#i have NEVER made it all the way through one of these 30-day challenges before

[jaedoesart]

Day 30: The Confession

[sagephilosophie]

" A FAVOR ."

┃ RAN H.

ꜱᴜɢᴀʀ ᴅᴀᴅᴅʏ! ʀᴀɴ ʜᴀɪᴛᴀɴɪ x ᴄᴏʟʟᴇɢᴇ ꜱᴛᴜᴅᴇɴᴛ! ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

⊹₊ Tags !

NSFW AHEAD, Sugar daddy theme, Shower sex, Age difference (Ran in his late 30s and Reader early 20s), Rough sex, Rough kissing, GN! Reader, mentioned cheating, mentioned 3way, Bonten Arc, Rindou x reader (if you squint)

⊹₊ Word count ! 1629 || Ao3

You stared at the elevator panel impatiently as the numbers were going up, cursing under your breath to how long this was taking.

Ran's lavish penthouse was to die for, your jaw dropped the first time you visited Ran, never seeing any place like it, but you grew more and more irritated from the wait in the elevator everytime to care about it.

Finally the elevator door opened to reveal the apartment painted gold and orange by the sunset through the glass-walls, you moved forward towards the liquor cabinet to find it wide open with three bottles missing from their place, two of them almost emptied in the table with a couple glasses of whisky left out, a tie and a tuxedo jacket thrown abruptly on the sofa across from it, which can only mean one thing; Ran is home.

Passing through the halls, the sound of water running grows closer, You stumbled over the third now empty bottle on the way to his room, the rest of his clothes, shoes, high heels, and a bra tracing the way too, but that's just how the Haitani brothers are, nothing new to you.

"RAAAN!!! RAN WHERE ARE YOU ?", You called out entering his room, walking towards his bathroom upon getting no answer.

The moment you opened the door, a hand grabbed you inside and you let out a yelp before being caged between the wall and the naked older Haitani from behind.

"You didn't tell me you were visiting, baby~", Ran cooed in his usual tone really closely to your ears, "We could've totally made room for one more, sad she already left... something about her boyfriend getting suspicious."

"I don't plan on a threesome!", You blocked him off with your hand ineffectively, "I just... i have a favor to ask..."

Ran raised an eyebrow and replied, "Your student loans are already paid, Sugar, even thooough... your debt to me still isn't~"

"I know, i know, i just need another one-", you tried to shut off your sugar daddy's constant attempts to get in your pants, or at least delay it, because he will eventually get what he wants if you will need more favors from him and his business.

"Ask away, baby, that's what my part of our agreement is about, you know...", Ran leaned his head forward to leave small sensational kisses on your nape before whispering in your ears again, "So don't forget yours~"

That was more of a threat than just horny talk and you knew it, it's not like you planned to run away from the Haitanis, especially not the older one, those who tried didn't survive to tell the tale and you weren't planning to find out yourself either.

You had the idea to expand this game a little longer, until you graduated from college at least, maybe further than then, keeping one of the richest and most feared men in japan wrapped around your finger is too useful to let go of, after all. But to keep someone that can get and pay for any plaything he wants excited and interested is not simple, the trick is to play hard to get, keep him believing it's a challenge to get you where he wants, while he's exactly where you want; in a dog leashe, ready to pay whatever price it takes.

From your observation rich men adore it when something is more challenging than it's supposed to be, something as mundane to them as younger desperate pretty things humping their legs for special treatments won't take them so long to get bored of, and the Haitani brothers are no difference, you knew that since the day you first met Ran, your college friends dragged you into one of Roppongi's most lively night clubs to show you the quickest way to get your student loans paid and forgotten; by getting a sugar daddy.

That night, Ran's purple eyes pierced through your skull, you can feel it without turning around while sitting awkwardly next to your friend squeezing herself between all the hot chicks clinging on his drunk younger brother, you knew your fate changed when Ran approached you that night and offered you easy money, only to find be fucked stupid in the backseat of his limousine the next moment.

"So ?", Ran kept shortening the distance between you more, leaving little to no space between your bottom and his bare erection that's occasionally poking you.

"Listen, Ran... i didn't want to bother you but it's an emergency...", you tilted your head to face him, as he was half listening and clearly undressing you with his eyes, "My... my classmate, Jessie... she got a... a brand new. pink. ferrari. roma!!!!!!!! That was insane!!!!!! She kept bragging about it and and- i was so irritated!!!!!! I can no longer show off my red aston martin now- all the attention is on Jessie and i really really really need a new ride, it's an emergency!!!!!!!"

Ran stared you down as you finished your tragic story, the sound of the shower still running behind filling in the silence, you batted your eyelashes at him, ready to receive an immediate approval to get you a more expensive car, at this point you were sure you got him desperate enough by keeping him waiting to get you anything you want.

"If you needed a ride you could've came over earlier today to join us~", you hit his soaked chest lightly a couple of times, "Grow up! You know what i meant."

"Careful, baby, i'm all wet~ and you areeeee...", He held your fist with one palm and ran the other down your body, stroking circles with his veiny hand around your clothed private parts, "Oh~ also wet~"

You gave in to his touch impulsively and threw your head back to lay on his shoulder as his movements kept teasing that sensitive part, you pulled it together for an instant to ask him, "...So what do you say ?"

"Shhhhh we'll discuss the details later, but for now, i will take my payment in advance, okay ?"

He wasn't asking.

Ran Haitani don't ask, he informs you of the program and that means it's final, you couldn't argue either way when a sharp moan left your throat the moment you tried to speak, the friction Ran's hand got busied with was getting pleasurable.

"Thaaaaat's it... now you're getting me, baby...", As the teasing little shit he was, Ran moved from your private zone and just as you were about to complain, in a flash, turned you around for a filthy kiss.

In a swift move, the Bonten executive hastily stripped you while making sure not to break the kiss that got messier and more heated. You find yourself dragged inside the walk-in shower, your back  immediately hitting the glass, you can tell and see how really worked up Ran was getting, which by experience that can only mean it was gonna be a rough session.

Ran's arms roamed your body needily, which can only prove your theory right, he just can't survive that long without you, he began frotting at your hole, making your breath hitch, his grunts in your ear only got you needier.

The water was fell down your body, rinsing all but your sins, your arms clung on Ran's broad shoulders during your sloppy makeout as he carried you, still pinning you against the cloudy glass.

The man supported your weight with one hand and put down the other to jerk himself off a couple of times, lining it at your entrance, and pushing down his cock slowly. You could see stars from your position, the hardest part about playing tough with Ran is that he is so damn addictive, the shape of him inside you, his naked touch, the taste of his lips, he was the nicotine to your perfect life plans, you were supposed to make him miss you by denying his advances but you missed him more, how could you not when he show you heaven on earth.

He almost instantly set a brutal pace with no empathy in the world for you, probably, no, definitely enjoying the sound of your cries and voice cracking at the piercing feeling. Your eyes welled up with tears at the inconsiderate start, his brother is much more gentle, you thought.

At first glance, the brothers switch personalities when it comes to their intimate life, you discovered that when you had a one night stand with the famously sadistic and unapproachable younger one, thinking it'll be another bed-breaking Haitani style hardcore sex, to your shock, you passed the sweetest love making session with Rindou you ever experienced, and Ran still don't know about it.

You can't imagine how any more rough he can get when jealous, if this is just his regular horny days that's tearing you apart, that very thought was cut short when that special spot was being pounded against, the Roppongi king's dick was throbbing inside you, he was really close to coming.

"A-Ah… Ah… Ran..."

"What ?"

"I-I want it- pink... the c-car! ♡"

"Fuck...", Just when you thought it was impossible, his pace got faster and you can feel your own orgasm approaching, tugging tight on Ran's hair as he left bite marks on your shoulder.

With one last thrust, you came undone on his cock as he pulled out immediately after, splashing his cum between your thighs. You both stood there catching your breath for a moment, the dopamine rush wearing off.

He kissed your cheek and put you down, your legs wobbling from pain that you still had to hang on tight to Ran, who got back to his smoothtalker attitude straight away.

"That felt sooo good that i might buy you two cars instead, Sugar ♡".

@sagephilosophie

[theanimeroom]

how would kazutora survive nnn 👀

NSFW UNDER THE CUT || MINORS DNI

NOVEMBER 1ST, 2023 || 11:42AM

NNN CHALLENGE MASTERLIST

i'm sorry, but this dude is a loser in the best possible way. kazutora hanemiya is someone with little to no self-control, and i think that is a fact everyone knows. he was always a needy person, especially when it came to his friends. he would go out of his way for their attention and praise, even if it meant resorting to less... ethical methods.

you already knew that kazutora would have a difficult time making it through the challenge, as he was your obsessive boy who could never seem to keep his hands off of you. you would have loved to say you at least thought he would make it past the first week, but you didn't even have that much faith in the man to make that promise (and be grateful that you didn't, you almost owed baji 20 bucks for that bet).

when you had suggested the idea at first, you had just wanted to see his reaction. you didn't think that the moment the words left your mouth, he would immediately agree without even considering the longevity of it.

"a month? that's not that bad. if my baby wants to do it, then what reason do I have to say no?" he chirped, the brightest and happiest smile on his face. initially, you were ready to remind him that a month was in fact 30 days and that he could barely survive 15 minutes without trying to put his dick in your mouth because he "couldn't hold it anymore". but then you quickly remembered that the man is a simp, and you should have known that the moment you expressed your want for something, there was no way he could deny you.

despite that, you both joined the challenge on the first day of november, hoping that the three rounds you had last night would be enough to hold you both over for the next 30 days.

the next morning you woke up with a small moan, eyes finally peeling themselves open enough to see the sun shining through your window, alerting you to finally wake up and drag yourself out of bed. you reached behind you as you did every morning, feeling the strands of kazutora's hair draping over his face. had he not hummed pleasantly at the feeling of your fingers in his hair, you would have assumed that the man was still sleeping, his arm wrapped around your waist tightening its grip.

"good morning kazu," you spoke softly, voice still a bit raspy from sleep. he responded with a couple taps on your tummy, something he always did when he was too sleepy to actually give a verbal response. you smiled softly, shuffling more under the covers as you cuddled against his chest. you shut your eyes again, letting yourself revel in a few more minutes of sleep before deciding to get ready for the day ahead of you. you lay in silence for all of 10 minutes before you felt a rough hand caressing your stomach again, the light touch making you jerk a bit as you held in a laugh. when he did it again you giggled, jerking your hips back as you ran away from his touch. "baby, that tickles."

"sorry..." he grumbled, voice rumbling so deep that you nearly felt it in your own chest. he moved his hand from your stomach and chose instead to run it down the length of your leg, stopping momentarily to grab the underside of your knee. "you're just so soft..."

when his sentence had finished your leg was being lifted, kazutora resting the limb on his own, which he'd so precariously placed between yours. you didn't think much of it until the skin of kazutora's thigh was being pushed into your mound, a heavy gasp escaping you as the pressure made your stomach turn.

"so soft," he said again, this time crystal clear as his hand continued to trace every inch of exposed skin on your body. you only truly reacted when his hand slipped into your shirt, trapping one of your breasts between his fingers. he fondled the mass, relishing in the way your body reacted to his ministrations. your hips ground against his thigh, the heat in your stomach spreading as the man pinched your nipple softly. "and pliant."

"kazu..." you warned, although it sounded more like a plea for more in his ears than anything else. "we can't."

the man behind you whined, only playing with your tits more feverously at your rejection. "why? don't we always have sex in the morning?"

his voice sounded borderline distraught as you tried to remove his hand from your shirt.

"we're doing the challenge, remember? we've barely even made it 12 hours," your words made the man pout. he knew that he agreed to the challenge rather quickly, but you wouldn't actually deny him like this, would you?

"but i want you..." he pouted, sleepy hands moving once again to roam around your body. he didn't miss the way your hips never stopped grinding against his thigh, his free hand that wasn't playing in your hair moving towards his own mouth to wet his fingers before slipping them into your night shorts. a quiet moan came out of your mouth as his fingers flicked at your clit, your hand that was playing in his hair pulling at the strands harshly. "don't you want me too, baby?"

you did. you truly did want the man and honestly, with your current conditions, you didn't think that it would be that bad of an idea. you'd barely even started this challenge, so how hard would it be to just say you never even attempted at all? maybe if you just let it go this one time...

your thoughts were cut short by the feeling of kazutora's fingers sliding into your cunt, knocking the air out of you as you felt the digits curl, pressing directly into your g-spot. a curse passed your lips and it was only a moment later that you felt kazutora press against the side of your face, forcing you to look directly at him. "all you have to do is say the word. you know I can't say no to you," he purred. his bright eyes caught your attention immediately, and it was then that you knew you could never say no to him, either.

"please, kazu," you didn't hesitate before asking him, the challenge be damned. you didn't fight him as he leaned in, pressing his lips onto yours softly, a small moan slipping from the man's mouth to your own.

"more, baby!" kazutora groaned as spent no time stuffing you full of his cock the moment you asked, although you were sure it was more for him than you. your breathing was labored as you tried to find something to steady yourself, your hoisted leg and kazu's rapid thrusts almost forcing you off of the bed. you were still propped on your side, your boyfriend being more than too lazy to change positions. "fuck, keep fucking me like that."

you didn't have the time or energy to explain to him that he was the one fucking you, but let the man run his mouth regardless. this was something that you were used to already, his cries and pleas for you to do more when he was the one effectively leaving you brain dead. your hands found purchase in the sheets, holding onto them for dear life while kazutora pressed his body against yours, the warmth only inspiring the man to go harder.

"s-slow down baby..." you pleaded, feeling your body jerk with every stroke of his cock against your g-spot, your wet cunt squeezing around him so beautifully. "you're gonna...b-break me like t-this."

"let me," he demanded, holding your body still as he fucked you mercilessly. "wanna see you completely broken for me."

his words left a lingering pulse in your heat, giving way to kazutora's begging and allowing him to fuck you the way that he wanted. at your compliance the man cursed to himself, burying his head in the crook of your neck. you cried out when you felt his teeth sinking into the skin connecting your collarbone to your shoulder, sucking on the area until there was a purple mark flourishing on the surface.

if he wanted you broken, he certainly was accomplishing his mission. you could barely breathe with the way he was fucking you, your stomach clenching and cunt pulsing as you felt your orgasm coming strong.

"fuck, i wanna come inside you. let me come inside you baby?" the man asked, hand grabbing the underside of your leg and holding it upright as it started to slip. when you wordlessly nodded your head, kazutora let out a deafening groan. "thankyouthankyouthankyou-"

you barely had a second to register his gratitude before your eyes were shooting open, wide and blurry as kazu forced himself as far as he could go inside of you. the warmth that followed was enough for your body to shudder, orgasm washing over you as you only saw a white cover of bliss envelope your vision.

kazutora didn't even bother pulling out as he finally released your leg, legging your body go completely limp against the sheets. your breathing was labored and heavy, barely able to speak as you turned your head to look at the man behind you.

"do you feel bet-" you didn't even get the chance to finish your sentence as you saw kazutora with his eyes closed, chest rising and falling in an even rhythm. you couldn't stop the scoff that escaped you, a loving smile adorning your face before you laid back down and covered your exposed body with the duvet.

you were so grateful that you never accepted that bet from baji.

dont plagarize! it's not nice <3

[lavendercharm]

Linger, Chapter 5: Kiss With A Fist/Human Nature

A/N:

Ya'll. Writing this chapter felt like a marathon. But I think I'm ultimately very happy with it. Please let me know what you think!

This chapter is a bit longer, and I think it deserved to be named after two songs because of that. "Kiss With A Fist" by Florence + The Machine definitely fits the first half of this chapter and was one of the first songs I added to my playlist when writing this story, so I knew I wanted to use it for the big public confrontation.

The vibes toward the end are different. I discovered this song earlier this week and haven't been able to stop listening to it, so maybe I'm just reaching to try and justify including it lol. But "Human Nature" by Barrie is what I decided to use for the second half of this. Cause they're spitting facts when they say "Human nature doesn't always come easy" lmfao.

This is far from the end of this story, but it may be a second before you hear from me, depending on how busy the next few weeks are. I say that - watch me turn around and post something this weekend lol.

Thank you to everyone who's stuck with me thus far. I love you and I'm so grateful to know you're along for the ride.

---

Summary: From the moment you meet her, you can't stand Melissa Schemmenti.

Warnings: Strong Language

---

Barbara Howard did not take days off. It was only recently that she allowed herself her first mental health day, and while she could see the benefits, she had been eager to get back to her classroom, her students, her best friend, and even her coworkers. The life of a teacher was unpredictable, and the life of a teacher at Abbott Elementary came with its own unique set of challenges, but Barbara had seen a lot in her decades of teaching. With some hard work, support from her fellow teachers, and the grace of God himself, she had seen and survived it all. Barbara Howard could conquer anything thrown her way.

However, if Barbara had the magical gift of foresight, she might have chosen Monday morning to take her second mental health day in her entire history at Abbott. 

As it was, Barbara could not see into the future, and so she entered the teacher’s lounge at 6:30 AM, on the dot. She claimed her usual spot, made herself a cup of coffee, and began sorting through her lesson plans for the week. She enjoyed her few moments of serenity in the lounge prior to the arrival of her more talkative coworkers. It wasn’t unusual for Melissa to arrive a bit later, especially on a Monday, so Barbara thought nothing of her absence. She politely greeted Janine and Jacob as they entered together; she did the same for Gregory shortly after. As the three younger teachers gathered at their table and discussed their weekends, Barbara continued her work, occasionally reacting to what she overheard. And when you entered the lounge, your first time visiting in the morning, Barbara was mildly surprised, but she shot you a warm smile all the same. She noticed you seemed to be a bit tense, but she chalked it up to the fact that you were still very new. 

Melissa had talked her ear off about you last Monday, of course, explaining your tardiness and the shots you’d taken at her about her age. When Barb pressed her for details about your confrontation and what you’d said to each other, she simply said, “I took care of business, a’right?” 

While Barbara agreed it was unprofessional of you to arrive late, she also knew Melissa better than anyone else in Abbott did; she knew Melissa could take things too far. Melissa was as passionate as they came, which meant she was one of the best teachers at the school. On the flip side, she also had a short fuse. Barbara knew she didn’t have all of the details, but she didn’t think much of it - you were a sub, after all. She expected she’d never actually meet you. 

So when you arrived in the lounge for lunch the day after your explosive argument, she was shocked. While skeptical of you, she couldn’t help but admire your tenacity. You’d come face to face with the wrath of Melissa Schemmenti and still returned to Abbott. You’d introduced yourself, and as far as Barbara could tell, you were perfectly polite and well mannered. The displeasure and hostility radiating off of Melissa was felt by everyone in the lounge, but aside from giving her close friend a pointed look, Barbara chose to ignore it. 

You’d continued showing up the rest of the week, greeting Barbara every day before taking a seat with Janine and Jacob, as well as Gregory, occasionally. The younger teachers seemed to have taken an instant liking to you, the four of you sharing stories from previous schools or discussing the latest movie releases. You’d even had a good-natured exchange with Ava one morning. The principal had leant against the corner with her phone and talked you through her “roster”, whatever that meant. Barbara was sure she didn’t want to know. 

