#i literally just fucked up and introduced myself as marry

[luvyeni]

GUYS MY AGE ,, 이민호

pairings ‎⸝⸝⸝ lee know x fem!reader wc. 6.2k+

genre. neighbors!au , smut

𓄷 includes ... cheating, unprotected sex, oral ( m. receiving ), literally the mother isn't the only sane person im sorry THIS IS PURE FICTION

「 authors note 𖹭 」 here it is the fic , i hope you like it 😅

❪ masterlist! ❫

guys your age never really appealed to you— you liked older men— blame it on your daddy issue, you didn't care; something about an older man just made your heart go crazy— and your panties wet.

“you need to find something to do this summer while you're home.” your mother said, you had made your return home from college for the summer, ready to soak up the sun by your pool in the backyard. “how about getting a job, the couple next door is looking for a babysitter for their three kids while they work.”

your mom watched your face scrunch up in disgust. “why would I want to babysit their sticky children?” you scoffed, picking at your freshly painted nails. “how do you plan on making money then?” you sighed, of course you already planned for this. “Mom, don't worry, I've got it all covered.” you smiled reassuringly; and you weren't lying, you did— but could you really tell your mother you planned on getting money from the many older men you managed to seduce during your time at college. “you better, don't just rot in your room all summer.”

“what if i go help the old lady across the street?” you asked standing up to put your dish in the sink. “Will that ease your worries, mother?” of course you didn't want to do it, but it would make your mother happy. “oh i didn't tell you?” she said, you shook your head, telling her to continue. “her children moved her to a nursing home.” you felt your lip curl up into a smirk. “good she was a bitch.” you said, the grumpy old lady could never stay out of your business. “I really would've hated doing that.”

“yeah she was wasn't she?” she chuckled. “Anyways, the couple who moved in there have only been here for about a month; I see the lady when I'm on my way to work.” she said. “The husband I'm pretty sure stays at home and work— you should introduce yourself, let them know who you are.” you really didn't want to; but the look in your mother's eyes, you could tell she wasn't asking you. “Fine, I'll do it later, happy?” your mother turned the water off, kissing your head. “ecstatic, im gonna get ready for work.”

“what are you doing?” jisung spoke through the phone; your bestest friend in the whole world— and your biggest enemy too. “well since you decided to flee the fucking country this summer; leaving me here.” you scoffed. “I'm stuck here rotting in my home.” you saw him smile; you scoffed before he spoke up. “Sorry, it was a last minute trip with felix.” Felix was his boyfriend; his very rich boyfriend. “yeah well while you're being wined and dined throughout europe, i’m stuck here.” you laid flat on your stomach, legs in the air.

“Remember when you left me in the dorms during spring break?” he asked. “And that business man took you to hawaii? consider this as pay back.” you rolled your eyes. “fuck you, that trip was horrible anyway, all he did was work and complain about how much he hated his hate wife— we had sex once the entire trip.” you scoffed. “You got a Gucci bag out of it though.” you hummed; he was right. “best thing to come out of it.”

“oh yeah.” you were now sitting up. “Remember the old lady across the street from me?” you asked. “yeah she was a bitch.” you nodded. “Her kids finally did everyone a favor and put her in a home.” he clapped. “good riddance, so did anyone move in that house?” you hummed. “yeah a married couple, mom wants me to introduce myself, let them know i'll be here for the summer.”

“yeah it would be confusing to see a girl in a skimpy ass bathing suit sunbathing in her front yard.” you shrugged; the sun just hit better in the front of your house. “Keep her husband on a leash, like the rest of the house wives on your street do when they see you coming, I wouldn't be too surprised if they already got to her.” you laughed, you never really cared what those women thought about you; you never really cared about their husbands, it was more so the other way around. “I really don't care about those housewives, their problem is their husbands and their wandering eyes, not me.” You defended.

“I should go introduce myself before my mom gets home.” you said. “Yeah, I have to go, Felix wants to go for food; call you later?” you nodded. “Yeah, if you aren't getting your back blown out.” his face turned red. “He's in the room.” he gritted through his teeth. “hi yn.” you heard his deep voiced boyfriend shout. “Hi Felix.” you laughed. “I hate you so much.” jisung said, you laughed. “Love you too!” You waved goodbye, hanging up the phone.

You didn't bother getting yourself together; throwing on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top— they're your neighbors, the next time you'd see them is when you're dragging your exhausted body back into your home from your morning run, and that's even worse.

you made your way out of your house; knocking on the door of the house, your phone buzzing— jisung sending you a photo of his french cuisine. “lucky bitch.” you typed into your phone. “Bring me back a souvenir from paris.” you didn't bother to look up from your phone, so you didn't hear the door open. “Excuse me?”

The deep voice made you look up from your device; and it was like a god was standing right in front of you. “How can I help you?” he asked , you shook every dirty thought that ran through your head at that moment; putting your phone away. “O-oh sorry.” you chuckled. “I didn't hear the door open.”

The man was clearly at least a decade older than you; you could see the few gray hairs in his head— that didn't matter to you though. “I said how can I help you?” he said, his voice deep and sexy. “I'm yn, I live across the street.” you pointed. “my mother thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself so there wouldn't be any confusion this summer.” you said. “I just got home from college for summer break.”

“College?” He said, you nodded. “yup, my second year is done!” You chirped, this corner of his mouth curling into a smirk. “You won't be a problem right?” You were taken aback by the question, he chuckled. “Parties love, pretty girl like you; surely you're popular.” he said, but you stopped at him calling you pretty; smiling widely at him. “I won't have to worry about loud music and young adults passing out in your front yard right?” you could see his eyes wandering down; stopping right at your chest. “My wife hates the music you kids listen to.”

Right, his wife; he was married, the way he was practically trying to look through your shirt made you forget. “Oh no sir, most of my friends are on vacation.” he nodded. “im minho.” he held his hand out. “Well it's nice to meet you, yn.” he said, you nodded; your eyes scaling his body, much like he did to you; he was pretty fit for someone his age. “How old are you sir?” he raised his eyebrows; what an odd question. “34.” just around your age range. “and since we're asking those kinds of questions,” he said. “May I ask how old you are?” maybe it was a delusion, or maybe he actually was flirting with you— whatever it was, you liked it. “I'm 23 sir.”

“You're still pretty young,” he said; you tilted your head to the side, folding your arm with a frown. “but I am an adult.” you challenged; he nodded, clicking his tongue almost in an annoyed state; it made you smirked; you could read him like a book; he hated being challenged. “still a young girl in my eyes.” you wanted to roll your eyes, and he could see that; he could read you as much as you could him. “I have to get back to work now.” He said, you stepped back. “I'm sure you have things as well, whatever you little girls do these days.” he said, watching your jaw clench. “Remember, no loud crazy parties.”

“Can't promise that sir, it is summer.” was the last thing you said, before turning away; crossing the street, leaving him standing there, watching you go into the house; also getting a peek of your ass. He smirked, walking back into his house, closing the door. “Who was that?” He was quickly brought back to reality by his wife's voice. “at the door, who was it?”

“Oh the woman across the street.” he said walking straight past her into the kitchen. “What did she bring this time?” She followed behind him. “She's sent over 3 plates of cookies in the past month we've been here.” she said. “they aren't even that good; mines are way better.” minho rolled his eyes, they actually weren't, he knew the lady ran her own bakery and his wife barely knew the difference between melted and softened butter. “Of course they are honey.”

“So where are they?” she asked, searching for a plate. “The cookies.” She said, “Oh, you didn't let me finish.” Yeah he was being condescending, but his wife never noticed. “It wasn't her, it was her daughter,” he said, opening the fridge for water. “She's home from college.” He went to walk away, but his wife stood in front of him, her face in a frown. “how may I help you? I need to get back to work.”

“You are to stay away from that girl.” She said, he stared at her confused. “I mean it's not like I'm gonna ask her to come out and get beers with me, she's 23; we have nothing in common.” he said, trudging past his wife, making his way up the stairs. “She's a college student.” he said; very attractive but a college student nonetheless.

he made it back to his office, about to close the door and get back to work; when his wife burst in. “What is now?” He said sitting down. “The other wives.” she started. “They told me things about that girl.” She said, “like what?” He said; what could you have done to offend the housewives of the block. “Back talked to them in an argument; she's a young girl, they all do that.” he laughed, he could believe it; he witnessed it only a few minutes ago — except it turned him on.

he watched his wife scoff, he adjusted himself in his pants as she closed her eyes letting out a big sigh; he felt a rant coming on. “No, they told me she's been seducing their husbands since the day she turned 18.” He looked at his wife. “what?” he said. “Yeah, wearing tiny tiny clothes; flirting with their husbands, and her mother is none the wiser.” he shook his head. “Is she really seducing them, or is she a young pretty girl and they're just bitter miserable wives who can't control their husbands' wandering eyes?”

