

“If anything ever makes you sad again promise to tell us” Twice looked at him in his eyes. “Ihi promise” press couldn’t help but giggle. “You guys are so sappy” Dabi rolled his eyes as he sat on the couch.

“Looks like some one else need to be tickle tooooo” twice sang as he wiggled his fingers at Dabi. “I swear on Endeavor if you tickle me you’ll have a 6th degree burn” Dabi playfully threatened. “6th degree? That’s not even a thing!!” Toga looked at him lost.

“Exactly that’s how severe it is” Dabi smirked.

———————————————————————-

AAAAAAAH I hope you all like it it wasn’t intended to get all mushy like that at the end but idk what came over me but yeah 😭😭

[glitterhartslittleuniverse]

Not without you (part 2)

Summery: Seungcheol reveals the bad news to Haerim.

Warning: Crying :( (might be badly written, that’s a warning) 

Year: 2014

Note: I got annoyed with this sitting in my drafts so I decided to just go ahead and finish it. It might be a bit messy towards the end but anyways here’s part 2 hehe. I hope you like it and don’t forget I always appreciate your comments and feedback:) 

part 1

Today was a good day for Haerim. She had woken up at her usual time, made breakfast with Jun, had vocal and dance lessons during the day, had lunch with Joshua and Jihoon, beat Soonyoung at arm wrestling and the group practice that evening went smoothly. The one thing that threw her off about today was the fact Seungcheol was invited to a meeting with the CEO without her. She tried not to let it bother her to much and continued with the day like nothing happened. It must not have been that important if Mr Han only wanted to see one of them and she knew Seungcheol would tell her if it was something important. When he returned to the practice room after the meeting he didn’t say anything to her so she assumed it was nothing major. There was nothing to worry about. 

Only hours later when everyone was back at the dorm and settling down for the night did Seungcheol approach her. 

“Hey,” he called to her, getting her attention immediately. “Would you like to go for a walk?” 

Haerim was a little confused by his sudden request. “Now? It’s late, everyone’s going to bed and we should too.”

“Please Haerim.” There was a hint of urgency in his voice. Taking a closer look at her friend she could see the anxiousness in his eyes. She sighed and gave him a reassuring smile. 

“Let me get my jacket.” She said before making her way to her room. She heard Seungcheol’s quiet ‘okay’ from behind her. Reaching her room she hastily grabbed her jacket and her cap getting the attention of the three girls in the room. 

“Where are you going Unnie?” Yejin asked sleepily from her bed. 

“I’m going for a walk with Seungcheol. We won’t be long.” she replied. Heading out the door again she turned back to the girls. “Good night.” 

Seungcheol was waiting for her by the door. He seemed to be lost in thought, staring at his shoes and didn’t hear her approaching. She softly called his name to get his attention. He jumped slightly and looked up at her quickly before reaching for the door handle. “Let’s go.” he said, opening the door and ushering Haerim through the doorway. 

“What’s up with you? Why are you so jumpy tonight?” Haerim questioned him, finding his behavior a little strange.

“It’s nothing.” he said. “I think I’m just tired, that’s all.” 

That was a terrible excuse but she didn’t say anything. The way he refused to look her in the eyes worried her. He only does that when there’s something he has to tell her but is afraid to. What could it be? Could it be about the meeting earlier? Suddenly Haerim felt nervous. If Seungcheol felt the need to get her out of the dorm away from the other members, it must be bad news. Not able to bear the tension she grabbed Seungcheol’s arm, stopping him in his tracks. 

“What is it Cheol? If there’s something you have to tell me just tell me!” 

Seungcheol looked like a deer caught in headlights. He should have known Haerim would catch on. But he wasn’t ready. All evening he’d been stressing over how he should break the news to her, going over what he would say and cursing the CEO for being a coward and not telling her himself. Poor Seungcheol could feel Haerim’s eyes burning holes into him as he tried to regain his composer. 

“Let’s find somewhere we can talk.” He said. Taking the hand that she grabbed his arm with in his, he lead her to a nearby park. Haerim followed behind still nervous and confused. 

The park was empty on the late, cold night. Finding a bench in sit on, the two friends sat beside each other in silence. It was an unusual, uncomfortable silence as Seungcheol tried his best to figure out the right words to say while Haerim waited anxiously for him to say something, anything. Sighing he turned to her.

“I had a meeting with Mr Han today,” he started. “He wanted to talk about Project Seventeen.” Haerim nodded, so this was about the meeting today. She didn’t say anything and waited for him to continue. “I’m sure you’ve been wondering why you didn’t go too.” 

“Yes.” she answered shortly.

“I’m sorry Haerim, believe me I wish you were there. I...” he trailed off, looking away from her. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

She almost couldn’t hear the last part that he whispered under his breath but she did. “What are you saying? Seungcheol, what did he say to you?” 

He looked back and her and now she could see the tears that had started to fill his eyes. “He said that you and the girls might not be debuting with Seventeen.” 

Haerim froze, her breath stuck in her throat. It felt like her heart had stopped in that moment. All she could do was stare at Seungcheol as she took his words in. With a shaky breath she asked “Are you serious?”

“I wish I wasn’t.” The slight crack in Seungcheol’s voice caused tears to well up in Haerim’s eyes as well. Looking away she run her fingers through her hair and tried not to break down in front of her friend.

Seungcheol felt bad. He had been dreading this the moment he heard the words from Mr Han himself. Dreading Haerim’s reaction. He knows how hard she’s worked for this and just how badly she wants it. Although her face was turned away he knew she was fighting back tears. 

Haerim let out an exasperated breath. “What do we do Cheol?” Her voice coming out broken from the tears she been trying to keep at bay. 

Placing a hand on her shoulder, he spoke softly. “Look at me.” 

Slowly Haerim turned to look at her friend, meeting his equally teary eyes. With both his hands on her shoulders he spoke with all the confidents we could muster. “We’ll figurer it out okay, I promise.”

“How do you know?” Never had Haerim felt so powerless. She’s always been so confident, so sure that this was it. This is the group she belongs in, the people she belongs with. Hearing that all that might be taken away was just unbearable to her. 

“Because you are one for the most talented, hard working, kindest, most affectionate people I know.” Seungcheol said to her, letting go of her shoulders to take both her hands instead. “And if anyone deserves to debut, it’s you.” He gave her a sad smile before he continued, “If they don’t want you in this group then I won’t debut either.” 

His statement left Haerim is shock. “Seungcheol you can’t do that. The boy’s need you.”  

“And I need you!” The raised tone in which he spoke clearly surprised Haerim. He was also taken aback by the sudden outburst. “Sorry, it’s just...” He tried to search of a way to explain himself. Haerim squeezed his hands, a silent sign that it was okay and that she understood. This was about much more then Haerim and the girls losing their dream and all they’ve worked so hard for, this was about losing the friendships they’d made along the way.  

“I promised myself long ago that I won’t leave anyone behind.” Seungcheol said, looking into her eyes. “I’m keeping that promise and I promise you, Jeon Haerim, I will find a way. I won’t give up on you or the girls.” 