Barbara observed how seamlessly you integrated into Abbott’s social circles - with the obvious exception of the red head who always sat to her right in the lounge. Melissa pretended you didn't exist, which would have been fine if it wasn’t the elephant in the room. Your first day in the lounge, Janine had tried to talk to Melissa about you. She’d turned to Melissa with a huge grin on her face and said, “Man, Melissa, you’re so lucky to have such an awesome sub as your aide.” 

Melissa had glanced at Janine over the rim of her cat-eye glasses, and in a sharp tone, retorted, “What sub?” That’s all it took for everyone in the room to grasp her unspoken message: If you value your life, drop it. The only reaction Barbara saw was a sharp flash of your eyes before you turned your back to the older woman and called Janine over, changing the subject. 

But last Friday, Melissa caught up with Barbara after the school day ended and explained that you’d just given her two VIP tickets to the Eagles game on Sunday. If there was anything that would help Melissa forgive your transgressions, it was that. Once again, Barbara found herself impressed with you - you took the initiative to make amends and you’d knocked it out of the park. She was happy for her friend. She’d told Melissa, “Just think of how much you’ll be able to accomplish now that you and that young woman can work together. Now, you and Gary go enjoy that ball game.” 

A week after your first morning at Abbott, all of the water was seemingly under the bridge, and the staff room could breathe easy again. No one paid much mind to the anxiety radiating off of you. For the most part, the energy in the room was calming as the day began. 

The sudden CRACK of the door slamming into the shelves violently ripped the room’s occupants out of their morning zen. It was enough to cause everyone to nearly jump out of their skin. Heads whipped in the direction of the doorway as Melissa’s furious form charged into the lounge. Her attention was initially on Barb, but as she opened her mouth to speak, her eyes locked on you. The blush of fury rose instantly in her cheeks. She ripped her bag off of her shoulder and tossed it in the direction of her regular table, nearly hitting Barbara in the process, and as her eyes narrowed, you could practically see the steam rolling off of her as she hissed out, “You.” 

And that’s when Barbara knew any chance of a peaceful morning had gone out the window.

—----------------------

As your weekend began, it didn’t take long for it to sink in that you were well and truly fucked. You completely failed to consider the consequences of your little scheme. There’s no way in hell Melissa wouldn’t be out for blood at the start of the next school week. The smartest thing to do would be to never return to Abbott, move to a new city across the country, and change your legal name. You went back and forth between chastising yourself for being ridiculous, and being so ridden with anxiety that you couldn’t eat. You felt so stupid - what did you think would happen? 

Ultimately, you reached a point where you couldn’t handle the crushing weight of what you’d done alone, so you’d spilled to Ava. Her response had been about the least reassuring thing she could have said.

You did WHAT? I didn’t know you were crazy like that! You’re gonna die girl. I’m not even joking. We gotta go out this weekend, cause it’s your last one alive. I’ll make sure you have fun tho. Do you own any latex?

After refusing Ava’s offers to make your last days on earth worthwhile, you spent most of the weekend drowning in anxiety and imagining how Melissa would bring about your demise. You decided you had to do your best to prepare. You literally couldn’t afford to not go back to Abbott, especially after getting your headlights repaired Saturday afternoon. Under the anxiety, you could feel the ember of your rage, still pulsing with a red-hot glow, so you decided to grasp ahold of it. What you’d done was shitty, sure. But compared to smashing headlights? All you’d done was get even.

Seeing as you couldn’t afford to uproot your whole life and leave Philadelphia, the next most logical thing to do was to never be caught alone in a room with Melissa ever again. You were pretty sure this was something you could pull off - you figured you had two weeks left at Abbott tops, and as long as you had kids or other teachers in the same room, you would have witnesses who could recount your violent death should Melissa murder you. 

This is what caused you to arrive at Abbott on Monday morning a full hour and a half before you needed to be there. You’d dithered in your car for about fifteen minutes, debating driving away and then talking yourself out of it. Eventually, you braved the outdoors, darting into the building and down the hallways as quickly as you could. You practically sprinted past Melissa���s classroom door - the lights were out, but even though you logically knew she wasn’t in yet, your mind conjured a vivid image of her jumping out of the shadows like a monster in waiting. You slowed down and tried to control your breathing as you entered the teacher’s lounge, and you were immediately soothed to see how many people were already there. Even better, Melissa was absent. 

As you passed Barbara, you gave her a hesitant smile. You actually liked Barbara, as much as you can like someone who’s polite and whom you don’t know very well. You figured it may be the last chance you get - surely the woman would turn against you once Melissa told her what you’d done. Janine, Jacob, and Gregory were all sitting at your usual table, and after preparing your morning coffee, you quickly situated yourself in a seat, thankfully facing the door to the lounge.

“Hey!” Janine said, shooting you her adorable, slightly gapped-toothed smile. “How was your weekend?”

“Oh, uh… it was fine,” you said, your eyes darting toward the door as it opened. Not Melissa . “Mostly caught up on chores… had to get some work done to my car, fun stuff like that.”

“Car problems are tough,” Gregory said, spooning a bite out of his bowl of plain oatmeal. “What was wrong with it?”

“Uh…” you hesitated, unsure if you wanted to share what was really wrong. It would inevitably lead to questions and the last thing you wanted was for everyone to know the details of your feud. It was one thing for everyone to know Melissa didn’t like you - there were very few people Melissa actually liked in general. But it was another entirely for them to know she’d smashed out your headlights. Something generic - a bad alternator, maybe - would suffice.

You didn’t even get the chance to lie.

Despite the fact that you could see the doorway, the resounding SMACK of the door slamming open still made you jump. Before your brain knew what it was processing, in stormed Melissa Schemmenti, thick heels clacking on the linoleum tiles. She wore a form fitting pink sweater, the neckline questionably appropriate, and skin tight black pants. Her saint necklaces shimmered from their home on her collarbones. You supposed she wanted to look hot when she killed you.

It only took a moment for her eyes to lock on you, and in that moment you knew things were about to get ugly. To your surprise, seeing the flustered state she was in created a feeling of immense satisfaction. She was furious because your plan had worked. You didn’t even fight the smile that began to find its way onto your lips. The anxiety wasn’t gone, but you relished in the triumphant feeling of landing a critical hit. 

“ You,” she hisses, tossing her bag from her shoulder. The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife. 

Your eyebrows shoot up, feigned ignorance in your voice as you point at yourself and respond, “Who, me?”

She starts toward you, and everyone else at your table scatters. You’re shocked to see Janine step in front of you, her hands up placatingly. “Melissa-”

“Shut it, pipsqueak, and get out of my way ,” she growls, her gaze over Janine’s head burning holes in you. 

“Hey!” You spit out, anger spiking and crowding out your anxiety. You’re suddenly standing. “Don’t call her that!”

Janine turns to you, holding a hand in your direction now too. “It’s fine, she calls me that all the time-” 

“It’s not fine!” You shout, fists balled. Your eyes are glued to Melissa’s. “You think you can say and do whatever you want because no one will stand up to you. Well, I’m not going to put up with it!” 

“Oh my god, please stop this. I will never psychologically recover from seeing your dead body,” Jacob pleads, wedged between the corner of the room and the fridge for cover. 

“Can’t believe I was dumb enough to trust ya,” Melissa growls. “And after all that bullshit about ‘olive branches' and bein’ cordial.”

You smirk. “Oh, right! How was the game?”

Melissa starts forward again and Janine has to physically hold her back. She’s shockingly effective in spite of her small stature. 

“Ya know I didn’t get into the game! Gary and I went all the way to the stadium, but you gave me fake tickets! We wasted our whole afternoon and got harassed by security!” she shouts. 

“So what are you gonna do about it? Beat me up? Call the cops on me?” you challenge.

A deeply offended look crosses Melissa’s face as her jaw drops. “Are you callin’ me a snitch?” she snarls. She surges against Janine one more time, who manages to keep her back again. “That’s low, even for you!” Melissa says nastily over Janine’s shoulder.

“Oh, that’s low?” You ask incredulously. “Low like smashing someone’s headlights out?” There’s an audible gasp from Jacob in the corner, and you feel the heat of everyone’s gaze turn from you to Melissa, the whole room enthralled by your verbal tennis match. 

Melissa glances around her before pointing an accusatory finger at you. “Ya can’t prove that was me!” You thought someone would have to have been born yesterday to believe that; anyone who worked at Abbott knew that’s exactly something Melissa would do. 

“Oh yeah, because everyone else here keeps a bat taped under their desk like a neurotic asshole!” you proclaim, throwing your hands up in the air. 

“I’ll show you ya stronza- ” Melissa hisses, pushing past Janine and beginning to reach for you. Your arms come up to instinctively protect your face, but before she can reach you, a figure closer to your height blocks your vision.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Barbara Howard bellows. The whole room comes to a standstill, frozen in time. Even Melissa has been stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide in shock as Barbara looks accusingly between the two of you. You feel immediately ashamed. “Are you both not grown adults? I cannot believe the absolute foolishness I’ve just witnessed!” She rounds on Melissa. “Especially from you!” 

“Barb, she-” Melissa starts. 

“I don’t care if she insulted your cooking to your face, you do not behave like catty teenagers! We are professional, grown people! Acting like this in front of your peers? Disgraceful! ”

She rounds on you, her eyes narrowing. “And you. To think that I was beginning to think highly of you. You went to all that trouble to make fake football tickets, just to get back at Melissa? Have you ever heard the phrase ‘An eye for an eye’ ?” 

The pit of shame in your stomach is sickening as you slowly lower your arms, your eyes unable to meet Barbara’s. Feeling like a petulant child, you couldn’t help but mutter, “She started it.”

“And now I’m ending it!” Barbara yells. You feel her grip the sleeve of your sweater and pull. You stumble after, seeing her grasp Melissa as well. “You are both coming with me!” The rest of the lounge doesn’t move a muscle as Barbara Howard physically drags you into the hallway. 

She marches with both of you in tow, Melissa sending you the nastiest glares she can muster from the other side of her friend. Stopping in front of a classroom full of bright colors and tiny chairs, Barbara turns to both of you. “This has gotten completely out of hand! You are both going to sit in my room and we are going to work through this. I don’t care if it takes all day - you will NOT be allowed out until you can act like civilized adults!” She folds her arms and gestures her head forward. You stare back for a moment, thinking she must be joking, but the woman doesn’t budge. After a moment longer, you enter the classroom. You’re followed closely by Melissa, who stalks to the other end of the room. 

Barbara closes her door and pulls down the window blind. She turns to you both, her eyes closed and her shoulders rising in deep, even breaths. Eventually, she opens her eyes, and commands, “Take a seat.”

You glance around and only see chairs for children. You begin to protest, but the look on Barbara’s face prompts you to simply grab the nearest chair and plant yourself in it. Your knees are comically close to your chest and you don’t know where to put your hands. You settle on resting them on top of your knees. Melissa is pacing back and forth, muttering to herself - you guess she gets to ignore Barbara’s request. 

“Now,” Barbara begins. “We are going to talk out your problems so we can put this whole mess behind us. Your students deserve you at your best, and you cannot be your best when you’re at each other’s throats!” She’s stern, chastising, and you feel ridiculous. “Where did all of this animosity start? Why are you angry with Melissa?”

You can’t help but scoff because the answer should be obvious. Barbara presses her lips together in annoyance and you quickly reply, “Well, where do I begin? Aside from smashing my headlights out, she’s done nothing but disrespect me since I stepped foot in her room. She was insulting me before she even learned my name!”

“I never learned your name,” she pipes up spitefully, and you whip your head around to glare at her. 

“Memory not as good as it used to be?” you retort. A muscle in her jaw jumps out as she clenches her jaw, her face coloring once more. 

Before she has a chance to rip into you again, Barbara cuts you both off with a stern, “Knock it off!” She looks exasperatedly between the two of you before pinching the bridge of her nose. “The Lord is testing me today,” she whispers to herself, shaking her head. She turns her attention to the fiery woman across the room. “Melissa?” 

Melissa comes to a stop, planting herself and leaning her weight onto one hip. She rolls her eyes, gesticulating wildly as she speaks. “If we’re goin’ back to the start, then first things first, she strolled into my class thirty minutes late. Didn’t even have the decency to apologize.” 

“You didn’t give me a chance to!” you protest. “I hadn't even stepped into the room before you were criticizing me. It’s not like I did it on purpose, it was a complete and total accident. And then you started insulting how young and inexperienced I look.” 

“I was just givin’ you a hard time, that’s all,” she says indignantly. “How was I suppose ta know you can’t take a joke?”

Your head whips toward her. “And smashing my headlights? Was that a joke?” you retort incredulously. 

Her eyes narrow and her tone is venomous as she hisses, “Nah, that was for throwin’ away my school supplies, stealin’ lunches, and callin’ me a bitch.” 

You hear Barbara’s sharp inhale and jump to defend yourself. “Those supplies were all broken or unusable! You have so much on your hands with two classes and I was just trying to help you. Also, Janine gave me that lasagna because I forgot my lunch, I didn’t steal anything. You wouldn’t give me a chance to explain myself before jumping down my throat. Not to mention calling me degrading names in Italian!” 

Barbara raises an eyebrow and gives Melissa a knowing glance. “Melissa uses gabbortz quite often, it’s nothing to get offended over,” she says, an attempt to reassure you.

Melissa’s eyes dart to Barbara’s as she huffs, “Uh, it’s gabbadost , Barb. And I mighta used somethin’ more… vulgar.” To your disbelief, the red head practically looks sheepish at this admission. Her arms cross in front of her as she shifts her weight, and your eyes are drawn to how the motion causes her cleavage to swell ever so slightly. Feeling heat flood your cheeks, you dart your eyes all over the room, attempting to find something else to fix them on. Luckily, neither woman seems to notice. Barbara’s eyebrows are furrowed in an inquisitive way that suggests she’s waiting for the shorter woman to elaborate. Melissa lets out a puff of air. “I mighta used the ‘P’ word, a’right?” 

Barbara’s eyes widen as her mouth drops open in a gasp. “The ‘P’ word? Melissa Schemmenti, you don’t mean-”

“Yeah, yeah, the one I save exclusively for Kristin Marie. That ‘P’ word.” You don’t know who Kristin Marie is, but Barbara looks positively scandalized.

Tearing her eyes away from Melissa, Barbara stands and turns away from both of you, hands on her hips and head shaking in disapproval. As she takes her turn pacing across the room, the disappointed silence from the older woman allows the weight of the last week to settle on you, and you find yourself suddenly exhausted. You lean forward, your head in your hands and the shame rising inside of you like a tidal wave. How did you get here? 

“Well, I think you both have been sufficiently horrible to each other,” Barbara says, turning toward you. “Now explain how this has all made you feel.” 

You and Melissa groan in unison. “Come on, Barb,” Melissa starts, but Barbara holds up a single admonishing finger to silence her. The Italian woman becomes subdued immediately, and you notice how different Melissa’s reaction is to being silenced by Barbara.

“How has this made you feel?” the older woman presses, her tone of voice a warning to comply. Melissa leans against the wall, refusing to budge. You all sit in tense silence for what feels like an eternity, and you wish the floor would swallow you up. She was using the same tactics on you that you might use on two fighting eight year olds.

Eventually, you can’t handle the tension any longer and you burst out, “I feel totally disrespected!” You look to Barbara and she gestures for you to continue. “I uh… I feel belittled, and like you don’t take me seriously, but I think the worst part is I never got the chance to prove to you that I belong here… you wrote me off before you even met me. I’ve worked hard, and I love what I do, so to have you disregard me right off the bat, just because I made a mistake and I look young… it felt pretty shitty,” you admit, the confession coming out of you in one long rush. 

“Especially because… I was excited to work with you,” you add quietly. You’re suddenly enamored with the floor, unable to bring yourself to look either woman in the eye. You feel exposed and vulnerable, and you’re majorly uncomfortable with it. 

You’re forced to endure your feelings of discomfort for a few more torturous minutes. Suddenly, your eyes widen in shock as a husky voice meets your ears, and it takes a moment for your brain to process the words. 

“I guess I feel a lot of the same,” Melissa admits. You raise your gaze to meet hers, and she’s staring at you intently, the earnestness reflected in her jewel-green eyes making your heart skip a beat. “Felt like you didn’t really care when you were late. Some a’ these kids? They got plenty of adults outside of these walls that don’t really care. That’s the last thing they need here. And then ya walked in and you look so young… I couldn't resist teasin' ya. But then you got me back and I got defensive, and I shouldnt’a.” She shifts her weight, casting her eyes to the floor. “I bought all those supplies with my own money,” she admits. “So seein’ you throwin’ em away, it really rubbed me the wrong way. But… you were right. I was tryin’ to stretch em when there was no more room to stretch. And then seein’ my lasagna on your desk… I know I can be a real hot head, and I took it out on ya and it wasn’t fair.” 

As you look at Melissa, her red hair shining under the fluorescents and her evident unease at her own candor, there’s a swelling feeling in your chest and a warmth slowly spreading in your limbs. “Melissa,” you say, and her head snaps up to meet you. You search her eyes, waiting for her to snap at you for using her first name. She doesn’t. She simply waits, holding your gaze, and you can’t quite read what’s behind her eyes, but you suspect it’s something far softer than she’s shown you before. 

You allow yourself to swim in those emerald pools for just a second longer before you admit, tenderly, “I’m sorry.” You see her shoulders drop ever so slightly, tension releasing as she allows your words to sink in. “I’m sorry for what I’ve said about your age. I’m sorry for throwing your things away without asking. And I’m really sorry about the Eagles tickets. That definitely wasn’t my finest moment.” You say the last bit with a touch of humor. You pause for a moment, before adding, “I’m not going to apologize for the lasagna, though. Janine insisted on giving it to me, and it was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever tasted.” 

You see her eyes widen, her brows raising in surprise. A genuine satisfied smile graces her lips, and you can’t help but momentarily wish things had been different over the last week so you could have seen more of those. That smile made her entire demeanor change. 

“Well,” she says, eyes flashing with her own humor. She shoots you a sly grin, and you return a small smile of your own. “If I’m bein’ real with ya, I’m impressed. Fake tickets? Pretty diabolical,” she continues, admiration in her voice. Her smile fades, though, and she brings her hand up, pressing a knuckle to her lips briefly in thought. She sighs, murmuring, “I’m sorry too. I shoulda given you a chance before jumpin’ to conclusions. And, uh… I’ll pay for ya to get your headlights fixed.” She mutters that last part, and you notice that she didn’t apologize for smashing them - but you know it’s as close as she’ll come, because you’re not sure she entirely regrets it. You’ll take what you can get.

“Thank you,” you murmur, and once again you suddenly can’t look at her anymore. Luckily, Barbara draws your focus to her as she clears her throat. You both look toward the older teacher as she stares down at you, a smug, triumphant smile dancing across her full lips. 

“Now, was that so hard?” She asks, her voice teasing both of you. For the first time in days, you feel like you can breathe fully again. Melissa rolls her eyes, pulling herself away from the wall, but you detect a hint of relief radiating off of the woman as well. 

