#i know of one situation where it was literally used to hide someone's alcoholism

[sweaterkittensahoy]

YAY can u write a prompt for protective bucky (with buck of course) 😁😁

After the war, when Bucky goes to Buck in Wyoming, there's a knock on the door.

Bucky answers because Buck's in the shower. There's a man on the porch wearing a threadbare suit and an oversized shirt and a tie with a good knot, but it's too long on his torso.

"I'm looking for Gale Cleven," the man says.

And it's only at hearing the voice that Buck realizes who he is looking at. This is Buck's father. He's a bit shorter, shoulders curled forward to boot, and he looks sickly in a way that Bucky realizes is likely from drinking, though he doesn't smell like it right this moment.

"Not sure he's here," Bucky says. "Let me check." He closes the door in the man's face because he only knows the one story. The story Buck told as they stood at the air raid shelter. Of a drunk, gambling father who clearly did not teach his son that there's time for fun and time for serious behavior. A man who left Buck in a headspace that a man is black and white. Either drunk or sober. Either a gambler or good with money.

Bucky still isn't sure what about him made Buck take a chance that must have felt like shoving a mountain into the sea, but he's glad every fucking day Buck took that chance and stood by it. That he saw gray and decided he liked it.

He walks into the bathroom. Buck's in a towel, mixing up soap for his shave.

Bucky doesn't know how to say what he needs to carefully, so he plucks the mug with soap and brush from Buck and waits for the question in his raised eyebrows. "Pretty sure your dad's at the door," he says. "He seems sober."

Buck shudders from head to toe, and Bucky wants to hand Buck back his shaving supplies and go kick Mr. Cleven all the way up his ass.

"Does his suit fit?" Buck asks. And, oh, how Bucky's heart breaks at everything that tells him.

"Nope," he says. "Not even a little bit."

Buck takes back his shaving brush and cup with the soap. He checks the froth of the soap, then turns on the hot water. "I'm not here," he says.

Bucky kisses Buck's shoulder because it's the closest thing to touch. "Any other message?" he asks because he can't quite help himself. He knows his vices.

Buck turns his head and kisses the side of Bucky's forehead. "You could never be him, John. Not on the very worst day you could imagine."

That feels hard to believe, but that's true on John's worst days anyway, so he takes as the honesty it is. He drags his nose along Buck's shoulder in an easy caress, and then he leaves Buck to his shave.

He opens the door and looks at Mr. Cleven, who is standing where he'd been left. "Missed him," he says. "Not sure when he left."

"Well, thank you," Mr. Cleven replies.

And Bucky feels no discomfort at what he's said because it's true. Mr. Cleven had time to catch Buck. Years and years. It's not a lie to say he's missed him.

It's not a bad thing to be the one Buck saw with similar vices and marked as different than this man leaving their porch, shoulders still rolled and suit ill-fitting, and as Bucky watches, slipping a tiny bottle out of his pocket. Bucky's mom loves to bake. It looks like vanilla extract.

Bucky goes back to Buck in the bathroom, who is halfway through his shave. He wraps his arms around Buck's waist and presses his cheek against Buck's shoulder. "He's gone," he says.

Buck continues his shave for three, steady strokes. "Did he smell like vanilla?" he asks, and his hand trembles just the tiniest bit.

Bucky waits for him to drop the razor into the basin to rinse it. "No, but I saw him drink from a little bottle," he says because he won't lie to Buck, but he won't choose the softest answer when the true one is more accurate.

Buck sighs and finishes his shave. He rubs in aftershave and drains the basin, then turns in Bucky's arms. "Thank you," he says. He presses their foreheads together and cups Bucky's head in both hands.

"I love you," Bucky says. "And you're not him," he adds. Buck relaxes after that, going soft and sweet in Bucky's arms, and Bucky believes without question what Bucky always tells him. He's not Bucky's father. But in this moment, Bucky knows another truth: Buck believes him when he says he's not, either.

[earthtooz]

·˚ ༘ MIKAGE REO BF HEADCANONS

warnings: fluff with angst + argument scene, mostly fluff tho but reo grovels bcthat'sjusthowilikehim, swearing, cw for food and alcohol, making out, hickies, sfw tho :p, 4k+ word count, gn!reader and pro soccer player!reo

a/n: I AM SOOOOOO NORMAL ABOUT HIM GUYS I PROMISE HAHAHA WATCH ME. WATCH ME *proceeds to write 4k+ words of what it'd be like dating this man*. enjoy <3

💳💥💳💥 100/10 BOYFRIEND 💳💥💳💥 ARGUE WITH THE WALL.

sorry i just really love him (a lot).

anyways ! personally, i’ve always perceived a friends to lovers sort of situation with reo- friends. as in, he’s liked you from the get-go and was never shy about vocalising it. he often asked you out on dates and you’d kindly reject his offers.

despite your countless rejections, it never deterred him. lucky for reo that you didn’t seem to mind much, happy to spend time and be around him despite his blatant showcases of affection for you. 

reo was fuelled even more when you constantly turned him down, loving the ‘push-and-pull’ relationship surrounding you. his whole attitude surrounding fighting for things he wasn’t handed to at birth hasn’t exactly dwindled with time, proving apparent even now as a pro-soccer player. 

this meant that he loved how stubborn you were, declining his invites no matter how tempting the offer might have been. could have been a free meal- his treat, at a michelin star restaurant and you turned it down without hesitation.

to reo this only made you more worthwhile to chase because ever since he could remember, he's had the frustration of only being appealing to people because of his wealth. he got use to it after a while, coming to terms that his name would just be synonymous to money, but to have someone break this mould felt liberating.

selfishly enough, he wanted to be by your side forever.

(you were in love with him too but thought he was way out of your league) so yeah. ‘friends’. 

when you finally accepted a date after so long, reo was ecstatic. couldn’t hide how enthused he was when he finally heard the word ‘yes’ slip through your mouth. literally picked you up and spun you around, stuck in his little world of delirium and happiness for a few moments as you laughed with him, admiring his expression of pure elation whilst trapped in his arms. 

he was raised with proper gentlemanly etiquette so definitely a few dates before anything big happened with him. 

reo is absolutely the kind of boyfriend to memorise milestones. i kid you not, he has the date you finally agreed to go out with him memorised. it’s on his phone’s calender- he will always gift you flowers on this day that serve as a little reminder. when you ask him what’s the occasion he’ll shrug and act all nonchalant. maybe he’ll come clean about it one day, but for now, reo will savour how happy you are every time you receive a beautiful bouquet from him.

he’s the definition of down bad and he’s not at all ashamed to let you know. you had his heart in a chokehold before you even started dating can you imagine him now… like yo… what spell did you put on him.

must be the water he drinks because not even you know how reo got to the point he is at now.

bf that opens door for you, bf that understands the sidewalk rule and won’t have it any other way, bf that carries things you might need around - chapstick, hairtie, reo even has a change of shoes for you in his car just in case. and clothes!

bf that looks at you as if you put all the stars in the sky. bf who wakes up a little earlier just so he gets the chance to hold you, especially with how busy reo is. bf who admires you openly and freely.

‘don’t go where i can’t follow’ bf (he’s so dramatic).

reo is a mix between clingy and independent - he’s always open to spend time with you, but if it’s space you want, he’s more than ready to give it to you.

has no problems entertaining himself and not worrying about whatever you might be doing. he's not controlling and in fact, loves a partner who is independent too!

100% a gentleman so expect a lot of gifts from him. never lets you pay- not that you’re complaining, but if you even think about fishing out your wallet, he’s grabbing both your wrists in one hand and tapping his card on the machine instead. 

it’s a slow relationship, you’re both just trying to take your time to learn more about the other before things begin speeding up, and even though reo has been wanting you- wanting this for the longest time, he’s content with the pace. so long as he has you. 

the photos of you two are INCREDIBLE. mirror selfies are a must, but you’re definitely the kind of relationship that’s more on the private side. reo makes sure that your face is hidden save for side-profiles, silhouettes, or ¾ angles, but it’s just for media peace of mind that he was taken.

that said, if you’re going to an event together, he absolutely loves showing you off. your ultimate hype man.

also loves bringing you up whenever he can. ‘how’s practice?’ ‘oh amazing, i love going home to y/n.’, ‘what’s your favourite cheat day meal?’ ‘one of y/n’s childhood favourite dishes, i have like five plates in one sitting’, ‘where’d you get this from? it’s nice’ ‘y/n saw it in a magazine’.

asks you to move in with him five months into the relationship when you both realise you’re over way too often. when there are too many trinkets of yours left around his penthouse that his heart aches at your absence, yearning for your presence through little things that are attached to you.

reo gets so ecstatic when you accept, practically scoops you into his arms, unable to contain his excitement and glee.

ABSOLUTELY the couple that’s like ‘your secret is safe with me… and my partner!’ 

gossip sessions are a weekly occurrence. every saturday you sit down and begin revealing everything. doesn’t matter if you have a party to attend to, you will be gossiping at the party or leaving early to have it at home. you could literally be having a shower and reo would join, seated atop the toilet seat whilst rambling and you’d listen intently.

nothing comes in between your gossip sessions!!! don't even think about interrupting. nagi is more than welcome to join, he knows quite a bit of tea himself so ;) the more the merrier in his case.

chigiri, bachira, and isagi are also all-time favourites. ALL THREE of them are nosy ass fuckers and cannot keep their mouths shut.

it’s like the second you walk into his apartment, he’s giving you a kiss in greeting before sitting you down on the couch, hands and legs pressed together and he begins with ‘i have more to tell you about otoya and his fling’.

and you immediately throw your stuff away and lean into his couch, ready to listen.

speaking of parties, you would absolutely be that couple. the ones who always look flawless and will never be caught lacking !!!!!!!

he’s so proud to be able to walk by your side; that he’s the one who gets to hold you and show you off. so proud in fact, that he never likes to stray too far from you. 

could be doing shots with bachira and stumbles around to find you when he’s done. you have the time of your life filming him in this drunken state. 

definitely had the ‘only my partner is allowed to touch me’ conversation with him once. 

reo is the definition of all five love languages, there is not one of them that he does not like - words of affirmation? absolutely. a must. . physical touch? he’s not ashamed to be needy. gift giving? who do you think he is? acts of service? loves doing things for you and vice versa. quality time? can never get enough of it. 

so yeah. sticking to his ‘thing’ about being a chameleon, he’s very adaptable and willing to listen to your needs.

(i’m going to throttle him he is so perfect)

also reo just really really adores taking care of you- those he loves in general too, but especially you because you’re at the top of his list of favourite people (suck it, nagi)

takes care of you and loves doing so too. whenever you’re sick, he’s at your beck and call 24/7. if he has a meeting or practice to attend, you have to literally force him out of the apartment, threatening him to go but as soon as he returns, he’s back at your side, probably came back with a bunch of things for you as well.

if you take care of him though? goodness he’s ready to pop the question even though you’ve never even discussed marriage.

suddenly cough medicine is a lot easier to drink if you’re the one offering it to him, and the soup you made him must have super healing properties because he thinks he can jump up and run a few hundred laps (goodness reo, please, sit your ass back down and rest). 

OKAY HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE: reo never learnt how to drive because he’s always had a chauffeur, but since dating you, he’s had to get a licence lMFAOOOO let you pick out his car too xoxo such a considerate boyfriend 😣

he suggested as a joke to get a personalised number plate and even though he was clearly goofing around to make you laugh, you couldn’t help but sense there was some sort of truth in his statement… just a slither.

also reo’s definitely the slow-dance in the living room kind of guy like… not a lot can change my mind on this. 

you could literally be putting away the dishes and he’d drag you by the wrist into the living room- he bought a vinyl player just so he could turn on some romantic songs and slow dance with the love of his life. 

he’s not a good dancer btw.

HE LOVES SHOPPING WITH YOU. 1000/10 BOYFRIEND TO GO SHOPPING WITH, doesn’t mind being your personal coathanger when browsing and also doesn’t mind carrying any bags you may have. 

it’s cause reo loves shopping too. loves it even more if you think about him whilst shopping. you could go buy some home appliances and if you returned with the silliest hat with bunny ears and he’d wear it for the next few hours.

return with (expensive) necklaces of each other’s initials and reo is never taking his off, proud to wear the letter of your name around his neck at all times.

takes it off during practice though because if he broke it then goodness is he going to go emo. 

no date with him is a boring date! partly because he’s a considerate and thoughtful person who plans everything out, but also because reo’s company is a fun one to have. every moment with him is fun (except when he’s checking his stocks. you’re kinda left to just wait for him to finish).

(that’s also an ick- that he checks his stocks on dates but whatever 😒he still gives you attention though so it’s fine)

adores going out and staying in! prefers going out though just so he can show you off but also hates going out because he loves to see you dressed up only for him. he’s a perfect paradox.

speaking of staying in, off days with reo are very domestic. you both promise to use this as a work-free day, reo can’t check his business statistics or stock patterns and you’re not allowed to answer any calls or emails. he is allowed to workout though and you have quite a bit of fun blatantly admiring him. you're too comfortable with each other at this stage to get embarrassed.

but other than that, the day is just spent lounging around and doing nothing- a nice reset from how hectic both your lives are.

“there are still some chocolate chips left. wanna snack?” you ask once you put a tray of cookies in the oven, going over to see how many pieces were remaining in the bag.

reo hums, wrapping his arms around your figure, his sturdy chest meeting your back as he plays with the fabric of your shirt. “sure. might as well finish them.”

“bet you can’t catch 10 in a row with your mouth.”

“okay. bet.”

he ends up catching 12 successfully and the rest of the waiting time is spent with you throwing chips into his mouth. there’s a heap of chocolate on the floor but neither of you really mind when the home is warmed with laughter and giggles.

when you wait for the cookies to cool, you somehow end up on the counter with reo in between your legs, holding you closely to him whilst making out to pass the time. the cookies are cold when you get to them.

reo’s jealous. like very jealous. and a little (lot) possessive - do you see the way he is with nagi… c’mon. 

but it comes from a place of good intentions, he's genuinely just in disbelief that he managed to bag someone like you (as if he's not a one in a million too)

he’s very into hickies ;> doesn’t matter if it’s on you or on him, it feeds into his possessiveness all the same. ok next headcanon. 

reo’s got a little bit of an ego to him (he’s a leo. ofc he does) so he secretly loves it when people fawn over him, but not just exclusively you. 

which has been the cause for quite a bit of arguments between you where you were uncomfortable because of the way someone was treating reo and he’d dismiss your concerns, stubbornly rooted in the belief that you knew that you were different. definitely thinks that his love and adoration for you makes it obvious that you’ll always be superior to anyone else. which, you are, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt when you don’t see him brush off anyone.

genuinely doesn’t see the issue with this, even when the media is being invasive and speculating too much.

it’s loud.

it’s so very loud, tormenting you as the hurricane of your thoughts can’t seem to quiet down, rattling even stronger as you keep scrolling through the ‘#reo mikage’ tag that was currently trending. each time you see the pictures, your chest constricts even more.

unbelievable how a bunch of pixels could have this much of an effect over you. how your phone mockingly presents several photos of reo and one of japan’s golden models spending time together at multiple events, the headlines only worsening rising assumptions. she’s all over him in each photo, whether it be decked out in formal gear at a promotional event, after a dior runway where reo was invited backstage by the creative director, or- most recently, at a brunch he was invited to by blue lock friends, she seems to love invading his personal space.

the worst part is that he doesn’t seem bothered at all by it.

you know reo and you know how much he valued your presence in his life. you know that before each event, he asked you how his outfit looked and if you approved. before each event, he threw a mini-tantrum over you're inability to accompany him to each one. that he only stopped whining when you promised that you’d be waiting for him after each one.

but you don't know the feeling of betrayal that settles in your gut and it terrifies you.

“y/n?” comes a voice from down the hallway, one that causes your breath to hitch in your throat, all words lodging themselves in your windpipe. reo’s head appears from behind the bedroom door frame and he smiles widely upon seeing you, immediately walking over so he could lean down and place a kiss on your forehead.

it doesn’t do much to stop the tornado in your brain. 

“are we going to watch the latest episode or what?” asks the purple-haired, whose doe eyes are looking at you so innocently- so lovingly. 

“we are,” you whisper, voice slightly broken and ragged, turmoil settling itself crystal clear in the heavy air of your shared bedroom. 

reo notices your pained tone and immediately looks at you with concern gleaming in his eyes. “what’s wrong?” 

so innocent. so ignorant. you wonder if it was appropriate to shatter his purity. but a relationship rooted in honesty will have more positives than negatives and even if it seems like being open with him will be detrimental, you should fix the cracks now before it worsens; splits apart too much to the point of it being unfixable. 

“pictures of you and a model are circulating online,” you mutter, scouring through what’s left of your sanity to express what you’re feeling, but you can tell you’re already failing through the perplexed scrunch of his eyebrows. “and y’know, it just got me-”

“-why are you looking at them?”

you flinch at his defensiveness. “wh-what?”

“you know that they’re just some pictures, don’t you? it’s not that big of a deal.”

something’s telling you that this conversation won’t progress how you want it to so you give up, dropping your shoulders in defeat. “okay, sure.”

he’s not happy with your response. “what? what did i do?”

“it just feels so… horrible looking at these,” you mutter, dragging a hand over your face. “whatever. let’s just go watch the episode or something.”

“let’s not. are you seriously pissed right now? over some photos of me and someone else? i didn’t think you’d be this insecure.”

“i’m not insecure!”

“yes you are! you’re getting angry and upset over me being seen with someone else as if you know they’re nothing more than just a friend! am i not allowed to hangout and be seen with whoever i want?”

“it’s not a matter of being seen with them, reo! it’s about how okay you seem being that close with someone! she’s practically all up in your personal space and you’re okay with it!”

“why wouldn’t i be okay with it? you’re the only person i actually care about for it to mean something.”

“that’s not how it works!” you exclaim abruptly, curling your hands into fists. “it’s so disrespectful seeing this, it’s clear that she has no respect for our relationship and our status as a couple, can’t you see?”

“why should we care what she thinks? everyone else knows. ‘s all that matters.”

“sure, but she’s actively trying to pursue you! and you’re not doing anything to solidify any boundaries against it! do you know how demeaning that feels? especially against someone who is so well-known by your fans too.”

reo narrows his eyes. “so this is a conversation about insecurity-”

“you’re not listening to me!” you cut him off, trying to maintain your composure despite the way anger and frustration brewed freely in your stomach, threatening to spill over. “i’m not insecure! i’m upset because you’re not valuing our relationship publicly, and as a result, it’s stirring up so many unsolicited assumptions online!” 

“you shouldn’t care about them because i only have eyes for you, fuck what the internet is saying.”

“no- that’s,” you ball your fists even tighter, “that’s not the solution to this problem!” 

“then maybe you should just get over it!”

“is asking you to be a little more assertive about brushing off people like this too much?”

“it’s natural, y/n! these people just want me for my fame and reputation! there’s no point brushing them off when they’ll just continue this shit,” there’s a hint of insincerity in his tone, and from the way he’s evading your request makes your stomach churn.

rubbing your temples, you decide to surrender. “fine. if you just want people to fawn over you then they can. just, leave me out of the picture.”

swiftly standing up from where you were seated on the bed, you’re even faster brushing past the purple-haired, shutting the door behind you with a noncommittal slam.

realisation pours over him like cold water and he’s awoken into action. immediately, he turns to rip open the door and rushes into the hallway, panicked as fear strikes him like a lightning bolt. it’s like the rational side of him had finally woken up after a night of dormancy and he curses himself for its horrible timing as he prays he can make it to stop you in time. 

reo feels stupid. so, so stupid.

you’re in the living room already when he catches up, phone in hand as you quickly try to make a beeline for your shoes before your boyfriend can stop you.

unfortunately for you, you’re too ambitious, and reo manages to step in front of you, hindering your exit. the anxiety he’s feeling is expressed clearly in his eyes and devastation is plastered all over his face, a sight that makes you stop in your tracks. 

“where are you going?” he whimpers, no louder than a whisper.

you glance down at your phone to see the time. 10:41. “away. i need to cool my head.” 

“you can do that here, can’t you?” he’s trying to sound sensible, really, he is, but the fear of losing you is too strong that his voice cracks. “i’m sorry, i’m really sorry, i was being stupid and i wasn’t listening to you, i realise that now-”

“-it’s too late for that,” you grumble, trying to sneak past him only to be stopped by a hand on your shoulder, one that you brush off. “don’t touch me!”

only a few, simple words yet they hurt reo like spears to his heart. his palms itch with the need to hold you because being able to feel you would remind him that you’re here, that you haven’t left just yet. that reo still has a chance to fix the mess he just created.

“i’m sorry, i’m really sorry, you're right.”

you probably don’t want to hear it, but he grovels nonetheless, contracting his fingers to stop them from reaching out to you. he doesn’t want to make you feel even more disrespected than he already has tonight, especially when you so clearly stated that you didn’t want to be touched.

“don’t go,” the purple-haired pleads weakly. “we can figure this out.”

“so now you want to talk about it?” you ask, all ounce of pettiness you had left melting into your tone. you to cross your arms. “i’m tired reo, and i need some time.”

“i’ll give you time, space, whatever you need, just please don’t leave.”

the penthouse is so quite and devoid of its usual vibrancy, the one that your relationship brings to the home.

reo doesn't want to think about what the place would be like if you leave. he doesn't want to think about what his life would be like if you leave, so he repeats 'please' over and over again, scrambled with some apologies here and there as he leans closer to you.

the urge to be as close as you'll allow him is irresistible.

the breath you exhale is shaky and you can’t look him in the eye as you think about what to do next, gnawing your lip in contemplation. what captures your attention is the feeling of his fingers ghosting over your hands, causing you to glance back at him with a surprised expression.

traces of love frame his expression and he’s looking at you like he’s savouring this moment, as if it'll be his last few with you, but he can only plead and pray that that's not the case. desperately, he succumbs to the force of his affection for you with the light thud of bone meeting floor. it’s a sound that makes you cringe briefly before reo experimentally takes your hands in his, waiting for a reaction. 

there is none.

so he holds on to you like a lifeline and your resolve crumbles, fury and irritation melting away a lot quicker than you would have liked it to. it’s ridiculous what reo’s capable of.

“stay,” pleads the purple-haired, resting his forehead in your hands as he tightens his grip. “please.”

in front of you is a man on his knees. not just any man, but a world-class soccer player who came from 24k gold, real diamonds, and an unfathomable amount of trust funds. yet, something's telling you that he's willing to give it all up for you.

“reo,” your call of his name is broken and entirely wobbly, but he looks up at you nonetheless, eye shining as he waits for your next move. waits for either a strike of the palm or an affectionate kiss, both of which he’d readily accept. 

neither happen as you sink down to be eye-level with him, hoping to help him stand up but like a tidal wave, he consumes you, wrapping an arm around your waist with a strength that indicated he had no intention of letting up. “reo,” you delicately repeat, holding yours and his weight up with one hand whilst the other goes to play with his hair. “i’ll stay.”

the sigh of relief that he releases causes his whole body to shudder. “thank you,” he whispers.

you’ll talk about your problems soon, but for now? you'll continue holding him as he silently weeps, hands clutching your sides like you'll disappear and slip away from his grasp.

yeah. i think reo would be the type of person to get too overwhelmed by his own emotions and ego that he doesn’t consider the other party's feelings, but the moment that he realises he’s fucked up, it hits him like a truck. 

has abandonment issues (from nagi) that he never addressed and as a result, has a huge fear of losing you. 

that said, this argument ^ happened within the early stages of moving in together so this was probably the first big argument that really established how important communication is. sure reo may be confident and assured, but he’s self-aware and more than willing to change and constantly better himself, especially if it’s for you.

back to your regularly scheduled hc, reo doesn’t spend a lot of time on his phone, so he’s not very active on social media. he’s too busy attending to his stocks, reading business books, and spending time with you to care about the internet, so a lot of drama that circulates around online doesn’t reach him until two weeks later.

not that he cares LOL.

speaking of social media, here's what his private account looks like!

yourlocalfinancebroreo close up that the love of my life took

yn: smash ╰┈➤ epicgamerseishiroooh pls no horniness on the priv ╰┈➤ yourlocalfinancebroreo hmu cutie xx ╰┈➤ epicgamerseishiroooh guys pls ╰┈➤ yn nagi what the 😭😭

OH AND he’s so interested in all of your interests. listens intently and rambles passionately, he truly is just perfect :( 

anyways, encourages anything you want to do and is often the one who helps you make the terrifying jump. reo supports you so much in your day-to-day and whatever achievements you accomplish, no matter how big or small, he wants to hear about it from you.

never shy away from being honest with him!!!!

also because the support you show him makes him so happy every time. whether it’s showing up to a soccer match and cheering him on to dropping off some tea and a platter of fruit when he’s stuck in front of his monitor for too long looking at big numbers, he wants to reciprocate this energy and make sure you know just how special you make him feel.

the whole world could be praising him yet none of it could compare to when you do it.

y/n and me vs the world forever type of beat when it comes to you two. 

yeah. i think that’s all i have for now. so, to sum it up: PERFECT, INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, ALL YOU COULD EVER ASK FOR boyfriend. give it up for mikage reo everyone <3

[haileyywrites]

-> One stormy night the God of Anemo witnesses a child being left upon his shrine, with no signs of the parents return he has to find a home for the child...

-> They/them pronouns used for reader - no gender mentioned! Reader is a literal baby! Reader is abandoned by their mother! Mostly fluffy with hints of angst! Diluc makes a brief appearance!

It had been a long time since Venti had witnessed a storm quite like this... The wind was howling like a pack of wolves and harshly shaking even the sturdiest of trees. The rain pouring like bucket was being emptied over Mondstadt. How unlucky he had been at Windrise when it began instead of the Angels Share where he could be cozying up near the fire with a nice cup of alcohol and listening to some soft music being played...

At least he was able to stay mostly dry by hiding in the branches with the thick leaves shielding him, still it was rather cold so he wrapped his cape around himself. He squinted his eyes as he noticed someone approaching from the distance, though it was difficult to see with the heavy rain pour. It appeared to be a woman - quite a young one too, with a bundle in her shaking arms. It appeared to be a child. The woman approached the shrine while cradling the baby's head and looking at down at them. Venti peered down at her curiously, but did not reveal himself.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, but I cannot let you ruin my life." She sobbed.

Venti's eyes widened in shock, as he was quite taken aback by her words. He moved to see her better and continued to listen in.

"May Lord Barbatos have mercy on your soul..." She whispered as she carefully placed down the now crying baby on the foot of the shrine.

She said nothing more as she clutched her hands tightly together in prayer, more tears continued to pour down her face but were masked by the rainfall. She looked more and more distraught by the sound of the baby crying out to her. She looked around helplessly before she began sprinting away seemingly as fast as she could, almost stumbling multiple times on her way - leaving the helpless child behind in the rain and cold.

They were clearly young but leaving a baby out here during the storm and away from civilization was beyond irresponsible - not to mention cruel! Your chances of survival were zero to none! Venti quickly dropped down from the tree to pick you up from the ground. You immediately stopped crying when in his arms, your simply stated at him with big round eyes. In wonder your chubby arms reached out for his face to grab ahold of his nose. He couldn't claim to know or understand your mother's situation, but how could she do this to a child that looked at her the way you looked at him right now. Such a bundle of innocence...

He could feel how cold you were despite the blanket wrapped around you, your fingers felt cold as ice when they explored his features. He used his cape to shield you from the rain and the wind the best he could, but your cold body temperature meant you had been outside for quite some time - meaning your mother was likely not from Mondstadt or any place near it. Surely she would come to her senses and come back for you? No one could truly just leave their child behind like this... Could they?

His answer became quite clear after some hours and still no signs of her return. He could possibly follow your mothers trail with the wind, but she clearly did not want to take care of you. She would likely try to leave you behind again and next time he might not be there. He could not force her to take care of you, so he needed to find someone who would. But most importantly he needed to get you out of this storm before you got hypothermia! His destination was the Angels Share, of course. He needed to get you to shelter - Angel's Share just happened to always open and warm. He could also really use a drink while thinking about what to do with you...

The weather was too dangerous to even attempted gliding, not to mention he had you in his arms and thus his only option was to dash through the rain until he reached the city. The look on Diluc's face as he walked in completely soaked with a baby in his arms was simply priceless - he almost dropped the bottle of liquor he was holding! Venti was almost worried he would get whiplash from how fast he looked to double take that his eyes were not deceiving him. It was truly the penniless drunkard of a bard holding a child inside his tavern. Diluc certainly had questions and worries!

“May I ask whose child you have stolen and why?” It was strange to hear any emotion in Diluc's voice - especially worry!

“Why how lowly do you think of me? I found this poor child at Windrise, left all alone in the storm!” Surprisingly his story didn't appear to be a lie, despite it's ridiculousness.

“And what exactly are you planning on doing with this child?” He gazed down at your smiling face. You appeared calm and content, but seemed to be on the smaller size which was concerning.

“I'm planning to find this child a new home!” Venti smiled brightly at you making you let out a giggle.

“And your first course of action was to look in a tavern filled with drunks and bards that can barely even pay for a single apple?” It was definitely a direct jab at Venti and he could feel it.

“Ehehe... I just needed to get out of the storm first!” Venti's smile faltered as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Fair enough.” Diluc responded as he continued to clean the glasses and occasionally pouring another drink for those asking for it.

Diluc would have given you something to eat or drink, but you were too young for juice and he didn't happen to have baby bottles at his tavern. You appeared to be doing well enough just by being inside the warm tavern as your cheeks returned to normal a colour with the redness fading away. Your body was no longer trembling or cold either, which couldn't have made Venti happier. He was worried about your constant quietness though, you barely made a sound the entire time since he had picked you up... Diluc didn't seem to mind, as crying children were not what he wanted to hear inside his bar.

Despite having no experience with children - especially babies, Venti got along with you quite well. You were so calm and angelic it felt like nothing, you were simply reaching for his accessories like the flowers on his hat. Trying to keep anything and everything out of your mouth was He didn't appreciate you pulling on his braids, though. For an infant you had a surprisingly strong grip! He felt odly warm and content while holding you, you would stare into each other's eyes as if trying to communicate. Still, he knew he of all would not be able to care for you in the long run.

“Say, Master Diluc... You wouldn't happen to know where an orphan child could be placed?” He laughed nervously.

“That depends, are you going to tell me the story if how you got this child in the first place?” He raised a brow at him.

Venti's expression turned surprisingly serious, “I saw them be left behind by whom I assume to be their mother.”

“I see. The best case scenario would be to give them to the church and they find a family to take them in. Otherwise they'll just be raised by the Sisters.” Diluc replied with equal seriousness.

“Hmm, sounds like a plan then.” Venti smiled but it lacked the brightness from before.

Like Diluc suggested he headed to the Church of Favonius with you as soon as the weather cleared up. The towns people looked curiously and whispered amongst themselves about the peculiar sight as he passed them with you in his arms, he didn't pay them any mind. He looked down at you every once in a while to make a funny face that caused you to giggle loudly. He stopped in his tracks before heading up to the church and took a detour to stand in front of the statue of himself, or rather Barbatos. He turned side ways and angled you upwards so you could see the statue better, not that you would understand what he was trying to do.