His words held so much confidents and certainty it caused the walls to come down, finally letting her tears fall. Seungcheol immediately took his friend into his arms, holding her tightly and letting his own tears fall too. 

After they both calmed down they returned to the dorms. Giving each other one last comforting hug they went their separate ways. Entering the room she shared with the three other girls, Haerim looked over their sleeping figures. They all looked so peaceful, so innocent and full of dreams. They’ve worked so hard to get where they are. She’d seen them improve and grow so much. She has so much pride in them for making it so far but now... 

“I promise,” she whispered into the quiet room, knowing none of them could hear her. “I won’t let you down.”

[lilith-little-world]

I can’t fucking believe the poll ended in a tie! A fucking tie! Now you’re going sit here and read the two choices mashed terribly together.

Also since this month is very important. I decided to post spoilers for the plot of the main story, The Isekai’d Oracle. Just snippets of future events that take place in the story. I just want to have fun this month before getting either bad or good news.

I Saw You Once In a Dream, Maybe|| Pt. 6

“Oh I don't know, my day was completely full. I'm just here for my free breakfast.” You said with a smile.

Monkey King didn't seem to take this in the best way. He tensed up only for his body to slump over the counter. Defeat was written across his face.

“Oh, really? Then again, we barely met, it was rude of me to ask.”

“Maybe but,” You lean into him and smirk. “I think I can make some room for the Great Sage himself.”

Monkey King's energy immediately zapped him back to life. His eyes shine brightly, as a more cheeky atmosphere comes off him.

“You’re too generous! I'm honored that you gave me some of your time.”

“Mk what am I seeing right now?” Tang asks.

“I honestly have no idea.” Mk states, hardly understand what's happening.

Pigsy huffs placing a bowl in front of Monkey King. He mutters under his breath angrily before heading off into the kitchen.

“Tell me Great Sage, what exactly brought you here today?” You asked.

“I'm just dropping off the kid since I didn't want him to head back home by himself.”

You glance at Mk, who seemed to be in good condition. This contradicts his earlier statement that he fell off a cliff.

“Is that so? That was generous of you, though he doesn't seem to be hurt in any way.” You state, trying to tear little holes in this facade.

Monkey King nervously scratches his head.

“Well, he's my successor for a reason. He heals at a faster rate than normal so when we got here, he was all good.” Monkey king takes a bite from his noodles. He's refusing to look at you now.

“Alright let's cut to the chase, shall we?” You faced forward and picked up some noodles with your chopsticks.

“Yes ma’am.”

“How long did it take for you to come up with this plan?”

“A week. How did you know?”

“Been plagued by a certain dream since the beginning of this year.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“We will when we head out. Let's go into more detail in a more private area.”

“In my defense, I really like you and I want to get to know you better.”

You drop the noodle in shock. Your cheeks heat up with your face turning a deep red. Quickly turned to see him, but he wasn't facing you. Instead, Monkey King was stuffing his face with noodles, but you can see his cheeks were a light shade of pink. Nothing came out of you but strained noise. You were utterly speechless. From your dreams, you knew he was very open with his feelings but this wasn't a dream. Yet he still said it without any hesitation.

“I would like to get to know you better too.” You said staring into your bowl.

“Really? After all of this.”

“I won't lie, this plan of yours was surprising but I wouldn't expect anything less from the pain in the ass Sun Wukong.”

“Hehe, sorry I just couldn't come up with anything else.”

“It's fine, this could be a fun story to tell someday.”

You both laugh, finally relaxing from the tense mood. However, for everyone else, it couldn't be said the same. They stare at the two of you in confusion and questioning themselves if they should jump in. Only to push it aside, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“Alright let's go.” You said putting down some money on the counter.

“Wait already?”

“Yeah, I have some errands to do. What don't want to join?”

“Of course I do! I was just expecting more time to prepare.” Monkey King summons a puff of smoke. Covering him and disappearing instantly. He was wearing a hooded jacket with sunglasses.

“Okay, I'm ready.”

You hold back your amazement and head to the entrance.

“Bye everyone, see you guys tomorrow.” You wave at them cheerfully as they say their goodbyes.

“So where are we heading first?”

“Hm, I need to get groceries and pick something up from my parents’ place.”

“Meeting the parents already? If I knew you were this crazy about me, I would have tried this plan sooner.”

“We’re not dating yet.”

“Yet?” Monkey King gives you his widest smirk.

“You know what I mean!”

“Do I?”

You groan, hiding your red face behind your hands.

“If you behave, we can go do something fun.”

“What do you have in mind?”

[arisewanekosuki]

In another’s shoes | Chapter 1

(Genshin School AU x Fem! Reader)

previous | next (Edit: Added banner! Many thanks to @fusaex3​​ for drawing it!)

-“Wake up!” I heard someone yell at me, “Is that boy voice?” -“No, I want sleep more” I muttered. - “We are going to be late! Get up! Your breakfast is going to be cold!” “My breakfast?” I opened my eyes and saw a young boy in front of me. Is that….angel? He sighed and looked at me with worried expression. My vision got cleaner and I realized that ‘angel’ is no one other than Aether. Why is Aether here? Is that some weird dream? Why would I dream about Aether waking me up? -“Lumine, are you really alright? Maybe we should have gone to hospital yesterday, after all Itto hit you in the head with the ball…” Wait, did he just called me ‘Lumine’? -“What are you talking about?” He looked at me surprised. -“Don’t tell me you forgot about yesterday? You were playing with Itto and Childe-“ -“I didn’t, I’m not Lumine” I interrupted him, if this is a dream, then it’s annoying one. Yeah Lumine is cool but I don’t really want to be her. -“…Alright, I’m calling mom and I'm going to tell her that I need to take you to the hospital.” He took his phone from pocket, I got up and took it, this whole thing starting to be ridiculous. Aether didn’t said anything, he just look at me deep in the thought. I put phone on the desk and then I looked around realizing that this is not my room. My blood went cold when I saw my reflection that was in front of me in the mirror. That's Lumine, no, I am Lumine. I'm in Lumine body. I approached mirror, touching ‘my’ cheeks, ‘my’ hair. It’s impossible. This feel to realistic to be a dream. Aether put hand on my shoulder, telling me -“You know this isn’t funny, I’m really worried about you.” He looked sad, but how I should respond? -“S-sorry, that was a bad joke, I’m fine! I just wanted to see your reaction! Haha!”  I laughed awkwardly, he doesn’t seem to buy it. After a moment he sighed. -„Alright, Get down when you get ready, we are going to hospital!” he said, he took his phone from desk and then started walking towards door. -“No, wait!” I caught his arm, stopping him. This situation is crazy and it felt like some weird dream but going to hospital when I still don’t have any idea what’s going on would be a bad thing, at least I feel like it. -“I..I think you’re overreacting! I’m really fine!” I tried to convince Aether but it seems he’s still doesn’t believe me. -“Ok! It would be bad if both of us would miss school today, so how about it: I’ll go see doctor and you just go to school?” well it’s not like he’ll know that I DIDN’T go to hospital and it would be good to have time for myself to think about everything. Aether looked at me skeptical. I tried to make some kind of puppy eyes saying ‘please’. -“Alright, alright, let’s do that, just stop making this face, you look weird.” He said turning around and leaving ‘my’ room. I sighed and sit on the bed. “This is terrible…” Suddenly the door opened scaring me and Aether was looking at me. -“But promise me you’ll go see a doctor ok?” he said with serious tone. -“Of course!” I smiled at him. He closed the door and I heard him going downstairs. I lied down, looking at the ceiling. “So now what…” I muttered to myself.