“Don’t expect us to hold hands or nothin’ Barb,” she says as she heads for the door. When she reaches it, she pauses and turns to you. She considers you for a moment, and you begin to feel warm underneath her gaze. Finally, she says, “Well, ya comin’? We got lessons to plan for the day. How do ya feel about teaching Science?” Her tone is gruff, commanding, no nonsense. The carefully curated tough exterior of Melissa Schemmenti is back in place. But you’ve seen the slightest glimpse of the human being underneath.

“Right behind you,” you reply, and a tentative grin breaks out across your face as you stand and begin to follow the short woman. You pause briefly though, a thought entering your mind, and you turn to Barabra. Your hands grasp each other behind your back as you rock forward onto the balls of your feet, and you convey your gratitude by giving the older woman the warmest smile you can muster and uttering, “Thank you, Barbara.”

She returns your smile, her own radiant and warm, and you can’t help but feel like you’ve been blessed a bit. “My pleasure, dear. Go on, I’ll see you at lunch.” You nod in agreement, and turn on your heel, following after your lead teacher. You’re not friends - seeing as your time is limited at Abbott, you don’t imagine you ever will be. But you feel lighter, and there’s a newfound respect for the short woman. And for the first time since you stepped foot inside Abbott Elementary, you feel excited for the day before you.

-------

A/N:

Yes, I'm sorry, Gary will be briefly mentioned/perhaps even making small appearances. Stay strong lol. Controversial opinion but I don't hate Gary. Did I think he was good enough for Melissa? HELL NO. Do I think he should have respected her wishes and listened to her when she explained her boundaries? HELL YES. But ultimately he was just a big dumb guy who was infatuated with Melissa Schemmenti, and to that, I relate. Still, I wasn't mad about that split.

Fun fact - if you've watched season 3 episode 4 already, I wrote the Ava roster line before that episode aired. I died laughing when the kids were talking to Gregory about his roster. We don't need to talk about the firefighter exchange... denial is my favorite state.

[secretsecretbunny]

idk if you do drabble requests but I love your writing so much! you really have a way with words so i was wondering if maybe you'd do a drabble about new!idol fem reader (can be solo or group w/e) who really looks up to and admires BTS and they meet her before watching her perform for the first time? also maybe there's some flirting? (idc which members I'm ot7) just one of my lil day dreams I wanna get out there 🥺 anyway! keep writing, you're genuinely really good 🫶🏻

I do now!! This sounded too cute to pass up 💕

Title: "Run."

Genre: drabble, one-shot, casual??? fluff??? idk how to describe this one lmao. I hope you enjoy!

Notes: y/s/n = "your stage name". Things that are underlined are links to the outfits described.

Your nerves had you literally shaking with anticipation as you waited behind the scenes of the show. So many incredible talents were performing today and here you were, an unknown newbie who was about to take the stage in front of a live audience. Why did they even want you to debut at this big of an event in the first place? Your manager reassured you it was because they believed in your talent and knew that taking a chance on you and letting your first performance be somewhere as prestigious as this would draw in fans, who would appreciate the unique sound you bring to the table. In particular, if the responses of other idols who are more famous and well-known were captured on camera and shared with their fanbase through broadcasts or similar media channels.

The way they styled you had you feeling nervous as well, with a form-fitting pink mini skirt that hugged your curves and a white button up top that was tucked in with a black and pink tie, adding a touch of elegance to your look. The cropped black blazer and black gogo boots with heels made you feel like you were going to fall at any moment, but the white leather garter with a chain on one of your thighs added a bold touch to your outfit. You felt a little exposed but you took a moment to be silently appreciative of the safety shorts you wore beneath your skirt.

You had always dreamed of being part of a group, working together towards a common goal. That's why you were initially brought on as a trainee for the company in the first place. However, after careful consideration and evaluation of your skills and strengths, it was ultimately decided that your talents would be best utilized flying solo. But you deeply wished you had people to lean on, members who could offer support and distract from your potential mistakes. You tugged at your skirt awkwardly as you stood around waiting for your time to perform. You still had nearly 30 minutes but you were too nervous to sit, instead you opted for watching the screen positioned on the wall, showing the current performers on stage.

You smiled at the screen at the talent being shown. BTS. You had a deep admiration for the group and enjoyed watching them perform their song DNA. The members exuded confidence and comfort on stage, making it seem like they never worried about mistakes at this point in their career. You watched as they moved fluidly across the stage, perfectly in sync with one another. 

A close up of Jimin had you grinning like an idiot. God he was pretty. Fuck, they all were. Hoseok with his vibrant smile, Namjoon with his unique features and buff build, Yoongi and his piercing eyes, Taehyung sporting the flirtiest looks you had ever seen, Jungkook somehow looking both innocent and dangerously delicious, and Jin with his world wide handsome face. And even more than their looks, they were so incredibly talented and hardworking.

You had heard the detailed story of how they rose to the top, overcoming numerous challenges and obstacles along the way. Their journey was filled with both good and bad experiences, but through it all, they showed great dedication and strength. And here you were, you hadn't even had your first performance yet and you had been ready to give up multiple times just during your 4 years of being a trainee. Working for the same label as the musicians who inspired you to pursue music in the first place left you feeling both grateful and slightly out of place, as if you hadn't earned your spot there yet.

You completely dismissed those thoughts and made your way towards the snack and beverage area, specifically designated for idols and staff members. You were in dire need of water and something sweet to give you an energy boost. As the boys finished their performance, the booming cheers from the crowd echoed through the air. You froze in surprise when you heard the seven of them laughing and panting out of breath as they entered the same room you were in. You attempted to seem nonchalant as they eagerly grabbed water bottles and snacks for themselves, while you discreetly tucked your hair behind your ear and reached for a water bottle too, all the while listening intently as Jungkook and Hoseok laughed uncontrollably about some unknown joke or incident.

In their fit of laughter Jungkook backed up into you, making you stumble back a bit. He whipped around suddenly "shit, sorry!" he apologized with a small bow. "Kookie you've gotta be more careful!" came a voice from behind you. The voice placed a hand on your shoulder. "You okay?" As you turned your head, you caught sight of Jimin with a gentle smile on his face. You quickly nodded in response, your eyes wide, causing him to let out a soft chuckle. "Hey! We making new friends?" Came Hoseok's voice as he reached his hand out to you. "I'm Hoseok. Or Hobi, J-Hope, whatever's fine." he said. His signature smile was contagious, spreading warmth to the pit of your stomach as he spoke. You took his hand lightly, stifling a giggle. "I uh, I know who you are. I'm y/n. Or y/s/n. Whatever's fine." You mimicked with a warm smile. He laughed. "Nice to meet you, y/n!" His hand was warm, and making your head swim, prompting you to let go.

"Wait, y/s/n?" Yoongi asked, stepping into the conversation. "The new girl? You're debuting today, right?" As you glanced in his direction, your nervousness was evident in the rapid nodding of your head. "Mhmm! In uh.." you checked the time on your phone. "shit.. 15 minutes actually." You said, taking a shaky breath in. "Nervous?" came Taehyung's voice from behind Yoongi.

You were now the center of attention for the seven boys, who were anxiously anticipating your next words. "Incredibly so.." you replied, making them all smile at you. "Hey I'm sure you're going to do great!" Namjoon chimed in "yeah, you're going to sound amazing!" Said Jin. They all nodded as you laughed

"you guys have never even heard me sing, how would you know?" You asked with a playful lilt in your voice. "Well, you're beautiful, so I'm sure your voice matches." God. Jimin was just as flirty as people described him, with a playful smile and a wink that could light up the room. You rolled your eyes with a laugh. "Smooth, pretty boy." You chuckled out, making him smirk. Jungkook looked you up and down for a moment "Your outfit looks great, your stylists did an amazing job." You took a moment to examine your outfit, making sure every piece was in its place and smoothing out any wrinkles on your skirt.

"Thanks, I actually had to beg them to add black into the theme. They originally wanted me in all pink and white and that's just... really not my vibe." This had Hoseok raising a brow. "What's not your vibe? ...sweet and innocent?" He asked with a smirk and the tilt of his head.

For just an instant, your eyes flickered with something that looked almost like mischief before settling back into their usual serenity; however fleeting this transformation may have been, its impact left ripples. Luckily you were saved by staff running up to you. "Y/n you have 10 minutes! Please come get your hair and makeup touched up!" The girl sounded almost panicked. You gave her a sweet smile. "Be right there!" You said, putting your sweet and shy persona back on. "I should run. Thanks for the pep talk, boys!" you said with a small bow. "You got this!" Namjoon said as you turned to leave. Jin's voice stopped you "would it make you more or less nervous if we said we'll be watching?" You paused for a moment in thought. "Hmm, well, I think I'd be more motivated not to fall on my ass if I knew THE Bangtan was watching my every move." This made them smirk. "We'll have our eyes glued to you then." Hoseok said with a subtle wink, his voice low. "You better." You replied amorously as you walked away.

With you fully out of earshot now, the boys spoke. "she's cute as hell."  Jungkook said. "Hm, she acts cute, but I think she's a little darker than that." Hoseok laughed. "Her and Jimin have the same vibes" Taehyung said playfully. "Oh, so I'm cute AND sexy? Thanks Taetae." Jimin retorted playfully, making the man roll his eyes. "Alright guys keep it in your pants." Yoongi commented. "Right, let's just go watch her performance like we promised, yeah?" Namjoon stated as they headed towards the changing room to switch outfits before returning to the audience.

As you stepped onto the stage, your nerves seemed to vanish into thin air as you effortlessly slipped into your performance persona. The song you performed was sultry, sassy, and sensual. Your manager referred to it as 'the triple S.' You found that you fell into the role easier than you thought you would since you discovered that with how bright the stage's colorful lights were, you could barely even see the crowd, but you could feel their energy and passion.

As your performance was coming to a close, one of your backup dancers suddenly fell near your feet. Despite knowing you needed to continue with the choreography, it felt wrong to simply step around her and ignore her situation. So, you decided to help her up while still singing and dancing, offering a reassuring smile and squeezing her hand gently when she looked panicked. She quickly fell back into the routine and the rest of the performance went on without another issue. 

As soon as you left the stage, you were immediately ushered off to change into more appropriate clothing for sitting in the audience with the other idols who either weren't performing or had already finished their performances. A simple long black dress with two high slits on either side, though you still wore a leather garter with a chain, this time in black though. Your seat was just a row behind the bts boys, you gave a small bow and a smile as you passed them. Once you sat down, Hoseok, Jimin, and Jungkook all turned around to give you a thumbs up or small claps, telling you that you had done a good job. Despite your best efforts you couldn't fight the bright smile that took over your features.

No more than 2 hours later you were at the after party being reprimanded by your manager for stopping mid performance to help your backup dancer. "You know you're supposed to keep going in instances like that!" She barked out. "I technically did keep going! I wasn't just going to ignore her while she was struggling!" You spat back with an eye roll, arms crossed over your chest. She let out a deep sigh, her shoulders sagging in resignation.

However, before she could continue with whatever she was going to say, you abruptly turned and started walking away from her. Unfortunately for you though, your hasty retreat led you straight into the path of an oncoming person - or more specifically, their chest - resulting in a jarring impact that sent you stumbling backward several steps. "fuck! I mean, augh... sorry!" you bowed. "We're just always bumping into each other, huh? Now we're even." you looked up to see Jungkook with a couple of the boys not far behind. You let out a small laugh "I guess we are." as Hoseok walked up, he peeked around you for a moment, eyeing your manager as she huffed and stomped away.

"You get in trouble for something?" he asked. You nodded with another eye roll. "She's upset that I stopped to help my backup dancer when she fell." His eyebrows furrowed "she's mad at you for being a kind a decent human being?" You smiled "that's one way to put it I suppose." you replied. Jimin, hearing the conversation being had, pouted "I thought it made you look cool and likeable!" he said with a tilt of his head. You anxiously fiddled with your fingers, feeling a bit nervous. "Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I really hope it didn't ruin the performance." Hoseok shook his head. "Not at all! You were amazing up there!" Jungkook and Jimin nodded, agreeing. "Let me get you something to drink to get your mind off it, yeah?" He added. You smiled "sure, that'd be great."

As Jimin and Jungkook started mingling with the crowd, you and Hoseok headed towards the bar, located at the distant end of the room. The venue had arranged for an assortment of drinks to be served, and the bartender was busy filling orders.

He ordered you your drink of choice and something for himself as well. You two engaged in a casual conversation for nearly half an hour, exploring various topics and discovering shared interests such as music, movies, and hobbies. The ice in your second round of drinks had mostly melted, indicating they were nearing completion when he posed the question "you wanna get out of here?"

Halting your speech mid-sentence, you turned to face him with an inquiring gaze before your expression shifted into a sly grin that showed your true intentions. "Absolutely." You responded. He grinned widely as he grabbed your hand, his grip firm and confident, leading you towards the exit with purpose.

As you walked, he waved goodbye to his members, a gesture that seemed almost automatic. You spotted your manager heading towards you, her expression written in annoyance, causing your heart to race in anticipation. You gave Hoseok's hand a stern warning squeeze as your manager approached, making him raise an eyebrow at you in confusion. However, the mischievous grin spreading across your features told him everything he needed to know - you had no intention of being deterred by anyone.

"Run."

You said before pulling him into a dash towards the exit. You both burst into a fit of laughter as you rapidly made your way out of the building, the sound of your hurried footsteps on the hard floor growing fainter with each passing second until you were no longer in sight.

Tonight might be fun after all, you decided.

aaaa okay how was that? Thoughts? Critiques? Requests? Let me know what's up. Love you!! 🩷

[randomshyperson]

Third time lucky - Wanda Maximoff Oneshots

Summary: Some misunderstandings are just the result of poor communication. Or the one where Wanda has a crush and can't find the right time to confess. | Writing Challenge.

Warnings: Fluff and brief mild angst (unrequited love impressions), mutual pining, friends to lovers, some mentions of drinking, college au. | Words: 3.064k

A/N-> I've been having busy days, and apparently, I start dozens of series and never finish a single one. I saw some videos of Prompts challenges on Tik Tok and this one was finished. I do miss Emo!Wanda a lot, and I’ve been trying to work with something for her, but no luck so far. Anyways, good reading to you all!

General Masterlist | AO3 | Wattpad

-&-

Buried in the safety of her blankets, Wanda tries to understand how the whole perfect three-month planning went wrong all at once in a 30-second conversation.

This was all Steve's fault.

If he had waited just one more day to end his long-standing relationship with Bucky, he would have avoided affecting his entire group of friends, and Wanda wouldn't have had to drive 40 minutes to the other side of town to drag Barnes' drunk and pissed ass back to the University, and she wouldn't have had the conversation with you.

It was such an unfair situation. She had a plan. Go to the movies together, to the market, have dinner and then, ring. Well, confession first.

"I know we've been friends for a while, but I've secretly been in love since we bumped into each other on the way out of the stadium that day, and spending time with you has only escalated that. Do you wanna be more than friends?" 

She hoped that all this time you were secretly in love as well and she would be the happiest person in the world.

But Steve Rogers broke up with his boyfriend who got too drunk to drive back to his place, and when Wanda safely handed him over to you, all you could tell her was that you were glad you two would never go through anything like this in your entirely platonic friendship.

A bucket of cold water, honestly.

So now Wanda just wanted to lie down and be protected under the covers, with no risk of being hurt again.

Her twin had other plans.

"Wanda, why aren't you ready? Natasha is already downstairs with the car." That's what Pietro questioned as he entered the bedroom of their shared apartment, a grimace stamped at the scene of his sister under the covers in the dark bedroom. 

All the brunette did was groan, which made him sigh. The next minute, the curtains were pulled open and Wanda had to hide from the light with a pillow.

"Go away." She grumbled, but the twin just threw himself sitting up in bed.

" Don't tell me Miss Calendar forgot that we were going to celebrate Yelena's birthday today?" ironized her brother, smirking at Wanda's attempt to get away from his fingers that began to torment her with tickles.

Wanda only grunted again. "How did that not get canceled?" She managed to retort, busy deflecting the tickles to see Pietro shrugging.

"It's not like Yelena is that close to the boys. Besides this, Steve isn't going, and Bucky is still hung over. And you're holding us up."   To emphasize her brother's statement, the loud horn outside easily recognized from Natasha's Truck could be heard. Pietro chuckled before pulling Wanda's covers off at once, ignoring the other's protest. "Move it, lazy girl. We have to get there soon or Nat won't find a parking spot."

"I don't want to go."

"Wanda, come on, Yelena is your best friend's little sister." Pietro reasons, but seeing his sister's almost tearful expression, he immediately assumes a worried expression. "What happened, Pchelka (little bee)?"

Wanda sniffled low, not meeting his gaze. "I was going to tell Y/N how I feel yesterday."

Her brother's eyes widened. "Oh? And how was it?"

"I didn't get a chance. She said she was glad we were friends, and we don't have to go through the same problems as Bucky and Steve." She tells tearfully, but Pietro makes a confused face.

"Wait, but you told her? How do you feel?"

Wanda chuckles indignantly. "What? Didn't you hear what I just said?" Retorted the girl, wiping her face before she started crying for good. "She said we were friends, how do you expect me to-"

"Wanda, for God's sake." Pietro interrupted her with an impatient sigh, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He typed a quick excuse to Natasha to get her to stop honking in front of the building and approached his sister. "You and Y/N are friends, of course, she's glad about this strange, yet amazing connection you two share. The same kind I had with Barry, and you know, it would have worked out if I hadn't screwed it up. But the fact is, we only had a chance of right and wrong because I had the balls to admit what I was feeling."

She frowns thoughtfully. "What is your point?"

Pietro smiles. "My point is that you are here, whining about a rejection that only happened in your head."

"But she said-"

"The truth." He interrupts gently. "You two are friends, and she values this friendship, these are facts. It doesn't mean you can't be more than friends, or that the puppy dog eyes she always gives you are platonic."

Wanda giggles shyly, her cheeks warming. "You're making that one up."

"Yeah, I'm the delusional twin." Retorts the other, laughing when Wanda tries to hit him with a pillow. "Put it together, sis. And grow some nerve. Y/N will be there today, you might make her week better."

Wanda sighs. "Or ruin it for good."

Pietro rolls his eyes. "Wanda, go get changed or I'll be the one to tell her why we were late."

"You wouldn't dare!" Wanda retorts, already getting up. Pietro laughs.

"Try me."

The drive to the dam was uneventful after that - although Wanda had had to put up with her twin and her best friend making fun of all her dramatics that morning.  It was somewhat ironic how apparently all her friends knew about her feelings, except the one person she wanted to be aware of it.

The dam was considerably full, but that was common for weekends even on a not-so-hot day, and the absence of tests at Uni certainly helped. Fortunately, Natasha was able to find a place close enough, and within minutes, Wanda was finishing putting beers to ice near the food table that Maria Hill had set up with the rest of her friends who arrived first.

Wanda only went back to the truck to get Yelena's gift and was ready to lock the car and return to the cheap fun when she was wrapped tightly by strong arms that lifted her into the air. She would have screamed in fright if she hadn't recognized the mischievous giggle.