“Would you like to know a secret?” He whispered even though no one else was around currently. He waited until you cooed in response to him.

“I'm the Anemo Archon - Barbatos! But this has to stay a secret between us.” He poked your squizzy cheek.

After a moment he finally made it all the way to the church's doors and inside. Music was echoing around the large cathedral while some Sisters were singing prayers in the name of the Anemo Archon. Not many people were around right now, but he had his eyes set on a Sister that was not taking part in the singing. With a wide grin boastered on his face he confidently marched up to her. She could see him approaching and was ready to ask him to leave or at the very least not disturb them, but was taken aback by the bundle in his arms.

“Hello, dear Sister! I'm in quite a predicament as I happen to be in possession of an orphan child.”

“Are you quite certain that the child is infact without parents?” The Sister finally asks after processing what he said.

“Yes. They were left all alone before a statue of the Anemo Archon himself.” He didn't need to share the full story...

The Sister would have doubted his story and accused him of being the child's father who just wished to abandon them, but a brief upon inspection it was evident you shared no resemblance to him at all. Even if he was the father and did not wish to have you they would have taken you in, better in their care than out on the streets! The fact you were left upon a statue of Barbatos was what truly picked her interest, your parent clearly offered you to the deity and as such they had no right to turn you away.

“I see! Then we will take the child into our care. Do they have a name you know of?”

You didn't - as far as he knew, but at that moment he glanced down at you once again. Gazing into your eyes and a name just slipped past his lips. He doubted you ever had a name, but this one felt just right for you. The Sister simply nodded before opening her arms to take you from him. He felt the urge of not wanting to let you go... But he needed to. You would have a good and happy life while raised by the Sisters. He could barely take care of himself and oike Diluc pointed out, could barely afford a singular apple. Your eyes continued to stare directly at him as you began crying when removed from his arms.

You hadn't cried the entire time since he picked you up from the ground, it was heartbreaking to hear you do so now. He felt like lyre strings had been wrapped around his heart and were squeezing it tighter the longer he heard you cry. The Sister turned away to take you further inside the church, while he headed outside. The weather was clear and the sun was shining warmly, but he felt like the storm was still raging on. He barely knew you for a day and already grew attached to you... Perhaps it was out of pity for seeing you get abandoned?

Whatever the case, it was not the last time he saw you. He became a frequent sight amongst the church goers! It was only to see you and only a couple times a week on average, but he was there none the less. Venti would even play his lyre for you or for the others attending, the Sisters forbade him from accepting payment for it within the church though. Visiting you became so frequent that Diluc got slightly worried after a week of not seeing him at the tavern - only to find out he was at the church playing peek-a-boo with you for the twelfth time this week... The Sisters didn't mind much as he was not causing trouble, you also became so calm and well behaved when he was around! It was strange that he of all made you this way, but no one was complaining.

He was there when you babbled your first words - he took you around town to showing you off to everyone he possibly could, even just a coo or a babble made him exited now as it could be another word! Maybe even his name next! He was so proud of you! He was also there when you took your first steps, he stood close ready to catch you at the first sight of you stumbling. He raised you high up and bounced around when you managed to finally wobble your way into his arms. He would have thrown you up and caught you, but the Sisters near him didn't approve of this. He would use his abilities to fly up with you in his arms when they weren't looking though, you were never afraid in his arms.

“Great job, little Windblume! Soon I'll be able to take you gliding!” He laughed - the Sisters did not.

He promised that he would teach you to glide as soon as you were old enough. For an Archon that was over two thousand years old he was rather impatient while waiting for you to grow up. He cherished every moment spent with you, of course. But he couldn't wait till he would be able to actually hang out with you and have conversations with you! You still had your whole life ahead of you and he would personally see that you had the best, happiest and most fulfilling life you possibly could! Meeting you was the best thing to happen to him, despite how terrible the situation initially was. You had just about turned his life around by being an unfortunate soul and babbling nonsense to him with those bright eyes looking at him with so much life and hope.

Wholesome Venti content <3

[pandenewie]

06 - Not so Undercover Agent

Prev | Masterlist | Next

“Um Keeho… are you sure this is the right address?” Y/n asks as the three pull up to what they thought was Jay’s address. Although now they’re not sure as their car sits parked in front of a huge three story house - one far too fancy for a college student to own.

“I swear I, like, triple checked. This is the address Jake gave me.” Keeho claims, pulling out his phone to check once again. “My shitty car doesn’t belong in a neighbourhood like this.” Yunjin frowns, taking note of the multiple, much nicer cars that are parked around the street. “Well, unless Jake lied to me, this is definitely the place.” Keeho shrugs. “I’ll park around the block… somewhere I’m less likely to be hate crimed.” Yunjin laughs, driving a few streets down before putting the car in park.

“Okay, I got us something useful.” Keeho says, pulling three walkie talkies out of his bag and showing them proudly to the group. “Aren’t they cute?” He asks, earning deadpan expressions from his friends. “Why would we need those when we have phones?” Y/n asks. “Because these are so much cuter and more spy-like? I literally put stickers on them and everything so you bitches better use them.” Keeho scowls, handing a walkie talkie to each of his friends. “And where am I going to put this?” Yunjin asks, gesturing to her lack of pockets or bag. “Just shove it in your bra and go.” Y/n laughs.

Once everyone is situated, the group gets out of the car and starts walking back to Jay’s 

house. “So everyone remembers the plan, right?” Y/n asks, earning nods from their friends. “We each track down Jake, Sunghoon and Jay and grill them for information.” Yunjin nods. “And we all stay completely sober! We need to remember anything we get tonight.” Y/n says, looking at Keeho in particular. “I know you’re not looking at me, blacked-out-after-two-drinks over here.” He smirks, earning an eye roll from Y/n. "If anyone's gonna need a drink it's me." Yunjin sighs, already dreading the fact that she'll have to spend most of the night with Sunghoon.

Jay's house is busy - as expected from a party of this level. Now that they think about it, a three story house is the perfect place for a party. Plenty of room for guests to hang out, spaces to hookup, to escape from the loudness, there's a spot for everything. This also means that there's unfortunately plenty of places to hide. Finding anyone in this place is going to be a difficult task.

"You guys made it!" A voice calls over the loud music. The trio turn to find Jake waving obnoxiously to them from the kitchen, pushing a few people out of his way as he walks through the crowded living room. He’s clearly already a little tipsy, judging by the way he trips over his own feet and immediately clings onto Keeho’s arm for stability.

“Someone’s a little excited.” Keeho jokes. “Jay made cocktails! They literally just tasted like juice so I chugged like three a few minutes ago.” Jake giggles. “Speaking of Jay, where is he? You’d think the host would greet his guests at the door.” Y/n asks, looking around the room for any sign of the male.

“Last I checked he was playing beer pong upstairs with Sunghoon; could’ve moved though.” Jake shrugs, almost tripping on his feet once more despite standing still. “Why don’t we go get you another drink?” Keeho asks, Jake’s eyes lighting up at the mention of alcohol. The two stumble back towards the kitchen, leaving Y/n and Yunjin standing in the doorway.

Yunjin turns to look at Y/n, a displeased expression on her face as she comes to terms of what they have to do.

“Well… beer pong it is?”

Finding Jay and Sunghoon appeared to be a much simpler task than originally anticipated. As soon as the two made their way up the smooth concrete stairs, they were met with the sudden noise of cheering from a room down the hall.

Entering the room, they expected to see a much larger group than what they were greeted with - due to the noises they could hear from outside. Instead, their eyes land on Jay and Sunghoon battling it out as well as a handful of unfamiliar guys and girls watching from around the room.

Y/n and Yunjin quickly find their place in the chaos, standing separate from the rest of the group but just far enough from Jay and Sunghoon to not make things unnecessarily awkward. “How the hell are we supposed to grill them if they’re tossing around ping pong balls all night?” Yunjin asks. “We’ll just have to find a way to distract them from the game.” Y/n shrugs, watching as Jay lands a ball perfectly in one of the cups - pointing and laughing loudly as Sunghoon quickly chugs the liquid.

“What are the two of you doing over here all alone?” A sudden voice asks. The two turn towards the noise, immediately spotting the familiar face of Jooyeon, someone they’ve seen around campus a couple of times. “How are we alone if there’s two of us?” Yunjin asks, clearly shooting down whatever lines he’s trying to throw. Jooyeon, however, doesn’t seem to pick up on her blatant rejection, his gaze dropping to the lack-of-drinks in both their hands. “And without alcohol? Now that’s just sad, how about I get you two cuties something to drink? My buddy Gaon makes a mean Woo Woo.” He says enthusiastically, causing Y/n’s brows to furrow in confusion. “What the fuck is a Woo Woo?”

Y/n quickly realises that they should not have asked that question as Jooyeon begins to explain (in great detail) the step by step process of making a Woo Woo, from ingredients to historical origins - even mentioning some myths and legends about the great Captain Jimmy “Woo Woo” Harker.

“Leave them alone, Joo.” Jay suddenly calls out, his voice immediately bringing the excruciating conversation to a halt. “I’m not hurting anybody!” Jooyeon fires back, only earning a laugh from Jay. “You’re hurting their brains with all that Woo Woo nonsense, go tell someone else about it.” Despite clearly wanting to continue his conversation, Jooyeon listens to Jay and excuses himself from the conversation.

Now with the knowledge that Jay is, in fact, aware of Y/n’s existence - they use this as an opportunity to talk to him. Y/n gives a reassuring squeeze to Yunjin’s hand before walking towards the ping pong table, immediately taking place at Jay’s side.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know.” Y/n mumbles. Jay’s eyes are focused on the game but they can tell from the upturn of his lips that he heard them. “Would you prefer I let him talk your ear off?” He asks sarcastically. Y/n represses an eyeroll at his comment and instead focuses on the way Jay successfully sinks another ball with ease.

“You’re good at that.” They comment simply, watching as Sunghoon begins to complain about Jay not playing fair. “I don’t think I’d even hit the rim.” Jay laughs at this, finally turning to look Y/n in the eyes. It’s the first time he’s given Y/n his full attention and the way he does a quick scan of their body does not go unnoticed. “It takes practice… lucky for me, my friends are idiots who would rather practice their beer pong skills than do anything productive.” He says, his attention momentarily turning back to Sunghoon, who shoots and misses his shot. “It’s a shame I’m the only one who got better.” Jay adds, winking at Y/n before picking up the ball once more.

“You wanna try?” He asks, holding the plastic ball towards Y/n. “You’re prepared to lose your winning streak for me?” Y/n asks playfully. “Oh come on, you can’t be that bad.” Jay laughs, gently placing the ball in Y/n’s palm. “Hoon, grab someone else. We’re doing 2 v 2.” He calls, an idea immediately popping into Y/n’s head. “My friend Yunjin can play.” They say, pointing to Yunjin, who’s still in her previous spot. 

Sunghoon’s eyes seem to almost fall out of his head when they land on Yunjin, quickly beckoning her to join him at the other end of the table. “Are you any good?” Sunghoon asks, earning a scoff from Yunjin. “You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?” Yunjin says playfully, smirking at the way Sunghoon practically melts at her words. This is going to be so easy.

“Jesus Christ, man.” Keeho scolds, catching Jake once again as he attempts to run back onto the dance floor. “Let me go! They’re playing the Macarena.” Jake whines, earning an eye roll from Keeho. How he ended up babysitting a drunk Jake all night is still a mystery. “We’ll ask them to play it again later when you’re sober enough to stand.” Keeho says, sighing with relief when Jake gives in and settles next to him on the couch.

Jake is far gone. How the hell is Keeho supposed to get any useful information out of him if all he can think of is alcohol and the Macarena? He doesn’t even think that Jake would even remember if Jay had cheated in his current state. Just as he’s about to offer the Australian some water to sober up, he feels a sudden thud as Jake’s head falls to Keeho’s shoulder - soft snores escaping from his mouth. He’s in for a long night.

Sunghoon sucks at beer pong. He also sucks at holding his liquor, evident in the way he’s practically resting his full body weight against Yunjin - the only thing stopping him from falling to the floor.

“You giving up, Hoon?” Jay calls tauntingly. Sunghoon goes to mumble something in response, likely another complaint about Jay not playing fair, but ultimately decides not to. “He looks like he needs to lay down.” Y/n says worriedly. “He’ll be fine, a few glasses of water and he’ll be good as new.” Jay reassures. With his words, Yunjin wraps her arm securely around Sunghoon’s waist, walking him out of the room - presumably to get him something non-alcoholic to drink.

“I can’t believe I didn’t even have to drink once.” Y/n speaks in awe. Jay, of course, had sunk most of the balls. But it felt good to be on a winning team for once. “You wanna play one on one?” Jay asks smirking, his question causing Y/n to laugh in disbelief. “Are you trying to get me drunk, Jay Park?” Y/n accuses playfully. Jay raises his hands in surrender at this. “Just trying to show you a good time.” “Well, I hate to break it to you but I’m not drinking tonight.” Y/n shrugs. “Who says you need to be drunk to have fun?” Jay asks. “Your friends, probably.” Y/n deadpans, earning an eye roll from Jay. “Yeah well, they’re idiots.” Jay clarifies. “And yet you hang out with them?” Jay can only chuckle at Y/n’s clap-back, leaning back against the table. “They’re my idiots.”

Keeho has whiplash. One second ago, Jake was fast asleep on his shoulder and now he’s attempting to do the splits on the dancefloor. A few shots and some almost ripped pants later, Jake finds himself back on the couch with Keeho, passionately chatting about the cultural differences between Australia and Canada.

Just as Jake is about to explain the difference between kangaroos and wallabies, Keeho’s phone notification interrupts the conversation. “Ooh, who are you texting?” Jake teases, leaning to catch a glimpse of Keeho’s phone screen. “No one. It’s just a twitter notification from Kimmy.” Keeho shrugs, shoving his phone back in his pocket.

“Is she tweeting about Jay again?” Jake asks, causing Keeho’s eyes to widen. “You know about that?” He asks, shocked. “Everyone and their mother knows about it! She won’t shut up!” Jake exclaims, excessive hand gestures backing up his words. “Fucking hate that bitch.”

Keeho’s eyes widen even further, almost popping out of his skull at Jake’s words. Is this finally the chance to get some light on the whole cheating situation? “Why is she so pissed at Jay anyway?” Keeho asks, trying to be as subtle as possible. Jake sighs at the question. “I don’t know, man. She was always a little goofy in their relationship, hated it when he did or said certain things. It was dumb stuff, like getting angry when he would game with me and Sunghoon. And she would get so upset when he cheated, for some reason.” Jake rambles.

His drunken words cause alarm bells to go off in Keeho’s mind. Kimmy got upset when Jay cheated. Poor unsuspecting Jake doesn’t even realise what he’s just done.

“Y/n… Yunjin… I’ve got it. Let’s go.” 

Yunjin’s eyes widen at the sound of Keeho’s voice blaring through the walkie talkie that’s currently placed securely in her bra. Sunghoon is drunk, but clearly not enough to the point where he’s oblivious to his surroundings.

“... did your boobs just talk?” He asks, his eyes practically staring a hole through her shirt. Yunjin gives him the benefit of the doubt; there’s far too much alcohol in his system to understand social norms and decent respect. She’ll make sure to slap him for his comment later.

“Uh… woah, are they playing the Macarena right now?” Yunjin asks as a distraction, her question causing Sunghoon’s eyes to widen. “Oh my god, I need to find Jake.” He exclaims, suddenly sobering up enough to sprint out of the room to find his friend. Sighing in relief, Yunjin pulls out the walkie talkie. “These were a terrible idea.” She speaks into it before walking off to find her friends.

“Were you guys planning on robbing me or something?”

Y/n should have known the walkie talkies would get them in trouble. Jay plays with the device in his hand, gently smiling at the rainbow heart stickers before turning his attention back to Y/n - who stands there, sheepishly.

“We weren’t, I swear! Keeho just had some… business to do and he wanted to use walkie talkies to make it more fun. I find it hard to say no to him sometimes you know, especially cause he brought them specifically for this and then he got the stickers and everything-”

“-Y/n, Yunjin and I are at the front door. Are you done with Jay?”

The sound of the walkie talkie once again breaks through the noise, causing Y/n to face palm. Jay looks at Y/n suspiciously before bringing the walkie talkie up to his lips. “Y/n’s a little busy at the moment… they’ll get back to you soon.”

…

That sounded ominous. Y/n feels themself sink further under Jay’s gaze as their mind begins to wander to what is about to happen. Has he figured out why they’re here? Is he mad? The sudden feeling of the device being placed back in Y/n’s hand snaps them out of their thoughts. “Wait here… I just need to check something.” Jay mumbles before walking out of the room.

Y/n doesn’t even wait a second after Jay leaves before quickly looking around the room, analysing all options to escape. Running towards one of the big windows, they calculate the likelihood of falling to their death. It wouldn’t be the first time Y/n climbed out of a second-story window… and they’d likely only sustain a sprained ankle (and perhaps a concussion) if they fell mid-way. Seeming like the best bet, Y/n shares their plan through the walkie talkie before pushing open the window. They nervously glance back into the room to check the coast is clear before starting to climb down. So much for being subtle.

TAG LIST (open): @bringer-ofchaos @yenqa @fakeuwus @mrchweeee @jjongshrts @oldjws @jxp1-t3r @wildflowermooon @sunseeking-cryptid @miniature-tragedy

[fablesrose]

Ch 18 - The Maltese Falcon Job

Series Rewrite Masterlist 

Pairing: Eliot Spencer x Ford!Reader

Description: The season finale! The team has to back track a little bit, but continue to take down the mayor and his partner to get justice for Bonanno.

Words: 6194

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No one spoke as Eliot sped away from the waterfront. I couldn’t even allow myself to ponder on how my leg was pressed against his and I tried not to slide into his seat when he made a sharp turn. He finally pulled over under a bridge in the middle of the city, far enough away for us to get our bearings. 

“The mayor’s a federal witness? Federal?” Eliot demanded in disbelief.

“Every badge in a hundred miles is looking for us,” Tara said.

“Guys,” Hardison said as he looked through his phone, “They are ripping through Nate and Tara’s cover stories. All their financials are blown. So look, until I know what they know? No credit cards, no debit cards, no ATMs, nothing that can be traced back to us, okay? Cash in hand, only.”

“It just gets better and better,” Parker said sarcastically.

“So what can we do?” I asked. 

“Okay, the mayor’s not innocent,” Nate pointed out. “He cut a deal with the feds because he’s guilty and he’s got somebody working on the outside.”

“At the warehouse he admitted he has an accomplice,” Tara added. 

“Alright, do we scatter or stay?” Eliot asked Nate. 

“No, if we scatter we give the mayor and his partner time to cover their tracks to get away with murder, literally,” he replied.

“Well we can’t get anything done out here in the street, we need a hiding place,” Parker said. 

“Guys look, when I contacted the FBI team lead I put a worm in the operating system from the SIM card on her phone-”

“Hardison,” Eliot interrupted, “geek spiral.”

“We can listen to what they say,” Hardison summarized. 

He played a clip from his phone, the team lead saying that they weren’t taking the mayor to a safe house. Interpol wanted him somewhere off the FBI system, so they were taking him to the Governor Hotel.

“Okay, that’s it. That’s where we’re gonna hole up,” Nate said. 

“The Governor Hotel?” I asked, a bit skeptical, but I thought I could see his logic. 

“Yeah,” Nate said. 

“The hotel crawling with FBI?” Tara clarified incredulously.

“FBI and Interpol,” Eliot added. 

“It’s the one place in Boston they won’t be looking for us,” Nate said. “Come on, we just gotta get there first.”

We did manage to arrive at the hotel before all of the feds showed up. We sent Tara, Eliot, and Parker into the hotel to sneak into a room. When we finally followed, Tara opened the door wrapped in a towel, clothes in hand. 

“Did I, uh, miss something?” Nate asked, voicing my own thoughts. 

“She was naked,” Parker said matter of factly.

Hardison didn’t acknowledge that, simply getting on his computer to address the room situation. “In-room check out. This means that I have access to the hotel’s billing computers. It’s a big old backdoor into every hotel room in America.” He then went on and made it so we had an additional week and a half on the reservation for the room. It was all under the name of the previous guest who apparently, watched a lot of adult content while in the room. 

“Hardison, I need background on all the mayor’s business partners and all his little shell companies,” Nate said, taking a sip of some alcohol that was left in the room.

“You want background checks on this? A TV?” Hardison asked. 

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, I’ll have Super Mario and Dig Dug get right on that.”

“Guns – anything to do with guns,” Nate then walked out of the room. 

Eliot started to follow, “Alright, I’m gonna go get some keys made. I’m going to the gym. Make sure I can charge stuff on the room.”

Parker headed down to the lobby to snag someone else’s keycard for Eliot’s ruse of going to the gym and the key to his room not working anymore. It seemed to work and he got the keycard reformatted for our room when Nate told Hardison, Tara, and I to stay in the hotel room and for Eliot and Parker to meet him outside. 

“Why?” Hardison asked. 

“Sterling,” Nate answered gravely.

“Uh oh,” I said. 

Once the others met outside, Nate asked Hardison to go over what he had found on the mayor’s business partners. 

“Alright guys, this is Tony Kadjic,” Hardison began. “He started out as a smuggler in Albania. He left a lot of competitors in shallow graves. He’s been indicted for murder eight times in four different countries with zero convictions.”

“His shipping company looks semi legit,” Tara said. “It has ties to countries in the ‘stans’ and Central America. He’s got a big batch of government contracts including for US security forces.”

“Why do we care about him?” Nate asked. 

“Cuz he’s big on the surplus weapons market,” I answered. 

Eliot puffed an amused scoff, “That’s just a polite way of saying arms dealer.”

“His specialty is buying cheap guns from third world countries and reselling them,” Tara said. 

“Okay, well, uh, this tracks,” Nate said. “So the mayor grifts the 9/11 money that’s meant to improve security at the ports. That along with crooked cops makes the Bellbridge ports a perfect place for Tony Kadjic to run his guns in and out of the country.”

“Interpol must be chasing down the gun running,” Parker concluded. 

“Don’t worry about Sterling,” Nate assured. 

“Did you just say don’t worry about Sterling?” Eliot asked. 

“Yeah, don’t worry about Sterling,” Nate repeated. “What? You don’t think I can beat Sterling?”

“I think in the last six months I’ve heard you talk about beating the Triads, beating the Russians, alright?” Eliot reminded him. “Maggie’s boyfriend? Huh, how’d that work out? We all said that meet was a bad idea. But now you’ve got a taste of taking down this mayor, and you can’t resist.”

“You wanna walk away? Walk away,” Nate said. 

“I’m not walking away, that’s not my job. My job is to get your back, and Nate?” Eliot said seriously, “I’m gonna do it, all the way down. But I need you to do your job.”

“And what’s that?”

“Be Nathan Ford!” Parker cut in. “Be the person we came back for.”

There were two beats of silence where Nate took in what they were saying before he spoke again, “Listen, guys, I’m trying to figure out why a group of very rich, very powerful men are trying to take out a good, decent, cop. Now are you going to stick with me on this? Is that enough?”

Eliot gave a quiet, “yeah.”

Hardison looked at Tara and then me. 

“I’m still here, aren’t I?” I pointed out. 

“Us too,” Hardison said for himself and Tara. 

“Good,” Nate said. “Tony Kadjic is the one who pulled the trigger, I wanna know exactly what he’s up to and who he is.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Hardison asked with a smile. 

“Let’s go steal a mayor.”

The plan was pretty simple, by some standards. I dressed up as a hotel maid, the costume a little too on the nose in my opinion. With the mayor consistently ordering as many mini bottles of alcohol he could get his hands on, it was easy to give him one that was drugged, knocking him out quickly. The guards at the door wouldn’t let me in the room, but I handed them off to the mayor himself when he opened the door. I used a master key from the maid cart I had grabbed to enter the room next to the mayor’s. One that happened to have a conjoining door. 

Unfortunately Sterling was coming back sooner than anticipated, so it was Nate’s job to stall him, without being seen. With the sound of Nate’s heavy breathing and the routine sound of the elevator dinging, it didn’t take long to figure out what he decided to do. I don’t think it was pleasant for either of them. 

Parker, Hardison, and Tara dropped down to the room I stepped into from the roof using Parker’s equipment. Parker quickly moved to pick the door into the mayor’s room. Once we walked in to find the Mayor passed out on his bed, we took pictures of the room in all of its mess to replicate it. We were able to situate him into the lower compartment of my maid cart so that I smuggled him out the door, right under the nose of the agents at the door. The cart was significantly heavier and harder to push, but the guards didn’t seem suspicious of it. 

Eliot played the red herring by rolling the largest trunk we could find, one that could possibly hold a whole person in it, by Sterling, placing it in a taxi to make him believe we had moved the mayor off the premises. 

And that’s how we kidnapped the mayor. Now to get information out of him. 

The first step was to convince him we meant business and that there was no one there to protect him. When the mayor was panicking about the FBI agents that were supposed to be at the door, Eliot and I’s small role came in. 

“You ready for this?” Eliot asked me.

I rolled my head side to side to loosen my neck and adjusted the maid outfit I was still wearing, “yup, just play dead. And you try not to drop me.”

“I’d never drop you sweetheart,” Eliot said with a smile and a wink. He then squatted down, allowing me to lean over his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around my legs and the other grabbed my wrist, pulling it to his other side to keep me on his shoulder. 

I went limp as he stood and slightly kicked the hotel room door open, effectively shutting up the mayor. 

“Did you have to?” Nate asked. “She saw our faces,” Eliot said. 

“Okay,” Nate relented easily. “Put her in the tub with the others.”

Eliot put me down gently in the bathroom to which I gave him a thumbs up to refrain from speaking and alerting the mayor I was, in fact, alive. 

Nate was now playing a more serious and powerful role for the mayor. He was the boss, and not too happy with being turned over to the feds. What might make up for it and not get the mayor killed would be a cut in and meeting with Tony Kadjic. Every answer that Nate didn’t like, Hardison played a goon that would go to strangle the mayor with a coarse rope. 

When we got all the information we needed from him, Eliot went out and knocked him out again, this time with his fist. 

Tara and Parker then came in announcing that the FBI had cleared the building and I exited the bathroom to join the others. 

“So we kidnapped a mayor,” Tara said, “I hope you realize that even if we pull this off, we’re gonna leave the city with nothing but the clothes on our backs.”

I thought it over and determined that I was okay with that. I could buy almost everything I needed and anything I thought I couldn’t live without for sentimental reasons I was sure I could get Cora to hold onto for me. Anything else I could figure out. 

“Yeah, okay, uh, Kadjic has a shipment at the docks,” Nate moved on quickly, “Hardison, stash the mayor somewhere else and uh, see what you can dig up.”

“If I can access the security cameras at the port, maybe with facial recognition I can find Kadjic,” Hardison said. 

Nate sighed, “Yeah. Eliot, Parker, Tara, y/n, do a physical sweep of the docks.” He then nodded and walked straight out of the hotel room. 

“Where you going?” Eliot asked him before he shut the door. Eliot looked at Tara and I, “Where’s he going?”

I looked at where he exited, I couldn’t help but shake my head. I didn’t know, but I hoped it wasn’t where I thought. Or somewhere stupid in general. 

Tara stepped out for a moment before we went to the docks as directed. Once we got there we split up into pairs, Eliot and Parker, and Tara and I. We each had a list of ships that were anchored there and went to work to try and find the ship with Tony Kadjic’s weapons. We looked at each other for a moment before heading in opposite directions. This was gonna be a job, that’s for sure. 

Tara and I took the strategy of checking two ships at a time, one for each of us, not straying very far from each other so we could check in after each one. We had gotten through about ten when Tara suggested we check each one together and just move through each ship quicker. It didn’t take much longer before she stopped me completely.

She obviously took out her ear bud and placed it in her pocket. 

I hesitantly followed her lead and removed my own, “yes?”

“So, we need to talk,” Tara said.

“About?”

“About you and Eliot.”

I was brushing my thumb over the edge of the stack of pages I was holding onto, but at her words, everything stopped, “What? What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

I could feel the heat rushing to my head, surely causing my face to turn red. I immediately broke my eye contact with her and looked down at the list of ships. I found the next one on the list and tried to walk past her, “There’s nothing to talk about.”

She caught my arm and placed me in front of her again, “Nope, not doing that. I need you to be honest or else this is probably gonna blow up in the future.”

I sighed, “Isn’t lying like your whole thing?”

“Not relevant right now, and plus I’m always honest about my feelings and what I think when I’m not grifting,” she replied. 

“Look, like I said, there isn’t anything to talk about. Nothing is going on, probably nothing will ever happen-”

“You like him though. You have feelings for him beyond ‘coworker and friend’ before you give me that crap.”

I simply stared over her shoulder into the distance, I couldn’t decide if I was trying or not to say something in response. 

“I can see the way you look at him and act around him. It’s different than the rest of the team.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“No, I’m just good at reading people. I doubt anyone else has noticed.”

I finally looked at her again, “Look, Tara, I have been trying not to acknowledge it or make it a reality for a while now. Eliot and I met on a con, when I wasn’t in on it. We flirted, I thought we hit it off, but it didn’t go anywhere. Probably because Nate told him off for it, even if I’m a big girl and can make my own decisions. Still, Eliot still has some respect or duty to Nate, so… whatever.” I sighed before continuing, “Despite that, you’ve seen Eliot. He flirts with any pretty girl that crosses his vision for more than ten seconds. I didn’t miss the look he had when it was mentioned that you were naked, Tara.”

Tara gave a little shrug, but allowed me to continue. 

“That first con didn’t mean anything, I said that in Ukraine to Maggie, it’s true for you too. So no matter my feelings, it needs to stay platonic, because I know that’s all it will end up being. I don’t really belong in this world, no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I may want to. I’m sure it will end eventually. All of it.” I took a deep breath to keep myself from falling over an emotional ledge, “So I’m not allowing or acknowledging my feelings to become anything more. I will enjoy the time I have with the team. With Eliot. Even if nothing comes of it. I have to keep telling myself that, so maybe I’ll believe it.”

I stopped talking, not wanting to say more. Not wanting to fall over the edge. Tara gave me a moment before speaking. 

“That’s a good start, but in order for this to not blow up eventually, you need to acknowledge it so you can do something about it. Whether that be to jump his bones or get over it,” she finally said with a look on her face that told me this was not negotiable. 

“Fine,” I said, clenching my hands to release some of the pressure building inside of me, “Yes, I like Eliot. I like him more than a friend. I wish something would happen between us. He’s handsome, and strong, and so protective. And he's talented in more ways than I anticipated.”  My rambling trailed off as I realized, “He’s… He’s everything…” A rush of feelings was churning inside of me at the admission. I wasn’t sure if I could handle much more. “I don’t know how I’m gonna face him anymore. His touch already lingers on my skin and I can’t get him out of my head when he sneaks in.”

“That was a little bit more than I was wanting,” Tara said, “But it was good.”

“You asked for it,” I batted back, “Now I feel like shit.”

She laughed, “Now that you’ve released those feelings, you’ll feel better, promise.”

“Why are you treating me like a high schooler who has their first real crush?”

“Because you are kind of acting like one.”