After getting dressed and eating now a cold breakfast that Aether prepared for me, I went back to Lumine’s room. After confirming that in fact today is Wednesday, I tried to recollect what happened yesterday. “So I went to school like always, nothing interesting happened yesterday… hmmm I was cleaning class with Kazuha and I … “ I put ‘my’ hands on ‘my’ face “let’s not think about it…next, what happened when I get out of school…” it struck me “when I was coming back home I saw a car almost hitting the girl and it didn’t hit her cause I pushed her off… wait, does that mean that…that I died?” I started to feel sick, I remembered the pain I felt for the moment and then nothing. How I was scared when I was losing my conscious. “Wait… but why am I in Lumine’s body? Aether said something that she was hit in her head yesterday…I hope this doesn’t mean that she died from that, right? No, no, no, don’t think like that (y/n), if I’m in her body then she should be in mine right?”  My head started to spin, after all how this is possible? -“Ugh I think I’m going to puke.” I said to no one.

After calming myself down I started to think about what should I do in this situation. “ Well, first, I probably should avoid telling anyone that I’m in Lumine’s body, they will think Lumine went crazy and it’s better to not get locked up in some kind of madhouse. Second, I should try to find what happened with my body, if I’m a ‘Lumine’ then maybe Lumine is in my body? At least I hope so, it would be easier to find solution to this situation, if I could talk with another person…” I started to look around, it seems Lumine doesn’t have that much stuff, that could tell me more about her. Just some books for school, a desk with PC and there are cute whale and cat plushes next to the monitor, on her wall there is board with many photos, some people I recognize from school like Yoimiya and some not. I took one photo that stood out for me. -“Oh, is this one from that karaoke place that Yoimiya was telling about? Now I regret not going there with her when she invited me… “ I felt sad, I really wanted to go with her back then but I got a bit overwhelmed when I heard how many people would go with us and knowing that I would feel uncomfortable with so many unfamiliar people in cramped place I had to refuse. -“But also … if I went there maybe I could know Lumine better and at least it would be easier to pretend to be her. Now I’m stuck in her body, not even knowing how Lumine talk with others ugh” I put photo back, I started looking around the room again, to see if I missed something. “Maybe I should go to hospital, if I had car accident then maybe I’ll be able to learn what happened to me and see if I can talk with Lumine. And of course hope that I didn't died!” I couldn’t came up with anything else at the moment, so maybe this walk will pay off in the end. After getting ready, finding keys and locking the house I rushed towards one hospital that’s close to school. “Let’s hope I was taken here…” after like half an hour I reached the medical building. The automatic door opened letting me in, I looked around feeling suddenly lost. “What I should do? Should I just go to nurse and ask if there is a high school girl from yesterday’s accident? Wouldn’t it be suspicious?” I started to wondering if it’s really alright to ask something like that “Agh whatever! It’s better to ask than just stand here!” I went to the nurse on reception, finally gathering courage, I nervously asked -“E-Excuse me, I just heard from a classmate that yesterday my friend had car accident and I was wondering what is her situation, her name is (y/n) (l/n)” The nurse looked at me and then smiled -“Ah yes, we received patient with that name, so you’re her friend?” -“Um yes.” -“ Well her condition is stable, she was really lucky that she didn't end up with any serious injuries but… it seems she fell into a coma, I’m sorry for that.” she gave me a weak smile. “Coma?! Well at least I’m ALIVE but COMA?!” I felt like my legs are going to give up. -“Miss, are you alright? You went pale, would you like me to call a doctor to check on you?” -“Ah no! I-I’m fine! It’s just-!” I took a breath and tried to calm my fast beating heart “I… I will be honest, it’s a bit scary to hear that my friend is in coma… Is there a chance she will wake up soon?” I asked, still having a hope that everything will be fine. -“Hm, like I said, her condition is stable but we can’t tell when she’ll wake up, it can take some days or maybe even months…” the nurse said looking at monitor. -“I see… thank you… can… can I see her?” I asked but I’m not even sure how I’ll react seeing my own body unmoving. -“Yes, her parents already gave permission, so her classmates can visit her, right now her mother should be still in her room. Just go on the third floor, room 312.” I thanked nurse again and went to elevator “I wonder if this means someone already visited me? But who? Yoimiya? Well, I don't think anyone else than her would visit me.” This made me happy, to think there is someone, who’s not my family, that cares about me and I started to smile to myself. After getting from elevator I noticed how silent is this floor. “Is there no other patients? Or maybe this is floor for people who fell into coma?” I found room 312 and stood in front the door. I took breath and knocked. I heard footsteps, the door opened revealing my mom. I smiled to her introducing ‘myself’ -“Good morning, I’m Lumine, one of (y/n)’s friends, I heard today what happened and I…”  I didn’t know what to say more, just seeing my mom looking so sad and tired. I can tell she didn’t slept last night. -“Good morning, Lumine. Thank you for coming to see her, please come in.” My mom said, walking into room. I followed her, looking around room that seem to be more extravagant that it should, we are not some rich family so this room really surprised me. When I finally looked where bed is, I stopped moving. In the end, I wasn’t prepared to see myself laying on the hospital bed, some cables connected to me. It was so weird and scary at the same time. My mom sat next to my bed and said -“I thought my heart was going to stop when the police man called me and told me what happened” she grabbed my hand - “I was told that she saved a child” there were tears in her eyes “I’m proud of her but at the same time I’m so frustrated… why… why did she-” my mom started to sob. I felt tears gathering in ‘my’ eyes, “I’m sorry mom, please don’t be sad” I wish I could tell her. I wish I could hug her but I can’t, I can only look at her, not really knowing what should I say, because right now I’m ‘Lumine’. She took tissues and she wiped away her tears -“I’m grateful she got such a nice friends” she looked at me and smiled “I'm sorry, if this sound improper to ask but are you from a wealthy family as well? Now I’m wondering if she was ashamed to bring her friends to our home because they come from wealthy families...” I was confused and my mom noticed it and quickly added -“Ah, that girl… Kamisato Ayaka, together with her brother and their father came here and they paid the costs of this room and for the treatment. I tried to tell them, that they don’t have to do that, after all it wasn’t their fault but they insisted.” Now I was feeling even more perplexed, Kamisato Ayaka? The same Ayaka from my class? Why would she and her family do that? We weren’t any best friends, we didn’t even spoke too much with each other, so why? -“I’m sorry but… why would they do that?” I asked -“Oh? I thought you know about this from her, after all she was in the car that-“ my mom didn’t finish the sentence but I understood what she wanted to say. -“I see, I didn't know about that part” she didn't said anything more, she started stroking my head, I could see new tears gathering in her eyes. -“Thank you for letting me see her, I hope she will wake up soon” I smiled and after saying goodbye, I left the room. “So Ayaka was in that car that hit me… she probably feel guilty,  but it wasn’t her fault, it wasn’t anyone’s fault”. I was thinking about heading back to Lumine’s home but I decided to see doctor “Maybe it will be better to be checked by doctor, she was hit by ball in the head and yet she ended in my body. At least I think she is my body…”