"Look guys, I found a cute deer all alone." The teasing made the rest of the group chuckle as well. Wanda tried to have a little control over the color of her face, but she became very aware that the Wolf Jacket - The University's mascot - was the only thing that cover your swimsuit from her skin. You spun her around by the waist as you set her down again, and the proximity was almost suffocating. 

"Where is everyone?" It was Clint who asked, holding a packet of coal on his shoulders. Beside him, Laura was wearing only the skirt of the cheerleading team that Wanda was also a member of, the black deer stamped on the edge, and a dark bikini covering her torso. 

Wanda mumbled the direction as you took a step back, and could barely notice when the rest of the group left the two of you alone. You leaned against the truck, and Wanda tried to put it together, as Pietro told her to.

"Your face is a little red, Wands. Did you remember to put on sunscreen? I have some in my backpack..." You were so clueless that it would be adorable if it wasn't frustrating. Wanda began to fantasize about the confession and ended up even redder when she noticed you shaking some sunscreen at the height of her face for what seemed like some time. 

"T-thank you." She mumbled embarrassedly, reaching up to pull the item out, but you moved it out of her reach.

"Don't be silly, I'll help you." You said casually, signaling with your free hand for her to turn around, which Wanda did very quickly.

She heard you pressing the cream into her hands, and she had to hold her breath to keep from sighing with each rub of your fingers against her skin. Rubbing and spreading the sunscreen.

"What were you doing here all by yourself?" you start the casual conversation, curious. 

Wanda swallows to disguise the huskiness in her voice. "I forgot Yelena's gift in the car."

"Hm, and what did you get for her?" You asked, finishing the shoulders and pulling your hands away to apply more lotion.

"Some tapes from that store she likes," Wanda grumbles, biting her lips as she feels your hands go down her back. "She hasn't shut up about Don Mclean in the last few months, so I also helped Nat buy some tickets. They're going to the concert next month."

"Oh, that sounds nice." You complimented, somewhat distracted. Wanda hummed in agreement, hoping to the heavens that you didn't notice how shivery she was under your touch. But judging by your silence and proximity, you could probably tell. A moment later, when you were done with her back and Wanda was forced to work with all her mind control not to do anything idiotic when she was face to face with you again, you commented, "You practically ran out yesterday. I was hoping we would watch some movie, maybe even a sitcom."

Wanda smiles shyly, needing to look away because you were going to start rubbing sunscreen on her face now.

"Hm, sorry." She murmurs. "I thought you'd be busy with Bucky."

"He's a grown-up, Wands. Besides, I would hardly sacrifice time with you to babysit hungover Bucky Barnes."

She panicked, you were too close, and looking at her fondly when you said these things. All she could do was giggle nervously.

"You like me this much, huh?"

It was your turn to chuckle a little confusedly, raising an eyebrow. Wanda swallowed dryly because you were applying sunscreen to her cheeks, but instead of pushing your hands away, you wrapped them around her cheeks.

"Yeah, I like you that much." You assured her and Wanda felt her heart jump in her chest. 

Okay, as Pietro encouraged her in the car: Go big or go home. She opened her mouth to finally confess, but you let go of her face. "All set." You announced about the sunscreen, moving to put the item back in your purse and stepping away in record time. Wanda stood frozen in shock, and you looked at her with confusion. "You're not coming?"

She swallowed the humiliation and lack of courage and forced a smile. "Of course." 

But you stepped into her path, and Wanda panted slightly. 

"Aren't you forgetting anything?"

"Hm, am I?" 

You chuckled. "Yelena's birthday present..."

"Shit, yeah, sure." Wanda was a complete mess. She turned around again, grabbed the gift packed in the passenger seat, and met you halfway. 

And you made the color of her face worse when you simply hold her free hand with yours, pulling her closer to whisper: "My invitation still stands, Maximoff. After the party, how about we have a sitcom night?"

With her heart hammering, Wanda takes a chance. "Yes, but only if it's just the two of us." She declares, and you chuckle shortly, eyeing her with some doubt.

"Are you asking me to kick Bucky out of the apartment?"

She sighs. "No, I... God, you're impossible." She grumbled in frustration, feeling her face very warm. She was ready to clarify when someone shouted your name.

It was Natasha, at the entrance to the parking area, hurrying the two of you because you had the matches in your backpack and the barbecue was supposed to start soon.

Wanda sighed tiredly again and walked off ahead of you.

You followed her with confusion a second later.

-&-

“Judging by your face, things didn’t work out with Y/N.”

Yelena's comment didn't make her feel any better, other than it caught her by surprise enough that Wanda nearly knocked all the beer over.

Yelena chuckled, holding the strainer before the item lost its balance completely and ensuring the safety of the drink for the rest of the party.

"How did you...?"

"Natasha tells me everything, naturally." Clarified the blonde as she shrugged. "This, and well, everyone knows."

Wanda sighed, stealing a glance over to the group of people where you were laughing at some comment Maria made.

"Yeah, not everyone." Murmured the upset brunette. Yelena cleared her throat quietly.

"You know, maybe rejection can be a good thing." Started the blonde to which Wanda grimaced. "Now that you know she doesn't feel the same way, at least you can start looking for someone else who does."

With a nervous chuckle, Wanda retorted, "Technically, I didn't say what I felt, so I haven't been rejected yet and-"

But Yelena interrupted her by reaching out and tapping her finger against her forehead, a gesture that made Wanda grumble. "глупый (silly). You didn't even tell her?"

Rubbing her forehead, the brunette grumbled; "Your sister interrupted me, I was about to."

Yelena chuckled incredulously, stealing a glance at the group as well. "You are unbelievable, Maximoff." She commented before a sigh. "You know this is your fault right? None of this would have happened if you had only agreed to go out with her when she asked you the first time, you silly girl."

Wanda grimaced. "Sorry, what?"

But Yelena just shrugged. "Yeah, you know I'm right. If you had just gone along with it, you would have saved yourself all this stress, and you wouldn't have to stand there trying to build up your courage and-" 

"Yelena, what are you talking about?" Wanda interrupted her. "Y/N never asked me out."

It was the other's turn to look at her as if she had fallen and hit her head. "Of course she did! When we met, silly, at Stark's party in freshman year."

Wanda shook her head. "I met Y/N the first time by bumping into her in a hallway-"

"What, no!" Yelena giggled nostalgically. She dropped her glass of beer and started gesturing a little as she counted. "Don't you remember Stark's party, freshman year? I introduced Y/N to the group, and you had just kicked Vision's ass...oh, I think I know why you don't remember. You got drunk as hell and threw up on the guy in the band, the one with the shaved hair. It was Y/N who drove your car back to the dorm, Wanda. You really don't remember her?"

There was a pact to forget about the humiliation from that night, to be honest, but hearing Yelena quote the facts brought it all back with full force. The last fight with Vision, Tony's birthday at Stark Mansion that turned into a riot loud enough for the party to end with the arrival of the police, and a lot of drinking. Enough for Wanda to forget kind eyes and respectful hands keeping her off the sidewalk.

She looked at you again, and remembered your husky laugh, months ago, in her room when her drunk self said she thought you were really pretty.

"Well, I think you're pretty too, Maximoff. So how about, when you sober up, you and I go out on a date?" You asked, ignoring the teasing giggles of the other two - Yelena was helping Natasha back to bed. 

"I'd love to." She replied drunkenly, giggling when you helped her get under the covers. She made some joke about dreams that made you smile, and then she never thought about this night again.

In the present, Yelena was saying something about how technically she never rejected you, but Wanda cut her off with excuse, and simply turned her back on her, rushing off in your direction.

Whatever Maria's joke was, it was unheard by you with Wanda's sudden arrival.

"Hey, is everything ok-"

"Why didn't you ask me out again?" She interrupted you almost in desperation, ignoring the presence of the other people. You stared at her in shock, surprised at the sudden question. Maria cleared her throat, gesturing to the girls, and everyone sneaked out. 

"Sorry, what?"

"After the party." Wanda retorted without losing her attitude. "You asked me out, and I was too drunk to remember this. Why didn't you ask again after?"

Your cheeks turned pink, and you chuckled awkwardly. "I don't know, Wands." You murmur shyly. Wanda's heart leaps at the lovely image in front of her. "You didn't remember me, and when we started hanging out with everyone else and you quickly included me as a friend, I assumed it was your way of saying you weren't interested without hurting me-"

"But I am interested!" She interrupted you a little louder and more desperate than she would have liked. You gasped in surprise, widening your eyes. "God, I'm so interested."

You chuckle shyly, your face rosy. "Oh, really?"

Wanda thought it best to prove the point, and just grabbed your shirt collar, staring into your eyes for a moment and giving you time to pull away if you wanted to. You did the complete opposite, ending the distance by pressing your lips against hers.

Gasping, Wanda pulled away. "Yeah, definitely interested." She murmured affectedly before kissing you again, now for real, feeling your smile into the kiss.

You ended up parting soon after, both of you unable not to laugh in relief and happiness. Wanda could feel her face burning, and she knew the audience but didn't care one bit. She was too happy for that.

"You taste like beer." Your comment while holding her made her look at you curiously. "Please don't have another alcoholic amnesia with me."  You joked with a certain truth, and Wanda chuckled, stealing another intense kiss before pulling away.

"Are you kidding? I'll definitely remember this." She assured you tenderly, and you smiled apologetically. When you went to kiss her again, Wanda placed a finger over your lips. "Besides this, you could sleep over. It will be easy to remember if I wake up next to you..."

You smirked, kissing her cheek, your arms securely around her. "What a naughty girl you turned out to be, Maximoff."

She slid her fingers away to cup your cheek. "Oh darling, you have no idea." And you swallowed dryly at the teasing whisper.

With luck, it wouldn't take them long to cut the cake and end the party. 

[eddiemunsons80sbaby]

Never Say Never

Chapter 2

Pairing: SingleDad!StevexReader

Summary: You are a 32 year old single mother, raising your seven year old son on your own. After being widowed at 30 and going out on awful dates with disgusting men for the past month, you have decided that you're giving up. You already had your great love. One person can't possibly get lucky enough to have two in their lifetime. But then your son starts playing baseball and the coach might just change your mind about that.

No posting schedule.

18+ only for eventual smut

Word Count: 7.3K

1

“It seems to be just a case of the common cold,” you told the worried mother. “Dr. Wilson said she just needs rest and to make sure she drinks lots of fluids. She should be back to herself within a few days.”

“Thanks. I know I’m probably being silly rushing her in here but she kept waking up last night, crying, and I’m all alone. I’ve just been exhausted having to do everything on my own. It’s been so hard. And with her not feeling well, neither of us have gotten much sleep the last few days. My husband’s in the Air Force and he’s currently deployed and we don’t know when he’s going to get to come back home and my parents live three hundred miles away.”

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Let the feeling come. Acknowledge the feeling and then move forward. You closed your eyes for a moment, centering yourself, not letting this one burrow too far in before you forced it back. Maybe you weren't supposed to push them away but sometimes it was necessary. Like now. You couldn’t be the nurse who assured the nervous mother if you were busy trying to find three things to look at, smell, and move. It wasn’t reassuring to have your medical professional falling apart in front of you.

Pressing your index finger to your thumb, you allowed yourself to feel the sensation, to know you were here. You weren't back there. No one was waiting on the other side of the door to give you the news that would send a wrecking ball through the middle of your life, destroying and altering it forever. You were strong. You were handling it. You were moving forward. Opening your eyes, you put on your best smile. 

“Of course. I can’t imagine how challenging that must be for you.” Actually, you could, but this was not the time or place to share your own story. This was the time to be an empathetic ear, to listen to your patient. It was not the time to unpack your own trauma or make this about yourself. “Please, no need to apologize. You call us whenever you need to. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

The mother thanked you, lifting her three year old into her arms. You directed her which way to go. Parents often got a bit turned around in this place, the hallways like a maze to the various exam rooms, like a figure eight. This practice was a thriving one, one that kept you very busy, your days packed with back-to-back appointments. But you preferred it that way. It made your days go faster. 

After you finished college with your Bachelor’s of Science in nursing, you had immediately gotten a job at the local hospital. You'd loved it. The hours were long and you were exhausted all the time but it had been fast-paced and so rewarding. However, it had also been heartbreaking as some children who came into the hospital were there to stay and would never again leave. They would never get tucked into their own bed again, never run through their own backyard again, never sit on the floor of their living room on a Saturday morning eating cereal while watching cartoons again. The job had not just been physically exhausting but mentally and emotionally exhausting as well. 

After you'd found out you were expecting Eli, Justin had suggested that maybe you needed something a bit more predictable. It would be hard for you to work twelve hour shifts with a baby at home. It would be even harder to watch children suffer, watch parents in the darkest moments of their lives, when you had a little one at home. You weren't sure how you could face that kind of heartbreak and then go home to your own child, hoping it never happened to you.

Still, you wouldn’t have given it up if it weren’t for Justin being in the military. With his job, he would often be gone for months at a time, leaving you alone. It hadn’t been a problem before but with your parents living across the country and his parents more than three hours away, you were limited when it came to help. So, you'd applied to the new local pediatrician's office, delighted when you got a call that same week, inviting you in for an interview. 

You'd been there ever since, watching as Dr. Wilson’s practice grew. He was young, just a bit older than you, and new to the job but his warm demeanor and empathetic ear quickly had every mom in town bringing their child to him. It probably didn’t hurt that he was pretty damn good looking too. 

“Hey Rita, I’m going to take my lunch if I don’t have any more patients for a bit,” you told your receptionist as you placed the child’s file into the cabinet. 

“That’s fine. Your next appointment isn’t for an hour so you’re good. I’ll have Sarah handle anything that pops up while you’re out.”

“Thanks.”

You grabbed your lunch bag from the fridge and made your way out of the office, heading for the pond. When it was nice out, you always chose to eat your lunch out here, a little escape from the fluorescent lights and germs of the office. Finding a bench, you sat down, pulling out your bologna sandwich. It wasn’t your usual choice but it had simply felt easier to make two this morning instead of trying to come up with something else for yourself. 

You pulled out your phone, dialing the number of the one person you'd been desperate to talk to after the events of yesterday. Janice was a photographer. She did great business and had multiple clients who came back to her again and again for family portraits, baby pictures, and senior photos. She worked from home, which also meant her hours were flexible and she was almost always available to take your calls. Sure enough, your best friend picked up after two rings. 

“Are you sitting under your tree?”

You laughed, “How did you know?”

“Because it’s your lunchtime and that’s what you always do when the sun is shining. Are the geese around?”

“Yep. The five little babies are swimming with mom and dad. They’re so cute. Little brown fluffballs that look so soft and sweet. I just want to cuddle them.”

“I wouldn’t try it. Geese can be nasty.”

“You don’t have to tell me. Remember when Eli was two and he wanted to feed them and those two geese hissed and opened their wings wide when he got too close. We didn’t know they had a nest right there. I know they were just protecting their babies but that scared the shit out of me.”

“Well, Eli’s your baby. Of course you were scared,” Janice laughed. “Oh my god. That poor kid. He won’t go anywhere near them now. It cemented itself into his brain and gave him a complex. He’ll probably hate those feathered fiends for the rest of his life. So, how was his first baseball practice? Did he love it? Matt can’t wait to talk to him about it.”

“He did. He talked my ear off the whole way home. His best friend is on his team and his coach is the kid’s dad. He loves him and said he was so nice and fun. He’s really patient with the kids. When Eli missed the ball for the third time, he was so upset with himself. The coach was so sweet, giving him some pointers, and assuring him he could do it.”

“Oh…okay, hold on. Wait a minute. Why do you sound like that when you’re talking about his coach?”

“Like what?” you demanded. 

“Like you did in high school when you used to talk about Josh.”

“What? No I don’t.”

“Yeah you do! You’re all gushy. You sound like a Disney princess about to break into song among the forest animals who are going to help you clean your home about the guy you just met in the woods.”

You snorted, “Oh please. No I don’t. I’m just glad that his coach is so kind since Eli is new at this.”

“Uh-huh…so, this coach isn’t cute?”

“I mean, yeah, he is…objectively speaking, most women would say he was very attractive.”

“Most women, huh? And what about you?”

“Yes, okay? Yes, I think he’s very attractive. Anyone with eyes would see that he is good-looking. You should have heard the moms at practice going on about his ass. Married moms basically saying they would cheat on their husbands for this guy. I swear, the housewives club is scary. But it’s just…he’s just Eli’s coach. His son is coming over to our house later today to play with Eli.”

Steve was attractive. Hell, he was possibly the most attractive man you'd ever laid eyes on and that made the guilt just twist in your stomach even harder. Justin had been the love of your life. How could you be so turned around by some guy you barely even knew? You'd spoken for all of three minutes. You didn’t know anything about him besides the fact that he coached kids baseball. 

“Oh, is he now?”

“Janice, stop. Eli and Jeremiah have become best friends this year and Eli asked forever ago if he could come over and I completely forgot about it and it never happened. He asked again yesterday so I promised him I would set it up. That’s all it is.”

“And is his dad coming over to play too?”

You groaned, your hand coming to y our forehead, “Do you have to say it like that? And no he’s not. He has a work meeting. So, I’m kind of helping him out, I guess, but not really because I was going to invite the kid over anyway.”

“So, he’s just dropping him off and picking him up?”

“Well, he may have offered to grab a pizza on his way back to thank me for watching his kid. Which is completely unnecessary because I asked for him to come over before he ever told me about his meeting. I wouldn’t even have known I was babysitting for him if he wouldn’t have told me about it. I never would have expected him to hang around while our kids hung out.”

“Hmm, so you’re going to be having dinner with him, then?”

“And our kids,” you reminded her. 

Janice had this all wrong. Of course she did. He was just being friendly. Your kids were friends and they wanted to spend time together. He’d said it himself, you were helping him out of a bind with childcare issues. That was all. He was just being nice and buying everybody dinner. Your sons were going to be there. It wasn’t like it was a date. 

“Still. You know, I said maybe you could find a hot, single dad at practice and look at you, finding one on the first go! He is single, right?”

“I think so. He said his best friend was busy and he had no one else to watch Jeremiah. That would make me think the mom isn’t in the picture but I honestly have no idea. We barely talked because he had to start the practice.”

“Well, you should have plenty of time to talk tonight and get clarification on his status.”

“I don’t need clarification on his status. I told you, I’m done with all of that. I had Justin. There is no way I will ever find anything that can begin to compare with what we had.”

“You definitely won’t if you just throw in the towel. Come on, Aly. Would it really be so bad to just talk to him a bit? I’m not saying you have to jump his bones tonight. I mean, probably wouldn’t hurt. You haven’t been laid in two years, my friend. Your vagina could use some airing out. Clear all the cobwebs that have settled, you know?”

“Jesus, you are so foul,” you sighed, catching sight of a young family heading into the office. The dad had a little boy on his shoulders. He said something to the mom and she grinned, leaning up onto her toes to kiss him. The sight sent familiar pangs of the loss of what could have been, what should have been, through you. 

“Maybe but you know I’m right. Anyway, if you’re going to be such a prude, then just talk to him. Be his friend. If your kids like each other that much, chances are this won’t be the only time you’re around each other. And then who knows?”