“Are you defending her?” he sighed, rubbing his temples; he didn't really want to have this conversation. “no I'm not honey, I'm just saying don't believe everything these housewives say.” He said. “yeah well I don't trust her, so stay away from her.” she said, he nodded; just ready to get her out of the room, he was busy; and not to mention his cock was hardening at the thought of you in one of those tiny tiny outfits the desperate housewives told his wife about. “yeah fine, I'll stay away from her.”

“Thank you.” she bent down kissing his forehead. “I love when you actually listen to me.” She said smugly as she walked out closing the door; it pissed him off, not like his banter with you— no that turned him on. “fuck.” he sighed doubling over , his cock throbbing in his pants, you were already driving him crazy.

You hadn't seen him much after that; only glimpses of him walking into his house with groceries, or getting into his car, and even then he looked good; making the spot in between your legs tingle — sure he was married, but it wasn't like you were doing anything wrong; what's wrong with a little fantasy inside your head, something to think about late at night when you had your hand down your sleep shorts, pretending it was him in between your legs, his hands instead of yours.

you did see his wife though, even though it was against your will every single time; and you hated it every single time, she ran the same route as you in the morning but at a later time; so when you were finishing your walk; she was just starting hers.

“Goodmorning.” Her smile was so fake as you slowed down , stopping in front of your mailbox. “How are you?” she yelled from across the street. “I’m fine.” You smiled , so desperate to get into the house; you were sweating and hungry— and you really didn't want to talk to this lady. “I'm good.” You said. “No plans this summer?” she asked. “Not really; most of my friends are back where I go to college.”

She then went on a rant of all the different jobs you could be doing. “Baby sitting, have you ever thought about that; of course you'd have to change your wardrobe a bit , it would be a bit inappropriate to wear some of the things you wear around kids wouldn't it?” this bitch was really working on your nerves. “If you have any kids , then I would be happy to watch them.”

“God no.” There he was again, walking out of the door. “No kids here,” he said. “We have our three cats and that's it.” his eyes scanning your outfit; your skin still glistening with sweat; he was seriously checking you out in front of his wife. “Well I love cats!” you jumped a bit; tits bouncing at the impact. “So cute.”

You knew what you were doing; and so did minho— his wife was quick to end the conversation between you too. “Well I'm sure you're busy, and it's time for my run.” she said. “And don't you have to feed the cats honey?” she said, turning to him, grabbing his arm. “what? oh yeah the cats.” He said. “yeah the cats , go feed them.” she said. “Okay baby.” he said; she turned to you smugly. “Well I better get going.” She said before she started down the street catching up with the other wives she ran with.

“Your wife doesn't like me very much.” He stopped; turning where you stood across the street, in a sports bra that held your tits perfectly; leggings that made your ass pop; and a smirk on your face— he so desperately wanted to fuck off. “I don't know she seemed to like you very much.” you knew he was joking. “it would be inappropriate to wear some of the things you wear, she basically called me a whore in housewives language.” You chuckled , folding your arms under your tits , forcefully pushing your boobs up. “don't worry, I don't care; the housewives on this block have said worse.”

“yeah like what?” he said , stuffing his hands into his pockets. “that I'm just a whore put on earth to seduce their husbands.” you said , a laugh following. “I'm not worried about their husbands, but I can't say the same for their husbands.” You shrugged. “oh really?” He said, you nodded. “but hey it's not my problem, they like to stare.” you shrugged, he did that sexy eyebrow raise again. “They do, don't they?”

Fuck you knew what you were doing; and not only did it piss him off, it fucking turned him on. “I can't say I don't like the attention though.” you said, watching him shift from side to side. “who wouldn't?” he had to get away before he came across the street and dragged you into his house; then he heard it, the meow of the cats. “oh shit.” he said, making you laugh. “time to feed the cats sir.” You waved. “Have a nice day.” you made your way into the house, making sure to sway your hips, giving him a good view of your ass.

“I'm telling you sung he wants to fuck me.” you said; your friend shook his head. “Wow, that took you not only a week.” He said. “He's married, no?” You shrugged. “and that's my problem?” You said. “I said he wants to fuck me, he knows he married.” Morally yes it was fucked up, but you didn't really care. “yeah but the wife already hates you, she finds out you want to fuck her husband.” he said. “you've never seen an episode of snapped? deadly women?” you shook your head. “i’d rather start the semester with you and not the memory of you.”

“How hot is he exactly?” you sent him a photo that you stole from his social media— yes you stalked him. “Oh wow.” he said. “yah.” You heard felix in the background. “Hey lix.” you said. “yn don't die trying to fuck a married man.” The blonde said. “I won't lix don't worry, don't kill my friend in milan.” you responded. “i can't promise you that if he doesn't stop looking at that fucking photo.” you laughed as he slapped the phone. “hey! let me talk to my friend in peace.”

“you want to fuck him too huh?” you heard him say. “no you know I only want to fuck you.” you shook your head. “i'm hanging up before I witness a live amateur porn.” you said. “Call me later.” You hung up. “Now what?” you said.

You decided to go sunbathing; finding your favorite bikini, grabbing your towel and sunscreen and favorite book. “Where's my daughter off now?” your mom said. “sunbathing.” you said grabbing some snacks. “In the front yard?” You nodded. “Have fun, I have work today.” you hummed, making your way outside, you set up your things right in front; taking your shirt off laying down on the towel , feeling the sun beaming down on you.

“Are you kidding me?” minho heard his wife's voice. “Is she serious right now?” He stood up from his office chair , making his way to their shared room, where his wife was standing in front of the window. “What's wrong now?” He said. “she's out there in a bikini and shorts; laying in the sun.”

“Okay?” He said, she scoffed. “Everyone can see her , what kind of slut wears that in front of her house.” she said, he made his way over to the window. “There's no one out there.” He said, she glared at him. “Move, I'm going to the grocery store.” she pushed past him. “You already went to the grocery store.” he said following behind. “this is for the barbeque.” she said. “What barbeque?” he said , they both made their way outside to the car. “I told you we're hosting the barbeque at our house.”

“seriously; we just moved here,” he said. “even more reason for us to do it.” she picked his lips. “Who's gonna be there?” he asked. “Everyone on the block.” he did not feel comfortable having all those people running in and out of his house, but his wife was dead set, so it was already set and stone. “Hello!” The couple turned their heads to the voice.

“I'm off.” your mom came out of the house. “Okay!” you said looking up from the book. “Oh there go the Lee's.” she said , you sat up watching the couple walk out of the house. “Hello!” your mom waved brightly at them. “Oh hello!” You covered your eyes from the sun. “Yn don't be rude, say hello.” Your mom said. “Hi.” you waved, his wife didn't say anything. “Hello yn.” he said, you smiled at the way he said your name. “Where are you two off to today?” your mom asked. “Oh just to get some things for the barbeque we're throwing for the block.”

“Oh that sounds fun!” your mom said. “you're welcome to come.” she turned to you; her smile was different towards you than your mother. “You to yn, you're both welcomed.” she said, the invitation mostly towards your mom. “Oh thank you, we'll be there.” the other woman nodded. “Great!” you and minho made eye contact , you smiled. “can't wait.”

It was finally the day of the barbeque; your mother forcing you across the street with the cookies in her hand. “You're not gonna rot in the bed today.” You groaned. “i don't want to be here with these people.” she ignored you, knocking on the door. “It's only for an hour.” she said. “you know that cute boy down the street, he'll be here.” she winked , you cringed. “Why do you keep trying to marry me off to him?” you said. “because you can't spend all your time with jisung, even he has a boyfriend.”

the door opened , minho stood there. “hello.” your mom held out the plate of cookies. “mhm , my favorite.” he smiled. “thank you.” he stood to the side. “Everyone is in the back,” he said. “Thank you for inviting us.” your mother said. “No problem, you've been so nice to us with these cookies ever since we moved here,” he said. “Me and my wife really enjoy them,” he said. “I'm glad , come by the shop and I'll give you some free cupcakes.” she said. “Thank you ma’am.”

You two made it to the back where everyone was. “There's seungmin over there.” your mom pointed. “go talk to him.” Minho watched you stomp over to the boy, your mom making her way over to a group of women; his eyes scanning your outfit, your mini skirt sitting right below your ass, the shirt you wore barely covering your plush boobs; fuck he just wanted to stick his cock in between them. “fuck.” he cursed.

“you okay man?” Chan, another neighbor, came up to him. “yeah I'm fine.” he said , not taking his eyes off of you. “I see you've met yn.” the older guy chuckled. “yeah I guess.” He said. “Listen, let me give you some advice.” Chan said. “fuck your wife.” Minho turned to him. “What?” he said, the Australian laughed. “I know what you're thinking; wife being a bit of a bitch, barely having sex.” He chuckled, that was exactly his story. “Here comes this young girl with a nice ass and a good pair of tits , batting her eyelashes, a bit of a brat?”

“You seem to know a lot.” He said. “because I was you, man.” Chris said, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. “But you know what I did? i went home and fucked my wife.” he said. “forgot all about it.” he said. “I'm telling you it's not worth it.” he said. “Fuck your wife.”