After seeing doctor, who said that everything is alright, (but now I can't forget about this awkward moment when he asked where I was hit and I couldn't tell because I didn't know), I started heading back to Lumine’s home. There was nothing more I could do, I was feeling a bit empty “What I should do now?  And what about school and her friends? I’m sure we have different characters, they will notice that! And not only that, I don’t even know the names of her friends! What if she has a boyfriend and I will be cold to him?! What if I ruin her social life?! What about my school work?!?! If I won’t wake up soon I may end up repeating the year!!!“ I started overthinking and feeling sick again. I feel so lonely and scared, there were so many problems with that ‘body swap’, now I wished I could stay in my body and just being unconscious than worrying about everything right now. When I got into home, I immediately went to Lumine’s room and got into bed, hiding under blanket. I wanted to cry, this was too much for me. I shouldn’t care if I mess up Lumine life but I knew deep down in my heart that she, like me, didn’t do anything wrong and this situation should never took place. I was startled by sudden noise coming from bedside table, it was phone. I reached for it and checked, there was a message from ‘Ajax’ ‘Hey princess! You didn’t came to school today, are you alright?  I’m worried about you :(’ “Who is Ajax? He called her ‘princess’, maybe he’s her boyfriend? I probably should reply…” and then I realized that I can’t even unlock her phone to reply. “No, wait, if I unlock it, I could check her messages with other people and maybe I'll get to know what kind of person Lumine really is, but what kind of password she has?” -“4 numbers… maybe her birthday? No, that’s too easy… and I don’t know her birthday anyway…” I stared at phone in ‘my’ hand, hoping that solution will somehow get in my head. Then there was another message ‘Princessss!! Don’t ignore meeeeee! I know I should have listen to you!! but you know how much I ha-‘ and the rest is cut off, without password I can’t even check his full message. “Wait a moment, what about PC? Let’s hope she doesn’t have password to log in, maybe from her computer I’ll get some info!” I got up from bed and walk towards desk, turning PC on, hoping that I won’t need password to use it. ---- Thank you so much for reading untill end. Sorry for any mistakes. The next chapter will be posted in this week.

[mahvericks]

For anon + the two people who wanted me to write for Layla again!

Request; id like to request being a linguist and dating layla? maybe she tells you i love you in her native language and u just respond back that you love her too? and she’s all dumbfounded but you go back to your regular task after kissing her cheek or something 👀

Warnings; none, can be set before or after the events of moon knight, kinda short, tried my best to remember what I knew from the arab language, feel free to correct me if I made a mistake! <3

Ana bahebak, ‘umri = I love you, my life

Ana kaman bahebak, nuur 'inayya = I love you too, light of my eyes

____

It was one of those days that felt endless where nothing good would happen when you met Layla- the woman that would turn up to be the love of your life.

Your day had started with you waking up late and had to rush the museum you had been working with to give your finished translations right in time- that day you didn’t even get to eat breakfast or grab a coffee on your way to work.

To make it even better, the museum’s director was for some reason in a terrible mood and clearly upset with everyone. You spent the whole day wishing to get back home as quickly as you could until you met her.

She was visiting the museum and ended up asking you some questions about a newly piece that wasn’t even exposed yet- you learnt that she was the one who found the said piece.

Months went by, after a few dates and random meetings in the museum you worked with, Layla and you started dating- honestly, you were pretty much head over heels for her the first time you guys met but you would have never imagined you would end up dating.

And you wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world, it didn’t take that long after you started dating to move in together- to be honest, while it was because you both wanted to live together it was also more practical for Layla who had to travel for her job as an archeologist.

This week had been going by pretty slowly as Layla had been away for her job, it felt even slower since you spent most of the time in your apartment to translate some newly arrived ancient texts.

Coming back from meeting you had at the museum mostly to give them an update on the translation of the texts you were working on- you were surprised to find the lights on when you stepped inside your apartment.

Shrugging it off, you didn’t think much of it, maybe you just forgot to turn the lights off before leaving- maybe you had left in a rush without paying attention and were still focused on your translations.

That being said, as soon as you saw your girlfriend’s jacket folder over one of the kitchen’s chairs, you knew the explanation- Layla was back home. Grinning from ear to ear, you quickly made your way to the living room and saw her sitting on the couch reading some of your translated works.

“ I didn’t know you could read and translate more than one of the different ancient language?”

Laughing at her comment, you basically threw yourself at her to hug her as tightly as you could- you had missed her so much “ it’s so good to have you back home!”

“ I missed you so much bubs but you’re going to suffocate me if you keep hugging me this tightly.”

Releasing your girlfriend from your too tight embrace, you quickly apologized as you sat more comfortably on the couch, “ you should have told me you were coming back today, I wouldn’t cleaned the apartment and got you something!”

“ I wanted to surprised you- and it’s not like the apartment isn’t clean.”

“ But it’s a mess! I kinda used the living room as my office lately.”

“ I can see that, hence my question when you arrived which you didn’t answer.”

Laughing at Layla’s fake frown, you started to rummage through your papers, looking for the one you didn’t finish yet, “ you know it’s like 80 percent of my job, right? I can translate all fifth stages of ancient egyptian.”

“ I might just have fallen even more in love with you and I didn’t know that was possible.”

“ Wait until you learn about the rest.”

“ Wait, what do you mean?”

It was amusing to see how intrigued Layla was, and while you could just tell her everything as it wasn’t a secret, it was just better to keep some mystery, “ you’ll see in time, babe.”

“ Hey! It’s not fair to drop some hints like that and then keep the mystery for yourself.”

“ It’s not even a secret I swear, let’s just say that on top of being able to translate the ancient egyptian language, I can also speak a bunch of languages.”

“ Now, I want to know everything!”, Layla’s little pout was just adorable to see, “ which languages and can you tell me something in those languages?”

“ I will but not now- I have a deadline tonight for that text and I need to finish it.”

“ I understand, we can order some food when you’re done and we can watch a movie or something all cuddled up under some blankets.”

“ That sounds awesome!”

“ It does because I always have awesome ideas! But for now, I want a hug and I’ll go unpack my suitcase.”

Your girlfriend didn’t have to ask twice for a hug, wrapping your arms around her, you didn’t hold her as tightly as when you saw she was back from her work trip yet the embrace was just as warm.

“ Ana bahebak, ‘umri.”