“Yeah…who knows…” you sighed, thinking you did know. The universe was never going to let you get that lucky twice. Something had to be wrong with this guy.

___________________________________________________________

You folded the towel from the dryer as you watched Jeremiah and Eli race around the backyard, dressed up in Eli’s superhero costumes. Your son had an entire bin of them. He was obsessed. Comic books and action figures covered the shelves in his bedroom. Eli had always loved superheroes but Matt, who was a self-proclaimed, very proud nerd, had gotten him into comics. Most of the items Eli now had came from Matt himself, stuff he’d kept since he was a kid.

You'd survived the drop-off, being cordial and friendly without giving off any signals that you were interested in anything more. At least, you thought you were. It was hard to concentrate when that man looked so damn good, standing there in gray slacks and a yellow sweater. When his cologne hit your olfactory nerves, a woodsy scent of sandalwood and pine, you had gripped the door frame, fighting back the swoon that was quickly coming on. But no, you were sure you kept things professional, just two parents in the midst of an exchange for a playdate. 

Besides, you weren't even sure you were interested in anything more. You didn’t even know how to do more at this point. It had been so long since you'd spent real time with any man that wasn’t Justin or Matt. And even if Janice kept pushing you to move on, even if it had been two years, you weren't sure you were ready. 

And you weren't sure if Eli would be ready. His therapist said he was doing well. He had adjusted as best as you could expect a child who’d lost his father to adjust. But did that mean he was ready to see his mom with a new guy? Was it fair to bring someone new into his life that could just disappear? What if you started something with someone and it ended badly and he lost another male figure and his best friend at the same time? Would he be so well adjusted then? He had settled into their routine, him and you against the world. You weren't sure you could change that on him. 

He’d only been five when it happened but you had made sure that he’d never forgotten his daddy. A picture of him and Justin sat on his nightstand by his bed. It was one of your favorites, taken at the pumpkin farm when Eli was four. He held a giant pumpkin, looking so proud, when really Justin was holding the bottom of it for him, both of them beaming their matching smiles. 

The two of you talked about him often, you sharing stories with him of you and Justin and him and Justin. Reminded him how much his daddy had loved him. You couldn’t allow him to forget. You couldn’t do that to Justin whose smile could have lit up the entire planet the first time he laid eyes on his son. 

“Mommy! We’re hungry!” Eli yelled as he and Jeremiah came racing in the back door. 

You glanced over at the clock, “Well, Jeremiah’s dad is bringing pizza and he should be here any minute. Do you think Superman and Batman can wait just a few minutes to eat?”

Eli groaned, dramatically tumbling down to the floor, “But fighting crime and saving the world is hard work. It makes us so hungry, mommy.”

“Okay…how about you two have some strawberries?” you offered, thinking it wouldn’t be too filling and it would get something good in their system before they loaded up on carbs and cheese. 

“Strawberries!” Jeremiah’s eyes lit up. “They’re my favorite fruit. Daddy takes me strawberry picking every single year and we get a ton. My daddy makes strawberry jam and it’s so good on my toast.” His eyes went wide, shooting over to Eli. “Hey! I’ll ask my dad if you guys can come this year! It’s super fun. They have goats, cows, chickens, and ponies that you can ride!”

“Can we mommy?” Eli asked, turning those sweet blue eyes up at you. 

“I…uh…I mean, strawberry picking around here isn’t for another month or so. But, maybe, I guess? I mean, if Eli’s daddy wants to take you too, that would be fine.”

“You can come too!” Jeremiah told you. “They have other stuff there like fancy soaps and stuff that they make. My mommy used to like those.”

“Oh, well, maybe…” you muttered as you busied yourself with getting out the strawberries. You ran them under water before working at slicing them onto a plate for the boys to share. 

His mommy used to like those? So, she’d been around during his life, obviously. Enough for him to remember going strawberry picking with them. Unless, like Eli, he was repeating stories his dad had shared with him.  Where was she now? Had she left? Had she died? You couldn’t very well ask a little boy. What if she had passed? You couldn’t bring up that pain for him. 

“Did we ever go strawberry picking with daddy?” asked Eli as the boys sat down at the table, the plate of strawberries between them.

You swallowed, “No. We didn’t go strawberry picking but we used to go to the apple orchard every fall and daddy would put you up on his shoulders so you could get the apples. And we always went to the pumpkin farm too.”

“We still do that!”

“Yes we do,” you smiled as you washed your hands. You worked so hard to keep the traditions that you and Justin started alive. It was another way for you to remind your son how incredible the five short years he had with his dad was. You looked up when there was a knock at the door, drying your hands on a kitchen towel. “I bet that’s Jeremiah’s daddy with the pizza.”

Smoothing your hands over your hair, you inhaled deeply, reminding yourself that this was just two parents whose kids had become best friends getting to know each other. No pressure. No reason to be nervous. You were simply trying to be good parents. 

Grabbing onto the door, you swung it open, only to feel like the entire world had turned upside down at the sight of Steve. There he stood in those slacks and that yellow sweater that looked so damn good on him. Not many people could pull off yellow but boy, he could. His right arm was raised, two pizza boxes balancing on his hand and a smile that could have outshone the sun on his face. 

“Pizza, as promised,” he announced. 

Gathering yourself, you returned his smile, “The boys will be very relieved. Superman and Batman have been battling the forces of evil all afternoon and they are wasting away to nothing.”

Steve’s cheeks hollowed out as he released a long, audible breath, “Can’t have that. How will they ever keep the city safe if we don’t recharge them with greasy pizza? But seriously, I hope he was good for you.”

“He was great,” you assured him. “Seriously.”

“Good. Thanks again. You were a real lifesaver.”

“No problem. I…”

“Daddy! Where’s the pizza!?” came Jeremiah’s whine from the kitchen, loud and impatient. 

“Sorry. It’s right here.” Steve grinned, tossing you a wink that had you dazed, before making his way into the kitchen, plopping the boxes down in the middle of the table. “We can’t have Superman and Batman losing their strength. Have to keep them fed so they can keep the city safe. Are we currently in Gotham or Metropolis?”

“Daddy,” Jeremiah sighed, looking exasperated with his father. “Everyone knows both of those places are based on New York City. Then we can be there together.”

“Oh, sorry,” snorted Steve, sharing an amused look with you. “I am not as well versed in superhero lore as you.”

“I know. Uncle Dusty knows way more than you.”

“Of course he does because Uncle Dusty is so much cooler than your boring, old dad.” Steve rolled his eyes, pulling out the chair next to Jeremiah and having a seat. 

“You have a brother?” you asked as you stretched your arm up to retrieve the plastic paper plate holders from the top shelf. Turning, your breath caught in your throat. Steve’s eyes were watching you, focused on your midsection, right where your sweater had ridden up when you'd reached for the plates. He quickly looked down at his son as you cleared your throat and set the holders and plates on the table. 

“Uhh…no. I mean, not really,” he laughed. “Dustin isn’t actually my brother. I used to babysit him actually. I helped him out one day. There were some older kids picking on him and his friends at the park and I stepped in. Anyway, he went home and told his mom about this cool teenager and she tracked me down and asked if I’d be interested in babysitting. I think she really just wanted him to have a guy in his life. His dad died when he was young and he was an only child. Anyway, he was ten and I was sixteen and he just latched on like a leech and stuck. So…” He balanced his elbows on the table, hands facing up. “I guess he’s mine now. Him and Jere, here, are really close. Jere is into all the nerdy stuff that Dustin likes so Dustin is like his hero.”

“Uncle Dusty is amazing! He taught me how to make a homemade rocket,” Jeremiah told you, his smile so like his dad’s. 

But his eyes were different, a beautiful blue like the color of the ocean on a sunny day. And his nose was rounded, a cute little button, the complete opposite of Steve’s which was longer and pointed, almost Romanesque. He must have gotten those features from his mom, which left you wondering where she was again. 

“Yeah, and you almost burned the garage down. That thing singed the walls. I had to pull out the fire extinguisher,” Steve reminded his son, grabbing plates and placing them into the holders. 

Eli’s eyes went wide, “You almost started a fire?”

“Only a little one but you should have seen the rocket. It zoomed around the garage and then flew out and went bang! It was so cool.”

“Yeah, real cool,” Steve rolled his eyes. 

“Daddy, did you get just cheese?” asked Jeremiah as Steve moved to open one of the boxes.

“Of course, kid. Do you think I’m new here?” He reached over, ruffling his son’s hair, causing Jeremiah to giggle and that familiar pain, the pain that reminded you of everything your son was missing out on, tightened around you once again. Steve looked up at you. “I got one cheese and one pepperoni. I figured those were safe bets since I don’t know what either of you like. Hope that’s okay?”

“I love cheese too!” Eli told him eagerly, grinning over at Steve. “And mommy usually gets bacon and pineapple for herself but she likes all pizza. Pizza is our favorite food. We have it every Friday and watch a movie.”

“Pineapple on pizza?” Steve questioned skeptically, that beautiful nose crinkling. 

“Hey, don’t knock it until you try it,” you teased with a laugh, pouring milk for the kids. “My husb…” You paused, swallowing hard before taking the seat between Steve and Eli. But why shouldn’t you talk about Justin? Steve had to know Eli didn’t arrive by immaculate conception. “My husband thought I was crazy too. He was more of a pepperoni and green onions kind of guy. But my roommate in college is the one who got me into it. She ordered it one night and I was skeptical too but the combination of sweet and savory is delicious.”

“I think I’ll just have to take your word on that one,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “Fruit on pizza.” He looked over at the boys, one of those long, thick fingers swirling around by his ear. “Can you believe that? She’s nuts.”

Eli giggled as Steve plopped a piece of cheese on his plate, “My mommy can be crazy. Sometimes we do backward dinner.”

Steve’s lips pursed, head tilted, “Backward dinner? What’s that?”

“It’s where we have dessert first. So, we’ll have hot fudge sundaes and then we’ll have chicken nuggets and vegetables. It’s my favorite kind of dinner because I don’t have to eat all my vegetables before I get my dessert.”

“Oh, that does sound like a good deal because dessert is the best part of the meal,” Steve agreed with a nod. 

“I mean, it’s only done sometimes as a special treat.” You didn’t know why you felt the need to justify yourself but you did. “I do make sure he eats healthy.”

Steve laughed, “I’m sure you do. Sometimes Jere Bear and I like to have ice cream for dinner, don’t we?”

“Yeah! My daddy used to work at Scoops Ahoy and they have the best ice cream! I always get a banana split and daddy gets the U.S.S. Butterscotch.”

“Mmm, the U.S.S. Butterscotch is my favorite,” you grinned. “Eli always gets the hot fudge sundae.”

“With extra fudge!” he added. 

“Obviously,” Steve scoffed. “You can never have too much fudge.”

“So, how long ago was this when you worked at Scoops Ahoy?” you asked, picturing him in their little sailor outfit. You couldn’t deny that it gave you a little thrill of pleasure.

“Oh god, it’s been years now. I worked there right out of high school. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and when I couldn’t even get into community college, my father forced me to get a job. Said I needed to know what it was like to earn a working man’s wage.” He snorted harshly, leaving you with the impression that his relationship with his father wasn’t a particularly good one. “Anyway, I worked there for a couple years. That’s actually how I met my best friend, Robin.”

“And I assume you did figure out what you wanted to do with your life since you had a work meeting tonight?”

Steve took a large bite of his pizza, the slice folded up in his hand, “I’m a project manager for a construction company.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that job. What exactly do you do?”

“I oversee the building process, make sure everything is completed on time and within budget. I work with the architects and the engineers to develop plans, establish timelines for different phases to be complete, and calculate what labor and materials are going to cost. That’s what my meeting was about tonight actually. We just got a contract for a new subdivision they’re putting in off of Cherry. It’s a big job. We’re thinking it’s going to take about two years.”

“Wow, that’s a long time.”

“Not really when you consider we’re building around sixty new houses. It’s a good thing really, means my team will have plenty of work to do for a while. Steady income, you know? Nothing’s worse than having to lay someone off, knowing you’re possibly making their life impossible.”

“What’s laying off?” asked Eli. 

“Well, when we don’t have enough work to do, then we don’t have the money to pay people. So, I have to tell them that we’re letting them go for a while. It’s not really getting fired because you hope you can call them back when there’s more work. They can apply to get money from the government but it’s not nearly as much as they make when they’re working. That can make it hard for them to feed their families and pay their bills.”

“That seems mean,” Eli commented. “Why do you do it?”

“I don’t want to do it. But when the money’s not there, we have no way to pay them. It happens a lot in the wintertime because there’s not as much building when the weather’s bad. That’s why this job is such a good thing because it will be steady work for the next two winters. I won’t have to worry and neither will my guys.”

“Well, that’s good. Did you have to go to school for that or like a trade school?” you inquired. 

“No college. I don’t think I was ever made for college. I struggled through high school. Of course, that could have been because I was interested in everything else but high school. That’s why I’m so glad my kiddo here got his mom’s brains. She was an overachiever, still is. I actually started just like my guys, doing the construction part. I got interested in how the job runs and wound up getting my certification. And about four years ago, they promoted me to project manager.”

So Mom definitely wasn’t gone but then why did he need a babysitter? Maybe she was busy too? Or maybe she lived out of town and they shared custody? And this was none of your business. Why were you so interested in what the situation was with mom? 

“Wow, that’s amazing. You must have really impressed them then. Going to college isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, anyway. I’ve told Eli, it all depends on what you want to do with your life. Some jobs don’t require college and they’re just as important. I mean, you build homes. You provide a space for families to start their lives and make memories. I think that’s pretty important work.”

A flush rose up along his neck, bright red against the yellow of his sweater. A small smile curved his lips as he tapped the table before looking up at you. The boys had long given up on your conversation, deeply entrenched in one of their own about the latest episode of X-men: Evolution. 

“I mean, you work in a pediatrician’s office, right? You help sick kids. I think that might be just a bit more important than what I do. But thanks. What do you do in the office, anyway? Are you the doctor?”

You laughed, “No. That was far more schooling than I was interested in doing. I’m a nurse but honestly, we know just as much as they do. Experience is way more educational than sitting in some class, listening to someone talk about stuff. Sometimes, I think we might know more than the doctors do. But Dr. Wilson is great to work with. He’s not one of those guys that talks down to his nurses or acts like he’s superior because he’s got that M.D. after his name. I worked with plenty of misogynist ego-driven jerks when I worked at the hospital. They act like they’re royalty or something. Dr. Wilson actually trusts us and values our input. He makes us feel like a part of a team instead of a dictatorship.”

The conversation flowed easily, the boys jumping in here and there, all four of you laughing and smiling as you enjoyed your pizza. You could not deny the feeling of rightness in this moment, this moment that was everything you had ever wanted for your son. It was a picture perfect moment in time, this little dinner at your kitchen table full of warmth and laughter. 

And no, you weren't insane. It wasn’t that you were looking at this as a family or that you were jumping ten steps ahead of just this pleasant evening. It was just nice to have a full table, to have it not be just you and Eli, to watch your son enjoying himself. He loved when Matt and Janice came for dinner but this was different. He had his best friend with him, the two boys sending each other into hysterics every thirty seconds.

For just this moment, this little slice of time, the weight had been lifted from your shoulders. The constant guilt that you weren't enough, that you could never be enough for your son. You could never be all of the things that he needed you to be. For just this moment, you thought maybe you didn’t have to be if you could surround him with people who provided everything he needed. 

“Alright, kiddo, we should probably get heading home so you can take a shower before bed,” Steve announced around seven thirty, pushing back from the table and standing up. He gathered the paper plates, tossing them in the trash. “Did you want help cleaning up before we head out?”

You waved your hand dismissively, “Oh no. That’s not necessary. Just a quick wipe down of the holders and popping the cups in the dishwasher. It will only take a couple minutes.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, seriously. No big deal. Besides, you bought the dinner so the least I can do is the clean up.”

“Yes, but I brought the dinner to thank you for watching my kid.”

 “Please. I offered to take him and having Jeremiah here saved me from having to wear the Superman cape and run around with Eli all evening. It was nice to just be an average human instead of a superhero tonight.”

“You’re a nurse,” Steve said with a soft smile, leaning into you, causing your heart to skip a beat. “Pretty sure you’re a superhero all the time.”

“Daddy, can Eli come to our house this weekend? Please? He really wants to meet Miles.”

“Miles?” you asked.

“It’s his dog!” Eli told you excitedly. “He wears capes too! Jeremiah said he can be my sidekick, Robin.”

"Which is silly because that's my Aunt Robin's name," Jeremiah added, "but the cape doesn't fit her so good so she's usually Catwoman because it's a mask and a tail."

Steve laughed, “Sure kid. He can come over. If it’s okay with his mom.”

“Fine with me,” you shrugged. Seeing the joy on your son’s face to get to spend time with his friend was all the reason you needed to readily agree. It definitely did not have to do with having the chance to see his dad again. No. That didn’t factor in at all.

“Okay, well, how about this?” Steve knelt down to his son’s level. “We’ve got baseball practice on Saturday until two. Why don’t we all go get ice cream afterward and then Jeremiah and his mom can come meet Miles afterward?”

“All of us?” you questioned, wondering if you'd heard him correctly.

He rose, head tilting forward, those eyes as warm as a chocolate chip cookie coming right out of the oven, and just as delicious. “Why not? I mean, if you have something else to do…”

“No. No, I don’t. I mean, that would be nice. We haven’t gotten ice cream yet since they opened. And I love dogs. Who doesn’t love dogs? Crazy people, right? So obviously meeting your dog would be fun. I just…I mean…yeah, okay.”

He appeared amused with you once again and you wished you could just pull the foot out of your mouth. It appeared to be permanently wedged there whenever he was around. 

“Good. Maybe we can even have a sleepover.” Your breath caught as his mouth dropped open, eyes going wide, one of those hands running nervously through his hair, sweeping it to the side. “I mean the boys. The boys could have a sleepover. At my house. If you’re okay with that?”

Had he meant what you thought he meant? Had that just been an innocent mistake or was he as attracted to you as you were to him? Trying to let your son hang out with his friend was proving to be far more complicated than you thought it would be when you'd approached him on the baseball field. 

“Yeah.” You weren't sure why. You hadn’t even let Eli stay the night anywhere before but there was just something about Steve that you trusted. “Eli would love that, honestly.”

“You’re gonna sleep at my house!” Jeremiah yelled, grabbing Eli’s hands, the two boys jumping around the kitchen. 

“Obviously, they’re both okay with it,” Steve chuckled, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “So, we’ll see you Saturday at practice?”

“Yeah. Saturday.”

You said your goodbyes, the boys both still screeching, talking about how it was only two more sleeps until their sleepover. Steve gave you one last smile and a little finger wave before turning and taking his son’s hand, leading him to his Ford Explorer that was parked just behind your Prius. 

“Mommy, are you and Jeremiah’s dad friends now too?”

“Kind of, I guess,” you shrugged.

“Cool because if you’re friends and want to play with each other all the time then me and Eli can play with each other all the time too!”

You gripped the door, closing it slowly behind you. Your son had no idea the implications of what he’d just said but you definitely did. Your entire body was vibrating with the implications of what he’d just said.