“Go to hell Tara,” I said with only moderate conviction. I jumped around and shook my limbs trying to release the emotional energy and tension that had built in my body. “Okay, this job isn’t over. My feelings don’t matter, let’s go.”

Tara stopped me before I started walking again.

“What?” I snapped, “I did what you wanted, can we leave it alone?”

“Your feelings do matter, y/n. Just so you know.” She then walked in the direction of the ships and started searching again, not waiting for a response for me. 

“I hate this,” I said to myself. I slipped my earbud back into my ear and looked at the list. “Next ship.”

After what seemed like forever, we met back up with Eliot and Parker. You would think that this meant we were close to the end, but no. We still had over a hundred ships at port that we hadn’t searched. 

“This is hopeless,” Tara said as we fell into step with Parker. 

“And it smells,” Parker added. 

“Yess,” Tara and I said in sync. 

“Like old clown shoes,” Tara described. 

“Briney despair,” Parker added. 

“Rusty defeat,” I countered.

“Maybe Hardison…” Eliot began but trailed off. Before stopping us with a ‘hey.’

“What?”

“He’s Italian,” Eliot said, digging into his jacket pocket and pulling out the page from Bonanno’s notebook. “Bonanno’s Italian.” Eliot after looking at the words ‘Maltese Falcon,’ he walked off towards a ship. 

“So now he’s walking off?” Tara asked in disbelief. 

“It rubs off on people,” I said before following Eliot. 

“Yup,” Parker agreed. 

“Sparky, slow down,” Tara called after him. 

When we finally caught up and looked at the ship’s name, there it was. ‘Il Falcone Maltese,’ the Maltese Falcon in what I assumed was Italian. 

“Well that was easy,” I joked. The others gave me a glare so I backtracked, “I’m kidding, you cracked the code Sherlock.” I leaned to nudge Eliot with my shoulder, trying not to overthink any interaction I had with him after my talk with Tara. Everything seemed to be becoming real after the talk, something I feared would happen. I tried to feel resentment or anger at her for forcing my hand, but I had to admit, I felt a bit more free. And the feelings I felt were fuller somehow.

“Hey guys,” Hardison said through comms, “Head over to Nate’s apartment. He says he has a plan.”

“Is it safe?” I asked, already heading back to the car. 

“He said it is,” Hardison replied.  

“Okay, let’s hear it,” I said once we got back to the apartment. The ride back was quiet and tense, but if Nate said he had a plan…

He outlined the plan for us that mostly consisted of Nate posing to strike a business deal with Kadjic and ultimately pinning him with the weapons and the shooting. 

“Is it possible?” Nate asked solemnly once he relayed what he wanted done to complete the plan. 

“I’ll need Eliot,” Hardison answered, “and to buy some new supplies, and maybe five hours. Plus I need to hack into the cargo ship and system at the docks.”

“What about the money?” Nate asked. 

“It’s on short notice, but…”

“Use my accounts.”

“That’ll clean you out,” Hardison pointed out. Something didn’t seem right here. 

“Use them,” Nate insisted. “And what about you guys, on your end?” He was referring to Tara and Parker breaking into the FBI Boston field office to deal with evidence.

“I don’t think we can make it in through the main entrance,” Parker answered. “So I think we need to go up and make it down from the roof.”

“But you can do it.”

“Sure, it’s not our part of the scam that’s impossible,” Tara said. 

“No, it’s everything else,” Parker added. 

“Yeah, definitely that, but our part, no,” Tara emphasized. 

“Alright, well, I’m gonna set up the meet with Kadjic,” Nate said, not addressing the ‘impossible’ parts of the scam. 

“No, no,” Eliot tried to stop him, “I said I know where the weapons are. I don’t know if Kadjic’s gonna be there.”

“Well, we’re gonna have to lure Kadjic to the weapons,” Nate said as a solution as if it were easy. “Our whole plan depends on our ability to confirm Kadjic and the weapons being in the same place at the same time.”

Before we knew it, it was go time. Hardison and I moved the mayor into a storage container on the docks, while he was knocked out of course so he wouldn’t know where he was. The container had plastic hanging around with electric lamps to give a very ominous look. To top it off, Hardison was in his mob suit, and I had dressed in an all black, long sleeve and pant ensemble myself to match. 

“Everybody ready?” Nate asked as we were finishing setting up Hardison’s laptop and Nate and Eliot approached the dock. 

“Yeah, but remember, once you’re on that ship, all that metal’s gonna mess with reception,” Hardison answered. “Won’t be able to reach you once you’re below decks.”

Tara and Parker indicated they were ready over comms as well. 

We listened in as Nate and Eliot boarded the ship and made their presence known when Eliot beat up some guards. Nate mediated with the armed guards by asking for a meeting with Kadjic, a bag of cash in hand. It seemed to work as nobody got shot or was injured, but I wasn’t hopeful about the situation when Eliot mentioned he was counting how many guys with guns there were. Apparently there were a lot. 

In the storage container, I sat away from Culpepper to have less chance of him recognizing me from my stint as a dead maid, and monitored the computer. Hardison adopted a thick Irish accent to threaten the mayor, asking him to act scared when calling Kadjic. Hardison had a drill with a scary looking bit on it for good measure. The mayor agreed quite readily to comply. 

He called and begged Kadjic to do whatever we wanted, citing what we supposedly did to his FBI handlers before Hardison revved the drill again and cut the line with Culpepper’s scream. It sounded very convincing to me, especially since the mayor was still screaming behind me. 

Nate used the call to his advantage, building up a more threatening reputation and the now open opportunity to be Kadjic’s business partner. Kadjic was at least interested in the proposition, enough that he led them around the ship it sounded like, and eventually below deck. 

Meanwhile, Parker and Tara were able to gain access to the field office, their database, and physical evidence. I watched as Hardison took his computer back to transfer the digital evidence in the FBI’s database, deleting the original files. Once that was completed and he relayed to Tara what case file to destroy the physical evidence in, he put his system back to work on facial recognition around the dock. After a while, the computer alerted us, saying that it had a match. 

Hardison and I looked to see what the match was and a security photo of the docks popped up on the screen. What we weren’t expecting was for Tara to be in the shot with Kadjic. The shot was taken early this morning. The two of us shared a look. 

“That can’t be good,” I said.

Hardison shook his head as he put his finger in his ear, trying to get a hold of Parker. When he couldn’t, he dashed out between the plastic and out of the unit to try and get a better signal. I followed, leaving the mayor tied up in the unit. Once we were outside Hardison was able to talk to Parker. Hardison relayed what we found to her and took a sigh of relief that it seemed she was okay. Once she had all the information, she could handle herself. 

What really startled me was the ship nearby starting its engine. The ship was Il Falcone Maltese, the ship where Nate, Eliot, and Kadjic were. The ship that wasn’t supposed to be going anywhere, especially with them on it. 

I immediately started running to the ship. 

“Where are you going?” Hardison yelled after me. 

“To do something that’s probably stupid!” I called back. There was a large pipe wrench on a bench that I picked up along the way. “But I’m pretty sure we should stop that ship!”

I heard Hardison follow me as we scampered up to the ship’s deck and dropped down to the lower levels, finally finding the engine room. I looked at Hardison who had grabbed a large tool of his own along the way. 

“Let’s get to work.”

We started pulling and twisting knobs left and right, hacking away at electronics and pipes with our heavy tools until everything was flashing red lights or leaking something. We heard the engine start to sputter and shut down. 

Hardison and I shared a smug smile and a fist bump, “Nice work.” That was until there were some noises coming from around the corner. We walked around to see Eliot start to climb some stairs to one of the upper levels. There was blood on his face and it looked like he was looking to spill someone else’s. 

“Hey,” Hardison called to stop him from running off, “took you long enough.”

“What?” Eliot asked, walking towards us instead. An armed guard jumped around a corner next to Eliot and it took less than two seconds and three hits to have him on the ground and out of commission. “One,” Eliot said to himself once the guard was down. 

“What?” Hardison asked. 

“Wha- where’s Nate?” Eliot changed the subject. 

“I don’t know, man. All this metal is messing with the signal,” Hardison replied. 

The sound of heeled shoes came from a neighboring corridor and caught our attention as a familiar looking woman walked by. I dashed around to get a better look with the boys following after me. We stopped when we were behind her. 

“Sophie?” We asked all at once. 

She looked over her shoulder at us and echoed Hardison, “took you long enough. Come on,” she then walked off in the direction she was previously heading, expecting us to follow. 

We shared a quick look of confusion before following. While we navigated the ship Sophie relayed how Tara told her everything and how she met with Kadjic to get Sophie a meeting in order to be here. That explained the security photo from this morning and why she was here.  Eventually we found a room that had a single armed guard. Eliot quickly knocked him out, busting open the door in the process and finding Nate sitting there handcuffed. 

“Zero,” Eliot said before grabbing the handcuff key and freeing Nate. 

Hardison, Eliot, and I left the area and waited for Sophie and Nate to have a short conversation. In all the previous commotion, I now had a good look at Eliot. He had his hair in a half updo, keeping it out of his face. Blood had begun to dry on his temple and from his nose. My heart skipped a beat in a way I couldn’t deny anymore that I cared for him. More than I should. I gently pulled a corner of my sleeve up and approached him to clean him up a bit. I raised my hand steadily, making my intentions obvious when Eliot grabbed my wrist gently. 

“Don’t get your shirt dirty for me, it’s fine,” he said softly. 

“It’s black, it’ll be fine. Please?” I whispered, my eyes tracing where a bead of sweat dropped to his brow. He finally released me and affirmed with a nod. 

I started at his temple, brushing away the newer blood to luckily see that it had stopped bleeding with the exception of a small bead, just enough to form a scab. The rest had dried to his skin despite the sweat, but I was able to get it off with a few gentle scratches of my nail. I moved on to the area under his nose where a single track of blood had trailed to his lip. This brushed away a bit more easily. It hadn’t occurred to me until that moment of time with my thumb brushing over his top lip to remove his own blood how much I wanted to kiss him. The skin of my fingers brushing his face so intimately became too much and I stepped away when I was sure the blood was gone. 

He whispered, “Thank you, sweetheart.”

I didn’t have time to reply before Sophie and Nate finally caught up to us. They led the way outside where we saw the mayor, still in his hotel bathrobe, enter the bridge of the ship, coincidentally, where Kadjic was as well, trying to get the ship underway. Hardison and Eliot went to lock them in one side and Nate and Sophie went to lock the other, trapping them there with no escape. I went around the corner to wave down Parker and Tara who were on their way. 

The four of them came up behind me once Kadjic and Culpepper were trapped just as Parker and Tara climbed the stairs where I was. 

Parker almost immediately hugged Sophie. 

“Oh,” Sophie said at the gesture, “Parker, touching.”

“Kinda, yeah,” Parker replied a bit bashfully. 

There were sirens in the distance, coming to arrest Kadjic and Culpepper with any luck. 

“Listen, I hate to cut goodbyes short,” Tara said at the sound, “but they're playing my song.”

“Keep out of trouble,” Eliot said. 

“Or if you wanna get in trouble again,” Hardison said with a smirk. 

Tara smiled at the implication. 

“Is this why…?” I asked, wondering about the earlier conversation we had. 

She shrugged, “Maybe.” She then looked at Sophie, “So we’re…”

“Oh, we’re even,” Sophie responded. “Absolutely.”

Tara nodded and with a pat on Nate’s arm, started to dash around the back side of the ship. 

“Hey,” Nate stopped her, “Are you gonna be alright on your own?”

Tara smiled, “What do you think?” She then continued on her path. 

We then looked at each other, wondering what to do. 

“There’s not that many ways out of here,” Eliot said after an assessing look around. 

“Eliot, when I arrange a rescue, I do it properly,” Sophie said with a smug expression. 

We all looked above as a helicopter touched down on the docks next to the ship. 

“Indeed you do,” I said following after Eliot and Parker down towards the getaway vehicle. 

Just when we were going to climb off the deck of the ship, Sterling popped out of nowhere, clapping his hands and a “Bravo!”

FBI agents then surrounded us, stopping us in our tracks. Of course it wasn’t a clean getaway. 

“So,” Sterling said, approaching us. “Where is Tony Kadjic?”

“He’s locked in the bridge,” Nate replied from behind us, but moved in front of us to talk directly to Sterling. “And the guns are stored in boxes in the hold.”

“I see you kept your end of the deal, Nate,” Sterling said.

“What?” I asked softly, looking at Nate, trying to figure out what was going on.

Nate didn’t respond, he just walked slowly to the side and handcuffed himself to the rail. “Yeah Sterling, we have a deal.”

“Nate, what are you doing?” Hardison asked this time, but still, Nate didn’t answer. 

“Quit messing around,” Sterling said. “In thirty seconds there will be another dozen guns on the deck.”

I looked around, the team was edging closer to the rail, Nate, and ultimately freedom in the helicopter. Eliot was specifically keeping his eyes on the armed FBI agents. I was unsure what to do. I kept close to the team, but it almost felt like my feet were glued to the deck. 

“Do you have any idea what’s going on right now, Sterling?” Nate asked. “There’s a fire in the FBI evidence room,” he said, referring to the tampering Tara and Parker did earlier, planting an ignition system to destroy evidence. “And Hardison wiped the servers of all the evidence.”

“Where are you going with this?” Sterling asked. 

“I destroyed all the evidence the FBI had on Culpepper and Kadjic. You have no photos, no tapes, you don’t have anything. You don’t have a case on anybody, unless you arrest me, and only me,” Nate explained. My eyes were glued on him, explaining his case to Sterling, and us, all unaware of what he was planning. “I agree to turn state’s evidence. And I testify to what Kadjic told me, how he put the hit on Bonanno. Hell, I’ll even give you Bonanno’s evidence against the gun running!”

“Nate,” Eliot said steadily, “I can take these guys.”

“It’s just ten more yards to the chopper, man,” Hardison said. 

“Listen, guys,” Nate said, “I got you into this mess, this is the only way to get you out.” He turned to Sterling, “And I can feel you thinking Sterling, and don’t, don’t bother! And if you touch one of them, the deal is off. Nevins loses two years of work, and your first case with Interpol.”

“So, you’re my case, or I have no case,” Sterling summarized. 

“Exactly.”

There was a slight upturn to Sterling’s lips that finally dropped, “Fine, we’ll call it a draw then.”

Nevins, the FBI agent in charge, protested, “No, we do not take this deal!”

Sterling forcibly lowered her gun, “Take one more step, and I’ll shoot you myself.”

The agents and Sterling backed off, leaving us somewhat alone. 

“Come here,” Nate said to us, “You guys are the most honorable people I’ve ever met in my life. You’ve become my family,” he looked at me, “Our only family.I won’t forget that.” There was a pause before he said to Eliot, “Now get them on the chopper. Now!”

Eliot took a moment to nudge Parker and Hardison towards the stairs to get off the ship. I wouldn’t move, raising my hand at Eliot to give me a moment. He allowed it, standing a bit off to the side. 

“I’m sorry, Birdie,” Nate said, his face sorrowful, but determined. 

“I know,” I said, surprising myself with how calm I was, at least on the outside. “But I’m still angry.”

“At me?”

“I don’t know yet,” I said. I paused before taking the two steps forward it took to close the gap between us, “But I know I would regret it if I didn’t hug you right now.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, knowing this was a different kind of goodbye. I felt a tear roll down my cheek and onto his coat before I released him. I took a step back, but couldn’t find it in myself to keep going. 

I think Nate could see that, “Goodbye Birdie.” 

I just nodded. 

Nate looked over my shoulder to Eliot, “Get her out of here, please.”

I felt one of Eliot’s arms wrap around my waist, the other on my arm to guide me away. He whispered a “come on, sweetheart,” as we walked down the stairs, leaving Nate and Sophie on the deck of the ship. We passed Sterling on the way, and Eliot told him coolly to watch his back, a stark contrast to the way he gently led me towards the helicopter. He helped me to my seat and waited to help Sophie in as well before we took off. 

To freedom I suppose.

A/n: Hey guys! So glad you were able to stick it out until now. I'm going to be taking a little bit of hiatus between seasons 2 and 3. I have finals these next two weeks and want to plan out this next season a bit more, hopefully getting a few episodes written before I start posting again. Thank you so much for reading so far, can't wait for next season, where stuff might start moving!! Reblogs and comments are welcome and encouraged!

Tags: @instantdinosaurtidalwave @kniselle @technikerin23 @kiwikitty13 @plasticbottleholder @mushycore 

[jacevelaryonswife]

► How would they meet you at a party? — Modern Headcanons 「AU」

pairing: Jacaerys Velaryon | Aegon Targaryen | Aemond Targaryen x Fem!Reader (the famous big three).

a/n: This is situated in college. I don't usually physically detail the reader so that feels included, but personality is something apart. English is not my first language, sorry for any mistakes. I’m totally obsessed with modern au.

warnings: mentions of alchool, drunking and sex.

⇒ inspired by @valeskafics

Modern headcanons masterlist

— Aegon ↺

Aegon is the king of the party. He's the coolest frat boy.

The other guys want to be him and the girls drool around him (think in an extremely literal sense).

When you're used to having everything you want the idea of not getting something is devastating. And that's exactly how he feels about your rejection, or almost that.

How do you dare? He's rich, popular, handsome, and has a hot body. No one has ever rejected him!

But you are not everyone.

You know exactly who Aegon Targaryen is. A spoiled drunk fuckboy who doesn't want anything serious with anyone. You don't want anything serious either, but there's something fun about denying bread to someone who owns the bakery.

You're pretty and hot, surrounded by friends and unlike most, you're not drinking anything.

He is not intimidated by the presence of other people when he approaches you, smiling seductively in his typical sexy voice used for these moments.

It was a surprise to you when he showed up, but at no point would you let on that you knew him.

He would flirt compulsively and try to get physically close, using all charm and good looks he's been blessed with to get you into bed.

He might be the kind of guy who would look at you as a challenge when you ignored him, or he'd also call you a bitch with your college friends. Either way, he'll feel terribly bothered by the rejection.

There is a high possibility that he will try to approach you again to get into your panties, a good warrior doesn't run away from the fight.

He's an arrogant little bitch and you hate yourself for liking it, but you don't waste time putting him in his place.

— Aemond ↺

Here's the thing: you'd probably get to him first.

Aemond isn't a big fan of being in a house full of college students, alcohol and loud music, but with the end of period and imminenthe allows himself to attend this type of environment.

Perhaps it was the stress of finals that drove him insane, but when Aemond arrives at the party alongside his older brother, he hides from the others with a cup of bad beer in hand.

He would talk to some of his classmates and very possibly soon regret being there (the smell of marijuana contaminates the whole place).

But before he could go, you would stop him with precise steps and a corner smile, like a gentle predator.

“Hi handsome.” You dared like never before in your life, but you couldn't let that mysterious beauty disappear into the air.

What if he has a girl/boyfriend?

Fuck it, you only live once.

Normally he wasn't approached by many girls, especially with your looks. You’re beautiful. Fucking gorgeous, to be exact.

Most people found him intimidating — you included — but he was charming and sexy and so good at talking.

He would invite you outside to talk when the music gets too loud and horny young people bump into you two.

He'd take the conversation where you wanted it to go, and maybe, depending on how the night went, he'd take you to his apartment and oh boy, it’s amazing.

He's not much for social media, but you need this man in your life and ask for his number.

The smile he shows at the end of the night is purely of satisfaction.

— Jace ↺

Our good boy Jace loves parties — as long as they don't affect his academic performance.

He doesn't go to all, but always has fun with his frat friends and a cup of beer (and sometimes kissing someone).

At first you think he's cute. Really cute. He has curly hair falling over his shoulders and an open and cheerful smile.

He would catch you watching him and blush (hard to see by the lighting of the living room), looking back with a shy smile. Even if he gets along most of the time with the girls, he really is a embarrassed little thing.

He would come to you eventually, fully encouraged by the guys.

“Dude she’s so hot, go get some!”

You keep the curious/seductive smile as he approaches. At first you thought it was a bad idea since he was surrounded by some fuckboys, but you shouldn't judge one by all.

He's cute and a little shy at first, but warms up quickly as he talks to you. Like Aemond, Jace is also great in talking.

So boyfriend material. No, not yet.

He might pull you out dancing or meet some of his friends, getting you alone again afterwards.

Normally, if things went well he'd ask for your number or slowly lean in to kiss you (if you wanted to), but he's surprised when you pull him into a dark corner and kiss him passionately, stroking his beautiful hair.

He pulls alway panting with lips glistening, begging with puppy ​​eyes for you number or any onther social media.

You are more than happy to give it to him.

for: @madame-fear and @faces-ofvenus ✨

[fan-gyaldump]

Erased Part 2

Bakugo x reader fanfic

…

Well this is awkward.

Hi hello I forgot I had tumblr and I am very much sorry for ditching this completely. I know it’s taken me 5 years to post part 2 but I have returned hehe.

Content warning: alcohol use

。。。。。。。。。

Y/n ran.

She ran.

So fucking fast.

Every step she took was now her body being controlled by autopilot, unaware of all the people staring at her in confusion, but right now all she needed to do was get Kaminari off her tail and hide. However outrunning a pro hero is a lot harder than she thought, yeah he was better than her in terms of cardio but what he couldn’t get away from were all his adoring and devoted fans. He tried his hardest to say a quick hello but his priorities were literally slipping away from him.

“Chargebolt can I get a picture!” A young boy shouted at him, standing right where he could block him for long enough so that Y/n could get away.

“Uhh sorry kid I’d really love to but there’s something that I really need to do right now.” He rushed, guilt taking over him as he brushed him off in a way he never usually would.

Kaminari swore to himself as he lost sight of Y/n, he just had her! There was no way one kid could have made him lose track of where she was that quickly. Regardless he ran around the block anyway to look for her.

Y/n had ended up swerving into a side road that was in the complete opposite direction of her house. Incredibly inconvenient for her on a number of levels, not to mention the fact that she had used her dinner as a form of defence. Well aren’t I a fucking idiot, she thought to herself. She looked around the area she had found herself in, it was a humble little neighbourhood, not too busy compared to the high street she was on but she knew for a fact she had gotten away from Kaminari. Once she had relaxed from her adrenaline rush, she turned around and made her way back home.

Her anxiety had never been this bad before. The sweatiness of her palms and rushed breathing only made her feel worse about the whole situation that had just happened. She was in the middle of processing it all in her head, the whole ordeal replaying in her head like a torturous loop, all because her pride was too big from letting anyone from her past to know anything about her. Especially her ex’s closest friend. Maybe it wasn’t even pride, it might also have been the fact that she was too ashamed to face any of them, seeing her like this would only mean that she had hit an all time low.

But it was expected, these are the consequences that follow you for the rest of your life when you join the league. She did this to herself.

You idiot

That’s all she could tell herself.

But at least now she had a good excuse to go back home and get blackout drunk. However, this did mean that she would have to try and find a way to steal the alcohol.

Y/n didn’t believe in stealing for superficial things like alcohol or anything materialistic, she considered it lower than low. She could understand if someone was in a crisis and had no other means of getting food or water, that was excusable, but alcohol? She knew she had a problem.

-

Uraraka had planned a dinner party with all of her fellow heroes and ex classmates at her house, the last bits of her preparations were now finished, all that was left was for the guests themselves to arrive.

As expected Todoroki and Deku came on time, Kirishima, Sero and Mina arriving a little bit after them, Jiro and Momo both arrived at the same time. Naturally they all brought drinks and snacks with them to contribute to the evening.

Bakugo pulled up to the driveway, he parked his car behind Mina’s and sat in his car for a while. He initially didn’t want to go and was going to cancel but he figured that it would be good for him to socialise a little. He fixed his hair in his mirror, grabbed his things from his car and made his way to Uraraka’s door until he heard his phone vibrate in his hand.

His secretary Lena had messaged him. Again?

“Sir please make sure you lock your office door before you clock out. Bozo :)”

He let out a sigh of exasperation, regretting the fact that he had hooked up with her ONCE during a work party. Sure he thought she was somewhat attractive but that’s only after a few drinks. Other than that, he wouldn’t even dream of doing it again.

He replied, of course his response was dry but he couldn’t be asked to engage in any type of conversation with her. He just wanted to have a nice evening with his friends without his regret messaging him during out of work hours. He silenced his phone, knocked on the door and went in to greet everyone

Kaminari paced around the front of the house for 15 minutes. Bakugo had told him that he was unsure if he was going to go so he had hoped that he had just stayed home. The whole y/n situation had left him in complete and utter shock. He nearly had her. He touched her and saw with his own eyes that she’s still alive. Every unanswered question that everyone had about her was answered that afternoon when he made a split decision to grab some water. This really was a moral conflict like no other, on one hand he wanted to say something but on the other hand he felt that it would be unfair to Uraraka to ruin a dinner that was meant to be for all of them to relax and enjoy. Guilt and confusion filled him to the brim. Enough time had passed and he decided to just suck it up and go in, he had finally made the decision to not say anything.

He knocked on the door, shamefully of course since he knew he was the last one there. Momo opened it and greeted him cheerfully. “Well you took your time!” She hugged him and let him in to the house.

“Well look who the fuck finally showed up!” Mina shouted, her voice giving away the fact that she was already a bit tipsy.

Everyone cheered for the latecomer, now they were all excited that it was a full house and the party could go on as planned. Kaminari smiled and greeted everyone until he saw Bakugo standing by the snacks, face stoic as usual.

Oh fuck, Kaminari thought. This was the last thing he wanted. Seeing Bakugo there just made him nervous all over again. Reminding him of his moral dilemma.

“Shots anyone?” He asked, holding up a large bottle of Sake.

-

Y/n brushed off the small shard of glass that was left on her hoodie after breaking the door of the liquor store, she felt awful for breaking and entering someone’s shop but alcohol was needed in her desperate time.

Naturally she went for the strong stuff and treated herself to flavoured soju that was on sale before leaving the store.

She had her face covered the whole time but she still became paranoid about whether or not she did a good job of clearing any evidence that could’ve been tied back to her breaking into the humble, little liquor store. Deep down she knew she’d get away with it, the league taught her more than enough to commit any rookie crime that they would always do. That included how to leave no evidence behind and ensure that you were absolutely not gonna get caught.

“You should’ve gone for the strawberry Soju but hey that’s just my opinion.” A sudden voice spoke from behind her.

Y/n jolted, dropping a bottle. The voice was so unexpected she didn’t know how to react. But of course she calmed down after she knew who was talking to her.

She huffed and turned around to meet her stalker “hello to you to Dabi.”

“Oh yeah, hello Y/n. Long time no see huh” he smiled, “you know normally you would’ve punched me for scaring you like that.”

“Dabi please” she said, defeat in her tone. “I really cannot be asked for any of this right now.”

Dabi laughed at her teasingly, their dynamic was always his favourite. He pisses her off, she gets angry and he relishes in it. A routine he had missed since she had left the league. “Long day huh? I don’t blame you. Chargebolt is hard to outrun right.”

Y/n groaned, she rubbed her face to try and hide her shame. “Oh for fucks sake Dabi.”

He laughed at her again, seeing her so angry always made him feel good for some reason. Maybe he was just more sadistic than he thought. Either way he found it funny every time.

“Even after 3 years of not seeing you, you still find ways to drive me up the fucking wall.” Now she was visibly annoyed, the memory of that afternoon kept replaying in her head, what made it worse is that now she knew Dabi had seen it all.

“Oh don’t act like you don’t like it.”

“I can’t stand it.”

“Yeah whatever” he dismissed her. “Didn’t know you were such a drinker Y/n. Damn that’s a lot for such a small girl.” He approached her, grabbing her bottle of Soju and examined the bottle. “But I guess you were out of options right?”

“Anything to not have to put up with you assholes any longer.” She snapped back at him, quickly grabbing her bottle from him. She turned on her heel swiftly and began walking towards her apartment again. The sight of Dabi pissed her off, unlike Kaminari. She actually had the balls to face him with all the hatred in the world.

“Awww you don’t mean thatttt” his voice somehow became more annoying and irritating for her. “We had such good times didn’t we? All the killing and robbing and scheming? You’re gonna break my heart y’know.”

“Fuck off.”

Dabi reached for her hood and pulled her back harshly. Making sure she was facing him. Y/n scoffed and slapped his hand away from her.

“Dabi! I promise you I will fucking kill you right now” she poked at his chest and stabbed him with her finger.

Dabi laughed, mocking her attempt at being intimidating, they both knew if it came down to it, he could easily kill her.

“Relax bitch. I’m not here for you to talk to me like that.” He pushed her by her shoulder, asserting his strength to her. Something that she was already well aware of. Especially since her drinking had made her more sluggish and less active. Subconsciously she knew that should wouldn’t actually be able to do anything to him. “I have a proposal for you. Shiguraki told me to go look for you cuz it’s something we figured you would be able to do.”

“Tell him to suck a dick. I’m not interested in whatever scummy shit you guys wanna do.” Y/n wanted nothing more than to just get away and go home but now she had to deal with yet another inconvenience.

“Tell him that yourself. He wants you back, only because you’re the only one who would actually benefit the rest of us if you did decide to help.” He began to rummage around his pocket, y/n watched him carefully.

He pulled out a scrap piece of paper and a burner phone. Holding it out in his hand for y/n to take. She looked at him confused, unsure of what exactly he needed.

“The numbers on the paper if you change your mind. Call it and we’ll know that you’re interested.”

Y/n turned her gaze to his, unamused and very VERY pissed off, what exactly did this guy not understand by the words “fuck off”? She crossed her arms, making no indication that she was going to take the phone. There was no way in hell that she was going to go back to that life again. She wanted nothing to do with it.

“I’m not interested so don’t bother.” She left again, this time her pace quickened as to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to grab her again.

Dabi stood there. He put the phone in his pocket and watched her walk away. Little did she know, he was certain that she was going to come back sooner or later.

-

The dinner party was going so well. Mina was drunk, Kirishima was drunk, Kaminari was tipsy and everyone else was either enjoying the entertainment that the drunk guests were giving them or they were catching up to them slowly.

“Man I missed you guys soooo much.” Mina wrapped her arms around Midoriya and Todoroki’s necks and pulled them in for a very uncomfortable group hug. They all laughed and hugged her back in an awkward way.

“We missed you too. But it’s a good thing we get to see eachother like this again!” Midoriya smiled, pulling himself out of her grasp and fixing his shirt collar.

Momo went around topping everyone’s glasses except for Bakugo’s since he had to drive back home. Of course he was going to be the only sober one.

“Mina cool it. You’re gonna end up puking in the sink like last time.” Kirishima teased her, slurring a little as he spoke.

“NUH UH” she yelled in defence. “That was only cuz you gave me that god awful tequila.” She stuck her tongue out in disgust as she remembered that awful time.

“Please do actually. I’ll be able to film it this time.” Bakugo replied. Smirking at how embarrassed she became.

“One time people! One time!” Mina yelled, her cheeks became red from the booze and the cringe she felt.

“I wonder how the others are doing y’know” Sero asked, rubbing his chin as he thought about his fellow classmates. “Like Koda, mineta, shinsou. All of those guys. Man I miss them.”

Everyone agreed, their distinct conversation now was focused on their friends from back in the day. But not one of them brought up y/n due to obvious reasons.

“I spoke to Iida yesterday. He’s still the same as ever.” Todoroki spoke up.