He knew Chan was right, but that didn't stop him from looking at you; his eyes meeting yours. you tilted your head to the side, your sultry smile as you say your goodbyes to seungmin, making your way over to him, he looked around making sure your mom or his wife wasn't paying attention , as you finally were standing in front of him. “Can I use your bathroom?”

He didn't have to follow you; he could've just given you the directions— but he really wasn't thinking; and he wished he would have been. “You have a nice home.” You said. “Thank you.” He said watching you purposely sway your hips side to side. “fuck.” he says to himself. “huh?” you asked , but you can hear him , he could see you smirking teasing him. “fucking brat.”

you definitely heard him this time, you laughed. “sir what's wrong?” you went to touch his shoulder in fake concern. He grabbed your wrist, pushing you against the wall. “fuck why couldn't you just stay away?” he growled. “Am I really to blame?” you took your other hand , traveling down to his waist. “Yn.” He weakly warned. “You can stop me if you want.” you said , your hand inching further— right to his cock, giving it a little squeeze. “fuck.” He groaned. “but I don't think you want me to.”

this was it; you finally were gonna get what you've wanted all this time; married or not you wanted his cock inside of you. “your wife doesn't have to know.” that's what set him off , grabbing the back of your head. “fuck shut up.” He said. “Get on your knees.” he said , roughly pushing you down. “you thought you were gonna get fucked didn't you?” you hissed as he yanked your hair. “too bad I'm just gonna stuff my cock down your throat and you're gonna take it like the little slut you are.”

he used his other hand to pull down his pants , freeing his cock from his underwear; his stock almost hitting you in your face. “you're so big” he hissed as you gave the tip of his cock a kiss. “yeah, want my cock down your throat.” He stroked his length in front of your face. “Fuck.” he slapped his cock on your lips. “open up.” he his tip against your lips. “fuck.”

He slowly pushed his cock into your mouth , holding your head still as he forced his cock down your throat. “shit your little throat taking my cock so good.” he hissed. “go-gonna fuck your face.” he moved his hips , holding the wall above your head, his balls slapping against your chin as he fucked your face in the middle of the hallway of the house he shared with his wife. “fuck I'm gonna cum.” he moaned. “fuck fuck fuck.” he thrusted a few more time , pulling out of your mouth , stroking his cock vigorously. “shit I'm cumming!” he shouted , his warm sticky cum shooting from his cock hitting your face. “Fuck.”

He looked down at your smiling cum covered face. “You tasted good.” you said wiping some off your cheek , putting your fingers to your mouth. You stood up , holding his cock in your hand, stroking it. “You came so much , it must've been a while.” he hissed. “sh-shit.” He said. “dont you want to fuck me?” He did, fuck he really did. “m-my wife.” he groaned. “outside.” you sighed, you forgot about the party. “I guess we'll have to wait.” you let his throbbing cock go. “Fuck I'm still hard.” he groaned.

You chuckled, wiping the rest of his cum off face. “thats too bad, I know you had a bunch of more cum for me.” he wanted to drag you up to his room and fuck you into the mattress, damned everyone in the back. “fucking brat.” he hissed, you kissed the corner of his mouth with a smile. “When does your wife leave for work?”

“11.” he said , you nodded. “I'll be here at one.” That's all you said before leaving him standing in the hall, guilt building in his stomach, not only did he just cheat on his wife— he knew he was gonna do it again.

he cleaned himself up; going back to the party. “Hey minho.” your mother came up to him. “Have you seen yn, she seemed to have escaped.” of he did. “um she said she wasn't feeling good so she headed home,” he said. “that girl, always something.” she shook his head. “What's wrong?” his wife came over. “oh nothing yn got sick and had to go home.” he could see his wife's smile, luckily your mom didn't see it. “Awe too bad.” she said. “I guess I better go see if she's okay, I had a nice time.” your mother said, before excusing herself.

“don't worry i didn't poison her.” she said, he stared at her. “laugh minho it's funny.” she kissed his lips before walking away, he made eye contact with Chan who gave him a nod— if only he knew it was too late for him.

He did completely ignore chris's word , as soon as the last person was gone, and the house was quiet and clean again; he brought his wife up to their room. “fuck minho!” his wife shouted as he fucked into her. “fuck faster.” he held her hips down as he plowed into her , wishing it was you that was under. “minho fuck!” his wife shouted into his ear. “Wait, don't go so fast.” she moaned, but all he could he do was imagine it was you , yelling for him to go faster , fuck you harder and faster. “Minho I'm cumming.” his wife shrieked. “fuck wait I'm not there yet.” he groaned, he knew once she was finished he wouldn't be able to continue. “fuck I'm cumming.” she shouted. “fuck I came Minho , pull out.”

he sighed, pulling out , laying on his back cock still hard. “fuck.” He cursed. “That was so good.” his wife laid breathless next to him. “But you were a bit too rough , next time don't go so hard.” He wasn't worried about that, he was too focused on his throbbing cock. “Hey, can you help me with this?” he said. “I can't tonight, I'm too tired and I have work in the morning.” she kissed his cheek. “I'm sure you can handle yourself.”

he watched her turn on her side, turning the light off leaving him in the dark , unable to sleep due to his cock. “fuck.” he cursed as he wrapped his hands around his length, thinking about how tight your throat felt around his cock , the way you gagged around his length; spit coming from your mouth, so messy. “fuck.” he moaned , cumming all over his hand to the thought of you.

he grabbed a tissue off the nightstand; wiping himself clean , throwing the tissue into the trash. He climbed back into the bed, pulling the covers over his body; his wife snoring beside him, he turned the light on his side off— he really tried to listen to what chan said, but he was far too gone.

he knew he was gonna fuck you when you came over tomorrow.

“Wait girl, did you really think this through?” jisung said. “I thought we were joking about this,” he said. “did you already fuck him?” he questioned. “not exactly.” you said. “what does that mean?” Felix said both of them invested now in their hotel room in Belgium. “I may or may not have given him head yesterday at the barbeque.” Both of their mouths dropped. “Are you kidding?” you shook your head. “oh my god yn you're insane.” jisung said. “How didn't his wife catch you?” you shrugged. “I don't know.”

“It's 11:30 now , are you gonna go?” felix asked, you looked at the clock. “maybe.” you said. “I know I really shouldn't support this.” jisung said. “but you're gonna do it anyway aren't you?” he asked. “i think his wife is leaving now , you got up looking out the window, sure enough she was walking to her car. “yeah it's her she's leaving now.” you spoke into the phone— fuck it. “I'm going.” you said. “Please don't get caught in his bed by his wife.” jisung said. “and don't get pregnant.” you hung up , getting dressed.

your mom had already left so you didn't have to explain to her why you suddenly were leaving; in the shortest skirt possible you might add, slipping on your shoes , opening the door to your house. you kept an eye for nosey housewives as you made your way across the street , knocking on the door; still keeping an eye out for people. the door opened up, revealing the man himself. “hi.”

before you could say something; he was dragging you into the house, closing the door, slamming you against it. “Jesus you're really eager aren't you?” you teased , he growled pressing you against the door. “I'm so fucking hard right now.” he said. “I can feel your cock throbbing , you're still thinking about my throat aren't you?” you squeezed his cock. “Is your wife not giving you head?” You pouted , “poor you.”

he was ready to take you against the door , but instead he forced himself away. “upstairs,” he said. “now.” you heard his commanding tone, he guided you to his room , slapping your ass, pushing the door open. “short fucking skirt , what's the point of it?” he growled , pulling you by the waist of the skirt, unbuttoning the button, pulling it down , leaving you in your panties. “take your shirt off.” you obeyed him , pulling the shirt over your head , he palmed his cock watching you undress.

“fuck get on the bed.” this was the bed he shared with his wife , but you could care less at this moment , spreading your legs for the older man , your wet cunt on display. “so fucking messy.” he pulled his pants down , revealing his underwear. “gonna use that cunt.”

he got on the bed , rubbing your clothed cunt. “fuck s-sir.” he smirked. “You like calling me sir.” he pulled your panties to the side, rubbing his cock along your folds. “You love cock that bad that you'd fuck anyone.” he groaned as he slid the tip of his cock in. “fuck a married man?” You moaned feeling his cock stretching you out. “pl-please fuck me.”

he fully bottomed out inside you. “fuck your pussy is so tight.” he groaned. “you-you're so big.” you moaned. “Please move.” you begged , he pulled out, before slamming back into you. “oh fuck!” you shrieked , clutching the bed sheets below you as he began to plow into you. “fuck I want you to cum all over my cock.” he hissed as you tightened around him. “fuck I'm gonna cum sir.” you moaned, your legs shaking. “fuck i'm cumming.”

a white ring formed around the base of his cock as he kept fucking into you. “gonna cover your pussy in my cum.” he hissed, his hand coming up to your boob to squeeze it. “fuck I'm gonna cum.” he cursed , pulling out cumming all over your cunt. “shit.” he tapped his cock on your cunt. “fuck, come here.”

he grabbed waist, flipping you over. “ass up.” he lifted your hips up; rubbing his cock along your folds. “You want my cock again?” you nodded. “Pl-please fuck me, want your cock sir.” he groaned. “yeah, want my cock?” he held the base of his cock coated with your juices, slapping your ass. “come on slut , fuck yourself on my cock.”

you pushed yourself back on his cock, both of you moaning out again. “that's it , stretch yourself out with my cock.” He groaned , grabbing your hip. “fuck i can't take it.” he pushed your head against the pillow , plowing into you. “fuck , that's it.” he groaned. “how does it feel being fucked past your limits by a married man?” he groaned. “so-so good.” your words barely audible due to your face being pushed against the pillow. “My wife lays her head right where you're drooling like a brain dead slut.”

you felt the knot in your stomach forming again. “You gonna cum again?” he said , his cock twitching. “ye-yes , please let me cum.” you begged. “no need to beg , I'm gonna let you cum slut.” he slapped your ass. “go ahead cum all over my cock.” your legs gave out as you cum , but he didn't stop , and you didn't want him to either. “fu-fuck I'm gonna cum.” he whimpered. “fuck.”