___________________________________________________________

“Daddy, when Eli spends the night can we make a fort like the one we made that one time where it was the whole living room? Remember? And we put up the Christmas lights inside and we put in our sleeping bags and pillows.”

Steve blinked, glancing up at his son in the rearview mirror. He’d completely missed everything that his kid had just said. The boy had been rambling from the moment they’d gotten in the car and he was having trouble focusing, his thoughts completely focused on the last hour of his day. 

You had been consuming all of his brain space since you'd approached him yesterday on the baseball field. Yeah, you were gorgeous. He’d noticed that instantly. Who wouldn’t? But there was something else about you, something that wouldn’t let his brain rest, something that kept poking at him, telling him to do something about these feelings you were stirring up inside him. 

And it had been so long since he’d had anything stirring inside of him. After him and Nancy had split four years ago, Steve had jumped right into another relationship. He struggled with being alone. According to Robin, it was his dysfunctional childhood. The little boy inside of him who never got the love he needed from his parents, constantly seeking it out in someone else. 

According to Robin, that was why he’d married Nancy even though the two of them had been all wrong for each other. He clung to the first solid thing that had come along and refused to see any of the millions of little signs that it wasn’t working. Of course, that was according to Robin, his best friend who thought she knew more about the internal workings of his mind than he did.

He’d dated Stacy for a year, convinced himself that she was the one, told Robin he was thinking of proposing and his obnoxious friend had slapped him upside the head. To be fair, he probably needed a good jarring, something to knock some sense into him. Marrying Stacy would have led to him being twice divorced. She had been even worse for him than Nancy. 

Not that there was anything wrong with Nance. No, she was amazing. She was smart, beautiful, kind, and an absolutely wonderful mother. Neither of them had ever cheated or hurt the other. They simply just weren’t a good fit. It seemed so obvious now when he could see how well her and Jonathan slid together, like two puzzle pieces locking into place perfectly. 

He’d dated a few other women after Stacy, most recently Janet, a single mother that he met at the park last summer. They’d made it about four months before he saw it was going nowhere. She was clingy, pushing for them to move in together, and it was in that moment that he realized he could not see a future with her. The idea of waking up next to her every day was exhausting. He’d ended it and she had not taken it well, calling him every name in the book, very loudly, in the middle of the restaurant he’d taken her to to try to soften the blow.

Steve didn’t lack for options. It felt like the moms of this town were throwing themselves at him constantly, some of them not even single. But none of them fit. None of them made him feel that thing, that thing that Robin said was like the Big Bang, everything exploding and then rearranging into this perfect arrangement. She kept telling him it was called falling in love, not forcing in love. He needed to stop trying to make it happen and just let it come to him. Yeah, well, that was easy for her to see, the girl who’d found the right person in high school.

Was that what he was doing right now? Was he just trying to force something to be what he wanted? Your kids were friends. You'd approached him because you wanted to set up a time for your sons to be able to play. It could be that simple. You might not even be interested in him or in anything. 

He knew your husband had died. Jere had told him that Eli’s dad was in heaven. But he didn’t know how and he didn’t know how long ago. Maybe you were still freshly grieving. You'd definitely struggled when you were talking about him tonight. If you were still in the midst of your grief, the last thing you needed was some guy trying to push you to go out with him sometime. 

No, he probably needed to just take a step back. Cool it off. Yeah, you were beautiful and you seemed far more real than most of the women in this town who were interested in him. But if he tried to force something that wasn’t there, he wouldn’t be the only one to suffer. Jere would too because he would inevitably lose his best friend when things went south. He couldn’t do that to him. 

“Daddy, are you even listening to me?” Jeremiah huffed from the backseat, breaking through Steve’s thoughts. 

“I’m sorry buddy. What did you say?”

“I said can we make a big fort when Eli comes with the lights and our sleeping bags and stuff?”

“Oh yeah. Of course, bud. We can definitely do that. You want to make some s’mores too?”

“Yeah! And can we have popcorn and watch the new Scooby Doo movie too?”

“Absolutely!” Steve replied, grinning in the mirror. “And I can grill some hamburgers and hot dogs. We’ll make it the best sleepover ever, kid.”

His son’s smile stretched from ear to ear, reminding Steve why he very much needed to focus on his son’s happiness instead of his loneliness. No, he didn’t need to jump into another relationship with some woman he’d just met. He was just seeing things he wanted to see, trying to rearrange the pieces into the image he was so desperate for.

“Is Eli's mommy gonna sleepover too? Our fort will be big enough.”

“Uh, no buddy,” Steve answered. “She’s gonna come over and see Miles but she’s not staying.”

“Why not? Don’t you want a friend, daddy?”

Yeah, he did. More than his son could possibly know.

Chapter 3

Taglist: @katethetank

If you wanted to be added to the taglist, just let me know. 😊

[mrghostrat]

i was hoping to stream this afternoon but i woke with my shoulders hurting so bad that i have absolutely zero capacity for anything. to the point where i experienced my first autistic rumbles in the supermarket 🥸 but i have adhd meds now so maybe we can try tomorrow.

zita's suspected i'm on the spectrum for a little while now, but i've always been on the fence about it. there's a lot i don't relate to. but most of that is bc i have so much learned behaviour, and i mask really well. when i try to break down how i think for autism diagnostic quizzes, my gut reactions DO fit the bill, but they are so so so buried under 30 years of life experience that feels like it comes naturally.

but i am an introvert. an extreme introvert. even while living alone with my best friend, who i get on perfectly with and feel zero need to mask around, i still need to excuse myself and be left alone in my room from 10pm at LEAST.

so i only really unmask when i'm dead alone. even though i dont feel like i'm putting up any kind of front around of zita, i still do, automatically. the only time i see myself completely bare is when i'm alone and it's silent and there is absolutely nothing challenging my comfort.

sooooo hoooooo boy waking up in pain, with zero capacity to even finish a thought, still empty of ADHD medication because of the fuckin manufacturing shortage (thankfully today's trip into town was to finally pick some up! but that wasn't until noon), i got to see a side of myself i don't know if i've ever actually seen before? maybe as a kid but i can't remember specifically that far back?

i've been short tempered and overwhelmed and exposed to sensory nightmares whilst home alone before, but it's usually so quick bc i'm at HOME and i can adjust the situation and i never think much of it. i felt like a bluescreen at that supermarket today, popping in for less than 10 things across 3 aisles.

it was so busy. there were so many people. i felt dread just to walk through it, so aware of my own body and the space i had to inhabit. but par for the course so far. what was less par for the course was having to stop and look at my list every 3 steps, unable to put together a course of action in my head: chicken is on the far left, so we grab that first and get broccoli on our way to the soup aisle. but the broccoli is right there. do i grab that first, go get the chicken, but then double back from where i just came? i might get myself some bananas too, how do i fit that into my path—

i had to keep stopping and looking at my list because every item i thought of made me forget the previous one i just looked at. eventually got fed up with myself and went to the closest thing and started there, regardless of whether i'd have to double back or not. that's what trips me when i take these quizzes n shit. i can get over the hump and do the task in the end, so that must mean i'm totally allistic! no autism here.

i remember thinking "jesus christ this is bad" when i was on my way to get zita's soup (if you've read this far, thank you and kisses to you, pls send some loving vibes to zita by reading her fic i just reblogged, bc she's got a cold and is miserable today) so i was kinda aware i was having a bad sensory day. as expected: there were a lot of people there, and i was in pain. but i just short circuited looking at soup. zita gave me the brand name and soup type of 3 cans she wanted. and i went to the aisle i've been to a thousand times, found the brand, and just stared. it was all stew. all chunky brothy things with bits in. not a single creamy soup in sight, so, the soup must be somewhere else.

i came to that conclusion immediately but i couldn't. process it? or like, what to do with that information. the soup is somewhere else. OR IS IT? keep looking at this shelf to make sure, your eyes are tired, you might've missed it. there's like 20 different cans of campbells here, just keep reading them left to right until soup appears. still no soup? read them again, you might've missed it. maybe campbell's is out of soup? read every other brand here until you Don't see soup, then you can walk away and try somewhere else. but if you don't see any soup, read it again because you might've missed it.

thankfully it took all of 30 fuckin seconds for a store employee who was shelving next to me to see my glazed fuckin stare and ask if i needed a hand with anything. and i stammered through some "haha my silly eyes today!! haha thanks! sorry, thank you!" as she happily pointed like 3 metres down the aisle for me, while my internal monologue immediately raged like "wtf why would they put the soup that far away but also barely far away at all, what's the point, bad design 😡"

got soup. check list: packet of gravy. zita told me the gravy was in the same section as the soup. it was not. i walked up and down that aisle five times and there was no gravy. i just. i had completely forgotten how to problem solve. it was the strangest, most frustrating experience. like i was looking at an empty word document in my brain, with a little flashing cursor and everything, so i knew it hadn't frozen over. it was just empty.

i even had the thought "just walk up and down the aisles until you find gravy; you have to do this all the time" and even had ideas of which aisles to start with. but my brain said no. we're not going to walk around aimlessly, even if we have a neat little structure and path to follow. we were told (by myself, too) this would be a quick in out trip, pluck the known items off the shelf and beeline straight for the checkout. so meandering down aisles was for some reason non negotiable. i wasn't in a rush. i had nothing to do today. i barely even felt a rush to get out of there, as busy as it was. it just wasn't an option.

so rather than start solving that problem i just jumped to the next thing on the list. strepsils. text to ask what kind she wants, have a whine about my broken brain, ask if she knows where the gravy is. remember when i pass the hair brushes that i broke my hairbrush this morning and need a new one!! oh and i've been wanting new hairclips too. look at me picking a new hairbrush and poking through the hairclips for one that i know will feel comfortable against my scalp, i'm not autistic because i can change my plans and make decisions on the fly.

oops didn't mean for this post to be an entire play by play of my thoughts through this extremely bland grocery shop. i cannot believe how long i stood there choosing soup. the line at the self checkout was so long and i felt the dread kick up again. barely/silently whispered "oh god" to myself when i realised the line, but repeated it about 20 times to feel the tap of my tongue against the roof of my mouth before i realised i was doing it. stop that, don't mutter to yourself. but i'm standing still in a line and there's nothing left to (ineffectually) problem solve, so the second i stop i notice a weird little slice in the plastic around the trolley handle that i can't stop flicking my thumbnail against.

OK. we need to stim. heard, chef. just click your piercing ffs. your mouth might look weird when you do it but at least everyone can see you're just clicking your teeth against your piercing, rather than talking to yourself or damaging public property.

something made a noise, can't even remember if it was a child or a trolley or what, some loud sharp single high pitched screech a few metres away, and i jolted so hard i thought i felt like i was going to throw up. finally think, fucking hell i'm autistic today. my back hurts. which is making my head hurt. i want to go home and take my vyvanse.

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, today we have the fourth part of our rec list of bottom Louis fics where Louis and Harry are friends who become lovers. If you'd like to check out the previous rec lists, you can find part one here, part two here, and part three here. If you enjoy our rec lists, please be sure to like and reblog this post to help spread the word.

Happy reading!

1) Truth Or Drink | Explicit | 5,548 words

Harry isn’t nervous. Of course he isn’t. He has done much more intimidating things than this. He has had sex with at least 100 men, and a few women along the way, while being filmed and watched by another 20 pairs of eyes. But for some reason the thought of doing this sounds a hundred times worse. He can feel his insides churning and sweat is starting to form on his palms. Sure, sex is Harry’s job and it has been for as long as he can remember. He doesn’t mind having a crowd of people watching him anymore, and everything is always quite professional. At the beginning things might have been a bit challenging but now it’s almost second nature. This, though, is more distressing than anything he has ever done before.

2) Incalescent | Explicit | 5,649 words

The onset of heat is something Louis still hasn’t learned to recognize.

3) You Step Where Words Are Written, Delicate Under Your Feet | Mature | 6,495 words

Prompt 513: A fic where Louis gives Harry a footjob over his pants while they're watching TV and Harry finds out he has a thing for Louis' feet.

4) Kiss It Better | Mature | 8,080 words

Harry shakes his head with a light laugh and leans down to kiss him again which Louis happily accepts even if he is a little confused by the reaction. "Baby, not a night has gone by that I haven't thought about you in my bed, naked, and begging for my cock." Blinking up at him with wide eyes, Louis opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out. While they did flirt a lot over the last few weeks, Harry had never said anything like that. It shocks him as much as it turns him on. "News to me." "I won't lie and say I like random hookups or casual sex, but to me this isn't what that is." Louis swallows thickly, unsure of what to say to that but once again Harry gives him an out. "So, If you want we can stay up here and I can show you all the things I've thought about doing to you." Another kiss, quick and sweet. "Or, we can go back downstairs and we'll dance all night."

5) To Love Without Reason | Explicit | 8,854 words

“Come on in, soldier,” Louis pats Harry’s chest and walks away, leaving Harry to follow behind. Harry stands in the living room, looking around at Louis’ dwelling. Family pictures placed high on a shelf, certificates of Louis’ practice, and other trinkets that make Harry entirely too nostalgic. “I have to warn you,” Louis says as he puts the kettle on, the water droplets from his hair trickling down the golden skin of his back. “The door jams if you lock it so you'll have to leave it ajar.” Harry acknowledges with a soft hum, too entranced by Louis’ glistening skin to form a coherent reply.

6) I Would Wait Forever (And Ever) | Not Rated | 10,018 words

Louis is brave but has the worst timing in the world, Harry doesn't want to lose his best friend and they just don't communicate enough.

7) If I Saw You Every Day Forever | Mature | 10,685 words

There really should be a statute on the number of dates one can go to because how much longer does Louis have to suffer through this? A modern AU in which Louis might have accidentally signed up for something he probably shouldn't.

8) Wait Until You're Sure | Explicit | 13,042 words

Prompt 465: Louis and Harry are best friends who made a pact. If neither of them has found love by the time they’re 30, then they’ll get married. It was all laughter and fun until Harry realizes they’re celebrating his 30th birthday and in a few months, Louis is gonna be 30 too. So, he struggles to find someone for Louis to avoid being together, but Louis just keeps rejecting all men Harry introduces to him (because he has feeling for him, of course), which really upsets Harry. They argue about that and Louis says something like “wow, it’s that bad to be with me?,” accepting that Harry simply doesn’t feel the same. Louis moves for a couple of months with another friend and Harry has all this time to understand his feelings, realizing that he loves Louis too and wants to be with him. But when he goes to tell him, Louis is already seeing someone else. So what’s Harry gonna do to get Louis back?

9) Candle Wax & Polaroids On The Hardwood Floor | Explicit | 13,082 words

Prompt 463: Clumsy modern witch Louis AU where he accidentally gives his roommate Harry a love potion and he has a crisis because he thinks he will get in trouble with the law for technically poisoning someone and Harry’s heart eyes aren’t helping.

10) Blackberries And Cherries | Explicit | 13,894 words

Louis is a witch and Harry is his human friend. When Harry needs help focusing on his schoolwork, the obvious solution is to ask Louis for a potion. You could say things don’t go quite right.

11) Bend The Rules | Explicit | 16,823 words

Prompt 588: Lous hires a ‘ghost cooking’ service because his family is worried he’s not eating well and he wants to impress them by showing them what an amazing cook he’s become. The service includes sending a discreet cook to your house and have them get everything ready so that you only serve and take the credit. Problem is, his sisters (can be OCs if that’s more comfortable) get to his flat earlier than planned and the actual cook has to hide in the master bathroom for hours. Louis is mortified. The cook is amused and helps him to clean and well. Gives him a thorough service. Feel free to pick your fave as the cook.

12) Swap Me For Your Shadow | Explicit | 16,829 words

If Louis thought being in love with his best friend was a knife that continually twisted into his heart before, it was nothing compared to when Harry started to go around talking about having fallen for someone else. A 5+1 fic; 5 times Louis has to listen to Harry’s vague confessions of love for his ‘omega friend’ and the 1 time Louis snaps and confesses his love for Harry.

13) Sometimes A Fantasy | Explicit | 18,654 words

There’s nothing to complain about when Harry’s walking around their flat with his cock swinging about, nothing to complain about when Harry’s pressing himself up against Louis’ naked backside when he’s reaching for a mug in their cupboards, and nothing to complain about when Harry’s got his hand firm on Louis’ arse when they’re cuddling on the couch. So, in reality, it’s really fucking weird, and Louis knows that. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like it.

14) Lonely Shadow Dancers | Explicit |20,838 words

“Mm,” Harry’s arms circle him, and their fumbling somehow turns into a cuddle session, “still can’t believe we’re here together.” Growing up with someone, one tends to become used to another. Used to the mannerisms and personality of them. Used to the changes and the things that stay the same. Harry hit puberty and sprung up into this cheeky curly flirt of an alpha and Louis still hasn’t found the time to get used to it. His stomach flutters and he bites back a stupid smile and wonders if he ever will.

15) The Mess We Created | Explicit | 21,099 words

An innocent one night stand changed into something more than that.

16) Not Safe For Work | Explicit | 23,295 words

I want to drown myself in Harry’s scent until I smell like him. “I think I'm open to trying that too. Sounds very good.” Louis shakes his head a little to get out of the Harry’s-scent-spiral. “Huh?” “The dish your finger's pointing at. I thought that might be what you’re choosing?” “Oh. Yeah.”

17) Sweet Like Honey | Explicit | 33,117 words

Weeks of flat shopping with their limited budget with Louis as a librarian aid and Harry as a barista and arguments about whether a balcony or extended bathroom suite were more important (Harry wanted to be able to feel the crisp night’s air and watch the sun set and Louis just wanted to take long bubble baths) led to them stumbling across the perfect fit. A small flat only ten minutes from campus with a cramped but lovely balcony and an included bath.  It’s affordable too… well, sort of. But they always manage. Louis picks up more shifts as an aid, adapting a habit of bringing his Psych textbooks and homework with him to finish in between duties, and later his script so he can quietly practice lines with little distraction. Harry also increases his number of shifts at the cafe and valiantly endures the nasty customers who for some reason flock to their establishment like moths to a flame.  For a while, it’s enough.

18) Once Burnt, Twice Shy | Explicit | 52,644 words

Louis and Harry are polar opposites in every way. Where Louis is a bestselling author from the city, Harry is a small-town firefighter who's never left his home. Where Louis is spontaneous and spirited, Harry is introverted and calm, never straying from routine. When an ill-fated accident and an exceptionally intelligent tabby bring them together, they are forced to confront their pasts and forge a better beginning for themselves. Will sparks fly, or will it all go up in flames?

19) Gallery Of Us | Explicit | 55,778 words

Harry knew what he was doing in life, everything laid out in black-and-white, each day pleasantly predictable. Cue lively art student, Louis, trying to find his place. An almost insufferably happy person who sometimes forgets to hide the way they feel meets the person who is diligent enough to notice and determined to make a difference.

20) If You’re Out There (I’ll Find You Somehow) | Explicit | 55,916 words

Harry looks so intensely into Louis’ eyes it’s as though he’s reaching in and touching his very soul. “I never thought… I never… I’ve been searching for so long, Louis, but I never gave up. I couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop trying,” Harry says, bottom lip trembling as he strokes the backs of Louis’ knuckles. “I just knew that if you were out there, I’d find you somehow.”