“Yeah! And Tokoyami is abroad right now on some international hero course training thingy” Mina also said in between hiccups.

“I bumped into Tsuyu today actually! We were both at the same shopping centre by complete coincidence.” Uraraka chirped

“Oh shit yeah I saw Y/n today actually!”

Everyone became quiet

Kaminari realised after two seconds what had just left his mouth. But it was too late, everyone had heard what he had just said. Including Bakugo.

No one said anything, they couldn’t. All they did was stand there with shocked expressions, what they had just heard was something none of them were ready for. Poor Kaminari was in the hot seat with no way of getting any of the attention off of him.

Bakugo couldn’t believe what he had heard. For a split second he lost all sense of reality and thought he had made up what just happened. “The fuck did you just say?” He asked quietly yet firmly, getting up from his seat to be right in front of Kaminari.

Kaminari froze, he stuttered and put his hands up in defence yet he still couldn’t bring himself to say anything coherent. The only thing that left his mouth were a bunch of I’s and umms.

“Denki what did you just say?” Midoriya knew what he said but he had to hear him say it again.

“You saw Y/n?” Bakugo asked, his voice becoming more stern.

“Well. No but, um. Hey is that French wine?” Kaminari tried to walk over to the kitchen counter to grab the bottle when suddenly Bakugo grabbed him by the collar and yanked him towards him.

“Dumbass don’t you FUCKING dare! You saw her didn’t you!? And you didn’t want to say anything?!” Bakugo was now extremely livid, shouting right in his face whilst the others tried to get him to calm down.

“Where was she?! What happened?! Tell me EVERYTHING right fucking now Denki or so help me God I will kick your teeth in right now!” Bakugo began gripping his collar tighter as he tried to squirm out of his grasp.

“Katsuki that’s enough!” Midoriya yelled, he finally managed to get him to let go. Bakugo panted, his eyes fixed on Kaminari’s stupid face. So much was happening at that moment, he didn’t care that he had dropped both his glass and Kaminari’s glass on the floor.

Kaminari really messed up now. He knew he had no other option but to tell them all everything that had happened earlier that day. He just wasn’t ready for how things were going to unfold now.

[capybaraonabicycle]

Kiss 38 for Mels and Fugitive💔

Thank you so much for making me write for my AU the first time in half a year, love!

I had a blast coming up with a scene I hadn't planned on, because I had actually already written the grand final kiss with time running out in an earlier part of the AU. So, for context, this is the night before that part, when the Doctor already knows what will happen the next day but Mels remains oblivious (in order to improve the chances of their escape working). If you have more questions, just ask, I'll be very glad to talk about the whole situation more :)

But yeah, in a nutshell: The Doctor and Lee are planning to fake all of their deaths and flee Division with Mels and Karvanista (leaving Gat behind). The Doctor will turn herself human and hide on Earth with Lee. Mels and Karvanista are supposed to be sent to Leadworth where she will be instructed to wait on the bowtie!Doctor to be ready to kill him, should he ever come into existence. (Which is what they are trying to prevent by running away - the Doctor believes the Bowtie (who she knows about from Mels' tales) to be herself under Tecteun's influence.)

I hope you like it!

A kiss because time is running out

Rating: Teen

Genre: Angst that I somehow managed to weave some fluff into

Warnings: Necromancy, mentions of a siege, carelessness in regard to alcohol abuse, some swearing

Words: ~3500

The Doctor had seen many a beautiful sight in her life. Meteor showers were always a vision, or fogbows that stretched across the sky in milky glory, or a swarm of these tiny insects they had had on Mondas that shimmered in whatever colour contrasted the background the most, or – the point was, she could name a thousand beautiful things off the top of her head if asked. But the most beautiful thing in all of the universe, she found, were the traces of amazement blooming on a face. The innocent joy, the pleasant surprise, the immediate love for something you didn't quite understand yet – there was nothing that beat the sight of someone being hit by unexpected wonder.

So, when Lee asked her if there was anything else he could get her, there was really only one answer she could think of.

“Where are we going?” Mels was trailing behind and inadvertedly pulling at her hand, ever incapable of simply following, be it an order or literally walking after the Doctor.

The Doctor looked back for a second to smile at her fondly: “On a date.”

“At Division headquarters?” Mels frowned, but she did press her hand in silent gratitude. “Can't we sneak out?”

“Not tonight” the Doctor said.

'Not anymore' she thought. Not that they had managed to sneak out much at all in their time together; she could count the precious few times on one hand, actually. So many missed opportunities, so much lost time that they should have stolen back from Tecteun.

"We're going to need our energy resources for tomorrow" the Doctor said. Which was true, in a way, but mainly they needed to stay under the radar more than ever.

"Yeah right" Mels scoffed. "For a siege."

The Doctor frowned at her.

"There are people starving during that seige" she reminded her. "Nevermind the casualties when a shot does get through the defences."

A tender expression crossed Mels' face for a second, then she shook her head.

"You're as sentimental as they come" she claimed. "But even you can't deny that a siege is rather boring compared to what Tecteun usually throws us in."

"Which is why we need to be on guard" the Doctor said, and Mels' eyes lit up.

"Do you believe she has an ace up her sleeve?" she asked eagerly. "That there will be an unexpected twist and it won't be a pure stealth mission after all?"

"You sound awfully excited at the prospect" the Doctor snorted.

"Course I do, honey, you know me" Mels grinned and the Doctor grinned back.

"That I do" she agreed, stopping next to a door. "In here, love."

"The kitchen?" Mels asked in surprise when they entered and a pleased and teasing smile grew on her face. "Doctor, you haven't cooked for me, have you?"

"No" the Doctor flinched.

Of course! That was what she should have done, wasn't it? What was the romantic thing to do? What she wouldn't have given for a little more time now. Just so she could make a mental note to cook for Mels another time, to live up to her, be the partner she deserved.

She made the mental note anyway and it felt like defying her fate. Maybe she would remember, eventually. Maybe they would meet again, someday. Maybe then she would be able to fulfil the unspoken promise. It was about as likely as Tecteun suddenly deciding to sent her into retirement and springing for a pension. But, as Mels would have pointed out if the Doctor had been able to tell her any of this, minuscule chances literally were their daily bread. So who knew? Maybe this would actually all end well. Now she only needed to find the hope she had lost somewhere and to start believing in that.

"Maybe for the best" Mels teased. "I doubt you can make an omelett without burning down the kitchen."

The Doctor huffed. "You're one to talk. I remember when you tried mixing Gat a drink and she said it tasted like pure absinthe."

"Who says that wasn't by design?" Mels smirked. "She was the most fun I have ever experienced with her that night."

"The drink was literally burning" the Doctor pointed out. "I don't believe that was by design."

"It's called a 'flaming drink', darling" Mels deadpanned. "It's totally a thing, my grandpa even orders those."

"Brian orders flaming drinks?" the Doctor echoed. It didn't quite fit the image she had formed of the man from the memories she had seen in Mels' mind.

Mels groaned. "Okay, fine, his mates do. The point is, I am a legit cocktail-connaisseur. And I could also cook an omelett. Probably. Possibly. If I had to."

The Doctor's mouth twitched amusedly. "Let's just stay away from the stove, maybe, what do you think?"

"Good call" Mels pressed her hand, curiously peering around her back when the Doctor approached the fridge. "What are we doing instead?"

"I'll blow your mind" the Doctor boasted, taking a glassbowl with a translucent liquid out the fridge.

Mels' eyes grew wide.

"Is that vodka?" she asked. "Are you actually getting drunk with me, honey?"

"I should not have mentioned the Gat incidence" the Doctor winced. "Now your mind is set on booze, isn't it?"

"I could go with ginger tea instead" Mels grinned, obediently taking the bowl that the Doctor handed her.

"Now there's a thought" the Doctor hummed.

If desperation clawed any harder at her hearts, she might let herself be convinced to go for ginger; hangovers were hell but she much preferred getting drunk on the root than the disgusting drinks that went for 'alcohol' around the galaxy. Not that she had planned on getting wasted on her last night with Mels, but forgetting what she was about to do the next day did sound tempting. Then again, it might increase the probability of spilling the beans and she could not, should not, had not to do that. Not this close to achieving their aim.

"So?" Mels was looking at her expectantly over the rim of the bowl, one eyebrow raised and instantly, the Doctor lost her track again, staring at that achingly familiar face.

How could she think she would be able to bid her goodbye? Mels had become a constant in her life, one of the few gleams bringing light into existence under the Division. For the last years, the Doctor had been leaning on her, more than she cared to admit. Separating from her would feel like giving up a part of herself. Except that it wouldn't, not instantly at least. Couldn't feel like losing a part of yourself when you weren't yourself anymore.

"Follow me." The Doctor pushed past Mels to hide her troubled face from clever eyes with eyebrows that threated pulling together.

She didn't look back, knowing that Mels was bound to be on her heels. Maybe she was excellent at following orders after all – the truth was of course that she always knew which orders were necessary. Or maybe it was that the orders Mels deemed necessary inadvertedly became the important ones. It didn't matter. It was all over now anyway.

The dining room of Division headquarters had a balcony protected by an airbubble. It wasn't like the Doctor had a key, but she had a Lee and that was basically the same thing.

"Sneaking out after all, are we?" Mels hummed, when they stepped outside and the Doctor shrugged and sat down on the stone floor.

"Just a bit."

"You're pulling out all the stops, I see." Mels sat down next to her, their shoulders brushing.

"Always for you" she couldn't help that her voice sounded way more serious than the banter demanded.

Mels cocked her head and the Doctor could tell she was slowly but surely growing concerned. And who could blame her, really? "Are you alright, Doctor?"

"Of course I am" she lied. "You know me, I am always alright!"

Which was precisely the wrong thing to say to Mels, of course, but the Doctor distracted her before she could argue. She tapped the bowl that Mels had set down in front of her knees. "Any idea why I gave you that?"

"Some" Mels smirked. "It's not vodka, I've smelled it."

"It's Polarfreyan oil" the Doctor explained. "Mind you, it's not actually from Polarfrey. No one knows where it comes from, but since it appeared to have come from far away, ancient Gallifreyans called it after the most distant planet they were aware of."

"If no one knows where it comes from, how come you have a whole bowl of the stuff?" Mels pointed out and the Doctor grinned.

"You can buy it at any good gift shop on Reave."

"Of course." Mels rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Nothing as irresistable as a gift shop, is there?"

"I love a little shop!" the Doctor said defiantly. "There's no need to tease me about it."

"Aw, but it's too easy" Mels cooed, leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek. "I'm so glad you spent your money on something as valuable as a bucket of oil, honey."

It hurt terribly to be mocked by her like this, when her voice slipped into that tender undertone and her eyes twinkled merrily, that cheeky smile pulling at her lips that always seemed to be reserved for the Doctor. It hurt when she knew that it meant Mels loved her, when she knew that it was all but over, when she knew that she was lying to her by not warning her of what awaited them the next day, when she knew that she was about to hurt her and she had been planning to do it for a while. The fact that there was no other way did not make it any better.

The Doctor swallowed all of those thoughts in one big gulp and managed to smile at Mels.

"You know, everytime you mock me like this" she started, "I suspect you are trying to get a rise out of me, dear, just so I give in and kiss you to shut you up."

"Oh no, my ulterior motives have been discovered" Mels hummed contentedly.

"I have been called a genius before" the Doctor said, righting her lapels.

Mels' hand wound around her neck, tipping her face into her direction from behind.

"Go on then, you genius" she taunted. "Shut me up."

Their faces were so close now that the Doctor thought she could see the stars reflect in Mels' eyes. Or maybe that was just the light from the kitchen. She tried imprinting the image into her memory, never to lose. Oh, but you know you can't keep your memory anyway, not where you are going, Doctor.

"Shut you up?" she echoed, her voice soft and husky. "And miss out on all the remarkable things you say? Why would I do that?"

"Of for fucks –"Mels hauled her in, guiding their lips together and pressing herself against the Doctor's body. Automatically, the Doctor's hands wandered to her back, holding her tightly and she let herself get lost in the familiar feel of how their bodies fit together.

She tried to blend it all out, just be in the moment, just enjoy the kiss and it worked surprisingly well. Apparently, it was difficult thinking of disaster when Mels Zucker kissed you, slowly, lavishly, like she didn't have a care in the world, like they had all the time in the universe at their disposal.

All too soon, Mels pulled back. Of course it was for a smug remark, what else would have distracted her?

"Want something done, do it yourself" she commented and made a move to dive back in.

The Doctor wanted to let her, too, it was incredibly tempting. But she had had plans for tonight and if they kissed any longer, she knew they would end up postponed. And as things were, they couldn't very much allow themselves any postponing, now could they?

So she caught Mel's jaw in her hand, tenderly cupping her cheek. Mels pulled an adorably cross face, but it softened, when the Doctor brushed her thumb over her cheek.

"Let's have your surprise first, love, what do you say?" she offered.

A smirk curled around Mel's lips. "I thought that was that pretty bowl of mysterious oil you got me?"

"Shut up" the Doctor said fondly and Mels' eyes lit up.

"Make me? This time?"

The Doctor ignored her in hope of getting somewhere tonight. Before their time ran out.

"It's not just any oil" she explained, picking the bowl back up from in front of Mel's knees. She held it out to her again and Mels' fingers deliberately brushed against hers when accepting the glass. "They also call it 'the oil of life'."

"Because...?" Mels indulged her, not without taunt.

With great flourish, the Doctor produced a stone from her pocket. "I have got something else for you."

Mels shifted the bowl into her lap in order to take the stone from her. With a frown, she regarded the gift, but it gave way to a smile when she recognised the fish skeleton that had been caught in the mineral.

"It's a fossil!" she realised.

"Thought you might like that" the Doctor teased. "Archeologist."

"Paleontologist" Mels corrected, eyes still on the fossil. "Paleontology is the study of fossils. Archeologists care about humans exclusively, or intelligent alien lifeforms eventually, I assume. Whatever, you secretly love my passion for archeology."

"I do" the Doctor admitted softly. "It is beautiful to see you passionate."

Now Mels looked up, slightly confused. "No arguing, really?"

"You will become an excellent archeologist some day" the Doctor said earnestly, not letting herself be discouraged. "People will be lining up for your talks."

"Yeah, right" Mels snorted. "Hate to inform you, love, that I can scarcely study archeology, stuck as I am with you at our beloved Division."

That, at least, was a pleasant secret the Doctor was keeping from her. That she wouldn't be stuck for much longer, that she would get to study archeology. The hard part was that she wasn't stuck with the Doctor either, much as both of them wanted that. It was quite the contrary, really.

The Doctor forced yet a new smile onto her face. "Would you like to see what the fish looked like, before it got fossilised?"

"Sure" Mels nodded. She looked expectantly at her, like she waited for the Doctor to produce a photo.

So, this was where the good part started, then. Suddenly, the Doctor's smile felt genuine again.

"Drop the stone into the oil" she ordered and the understanding and hopeful anticipation in Mels' eyes was already gorgeous enough to take her breath away.

Gingerly, Mels lowever the fossil above the oil.

"Maybe don't touch it with your bare skin" the Doctor said hurriedly. "I'm not sure what it would do to a living being."

Mels raised an eyebrow at her, stopping mid air. Then she gently let go of the fossil, pulling her hand away from the small splash of oil that the impact produced.

The stone sunk slowly into the liquid and Mels watched with fascination, how the skeleton started glossing over, colourful scales growing over bare bones, sprouting wavy fins and a sparkling eye, until, all of a sudden, the fish started moving. Mels gasped in delight, when with a decided flick of its tail, it shoved its encasing stone away and started swimming through the oil. The feeble light reflected off its scales in hues of brilliant purple and blue as it wound itself towards the surface of the bowl in tight circles.

"What's it doing?" Mels whispered excitedly, when already, the fish brust through the surface, swimming up into the air as easily as it had traversed the oil.

Mels let out another soft gasp and watched with a bedazzled smile how the fish swam up to her face. It hovered there for a while, looking like it admired itself in the reflection of her eyes. Or maybe it admired Mels herself, just like the Doctor had been doing the whole time. She had been correct: No wonders of the universe could measure up to the sight of bliss on her face.

Mels reached out with her hand, as if to let the fish sniff it – did fish have noses? - and immediately it turned around and took off, flying away in the direction of the stars. There was a soft 'plop' when it crossed the air bubble and then they were watching how it quickly disappeared in the dark depths of the night sky.

Mels' gaze dropped to the rest of the fossil, taking in how the bones had disappeared.

"How is this possible?" she muttered. "Did we turn it alive again? And how can it swim in air? How can it breathe in the vacuum? This is bonkers!"

"They don't call it 'oil of life' for nothing, dear" the Doctor quipped smugly.

"Nothing like a bit of necromancy to brighten up the evening" Mels snorted.

"That wasn't just any fossil" the Doctor told her, leaning over and dropping her voice so Mels understood the gravity of the tale. "It came across the Karax Rift from an alternate universe a few thousand years ago, and it is supposed that the corresponding fish species must have died out wherever it came from. That fish had been extinct for thousand of years in another universe! And now it is crossing our sky."

She smiled in awe at Mels, but for some reason, Mels was looking thoughtful.

"What will happen to it now? Will it ever die?" she asked and there was a strange strain to her voice.

The Doctor frowned. "I don't actually know. I suppose it must, some time. Everybody dies eventually."

"So, it will continue travelling the universe all alone" Mels concluded. "Perhaps indefinitely. The last, the only one of its species. And it doesn't even know whether there's hope it can ever find the way home."

It sounded like she wasn't talking about the fish anymore.

"Mels -" the Doctor started. I will take you home. I can't bring your people to you, but I will bring you back to your parents. Sooner than you can imagine. So much sooner.

She couldn't tell her. Couldn't tell her that travelling the universe was over for her now. Couldn't tell her that they would have to part. Couldn't even think of what she'd have to ask of her. How she would hurt her. And she couldn't say goodbye either.

"Betcha it's seeing some beautiful stars though, on its way" Mels tried a smile, when the Doctor couldn't go on. Her eyes were looking very shiny now, tears waiting to fall when she cupped the Doctor's cheek. "And visiting new worlds, making new friends. I bet it is making the most of its freedom."

"I'm sure of it" the Doctor promised.

"And at least it got to fly away" Mels mused. "What wouldn't I give if I could just – take your hand and go. Away from here, towards everything. Just you and me and the whole universe."

The Doctor had to gulp. "Now that would be something."

And it could be so good. Their imminent escape. It could be so liberating, it could be a reason for celebration. If only they got to stay together. If only this wasn't their last evening of knowing each other. If only time wasn't running out.

"Doctor?" Mels' voice sounded very far away, but the Doctor managed to return to her, when her other hand came up to her cheek as well, cradling her face from both sides. There was concern evident in her eyes, stronger now, but she soldiered on, like she always did, reassuring the Doctor. "Honey, hey. Don't give up on me now. We will get out of here someday. I promise."

Too soon. It's too soon.

Mels was wrong. And she herself was wrong as well: She did not kiss Mels to shut her up, she kissed her to shut up that desperate voice inside her head. Maybe it would content itself if she allowed herself to be as close to her love as possible.

Maybe, when Mels lips slotted against her own, soft and alive and insatiable and when her hands wandered from the Doctor's cheeks to her neck and the fabric of her shirt to pull her ever so much closer, maybe then the voice would finally stop reminding her of the end. Maybe, if she focused strongly enough, on the warmth growing in her stomach, the silk of Mels' skin against her own, on her smell permeating the air, her taste on her lips and tongue, maybe then she could stop time, just for a second, call it back one last time while passing the exit, make it stop in its tracks for just a moment, before it was gone. At least she would try her very best.

Thank you so much for reading!

[criminalmindsismyobsession13]

A Face Like Glass: Part One

The lastest BAU case was a weird one. Even for them. The unsub had been killing their victims with ancient arrows and not one of the geniuses could work out why. No logic, no sign of expertise (the victims were actually stabbed with the arrows) and no visible pattern between the victims. The whole BAU was in a state of stress and confusion.

"Maybe the point is that there is no pattern?"

"The arrows are a pattern."

"I meant with the victims Spence"

"And if you're going to stab someone why not do it with a knife?"

"JJ that was a legitimate question I'm not suggesting they should use a knife I'm just wondering why they aren't using one"

"Native Americans used arrows didn't they? Maybe it's to do with that?"

"No. Wrong type of arrows."

Everyone was tense and no-one knew the answer. This rough case was the last thing everyone needed- they had only just all recovered from the Ian Doyle situation and there were still clashes between the members of the team. Hotch had clearly had enough of the irritated conversation going on and decided to stop it.

"Okay. Everyone go back to the hotel, have a drink and sleep on it. We are clearly getting nowhere and I don't see any point in us staying it's only going to get worse."

The team all agreed and began to leave, until only two remained.

"Prentiss? You okay?"

"Yeah. Just not that tired I guess"

"Not tired. That old chestnut. You know this job affects people who have been through far less than you and it wouldn't make you any less tough if you admitted that you're having a rough time."

"Wow. You did not waste a single second there did you. Straight to the point."

"You're deflecting."

"I'm fine."

Aaron could tell that this clearly was not a fight he would win tonight.

"How about a drink then?"

"Are you not tired?"

"I haven't been tired in a long time. Like I said, the job gets to you."

One drink turned into two, and two to three, and three to so many that the two of them lost count. So many that they forgot to hide their feelings from each other.

"Its not Doyle thats been keeping me awake Aaron."

"Prentiss I think you might be setting yourself up to end up saying something embarrassingly cringey so I'm going to intervene for your own sake."

"You kissed me?"

"I kissed you."

"Shut up and do it again."

--------------------------------------------------

8am. Aaron's hotel room is still quiet, cool and dark. Bottles from the minibar have replaced the carpet and the two BAU agents are still sleeping off the alcohol.

"Hotch? Hotch? You told the team to meet at seven are you okay?"

The two agents are woken from very much unwelcome banging and shouting on the door.

"Hotch? Hotch hang on I'm getting a key!" Morgan shouts again.

"ughhghgh who is making all that noise?"

"Prentiss wake up thats Morgan"

"who?"

"crap get out of bed"

"you get out of bed"

"no you gotta hide Morgan said he's going to come in I have to answer the door and you can't be visible when I do"

"aww shit okay I'm moving"

"no you're not"

Hotch practically drags a very hungover Emily Prentiss into his hotel bathroom, gently placing her onto some towels before shutting the door and running to let Morgan in before he breaks down the door.

"Good morning Agent Morgan. What's up?"

"Why didn't you answer your door we thought the unsub came for you or something! Emily's not answering her phone either JJ's trying to get into her room now."

"Why would you think that the unsub took me?"

"Because that literally always happens. If its not you it's one of the others. Oh crap maybe its Prentiss that got taken"

"I'm sure Prentiss is fine too she probably just overslept like me."

"Well there's JJ. I don't see Emily."

"Em wasn't in her room. Have you seen her Hotch? I guess you weren't taken then."

"No I haven't seen her since yesterday but I'm sure she's fine. Go to the precinct where we are set up to check she didn't go in early, I'll get dressed and meet you there in ten. If she isn't there, then we worry.

"Emily I brought you coffee and you have to get up right now"

"Fine I'm awake what's wrong you sound more stressed than usual."

"The team thinks you were abducted you have to get dressed and get to the precinct. And make up a good story. I'm meeting them there at half eight so if you get there at twenty two then we won't raise suspicions that we were together"

"Okay. I'll just say i drank a bit too much and stayed the night in someone else's room. People wont ask questions then."

"Okay I'll see you in a bit."

Hotch, a naturally fast walker, arrives at the precinct at twenty-five past where he is greeted by many worried faces.

"Hotch. She's not here." Morgan looks worse than he did when Emily disappeared to try and kill Doyle. "I can't lose her again. None of us can"

"Lets just wait a litte longer, I'm certain she just spent the night somewhere else"

Half past. Thirty-five past. Forty past. Forty-five past. Ten to. Five to. Nine o'clock. Each minute crawls by and even Hotch is worried now. She was supposed to be there by now. She might have just fallen asleep again. But this is the BAU. What are the chances of her being asleep?

[missmortox]

Also liking the post of her graphic artist friend who made pregnancy belly in rubber and that person knows Bill too. Someone even made comparison and its shape matched her belly at BAML premiere. Also her suddenly running away to SA, yet never ever announcing birth date. Yet on her first pregnancy, she commissioned articles in Sweden about Billida welcoming Oona. I guess surrogate was involved. so strage.

This video covers some of the issues in regards to the fake belly that was made by ingelaviolamakeup on IG. An account that Alida was following at the time (and may still be following) and they were mutuals. Other than this odd fake belly (conveniently the right size it needed to be and finished the very day of the Burn All My letters Premiere) other situations involving this pregnancy are highly sus.

The clearly staged surprise baby shower for Alida and a handful of her friends (which only appeared to be set up for the post but no one actually stayed very long)

The sudden move to South Africa at the end of her pregnancy. Why would a woman move to a country with worse healthcare to have her baby right before giving birth?

The suspicious due date of the baby which was changed at least once and the lack of announcing when the baby was born. More than likely so people can't narrow down the timeline of conception and prove that Alida couldn't have been with Bill

The growing, shrinking, and moving baby bump which Alida seemed to forget to wear or only have to show off when it was convenient for a photo op

The copious amounts of alcohol Alida was drinking while pregnant for a second time (or appeared to be drinking but most likely was drinking)

The nervous way she rambled and insisted that the baby was super planned and Bill was super happy about it (despite no actual commentary from Bill that has been verified during this time period)

There are many issues with this pregnancy. If Alida did happen to physically get pregnant, with her age and lifestyle choices (aka: alcoholism, substance use, and partying) one would consider that would not be a healthy environment for the fetus to grow. However, the inconsistencies in her pregnant body as opposed to the first child which stayed very consistent, wasn't hidden, and she stayed in Sweden to give birth to, make things even more open to speculation.

There are very few reasons why Alida would rush off to a country with substandard healthcare (compared to her own) where she doesn't even fluently speak any of the languages to have this child. There are many reasons she would get "confused" about dates and not openly announce when the child was actually born. The movement, silence, and behavior at the end of the pregnancy denoted that there was something about this baby she wanted to hide.

Though her stans will claim that it's because she is a "private person", this can easily be negated by pointing out that she literally had a tabloid article printed about the full name of her second child. Not to mention that she went out of her way to do several interviews about being pregnant and even gave away the location of her holiday with Bill which was supposed to be a secret. That's what makes her silence on the birth of Minou so suspicious. She was public about everything else and only goes private for those few months? Then reappears showing off Minou any chance she gets? Was it a surrogate? Was the child not actually Bill's? Did she get invitro and she's desperately trying to hide that Bill won't touch her anymore so she had to go the artificial route? Was the baby concieved when she claimed or was she just trying to steal the spotlight from her ex-friend Suxxen?

As much as I doubt any of these questions will be answered, it raises a lot of red flags. Far more so than the already existing issue of the paternity of Oona, where maybe people think that Filip Berg is the father and not Bill.

[actualtirefire]

𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE SMELL LIKE?

Got some of that animal like musky undertone. Roka likes to use products that have citrus-y scents. So, like orange and orange blossom. Crispy clean smells. She doesn't use perfumes. She does use specialized non-scent soaps meant to create that pocket of nothing for pheromone sensing people. But she stopped taking the suppressants. No one needs to know where she's at in the hormone department though.

WHAT DO YOUR MUSE’S HANDS FEEL LIKE?

Rough. Not totally over-calloused, but certainly protectively thick. She's done a lot of hard labor and time in a military that mostly used hand-held weapons. She's got a some slashing damage scars to the backs and her knuckles have seen better days. They are warm. Sometimes unnaturally hot when she wants them to be.

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE USUALLY EAT IN A DAY?

Roka is a trash panda when it comes to food. She supposed to eat a lot of protein and some regulatory fibers, but she fails at this for the most part. She subsists, when able to stimulate her own appetite at all, on junk food. Like cheetos and cereal and fast food and the like. She'll buy fruits and veggies and meal components with intention to make herself food, and sometimes she will, but mostly her brain will shut down due to factors like executive dysfunction and sudden rearing of ARFID despite being willing and able to eat literal burn macaroni when someone else gives it to her. Her relationship with food is tumultuous.

DOES YOUR MUSE HAVE A GOOD SINGING VOICE?

Actually, yes. Though her voice is not conventional. It is a raspy and low kind of singing. Though she cannot sing something she hasn't heard before as she has no skill or talent, just an ability to mimic by ear. You will probably never hear her sing. (This answer is not different from her other-self.)

DOES YOUR MUSE HAVE ANY BAD HABITS OR NERVOUS TICKS?

Roka also had a lot of bad habits, but she's more in the open with them. Between casual cigarettes, weed consumption, alcohol consumption, bad eating habits, and the like. She also has a bad habit of using sex work to hurt herself (wouldn't be a bad thing to do if she just did it for the money or the fun of it, but she doesn't). She has been slowing down on that a good bit, but she relapses at times. Like she does occasionally with the opium smoking. Her only good and reliable habits have to do with hygiene. And caring for the cats under her care. She frequently touches her earlobes. Though I don't write it often, her fingers are often on the move when she is most relaxed--but nervous or restless. They do all of her fidgeting and fiddling. If her tail is out of hiding, she will fidgit with it as well.

WHAT DOES YOUR MUSE USUALLY LOOK LIKE / WEAR?

Punky, I think. Mostly due to the leather biker coat with the shoulder nub-spikes--and the patches she's been adding to it over time. Jeans or loose-ish leather pants. Sneakers or, more regularly, boots. Shirts vary, usually plain. Sometimes have designs on them. She favors sleeveless shirts, but it can vary. She doesn't cover as much skin, but still most of it as she can. Except at home or somewhere she feels safe enough to be lazy about clothing. Various sates of comfy clothes or undress.

IS YOUR MUSE AFFECTIONATE? HOW SO?

Roka has a similar sense of PDA and romance. Though she's slightly more receptive and not as adverse to attempts from her partners. Though, if she's not approached gently, she will get violently defensive/embarrassed. Roka's emotional wires are a little crossed and frayed and so can be a bit unpredictable in charged situations. But, like other-selves, she is affectionate in a physical way. The sense of touch-starved is greatly reduced due to her various partners, but it does make her as touchy feely about affection.

WHAT POSITION DOES YOUR MUSE SLEEP IN?

She sleeps mostly on her sides and either semi-curled or fully curled up. When her back or shoulders are acting up, she will lay more so on her stomach or back, flat. Otherwise, she can sleep in any position as long as she can cross her arms and brace against something. Even if that means standing while leaned into a wall. (Same answer.)

COULD YOU HEAR YOUR MUSE IN THE HALLWAY FROM ANOTHER ROOM?

Yes. She's loud. Mostly because people can very easily work her up into a state of energetic frenzy of various flavors. Otherwise, she speaks kinda low and soft for someone with a gravely voice.

tagged by: –

tagging: open

[sargeant-bxrnes]

1 step forward, 3 steps back.

warnings: rafe being… rafe. drug mention & consumption, cursing, toxic relationship, sexual situations/implications, mental health issues. ANGST.