“i-inside.” You moaned. “fu-fuck I can't.” he groaned. “pl-please , cum inside me.” his hips twtiched as you tightened around him. “of fuck I'm cumming, gonna give you what you want.” he whispered in your ear , biting down on it as he came inside you. “fuck.” he drawed out as he came , his cum flooding your abused cunt. “shit.” he cursed, pulling , watching his cum leak out of you, it was probably the best thing he'd seen in a long time , he slapped your ass. “such a good pussy.”

“you don't feel guilty?” you asked , laying in his arms , it has been a while and it finally hit you while you laid in his arms , naked— in the bed he shared with his wife. “I guess,” he said. “what if we get caught?” you asked. “We won't.” he said. “She leaves everyday except for Sundays at 11.” he said. “she leaves; you come over and I take you on different surfaces of the house.” he bit your neck before kissing where he bit at. “she’ll be none the wiser.”

“And when I go back to school?” you didn't live far , but it was still a drive. “We'll figure it out , I'll drive the 2 hours if I have to.” he said. “you'd drive two hours there and back every weekend just to fuck me?”

he flipped you over , you yelp; feeling his cock against your folds. “fuck.” he cursed. “for this pussy?” he pushed his tip in. “fu-fuck yeah , I'd drive for it.”

“Now we still have 4 hours left and I want to spend as much time as I can inside this pretty cunt.”

©️LUVYENI

[tgmsunmontue]

From the top 1/? (WIP)

IceMav, (eventual) Explicit, (background Hangster who are already established). Set post-TGM. (No dead Ice obviously).

Featuring not-mistaken identities (where they (Ice and Mav) pretend to be in the dark for REASONS), Ice is Jake's Uncle Tom, Mav is Bradley's Dad, everyone knows everyone, (un)requited love, coming out as an older person, and a little bit of a circus-vibe where Ice has a horrible realization that this is indeed his circus and these are also his monkeys.

An AU where Mav married Carole and adopted Bradley to make things easier legally. A USNA Bradley who has been very careful to separate Dad/Pete from godfather/Maverick. They had an argument prior to TGM, but it was around Maverick being careless with his life (RE: Darkstar because Bradley got the call that Maverick was missing, presumed dead). So it was about risk taking and thinking while flying, so that was happening and Bradley admits to the Dagger Squadron that Maverick is his godfather and they have a ‘complicated relationship’ which isn’t a lie per se, however it’s… complicated.

                He and Bradley haven’t reached the stage yet where they’ve met any of each other’s family. They haven’t even introduced each other to their friends as boyfriends yet, and their circle of friends overlap. And he’s okay with that. More than okay actually. Doesn’t quite know how he’d broach the whole by the way I’m sort of related to the COMPACFLT through my mom conversation. He’s close with Tom now, closer than he is to any of his mom’s other cousins that’s for sure. Idolized him when he was young, and now also holds a deep-rooted respect and affection for the man. It had also helped knowing he had someone to look to as a role model, someone who was gay in the Navy and got so high up no-one could do anything to him now. Jake wanted that. Badly.

                But he also kind of wants his Uncle Tom to be happy. Although, hell, for all he knew he could have had a secret lover all these years. If anyone could keep it hidden it’s Uncle Tom, face quiet and impassive, unmoving and unflinching. He’d really hoped for a callsign half as cool as Iceman, and even if Uncle Tom jokes that he does have a literal half with man, he wishes he didn’t have the connotations of Hangman, even if it’s because of fucking song lyrics he was forever quoting and now twisted into something that make people assume things before they even know him.

                Not that he really has that problem now, with the Dagger Squadron being made a permanent detachment and with them all knowing each other so well now. They know he’s got their backs when it actually comes down to it. And he likes being based where his Uncle Tom is, because while he’s meant to be based in Hawaii they’ve made some concessions due to his cancer treatment. He knows their entire family is grateful, not least his Aunty Sarah. God, he knows it’s the high of surviving a literal suicide mission but life feels so good right now. He’s expecting Bradley to turn up any minute, they’ve got plans for dinner and a movie and then sex, not necessarily in that order.

                When he opens his door and Rooster is there, he can’t help the little happy swoop his insides do and he lets Bradley kiss him hello.

                “Hi.”

                “Hi. How are you?”

                “Good. Little annoyed… my dad is talking about getting back together with an ex…”

                “Is this the ex you like, or don’t like?”

                “You can safely bet money that it’s nearly always an ex I don’t like. I don’t think he’s ever had a relationship with anyone I’ve actually liked… shit that’s depressing.”

                “Maybe you just have really high standards for him?”

                “You mean unlike for myself, where my standards are really low?”

                “Hey!”

                They end up play-wrestling which quickly morphs into not-play making-out and yeah, the sex comes before dinner but he was sort of banking on that, making food that would be perfectly fine just staying warm in the oven. They end up curled around each other on the sofa, queuing up a movie and Jake asks about his day. Listens as Bradley talks about going out to Maverick’s hangar to work on the plane, having lunch with his dad and he wonders if Maverick has met Bradley’s step-dad. Obviously he must have, he’s been around even longer, although it must be weird to have two people called Pete wandering around, he guesses that’s why Bradley calls Maverick Maverick, and his step-dad dad. Stops the confusion.

                He knows Maverick and Bradley had a falling out of some sort, they’d been very angry with each other. He figured out that Maverick flew with Bradley’s dad, was the pilot when his dad died, and he’d thought it had been that. But then Bradley had dropped the bombshell that Maverick was his godfather and they’d had a fight over something he can’t talk about, but they would be fine. So Jake hasn’t pushed wanting to also hang out with Maverick, because when Bradley talks about the P-51 and the hangar his fingers itch but he gets Bradley wanting to mend bridges with his godfather.

                More than that though he wants to meet Bradley’s step-dad, doesn’t understand Bradley’s reticence about introducing them. It’s not like he’s going to care. But they’ve only been doing this, whatever it is, for a couple of weeks, which he guesses is early days, but with everything they’ve gone through in the last couple of months it also feels like several lifetimes. Then again, he’s in no rush to introduce Bradley to Uncle Tom, so maybe it’s for the best they wait a few weeks. Or months.

                “You still thinking about your dad?”

                “Yeah. I just need to get him seeing someone else. Anyone to take his mind off getting back with Georgia. Or any of his exes for that matter. Georgia especially is… well. I have no idea what she gets out of sleeping with Dad. She’s anti military for a start.”

                “The fact that she gets to sleep with him?”

                “Ew, gross…”

                “Maybe she thinks she can convert him to a non-military life one blowjob at a time…”

                “You could try that on me you know, see if you can convince me to do something with a blowjob…”

                “Don’t think I need the promise of a bj to convince you to do anything,” Jake says with a grin. “You know, my uncle Tom is gay, maybe we could set them up? Well, assuming your dad swings both ways?”

                “Huh. Yeah… He does. Keeps that pretty much on the down-low, very much on a need to know basis. Pretty sure I only know because I saw him trying to sneak a guy out when I was seventeen. Did make me feel safer about coming out to him myself though.”

…            …            …

                “Jake, I am not installing Grindr on my phone, work, personal or otherwise.”

                “Thought you might say that, so I bought you a burner. Well, please don’t actually burn it, but you know what I mean.”

                “Jake…” Tom lets out an exasperated sigh. “I wouldn’t burn it. I know what a burner is. I’m not an idiot. I just don’t want to go on a date…”

                “Okay, so you don’t actually have to go on a date. All my cards on the table. I’m using the app to introduce you to the step-dad of my… uh, a friend.”

                “A friend huh? Is this the same friend you won’t introduce to the family?”

                “Yes. The exact one. Anyway, I just want you to send him a couple of messages. Let’s say ten messages. After that you can go back to ignoring it, remove the battery from the phone and pretend it never happened. Okay?”