Smiling at the sentence you had gotten used to hear so much since Layla and you started dating, you would just answer her in english that you loved her too, it just came out naturally when in reality you could simply reply to her in arabic- a language you learnt years ago.

And this time, especially since Layla wanted to hear you speak the languages you knew, you thought it would be the perfect time to surprise her, “ ana kaman bahebak, nuur 'inayya.”

If it was physically possible, Layla’s jaw would have fell on the floor, you had never seen her this shocked- her reaction was definitely worth the wait. Giggling, you gave her a quick peck on the lips before going back into your translations.

“ wh- since when do you speak arabic?”

“ A couple of years I guess- see I’m full of surprise!”

[pbandjesse]

Today was beautiful and I tried my best to enjoy it. Because I was so incredibly bored at work. It was actually painful. But I did my best to fill the day.

It started late though. I slept terribly. I woke up a ton. My belly hurt. So I let myself sleep in late. It's not like it mattered. There was nothing happening today.

When I got up for real I felt slightly better. My stomach still hurts but I wasn't as upset about it. I got dressed and really liked my outfit. My hair was dirty but it was fine. I tried to braid it but even that wasn't working for me. I just let it be down and lived with it.

James had left for work long before I did. I would get myself and my stuff together, gave Sweetp a kiss, and headed to camp.

When I got there I wasn't sure if Sarah was in the office because the lights were off. But she was there. Just enjoying the natural light. And honestly. I loved that. So we never turned on the lights today.

Sarah said once she was done her breakfast she was going to walk to the lodge to set up for tomorrows feild trip. And I would go with her. We actually would get it all done, the tables, chairs, and sweeping, really quickly. We do a good job splitting the tasks.

It really hurt my wrists moving the chairs. I would just push them around as groups of 4-7 chairs to avoid picking them up. Honestly my hands and wrists have been really bothering me but I am getting my injection on Monday. So I should be good hopefully next week.

I wasnt feeling great. So after we finished the set up I suggested we just sit on the rocking chairs outside. And we did just that. And it was really nice.

Listening to the morning doves and enjoying the breeze. It was warming up fast and it was just really nice being outside.

We would be out there for a half hour before we headed back to the office. Sarah would leave a little before me. And I would slowly make my way back but still beat her. When I got back I made some signs for the next open house. And while that didn't take long it was fine. I would finish my worksheet for tomorrow's workshop I'm doing with creative alliance. And find some emails to answer. It was a slow morning.

I wasnt really interested in eating lunch. I would snack a little bit I just wasn't feeling it. My stomach pain would lessen but I just didn't feel great.

I decided to go for a walk and go see how the tadpoles were doing. I stopped at the car and grabbed my fanny pack hammock. It's not like I was in a rush or busy.

I walked down to the Glen and found two very excellent hammock trees. Set up my stuff and laid there for a long while. I threw my fleece over it so the sun wouldn't be in my face. It was really warm and beautiful. I would just hang out and enjoy the beautiful day and tried not to feel so anxious about how bored I have been at work.

I am really glad we are getting back into field trips because I am feeling like I have in the past when I want to leave jobs and do something else and I don't really actually want to leave camp, I just want to have direction. Next week we have a field trip I think but I also hope to do organizing in the art building and just get more tasks from Heather and Alexi and stop feeling so overwhelmingly bored.

Eventually I would check out the pond. And the tadpoles are growing! They all seem to be lines and rectangles now. Not moving in there but still fun to see the changes. I did see a few large tadpoles too and that was really cool. I did some more searching around in nature. But eventually I packed my hammock back up and went to the office.

I took a different way and saw some cars going to the barn. Sarah and Chloe were also up there too. I was alone in the office for a bit. I had a phone call with Parker about tomorrow and we decided to cancel my workshop on Saturday which is fine, there wasn't any sign ups. But that's okay. I didnt actually want to run it. Ah well. The two I have tomorrow have 20 signed up so its all good. And now I will get to hang out with Callie and have brunch which I wanted to do more anyway.

Parker also wanted to have a conversation with me about teaching a monthly "adult home ecc" class. I am very excited about this idea. And so I would spend some time researching different things I could reasonably do. And I think I have some good ideas.

I would walk towards the lodge again. Chatted with Joe at the nature lodge. Was disappointed that I could have done some painting with him!! I had been so bored. I hope he lets me know next time.

While I was over there I saw Sasha and Chloe over at homestead so I went to chat with them and ended up helping them problem solve a new little enclosure for the chickens. We would use a kiddie pool and some chicken wire with some zipties and made something I think will work out good. We all were helping. But Chloe did the majority of the labor. It was still fun. And we cuddled the chickens for a little bit.

While Chloe was assembling I went to check on the reptiles. I sprayed Sadie the snakes tank because Ceila said it should be more humid. And then I pet Nelly the terrapin and she was very peely and seemed happy to be scritched. She's so cute. I love turtles.

I really want to get a tortoise. That is my next big goal, setting up a tortoise enclosure. Once we have a fence and we are working on the backyard that is something I really want to do. I want just the best enclosure for a tortoise. Someday.

I was enjoying hanging out with Chloe and Sarah but I was also very very bored and a bit to hot. I made it almost to the end of the day. But it was time for me to bounce. I said goodbye to them and went to the office to collect my stuff and headed out.

I drove to the pet store to look for a new fish. And I really like the fish I got. He's really cute. Not a regular betta but one with shower fins. A king half moon. He's much larger then Ari was. And he has a little mustache!! I named him Gomez.

I would also get some more (certified snail free) plants. And was very excited to get my new fishie home.

There was some annoying traffic but it was fine. I was more concerned about the water in Gomez's cup was splashing around. But I found a spot to put him that seemed more secure. And got home around 430.

I washed the plants first and got everything set up in the tank before I introduced Gomez to the water. And once I did I realized that the water was moving to fast for him so I used a ziptie to attach the fake log to the filter so it can slow the water flow and rhag seemed to help. And hopefully the plants grow well and my new fishie can be happy and comfy.

I would walk to CVS after that. First time walked over there since we have moved in. When I got outside I got to meet another neighbor! She was very nice. And I had a nice walk. Even if someone dropped a cigarette from an apartment and almost hit me with it! But I don't think it was on purpose. Still waiting annoying.

The CVS was mostly behind plastic which I hate but whatever. I found what I came for. Paid. And went home.

James came home pretty soon after I did. I was really happy to see them.

We would mostly just chill. James would go record something for their podcast but then would jump into cooking.

I would spend that time going some shells to a moveable type box I have. I saw someone with this on Pinterest and I was like. I can do that. And I don't know where I'm going to hang it yet but I love how it looks. It was a fun little project.

When James came back downstairs they made some fried tofu and it came out good but a little to spicy. I would spend the evening on the couch. I was tired. And just wanted to be cozy. And that is what I did.

We would watch videos together and just hang out. My dad called and told me about his and his new friends chanting for coffee which is so silly. He really becomes the mayor of every room he ends up in. Love him very much.