[AN: this is the first thing i’ve written, ever, so my apologies if it’s not flawless ; also, english is not my first language, that’s a warning on its own]

my requests are open btw

click for my master list

word count: 4.4K

Called you on the phone today

Just to ask you how you were

All I did was speak normally

Somehow I still struck a nerve

“Hey,” you said in a soft tone as soon as Rafe picked up the phone, you were laying down on your bed, staring at the ceiling.

“Hey princess,” his tone was calm, but his voice was rough and raspy all together.

“How you doing?” you asked him, even though you’d seen him last night, up close.

“I’m doing great,” he replied in a surprisingly cheerful tone, which is weird this early in the morning. Rafe is not a morning person. “You sound tired.”

“I am tired,” you confirmed with a sigh. “Guess I have you to thank for that.”

“My pleasure.” he replied cockily, and even though you couldn’t see him, you could practically hear his proud smirk.

“So, what’s the plan today?” you asked in a casual tone, fidgeting with the edge of Rafe’s shirt, the one you wore to sleep.

“Uh, what do you mean?” he asked in a distracted tone, he sniffed subtly and coughed.

You knew what that meant, but still, you hoped it wasn’t what you deep down knew it was.

“Yeah, I mean—“ you said and made a brief pause. “Wanna go to the club? Maybe we can take a ride on the boat, you know, with food, alcohol... just us.”

“Can’t, I’m busy.” he said after a few seconds, if you didn’t know him better and his occasional mood swings, you would’ve said his tone was harsh.

"Really?" you asked in a soft tone, trying to disguise your disappointment with interest. "But I thought we were going out together today."

"Y/N, just because I'm your boyfriend it doesn't mean I have to be with you all the fucking time."

Okay, now he was definitely angry, you thought you said the right thing, but it still made him angry.

"Rafe-"

"No, Y/N. I have a life of my own, you know? Things to do besides you."

“That’s okay Rafe, I get it,” You said calmly, nodding your head softly. “Have fun today.”

Now you clearly heard the sound of him sniffing something and the sigh that left his lips after, and Barry’s voice in the background. “Don’t play the victim card on me, that’s not gonna work. I deserve to have some time off.”

“I didn’t,” you said softly. “And it’s okay baby, you’re right, you deserve to have some fun.”

“See? No need to be so fucking dramatic,” he said, his voice and words slurring. You? Dramatic? It was all him. “But don’t worry princess, I’ll drop by tonight and fuck the attitude out of you, yeah? That way I’m not just doing things with you, I’m doing you.”

And with such a vulgar comment and a harsh tone, Rafe hung up on you, leaving you completely dumbfounded and filled with incredulity.

What you did know for a fact, is that he would keep up his word. And judging by his tone of voice and how annoyed he was, you could already imagine the ache between your legs.

You got me fucked up in the head, boy

Never doubted myself so much

Like, am I pretty? Am I fun, boy?

I hate that I give you power over that kind of stuff

You knew exactly what you were getting into when you started hooking up with Rafe, and what you were committing to when you agreed to be his girlfriend.

You know that man carries more problems than he shows, he prefers to make himself appear as the Kook prince who lives a life of partying and money; hiding all the things that were going on in his head.

However, there were times when his attitude made you doubt yourself.

You couldn't help but think, ‘What if one day I don't manage to calm him down?’ ‘What if one day he realizes that there is someone prettier, or hotter, or wealthier out there?’

And Rafe would get angry if you doubted yourself. He would complain to you about it, saying you had no reason to be insecure about your looks; if you are absolutely gorgeous, or to feel insecure about your personality; if you were the most genuine person he'd ever met, and you could make him laugh until he forgot all his problems.

But what really made him furious was when you had doubts about the relationship itself, about whether or not he was capable of leaving you for someone else. He took those doubts personally, as if he wasn't trying hard enough to show you how much you mean to him.

When in reality; you were doubting yourself.

'Cause it's always one step forward

You were preparing dinner for you and Rafe, your family was out for the weekend, and Rafe had decided to spend it with you.

Your hair was tied up in a bun, your attire consisted of nothing but your underwear and a shirt that used to be Rafe's, but you took it so long ago that it's yours now.

Music from your shared playlist played in the background, as you danced absentmindedly with a spatula in hand, extremely calm and enjoying time with your boyfriend.

Rafe could do nothing but stare at you with admiration, you are literally the only good thing in his life; his little piece of heaven. You are everything to him.

As soon as Dark Red by Steve Lacy started playing, you let out an excited gasp. That song in particular is Rafe’s and yours, like… if you two had to choose a song to describe your relationship, it would be that one. It represented how you two did not always have good times, but your love prevailed.

Seeing you this happy, comfortable and at ease with him made Rafe's soul happy. All his life, he had done nothing else besides make people angry, disappointed, terrified. But with you, everything was different.

You were so focused on swaying your hips to the music and singing, that you didn't notice when Rafe stood up and walked over to where you were.

It wasn't until he stood behind you, chest to back and with his hands on your hips, that you realized he was closer. His head was bowed, you could feel his breathing close to your ear, so he was able to murmur in your ear the lyrics of the song:

“Only you, my girl, only you, babe,” he sang in your ear, his voice a soft whisper as he wrapped his arms around your body and started to sway with you. “Only you, darling, only you, babe.”

The gesture quickened your heart to unsuspected levels, you felt your knees weaken as you pressed closer to his body, appreciating his closeness as he pressed a kiss against your temple.

“You know I love you so much, right?” he mumbled in your ear, as you closed your eyes and relished his presence.

“I love you too, baby.”  you mumbled back, leaning your head against his chest, caressing one of his arms around your waist with your fingertips, and bringing your hand to his ash blond hair, stroking it softly.

and three steps back

“Why is he mad at you, again?” Topper asked you with a raised eyebrow, after witnessing Rafe utterly avoiding even looking at you when he walked into the room and then left without a word.

“Because I told Barry to not open the door if Rafe dropped by,” You replied with a shrug, closing your eyes and leaning back against the chair. “And when Rafe tried to lash out on him, Barry said it all had been ‘Mrs.Country Club’s’ request.”

“And he’s mad at you because you don’t want him to get all fucked up?” Topper questioned next, trying to understand the situation. But he never knew what the fuck you two were up to.

“Yes, but it’s Rafe, are you surprised?” you said with a heavy sigh.

“No, not really,” Topper admitted. “Honestly, I don’t know why you keep up with him, Y/N.”

“I ask myself that all the time…” you said with a deep sigh. “But I love him, so I guess that’s the answer.”

“And? I mean, I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ Y/N, but he’s…” Topper trailed off, apparently looking for the right word.

“I know exactly how he is, Topper, I don’t need you to remind me. I already think about that way too much.”

You and Topper had easily assumed that Rafe was no longer around, since he seemed to be making his best efforts to avoid you.

But Rafe was there, and he heard everything. He’d heard Topper giving you bad advice (or what he considered bad advice) And he heard you, having doubts about why you loved him or stood by him at all,and it made him want to lash out again.

I'm the love of your life until I make you mad

It's always one step forward and three steps back

Do you love me, want me, hate me? Boy, I don't understand

No, I don't understand

[+18. Really]

“Leave me alone!” his voice boomed in the room, his brows furrowed and the veins in his neck were popping out.

“Rafe—“ you tried once again, approaching slowly in an attempt to place a hand on his shoulder, but he waved it away aggressively.

“Leave-me-alone,” he said, pausing in between each word to emphasize on how much he meant it. His eyes were bloodshot, his nose had specks of white dust, his lips were dry and his voice was coarse.

You weren’t entirely sure what you could say to get him to calm down. Or if there was anything at all you could do.

Normally, what upsets him the most is Ward. His own father. Rafe has spent his whole life trying to prove he's a good son, to make his father proud, and Ward never appreciates his efforts, only notices the bad, and ignores Rafe's clear calls for help, has since Rafe was 10 years old, so he certainly wasn't going to pay attention to him now that Rafe finally had a steady girlfriend, someone who had willingly decided to help.

95% of the time, you managed to talk to Rafe before he decided to resort to intoxication. Most of the time just seeing you helped him calm down, hearing your voice soothed him, and your lips, your skin, put him in a state of peace.

But the other 5% is when Rafe resorted to alcohol and, above all, drugs.

When Rafe is upset and decides to get high, he only manages to become unstable, erratic and yes, aggressive if not handled with care.

In those situations, the best thing you can do, putting yourself first, is to give him his space. Let him screw himself as much as he wants for that day, and help him deal with the consequences the next day, while you listen to him lament his attitude.

Rafe always said he would quit the vice; claiming you were all he needed to calm himself down, that you made him feel at peace. And above all, that you weren't slowly killing him; on the contrary, every minute he spent with you made him feel more alive.

However, for one reason or another, he always came back to it. Whether it was at a party, because Kelce suggested it, or, as is almost always the case, when he's upset with his father and needs quick relief.

And usually, this ‘quick relief’ ends up with Rafe fucked up, big time.

Once he was convinced that you wouldn't try to intervene again, Rafe went back to his business. He turned to the table, and since he already had the line ready, he simply leaned over and inhaled it, throwing his head back, running his hand through his hair and exhaling as he closed his eyes.

You exhaled heavily, shaking your head as you stared at your feet.  You knew he would struggle to quit, after all it is an addiction and he has to fight it, but sometimes you get the impression that Rafe doesn't want to quit, not really.

"Do you want to help me?" asked Rafe eventually, turning his head to look at you. You didn't know if it was a trick question or not, so you hesitated before answering. "Answer me."

"Yes, of course I want to, Rafe." you replied with your respective hesitations, wondering what he was up to.

"Come here then," he said, making a 'come hither’ sign with his fingers.

You took a hesitant step but stopped, your eyes narrowing as you analyzed Rafe, trying to determine his intentions.

He raised both eyebrows in your direction, in a silent question of whether or not you're going to go with him.

Eventually you walked over to where Rafe was, he smiled at you while biting his lip lightly. Without saying anything he approached you and kissed you; the drugs made his senses heighten, so the kiss was intense from the beginning.

So that's when it made sense to you what he wanted, he wanted you. Your most obvious thought is that he would use you to take out your frustration, put the drugs aside and, most likely, fuck you.

Your idea seemed to be the right one as soon as Rafe grabbed you by the waist, still with his lips on yours, left a little bite on your lip before pulling away; and without any problem, lifted you off the floor and placed you on the table.

It's something you wouldn't admit out loud,—mostly out of shame and guilt,—but this kind of sex with Rafe was the best, he's completely unrestrained, rough, full of stamina and teasing, and above all, possessive. And that, in combination with his attractiveness, always drove you crazy.

And honestly; if what he wanted was to fuck you to take out his frustration, you'd let him.

His kisses were hungry and his hands desperate, running all over your body without distinction, as if he didn't know where to start.

He parted his lips from yours, and left a kiss at the corner of them, on your jaw; and began to make a little trail of slow kisses down your neck. The feeling of his lips on your neck made you bite your lip as you wrapped your legs around his waist to feel him closer.

You slid your hand under his shirt, caressing his defined abs and the sides of his body gently with the tips of your fingers, as he left little bites on your neck. Your hands slowly moved up, intending to remove his shirt, but Rafe was quicker and brought his hands to the edge of your shirt, causing you to stop your movements to raise your arms, so he could remove your shirt with ease. And so he did.

He parted his lips from your neck and stared at you, the hunger in his eyes made you feel a fire in the pit of your stomach that only he could put out.

Desperately, your lips connected again as he settled between your legs. One of his hands traveled to your neck, and he wrapped his fingers around it, pressing lightly to the sides. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head; though he couldn't see it.

With just enough strength, Rafe used the grip he had on your neck to push you down onto the table, so that you were lying on top of it.

As soon as he leaned over the table, you could feel his breath over abdomen, so you bit your lip in anticipation for what was to come.

He began to leave slow, wet kisses on your abdomen, making a slow trail to the edge of your shorts. Your automatic reaction was to close your eyes and put a hand in his hair, stroking it gently.

What you didn’t know is that the fact that you closed your eyes had given Rafe an opportunity he couldn't miss. Without you noticing, he slid a hand to the side of the table, where the small bag of white powder was.

To conceal his actions, he unbuttoned your shorts, and returned his lips to the beginning of your abdomen for more time.

The little bite he left to distract your attention caused a gasp to escape your lips; and that sound almost caused him to change plans completely.

He did want to fuck you, don’t get him wrong. He even had a mental debate about whether to continue what he was doing or simply sink his head between your thighs and provoke more sounds like that.

But he wanted to try something first. He had always wanted to try it, but had never asked you, because he knew that you would most likely say no.

With ease, he slid your shorts down your legs; so that they stayed at your ankles or fell to the floor; he didn't care. One of his hands slid into your underwear with ease, his fingers going straight to where he knew you needed him the most.

Trusting that you would not open your eyes, carefully, he put the white substance on your body, so delicately you didn’t notice. He began to prepare to inhale, while biting his lip in reaction to the sinful sounds that left your lips.

And obviously, without warning, Rafe inhaled a line from your thigh.

And all your sounds stopped, your eyes opened and your expression was filled with surprise, the bad kind.

You couldn't believe what Rafe had just done, you felt like an idiot for falling into the trap.

You also had to bite your lip to keep from letting out a moan in reaction to what his fingers were doing in between your legs, but your pride forbade it.

But more than anything else, you were outraged.

“Rafe, you did not just—“

“It felt nice, yeah?” Rafe’s voice was hoarse, you could feel his breath over your skin, as he left little kisses around. “After all, I did feel you clench around my fingers.”

His dirty words, hoarse voice, and close proximity to your body, not to mention his fingers deep inside you, caused you to let out a soft moan, causing Rafe to smirk in what he thought was victory.

But you wouldn't let him win this little game.

Although you really didn't want to, you grabbed his hand by the wrist and pulled him away, your legs trembling slightly at the sudden lack of anything between them.

Rafe's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as soon as you pushed him away from you and got off the table, lifting your shorts off the floor and putting them back on without a word.

"What are you doing?"

You didn't answer, as you searched for  your shirt, feeling his heavy gaze on your body.

"Y/N, where do you think you're going?"

“I’m leaving you alone as you asked me to, remember?” you said in irony. “Before you sniffed a line off me after I begged you to quit that shit?”

“Oh, so now you’re playing the victim?” his voice rose. “Don't- Don’t act as if you wouldn’t have let me fuck you less than a minute ago!”

"Yes I would have let you, to distract you from that shit!" you admitted to him, failing to control your anger. "I said I wanted to help you, to distract you, to give you something different to do. Not that I'd give you another place to snort lines from!"

Rafe knew you were right, of course he did.

You had spent months after months trying to get him to quit, you had offered him countless hours of your days to give him something new to do, distractions, attention and love. And this is how he had decided to pay you back?

But Rafe was angry too, very. You had interrupted him, you were yelling at him; and you had left him so hard, that it would start to hurt unless he did something about it.

“Fine, then get the fuck out of here.” Rafe spat, his anger clearly getting the best of him.

Your eyes widened at that, you hadn't expected him to react like that.

Your best case scenario would be that your attitude would piss him off, yes, but that he would retaliate by getting you back to the table and showing you everything you were missing.

Instead, he simply took your word for it and told you to get out of the room.

“What?”

“You heard me, get out.”

“Rafe—“

“You uh, you have three options, yeah? You let me fuck you over that table and do whatever I want, you get out of here, or I’ll get you out of here.”

The first offer was tempting, it really was, but you wouldn’t allow him to talk to you like that. Before anything, came respect and dignity, and no matter how much you wanted him to fuck you silly, you were too angry and disappointed at him to let it slip.

Blinking repeatedly to chase away the tears from your eyes, you grabbed your phone from the other end of the table, your jacket from Rafe's bed, and walked out of there without another word as you heard him calling your name.

And maybe in some masochistic way

I kinda find it all exciting

Like, which lover will I get today?

Will you walk me to the door or send me home cryin'?

Your relationship with Rafe was unique.

Not because of the circumstances in which it was created. A one-night-stand that turned into something casual, that was formalized after a dinner.

If not for Rafe.

You loved him, no doubt about it. You would give anything to see him happy and at peace, at peace with himself and succeeding in his life.

Rafe would do anything for you, really, anything. No matter how risky, demanding or dangerous, he would do anything for you.

He would die and kill for you.

But that surely didn’t mean it was an easy relationship, hell no. In fact, the willingness both of you had to do anything for each other sometimes made things too complicated; for at times it seemed that not a single rational thought crossed your minds.

And yes, Rafe’s addiction was a big issue. Whenever he was too high, or going through withdrawals, he wasn’t the Rafe you knew or had grown to love, it was another side of him you wanted to help get rid off. And the process wasn’t easy.

While trying to get clean; there was no way to know how he’d behave. He could either get clingy and want you around at all times to calm himself down, or he’d be in a very bad mood all the time, constantly snapping at you and raising his voice.

So there were days where he’d walk you to the door of your house and leave you there with a tender kiss and a smile.

Or days when you’d get out of his truck without a word, with tears streaming down your cheeks while he kept yelling for probably the stupidest thing.

No, it's back and forth, did I say something wrong?

It's back and forth, goin' over everything I said

It's back and forth, did I do something wrong?

'It's back and forth, maybe this is all your fault

Rafe knew he wasn’t okay. After all, he had begged his father for help, begged for anything that would get those thoughts to stop, but his father hadn’t listened, had only told him to ‘man up.’

You knew he wasn’t okay. Which is why you wanted to help him, to offer the support no one else had bothered to give him before he met you.

Whether he wanted it or not, those thoughts were still there. Being with you made them easier to ignore, but it’s not like they vanished entirely. He still had some ideas that made his own skin crawl.

And sometimes, you’d say or do the wrong thing and trigger those thoughts. And things got bad again for him.

Rafe knew you wanted nothing but to help him get better and be the best version of himself, and he really wanted to give you that. To change and make an effort. Not only for himself but for you. He wanted to be a man worthy of your love.

But it was hard to be anywhere near decent when you two went out and a guy stared at you for longer than Rafe’s limits allowed, or when guys tried to hit on you, when his friends got a little bit too close for his comfort.

Whenever he got jealous, he turned into a walking, talking ticking bomb. Anything could, and would set him off.

It wasn’t your fault, not really, but most of the time you felt it was. You knew Rafe dealt with a lot of insecurities already, of not being a nice person, not being good enough and so many other things. And you hated being one of the factors that caused his insecurities to arise.

And I'd leave you, but the roller coaster is all I've ever had

It was a complicated relationship, and it would probably never stop being complicated because both of you are complex people, plus there are other factors that affect the relationship.

But that didn't mean either of you would stop fighting to keep it alive. Neither would let the other go.

Rafe utterly refused to ever let you go. He loved you as he had never loved anyone, as he never thought himself capable of loving with that twisted heart of his.

You are, without exception, the best thing in his life, the best thing that ever happened to him. And you being in his heart was slowly turning him into who he had wanted to be during all those years of loneliness.

And you would never let him go, because you loved him with all your heart, soul and nerve of your body. And because you know that no one will ever love you like him. With so much passion, intensity, honesty and purity.

Because every feeling Rafe expressed with you was true; he was himself with you. And you didn't want to let him go.

Even if the two of you went one step forward, and three steps back, that single step would be longer than any step life makes you take backwards.

[httpdabi]

AmongUs

Summary: You decided to play AmongUs with your best friend and troll some randoms in there, what you didn’t really expect was to meet an extremely handsome stranger that has to offer you things your ex boyfriends never did.

Genre: smut, romance, No quirks looool

Word count: 7.5k

Warnings: 18+ (minors fuck off kindly), creampie, multiple orgasms, fingering, forced orgasm, daddy kink, dom!Dabi, orgasm denial, praising!

I had lots of fun writing this! Hope you enjoy it <3

,, Girl, you promised that you’ll come over tonight’’ you whined loudly over the phone, as your best friend Nejire told you that she won’t be able to make it, breaking your plans into tiny little pieces. Damn her childhood friend and his whole family deciding to come exactly today over, ruining your perfect evening with your best friend.

,, Yeah, but we can drink and play, doesn’t matter if we ain’t together, I’m sure he’ll like to play with us ‘’ you could almost feel her smile on the other line, and with only that you couldn’t even think about being mad at her, knowing very well how much she loves that guy. Probably in a way that no friends love each other.

,, Yeah, yeah. But girl, if you dich me tonight and let me troll people on my own, I’ll never forgive you’’ you smiled, knowing very well that she won’t do that. The two of you spend too much time playing stupid games together, drinking till you are comfortable enough to argue with strangers online, and troll the shit out of them.

Since it was weekend, and you were spending time on your own, you decided to start drinking a bit earlier. Turning on a movie, you started sipping on your wine, exchanging some texts with your best friend every now and then.

Your first glass was done way too fast, and you were already sitting in front of your computer with your forth glass beside the keyboard, and a cigarette in your right hand, texting a code to Nejire as you puffed on your cigarette.

The moment you saw one familiar and one not so familiar usernames getting into the private lobby , you smiled widely once Nejire started laughing loudly.

,, HAHAHA BITCH WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT’’ she screamed, as her lover boy giggled quietly beside her, probably too shy to say anything.

,, What is wrong with Kentuckycriedfricken?’’ you asked, as you slowly tapped with your fingers over the table. Well, you weren’t so creative tonight, but you could only blame alcohol on that.

,, Why the fuck are you called TURKEY_SANDWICH’’ you added another question, not giving her a chance to answer to your first one.

,,BECAUSE I’M CARVING ONE’’Nejire screamed, and in that moment you knew very well that she drank as much as you did, if not even more. You giggled to yourself, as you watched the room getting full, some people talking, some texting in the chat and some simply waiting.

You rolled your eyes in annoyance, once you saw all the people commenting START In the small chat box. There was something about it that was pissing you off, making you kick or ban anyone who writes it. This time, you were too busy laughing with your friend, and instead doing any of it, you simply started the game.

CREWMATE

You sighed in relief, taking a sip of your wine, as Nejire ran around you with her friend, singing loudly. Ignoring the two of them, you made your way to the Admin room, to swipe the card, not so surprised once you saw a crew of other players doing the same thing.

,,KENTUCKYCRIEDFRICKEN WHERE ARE YOU’’ you heard Nejire once she entered the room. Once she noticed the cyan color hiding in the crowd she hurried with her Pink character toward you.

,,Wanna watch me scan?’’ she asked, making you giggle as she just gave you the secret code, making sure you know that she’s the Impostor.

,,Nah, Imma pass’’ you said, getting out of the room. You were pretty sure she’ll win the game, since she had you and her friend on her damn side, but you did wish you could know who the other Impostor is. Ignoring her, you made your way toward the Weapons, to clear the damn Asteroids and just look for someone to play around with. These people were way too quiet for your taste.

,,Heyyyy what’s up man?’’ you almost screamed excitedly when you saw a dark blue character, hopefully a crewmate, standing there and clearing Asteroids, or you thought so. You forced your voice a pitch higher, giggling to yourself, knowing how stupid you sound.

,,Oh my god, how old are you?’’ the stranger asked. The moment you spoke, all the giggles were gone. That guys voice was so damn deep, you literally had to lit a cigarette before you decided to speak up again.

,,Old enough’’ you laughed, refusing to tell him your real age just now.

,,Older than 18?’’ he asked, as you were shooting those Asteroids, not that focused.

,, Of course’’ you gasped, rolling your eyes, like he might see you.

,, Thanks God.. Do you play Amongus often ?’’ he asked, not even knowing that his fucking voice was doing things to you.

,, Amongus is my favoire game’’ you said, finishing your task. The way he talked to you, you were almost sure that he was trying to troll you a bit there, probably thinking you are one of those uwu pick me girls.

,,Mhmm.. you’re up pretty late.. what’s your bed time?’’ he asked, and with that question you were more than sure that he was messing around.

,, Daddy beats me if I don’t go to bed at 9’’ you tried to hold your laugh, and you could almost hear the stranger doing the same thing you do.

,, Ohh, I could be your daddy and I would never do that to you ‘’ he said. In that moment, if it wasn’t for his voice, you would probably just laugh loudly and just go away. But damn, the way he said that.

,,HAHHAHA YOU CRAZY FUCK’’ You choked out, once you got out of your little dream, liking how he played along.

,, So that’s your real voice’’ he mumbled, small muffed laugh following the sentence, as you ran away from him. You didn’t hear a voice like that for a long time, and you really hoped that the dude will follow you around for the rest of the game.

Which at your surprise happened.

You were about to ask him some stupid question, but in that very moment someone found a fucking body.

,,Pink killed white and just jumped into the vent in front of me’’ some dude accused Nejire, and that’s when you knew that you have to jump in.

,, I saw Pink scan tho, so that makes you pretty sus dude’’ you lied without thinking twice. Yeah, you knew that it’s more fun if you play by the rules, and don’t team up.. but Nejire is rarely the Impostor and she’s always so damn excited when she wins.

,, Yeah, that’s Pretty sus… ‘’ your new friend said, probably believing you, since you two spent some short time together.

At the end of the short meeting, White was voted out.

You made your way to Reactor to do your task, and Nejire and her friend followed you, probably to look a bit clear to others. You hated the task you had to do, so you took your time, ignoring the loud laughs coming from your friend.

Shortly, the voice of Nejire was changed with the deep one.

,, So, what do you do usually?’’ he asked, as you tried to start the reactor. You had trouble with that task without being tipsy, so alcohol wasn’t really helping in your current situation.

,, I’m streets salesman of burgers’’ you joked, making him laugh a bit. Only to end up telling him that you are actually a student, having a mini job at the café near where you live. You weren’t even sure if his voice was making you speak up or the alcohol, but you almost found yourself telling him the story of your life.

,, Where are you going?’’ he asked you, as you made your way toward Electrical, stopping once the lights got off. You didn’t want to look sus to him, but you didn’t want to go there, since everyone knows that the first person that enters the room will end up dead.

,,Well, I wanted to go to electrical, to do my task, but not so sure about it anymore’’ you said honestly, running around him.

,, Come on, I’ll keep you safe’’ he laughed, and you followed him. The moment you were about to do your task, the game finished, showing how the Impostors won.

You heart almost skipped a beat when you saw In the chat box how your dark blue feiend was the second Impostor. You found it extremely cute that he had way too many chances to kill you and he never did. Instead of killing you, he was simply chatting with you.

CREWMATE

Usually you were the one to hate playing as impostor, always feeling the pressure and thinking that you’ll ruin the game for the other impostor, but tipsy like that, you wished you could be one now, and kill some crewmates around.

,, Doll, teaming ain’t nice’’ deep voice told you as you were downloading the data in the Cafeteria.

,, Awh, come on, she needs a bit of support’’ you said, focused on his voice more than on your task. ,,After all you just used me to clear yourself and look less sus’’ you added and he sighed loudly, acting shocked that you could even think of him like that.

You thought that the little play with the stranger will be just one time ‘’experience’’, but at your surprise he asked you for your instagram at the end. Usually you aren’t the one to share your personal information’s with others, and you also weren’t sure what you’re getting into, yet you found yourself giving him your username before you turned the computer off and drifted into a deep sleep.

Once you woke up, your phone was blown up with notifications, every single one from instagram. One text message and the rest of it were likes.

[Touyaf]:

,,Well, didn’t expect you to be this pretty.. super glad I met you there ’’

You smiled to yourself as you read the little message, with one of your post attached to it. Tapping on his username, your eyes almost widened in shock once you realized that not only his fucking voice was attractive. The dude was a motherfucking snack, and you had a pretty big luck that you found him in that silly lobby.

To Touyaf:

,, Heyy, you ain’t looking bad either lol same, let’s play together again ‘’

You replied, before you returned to his profile to like some photos he posted. Being honest, you didn’t know what to expect, but what you didn’t expect was a black haired guy, with piercings and tattoos covering his body. He definitely didn’t look like someone who spends his time on computer playing fucking Among us.

Hopping out of your bed, you made your way to get ready for the day. There were many things you planned to do, so you didn’t really want to waste your time. The faster you’re done, the more time you’ll have at the end.

After you packed all the post you had to send for your work, you headed to the bus station, hoping you’ll be able to catch the next bus. At your surprise Dabi was replying to your messages way too fast, making it one of the conversations where your eyes simply have to stay glued to your phone.

You found it almost funny how you ended up checking up your phone more often than usual, for someone you didn’t even meet yet. Sure, his profile looks legit, but the possibility that some attention thirsty freak is hiding behind that profile will be there till you meet him personally.

Once you finished everything up, you made your way toward the little Game shop, the one you were a well known costumer in. The now not so new Crash Bandicoot game that got out months ago was finally on the sale. You wanted to buy it the same day it got out, but $75 was too much, and it’s not like you’re shitting money.

The moment you bought the game, you wished you could fucking teleport yourself home, but sadly, you still had stuff to do and the game had to wait.

..

Your steps felt heavy, as you pushed yourself in the crowd, trying to keep your balance. Someone’s shoulder almost knocked you out, making your blood boil in just a damn second. Turning your head to the side, more than ready to fight, a smile crept on your face once you realized who you’re facing.

,, OH MY fucking god ‘’ you gasped, pointing every word out.

,, Woww, you’re alive’’ your cousin laughed, once she realized that you were ready to throw some hands. You really wanted to go home, but since ALL OF SUDDEN, both you and your cousin had some time, she forced you to go grab a coffee with her.

The two of you wanted to meet for a long time, but yet none of you could manage to get some free time and meet.

,, Yeah, Kai went to that Music program. The whole town was voting for him, didn’t you know that?’’ she said, talking about your childhood friend that always wanted to become famous.

,, Wow, strong community ‘’ you joked, acting surprised. Even tho he was your friend, you had to be honest. He couldn’t sing for shit.

The two of you ended up spending much more time than you planned to, and you ended up not minding it at all. You actually enjoyed talking about random shit form the last with her.

,, Wow, I didn’t think Bonnie is still alive. That dog could sense us from far away, so weird’’ your cousin said, sipping on her now cold coffee. ,, You think she would still smell or sense me if I would be on my way to your parents house ?’’ she added, eyes almost twinkling excitedly.

,, She can definitely smell your stinky ass’’ you joked, playing with the metal straw in your drink.

,, Oh eat shit, I’m sweating so much that I’m showering two times a day’’ she protested, slapping your arm playfully.

,,And even that ain’t helping’’ you laughed loudly once you saw her disgusted face.

The two of you finally parted ways, once you told her that you have some other important plans, deciding its better not to tell her that you’re dying to go home and play the game you bought.

You almost teared up once you were finally in your pajamas, laying comfortably on your couch and playing the game. You almost teared up, when you chose the retro function of the game, where you can get and loose life, thinking you’re the old school gamer. Oh, how fast you changed it once you realized how hard the game is.

After playing the game for two hours, you realized that you definitely won’t be able to finish it in one night. You were glad that the production was aiming for the old public, but you didn’t expect it to be that hard.

[Touyaf]:

,,The game is dope as fuckkkk, but too easy imo’’

You smiled when you saw that he replied to the picture you posted on the story.

To Touyaf:

,, Are you insane ? I’m on the same level thirty fucking minutes now :( ‘’

You replied, as you continued with the game, only to pause it after one minute of gameplay just to check your phone when you saw the instagram notification.

[Touyaf]:

,, Want me to help you?’’

To Toyuaf:

,, How ?’’