21) It’s Golden, Like Daylight | Explicit | 61,496 words

"I actually think you might be onto something.” Harry’s eyes widened. “You mean…” Louis nodded. “As crazy and insane as this, this might just solve both of our problems.” “Are you saying you’re in?” Harry asked. “I’m in.”

22) Derail The Mind Of Me | Explicit | 77,323 words

Beside the photograph of a gaunt, pale face spattered with blood and lips torn into a Glasgow smile was a bloodied object, crumpled and stained almost to the point of unrecognition. Another photo showed the object shoved into the woman’s mouth. While Harry leaned forward to get a closer look, Louis scrunched up his nose and purposefully kept his gaze locked on his computer screen, refusing to so much as glance at the gruesome images the rest of the team examined. “What is that?” Zayn frowned. “Is that a tarot card?”

23) Ghost Note Symphony | Explicit | 96,426 words

Louis is on tour when he first hears about it. It’s all over the news – Harry Styles Attacked By Fan runs in headlines for days. It’s not even just the gossip rags, either. Actual journalists are covering the story. It would have been impossible to avoid hearing about it. Technically, Oli is the one who tells Louis about it, but it’s not exactly being covered up. Harry doesn’t answer Louis’ text asking if he’s alright, but that’s not really surprising. They haven’t spoken for months, and it’s been a lot longer than that since they’ve had a real conversation. The sting of the text going unanswered is still there, less painful than it might have been a few years ago. It’s not that it’s easy to forget about, exactly. Louis has a whole life outside of One Direction now, though. So Louis goes on with his life, figuring that if Harry was seriously hurt he would have heard about it by now. He might currently be in the same country as Harry, but being on opposite sides of it puts enough distance between them that putting it in the back of his mind is easy. There’s nothing Louis could do, even if he thought Harry might want him to. That’s why everything that happens next comes as a complete shock to him.

24) Our Endless Numbered Days | Explicit | 120,815 words

“Harry?” whispered Louis, his mouth dry, his nose pressing against the other’s warm skin. “Mh?” Harry’s humming was gentle, his fingers lightly caressing the younger boy’s arm, his chest steadily rising and falling beneath Louis’ cheek. A couple of seconds passed, and Louis looked up at him in the darkness of the cave, barely able to make out the expression on his face. When he tried to inhale deeply, his breath hitched. He struggled to find the words to tell Harry what he was thinking about. Another couple of seconds passed, and Louis listened to the reassuring beating of the prince’s heart beneath his cheek. He couldn’t. “Nothing,” he whispered, his voice weak. I think you’re half of my soul.

25) Love Will Tear Us Apart | Mature | 204,151 words

It was only meant to be a one night thing, but when the country goes into lockdown, Louis Tomlinson finds himself stuck in windsor castle, in company of his royal fucking highness, Harry, the prince of England.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[hopefulromances]

Hi!! For the Spotify wrapped challenge, can I request 11 with Jamie Tartt x reader and 30 with Roy Kent x reader? Have an amazing day 🤗🤗

I'll do Jamie's here and reblog with Roy's at a later time!

#11 Francesca by Hozier

"Do you think I'd give up That this might've shook the love from me Or that I was on the brink? How could you think, darling, I'd scare so easily?"

TW: Mentions of injury

This one got away from me BAHAHAHA

Your relationship with Jamie had not been easy. You'd known Jamie since you kids, both trying out for primary school football teams. You'd told him that you could score more goals than he could, and he told you that you couldn't. So, imagine the surprise when you both scored two goals for your respective teams.

After that you were inseparable and when you turned 17 he'd kissed you right outside your childhood home. You loved him so much. So when he started to change, it hurt so so much more.

The last time you'd seen Jamie was before he was sent to Richmond. You'd gotten into a fucking fight. Jamie had been acting like a dick since he'd just gotten a call up to Man City. He'd been ignoring your texts, not making time for you, treating your relationship like it was nothing. So, you told him if he went to Man City not to bother coming back. And he left.

Then, Jamie played for AFC Richmond and was consistently the player of the month, the star of the team, the captain of the England National Team. You were not. Not since the accident.

Meanwhile, you were a waitress as you worked your way through night school, trying to get a degree in Physio. Then that way you could at least be back on the field, back in the game, back with the players.

You were working a double when he came in. You could tell he wasn't expecting to see you when he came in with his coach, Roy Kent of all people, giggling about some joke he'd told the older man. When he turned to face you, the humor left his face along with all the blood. You'd never seen someone pale faster than Jamie Tartt seeing you working in a diner at 11 o'clock at night on a Wednesday.

"Table for two?" You asked Roy since Jamie showed no sign of life since seeing you.

Roy glared at Jamie as he shouldered his way in front of him. "Yes, please. Can we get in the back somewhere?"

"Of course, follow me." You guided them to a table in the back of the restaurant where no one would see them. "Coffee?"

"Just waters, please," Roy answered, seeing as Jamie was still speechless.

You nodded, and walked away. Roy, not so subtly, snapped in Jamie's face and barked "What the fuck is wrong with you."

You had the same question. But you were above this, you were not going to engage with him. He was not apart of your life anymore and he didn't get to just come back into your life and-"

"Hey, (Y/N)."

You jumped, cursing as you spilled the water glass you were filling onto your apron.

"Shit, sorry," Jamie fussed, grabbing the cup and pushing it back onto the counter. You shook your head, muttering that it was fine before grabbing a towel. "Here let me!"

He snatched the towel from your hand and started pressing it to your apron, pressing lower and lower until he was just above your...

"Jamie!" you snapped, yanking the towel out of his hand. "It's fine, okay, just drop it."

He continued to stand awkwardly to the side while you finished cleaning the mess he'd made. Funny innit.

"Do you need something?" You started pour new cups of water as you tried very very hard not to look at him.

"(Y/N)... I-" he twisted the ends of his hoodies strings are he figured out what he was trying to say. It made you pause. That was what old Jamie had done. Sweet thing, nervous to speak, to mess up, to be made a fool of. "There's a lot I want to say but I'll start with I'm sorry."

You paused, bringing your hands down to rest on the counter.

"I was dead shitty to you," he continued. "You didn't deserve that and I'm trying to be accountable."

Accountable. That was a new word for Jamie to be using.

"You, uh... you look dead fit."

That caught you off guard and you couldn't help but laugh as you finally looked over at Jamie.

"I look fit?" You echoed in disbelief.

"Yeah! Swear down, you do!" Jamie tried a smile but it faded after a second. "I thought you'd be playing in the Women's league."

You shook your head, you laugh dying down. "Yeah, no. I fucked my leg. Not long after you fucked off to City. Not like you'd know."

Jamie winced and cursed to himself. "Fuck, I'm sorry, I really am. Should've been there for you. But listen, listen, I've changed yeah? I'm better, swear down, I promise I am."

You raised an eyebrow at him.

"And if I had to do it again, I would, all of it," he continued. "I was mad shitty before and a lot has happened, a lot has gone wrong but I made it through and I'm a better person. For you... I'm a better person for you."

You bit your lip. You knew what he wanted from you. To start over and try again and you wanted that too. You felt your heart reaching for his but you couldn't let your guard down. He could hurt you so easily.

"I know, I don't expect you to just agree right away but if you give me a chance, I promise I'll make it up to you," Jamie looked at you with big pleading eyes. You looked between them. God, he looked like a wet dog.

Fuck, you couldn't believe you were doing this.

You pulled out your notepad and scribbled down your number. You pushed it into his chest, holding it there.

"Here's my number, call me, we'll be friends," you shook your head. "Friends, Jamie."

Jamie brought his hands to over your over his chest, and goddamn it felt good to have him touch you again.

"Friends, yeah, mint," his lip turned up in a lazy half smile, his thumb rubbing over your hand. It wasn't even on purpose, your bodies just knew each other.

Against yourself, you tugged your hand away. "Now I have to work? Go back to... fucking Roy Kent? Fucking hell, Jamie."

He raised an eyebrow and looked over to where Roy was sitting at their table, very obviously watching them.

"We have a lot to catch up on," he told you.

You agreed. "We certainly do."

[adora-but-ginger]

To Meet Your Match

pairing: Miguel O'hara x gn!reader

summary: you were nearly a parallel of him in some ways, and well you should never fight fire with fire.

word count: around 1k

warnings: angst, kind of like two feral cats meeting each other for the first time

a/n: i wrote this at 12:30 in the morning and woke up to it in my drafts with little memory of what i put. that being said, i think that miguel meeting someone who challenges his superiority would not only make him furious, but it would also make him fall quick. that being said i'm thinking of making a little series kind of with a bunch of little snippets of this spider-person and they're relationship with miguel and their backstory via little blurbs like this. let me know what you think!

masterlist

oh yeah, forgot to mention that you should not repost my stories, or any stories for that manner because that automatically gives you the title of little bitch boy (gender neutral).

thank you so much for reading!! <3 ella

credit to gif owner!

If he was being honest, Miguel had skipped your universe on purpose. It was one of the first he had portaled to and he was on edge from the moment he stepped into it.

Unlike others, your origin story was...complicated. Sure, he knew you had been bitten by a radioactive spider and yadah yadah yadah, but you were no hero at the beginning. Hell, he wasn't sure that he'd even call you a hero now. After you had been bitten, you had chosen to lash out in revenge against those who you dubbed had deserved it, showing little mercy to whoever fell at your hand. That, along with accidentally having a day job for a person that would cause one of your first canon events, well it made you more of an anti-hero to put it lightly.

You, like him, did things that no other spider person did, and he not only didn't want to deal with the mess that that would cause, but he knew merely from the few glances of you that he caught that he would fall down a hole he did not want to go down anymore.

You were almost a parallel to him in some ways, and he could already feel the pull.

So, when you came waltzing in with Gwen at two in the afternoon on what would normally be a regular Tuesday, well, his heart dropped. His heightened senses were going haywire, and he could tell that those with spidey senses were having a similar feeling, heads turning towards you. Gwen was practically bouncing with every step she took, and he gave Jess a look to which she shrugged. This is why he didn't go get lunch at the cafeteria.

You had a presence about you that seemed to attract static and push away the noise around you at the same time, and you knew this. You had agreed to the girl's request to "meet the others" after she practically asked if she could live with you, which Jessica had later informed you that her and Gwen's first interaction was similar. You didn't mind them though, and had agreed after a while to check out this "Spider Society".

Your dark gray and light blue suit stuck out a bit from the copious amount of red and blue, and little sparks erupted from your hands as you passed particular areas that were heavily electrified. As you strode past the others in this lobby area you raised your head, for if the eyes pinned on your figure expected something from you, well they were in tough luck. The girl had said you were going to meet the one who created this place, Miguel O'hara, and as you entered the dimly lit room your senses went wild.

You had been in his presence before. You don't know how or when, but the chill that shot through your body was familiar, and familiar was never good.

"aaaand here he is! he seems all mean, but don't let that fool you" Gwen had started before the said source of why your senses were having the time of their life stepped down from a particularly slow-moving platform. Incredibly tall and broad, the glare that met your eyes behind your mask regarded you with a sliver of apprehension.

"You need to let me know when you guys bring in a new recruit, you can't just show up in the middle of the day with one." His gaze didn't shift once, and you weren't going to back down from this either. Call it what you want, but you could sense that he needed to be knocked down a few pegs, and that not many people presented that opportunity.

But you knew his type, how their superiority complex functioned.

"What Earth are you from?" His voice was low and rough.

"I think you may already know."

It was a stare down, and you felt a little wave of triumph as he broke first to give you a once over. "Remove your mask."

You looked towards Gwen. "Is he usually this demanding?" She nodded, and you could feel the annoyance emanating from him. Giving him a once over then in return, you placed your hands on your hips as you tilted your head. "Not with that tone I'm not."

You could see his face turn into a scowl, the tip of a fang (a fang?) making itself visible for the briefest of seconds. "What did you just say to me?" His chest was inhaling deeper breaths now, and you could tell he was getting on edge. Good.

"I'm sorry, boss, do I need to repeat myself?" If he thought he was intimidating you, he was so, so, wrong. The anger was radiating itself off of him, and you could feel it fuel you more. Taking a step closer and shortening the distance of the two of you, you pointed a gloved finger to your chest, talking with your eyebrows raised and your words slowed down. "Ask me nicely, and I will."

His eyes flooded with a red that caught you momentarily off guard, you hadn't seen that before. He looked towards Gwen and Jess, who you suspected both gave him looks back, and he huffed with a cinch of his nose, seething through his teeth. With a roll of his eyes, he motioned a hand out and shrugged, which you figured was probably as nice as it was going to get.

You removed your mask then, showing your face to the spider-man in front of you alongside the two onlookers. You saw his face shift as that all too familiar rush of your eyes turning that electrifying blue went through you. You spoke your name then and held out a hand, fingers slightly sparking from the static forming around it. It was an electrified stalemate, with little bolts zipping in the air around your raised out arm.

"Well, boss, It's a pleasure to meet you."

[blackwolfstabs]

30 Day Writing Challenge: Day 26

SLEEPING IN

It's that time of the month again.

The clock passed 7:45 AM, and there was still no sign of Tara. Her class started at 8:35 AM, and it took her about 15 minutes to get there. Normally, she never got up past 7:30.

Today was different.

Sam gulped down the last of her medication and left the bathroom to make way to her sister’s room. The door was shut, no sound or any sign of activity coming from inside. So, instead of knocking, she went straight to turning the knob as quietly as she could and letting herself in. 

Tara was still under the covers, having them pulled all the way over her shoulders as she lay curled up. However, the notorious creak of the door opening made her peer up.

Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, not even open all the way as Sam observed them. “Hey,” she greeted softly, “You’re gonna be late, it’s past 7:45.” She approached the bedside.

But her little sister just shut her eyes again and buried half of her face into her pillow. “I don’t feel good, Sammy…” 

She sat down on the edge of the mattress and reached over to rub her back, softening her voice as she asked, “What’s going on?” She then moved her hand to tuck away the other’s messy, feathered bangs out of her face. “Do you feel sick?”

The younger Carpenter shook her head, still not opening her eyes. “My period…” she mumbled. “Cramps…”

“Mm.” She must’ve started it last night. Usually, they let each other know when the time-of-the-month starts, so they won’t accidentally snap and then erupt into a meaningless fight. “Did you start it last night?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Her older sister nodded and brushed her warm cheek with the back of her hand, before pulling the covers down a little. “I’ll go get you some medicine, and—”

She was cut off by a long, high-pitched whine that came from Tara, who yanked the blanket back up while stretching in a frustrated way. “Noooooo, I don’t wanna go to class, Sam!”

Sam had to bite back a laugh at how childish she looked turning over onto her stomach and twisting her face away—like if she was facing the other direction, then she wouldn’t be forced to go to school. “I didn’t say you had to go, Tara,” she chuckled, unable to hold it back. “I was just going to get you some medicine and the heating pad.”

Her sister huffed but seemed to drop the tantrum at this response. Her eyes opened a little to glance out of the corners. “You’re not going to make me go, even if I take medicine?” When they were kids, their mother would encourage them to take some medicine and push themselves to quote-unquote “get through the day,” when they didn’t feel well but didn’t have fever. She’d always hated that, and she knew Sam still lived by that, even though she had hated it too as a kid.

“Are you kidding? Even with medicine, period cramps suck,” the older replied. “I’m not gonna do you like Mom.” Her train-of-thought drew her to the same memories of when they were in their school-days. 

Tara actually managed a small smile at this, which made Sam return one before she stood up. “I’ll be right back. Do you need anything else?” 

A head-shake answered her and she dismissed herself to retrieve some Tylenol, a glass of water, and the heating pad. When she retreated to the bedroom, Tara had moved onto her back with one hand limp over her eyes and the other tucked beneath the covers, rubbing her lower abdomen. “Okay, Tara…” She set the cup and heating pad down on the bedside table, then brushed her little sister’s forehead softly. “Can you sit up for me to take this?”

Tara slid her hand off of her eyes and propped herself up on her forearms. She balanced her weight long enough to take the two pills, one at a time, and swallow them with a few gulps.

“Good girl,” Sam praised, before letting her lay down again. As she did so, she went to plug the cord of the heating pad into the wall, beneath the phone charger currently in place.

Tara was already grabbing the dark green pad to slip it beneath her blanket. Now, a little more awake from taking the medicine and navigating the topical remedy to her liking, she kept an eye on her big sister as she came around to situate the controlling section next to her. “Sam?”

She didn’t look up as she proceeded to set the temperature, “Mm-hmm?”

“Can you stay home with me?”

Sam’s dark eyes raised before her face did, a spark of concern flooding them faster than she could blink. But when the younger just blinked at her innocently, she decided it was her unstable hormones making her clingy side come out. “I’ve gotta go to work, baby,” she told her. When she saw her face drop into that small pout no one else could pull off, she caressed the side of her face, “I’ll call to check on you, okay? And you can text me whenever you want.” She brushed her thumb over her cheek, noting the disappointed sigh that came in response.

“‘Kay…”

Sam gave her a small smile and leaned down to place a loving kiss to her head. “Go back to sleep,” she whispered.

Tara nodded and closed her eyes, nuzzling herself into the comfort of her bed, while hugging the heating pad to her aching abdomen. Her sister’s footsteps then faded out of the room, which left her sighing again. It wasn’t that she needed Sam to be there with her. She was 21, she didn’t need a babysitter or someone to coddle her. It was just that she liked Sam’s attention, whenever she was sick or wasn’t feeling 100%. She liked to be held or hugged, or just to be near her. Call it a security or little-sister thing. That was just the way she was. Especially since they had mended what had been broken for so long back in Woodsboro. Here in New York, after defeating the last pair of Ghostfaces together, they had grown closer than ever and rarely, if ever, looked back on where they had been. 

Tara still remembered what it felt like when she realized Sam wasn’t coming home on her big sister’s 18th birthday, just like Sam remembered what it felt like to have her baby sister shout “Get the fuck out!” at her in that hospital room.

They never forgot any of it, but they did build a wall between then and now. And that’s what Tara relied on. Even in times like these, which were small and insignificant, considering she got her period every month. 

It was safe to say that there was a small crack in the wall they built that let the river that connected before-estranged, estranged, and never-again-estranged flow through, because their relationship tended to mirror what they had as kids more than it mirrored their growing-up-and-apart fate.

However, Tara’s hopes were unexpectedly lifted when she felt the bed shift behind her and a familiar, loving embrace wrap around her torso, overlaying the heating pad to hold it in place. She hadn’t heard Sam come back in the room, but she knew that touch better than anything. She felt her sister nuzzle the back of her head as she shifted closer with a content sigh. “Sam?”

“Hmm?”

For someone who was already up and about, Sam was warm against Tara, as if she’d been laying with her all along. “I thought you said you were going to work.”

Her big sister shrugged with a small scoff. “Fuck work,” she replied, “They don’t like me anyway…”

This made her chuckle and shuffle further under the covers. “What if they fire you?” 

“They won’t.” The smile that came across the other’s face was heard in her voice. “They may not like me, but they need me.”

The younger smiled too. “Well, look who’s so confident in herself,” she teased. 