Eventually I took a bath and washed my hair. We hung out together while I took a bath and James kept filling kettles so the water wouldn't be as cold. I appreciate them so much.

Now I am very much ready for sleep. Tomorrow I am doing my diorama workshops with kids and I'm nervous but also really excited. I really hope they enjoy it.

I hope you all sleep well tonight. Take care of yourself and eachother! Goodnight!

[serendipitouswasteland]

All the Small Things

Note: This was transcribed from my AO3.

ship: buddie pov: eddie diaz, third person narrative written: March 8, 2023 first published: March 9, 2023 word count: 4,249 - summary: Five times Eddie Diaz absentmindedly shows his love to Evan Buckley the same way he does to his son, Christopher, and one time Buck does the same but Eddie gets confused.

Every day, Eddie gives Chris a kiss on the forehead or caresses his cheek at some point to show his love for his son– the light of his life, his pride and joy, the reason he fights to come home every day. Every day, Eddie is thankful when Christopher reciprocates through a hug or caressing Eddie's cheek back, because that's just how the Diaz family shows their love for one another. It's normal, and it's a habit– one that's hard to break and seemingly uncontrollable when you love someone, happening absentmindedly. So when it happens the first time, Eddie only thinks about it for a moment before moving on, acting like it's nothing.

Eddie is sick. His nose is running, his eyes are puffy, his voice is hoarse and throat is sore. He can't leave the house like this, much less go to work, but Carla is out of town. Thankfully, he has someone he knows he can always rely on when things go to shit. He calls up Buck, and within fifteen minutes he's entering Eddie's house without even knocking.

"Eddie?" Buck calls, leaning against the doorframe when he finds Eddie still lying in bed in his room. "You feeling okay? You don't look too good."

"It's just a cold," Eddie responds, pulling his comforters up further because not only does he have a cold, his body is freezing.

"Have you taken any cold medicine?"

"Yes. That's not why I called you."

Buck frowns, coming to Eddie's side and placing a hand on the back of his forehead. He not feverish, which is good. Eddie watches as Buck stands up, goes to Eddie's dresser and pulls out some loungewear, throwing it in his direction.

"Get changed. I'll make breakfast and some tea."

"Can you make sure Chris is up?"

"I heard the shower running when I came in, so I'm assuming he's in there."

"Good. We had a late night last night, so neither of us got the chance."

"You know what, you can change after you shower. You shouldn't change into clean clothes when you haven't done that yet."

"I know that, Buck. I'm sick, not an idiot."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Then, Buck is gone. Eddie blinks a few times, slowly, stretching as much as he can before he smells bacon from the kitchen, and he begins to feel like a cartoon character floating towards the source of a scent. Eddie climbs out of bed, not bothering to make it back up when he knows he'll be back there momentarily anyway. He slips on his house shoes, leaving his room. On his way to the kitchen, he grabs a throw blanket from the living room to keep himself warm. When he does finally get to the kitchen, Chris is already settled in his seat putting food on his plate, and Buck is just sitting down himself.

"I don't want to get you sick," Eddie says, barely audible from just how sick he is.

"You're sick?" Chris asks, finally looking up. "Dad, you look terrible. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, buddy. It's just a cold. That does mean I won't be kissing you goodbye today though."

"That's okay," Christopher says, turning back to his food.

"So, what has Buck made for us this morning?" Eddie asks, taking a seat.

"Just some bacon, toast, and eggs. I figured since it's a school morning that I probably shouldn't do anything too fancy, but..."

"You got carried away, didn't you?"

"Just a little bit."

The three of them have breakfast together, and when they're done Buck cleans up all of the dishes while Christopher finishes getting ready in his room and Eddie lies on the couch, half fallen asleep. The thing to make him perk up is when he hears Chris near the door putting on his shoes and Buck passing by, the keys in his hand jangling. Eddie sits up quickly, making his way to the front door right as it opens.

"What's wrong?" Is the first thing out of Buck's mouth, he and Christopher giving Eddie the same worried look.

"Nothing, I just...I wanted to say 'bye' before you left," Eddie says, finishing making his way over.

Eddie places his palm on Chris's cheek, gently cradling his face before telling him he loves him. Chris does the same back before he crutches out the door. Eddie then turns to Buck, giving him a thankful look as he caresses his face in the same way he did to Chris just moments before. Buck's eyebrows pinch together at the action before they're raised, alerting Eddie to what he's done. He jerks his hand away just a centimeter or two, and Buck just smiles, leaving Eddie in the doorway by himself.

It leaves Eddie stunned until he hears the sound of Buck's jeep pulling away, and he decides he should probably shut the door. He decides on showering, changing into the clothes Buck gave him afterward, but his mind is still swimming. Had he really done that? While to most it wouldn't be such a big deal, for Eddie it is. For him, it's the Diaz love signature. It's a way he's been shown love from his abuela, from his sisters, his tía Pepa, and even his parents, and it's the way he's shown it back to them. It's what he's always done to express his love silently, often verbally expressing it at the same time, and he's just done it to Buck, his coworker and best friend. And it's not that he can't do it to a friend, because he definitely can, but something in his gut is telling him it's not, but rather something much, much more than that.

The next time it happens it's not even a cheek caress, either. It's a kiss on the forehead. In hindsight, that is what should have alerted him to his feelings for Buck, but it didn't. It only made him more confused. Bobby and Athena had decided to throw a Christmas party, and, of course, Eddie was invited. In the invitation was a request that every parent bring a gift for the kids to do a gift exchange, which Eddie thought was a nice idea, so he and Chris went out to pick a gift just before their arrival. It was during the gift exchange that the second thing happens.

"Dad?" Christopher whispers from his spot between Eddie and Buck on the couch.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"I'm thirsty."

"Me too," Buck says, and Christopher smiles at him, warming Eddie's heart.

"I'll go get you both something," Eddie says.

He gets up, rounding the back of the couch and kissing the top of Christopher's head. Then, it just happens. He does the same thing to Buck. This time, Eddie doesn't even pause. He doesn't realize what he's done at all. That is, until, he gets back to his seat with a soda for Chris and a beer for Buck that he notices everyone is looking at him, every now and then glancing to Buck before looking back over again.

"Did I miss something?" Eddie asks, looking at Buck to clue him in.

"That's what I'm wondering," Athena says, leaning forward over her crossed legs, looking right at Eddie. "Since when are you two kissing each other's foreheads when you leave the room?"

"What...?" Eddie goes to ask, but looking at Buck once again, things start to click. "Oh, um...I didn't– it's not– that's not– we're not...accident."

Buck just blinks, and Eddie isn't sure what to make of how everyone is feeling. Athena shakes her head and leans back into her chair, Bobby just sits there, brows raised, Karen and Hen share what Eddie likes to call their "all-knowing people watching look", Chimney sits with his brows furrowed, and Maddie is grinning brightly, like she knows exactly what's happening. Then there's Buck. His face is seemingly expressionless, minus the rapid blinking. And Chris. Thank god for the gift exchange, Eddie thinks to himself as he watches Chris participate in the passing around of the gifts rather than paying attention to the conversation being had.