[Touyaf]:

,, Send me your address ‘’

Your eyes widened when you saw what he wrote, too scared to open the message he sent you. Of course you wanted to meet him, but so fast ? And at this time ?

Was that really smart ?

Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s smart or not, you ended up sending him your address, last name and running around in the middle of the night and cleaning your apartment anyway. You found yourself smiling the whole time while hysterically cleaning around. You didn’t know if he is living near or far, yet there was so much to do. It was very visible that you weren’t expecting any guests.

Luckily for you, it took him some time to arrive, giving you a chance to clear everything nicely and throw your clothes that were laying around into the closet.

The moment you heard the doorbell you got nervous like a little teenage girl that was about to go on her first date and the moment you opened the door, you were more than sure that you made the right decision when you sent him your address.

Was is possible that someone could be that handsome ? At one point you thought that he was just photogenic when you scrolled his Insta feed, you thought maybe he knew his angles. But damn, the dude standing in front of you was someone you would spread your legs for without thinking twice.

,,Hey, nice to finally meet you’’ he said, giving you a small hug which you definitely didn’t expect. ,, You look even prettier than on photos’’ he added, smiling at you.

,, You think? Thank you. You too’’ you said awkwardly. Usually you are much more confident, and you don’t have problem with communication, but the fact that this handsome dude you barely know, is in your apartment, made your legs shake.

,, I mean, you are really handsome’’ you added fast, trying to break that creepiness in your voice, giving yourself a mental facepalm once you realized that he was holding back his laugh. You almost looked like fucking Bella from Twilight. Was that necessary ?

,, What do you want to drink? Tea ? Coffee? Orange juice ? Wine ?’’ you asked, preparing the glass. He probably noticed how nervous you are and that made you even more nervous. Everything that could go wrong, is going wrong right now.

,, Well, I’m really up for some wine’’ Touya said as he sat comfortably on your couch.

THANKS GOD. You weren’t sure if you would be able to survive being in the same room with him while drinking a fucking chamomile tea.

,, You can’t beat this level? This one ?You can’t be for real’’ he laughed, as you placed two glasses and one bottle of wine on the table.

,, Are you dissing my gaming skills ?’’ you laughed, pouring the wine in the glass while he was playing the game like it was nothing.

,, Ah please, how many times did you paly it ?’’ you whined loudly, as he played almost perfectly.

,, Oh thanks God, you are a smoker, I was already stressing myself out if I’ll have to go out for every cigarette’’ Touya said once he saw you lit a cigarette.

After your second glass of wine, all the nervousness was gone. The two of you were having pretty much a fun time playing the game and drinking together.

,, What are you doing ???’’ he asked, almost screaming once you died in the game, without getting to the checkpoint.

,, MY BEST, I’M DOING MY BEST’’ You screamed back, throwing the controller to his direction, one again feeling defeated.

After that night, Touya started visiting you more often, and every night he would visit you, the two of you would drown a bottle of wine. You didn’t expect him to be such a cool person actually. In your opinion he did look like someone who’s full of himself.

Also, when you told Nejire that you met the dude from Among us, she immediately started lecturing you about how he could have killed you, totally ignoring the fact that you were standing in front of her alive and more healthy than you ever were.

,, Anyway, they have one appointment free today ‘’ Nejire said, as the two of you walked down the street, going to your usual café.

,, What are you talking about ?’’ you asked confused.

,, About escape room you stupid bitch’’ she said, hitting your arm lightly like she was talking about it clearly before.

,, Nejire, if the two of us go, one hour won’t be enough for us to get out of it’’ you pointed, knowing very well that neither of you is capable of figuring anything out on your own, especially not some scary ass escape room.

,, Ye, but I can ask Mirio to come, and you can ask the Dabi dude’’ she said, rising her eyebrows at you. Well that wasn’t a really bad idea actually.

Both Mirio and Dabi agreed, and while sipping on your coffee the two of you reserved the room. It was pretty much unplanned, and you had around 2 hours until your appointment, but you were really glad it worked out.

,, Girl, you should see my little sister today, girlie is only 3 years old, and she already flirts better than you and me together’’ Nejire giggled, as you gave her one questioning look.

,, She met some boy at playground today. You should see the looks they were giving each other. They even started talking in their baby language, discussing something’’ she said, making you laugh as you imagined her baby sister hitting on some other kid. You were never a person that could deal with kids, but her sister was really special.

Once the Mirio arrived, Nejire got all quiet, which almost made you laugh out loud, since she’s nothing like that usually. She did tell you before, that the two of them hooked up after one of the birthday parties you attended, but you almost forget about that.

,, What can I get you?’’ the waiter asked Mirio, as you and Nejire talked excitedly about escaperoom.

,, One Matte Lacchiato’’ Mirio said, trying to follow what you were talking about, while the waiter was looking at him confused, not sure if he’s joking or not.

,, You mean Latte macchiato ??’’ Nejire asked, trying to hold her laugh. The moment the waiter left, none of you had to hold it back anymore.

,, Dude, Matte Lacchiato ? Really?’’ you laughed loudly.

,, Fuck off, I’m not a coffee person’’ Mirio snapped, his face all red from embarrassment.

,, One Paccuccino please’’ you joked, making Mirio roll his eyes.

,, One Sepresso please’’ Nejire laughed loudly , while Mirio was mumbling something under his breath, hating the both of you in the moment.

,,By the way, I don’t like this thing, tastes like nothing’’ he said, as giving it to Nejire to try it out.

,, Out of 1 to 10, how many points would you give to this Matte Lacchiato?’’ Nejire asked, giggling, giving him a sign that she’ll never forget the silly mistake he said.

,,2 points. One for having balls to sell it, and another one because I’m such a good hearted person’’ he said, pushing the drink to the side.

The moment you saw Touya enter the café, you started waving around with your hands, helping him find you.

,, What took you so long ?’’ you asked, as he took a seat next to you. He looked good as usual, wearing oversized purple shirt, and black pants with nike airforce.

,, I was in the middle of a jog when you texted me’’ he said putting his both hands in the air, feeling attakced.

,, Oh that sounds fun’’ you joked, as you rolled your cigarette.

,, Yeah? I’ll call you next time to come with’’ he said, also rolling a cigarette, while giving you a side look.

,, Not that fun’’ you laughed.

,, dude, the last time we jogged together, she had to call a taxi to bring her back home’’ Mirio said, making Touya laugh.

,, Trueeee, I had to pour water all over her face when we were jogging together’’ Nejire added, remembering the accident that happened back in the days.

,,Oh shut up, I had to put your fucking legs up hoping you wont collapse’’ you laughed. Sure, both Mirio and Touya were in better shape than you, but Nejire ? Girl was on the same level.

,, And stop it, stop dissing me! I’m a victim of a hate crime right now” you whined loudly, as all of them laughed.

When the time came, all of you made your way to the escaperoom. After you checked in and paid, you and Touya went out to smoke one more cigarette since you had some time before the game starts.

,, So, what will you do after this ?’’ Touya asked, placing his arm around you as you puffed on your cigarette.

,, I don’t have any plans yet, why ? Wanna come over ?’’ you asked, mentally holding your shit together once he said that he’ll gladly come.

He was too close, wayyyy too close. You could even smell his fucking perfume.

Once the game started all of you were more than lost, having hard time finding the clues. You were in some basement looking room with tons of books. Touya and you found the first clue, some numbers written on the small closet as a code for opening the box that Mirio found.

Mirio found the second code, that led you to the box with the key that was opening the door.

,, Oh my god guys, there are number on the closet’’ Nejire screamed loudly, making all of you laugh.

,, Sweetie we passed that part long time ago.’’ Mirio said pinching her cheek. You were pretty sure that she was a bit lost, because Mirio was giving her way too much attention.

The next room was even darker than the first one, full of some weird family photos, crosses and blood. All of you were trying to work together, you agreed to use the Woky toky only when needed, yet the person who held it didn’t really give a shit about your agreement.

,, We need help’’ Mirio said, while the rest of you whined loudly since it was probably the third time he’s using it by now.

,, Dude, do you like the worker here ?’’ you asked him, as you took the photo of the wall.

,, No, why?’’ he asked you back, almost confused.

,, Because you are constantly talking to him. I swear you didn’t even talk to your ex that much ‘’ you said, making Touya laugh a bit.

The game continued with all of you in a rush to figure things out. One clue led to another one, and you opened some small room, where someone had to go inside to pull some weird looking rope.

Luckily for all of you, Mirio volunteered. The moment he pulled the rope down, some weird as cockroaches fall down on him, making him get out of the small room faster then he got in there.

,, Fucking shit, I didn’t sign for this’’ he whined, sighing in relief once he realized that those cockroaches are plastic one.

,, I swear, if that shit fell onto me, I would smash the red button without thinking twice’’ Nejire said in disgust.

,, This game is hard as fuck’’ you sighed, as you held some weird box with some knifes in your hand.

,, Wanna know what else is hard ?’’ Touya said quietly, making your eyes widen in shock.

,, Excuse me?’’ you couldn’t believe what he was asking you, here in front of your friends.

,, This cross. Oh my god, didn’t expect you to be that dirty minded doll’’ Touya laughed loudly, making you blush. In your Defense, he sounded like he was talking about his dick. He definitely didSl.

At the end, the 4 of you made it out of the room few minutes before the game ended. The moment you opened the door, you found the worker that explained the game and led you to the room standing in front of the very same door. Probably ready to get you all out.

,, This was so embarrassing ‘’ Nejire laughed as all of you got out of the building.

,, Yeah, imagine if we didn’t figure it out, what would he tell us ? Sorry but yall have to die now’’ Mirio said.

,, Well, maybe if you used the time we had for figuring everything out, instead of talking with the dude over the Wokytoky, MAYBE we would do better’’ you laughed, as Mirio told you to fuck off.

After Mirio and Nejire left, you and Touya made your way to your apartment, still talking and laughing about the whole game.

The two of you played among us, teaming up against some randoms on a whole new level. He was sitting way too close to you, like there was no place on the couch at all. Of course, you didn’t mind that, but you would lie if you said that you could focus on the game fully.

,, You are so cute’’ Touya pointed when you killed someone in front of him, not even hiding the fact that you are teaming.

He was complimenting you and being touchy with you more then usual.

,, So, are you really into daddy kink?’’ you asked, as you remembered the first time you played together.

,,Maybe ‘’ Touya smirked, focused on the game.

,, Naughty naughtyyy’’ you laughed, killing some other crewmate.

Once you had enough of the game, the two of you ended up just chit chatting about some stupid things, still in the same position as you were in before. The only difference was that Touya was slowly caressing your skin.

,, You wanna sleep over ?’’ you asked, once you realized that it was getting really late.

,, Well, definitely not if I have to crash on this couch’’ he said, making you giggle quietly.

,, Ah, you know I wouldn’t let you sleep here.’’ You mumbled quietly, avoiding eye contact with him.

,, Awhh, is my little doll implying that I can share her bed with her ?’’ Dabi teased. His arm was wrapped around you, rubbing small circles on your right hip gently.

,, Maybe ?’’ you said, trying to focus on anything else than his hand playing around.

,, Anyway, doll, I want to ask you something’’ he muttered, stopping his movements suddenly. You changing your position to have a better look of him, was your answer to go on.

,, Do play a lot with other people online?’’ he asked. You blinked slowly, not sure if that’s really a question he wanted to spit out. It seemed like it would be something more important.

,, Uh, I’m usually playing with Nejire. Why ?’’ you replied, confusion written all over your face. At your surprise, Dabi wrapped his arms around you, forcing you onto his lap like you were a small and weightless playtoy.

,, You know, I don’t like sharing what’s mine. ‘’ he expressed, placing his both hands on your tights, moving them up and down slowly.

,, Yours ?’’ you weren’t sure what was going on, and you definitely didn’t expect that silly question to go this way.

,, Doll, you’ve been mine the moment you sent me your address. What I meant was, you’ve met me so easily, I sure hope you ain’t like that with everyone on the internet.’’ His voice was somehow even more deeper than usual, and maybe it’s weird, but the position you were in was lowkey turning you on.

Maybe the fact that his behavior changed so fast, maybe the fact that he wanted you all for himself .

,, Honesty, I never share my personal information online, since you never know who’s hiding on the other side, but there was something about you. I just wanted to stay in contact with you’’ you responded, playing with your fingers like a lost child.

Instead of replying, he placed his hands on your cheek, pulling you slowly into a kiss, which you accepted gladly. It was the first time you felt such huge attraction for someone, and you were more than happy to give him anything he wants.

Maybe it’s weird to feel such a thing for someone you didn’t know that well, but everyone starts somewhere, right ?

His hands were going up and down your waist, lips never leaving your own. The moment you put your arms up, helping him remove the shirt you were wearing, you felt him smirk into the kiss. Once your shirt was off, he leaned back into the couch, having a better view of you, half naked sitting in his lap.

His right hand was playing with the strap of your bra, and the other one was holding you on his lap firmly. To him, you were the most beautiful little thing that he placed his eyes on, and he was more than grateful that you didn’t freak out because of his small confession.

You couldn’t wait anymore. Bending over, you connected your lips with his own again. His hands moved to your ass, giving it one good squeeze, before he got a firmer grip of you, pushing you up with himself and making his way to your bedroom.

Once he placed you on your bed, he took his shirt of, throwing it somewhere on the floor, as he climbed on top of you. All you could do was close your eyes and moan quietly once you felt his lips on your neck, sucking and biting it gently.

His lips were moving down, from your neck to your chest. From your chest to your stomach, leaving wet love bites on his way down.

Once he got so low, that he was almost between your legs, he unbuttoned your pants slowly, pulling your panties just a little bit down to leave kisses down there.

After few kisses, he gave you a sign to push your hips up a bit, and you did so. The moment you did it, Touya pulled your pants, together with your underwear down, leaving you in nothing else than your bra.

,, Take of your bra’’ he commanded, as he got lost between your legs. You wanted to do it, you really did, but once you felt his tongue on your pussy, you weren’t capable to even think straight, yet to remove your bra.

He was sucking and biting your clit, like no one ever before, making you throw your head back into your pillow as you enjoyed what he was giving you. You cradled your hands into his hair, as you felt thousand things at the same time. You’ve never desired someone so much, and the fact that the person you desired like no one else in your whole life was between your legs eating you out, was driving you crazy on a whole new level.

Dabi felt the same, it was the very first time he felt pleasure while he ate someone out, he was craving you like a mad man.

His tongue was doing wonders to you, and the moment you felt his finger slowly enter you, you squeezed your eyes shut, trying to get control over yourself.

,, Gotta loosen up my doll a little bit’’ he mumbled, savoring your pussy. The way he ate you out was getting sloppier and sloppier. Once he added another finger, your grip on is hair got stronger, giving him a sign that it hurts a bit.

,, Baby, how will you take my dick if you ain’t capable of taking ony two fingers ?’’ he looked up, smirking at you. Once you gave him a weak nod, he started moving his fingers in and out of you, slowly, giving you time to adjust.

Once he heard you moan, he started moving his fingers a little faster, as he started to rub your clit with his other hand.

,,Oh god’’ you moaned loudly, as pleasure took all over your body. Your orgasm hit you pretty unexpectedly, making you hide your face with your hands in embarrassment. You never came so quickly.

He definitely knows what’s he doing. None of your ex boyfriends made you cum so fast. All they did was simply missionary sex, with no talk at all. Few humps and done.

,, Open your mouth’’ Touya commanded, not giving you a chance to understand what was going on and why he wanted you to open your mouth for him. You felt two wet and sticky fingers rub your lips. You couldn’t even open your mouth fully, as he already shoved his two fingers in it.

,, Suck’’ grabbing your hands with his own and pushing them down, he had to see you, even tho he knew very well how embarrassed you felt in that moment.

Of course you did as he told you, as he held your chin, forcing you to look right at him as you cleaned his fingers that just pleasured you.

,, Such a good girl’’ Touya said, caressing your cheek gently, before he pulled his fingers out of your mouth, trying to free his throbbing dick out of the pants.

,, Didn’t I tell you to take your bra off ?’’ he asked, smirk forming on his lips. ,, Oh, so you don’t like to follow daddys orders ?’’ he added, climbing on top of you.

,, I ..’’ you didn’t even know what you wanted to say, you honestly forgot that you even had your bra on. Instead of saying anything, Touya only laughed, flipping you on your stomach, as he unclipped your bra in one movement.

,, I really wanted to be gentle with you, but if you are not capable in following small orders what will happen later with the big ones?’’ he asked, kissing the back of your neck slowly. You weren’t sure what to say, for you, that wasn’t a big deal, and honestly you didn’t know much about daddy kink.

,, Sorry daddy’’ you said, closing your eyes. It felt weird to call him daddy, but now that you knew that he likes it, you did it anyway.

,, Sorry doesn’t help doll. Daddy has to fuck you into obedience’’ he said, pulling the lower part of your body up. He took a good look of you, before he started rubbing the tip of his dick around your core. The view of you, with your ass up made his dick twitch, and he couldn’t wait anymore.

He shoved his dick into you with one move, forcing your body to move away from him out of the reflex. But Touya wasn’t buying that, grabbing a fistful of your hair and yanking you back.

,, You good?’’ He asked. You could hear concern in his voice, and you found it really cute how he suddenly changed.

,, Yes, that was hot ‘’ you said embarrassed, glad he was not facing you.

,, Good, because I ain’t stopping’’ with that, he started rocking his hips into you, as he pulled your head back, hand still holding your hair keeping you in the place he wanted you to be in.

So much about the concern.

,, So fucking tight’’ he groaned, as he fucked fast and hard into you, making your bed crack with every move. You found yourself moaning louder then before, it felt like he was forcing every moan out of you with every snap of his hips against your own.

The moment you felt his fingers on your clit, your walls squeezed around him. Once again embarrassed that you are so close, so fast.

,, Oh nah, you ain’t gonna cum yet’’ he whispered in your ear, leaving your clit and grabbing your hips with his both hands.

,, Ehhh pleaseeee, please daddy’’ you moaned, pushing the embarrassment away.

,, Baby, If you cum now, I’ll make sure you cum at least two more times before I finish you want it or not’’ he said, stopping his movements. Usually, when you had sex you were lucky if you could orgasm even once, since the guys only thought about themselves. You weren’t really sure if you could do it for him. You weren’t sure if you were capable to do it at all.

,, I’ll take that as yes’’ Touya laughed, moving his hips suddenly, his hand back on your clit and rubbing it so fast that he literally forced the orgasm he stopped few moments ago.

You moaned loudly, losing the power in your body. If Touya wasn’t holding you, you would definitely just fall down. He moved his hips slowly, making sure your orgasm lasts long enough for you to see the stars.

Once he was sure you are done, he flipped you over onto your back, spreading your legs with his hands, as he gave you one passionate kiss. You were too focused on the kiss, not realizing that he entered you again, only to realized it once he started moving again.

He was fucking you like there was no tomorrow, not breaking the kiss at all. You could feel his dick hitting your cervix with every move. You found yourself wrapping your arms around him, trying to find some comfort while he fucked the light out of you.

,, Come on baby, cum for your daddy’’ he groaned, enjoying how tightly your walls were squeezing him in that moment.

,, I can’t, oh my god, I really can’t ‘’ you whined, digging your nails into his skin, as he once again started playing with your clit. You felt both pain and pleasure while played with it, forcing the third orgasm out of you.

,, Of course you can, look at you, such a good girl’’ This time he didn’t slow down, letting you enjoy it, instead he was fucking you even harder and faster then before, making the orgasm that hit you almost painful, but yet still good and pleasurable.

With every move he did, you dag your nails deeper into the flesh of his back, moaning loudly not giving a single fuck if your neighbors could hear you or not.

,, One more baby’’ Touya groaned, hitting your g spot all over again. ,, Only one more baby, you can do it ‘’ he added as he rocked his hips against yours. You were so fucking sensitive, that you literally felt every vein of his dick rubbing against your walls. Maybe you were imagining, but it felt like you could literally feel the shape of his whole dick inside you, every inch of it.

He was fucking you in a reckless pace, once again rubbing your clit, while telling you how you’re such a good girl for him and how you’re gonna milk his cock so nicely. Once Touya felt that he was close, once he realized that he won’t last much longer, he started rubbing your clit with more pressure, forcing himself even more into you then before.

,, Come on baby, cum all over my cock’’ he groaned, as you moaned loudly. The moment he forced your last orgasm out of you, he groaned loudly as he was chasing his own high, painting your walls white with his seed.

The moment he came, he slowed down, still not stopping his movements completely. Fucking his seed deep into you. Because of the fact that you came fucking four times, and that he shoot loads and loads of his own seed into you, you were almost sure that you were already leaking on your bed.

,, Are you okay?’’ Touya asked, placing soft kissed on your neck, while his dick was still inside of you. ,, Did I go too far ?’’ he added, once he realized that you aren’t answering.

,, Oh god no, this was amazing’’ you whispered, tilting your head to the side. Touya kissed you, not being able to hold his smile at all. After the kiss, he wore his boxers and made his way to your bedroom, only to come back moments later with a warm towel.

After he cleaned you up, he helped you wear your panties, giving you his shirt instead of your own, before the two of you fall asleep in each others arms.

In that moment, you felt grateful for existence of that silly game where you met this handsome stranger. Who would have thought that Amongus can be a better match maker than Tinder.

You sure didn’t.

[cocobeanncteez]

ATEEZ San- Back to you (oneshot)

Genre: angst, fluff, suggestive, university au.

Pairing: badboy!San x reader (fem)

Word Count: 7.3K

Warnings: profanities, alcohol consumption, smoking, mentions of bullying and cheating, drink spiking, and attempted sexual assault.

Except Ateez, all other names are fictional.

"I don't understand how these stupid people party here when we've got exams in two weeks," your bestfriend, Doyeon, muttered under her breath while scribbling down some notes. You both were at a café in your university, studying for the upcoming exams.

You chuckled, glancing up at her from your notebook. "Your boyfriend is one of those stupid people who are partying right now."

She rolled her eyes. "Believe me, I want to smack Yunho with this," she held up her notebook, making you snort. "I'm surprised you don't get frustrated when San is literally doing the same thing."

"Well, it's his life," you said. "I'm not his parent who can nag at him to study."

San and you have been dating for a little over eight months now; other than Doyeon and San's friends, no one else knew about your relationship. Doyeon and Yunho were also dating for a while now. You both didn't really know why the boys didn't want other people to know about your relationship, but you both just went with the flow despite witnessing girls throwing themselves at them everyday. Doyeon was really calm about the whole situation, but you actually weren't even though you never let it show; you were quite worried about San leaving you for other women who were like him. You never understood why he's dating someone like you: the type who rarely parties, rarely drinks, never smokes, decently studies and gets good grades, never gets involved in fights; the opposite of him, basically.

Doyeon was about to say something, but your conversation was interrupted by someone who suddenly sat beside you in your booth, placing a textbook on the table. "Don't mind me, ladies," one of your university's badboys, Kangmin, said. "There was no place to sit, so here I am."

Ji Kangmin was handsome, and a typical badboy from what you've heard. You didn't really know much about him personally, but you knew his friend group and your boyfriend's group were rivals and often got into fights.

"I'm surprised you're here," Doyeon stated, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be at some party?"

"I don't party when exams are near," he said with a small smile. "I know I don't have a good reputation, but unlike other people here who have the same reputation as me, I actually want to score well and decently graduate." You were stunned, not expecting to hear that from someone like him. Well, maybe all badboys aren't the same.

-

"Babe!" San whined sleepily when you pulled his blanket off his body. "God, my head fucking hurts."

"Serves you right for drinking all night," you said, running a hand through his messy black hair.

"But the party was epic," he mumbled, eyes closing at the way you played with his hair.

After a few minutes, San took some painkillers and got up to take a shower. When he finished, he immediately pulled you into a hug. "I missed you," he said, burying his face in the crook of your neck.

You chuckled. "You saw me yesterday morning."

"But that was in class," he murmured, placing soft kisses on your neck, making your heart race. "I didn't get to talk to you."

"Then maybe you should start talking to me in class," you said and immediately regretted it when you felt San tense up.

San moved a step back to look at you. "Babe, you know I can't do that," he stated. "I don't want people to know about us or start—"

"Yeah, I know," you cut him off with a small smile, hiding your disappointment. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine," he said, kissing your forehead. "Let's go have breakfast, yeah?"

"Um, actually, I have to go back to my dorm," you said, making San frown and ask why. "I've got a study session with Doyeon," you lied; you just didn't feel like being here at the moment.

San sighed, cupping your cheeks. "Babe, you study so much. These exams don't matter much."

Your eyebrows furrowed. "San, these are end of the first semester exams. They're extremely important."

San didn't say anything; he only leaned down to capture your lips with his own. "Stay for a little while, please," he murmured against your lips. Before you could protest, he kissed you again, this time more passionately. He gently pushed you onto his bed, hovering above you before reconnecting your lips. Your hands wrapped around his neck, playing with the hair at his nape. One of San's hands slipped under your blouse, moving to cup your breast, giving it a squeeze. You gasped due to his actions and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth, deepening the kiss. Your phone began ringing but both of you ignored it. You were getting wetter by the second and you could feel San's growing bulge pressing against you. When your phone rang for the fourth time, San pulled away with an annoyed sigh. You chuckled, getting up from his bed to get your phone from your bag.

"Hello?" you answered.

"Where are you?! Class is gonna start in ten minutes!" Doyeon exclaimed.

"What? What class? All our classes were canceled for today."

"Mr. Byun said he's gonna take class today. Didn't you check your email?"

"Fuck. I'll be there in five." You hung up and quickly checked your reflection in San's mirror, reapplying your lip balm and tying your hair into a ponytail. San's eyes were on you the entire time.

"Are you ditching your lovely boyfriend for a class?" San asked with a pout. "Especially when you made him get all hard?"

"Yes," you replied with a small giggle. "I'll make it up to you when I'm done, I promise." you placed a quick kiss on his lips before rushing to your dorm to collect your stuff.

-

"Can I sit here?" you heard someone ask, making you look up from your notebook. Ji Kangmin was giving you a small smirk. "Seats are full."

"Go ahead," you said, returning your attention back onto your books. Fortunately, Kangmin studied quietly, not disturbing you even once.

"Why is this so hard?" you muttered under your breath, eyebrows furrowing in irritation due to the differentiation problem you've been breaking your head for.

"Need help?" Kangmin asked.

"Are you good at calculus?"

He snorted, showing you the cover of his textbook. "I'm a math major, darling." Your eyes widened, not expecting that at all. "I thought you knew but you clearly don't," he said with a chuckle. "But I know you're a computer science major." He reached for your notebook, scanning through what you've written. "Ah, so this is where you went wrong," he murmured before explaining everything to you.

After a good three hours of studying, you got up and stretched your arms. Kangmin helped you with a few sums and told you many tricks and tips to save time and make the problems easier to solve. He walked with you to your dorm building since his was right opposite yours. You caught a few people staring at the two of you, but you brushed it off; Kangmin was popular, so obviously they would stare. You had to admit, it felt quite weird to see people staring at you. You were sure they all would react the same way if you were with San.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Kangmin grinned, running his hand through his brown hair. You nodded with a smile before entering your dorm building.

-

You spent the entire week studying with Kangmin and sometimes Doyeon joined the two of you. You were really anxious about the exams, but Kangmin managed to make you calm down a little; you were really grateful for his company.

"So Jihoon asked me out and I said yes!" Hyewon said, making you and Doyeon squeal.

"Girl! I told you this day would come!" Doyeon exclaimed, making Hyewon blush. You and Doyeon teased her for blushing, laughing at how her cheeks got even pinker.

San secretly glanced at you from across the classroom, smiling at the sight of you laughing; he thought you were absolutely beautiful.

"What's he doing here?" Jongho muttered, making San and Mingi follow his line of sight.

"Probably here to find someone to fuck," Mingi said in an unbothered tone.

San focused his attention back on you until that very person tapped your shoulder. "Why the fuck is he talking to my girl?!"

You turned to look at the person who tapped your shoulder. "Oh, hey, Kangmin! What are you doing here?" you asked.

He pulled a notebook from his bag, handing it over to you. "I accidentally took your notebook yesterday, so I came to return it," he said. "Sorry about that."

"Oh no, it's okay, don't worry about it," you smiled. He was about to say something, but your professor arrived, so he had to leave and go to his own class.

After the lecture ended, you had lunch with Doyeon, Hyewon, and Jihoon at your dorm's dining hall. You couldn't help but gush about how great Hyewon and Jihoon's chemistry was; they were the cutest couple you have ever seen.

Your phone rang and you picked it up as it was San. "Hello?"

"Where are you?" San asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"At my dorm's dining hall," you replied. "Why?"

"Come to your room right now," he said and hung up before you could say anything. You quickly had the last few bites of your food before excusing yourself, telling your friends you had some work to do.

You made your way over to your room, spotting San right outside your door, wearing a blue hoodie with the hood up and a black mask. You unlocked your door with your key-card, feeling a little anxious due the serious look in your boyfriend's eyes. He closed the door before moving to sit on your bed.

"Sannie, what's wrong?" you asked, moving to stand in front of him. He stared up at you, staying silent for a while before he took off his mask, tossing it on your desk.

"Why did Ji Kangmin talk to you today?"

"He accidentally took my notebook yesterday so he came to return it," you answered honestly.

San raised an eyebrow. "Yesterday? Why were you with him yesterday?" he asked in a stern tone.

"We were studying. He was helping me with calculus."

San scoffed, getting off your bed. "I'm sure that's not what his true intentions are. Stay away from him." San's words annoyed you.

"And how do you know what his true intentions are?" you asked. "We were literally just studying, that's all."

"I don't fucking like him, Y/N. He isn't a good person and I don't want him anywhere near you. So please just stay away from him."

You sighed, glancing at the tiny cat tattoo on San's finger. "Fine..."

San gently cupped your cheek, making you look at him. He didn't like how disappointed you looked and he couldn't help but think about Kangmin stealing you away from him. "Baby... please trust me, he's just trying to get into your pants." You wanted to tell him that all those girls who flirt with him wanted the same, but you knew he already knew that and he liked the attention he got.

"Okay..." You moved away from him, picking up your textbook from your desk and placing it on your bed. "Do you wanna study with me?" you asked San.

"Nah, I'm not in the mood to study."

"You never are," you snorted, earning a wink from him.

"You study, I'll just take a nap here beside you," he said, placing a kiss on your forehead, lying down on your bed.

"Don't try anything, San," you warned him, lying down beside him. He chuckled, placing an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to his body.

San fell asleep while you studied. When you took a small break, you couldn't help but admire your sleeping boyfriend; he looked so angelic... ethereal, even. You placed a light kiss on his cheek before slowly getting off the bed to go to the bathroom.

When you came back, San was awake. "How long did I sleep?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"Almost two hours," you said, returning to your bed.

"Oh... oh crap! I should get ready. I've got a party to go to tonight," he said, stretching his arms. "Do you wanna come?"

You raised an eyebrow. "You already know my answer to that."

He chuckled, kissing your head. "Have fun studying, babe."

---

"Finally!" Doyeon yelled in happiness. "We're finally done after two weeks of torture!"

"Thank god we have an entire week off," you said, gently massaging your aching wrist.