                “Will you let it go if I do this?”

                “I mean… yeah. I hope you make a friend or something, but he’s military as well, so you guys have something in common at least…”

                “Fine. But I want the name of your friend.”

                “No! You’ll just look him up.”

                “He’s Navy?”

                “No!”

                “He is! Good job.”

…            …            …

                “Bradley! Why is Grindr amongst my recently installed apps!”

                “I’m setting you up!” Bradley calls out, grabbing two beers to go with their takeout Chinese.

                “I don’t need setting up. I can find my own dates. I don’t need an app!”

                “Yes, you do. You can’t get back with Georgia just because you’re lonely. Look, I’m not going to make you swipe through dick-pics…”

                “Maybe I want to swipe through dick-pics!”

                “Mav, be serious! You just said you didn’t want the app!”

                “Seriously? You’re the one that installed Grindr on my phone.”

                “God, maybe this was an awful idea.”

                “Yeah, you think?”

                “Okay, give me a second,” Bradley mutters, rolling his eyes and pulling his own from his pocket and thumbing into his contacts.

                “Hi… how’s it going?” Jake asks, voice quiet, and he must still be at his Uncle’s house.

                “Not well. You think we can maybe just set them up with an app that blocks their numbers and then just let them talk that way?”

                “Can’t hurt to try… your dad resisting the Grindr approach too huh?”

                “So much. And I get it, HE’S REALLY OLD,” Bradley says, raising his voice while looking Mav dead in the eye.

                “Hey! I heard that!”

                “You were meant to!”

                He ignores the glare Mav shoots him and pokes his tongue out at the back of his head as he walks away.

                “Okay, let’s see what we can find. I’ll message you and let you know.”

                “Sure thing.”

                Fifteen minutes later Jake has sent him the information, an end-to-end encrypted messaging app, one which hides the number of the phone sending the message. It’s silent and has to be manually opened to check for notifications, which is very old-school but means there’s no potential odd sounding pings. The icon is a mundane looking tower symbol and he guesses that could mean anything.

                “Okay Mav – you need to give this guy a chance okay? Please?”

                “What’s in it for me?”

                “I will stop bothering you about… uh… your love life for six months?”

                “No deal. I want to meet the guy you just rang. Who’s he in all this?”

                “Uh… I guess he’s my boyfriend.”

                “Ooohhh… it’s new huh? You’re in that new loved-up stage where you want everyone around you to be in the same stage.”

                “Uh, I mean we’ve known each other for years, but we’ve recently… come to an arrangement.”

                “Is it boyfriends or friends with benefits?”

                “Well, we weren’t exactly friends before, so definitely closer to boyfriends I guess,” Bradley says, carefully skirting the fact that Mav actually already knows Jake quite well.

                “Great. I’ll send what, ten messages to this guy and then I get to meet your guy in two weeks.”

                “No! Three months. And twenty messages.”

                “You realize you can’t force me to do anything right? You have no bargaining power here?”

                “I know, but… for me?”

                “Ugh… sad cow eyes. Fine fine, put them away. I’ll message the guy. But I do want to meet your guy when you feel the timing is right.”

                “Yeah, of course.”

                God he hopes this works because he has no idea if Mav will like the fact he’s with Jake or not.

…            …            …

                They meet up every week when they’re both in the same place, and it’s been a treat these last few months, but also a trial. Usually the distance has been a unintended blessing, making his unfortunate case of unrequited love easier to ignore. When he was younger he’d thought it was just a crush, that it would just… fade away. Instead the opposite has happened, time and distance have hardened and solidified similar to how pressure and temperature turn limestone into marble his love for Maverick is a solid and unmoving object that is ever present. Every time Mav walks through his front door he has to fight the urge to enfold him in his arms and just hold him. Every time.

                “Did you ever want kids of your own?” Pete asks and Tom startles, looks across at him.

                “No. I have nieces and nephews and cousin’s kids coming out my ears. They’re enough trouble to be getting on with, without adding my own genes to the mix. Wasn’t ever going to happen anyway,” he tacks on, and he wonders if this, today, this moment, will be the time it twigs and Mav will ask what he means.

                “Too much trouble by half. Do you know what Bradley did the other day? Installed a dating app on my phone.”

                “What? Why would he do that?”

                “He thought I was considering getting back with Georgia for some reason.”

                “And you’re not?”

                “No. Anyway, he’s trying to set me up with someone. At least you don’t have to worry about that.”

                “You’d be surprised. My cousins kid bought me a phone, a burner phone, with a dating app installed on it.”

                “Oh yeah? Which one?”

                Tom swallows.

                Okay.

                No more subtle hints.

                It’s now or never.

                “Grindr.”

                He didn’t purposely wait for Mav to have a sip of his drink, but he still sprays it out across the coffee table, eyes bugging out and he can’t seem to look Tom in the eye and he feels his stomach start to sink.

                “You… ah… you know that app is for gay guys right?”

                “I’m aware.”

                Pete just stares at him and he wonders if this is it. The moment his best friend just gets up and walks out of his life.

                “You never told me.”

                “You never asked.”

                “Yeah well, there was a whole thing about not asking and not telling until about ten years ago so… sorry if I thought you’d have maybe mentioned it. Or at least… alluded to it.”

                “I did Pete. With something called subtlety. I know it’s not your strong suit, but I tried to leave it there in the open for you to pick up on. I’m only just… getting to the grips with the idea of being more out.”

                “Okay. Uh. Does anyone else know?”

                Tom snorts.

                “Yeah, my whole family for a start. Had to get them to stop trying to marry me off. Slider of course.”

                “Why of course? Why Slider?”

                “He’s known me for a very long time.”

                “I’ve known you for a long time.”

                He doesn’t want to mention that Slider figured it out, because he’s had to learn to be subtle, and his weak point has and will always be the man in front of him. And he can never let him know. Still, Mav sounds annoyed.

                “Slider figured it out. He’s too perceptive for his own good,” Tom mutters, because he’s also the one person who knows about his lifelong torch bearing.

                “Huh. Okay.”

…            …            …

                Tom locks the house up, Mav having left to go home after Tom had soundly beaten him at chess. He knows it isn’t one of Mav’s favorite games, that he really only plays to humor Tom and give them something to do while they talk… his brain is catching on something and it’s going to bother him until he figures it out. Pete. Playing chess simply to spend more time with him...

                He stops.

                Blinks.

                Pete had said Bradley had installed a dating app on his phone.

                Within a day of Jake giving him a phone with Grindr installed, which quickly morphed to a simple encrypted messaging service.

                He’s learnt to not ignore his gut and this is deeply suspicious with the coincidence.

                He wonders if Jake and Bradley are dating. The idea of that makes him smile, even if it’ll cause an administrative nightmare. He knows they know each other, they’re part of the same squadron and there are rules, however it wouldn’t surprise him at all if both Bradley and Jake decided that that particular rule was for other people.

                Wait.

                He suddenly needs to know which app it is exactly that Bradley installed and he has his phone in his hand ringing him before he even considers the time of night, or where Bradley might be right now.

                “Hey Uncle Ice… Everything okay?”

                “Hey Bradley. Sorry for the late call, Just, uh, Mav mentioned you installed a dating app on his phone. You mind telling me which one it was?”

                “Uh… Grindr. Why?”

                “Oh. No reason. Just curious Thanks. Have a good night.”

                Why would Bradley install Grindr.

                Maverick’s not gay.

                To his knowledge Maverick isn’t even bisexual. Or anything else that might imply he’s anything other than overwhelmingly heterosexual.

                Maverick didn’t say anything tonight when he learnt about Tom’s own sexuality.

                Maybe Bradley knows something Tom doesn’t.

                Scratch that.

                Bradley definitely knows something Tom doesn’t.

CHAPTER TWO

[creedslove]

omg I had this dream of Marcus Pike where he and me were very good friends and I started to develop feelings for him but all of a sudden Teresa appeared and gave me a speech that caused me to wake up in tears.