Eddie's not sure how they got to this point, or maybe he does, but now it seems like half the time Eddie is the one to pick up Chris from school, Buck is there with him. Half the days that Eddie is home in the afternoons and evenings, Buck is there, too. Half the time they're not a work, Buck is at the same place as Eddie. It's not like Eddie is complaining, either. He enjoys being with around Buck. He enjoys his presence. He enjoys their conversations and the little moments that only they know about. Today is no different. That is, until the third thing happens.

Eddie and Buck are standing leaning against Eddie's truck as they wait for Christopher to get out of school. Like every day, they're so close that their elbows are touching, but neither of them seem to notice, and if they do, they don't care. Like every day, the second that Eddie sees Chris he opens his arms to pull his son into a hug, followed by him asking about his day. Like every day, when they pull away Eddie kisses the top of his head before patting him on the shoulder as a way of telling him to get in the truck. Not like every day, he kisses Buck on the cheek before, like every day, going to the passenger seat so he can focus on talking with Christopher before they get home.

When they are home, the three of them go straight to the dining table, Chris getting out his homework and getting math help from Buck while Eddie helps him with the rest. Then, at five, Buck gets up from the table and starts on dinner. The three of them stay grouped in conversation all throughout the evening, and when he's done with his homework Chris helps Eddie set the table. Buck finishes cooking and he serves everybody's plates, their conversation only growing more interesting.

"There's a school dance coming up," Christopher says, and Buck looks at Eddie in amusement.

"Oh, a dance?" Eddie asks, excited for his son. "Are you wanting to go?"

"Can I?"

"I think so," Buck says, and Eddie rolls his eyes.

"Can I, Dad? Buck says it's okay," and really, how could Eddie say no?

"Of course you can, buddy. When is it?"

"Next Friday."

"That should be enough time to get a new suit, right?" Eddie asks, more to Buck because, really, Eddie is bad at math.

"I think the more important question is if that's enough time for Chris to find a date," Buck says, and Eddie's eyes widen while Chris just laughs.

"Who said anything about a date? And aren't you the one who said he's too young to be dating?"

"Ah, yes, but there is a difference between acquiring a date for a school function and going out on a date."

"They sound the same to me," Eddie says, shrugging his shoulders.

"So," Buck says, turning to Chris, "are you going with someone?"

"Not right now, but there is this girl that I like."

"Yeah?" Eddie asks, focusing his attention back to his son.

"Yeah. She's super nice. I want to ask her to go with me, but I'm nervous."

"It's okay to be nervous," Buck says, taking lead on the conversation. "Just don't be so nervous that you chicken out."

"Buck is right. If you like her, then you should go up to her tomorrow and say 'Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to go with me to the dance next Friday', and see what she says. The worst that could happen is that she says no."

"What happens if she does say no?"

"Then you can either go with a group of friends, you can go by yourself, or you can stay home with us and watch whatever movie we can find on cable," Buck says, and Chris scrunches his face.

"I think I'd rather go alone," Chris says, getting up from the table, and Eddie laughs, big and loud. "Since I finished my homework can I go play video games?"

"Shower first, but when you're done you can, okay?" Eddie says, and Chris grins, immediately making his way down the hall. "Only for an hour, though!"

"Yes, Dad!" Christopher calls back, and both Buck and Eddie smile.

The two men get up from the table, working together to get the kitchen clean. Eddie does the dishes while Buck cleans the table and counters. While Eddie sweeps the floor, Buck puts away the dishes from the night before. We really need Carla back, Eddie thinks to himself. Then, he pauses his sweeping, stuck on his mind's use of the word "we". As in he and Buck, because at this point Buck is essentially Chris's second father, and that's, well...

Despite Christopher's adversity to his father tucking him into bed, claiming it's "too childish" and that he's "too old" for it, Eddie still pops his head in to make sure his computer is off and turn off the lights– and Buck is right there with him. So when Eddie gently pulls Christopher's door shut, turning around to go have a beer in the living room with Buck, he caresses his cheek as he passes by.

Buck follows Eddie out to the living, stuttering on whatever words that he's trying to get out. Eddie sits down on the couch, holding a beer out to Buck who takes it as he sits down next to him. Buck just looks...confused. Flustered, maybe, but definitely confused (a constant state, really, but it's been amplified).

"We need to talk," Buck eventually gets out, and Eddie takes a sip of his beer, raising his eyebrows at him.

"About...?"

"You. Us. This...thing."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the cheek and forehead kisses and face caressing."

"Oh," Eddie says, setting his beer down on the coffee table. "That."

"Yeah. That."

"I don't really know what you want me to say. I don't mean to. It sort of just happens, you know? Like I get in this way with you and Christopher that it just...happens."

"So you don't...like me?"

"Buck..."

"No, no, I don't mean it like– I'm not saying that I like you, or that I think you like me, but just that it felt very...romantic?"

"Romantic?" Eddie asks, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"Or, not– not romantic, but maybe more familial?"

"Buck, look around. You are family. Half the time we're not at work either you're over here or Chris and I are at your place. You help me drop Christopher off some mornings and some afternoons you come with when I'm picking him up. It's– you're practically his parent!" Eddie confesses, letting out his thoughts from earlier.

"Oh," Buck says, sitting with it for a moment. "I mean, I guess I kind of am, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you are."

"I guess I just never thought of it like that before. I mean, I know that I'm the one you call when Carla isn't available, and I guess I should have figured it out because of what you put in your will, but– hang on, does Christopher see me as a father?"

"Honestly? I don't know. What I do know is that he definitely sees you as a friend and not an authority figure."

"But would a friend become your legal guardian when his real father dies?" Buck asks, taking a sip of his beer.

"Making jokes of my death, Buckley?" Eddie asks, copying Buck's motions.

"After the number of times you have almost died on me, I think I've earned the right to a couple of jokes," Buck says, and Eddie gets it, especially when Buck says, "Being your friend is traumatizing."

"Hey, now, I'm not the only one who nearly dies every day. You're Mr. Reckless."

"I'm not reckless, I'm young and agile. There's a difference."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

The final time it happens is when things start to change. They're at work, meaning Chris isn't around for Eddie to use as his excuse of "it just happens". Eddie and Hen are sitting at the bar counter, Bobby cooking with Buck's aide, and Chim off to the side on the phone with Maddie. For lunch, Bobby gave Buck full control over making the sauce, and he's bouncing on his feet out of excitement. He scoops some of the sauce out of the pot, holding it out to Hen.

"Buck, I already told you, I'm not taste testing any more food that you make. Not after the oatmeal cookies this morning," Hen says, and both Bobby and Eddie snicker.

"Wha– okay, that was not my fault. Eddie was distracting me."

"All I did was ask if you could help me get Carla a welcome back gift."

"Yeah, distracting. Which means that you have to taste test my sauce," Buck says, coming to Eddie's side and holding the spoon up to him.