"These exams were way harder than I expected," Hyewon said and you agreed. "You both are coming for Kang Hyunsuk's party tonight, right?"

"Of course! It's in a huge mansion, you know? Besides, I need to get drunk and laid in luxury," Doyeon said, making you and Hyewon laugh.

You quickly got ready at Doyeon's dorm in the evening before taking a cab to Kang Hyunsuk's mansion that was fortunately not too far away.

The mansion was decorated with LED lights inside and out. The large hall was converted into a dance floor and he even hired a DJ. You were sure more than half of the students at your college was here, and there were certainly a lot of people from the neighboring colleges as well.

Doyeon grabbed your hand, pulling you to the large kitchen where the drinks and snacks were. You both took two shots of vodka each before you greeted some of your classmates. Doyeon was already really tipsy due to her poor alcohol tolerance. On the other hand, you took another shot and you were still quite sober.

"Wow, Y/N, you look so hot!" Hyewon said, approaching you with Jihoon.

You were wearing a lacy dusty-rose bralette with black ripped jeans and combat boots. The bralette showed off more cleavage than you'd usually show, but you were feeling a little extra today.

You noticed Yunho approaching the kitchen with Seonghwa and Hongjoong, his eyes scanning Doyeon from head to toe. You nudged Doyeon with your elbow, gesturing to Yunho with your eyes. She glanced around, eyes landing on Yunho who gave her a smirk. She smiled at him before moving towards him. She whispered something in his ears, making him drag her away immediately. You weren't expecting your bestfriend to ditch you this early, but oh well.

"Hey Y/N," Seonghwa greeted you. "Have you seen San or Jongho?"

"Nope, I came to the kitchen as soon as I got here," you replied, pouring yourself another shot.

"Ah, all right." Seonghwa and Hongjoong took a drink before they disappeared into the crowd.

One of your friends dragged you outside to the area beside the swimming pool; she wanted to introduce you to some people from another university. You spotted San, Jongho, Wooyoung, Mingi, and Yeosang on the other of the pool, surrounded by girls as usual. There were a few guys there and they were all playing a game of spin the bottle. There was a girl sitting on your boyfriend's lap, and that annoyed you a lot. You couldn't do anything about it since San didn't want anyone to know about your relationship. When you got to see the girl's face, your eyes widened; it was your ex-bestfriend, Park Hyejoo. You scoffed in disbelief; San knew who she was and what she did to you in high school, yet he let her sit on his lap. You tried not to pay attention to them by focusing on the conversation your friend was having with the people she had introduced you to. It somewhat worked... until you heard cheers and whistles which caught everyone's attention.

Hyejoo's face was buried in San's neck, no doubt giving him a hickey. He wasn't even pushing her away. You felt your eyes tear up, but you blinked it away. You couldn't look away until she pulled away. And then she kissed him, causing you to gasp.

"Why are you so surprised?" your drunk friend asked you. "She fucks around as much as Choi San does. I even heard they're fuck buddies."

San pulled away from Hyejoo, but he only smirked at her, making no effort to push her off his lap. Yeosang—who was sitting beside San—noticed you watching, and he immediately elbowed San. "You fucked up big time, bro," Yeosang murmured in his ear.

"What do you mean?" San asked.

"Y/N's over there. She saw everything."

San glanced around until his eyes found your disappointed and sad ones. He wasn't even expecting you to attend the party. He scanned you from head to toe, eyes darkening due to the way you looked in that outfit.

"You dumb fuck," Yeosang muttered, low enough for only San to hear. "Are you seriously eye-fucking her right now? Put your damn reputation aside and go talk to her before you fuck shit up more, idiot!"

San excused himself, pushing your ex-bestfriend off his lap, making his way over to you. But of course, he couldn't be seen with you, so he just gestured with his head for you to follow him. Even though you were so upset, you followed him a few seconds later. He stopped at the garden where there was no one; you could still hear the blasting music from here.

San was dressed in all black and he looked absolutely irresistible. You would've asked him to fuck you right here against the wall, but you were damn pissed at the moment.

"Damn, babe," he said, lips pulling into a smirk. "My girl's looking so hot." He reached out to pull you into his arms, but you took a step back. San frowned. "Babe..."

"You knew what Hyejoo did to me," you said with a bitter chuckle. "And you let her sit on your lap." You pointed at the hickey on his neck. "You let her do that to you despite the fact that you have a girlfriend, who is in fact, standing right in front of you!" You would never lash out like this if it wasn't for the alcohol in your system. Hyejoo bullied you a lot in high school to the point where you had to change schools. San knew every little detail of what Hyejoo did, and you remembered how angry he was when you told him about it.

"Babe, calm down, please," San said softly.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down?! That fucking bitch was sitting on your fucking lap the entire time and she gave you a damn hickey! You didn't even stop her!"

"It was just a dare and—"

You scoffed. "And what about the kiss?"

"She kissed me. I didn't kiss back, I swear!"

"And you made no effort to push her off your damn lap even after that, right?"

San sighed; he really didn't want to fight with you right now. "I think you're overreacting, Y/N. Like I said, it was only a dare."

"Yeah, how about I go sit on another man's lap and suck his neck, hmm? I fucking bet you would love that," you chuckled bitterly. San clenched his jaw at your words; if that were to ever happen, he wouldn't hesitate to punch that guy.

"That's not going to happen," he placed his hands on your bare waist, pulling you against his body. "Let's not fight, okay?" he murmured, kissing your head.

You moved away from him, eyeing the hickey on his neck with disgust. "Fuck off, San," you mumbled. "I need a damn drink." Before San could could say anything, you made your way to the table of drinks beside the pool. You quickly downed three shots, eyes closing at the way the liquid burned your throat.

"Woah, woah, slow down there. You'll choke," you heard someone say from behind you.

"Who gives a fuck?" you muttered.

"Well, I certainly do, darling," Kangmin said, moving to stand in front of you. "You look really nice, even though you look like you could murder someone right now."

You glanced at San who returned back to where he was sitting before. Hyejoo started clinging to him, and he made no effort to do anything about it again. You rolled your eyes, not even surprised that your words went into San's ears and left just as fast. "Believe me, I want to," you said, feeling the alcohol starting to hit you harder.

"I don't know who pissed you off, but loosen up, yeah?" Kangmin said, pouring himself a drink. You noticed the tattoos all over his arms, one of them catching your eye. You grabbed his arm, trying to get a better look. "It's a... squirting dick?" you tried to control yourself from laughing.

"My friend's a tattoo artist and he tattooed it on me without telling me," he said with a chuckle.

"I want one too," you whined. "I want one now."

"What? A squirting dick?"

You lightly punched his bicep, swaying a little due to the effect of the alcohol in your system. "No, a good tattoo!"

"You're drunk right now, darling," he chuckled. "It's never a good idea to get a tattoo when you're drunk, trust me."

You pouted. "But I want a tattoo."

He placed his cup on the table and moved his hands to cup your cheeks. "I promise I'll take you to get a tattoo this week, okay? Now, let's go dance, hmm?" You nodded, letting him drag you inside to the dance floor.

San saw everything and his hands clenched into fists. He was so tempted to punch Kangmin and yell at him to stay away from you, but he couldn't risk his reputation like that; he didn't want anyone to know about your relationship no matter what. San went to where you were standing before, taking a tequila shot while he wondered what to do.

"Ji Kangmin and Y/N? Damn!" San overheard someone say.

"I didn't expect him to make a move on her," the other person said. "She's a goody two shoes and he's far from that."

"Kangmin likes women like that actually," the first person said. "And Y/N is very pretty. I'm not very surprised that he went for her."

"Hmm. They do look great together. He seems to like her a lot, no? I saw him walk her to her dorm last week." San's jaw clenched and he quickly made his way inside, searching for you. The dance floor was so crowded, he couldn't even get a glimpse of you anywhere. He tried calling you, but you didn't pick up. He tried calling Doyeon, but she didn't pick up as well.

"Fucking hell," he muttered under his breath, moving through tons of drunk, sweaty people, trying to find you.

After nearly fifteen minutes, he found you sitting alone on of the sofas, head resting on the armrest. "Y/N!"

"Kangmin...?" you lifted your head. "Oh, it's you."

"We're leaving," San said, grabbing your hand.

"No, f-fuck you," you hiccupped. "Go fuck off to Hyejoo." San ignored your words, taking his phone out to book a cab to his apartment. He helped you stand up and pulled you along with him. You wanted to protest, but your body was aching and you really just wanted to sleep.

You fell asleep on San's shoulder in the cab. He carried you bridal style and unlocked his door with the passcode, moving to his bedroom. He gently placed you on the bed and removed your boots. You opened your eyes due to the movement, feeling quite sick. "San..." you murmured. "I think I'm gonna throw up." San quickly lifted you up and took you to the bathroom, holding your hair back while you threw up in his toilet. He gently rubbed your back until you were done.

You brushed your teeth with the toothbrush you kept at San's place, and you took a quick hot shower, sobering a little. San gave you one of his t-shirts to wear and he dried your hair for you.

As soon as your head landed on the pillow, you fell asleep.

-

When you woke up, your head was pounding terribly. You slowly opened your eyes, immediately recognizing that you were in San's apartment; you couldn't remember much of what happened last night. You moved to his bathroom to take a painkiller and finish your morning routine. After you took a shower, you wore one of his black hoodies with one of your shorts that you usually kept at his place.

You felt a pair of muscly arms wrap around you. "You look so good in my clothes," San murmured, placing a kiss on your head. You turned around in his arms, titling your head back to look at him. You were about to wrap your arms around his neck, but your eyes landed on the hickey on his neck, reminding you of the events that happened last night, making you immediately pull yourself away from his embrace.

San frowned. "Babe—"

"San," you start. "Is your reputation that important that you can't even push another girl away when she's throwing herself at you? Especially when you know just how terrible that girl is?" you asked.

San took your hands in his. "Y/N, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have let—"

"But you still did," you argued. "Why don't you want to tell people about us, San? Is it because I'm not like you or your friends? Do you think I'm not attractive enough to be next to you?" He didn't say anything. "I feel like you're just using me," you continued, remembering the amount of times you've heard people say San only screws around. "Do you even love me?" The last question made San freeze. You had fallen in love with San months ago, but he didn't know and probably wouldn't have even noticed.

You waited for him to say something, but he only kept quiet, eyes fixated to the floor. "San, I think we should just," you gulped, eyes tearing up again. "We should b-break up. I really can't tolerate this anymore..." Your words felt like knifes were constantly slicing his heart. "Don't you have anything to say?" you asked, hoping he would fight for you or convince you that continuing this relationship is worth it. You wished he would change.

"How can I when you've already made up your mind?" San murmured, avoiding your eyes. "If you think breaking up is what's best then okay..." he wanted to say much more. He wanted to beg you to not leave him. He wanted to tell you just how much he loved you. But he couldn't. Even if he tried, he just couldn't.

"I'll collect my stuff from here tomorrow," you mumbled, putting your boots on. San could only nod as he watched you.

Before you could leave, San stopped you. "I... I just wanted to ask you... if you ever," he took a deep breath. "If you ever loved me."

You smiled sadly. "It doesn't matter," you whispered, but it was loud enough for him to hear you. "Take care, San," you mumbled before walking out the door, shattering his heart.

-

"You fucked up even more," Yeosang said, watching San smoke a cigarette.

"That's very helpful. Makes me feel great," San stated sarcastically, blowing the smoke to the air.

"No offense, Sannie, but I agree with Yeosang," Hongjoong said. "You should've told her how you felt instead of keeping quiet."

"I know," San sighed. "But she already made up her mind."

"Dude, you're really dense," Wooyoung stated. "She asked you if you had something to say. That translates to 'fight for me.' I don't think you've noticed, but Y/N is definitely in love with you."

San's head shot up. "She wouldn't have broken up with me if she really loved me, Woo."

Seonghwa groaned in frustration. "If I was in Y/N's place, I would dump your stupid ass too."

"Agreed," Yeosang said. "I told you before, San, your reputation is going to fuck up everything. You need to let go of your past as well before it's too late."

"Ji Kangmin's got his eyes on her," Mingi stated. "I heard his friends talking about it."

"Yeah, I heard that too. Y/N is close to him," Jongho added.

San rolled his eyes, taking a drag from the cigarette. "He has nothing else to do other than stealing the girls I like."

"Exactly, and you're letting him do it again," Yunho said, taking the cigarette away from San and crushing it with his shoes. "You have to make a decision Sannie. Either you sort things out with Y/N, or you lose the woman you love to that very bastard again."

---

"So you had the hots for Y/N, huh?" Kangmin asked San while he waited in line to order his drink.

"That's none of your business," San said in a cold tone to his ex-bestfriend.

"I saw you talking to her privately that day," he said, referring to the party you attended almost two weeks ago. San ignored his words. "I don't know what was going on between the two of you," Kangmin continued. "But whatever it was, I'm glad it didn't last long. I want to make her mine."

San scoffed. "You just want to get into her pants."

Kangmin snorted. "Obviously. But after spending two weeks with her, without you around, I'm quite interested. Y/N is gorgeous and has a great personality. She's a rare gem, you know? I bet she'd be just as wonderful in bed and tastes as sweet as she loo—"

San took a step towards Kangmin, grabbing the collar of his shirt. "If you don't shut the fuck up, I'll break your damn face!" San warned.

"Ohhh, I'm so scared," he teased, pushing San away. "Fuck off, Choi San. Someone like Y/N doesn't deserve a bastard like you. You weren't and will never be good enough for her." San chose to ignore him, not wanting to cause a big scene at the café. Kangmin's words stabbed him in the heart. San always thought he wasn't good enough for you, but he never expected to hear anyone say it out loud.

Kangmin's phone started ringing and he couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face. "Hey, gorgeous," he answered, loud and clear. "I'm at the café near your building, getting you your favorite drink and some cupcakes. I'll pick you up from class."

"That won't be necessary," you replied, pushing the door of the café to enter. You instantly spotted Kangmin and made your way towards him, unaware of San who was standing right behind him. "Hi!" you said to Kangmin who hung up once he saw you.

"Hey, beautiful! How was class?" he asked, secretly glancing at San; you still hadn't noticed San as your back was facing him.

"Ugh, tiring. I hate extra classes. I couldn't understand any—" your phone started ringing, interrupting your sentence. You answered the call as it was from your bestfriend.

"Where are you?" Doyeon asked.

"At the café near our dorm," you replied.

"Come over fast, we have to get ready for Hyewon's party. She wants us to come early cause she needs help."

"I'll be there in a bit."

-

"I didn't expect any of them to be here," you said to Doyeon while drinking some whiskey and coke from a red cup, watching your ex-boyfriend converse with his infamous group of friends; they usually went clubbing on Saturday nights. "Aren't you gonna go over to Yunho?"

"I don't wanna ditch you," she answered. You gently pushed her in Yunho's direction.

"Go, I'll be fine."

Before she could reply, Kangmin wrapped his arms around you, startling you a little. Doyeon gave you a wink before making her way towards her boyfriend, leaving you with Kangmin.

"Can we talk?" he whispered in your ear, making sure to move closer to your body once he noticed San watching. You nodded, letting him pull you upstairs. You had gotten quite close to Kangmin these last two weeks; you were really glad to have a friend like him. He distracted you from the pain you felt from not being with San anymore.

Kangmin gently pushed against the wall, trapping you between his arms. You gasped. "What are you doing?"

"I like you, Y/N," he confessed with a smile. "I wanna date you." Before you could say anything, he kissed you. You were a little too shocked, so you let him kiss you for a few seconds. When you regained your senses, you pushed him away. He stared at you, confused by your actions.

"Kangmin, I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same way..."

Kangmin rolled his eyes. "It's cause of Choi San, isn't it?"

"No," you lied. Of course it's cause of San. You were still in love with him. You didn't want to date anyone until you got over him. "I only see us as friends, Kangmin," you stated honestly. "You're a really good friend and I don't want to lose you."

Kangmin sighed. "Okay, let's just forget about this. Let's have a drink, hmm?" You nodded, following him downstairs to the kitchen.

You were talking to one of your friends while Kangmin got a drink for you.

"Thanks," you said, taking the cup from him. You took a sip of your drink. It tasted a little salty, but you didn't mind. You felt yourself relaxing a little while you nodded your head to the music. By the time you finished your drink, you felt pretty lightheaded. You clinged to Kangmin's arm. "Hey, could you take me to the couch?" you requested, words slurred. "I don't feel very good..."

"Of course," Kangmin lifted you into his arms, bridal style. He carried you upstairs into one of the rooms, shutting the door behind him with his foot. He placed you on the bed. "You don't know how long I've waited for this," he said, licking his lips while he took your crop-top off. You didn't know what was happening and your vision was really blurry. Kangmin pushed you onto your back before hovering above you. The sudden movement made your head spin even more, causing you to pass out. "Oh, too bad she couldn't stay conscious for this..." he murmured to himself. He ran his hands up from your jean-clad legs to the soft skin of your abdomen before reaching behind your body to unclasp your bra. Before he could pull the piece of clothing away from your body, the door swung open.

"You fucking bastard!" San yelled, pushing Kangmin off of you. Jongho and Hongjoong were right behind San.

"What the fuck, dude?!" Kangmin yelled. "Get out! Can't you see we're busy?!" His words pissed Jongho off. He immediately grabbed Kangmin by the collar and punched him twice in the nose. Kangmin fell to the floor, holding his broken, bloody nose in pain. Jongho wanted to punch him one more time, but Hongjoong held him back. "Don't. You'll end up killing him."

San started crying when he saw your passed out form; he couldn't even think about what would've happened if his friends didn't overhear Kangmin's friends talking about him spiking your drink. San clasped your bra back and put your crop-top on you before he lifted you into his arms. "I'm taking her to my apartment," he said to his friends.

"I'll drive you," Hongjoong offered.

-

When you woke up, you immediately recognized your surroundings. You had absolutely no idea of how you ended up in your ex-boyfriend's bedroom.

Your head was pounding and you wondered what time it was as it was really sunny outside. Before you could get off San's bed, he entered the room.

"You're awake," he said softly, relief clear in his eyes. "Take a shower and come eat. You must be really hungry."

"What happened? What's the time right now?" you questioned, your heart racing at the mere sight of him in a lilac hoodie and black sweatpants.

"I'll tell you after you eat," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "It's three in the afternoon. Doyeon got some clothes for you. There's a spare toothbrush in the bathroom."

"Thanks," you mumbled, getting up to go to the bathroom.

After you took a shower, you made your way to San's kitchen. You took a seat at the dining table, looking at all the different dishes on the table.

"You made all this?"

San shook his head. "I wasn't able to cook today. Wooyoung and Seonghwa made it. They left a few minutes ago." You noticed how tensed and sad he was; you wanted to ask him what was bothering him, but you knew he wouldn't answer your question until you ate.

You both ate in a comfortable silence. You tried to recall the events from last night, but you weren't able to. You frowned, wondering if you really drank that much.

"Are you all right, San?" you asked, settling on his couch after you both finished eating.

He took a deep breath and you noticed the slight dark circles beneath his eyes. "Can I hug y-you?" he asked, voice cracking while his eyes teared up.

You immediately scooted closer to him on the couch, wrapping your arms around him. He buried his face in the crook of your neck while he held you tightly. His body shook convulsively while he cried, his tears wetting your neck. You ran a hand through his soft hair, knowing it would help calm him down a little.

San pulled away from you, wiping his tears with the sleeve of his lilac hoodie. "I'm sorry..."

You grabbed his hand, intertwining it with yours. "What happened, Sannie?"

Hearing you call him by his nickname brought another set of fresh tears to his eyes. Your other hand reached up to wipe his tears away.

"I love you, Y/N," he confessed, more tears rolling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you that before. I'm so sorry for being a jerk to you and prioritizing my reputation. I fucked up and I regret it so much." You took a deep breath, trying to control your rapid heartbeat while you listened to every word he said. "I felt like dying after what happened last night. I'm so sorry, this is all my fault," he sobbed.

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What happened last night?"

"O-Oh you don't remember...?" You shook your head. San cleared his throat, trying his best to not to break down again. "Wooyoung and Hongjoong overhead Ji Kangmin's friends say that he spiked your drink after you rejected him." you froze in shock. "They immediately told us about it, and me, Hongjoong, and Jongho rushed over to you. You weren't conscious when we found you. Your top was off and he was about to take your bra off as well, but I pushed him away. Then Jongho punched him. I brought you here after that."

You stared at San in disbelief. "Kangmin s-spiked my drink...?"

San nodded. "He had it all planned. I'm sorry, Y/N... none of this would've happened if he didn't see us together." You were too shocked to say anything; you couldn't believe Kangmin would go this low just cause you rejected him. "Ji Kangmin was my bestfriend in high school. After I got a girlfriend, he acted like a bitch to me cause he wanted her. I really loved her, and she cheated on me with him. He spread a lot of false shit about me after I ended our friendship. When I tried to move on with another girl, he took her away from me too. I didn't want other people to know about us only because he would find out. I didn't want him anywhere near you because I knew he would try to take you away from me. I didn't push Hyejoo away that day because he was watching me and would get suspicious of my actions if I pushed her away. I tried my best to do everything that would keep him away from you, but I still failed..."

You burst into tears, wrapping your arms around San; you had no idea he went through all this. "I'm sorry, San. I should've listened to you when you told me he wasn't a good person," you managed to say through sobs.

"No, Y/N, I'm the one who should say sorry for not telling you all of this before." He held you, gently rocking you back and forth while he cried with you. "Thank you for rejecting him..."

You pulled away, cupping his cheek. "How could I ever date someone else when I'm love with you, San?"

His heart raced in his chest due to your words. "That's why you rejected him?"

You nodded. "And I'm glad I did."

San smiled, leaning his forehead against yours. "Can I..." he hesitated "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes, please."

San immediately captured your lips with his own, kissing you oh so gently. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He smiled, causing you to smile as well while you kissed him; you both missed this so much. The kiss was slow and soft, the two of you just wanting to savor this moment. Your hands played with his hair while his hands lazily ran down the expanse of your back. San pulled away, holding you tight against his chest.

"I know I hurt you a lot and I don't even deserve to speak to you right now... but I want to start over, Y/N," San said honestly. "I want to treat you the way you deserve... show you off to the world... I want to make things right between us. These two weeks were pure torture without you, and I realized that I can't... I can't live without you, Y/N. I really need you, baby."

You rested your head on his chest and you could hear his fast heartbeat. "I need some time, Sannie." you noticed him tense up a little and you knew exactly what he was thinking. "And no, this isn't me indirectly rejecting you or anything. I want to be with you, San. I always have and that isn't gonna change. I just need a little time, considering everything that happened." San nodded in understanding. "I promise that I will come back to you."

"I love you and I'll wait for you," San said, placing a kiss on your head.

"Thank you... I love you too, Sannie." He giggled, loving the way you say those three heart-fluttering words. He cupped your cheek to pull you into another sweet kiss, making your heart race again.

The two of you knew that no matter what, you both would always find your way back to each other.

[just-another-blog-of-fluff]

Can't Keep a Secret

Word count: 4300

Warnings: tickling, fluff, reader with an inability to keep secrets, reader with a crush on a certain god of mischief

I'm so excited for 100 followers!! I didn't expect so many people to actually be interested in my writing when I started posting 🥰

This one is based on @atlas-of-the-universe's request here for a fic where Loki tickles the reader to get information of some kind 😉 I hope this is what you were looking for!

This one also has a little more crushing/romantic fluff than some of my other fics at the end, so if you're not into that just skip that part. As always, completely SFW!

* * *

No one ever seemed to do anything nice for Loki. So, when Thor approached you to ask if you’d help him and the others plan a surprise birthday party for his brother, you wholeheartedly agreed to assist. As the Avengers’ best party planner, you jumped at the chance to start brainstorming ideas to make this party the best Loki had ever experienced – including on Asgard. And, if it meant he’d pay a little extra attention to you, well… that was an added bonus.

The only problem was – you were terrible at keeping secrets.

It wasn’t as if you went around spilling the details when someone asked you not to tell the others about something. You knew enough not to just blurt out the fact that you were planning a party. Unfortunately, though, you had a tendency to let your feelings show in your facial expressions. Trying to keep secrets made you anxious, knowing you’d been the one to accidentally say just a little bit too much in the past and ruined other surprises.

The fact that you were the worst secret keeper was no… secret, for lack of a better word. Your teammates frequently exploited this fact when they wanted to know what you were hiding from them. Tony, especially, loved to talk circles around you until he could get you to trip up and give some detail away. On the other hand, they also tried not to let you in on too many details when they were planning a surprise for one of the other team members.

This time, you were determined not to give anything away. You were thrilled that the team was finally going to do something special for Loki, and you were NOT going to ruin it by spilling the beans to the trickster. Thor was probably one of the more trusting members of the Avengers, and he assured you when he asked you to help with the party that he had faith you wouldn’t screw up (quite literally in those words).

You started researching online to get some ideas. This party had to live up to the standards of an Asgardian prince, so you couldn’t just order a few pizzas and beer and call it a party. Plus, Tony had offered to pay for the whole thing (you suspected he felt guilty for having accidentally blasted Loki through a wall in the training room with his new Ironman suit the week prior) so your funds were basically limitless.

Inevitably, though, you were bound to run into situations where you had to spend time with the raven-haired god without allowing yourself to let any details slip.

The moment Loki first started to suspect you were hiding something was when he walked in on a conversation you were having with Thor in the kitchen. You had been asking him about the Asgardian mead his brother loved so much and wanted to know if he could manage to get some here on Midgard for the party.

“What is it about the Asgardian mead that you like so much better than standard alcohol?” you inquired curiously.

“Ha! That is a very funny question, Lady Y/N,” Thor laughed heartily. “As if any Midgardian liquor could so much as hold a candle to the spirits we drink on Asgard.”

“Hey! I enjoy my tequila! Margaritas are arguably a delicious alcoholic beverage,” you bantered.

“You truly believe this ‘margarita’ as you call it could compare to the smooth, sophisticated taste of an Asgardian mead?” Thor countered.

“I must agree with my brother on this one – I have seen this ‘margarita’ drink you speak of, and it is highly unlikely to be superior to Asgardian spirits.”

You gasped involuntarily when you heard Loki’s voice in the doorway, spinning around to face him with a look of bewilderment on your face. He cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow as he scrutinized your expression.

“Oh, hey Loki! Didn’t see you there,” you greeted, trying to lean casually against the counter you were standing beside.

“Yes… it appears you didn’t. You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” Loki folded his arms across his chest, eyeing you intently. “What was it that brought you to the subject of Asgardian liquor?”

“Oh, that? Well…”

“I was just informing Lady Y/N that I have been feeling a bit nostalgic thinking about the celebrations we had on Asgard, when we would drink heartily with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three,” Thor cut in, quickly interrupting you mid-sentence. “Brother, you must recall the time you had a bit too much while drinking with us and…”

“I believe that’s quite enough nostalgia for one evening, dear brother,” Loki cut in, appearing almost frantic as he glanced quickly at you before turning back to glare at the elder Asgardian. “Stark asked me to inform you he requires your assistance in the laboratory. You’ll need to continue this conversation another time.”

“Ah, yes, alright then. Another time,” Thor agreed, winking at you before he exited the kitchen. Loki followed close behind, but not before giving you one last calculating glance before he crossed through the doorway and out of sight. You let out a breath of relief, hoping he hadn’t thought much of the conversation.

You noticed, though, that Loki started conveniently popping up around you more often after that incident. Maybe he didn’t want Thor to have the opportunity to tell you about whatever embarrassing story had occurred when they were younger, you thought. Regardless, it meant that you had to be extremely cautious about doing any planning for the party in any of the common areas.

The second time you nearly let something slip was during a hushed conversation in the training room with Peter after one of your sparring matches. He had pulled you aside after training to ask your opinion about whether he should ask his friend MJ to attend the party with him. He’d had a crush on the girl for quite some time, and now that she knew his secret identity he thought it might be time to introduce her to his Avengers family.

“I’m nervous she might not want to come, but I think it would be a great chance for her to meet everyone when the focus would be on someone else,” he explained. You hiked your backpack up onto your shoulder with your training gear and made your way toward the door to the training room with Peter by your side.

“Why wouldn’t she want to come? From what you’ve told me, she seems to be more of a social butterfly than you are, even,” you asked.

“Yeah… you’re right, I’m probably overthinking this, aren’t I?” he chuckled. “I just don’t want to screw things up!”

“What are you screwing up this time, spiderling?”

You stopped short as you heard Loki’s voice from behind you, making your heart leap into your throat. You turned around, trying not to look startled.

“Oh, Peter wants his friend MJ to attend… a training session with us!” you fibbed, trying to think quickly. “You know, so he can show her his Spider-Man moves!”

“Yeah! That’s right,” Peter agreed, nodding vigorously. “I’m going to go call her right now, thanks Y/N!” Peter scurried off down the hallway, leaving you standing with a somewhat skeptical looking god of mischief.

“Why was Peter asking you about inviting a friend to his training? Would he not have asked Stark?” Loki inquired. You shrugged in a non-committal way.

“Who knows? Anyway, uh, it was nice talking to you, but I’ve got to get going… big assignment to finish up tonight, can’t really stop and chat. See you later!” you blurted, not waiting for a response as you hurried toward your room. Phew, that was close, you thought to yourself, hoping he hadn’t been standing behind you for too long.

Later that week, you found yourself alone in the common room while watching television. You pulled out your laptop during one of the commercials and started searching the internet for caterers, hoping to find something fancy enough to appeal to an Asgardian god. You had thought that everyone else was out for the day, so you weren’t overly concerned about anyone seeing what you were doing.

“What mindless reality television show are you watching today?” The smooth, baritone voice caused you to jerk your head up from your laptop screen and instinctively slam it shut. He hadn’t even been standing behind you to see what you were searching – it was purely on reflex that you closed the computer. Loki raised his eyebrows at you. “I see you aren’t really watching anything, are you? What is it you were viewing on your computer?”

“Nothing! I mean, nothing exciting, really. Just some old photos that I was trying to sort through,” you stammered, standing up with the laptop clutched to your chest. “You can have the TV if you want, though. I have to go… work on that assignment some more. I was just taking a break. It’s almost done!” Loki opened his mouth as if to say something, but you didn’t wait around to let him ask any more questions that might make you give away something you shouldn’t. You spent the rest of the evening in your room, avoiding the trickster at all costs.

The next morning, after getting ready for the day, you grabbed some breakfast before heading back to your room to continue to do some additional party planning research where Loki wouldn’t walk in on you unexpectedly. You shoved the last bite of one of Thor’s pop-tarts that you’d stolen into your mouth as you approached your door, opening it and walking toward your desk where your laptop sat. You always left the door slightly ajar when you were in your room, and so you were quite surprised when you heard the door thump shut behind you, the lock clicking into place.

“You’ve been hiding something from me.”

You stopped dead in your tracks, your heart pounding in your chest. You turned around slowly, staring wide-eyed at the god of mischief now standing in your bedroom between you and your only exit. His hands were clasped behind his back, his blue-green eyes gleaming ominously as he stared you down.

“Oh, hey Loki! What brings you to my room?” you asked, trying to sound casual.