I wish he was with me in real life and brought me to his arms and kissed my forehead. I was so heartbroken after I woke up and for what? 😭

ps. I hope you have a good day, Mari. I love your works and the effort you put to make them. you're literally my favorite person on this planet <3

Marcus Pike x f!reader

A/N: Omg I love your dream even if it's sad, it's still a great dream baby because I love dreaming of Pedro boys, in fact, I dreamed of Dave last night that I was pretending I was gonna kill myself because he was with Carol and his girls and then this afternoon I took a nap and dreamed I was BEGGING Joel to fuck me and he ignored me lmaof

• the hardest part of being close to Marcus was not loving him, in fact, for you, it wasn't just the hardest part, it was impossible

• but it wasn't really your fault, not when marcus in addition to being around, he was just the whole package: he was handsome, successful, kind, intelligent and the worst part was that he seemed not to be able to see that, one failure marriage wasn't a declaration of being a bad partner but somehow Marcus couldn't understand that

• he just fell in love hard and fast and very often with the wrong woman, because even if you didn't want to come off as obsessive and jealous, you could feel they wouldn't be able to love and treat him the way you did

• so it wasn't that surprising when he came to you looking so excited and happy to know he'd met another agent called Teresa and they seemed to really hit off; they'd been out for pancakes and on a couple of dates too and you felt your heart sink

• Marcus went out and found someone else, someone who wasn't you, and yet he was still the sweetest and most loving friend you'd ever had

• your opinion, companionship and presence were so important to him, so of course he would introduce you to Teresa and even if you were hurt and upset, you went there with an open heart, wanting to at least get along with the woman who was with the man who mattered the most to you

• but of course the antipathy between the two of you was immediate and there was nothing that could change that; you and Teresa managed to be civil and polite around Marcus, but she stared at you with the same despise as you watched her, she felt uncomfortable with your presence as much as you felt it with hers and so on

• what bothered you the most was how indifferent she seemed to be, it was always as if she wasn't really there or wasn't really paying attention to what Marcus said; overall, it was always as if Marcus was way more into her than she was into him and it bothered you, because you knew he was bound to get hurt

• when you found out about his promotion, you felt you could explode into a million pieces out of excitement and pride in him, he'd worked so hard for it, he deserved every single acknowledgement he got, but at the same time you were happy for him, it pained you to know he'd asked her to go with him and not only that, he proposed to her as well

• it hurt you to see how she hesitated every time he mentioned moving to DC or getting married at all, because you would've said yes to him in a heartbeat, you would've dropped everything in order to go with him, because unlike her, you loved and cared for Marcus

• everytime you saw him, it was a reminder of how Marcus would move on without you, he didn't love you the same way you did but you still decided to stay and help him with all the details; you helped him pack his bags, you helped him pick an apartment, always daydreaming about a life that wouldn't be yours after all

• and even if Teresa wasn't so sure about her future with Marcus, it bothered her you were around all the time, it bothered her how you looked at him with heart eyes and perhaps it bothered her that you could see right through her hesitation and lack of passion, so she had enough, thinking it was about time she put a stop on it

• when she got to Marcus' place to have dinner with him but found you instead, she frowned annoyed

"what the hell are you doing here?!"

"I came to help Marcus finish his bags just like he asked me to... He asked me to keep his base until he settled in DC and I could send it over"

"you don't get, do you?! I am Marcus' girlfriend, in fact, I'm his fiancee, not you! Why can't you see that? Why do you pretend you don't see he doesn't love you? He doesn't care about you the way you want! Marcus loves me! I'm gonna marry him, be his wife and maybe we will even have a family. Quit living this childish dream of thinking he is your prince charming, if he wanted you, you would be together by now!"

"Teresa?!"

• Marcus' voice interrupted her speech, and you watched at the two of them in horror to realize he had just stepped in in time to hear everything Teresa had said, you didn't have words to argue back, it killed you to know that there was a large chance she was right

• you swallowed hard and tried not letting them see the tears flooding in your eyes, but it was too late. Even if Marcus called your name and tried going after you, you couldn't stay and face him, you felt so embarrassed at that moment

• Teresa prevented Marcus from going after you, she was glad that at least now you would leave them alone and Marcus just hoped he had made the right choice by not going after you

____

[billsbabydoll]

“𝒾 𝓁ℴ𝓋ℯ 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝓂ℴ𝓇ℯ.”

contains:PURE FLUFF<3

summary:me and tom have been having a 2 year long friends with benefits relationship since he moved to LA, and I’d be lying if this hasn’t caused me to build real romantic feelings.today i decided to finally express these feelings, soon out finding i wasn’t the only one feeling them too.

WARNINGS:cringe fluff lol, friends with benefits, situationship, crush confession, kissing, new found relationship.

me and tom knew each other from various mutual friends who then later introduced us to each other once at a party, that night tom and me slept together and have been ever since for the last two years.

other then that me and tom had quickly grown closer and closer as time went on, we were best friends (who hooked up occasionally), we talked about everything, he even once told me if he didn’t marry anyone he’d just end up marrying me, which i mean i wouldn’t be complaining.

all the small flirting, the pet-names, the “casual fucking” was seemed completely meaningless to him, i wonder if he was just trying to play it cool like he always did.but to me it was far from meaningless and in reality it was really driving me crazy.he understood me as well i understood him, he made me feel things no other man had ever made me feel, i know it’s cheesy but he gave me butterflies.

everytime he would introduce me to his new girlfriend of the month i wished i was that girl, the jealousy and envy coursed through my veins every single time.that girl he was hugging, kissing, touching, calling “baby” should really be me.

today tom called asking if i wanted to go get some lunch and then watch the sunset at the beach, this was a common occurrence of ours so of course i quickly accepted.

tom soon came to pick me up, honking the horn of his car as a sign to “hurry the fuck up”.i quickly rushed out of the door, rushing into his vehicle closing the car-door as i sat down.

“hii schatzi.” he said in a sing-song voice with that same little smirk he always had, looking me up and down before beginning to pull out of my driveway onto the road.

“heyy tomm, where are we stopping for lunch?” i replied nervously trying to not be bothered by the use of his pet-name and the way he looked me up down.

“oh you know already where babe, your favorite obviously.” he replied nonchalantly as he continued driving his eyes focused on the road, unaware of the pink blush spreading across my cheeks.

i nodded with a small grin thinking to myself, “should i just tell him today, what if he doesn’t feel what im feeling too, what if he gets upset?” a billion what ifs filled my head.

after a few minutes of driving we finally arrived at my favorite restaurant here in town, he parked the car before getting out of the car first, coming to my side to open the door for me.i stepped out of the car with an appreciative smile as he shut the car door and took my hand in his, leading me inside the restaurant.he had already called and made a reservation so we were quickly seated, we were ushered to our booth by our waiter before sitting down tom on one side of the booth me on the other, the waiter then asked for our drink orders before slipping away.

the waiter later came back with our drinks placing them down, giving us a minute to settle in and to take a look at the menu, before coming back and taking our orders and quickly scurrying away.

“so how’s work been tom, you and bill still working on some new lyrics?”

“yeahhh, ive been going to bills place everyday trying to work on theses lyrics but me and him keep clashing so who knows if we’ll even finish a single fucking song.”he chuckled, looking down at his drink as he swirled the straw in the glass.

“how about you babe, you still at your miserable ass job?”

i sighed dramatically at the mention of my job it was hell and tom knew how much i hated it, it was quite literally hell on earth.

“yup unfortunately i swear that place is gonna be the death of me!” i joked with a smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

we continued catching up for a bit, until the waiter soon arrived back with our meals, placing them down on the table.we thanked the waiter before digging into our plates continuously conversating throughout the meal, laughing and joking like we always did.

after we finished eating tom insisted on paying like he always did, afterwards we made our way out of the restaurant back into his car.now driving towards venice beach making a quick stop at the gas station to pick up a pack of beer and some cigarettes.

now we were sitting on the sand, taking in the view of the pinkish orange sky, the birds flying above, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.i could just stay here forever with him, but every fantasy has its reality and it was now or never if i wanted this future with him i had to say something.

“tom i need to tell you something..” i spoke up anxiously taking a huge swig of beer from my bottle trying to pump myself for what was to come, looking up slowly meeting his eyes.

“okay what’s up?”he answered curiously.

“i love you,i- i mean uhh..tom you mean everything to me and I know we’re just friends and when we hook up it’s just sex but i really like you and i’ve really tried to stop and i can’t!-”

suddenly my nervous rambling was stopped by his lips pressing against mine.the lips that i only kissed for sex were now kissing mine sweetly, slowly, and delicately.

he was first to pull away, looking into my eyes with awe and love.pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear before cupping the side of my cheek with his hand rubbing his thumb gently against my skin.

“i love you more.” he whispered his voice content and sincere a small grin growing on his lips.

“you dont know how fucking long i was waiting for you to say something baby.”he added.

i laughed not only feeling relieved that my feelings were reciprocated but happy he wasn’t upset nor angry!it felt as if a 100 pound weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

“why didn’t you say anything tom?!”

“i was scared of ruining the friendship!”

“YOU WERE SCARED?!”

“YES!”

we both continued laughing at each other and at the fact of us both being too afraid of each other’s rejection to confess to one another, sharing a couple more giggles and few kisses before tom then began to speak up again.

“so does this mean your my girlfriend now babe?”he asked with a tone of seriousness and anticipation.

“yeah if you stop bringing those “girlfriends of the month” around.”she replied a soft giggle escaping her lips, playfully placing a kiss on his cheek.

“you got it liebe.”