Eddie raises his brows, shaking his head once before letting Buck feed him the sauce. It's not bad at all. In fact, it tastes just like Bobby's. It makes Eddie feel proud, smiling at Buck as he pulls the spoon away, still leaning close.

"So? What do you think?"

"You did good," Eddie says, and then it happens.

He kisses Buck on the cheek, right as he's leaving to go back around to the stove. Hen and Bobby turn to each other, sharing a look before they turn back to Buck and Eddie, glancing between the two of them. Bobby opens his mouth to say something, but Chimney beats him to it.

"Did I miss something?"

"Just Eddie and Buck continuing to be Eddie and Buck," Hen says, Chim's face relaxing as he sighs.

"Yeah, that sounds right."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eddie asks, but he receives no answer.

"Alright," Buck says, clapping his hands together. Eddie already knows he wasn't paying attention. "Bobby and I will bring all the food over, you three go sit down."

"Yes, sir," Eddie, Hen, and Chim mock all at once, Buck just rolling his eyes.

Leaving the head of the table for Bobby, the three of them go to sit down. Hen sits to the right of Bobby's seat, the rail behind her. Chim leans over the rail, calling for Ravi and everyone else before sitting to the right of Hen. Eddie sits across from her, telling Ravi to sit in the seat next to the one next to him, claiming he was saving it for Buck.

"You two make me sick," Ravi says, and Chim bursts out laughing, Hen trying to hold hers in.

"What are we laughing about?" Buck asks as he and Bobby come over with trays and bowls and other kitchen materials.

"Absolutely nothing," Chim says, and while he's not entirely wrong, Eddie still shoots him a quick death glare.

As Buck passes, Eddie grabs him by the arm, begging him over. Buck follows, holding out the tray of breadsticks he's carrying so Eddie (and anyone else who wants one) can grab one. Eddie does so, taking a bite immediately. Buck pulls the tray away, kissing Eddie on his cheek before he continues on his way to the center of the table, where he sets down the tray of breadsticks along with his bowl of delicious red pasta sauce before sitting down in the spot saved for him.

Eddie, though, is stuck. His chewing slows, brows pinching together as he looks at Buck questioningly. It's not necessarily new, because Eddie has been doing it to Buck. So no, not new, just...different, because Buck has never done it to Eddie before. Not that he can't, either, but he simply wasn't expecting it. He did, though, and it wasn't out of reciprocity– it was because he wanted to. That is why it's hitting Eddie so hard.

"Uh, Buck—"

"Nope. You don't get to say anything. You do it all the time. Besides, we had that conversation about it, so it's just familial, right? No biggie."

"I'm sorry, since when are you two a family?" Hen asks, pointing her fork between the two of them.

"They've been that way forever," Bobby says, and everyone turns to look at him. "What? They've been best friends for years, and Buck is basically helping to raise Christopher. They work together, half the time they go home together, they have family dinners and go on trips to the beach together. Buck will pick up Chris from school, sometimes with Eddie and others without. If Buck isn't with one or both of them, it's because one of the three of them is sick."

"Well, the last time Eddie was sick– nevermind," Buck says, letting Bobby finish.

"My point is, it's not hard to put two and two together."

"Two and two together?" Eddie asks.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Buck asks, finishing Eddie's thought for him.

"That."

"So we're good friends," Buck says, clearly avoiding Eddie's gaze. "Is it really that interesting?"

"Very," Hen says, pulling out her phone. "I've got to tell Karen about this."

"Wha—" Buck starts, but Eddie cuts him off by patting his knee.

"We're good friends?"

"Best friends," Buck assures, but there's something missing from the way he sounds.

"Ugh," Ravi exclaims, shaking his head. "You two are terrible."

"We—" Buck starts, but Bobby shaking his head catches their attention.

"Listen," Chimney then says, setting down his napkin after cleaning his face, "I'm not saying you two need to get your act together and kiss already, but..."

"Um," Eddie gets out, Buck stuttering on a string of words.

"Chim is right," Bobby says, followed by Hen saying "ditto", Ravi nodding along.

Buck and Eddie look at each other for a moment before looking away, not talking for the rest of lunch.

Hen, Chim, and Ravi leave the locker room at the same time, Eddie and Buck having been working out post-work plans the entire time rather than grabbing their things. They're still talking, only now that they're alone their conversation has shifted. Eddie looks at Buck with a somewhat longing look before turning away and, finally, opening his locker.

"We gonna talk about it?" Eddie asks, and Buck sighs.

"Do you want to talk now about it?"

"I think we should try it."

"Try what?"

"Kissing. For real. Not a cheek or forehead kiss, but a real kiss."

"Now?"

"Why not? It might finally get them off our backs."

"I don't know. I guess I always thought that—"

"I'm sorry, you've thought about it before?" Eddie asks, stepping away from his locker to look at Buck, fully and completely.

"I mean, I– uh..."

Eddie brings his hand to caress Buck's face, getting him to stop stumbling on his words and just be quiet. They look in each other's eyes, both men occasionally glancing to the other's lips. Then, almost suddenly, their lips crash together, smothering each other with their mouths. Buck pulls Eddie closer by his collar, hands then traveling to hold him by his back. Meanwhile, Eddie has one hand on Buck's chest, keeping him pulled close through his grip on his shirt, his other hand running through Buck's curls.

"Buck?" Eddie says in between kisses.

"Yes?"

"Do you think," a kiss, "maybe," another kiss, "they were right?"

"Most definitely."

Eddie smiles a bit at that, Buck doing the same as Eddie's grip on his shirt loosens and he brings his hand to cup Buck's cheek, caressing his face once again. They're both panting, foreheads leaning against one another as they try to slow down their fast beating hearts. Buck takes Eddie's hand, gently pushing him back over to his locker, the two of them grabbing out their things before leaving the locker room, where they're greeted with the shocked expressions of their friends.

"Well, that was definitely a kiss," Chim says, sighing in defeat.

"Oh, that?" Eddie asks, raising his brows and looking at Buck with a chuckle before looking at Chim again. "That was nothing."

"Yeah, I have had way longer kisses than that– and I mean kisses. Like, I'm not talking makeout sessions. I'm talking five minute kiss because it was high school and it was passing period, so actually technically it was more of a three minutes kiss, because we had a minute to get to each other, three minutes to kiss, and then a minute to get to our classes, but– I'm gonna stop talking. I have to get going. I'll see you at home?"

"Yeah– make sure Chris does his homework, alright?"

"I always do. Don't forget the ingredients for the brownies while you're at the store. Also, we'll talk tonight, right? About..." Buck waves his hands, motioning them between he and Eddie and the locker room.

"Of course we will, and I won't forget. Now go pick up my son from school," Eddie says, caressing Buck's face one more and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Buck smiles, reciprocating the cheek kiss before he jogs off to his jeep. Eddie watches fondly as he goes, turning to say goodbye to everyone, but pausing when he sees the looks on their faces. That, and the fact that Bobby had come out of his office but hadn't said a word.

"Like I said," Bobby says with the smallest smile, "It's not hard to put two and two together."