“Let’s end this little charade, hmm?” He took a few slow paces forward into the room, closing the distance between the two of you. “It’s become clear to me over the last week that you have knowledge of some information that you do not want me to become aware of. I’d like you to tell me what it is.” His tone was calm; low, but dangerous. You swallowed hard.

“Loki, I-I’m not sure what you mean. I don’t have any secrets.” You took a step back from the advancing Asgardian, your back meeting the cold, hard wood of your desk behind you.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is up to you,” he threatened, stepping even closer so he was only a foot away from where you stood trapped against your desk. “Tell me what it is you’re hiding, or I will… coerce you into talking.”

“Coerce me? Heh, what’s that supposed to mean?” you asked nervously, your hands gripping the desk behind you.

“I have my ways. I am the god of mischief, after all.” Loki stood in front of you unmoving, a barrier holding you hostage against your desk.

“Even if I did have something to hide, you wouldn’t hurt me. Your brother would kill you,” you warned.

“I never suggested I would hurt you, darling. I would never do such a thing.” He took the slightest step closer. “You seem tense. Am I making you nervous?”

“Very.”

“Good.” A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. “Have you decided, then? Will we be doing this the easy way or the hard way?”

“I told you, I have nothing to hide,” you insisted.

“Very well then. We’ll do this the hard way.” Quickly, you darted around Loki toward the door, trying to make your escape. He was faster, though, catching you with an arm around your waist and dragging you back so your back was against his chest. “Tell me, darling…” he growled in your ear, making you shiver, “… are you… ticklish?”

“Wha-“ you opened your mouth to protest but stopped speaking as you felt gentle scratching on your side. You shook your head quickly, suppressing the giggles that were threatening to rise out of your throat. If you stood still long enough, maybe he would give up.

“Do you think you’re fooling me by not allowing yourself to laugh? I felt you tense up immediately the moment I touched you.” He tightened his grip, wrapping both arms around your waist and digging his fingers into your sides. You snorted at the sudden sensation, doubling over to try to fight your way out of his grasp. “As I suspected. You are extraordinarily ticklish.”

“S-shut up, Loki!” you demanded, your muscles relaxing as his fingers stilled against your sides. He released you, allowing you to turn and face him but still standing in between you and the door.

“Now then – are you going to tell me what it is you’re hiding? Or do I need to tickle you until you are begging for mercy?”

You felt your face flush with heat. You’d been tickled before, certainly, but only for a few seconds at a time, and never as a means to pry information from you. Truthfully, though, you were enjoying this playful side of Loki. You were also determined not to tell him about the party – it would be so much more fun if it were a surprise, and he deserved to have fun. You braced yourself, folding your arms defiantly across your chest.

“There’s nothing to tell.”

Before you could react, Loki had tackled you, and you found yourself flat on the floor with your wrists pinned over your head. Your heart hammered against your ribcage as the dark-haired Asgardian loomed over you, his smirk growing wider.

“I see you’ve made your choice, then. But I should warn you – I don’t do mercy.” The fingertips of his free hand connected with your belly, lightly tracing the soft skin through your shirt. You turned your head so you wouldn’t have to look at him, his knowing stare making it more difficult to prevent yourself from laughing. Slowly, he applied more pressure until he was clawing at your belly with all five fingers, varying between the center and sides and analyzing your expression to evaluate your response.

“I-I’m telling y-you, t-there’s nothing to t-tell,” you insisted, jolting a little each time his fingers found a particularly sensitive spot.

“Unfortunately, I don’t believe you.” He shifted his attack to your side, his fingers spidering gradually up your ribcage. Your nerves were alight with ticklish shocks, helpless giggles now bubbling out of your chest.

“W-whyhyhy don’t you believe mehehe?” you asked, your tone starting to sound more desperate.

“You’re not exactly subtle. It’s rather obvious when you’re trying to keep a secret.” Loki was now scratching in between your upper ribs, and your giggles were evolving into desperate laughter. “I see this is becoming more challenging for you. I wonder – should I try to identify all of your weak spots? Surely one of them will get you talking.”

“NOHOHO LOKI!” you pleaded, thrashing to try to free your wrists from his grasp.

“You’ll need to provide me some information, then. What was it you were really discussing with my brother the other night?”

“HE TOHOHOLD YOU!!” You shrieked as Loki’s fingers found purchase under one of your arms, your feet pounding against the floor in desperation.

“Honestly, Y/N, I didn’t believe a word either of you said.” His fingertips grazed the underside of your upper arm, tracing from your elbow down to your underarm and back up again. You hadn’t realized how ticklish the soft skin of your arm could be, but his maddeningly light touch had you writhing to try to evade his fingers.

“STAHAHAP THAT!” you begged, yanking at your restrained wrists to try to lower your arms. Even before you were in this weakened state, the god of mischief was stronger than you.

“Then talk.”

“NEVER!”

“Aha!” he exclaimed suddenly, lifting his fingers away from your arm. You sucked in air desperately, letting out the residual giggles as he allowed you a moment to recover. “You ARE hiding something! You’ve given yourself away.”

“I… but… no I didn’t!” you pouted. He chuckled, a genuine grin spreading across his face at your adorable, disappointed frown.

“It’s too late now. You may as well tell me your secret.”

“I won’t tell! I’ll never tell!” you barked, a sudden surge of bravery rushing through you.

“I’m afraid I must continue, then,” he stated, feigning pity. “Why don’t you tell me where else you are ticklish instead?”

“What? No! I won’t tell you that either!”

“Fine. It’s much more amusing for me to locate your weak spots myself anyway.” Loki released your wrists and in the same motion reached behind him to squeeze above your knees with both hands. You yelped at the unexpected touch, trying with difficulty to sit up now that your arms were free. You reached toward Loki’s sides to try to retaliate but he was too perceptive, grabbing a wrist in each hand using his cat-like reflexes. “You don’t want to do that, darling,” he warned.

“Oh, but I think I do,” you argued, trying your hardest to break free of his grip. He wrestled with you for a moment, successfully forcing you onto your stomach so you could no longer sit up and try to counterattack.

“Now then – where were we?” he huffed as he sat himself down on the back of your legs, pinning you in place. You lifted your upper body up onto your elbows and turned to look at him, keeping a close eye on his hands. “Ah, that’s right. You were about to tell me what you were discussing with the spiderling the other day.”

“No I was-“ your retort died in your mouth as Loki’s fingertips touched down on the backs of your knees. “L-Loki, hold on, don’t you even think about it.”

“Why? Too sensitive?” he teased, tracing one finger along the tendon in the back of your knee. You let out a squeal, only egging him on as he began to flutter his fingers against the thin skin there.

“LOKI I WILL KIHIHILL YOHOHOU!”

“You hardly sound threatening when you’re giggling like a child,” he taunted, tracing along the skin on the inner sides of your knees. You reached back desperately with one hand while holding yourself up with the other elbow, trying to grab hold of his tickling fingers. He snickered at your feeble attempts, reaching up quickly to slide his fingers under your arm so your elbow would buckle beneath your torso before returning his attention to your knees. “This could all stop if you’d just tell me what your secret is.”

At this point, you’d come to the embarrassing realization that you were actually having fun, despite your abdominal muscles aching from laughing so hard. You were also still determined to keep the party a secret, if not for you then for Loki’s own good. You picked yourself back up onto your elbows so you could turn and look back at him defiantly.

“No!” you declared.

“No? I see I must not be trying hard enough, then. Let’s try somewhere else, shall we?” Loki shifted his weight so he could pin your legs down with his shin, his gaze turning down toward your socked feet.

“Don’t… you… dare!” you warned, noticing where his line of sight was directed. He placed his fingertips teasingly against the soles of your feet, maintaining eye contact with you, eyes glowing with mischief.

“I’ll give you one final chance. Spill,” he ordered. You merely smirked back at him.

“Make me.”

Without another word, Loki sprang back into action, his torturous fingertips skimming along the soles of your feet. Frantic giggles spilled from your lips as you tried jerking your feet away from his touch without success.

“I’d wager you’re regretting what you said now, aren’t you?” he goaded, scratching under your toes with one finger on each foot. Your giggles pitched up as you curled your toes to prevent him from reaching the sensitive skin. “Are you prepared to talk now?”

“NEHEHEVER!!” you screeched, still determined to win. Eventually he’d get tired of this and give up, right?

“Then I’m afraid you leave me no choice.” You practically screamed in ticklish agony as his fingers once again connected with your ribs, darting rapidly up and down your sides and under your arms, scribbling into the small of your back, fluttering against the sides of your neck and behind your ears, never staying in one place long enough to grow accustomed to the sensation. Your laughter fell silent as you tapped your hand hard on the floor, signaling you were giving up. Seeing your signal, Loki’s fingers stilled against you, still pressed gently into your sides as a warning that he could start right back up again at any moment. “Talk.”

“I will… alright… just… just give me a sec,” you huffed, your chest heaving with exertion. Your mind was racing, trying to come up with a plausible lie that would satisfy the god of lies. Your heart sank as you realized you couldn’t possibly come up with something in the next ten seconds that would fool him. It had to be the truth. “I’ll tell you, but you have to swear to me you won’t tell your brother that I told you.”

“That depends on what it is you’re about to tell me,” Loki bantered.

“No, I’m serious!” Loki shifted so his weight was no longer pressed on your legs, and you turned over into a seated position on the floor. “Promise me you won’t tell.”

“Fine. I promise. Now tell me.” You took a deep breath.

“We’re planning a party. For you. It was supposed to be a surprise.”

Loki was silent for a moment, his expression unreadable. His blue-green eyes searched yours as if trying to find any hint of a lie in your face. His face softened a bit as he began to realize you were actually telling the truth.

“What for?” he asked, his tone flat.

“For your birthday.”

“We don’t celebrate birthdays on Asgard, we have far too many of them to be excited for them.”

“Ugh, Loki, don’t you get it? Thor wanted to do something nice for you! I wanted to do something nice for you!” You held his gaze, trying to prove to him you still weren’t lying.

“You wanted to do something for me?” His voice was low, but there was something different about his tone; something you hadn’t heard before. Hope? Excitement? You averted your gaze down to the floor, poking at the fibers in the carpet with your finger.

“Yeah, I did. You deserve something nice. You’ve come a long way since New York. And you’re… a good friend.” You felt heat rush to your face. You’d nearly revealed another secret, one you had no intention of telling him today. Or ever. Unfortunately, Loki was perceptive.

“That sounded like another lie, Y/N,” he stated ominously. You risked a glance up at him, seeing a smirk slowly spreading across his face.

“What?! No, it’s not!” you argued, the warmth in your face spreading to your ears.

“Haven’t you learned not to lie to me by now?” Loki suddenly grabbed hold of your waist, dragging you closer to him. “Or do I need to repeat the lesson?” His fingers latched onto your ribcage, squeezing and kneading with maddening precision. Still exhausted from the previous attack, you immediately caved.

“ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! I like you, ok??” Loki stopped tickling you, not yet releasing you from his grasp. You covered your flushed face with your hands. “Happy now?”

Loki pried your hands gently away from your face, tilting your chin up with his finger. His eyes were softer than you’d ever seen them before as he gazed at you, a small smile on his face. With a surge of confidence, you closed the gap between your faces, pressing your lips to his. He kissed you back, gently but passionately all at once. When he finally pulled away, he grinned at you.

“Yes, I am happy,” he said simply. You smiled shyly back at him.

“Good.” You hardened your expression a bit, although admittedly it was hard to wipe the smile off your face. “You still have to act surprised. I can’t have people thinking I can’t keep a secret.” Loki laughed at that, his voice rumbling in his chest.

“But you can’t, darling.” He gave you one last poke in the side, eliciting a whine from you. “I’ll do my best to act surprised. I am the god of lies, after all. I should be able to put on a convincing display.”

“Good.” You allowed him to help you to your feet before shooing him out the door. “Now, get out of my room. I still have planning to do.”

“Alright, alright,” he chuckled, stopping in the doorway to look at you. “I’ll go, but only if you’ll have dinner with me tonight.”

“Only if you don’t tickle me,” you countered.

“Sorry, love, but I can’t make any promises,” he replied, winking. You sighed, smiling at him.

“I guess I’ll take my chances then.”

[gretavansidecut]

Room to Breathe

Pairing: Josh Kiszka x Gender Neutral Reader

Word Count: 4,297

Summary: You're out at a crowded bar with the boys and start to have a panic attack from all the sensory overload and your crush Josh helps you through it

Warnings: swearing, alcohol use, general angst, detailed descriptions of sensory overload, anxiety, and spiraling negative thoughts. If you find any of these things to be triggering or otherwise upsetting, please proceed with extreme caution!

A/N:  So I haven't written a fic in like... God, six years maybe? But this idea popped into my head the other night and just wouldn't leave so I figured what the heck, why not give this writing thing another try? I had an absolute blast writing this, and I hope you all enjoy it!

     You held your head in your hands, trying your best to steady your breathing as you took refuge in the bathroom stall. The pounding, brain-rattling music of the honky-tonk was slightly more bearable in the relative quiet of the restroom, but you still found yourself grinding your teeth as the noise was beginning to get to you. Densely packed places were always a challenge; you weren't necessarily afraid of crowds, or claustrophobic, or anything like that, it was more that the combination of the overbearing noise and the feeling of being packed in like a sardine tended to make you a little... Panicky, to say the least. It didn't help that just getting into the bar in the first place nearly gave you sensory overload either. But you weren't about to bail early if you could help it, and you weren’t about to let a little creeping panic ruin a night on the town with the guys of Greta Van Fleet, especially not when Josh was the one who'd invited you to come along. Besides, you could handle a crowded, noisy bar for one night, right?

     The sudden slamming of the bathroom door made you jump in your stall, the rowdy voices of drunk patrons shattering whatever peace you'd had up to that point. You let out a heavy sigh, figuring it was for the best as you'd already been in there for at least five minutes. Any longer and the guys might've started to get worried, or worse, come looking for you. You emerged from your stall, ignoring the drunk people and their slurred conversation to your left as you washed your hands, and then taking a moment to splash some water on your face. Just the thought of going back out into the noise and crowd was enough to make your chest tighten, and you couldn’t help but feel a little pissed off at the current situation. You’d been looking forward to this night out for over a week; a chance to properly spend time with the guys outside of work after doing odd jobs around their studio for the last few months, and you’d especially been looking forward to spending some time with Josh. As much as you hated to admit it, you’d developed a little bit of a crush on him over the course of working at the studio, but you figured there was no harm in dreaming as long as you kept things platonic and professional. He seemed to enjoy your company and laugh at your jokes, and you definitely enjoyed his in return. 

     You let out another shaky breath, taking a few more seconds to steel yourself before heading back out there. You knew this place would be packed, and you’d been ready for it, honestly you had. But today had just been one of those aggravating days, the kind where every little thing seemed to go wrong and rub you the wrong way. And when that happened, the panic would tend to creep in more easily, and with greater intensity. Still, you resolved to hold yourself together as best you could and not ruin the evening, glancing at yourself in the mirror to make sure you were presentable, before turning around and reentering the bar.

     All at once, the blaring music and roar of the crowd hit you, and you couldn't even hear yourself think. There were flashing neon lights hung up on every wall, a few TVs scattered here and there playing some sports channels, and people zipping about all over the place. It felt like your whole head was ringing, your eyes and ears begging for mercy already as you made your way back to the far corner of the room where the boys’ table was. You could eventually pick out Josh's boisterous laughter through the mayhem, and the four of them came into view just in time for you to see Josh lob a pretzel about 4 feet into the air, only for Jake to expertly and effortlessly catching it in his mouth. Danny and Sam both cheered at once, each of them swiftly downing a shot of tequila as Josh shared a high five with his twin.

     "Hell yeah Jakey, ten in a row, that's a new record!" He exclaimed in triumph, grabbing his glass and finishing what was left of his salty dog in one gulp. When he was done, he noticed you approaching the table and his eyes immediately lit up, though whether that was because of you or the sudden rush of alcohol you weren’t sure. Still, it was always nice to see him smile, even when you felt like you were on the verge of losing your mind.

     "Heeey, Y/N's back! Now we can get this party going again!" He slung an arm around your shoulder, pulling you close to his side as he grinned from ear to ear. In any other situation your hopeless crush on him would make you nervous if he got this close to you, but after your perilous trek to the bathroom and back a little contact from someone besides a total stranger was more than welcome.

     "Yeah, what took you so long?" Jake teased, popping another pretzel into his mouth. "We were starting to think you'd fallen into the sewers or something!"

     "No, that's what you thought Jake, me 'n Sam were betting they'd run off and joined the circus!" Danny added with a grin, his words slightly slurred from the tequila at this point.

     You swallowed tightly, flashing them a half-forced grin as you shook your head. “Guys, c’mon, be reasonable here, it was nothing like that... What really happened was an alligator popped up out of the toilet and we had a riveting conversation about quantum physics and string theory.”

     The guys erupted into laughter; Jake covering his mouth so he didn’t accidentally spit out his pretzel, Josh cackling to your left, Sam almost choking on his beer, and Danny holding his face in his palm as he snickered drunkenly. Even in your heightened state of anxiety, you couldn't help but genuinely laugh along with them in the moment. After all, even in a stressful situation the guys were still a hoot to be around. They each had their own oddball sense of humor that made you, a fellow oddball, feel right at home with them. And the fact that Josh's arm was still wrapped around your shoulder was pretty nice too. It was almost enough to make the blaring noise and packed-in-like-sardines feeling of the bar bearable... Almost.

     You were able to keep it together enough to have another round of drinks with them, finding solace in a simple vodka cranberry as the guys got drunker and more boisterous. Danny and Sam decided to have an arm wrestling contest, which Danny won quite easily given his drummer's arms, though that didn’t stop Sam from challenging him to a rematch, and still losing, five more times. Then Jake ended up slipping into his Oliver Reed impression, made all the more credible in his intoxicated state, and he began to ramble on about how wild and wonderful the filming of Tommy had been. Josh of course piped in when he could, commentating on Danny and Sam’s contest like a sports announcer and slipping into his own goofy voice as he ”interviewed” Mr. Reed. If this were happening anywhere else, literally anywhere else besides an overcrowded bar in the most overcrowded part of Nashville, you would've been having the absolute time of your life. But instead you found yourself getting more and more tense with each moment that passed by, the pounding noise and mass of shifting bodies behind you making your pulse race and your head ache. Your drink had done absolutely nothing to calm your nerves, and not even the continued feeling of Josh's arm on your shoulder seemed to help, and you were starting to resent the fact that you couldn't even enjoy that.

     You finally hit your limit when you felt the sharp point of someone's elbow jab into the middle of your back, and you flinched hard away from the source of the sudden contact. You could feel Josh’s arm tighten around your shoulder slightly, and everyone's heads whipped around to see a young woman, clearly drunk and looking very apologetic.

     "O-oh shit, I'm so sorry sweetie!" She slurred out, steadying herself on her feet. "Didn't mean t'hitcha! Jus' tryin' to get s'more drinks for my table!"

     The guys all nodded, assuring her it was and honest mistake and she gave them all a smile and a wave as she staggered off towards the bar. You, on the other hand, couldn’t even bring yourself to look at her, your eyes locked on an empty glass on the table as the ringing in your head became unbearable, every nerve and muscle in your body suddenly taut like a bowstring. The guys kept talking, though what about you had no clue, unable to make out what they were saying as your own pulse pounded in your ears. In the back of your mind you thought you could feel Josh's thumb rubbing gently against your shoulder, almost in a soothing kind of motion, but you honestly couldn't be sure right now. Every molecule in your body was struggling to keep it together as you quickly spiraled into a frenzied panic, and the only thing you were absolutely positive was true was that you had to get out of there fast.

     "Hey... You alright?" Josh's voice was suddenly clear and crisp in your ears like a bell, and it was enough to snap you out of your spiral for just a second and address the table. Though the way Jake, Sam, and Danny were looking at you expectantly made you feel like you wanted to run and hide under a rock. If there was one thing you hated more than having a breakdown in public, it was people knowing you were having a breakdown in public.

     "O-oh yeah, I'm good! Sh-she just startled me is all..." Your voice trailed off, and you swallowed dryly as you fought back tears. "I... I'm just gonna s-step outside for a second and get some air, yeah?" You said with a plastered-on smile, doing your best to not let them know anything was wrong as you reluctantly wormed your way out of Josh's grip and made your way towards the nearest door. You pushed your way through the crowd, ignoring the protests as you bumped into several people along the way, struggling to focus long enough to make it to your goal. You could feel your throat tightening, hot tears stinging your eyes as shame and embarrassment crept into your panic stricken mind. ‘Seriously? You couldn't even handle one night out in a crowded bar? You just had to let your sort-of-crappy day get to you and ruin everyone's night, didn't you?’

     Finally reaching the door, you stumbled out of it, desperately trying to catch your breath as you welcomed the sudden rush of fresh air. Unfortunately, in your panic, the door you ended up choosing wasn’t the one that led to the bar's outdoor area like you thought, but the front door, and you suddenly found yourself adrift in the churning tide of rowdy, drunken humanity that was the Broadway strip on a Friday night. You didn't even bother trying to hold the tears back at this point, completely overwhelmed and hyperventilating as you found the quietest spot in sight, an empty doorway on the other side of the bar's front windows, and sank to the ground. You hugged your knees tightly as you brought them up to your chest, shaking as you buried your face in your arms, the blaring noise, blinding lights, and sheer presence of the crowd causing you to shut down on the spot.

     The feeling of a hand on your shoulder jolted you out of your stupor, and you scrambled away from the touch as fast as you could with a startled scream. You were fully prepared to yell at whatever stranger had just touched you, because the last thing you needed right now was some rando putting their hands on you. To your mix of shock and relief, it was Josh's face that you saw, his eyes a little wide as he held up both of his hands in a defensive manner.

     "Easy Y/N, it's just me, it’s Josh!" He said as softly as he could while still being audible over the throng of the crowd. You couldn't find it in you to respond, just staring at him like a deer caught in a car’s headlights as your body started to shake uncontrollably. You suddenly realized there was, in fact, something you hated more than people knowing you were having a breakdown in public, and that was your goddamn crush knowing that you were having a breakdown in public. In the back of your panic-stricken mind you wondered, if you just stayed still long enough, whether Josh would just turn around and leave you alone. You realized just how futile that thought was when he did quite the opposite and extended a hand out to you.

     "It's pretty intense out here. Let's go find a quieter spot, alright?"

     The rest of your body still shaking, you nodded your head eagerly, accepting his hand as he pulled you up off the ground. Once you were standing, he let go of your hand and wrapped that same arm around your waist, pulling you in close to his side as he cocked his head in one direction.

     "You're ok, just stay close to me, I'll get you out of here."

     You hastily nodded again, unable to make words or maintain eye contact as you turned your gaze to the concrete below you and let Josh guide you through the sea of bodies. It felt like you were in there forever, the crowd shifting all around you, and any time you felt someone get too close, your body began to lock up and freeze. The only thing that kept you upright and moving was Josh's arm curled around your side, keeping you grounded as he led you away from the worst of the crowd. Eventually it dawned on you that the number of people around you were thinning out, the noise getting less and less intense as Josh led you up a street and then some kind of steep ramp. A cool rush of air and the sudden smell of water hit your nostrils and you glanced upwards to get your bearings just in time to realize that Josh was leading you over the river on the pedestrian bridge, towards the eastern side of the city and away from the bedlam of Broadway. You were about three quarters of the way over the bridge before he pulled you off to the side, leading you right up to the railing where you could clearly feel the breeze. The cacophony you'd just escaped from was still very much audible from this distance, but you found its volume to be much more bearable now. There was also plenty of room out here, as well as far fewer people, and for the first time since you'd entered the bar earlier that night, you felt like you could finally breathe.

     You leaned forward, bracing yourself against the railing as you took deep breaths in through your nose, before slowly exhaling through your mouth, and you could feel your body ever so slowly start to relax more and more with each one you took. Josh was quiet for the time being, his hand moving from your side to your back and rubbing up and down in a soothing motion while you caught your breath. Despite feeling calmer, the tears were more difficult to stop, anger and embarrassment at yourself nagging you in the back of your mind, unable to shake the feeling that you'd just ruined whatever fun he'd been having that night.

     You felt something soft touch your arm and you looked up to see a packet of tissues in Josh's other hand as he offered them to you, still silently rubbing your back. You happily accepted them, tearing the plastic open and grabbing a couple before reaching up and wiping your face, your breath still hitching here and there as you tried to steady yourself mentally. After a few more moments of quiet you finally heard Josh speak up, his voice soft and concerned.

     "How're you doing? Any better?"

     You bit your lip out of nerves, nodding as you finally worked up the courage to look him in the eye for the first time since leaving the doorway by the bar. You were expecting to see anger, annoyance, judgement; honestly all the things you felt about yourself right now reflected back at you in his face, but instead you saw nothing but sympathy and concern painted across his features. In any other situation you'd be positively swooning over how he was looking at you so tenderly. It was another couple moments before the ability to speak finally came back to you, and you let out a heavy, shaking sigh.

     “Y-yeah I… I’m alright now…. Thanks.” you trailed off, trying to swallow down the shame that had been slowly creeping into your mind. “I… I’m so sorry about this�� I d-didn’t mean to ruin everyone’s night.”

     “Ok, first of all-” Josh said in a calm but firm voice, his palm on your back pressing into you a bit more and pulling you closer to him. “We’re not gonna do that tonight, alright? You didn’t ruin damn thing, you had a panic attack and that’s not your fault.” It took everything in you to not star crying again when he said that, though at least this time it would've been because you were touched by his concern and not because you were upset.

     “And second, I should be the one apologizing to you. That street can be really intense if you’re not ready for it, and I should’ve checked with you ahead of time that you were. I never would’ve picked such a crowded spot if I knew that was gonna be an issue for you.”

     You sniffled a little bit, shaking your head as you slowly pulled yourself together. “I-it’s ok, really... Like, normally I can handle crowds and loud noise, but being packed in like that, with everyone bumping into you and all the noise and lights on top of it... that can just be too much for me to handle sometimes, you know?” You watched as Josh nodded along to what you spoke, indicating that he was listening, and knowing that he wasn't going to judge you for how you reacted was helping the residual panic and shame you still felt fade away.

     “And then on top of that, today just like.... kind of sucked, in general. I mean, nothing terrible happened or anything, but it was a whole bunch of little things, one after the other. I totally fucked up making breakfast, my cat threw up on my favorite pair of shoes, I got a parking ticket for a really ridiculous reason, and I have some other work deadlines coming up that’re stressing me out, so I already wasn’t in the best headspace to deal with all of...That tonight.” you gestured your hand back towards the direction of Broadway. 

     "Then when that chick jabbed me in the back it just... snapped something inside me. I-I know it was an accident, and I don’t blame her for what she did, but it honestly startled me so bad, and I just lost it..."

     "I don’t blame you,” he replied sympathetically “That’s entirely too much shit to deal with in a single day.” 

     "And like... I-I know I could’ve asked for a raincheck, but I didn't wanna like, be rude or have you guys think I was blowing you off. Because I didn’t want to blow you guys off! Especially not for something so stupid..."

     "Hey, it's not stupid at all." He replied adamantly, giving your shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Those kind of crappy days have a way if wearing you down way harder than you’d think." 

     You let out a breath you didn’t realize you’d been holding as it felt like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders. You’d been so, so worried that Josh was going to be angry, or that he wouldn’t have understood what had happened, as had been the case for you so many times before. His hand began gently rubbing your back again in a soothing motion, and the two of you slipped into silence for a moment, letting the cool breeze coming off of the river wash over you. Even with the music still pounding in the distance, you could hear the sound of the river rushing under you if you listened closely enough, and so you did, finding the sound incredibly soothing. It was almost hypnotizing in a way, and you weren’t sure how much time had passed before Josh spoke again, but when he did, you were a little surprised by what he had to say.

     “I know a couple smaller clubs on the outskirts of the city we could check out next time. They've still got all the good drinks and music, but they aren’t nearly as intense as that one was.” he suggested, flashing you a warm smile.

     “I mean, don’t get me wrong, those definitely sound like my kind of place. But you seriously want me to hang out with you guys again after that whole mess?”

     “Of course! So you had a bad night, it happens to the best of us. We aren’t gonna hold it against you. Besides, why wouldn’t we wanna hang out with someone as awesome as you?”

     You let out a small chuckle,  a smile tugging at the corner of your lips as nervous blush crept onto your cheeks. “Well, I’m not sure about awesome... but I’m glad to know you guys enjoy my company.”

     “What, are you kidding me?” he retorted enthusiastically, his dark eyes sparkling in the dim lights of the bridge. “You’re absolutely awesome! You’re so nice and welcoming to everyone, you’ve got an incredible sense of humor, great taste in music, and you are delightfully weird!” You were glad the lighting on the bridge wasn’t the best where you were standing, because your face was rapidly turning red as he kept showering you with compliments. 

     “Well, thank you.” You replied somewhat shyly, a grin spreading across your face as you found Josh’s good mood infectious, feeling much more at ease now than you had earlier. In a sudden streak of boldness you struck a small pose, with one hand framing your face dramatically. “But what, no mention of my flawless good looks?”

     You were just kidding around, of course, and Josh knew you were too. But even still, you couldn't help but notice the way Josh’s eyes widened and his smile twitched ever so slightly when you said that, or how he seemed to be blushing if the way his cheekbones suddenly appeared darker were anything to go by. 

     “I mean...” he began with a small shrug, his smile downright sheepish at this point “That’s so incredibly obvious that I kinda figured it went without saying. But they’re definitely a bonus!”

     You let out a nervous laugh, feeling your face burn from the sudden rush of blood to it, and you turned to face back towards the river. You couldn’t keep looking at him when he said that, not when he said it while he had his hand on your back, not when he was blushing while he said it, not when he said it so... so earnestly. You pressed into his side a bit more firmly, and you swore you could feel his heart beating faster in his chest.

     “Yeah, well... don’t sell yourself short, you’ve got a face that could give Errol Flynn a run for his money.” you half-teased, nudging him affectionately in the ribs with your elbow. He let out a small chuckle beside you, his arm still firmly wrapped around your shoulder and he gave your arm a soft, affectionate squeeze in return. The two of you said nothing for a moment, just enjoying each other’s company and touch as you both gazed out over the river, watching the lights of the city twinkle and glimmer on it’s dark surface.

     “Is... is it cool if we just stay up here for a little while?” you asked, suddenly feeling very physically tired after this whole ordeal. “I hate to just ditch the others and leave them in that bar, but I honestly don’t think I could handle going back in there tonight.”

     “Oh don’t worry, a bar is the best place we could possibly leave them.” Josh said with a chuckle. “But seriously, we can stay out here as long as you need.” he assured, giving you a firm hug from the side and flashing you a soft, reassuring smile. “We don’t have to go anywhere.”

     A sudden surge of warmth and fatigue washed over you, and you found yourself leaning more heavily into Josh’s frame, which he seemed to welcome, finally letting your head come to rest on his shoulder. Your eyes slipped closed for a second, and you took a deep breath before letting out a soft, contented sigh.

     “Thank you so much for everything you did for me tonight. I seriously can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” He hummed softly in reply as he leaned back against you, the weight of his cheek suddenly pressing into the top of your head. 

     “Anytime, Y/N. I’ll always have your back.”