THE END

[noahmullariii]

I've been thinking about how much I adore Tonks and Remus' dynamic but physically cannot ship them because my brain is being weird about their fucking age gap. this is so frustrating. they would have been so lovely for me if Tonks was like at least 27 in 5th book. Ronks (yeah I'm not calling it Remadora, Tonks hates her birth name ffs) would have been my ride-or-die alongside Jily and Wolfstar for sure.

because literally nothing else that Ronks antis consider deal breakers for them matters to me - not the fumbled way they get together in canon, not them getting married so quickly, not Tonks getting pregnant, not the assumed queer-coding of both characters (which I personally see, don't get me wrong. but it's assumed and who the fuck says they can't be queer4queer anyway?). sure, the nuclear family narrative being pushed so quickly and thoroughly onto them is peculiar but who says they didn't want to make the most of their time during a war? I love wartime drama and they would have been my shit if it weren't for... well. Tonks being 22 and Remus 35 when they meet.

I just can't ship big age gaps unless the youngest character is closer to 30 than 20. which is infuriating, because Ronks is objectively more fascinating because of their gap. my fucking loss, don't you think?

anyway, after thinking of ways I can make Tonks older without hurting the story, I began wondering whether her age is narratively important, and yes, turns out it very much is - for Harry.

Tonks being 22 in order of phoenix makes her the closest of Order members to Harry's age (Weasley twins don't count because they're Ron's brothers first, order members second for Harry) and the one Order member Harry can relate to the most in his youth and desire to fight. She almost perfectly parallels marauders and Lily in first war and represents the fun of the fight, the fire of youth, the confidence of a new recruit, the safety of relatability for Harry. She's one of the biggest inspirations for his newfound dream of becoming an auror. Harry needs Tonks among those older, battle-worn, cautious, secretive adults who don't take him seriously and never look him in the eye, because he wants to be what she is even before realising it and only reflects on it after spending time with her.

all in all, Tonks being 22 matters quite a lot for Harry's story.

now, we have no way of knowing whether Joanne came up with Ronks storyline prior to Tonks' introduction, but it shouldn't matter for their relationship, not in Joanne's opinion - Tonks' youth already fulfilled its narrative role in order of phoenix and stopped being an important asset of her character in half-blood prince.

oh, but unfortunately it still matters in the grand scheme of things, Joanne. you don't just introduce a young adult character (I'm 21 myself and gods, 22/23 is barely more mature), chuck their established age out the window and pair them up with a character in their mid-to-late thirties. and of fucking course it makes sense for a 23 year old to be down bad for some scruffy 36 year old man, it's incredibly realistic! this 36 year old man acting upon such crush is a little questionable, but still realistic (and we know Remus is very flawed, so I'm not surprised). but you know what isn't realistic at all?

Molly - a 46 year old woman, married to her high school sweetheart, mother to 7 children, 3 of which are close to Tonks' age - being extremely supportive of actually engaging in that sort of relationship, going as far as reprimanding Remus for not committing to it. I'm sorry, what? Molly might have some flaws as a mother, but she is nothing if not protective of her kids and those in their age range. She genuinely becomes somewhat of a mother figure for Tonks during their time in the Order, and I just cannot for the life of me understand how Molly could encourage her to pursue Remus and vice-versa, instead of consoling Tonks in her tragic crush and making sure Remus doesn't even look at her like that.

Minerva - an even older woman who taught both Remus and Tonks at Hogwarts, witnessed Remus becoming an adult from his graduation in 1978 up until 1981, then saw an 11 year old Tonks start Hogwarts 3 years later in 1984 - chiding Remus for not being "brave" enough to commit to such relationship. first of all, why the fuck is she involved in that narrative at all? it's none of her business??? she's not in any pseudo parenting role for either of them, unlike Molly, so I never understood why she even has a place to voice her opinion about their romance. second of all, even if it was her business, Minerva - a professor who witnessed both Remus and Tonks grow up so many years apart - would realistically feel pretty weird about such relationship.

those aren't problems with the ship itself, but rather the way Joanne implemented their romance in the story. I think it would be more realistic if Ronks was some kind of fucked up forbidden romance from other characters' perspectives. the way everybody is so instantly supportive of them is quite jarring to me.

interestingly, when I read hp for the first time at 11 I was quite adamant in my belief that Tonks was in love with Molly up until that scene in half-blood prince. a very weird belief for a kid, I know. I just only liked girls at the time and was relating to Tonks quite a bit since her introduction, so I guess I unconsciously decided she was a lesbian even without knowing that term yet. I also had a crush on my teacher in 4th grade and she was quite similar to Molly... yeah, this girl was projecting too much. I didn't pick up on Remus' queer-coding until I fell down the rabbit hole of lgbt discourse at 14, but was pretty shocked to read about Tonks falling for a man at 11. she was so like me until she wasn't :) it's pretty funny to think about now.

in conclusion, I'm hella jealous of those of you who don't have weird brains and can enjoy Ronks to their fullest potential. their canon writing has its issues but they're more interesting for it, truly. I'll stay in my no fun corner, headcanoning them as lavender married, queer-platonic, bisexual besties co-parenting Teddy Alastor Tonks.

[vivianbernadetteaurora]

Heroin addiction hello,

this is me my name is heroin, I am more expensive than gold, but you will pay more for me. I’m like a diamond you want me you you wanna wear me you wanna wear me all over your body you wanna be me you wanna be inside my body, you want me to take the pain away like a hug like a hug used to do like a kiss like being in love used to, my name is Cherry and I’m a heroin addict I’m not some 12 stepper I kind of wish I was so I kind of wish I didn’t get the vibe that it was a cult , but maybe it is but who said all Colts are bad well this person right here was see. I’m also autistic I have a strong time of the past, I’ll tell you what this addiction has taken everything away from me. Let’s go back and let’s go back to 10 years ago. Roughly let’s go to the 3rd of December 2012 when I met this man who to this day, I can’t get out of my head see this man🕰️ introduced me to this awful awful thing, but at the same time he kept me away distance control. Yes I get it on the first night I met this man me off my feet. I was telling him about my situation ship and he was very compassionate. He was very understanding and it sort of Started there and went on the next five years, I was hooked line and sinker .

So the first night I met this man he was with my friend I met with, and I can still tell you everything about it that night it had to be one of the best nights of my life as I sit here now with tears in my eyes, five years later, I remembering things when I write, I wanted to be writer when I write I want to I remember And I started my life story again I’ve been with him for awhile see you inspired me be a bad person being with me and made me wanna be better and we had this little secret but let’s go back to the question because I’m very good at track no drugs happened it was just drinking Maybe smoking weed because I did back then but I was just talking it was like talking to someone I’d know my whole life and when you’re autistic this doesn’t happen often I hadn’t been diagnosed then but he had both bonded over the fact that we both had personality disorders and that we didn’t fit into society boxes, but now as I see it, I see it. I do but This man had a complete control over me. He had literally just had a baby with somebody who he’d been with for 10 years. He told me it was over, but yet they just had a baby a month prior premature, I didn’t want to take this woman’s man I didn’t want to take away this father, so I said don’t chase me, so on the days that he saw his child up at the hospital still, he would come back really quickly like he hadn’t even been there at all. I know that he had a premature baby. Yes I do I don’t know the whole truth of it I never will Until years though, when I spoke to his ex and I still don’t know the whole truth and why the fuck should she have to tell me anyway but all night he painted her is a villain same as I did with my ex yes as a personality disorder, everyone else is a bad guy You never the bad guy until it all comes tumbling down and you hate yourself and you wanna cut yourself or burn yourself so I trigger on this post but I have to say this I have to be honest with myself I must’ve liked it the fact that my family my family was born into because I don’t have kids that’s another sad part of this story is, I can’t Maybe it’s sick but there you go. They treat this man as an outcast just as much as I treated me as an outcast. I feel he wasn’t allowed to my sisters birthday party even though my sister was married to a literal word rapist still in prison for it now, and all the other sick things he did And my ex or right through this, of course I’ve noticed can also see crazy people who are crazy can always see crazy and others. Neurotypical are very selfish people. The first time I met him. He didn’t use her when he told me about it. apparently he told me about it and anyway I told him not to choose me over his child. Anyway he did we were texting all the time I was texting him. He was writing me love i never had this in my entire life. He literally swept me off my feet and the good thing that happened at the beginning of our relationship was that I went away for a week two days after we met Which made me want him more and vice versa now he probably did stuff I’ve heard he might of he’s married now to this girl. He slagged off for years and shagged. The sister who is 17 when we were together together what we broke up we didn’t properly broke up, but we broke up This is where the comes in we’re living in accommodated living for people who are not very well addicts mentally ill and so on. Anyway, many of the nights I would sneak into his room through the window or he sneak into mine and would lie bad faith, even if there was cameras. Oh he hasn’t asked your random stuff like this and I’ll be like it has. I’ve gone to bed, and obviously it was the most exciting time of my life. I was 23 years 22 years old and absolutely in love. Yes I know they got married at the age of 17 but it wasn’t part. Of course it was in my res autistic and everything was always more dramatic. The next time I’m bigger and better also I thought crazy so we end up getting kicked out of this facility I live there for a year I hadn’t really stayed there. I’d stayed in my mum, still even though she di

So things got out of hand that I’ve got made homeless I’m looking back now I thought it was so unfair and at the time I thought it was unfair. People who got made homeless shouldn’t have got made home as really people who this is all they had and the man I’m with now With living in the shed house with my ex there is four of the houses two of them staffed two of them not! so my partner was in a house without staff and then got put into the room next to me in the staff house which I was in me and my partner and I said maybe it was a distraction from my ex and his past, I will never know the full extent of.