Sam teased her back, “What? I mean, I can still go, if you’ve change your mind.” She began to pull her securing arm away. “Would you rather me leave?”

But her sister pinned it before it could leave her side. “No, no, stay,” she giggled, tugging her arm back to where it was. “I was just playing.”

“I know,” Samantha’s smile stuck around as she picked her head up to kiss her sibling’s and then settled back down again. “So was I.” She let her eyes close as Tara sighed happily and traced her small fingers over her hand that guarded the pad beneath the blankets. “Now, get some rest, my love. I may not be going to work, but I can’t stay here all day.”

Tara nodded. “Okay. But you go to sleep, too.”

“You first.”

She let her hand go limp over her older sister’s and sank into her pillow. “Thank you, Sammy. I love you.”

Sam brushed her nose into her hair, taking in her thick, calming scent that had already crowded her olfactory senses from being in her bed. “I love you too, Tara.”

happy thanksgiving everyone! i hope you all had a great time with your family, friends, or whoever you spent it with. i'm very thankful for all the things i have and are able to do, in these fearful times. thank you all for your support and love. i'm very thankful to have you and be apart of this community.

All my best! ♡ - parker

[btsbabe7]

November Prompt 29: Fairytale

Words: 605 | Pairing: Draco Malfoy x reader

In this very moment, everything has become one gigantic blur. It’s as if you’re standing on the outside looking in, watching a soft filtered version of the life you’d always dreamt of. Draco seems more boyish in a way, though you two are just at the peak of everything. Draco swirling you around the ball felt otherworldly, then running through the corridors with him after breaking free from your groups of friends felt like that scene you watch in fairytales. The part where the princess runs off with her prince, hair blowing and dress flowing a trail behind the two. That’s what it feels like now, like freedom, like a fairytale.

Giggling under the floorboard of the Astronomy Tower, your warm hands caress both sides of Draco’s face. Whatever he’d been saying up to this point comes to a halt when your eyes finally meet in the starlit space.

Soft words, “kiss me,” spill into the space between you two before your mouths collide. His hands slip into your hair, massaging through the curls that fall from your hair pins before caressing your jawline.

The space is filled with old furniture, dusty dust covers cling to their silhouettes with twisted gold ribbons to keep them in place. Everything here seems to have been abandoned, but it couldn’t be cozier than the openness just several feet above.

Draco’s lips press into your collarbone, squeezing a soft giggle from your lips. He didn’t do this often, the privacy of your robes usually made it difficult, so you allow yourself to drift into the pleasure. His platinum locks are pillowy against your palms and your eyes roll back as the kiss travels towards your neck and jawline.

“You’re beautiful, so beautiful,” he groans against you before falling from your grasp completely.

Your eyes flutter open, readjusting to the faintly moonlit undercover. When you look for him, you find him still in front of you, eyes on you as always, but butterflies swirl in the pit of your stomach at the sight of him on one knee, still looking as boyish and young as ever.

“I think I’ve known since I first laid eyes upon you, but it’s become more evident in all the nights we’ve spent here together that I want to be with no one other than you, Y/n. Before I never seen myself anywhere, but I’ve never been happier, genuinely happier than I am when I have you near or when you’re in my arms… and I just love you so much,” he half laughs, half scoffing at his own dramatics. “I just… I know we haven’t even graduated yet, you haven’t even seen the world, but will you marry me?”

Draco pulls a small emerald box from a hole in the floorboard and you wonder how long it’s been there. All these nights you’ve shared above on the deck, watching the stars and just giggling together and enjoying each other’s presence had led to this. And even if you’d traveled the world a million times and were twenty years older, you can’t imagine finding someone that means as much as Draco does to you. So, head over heels in love, you plop down on your knees in your silky white dress and nod as hot tears stream down your cheeks.

“Of course,” you laugh through burning tears and rush your arms around him, never wanting to let him go.

And when you finally let him breathe, he slips the gold banded diamond and emerald ring onto your finger and everything feels perfect and magical, just like it does when the princess finds her prince in the fairytales.

Please be sure to check out my other latest fics:

⚡︎ November Prompt Challenge (days 1-30)

⚡︎ For You Always - reader x Snape

~ Navi: masterlist (all fandoms) & (bts imagines/drabbles)

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction, but please don’t copy! Written purely for fun :) Please only repost to other socials w/my permission and credit! Reblogging w/credit is fine. Thank you! ♡

[melanated-writersblock]

OMGP Prologue

For those of you that actually appreciate some sort of plot😩🍸

For as long as you’ve known him, Toji Fushiguro has never been one to back down from a challenge. He’s always going out of his way to prove you wrong and it only got more frequent after you two got together. So when you made a passing joke about how Toji wouldn’t be able to survive the infamous No Nut November, he took that shit to heart.

And the challenge was set.

But it’s not like he was just doing it for the sake of novelty, there was a reward. You and Toji made a pact that if he completed No Nut November SUCCESSFULLY, then when the clock stuck 12 midnight on December 1st, he could have you. Whenever he wanted. However he wanted. You offered up more days, in case he’d need breaks. But he insisted, saying he only needed one. And when you two shook on it, Toji smiled, because he knew he’d win.

The month was long, and obviously it was a pain not being able to touch him and him touch you. The sexual tension that radiated off of the both of you when lounging in opposite sides of your apartment felt stronger than any cursed energy a sorcerer could possibly harness. It was almost concerning. Finally, November 30th came.

2:30 PM.

There was a certain…peace…that fell over the apartment, all day. You knew Toji was around, because you could hear his footsteps and movements when he went to do stuff….but it seemed like he was purposely avoiding you. Matter of fact, you KNEW he was avoiding you!

7:45 PM.

You were in the kitchen making dinner and needed something from an overhead cabinet above the stove, and SOMEONE decided to conveniently place it further back than you could manage. Toji watched you from the living room couch as you bent over the stove slightly, reaching as far back into the cabinet as you could for garlic salt that genuinely shouldn’t have been there. He studied the way the hem of your shorts rode up your ass cheeks and got caught between your thighs. He wanted to be between them so badly. He NEEDED to. He wanted to see you struggle for a bit, before he could put you out of your misery. At least in the only way that was allowed, for now. “Stop, before you hurt yourself. I got it.” You hadn’t even processed that Toji was already behind you when he leaned over you to grab the seasoning salt. Oh god he was so close. He smelled good, he FELT good, big and firm, like he’d gotten impossibly stronger or something. It made you wonder how many poor sorcerers had to suffer because of this silly little bet. His abs pressed against the folds of your clothed back, and maybe you were just that feral, but you swore on your soul you could feel his hardness right against your ass. You didn’t dare look him in the eyes…unless you were ready to throw your 30 day streak down the fucking drain. He knew what he was doing to you, and he enjoyed that it was working. Toji handed the spice to you, smiling to himself before walking off. You finally stopped holding your breath, and went back to cooking.

9:26PM.

Time was tormenting you both. You took your 2nd cold shower of the day and it didn’t help a damn thing. Toji flipped through channels to try to distract himself from even looking in the direction of the bathroom in your shared bedroom.

10:32 PM.

Toji poured a glass of water in the kitchen, and you watched from behind your phone screen on the couch as he drank, and droplets of water trickled down his chin…down his neck…down to his fitted SavagexFenty shirt that you actually regret buying for him right about now. This man had the actual BALLS to LOOK AT YOU while this was happening. Your eyes stayed locked on each other while he came back to sit on the other couch across the room. He was almost at the finish line.

11: 45 PM.

You laid in bed, dozing off. You decided to turn in after you felt like the tension between you and Toji started to die down. In and out of sleep, your eyes lazily swayed between the clock on your nightstand and the cracked bedroom door where faint light from the living room TV reflected on it. Everything was so peaceful that you hadn’t even noticed your clock inching towards 11:58 PM. You close your eyes for a mere few seconds, opening them to see Toji removing his shirt as he walks through the bedroom door tossing it off to the side as he walks towards you, undoing his sweatpants with a devilish smile.

It’s officially midnight. December 1st is here. And you’re in for a long day.

December 1st

[putellas11]

A/N:  Merry Christmas everyone! 🎁🎄 So happy to participate in the Christmas Writing Challenge alongside such an amazing group of writers. Thank you to @nytb for putting all this together! Check out @nytb’s fic that was posted earlier as well as @redhairedwolfwitch's fic coming out soon!

Small but Meaningful (Mapi Leon x Reader)

You’re not one to make impulsive decisions. It’s crucial to think things through and carefully consider all the pros and cons before making a final verdict. It doesn’t matter if it's deciding on a new job or a new pair of shoes, the process is the same. 

To you, this is completely normal. It’s the way you’ve always been. To others, however, it’s a little extreme. Everyone in your life, at some point or another, has encouraged you to be more spontaneous. To not think things through so much and to just go with the flow. But, they quickly realize that it’s just not in your nature. 

And yet, you managed to fall in love with one of the most impulsive human beings you’ve ever met. Unlike you, María Pilar León rarely gives more than five minutes of thought to any decision. If her heart calls for it, she will do it. Mapi doesn’t fear consequences. She knows she can handle anything and everything that is thrown her way. And that’s why you love her so much.

Her tattoos are a perfect example of this. One night, the two of you are just lying in bed, scrolling through social media and occasionally showing each other a funny video or meme. 

And then all of the sudden, Mapi sits up with a gasp, “me encanta!” 

On her screen is a tattoo design of a skull with an outline of a light bulb. The moment you see it, you know the two of you will be in a tattoo parlour in less than 24 hours. 

And just as you predicted, you’re now sitting next to Mapi as she discusses a few modifications to the design with the artist. Within seconds, Mapi made a decision that can last forever. She liked it, so she’s getting it. For her, it’s that easy.

You’ve thought about getting a tattoo before. The idea initially excites you, but once you really start thinking about it, you end up talking yourself out of it. Although Mapi’s personality and perspective on life have certainly rubbed off on you a little, just the thought of getting a tattoo gives you a headache. 

With the design finalized, Mapi can barely contain her excitement. “Do you like it?” she asks, looking at you with a sparkle in her eye. 

You may never actually get one yourself, but that doesn’t mean you don’t appreciate the beauty of tattoos. Not to mention how hot they look on your girlfriend. 

“I love it, babe.” 

Mapi, satisfied to hear your answer, leans back to allow the artist to apply the stencil to her skin.

“And when will I have the honor of tattooing you, Y/N?” asks the artist, still focused on her work.

Mapi stifles her laughter. She, of all people, knows the chances of you ever getting a tattoo are slim, if non-existent. 

“Por favor, don’t make me laugh,” Mapi shakes her head, a teasing smile on her lips, “I think her brain would short-circuit trying to pick out a tattoo.” 

You nod, in full agreement with Mapi. “Not an exaggeration.”

“You should have seen her last week trying to pick out a new toothbrush. She had like five tabs opened on her phone, just reading review after review.” 

You squint your eyes at Mapi, giving her a little kick. “Hey! It was a big decision and it didn’t even take me that long to decide, anyway.” 

“Remind me again how long it took you?” 

You look down at the floor, feeling a little warmth creeping up behind your neck, “I don’t know,” you mumble, “like 30 minutes.”

Mapi turns to the artist and gives them a clear and obvious, I told you so, look. “You see what I’m dealing with?” 

“I’ll get one, one day…” you say, trying your best to sound confident. 

“Sure you will, baby. Sure you will.” 

You and Mapi may be two very different people, that doesn’t mean you don’t share a few similarities. Like Mapi, you are very competitive. The very few times in your life when you’ve said, fuck it, without thinking of the consequences, have been for the sake of winning. 

“Go ahead, underestimate me. That’ll be fun.”

Mapi, noticing the change in your tone, blows a kiss in your direction. She loves to tease you, but also knows not to push you too much. Unlike so many others in your past, she never wants to make you feel bad for what some might consider a flaw. 

“You could always just be a little one, y’know,” the artist says, working on the lines of the tattoo “and if it means something to you, even better. Small but meaningful.” 

You remain relatively quiet for the remainder of the session, lost in thought. What the artist said resonated with you. 

Small, but meaningful. 

___________

For the first time in years, you don’t have to stress about what to get Mapi for Christmas. She has loved every gift you’ve given her in the past — no matter how simple or expensive the gift. But still, you agonize for months on what to get her. 

Now, just a few days before Christmas, you’ve never been so calm. Of course, Mapi has noticed how out of the ordinary this is for you. 

“Something’s not right,” she says, standing in front of the TV and blocking your view. 

“What do you mean?” 

Mapi looks you up and down, “you’re acting weird.” 

“How am I acting weird?”

“Two days before Christmas and you’re sitting here, watching TV, calm as a cucumber.”

“And what’s so weird about that?” you try to look past Mapi and at the screen, acting oblivious as to what the big deal is. 

Mapi snaps her fingers at you in an attempt to get your attention, “you should be freaking out!” she exclaims. “This is like the most stressful time of year for you. I mean, did you just decide not to get me a gift this year?”

“I already know what I’m getting you, amor” you tell her, brushing her off.

“You do?” 

“Mhmm.”

Mapi squints her eyes at you, one eyebrow slightly perked in suspicion. She knows you have something up your sleeve, but you know she’ll never be able to guess as to exactly what. 

For the next two days, you find Mapi snooping under the bed, in the closet, in every cabinet and every possible hiding spot in the apartment. If you were able to decide on a gift so quickly, it must be a good one. 

Now, sitting together under the Christmas tree, Mapi’s gift is still nowhere in sight. 

“I can’t take this anymore!” she says, tapping her knees impatiently, “come on, stop messing with me and give me my gift.” 

You’re just as excited to show Mapi her gift as she is to receive it. Her impatience is to be understood. This is the first gift you've given her that did not require any second guessing out of fear that she’ll hate it. 

Wanting to draw out the suspense, your movements are slow. Very carefully you tug up the sleeve of your Christmas sweater. Mapi can’t help but lean forward when she sees the reindeer band-aid on your wrist. 

“What happened?” she asks with concern. The gift is suddenly of no interest to her. 

“Go ahead, take it off,” you encourage her. Now only a few seconds away from the reveal, you can’t help the grin spreading across your face.

Mapi delicately pulls on the end of the band-aid until a small, number 4, can be seen. As soon as she sees it, she leans back. A puzzled look on her face. 

“What is that?” she asks, refusing to believe what she's seeing.  

“What do you think it is?” 

Mapi shakes her head, refusing to even believe the possibility. “No, I don't believe you” she says, leaning in again to get a closer look. “It can’t be real.” She wets her finger and tries to wipe away the number, but there it remains. 

“I know I tend to overthink everything and that it drives you crazy sometimes — even though I know you’ll never admit it,” you tug her chin so she’s looking you in the eyes, “but if there’s one thing, I’m hundred percent certain of, it’s you.” 

Mapi melts under your touch. She’s perfectly aware of how big of a decision this was for you and the fact that she’s the inspiration for your first tattoo makes it all that more special.

“I love it,” Mapi gives you a big smile and leans in to give you a soft and tender kiss, “and I love you,” she says against your lips.

Her reaction is everything you hoped for and more. 

“I have so many cool designs to show you!” she says, shaking you side to side with her hands on your shoulders. 

You put up your hand to stop her, “wait, don't you get too excited now.”

But it's too late. Mapi's already reaching for her phone.  

[foryourencouragement]

Imagine a road trip, but your partner doesn’t know you’ve planned it to run through every fattening, irresistible fast food restaurant and drive through you could find, so they’re constantly eating in the passenger seat, maybe to the point that they have to lay down in the backseat!

I’ve been looking forward to this trip for months. After meticulous planning and convincing you to use two weeks of your paid vacation time, it’s finally time for our cross country trip. I’ve found us plenty of cute places to stay and enjoy together with lots of fun things to do!

Our first stop was a cute little bed in breakfast in the mountains. The views were stunning and the food! Oh the food. Every single review for this plan talked about the food. We spent the day going between the bed and the dining room. The buffet was included with our stay, which only made it all the more easy to convince you to over eat. “It’s all inclusive, go have another plate! You haven’t even tried the desserts yet.”

The next day was a long drive to our next hotel. However, on the way I read about a bar that offered an eating challenge. Eat 50 wings in 30 minutes and your dinner is free. When I mentioned it, you boasted about how easy that sounded. So of course when we stopped there for dinner, it was the first thing you asked the waiter about. He looked down at your belly and smiled before turning the the rest of the bar.

“Alright everyone, looks like we have a brave soul looking to try our challenge! Let’s all give him a warm welcome and lots of encouragement, huh?!” He announced to the bar.

You weren’t expecting the attention when everyone in the bar looked over as the wings arrived and cheered you on. Even though it was no problem for you, you were a touch bashful to know that all of these people saw the pig you made of yourself. The free dessert from the table next to us was the perfect end to your dinner. You couldn’t help but lay back for the rest of the ride that night.

The middle of the trip was a blur of watching you eat and enjoying the views we were taking in. It was hard to truly imagine how unimaginably sexy this trip would be when I planned it, but you did not disappoint. You started begging for snacks between stops and asking me to grab you snacks at every gas station.

Your most gluttonous moments however, were when it was your turn to drive. I never would have imagined just how much of an appetite you could have while focussing on the road. Yet here we were, a week and a half into our road trip and you were still eating like you hadn't seen food in weeks.

By the last night, you practically lived in the only pair of sweat pants you brought. You had started complaining about your jeans after the first week, but you always refused my offers to stop and make a quick detour for clothes shopping. Thankfully, I had planned ahead. The last major stop was both the most fattening and the most thoughtful stop.

I knew you wouldn't be able to help yourself, so I made sure our final stop was at an outlet mall. A few new clothes for your new girth would make all the vacation weight much more enjoyable once we returned to the day to day of the real world. And thankfully, within this outlet sat one of your favorite restaurants that reminded you of home.

The happiness on your face was mesmerizing as I watched you eat enough for almost three hungry people, while I barely finished my entree. Once the meal was done, you waddled your way to the car. "Do you mind if I nap for a while until it’s my turn to drive?” You ask, rubbing your swollen gut. “I do mind, in fact. It’s time to upgrade your wardrobe, big boy. Those sweatpants won’t last much longer at this rate.”

Your face turned bright red as I leaned over and kissed you. A quick drive to a different side of the Outlet Mall brought us to the big and tall store. “Are you sure? I can’t be that big yet, baby.” You were always so cute when you were unaware of just how much you’ve gained. Whether it was a true oversight or simply feigned ignorance with flirting, it always drives me fucking wild.

I hold your hand tightly as I lead you into the store. I work quickly to find someone to help us find your new size. After spending a few minutes picking out some new pieces, you waddle your way into the dressing room. I always love watching you put on a show for me, and seeing you in your new clothes and seeing the look on your face when you see how good you look in clothes that fit made me want to jump your bones then and there.

After just a few more hours, we were at our final hotel room. That night, I explored very new inch of fat on your gorgeous body and showed you all of the new places I have to play with. When we returned home the next day, reality began to sink in. “I had a lot of fun, you know. You made these past few weeks the most fun possible.” I leaned in, placing a hand on your belly as I spoke. As we fell asleep in each others arms, I couldn’t help but run my hand gently across your new softness, knowing my plans were all worth it.