So heroin heroin you ask how did it come into it well slowly that’s what I’ll say slowly he came back one day in a really really bad mood. This is before we got kicked out and started smoking on the bed. I’ve never been a situation I’ve been around hard before and it made me very uncomfortable, especially because I hadn’t touched them so I felt embarrassed and obliged this time I didn’t. I felt safe I felt safe with him. I just did so here it goes we move out and by this point before I go with him I will say I was addicted to sleeping pills on and off and opiates pill, but only pills so I sort of being there, but I wasn’t in the world of dealers drug addicts, horrible people debt, losing friends, and emotionally and because of the addiction. No nothing was that bad yet was destined for this maybe probably who knows I don’t I don’t even know so I will never forget the day I did it because it made life, so like it made sense for the first time in my life. It just made sense everything fit into place. Everything was like this is what it’s meant to be and this is how I should feel it wasn’t overwhelming how I thought it was meant to be, and this is how it traps you guys so don’t do it, it just felt like I had found the key to a door that had been locked 22 years and I had found that key. Obviously not a drug use. very narcissistic you really don’t think it’s gonna be you you just don’t you don’t think it’s going to be you in 1 million years even when you told me all these things via my ex when he told me this is what it’s like. I’m depressed now I can’t feel without it sex drive it fuck it fuck the way you connect with people you lose that connection and when you’re autistic anyway that is hard to have by the beginning it makes that all possible it makes you have emotion it makes you connect it makes you feel like you are invincible, and I always thought the word heroine became from the hero within, it kind of makes sense, wouldn’t it.

So the first time I used it, I smoked it we were living in one of his friends house in the spare bedroom that was freezing cold and the guy was addicted to it. The wife wasn’t they had two children. They had three children but the two children were in the room next to the dad, who is addicted really bad day and ill And this was the first place I used it they thought I was just normal. They didn’t think I touched so when I asked to try it one time when I got kicked off Valium which as you know it’s not very good I’ve got put on after a bad experience. Grape grape by my ex, and it was a short term thing, but I felt awful and I was hallucinating and I was in a really weird way and I also still appealed from my other exes house which led me to be really drooling and off my head and not remembering things in this house anyway, so that’s where I first tried it and for that year when we were living from house to house of people and Sophie spare rooms whatever, was the most exciting time of my life. It was an adventure that I’ve never been in. It was some kind of life experience that I needed for that time, but it led to this really scary time that I live in now so would I take it back? I’m not too sure i’ll lose all these memories, but then I won’t be attached to it so much either. Yeah I’d probably take it because the people I know now I really don’t wanna know I’m telling you something, there’s a lot of really dodgy men in this world who will try and proposition you for sex for money or they will try and do things to you the amount of times I’ve had men do things to me that dodgy sexually, I can’t even fathom it’s very sad, no one should have to go through that. made me feel so protected from the heroin all of it the relationship with that felt amazing, We lived from moment to moment we bonded so deeply our moon 🌙 signs very compatible. we shared everything let’s say so in the five years 2 1/2 of them are good 2 1/2 of them really bad but let’s say this was really severe case of grooming two that felt good though it felt really good because it came with the drugs and it came with the reward system that your brain creates of Doberman, but after a while your break your brain needs a pleasure and reward centre to survive. It’s like breathing it felt amazing. I felt so good every time I felt so good he he controlled my habits so I didn’t get too bad so I would get high probably off. Let’s say £10 worthb or £20 worth a day, maybe less let’s say less.

Eventually, my family obviously found out because I’m a very honest person and I like why did you say that I’ve noticed addicts are very dishonest people, scum of the Earth and I can’t stand them and they can’t stand me either. They do not like me and I think my ex knew this about them that they wouldn’t like me because he did all the messaging and calls to these people I didn’t know these people were so uptight about a text message, but they are absolutely ridiculous, I wasn’t used to this level of paranoia unless it was in your mind none of these people give a shit about you. I’m talking as 33-year-old me now and not 22-year-old man. It’s been over 10 years can you believe it because I can I mean it could be another lifetime ago and it could be yesterday 22-year-old didn’t know about this. Didn’t know this rule it’s uptight don’t do that and I honestly I hate these people honestly I’m miserable it’s not good for me I’m constantly sad,😔 yeah I mean the end of last year I going to join this astrology course and I have a teacher now at this woman I listen to for years on YouTube who I love I love her way of teaching listening to her on YouTube she was so good at going into it all. I looked up with Darkside zodiac and I found her but anyway I’m gonna tell her I lost friends in my opinion, so basically when I was younger, I was a bit of a goody-goody so that transition into hard-core addict who thought she was Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain with her boyfriend was obviously a massive shock to my friends and family I’m guessing constantly asking for money this day,

They didn’t realise this world opened up, a whole box of things that made me feel better, but a whole shit load of a basement full of crap that came with it. They won’t so yeah, I was a goody goody I didn’t really drink. I didn’t do this I didn’t do that, but I was fun. I was a happy shy girl And I would join in and have a laugh with my friends we would get the stone high part when I used to bring school in into school my sister’s part into my friend and he smoked I didn’t even smoke. Then I didn’t even feel the pressure to smoke. So yeah this was a massive personality change I guess so I always went from group group I was always a bit of a drifter.! point of sticking a needle in my arm, I wasn’t bad in fact I was the opposite of a bad arse you could say but as he has went on things happened and you meet people, my best friend who I be my best friend from the age of 10 made her be my best friend until she agreed. She was my best friend from me from me, her being sick of me, trying to ask it probably so I made my first love through her years later 18 years old and he was just schizophrenic and I even got warned off him which was probably the right idea cause this is where my first mental break happened a few years after that so this is why is slowly threatened to do law, and my personality was really changing, and I guess it was very scary for the people around me, so I’d have relationships with people friends whatever, but it always felt forced with this man. It never felt forced. It felt natural, and he would convince me that these people wanted to hurt me, or they weren’t good enough for me or they for I wasn’t good enough for them. He was very clever very very very clever he had me believing all of this shit and so it still this day is in and I can’t get rid of and I think anyone who’s been in a abusive relationship will feel this.

I have put a lot of pressure on my family. I feel like I am loving girl but I don’t have a family like the rest of them all my sisters have children. My brother is happy in a relationship. He is with someone for 11 years and he was very very happy even though he’s my older brother he sometimes feels like my younger brother because he’s so more innocent and I was innocent like he was too Very similar. In fact he was more of a rebel than I was saying I think I wanted to rebel so badly because I never had the opportunity. I mean the first guy I slept with gave me herpes if you want to talk about bad luck, but I thought it was a bad ass then because I was going out of a guy from Bangladesh who was a Muslim who had a restaurant well he didn’t have the restaurant who I was fucking in his restaurant And I thought I was cool. I was getting free curries and then I went to the next shop up the road and it was a Turkish guy who had a gorgeous green eyes. I was obsessed with being in love and not with English man. I thought English men were trash they never fancied me in school. I never had boyfriends, and I lost my virginity at 16.

 so my friends now anyway, who I lost I’ve tried to bring back into my life but they’re not perfect either. I’m not saying they’re perfect but they weren’t drug Alex and we weren’t into people like that. They don’t know anything about people like that when I tell them about the things that have been degraded too, I’m in the last three years I didn’t leave my house because of a sexual assault kind of thing again And it’s very very scary so they couldn’t understand it or comprehend. They didn’t know why I was agitated. They didn’t know why I couldn’t meet up with them till sad times. They didn’t know why I didn’t pick up my phone they didn’t know why I called them at weird hours they didn’t understand it they didn’t understand why I wanted money they didn’t understand why I didn’t have this. They didn’t understand the people that knew I get it. I wish I didn’t even guys They see it though they see what happened, but then I did have one very abusive friend who is a Gemini and she would send me essays with you sometimes and this was before I got with Matt! she could still be very nasty I mean when I got her, she was like really rude about that and telling people I mean what kind of friend does that anyway so she comes and stay with me after a few years of me being with him and we have a nice time. Kind of have a good time, I’m still happy because I’m with him well I think I am anyway she comes down with fake note she was like can you use it cause she knew the olive. It was a bit backwards compared London I was like yeah probably be fine anyway one day we walked into town and I call her from upstairs from my exes flat and she looks horrified on that. Oh God here we go and she looked up annoyed anyway she’s there and a few days later, she’s all happy happy all on her phone and a good mood God. I wish I felt like her with making weed and I was being very paranoid and that’s when I stopped because I’d started smoking crack at this point because my ex couldn’t do heroin any more fuck from injecting and I hated cocaine. I just did it because he did it and he wanted me to owe him money. A lot of these drug addicts Connell is too so you owe the money I offend this. Well I’m too good for it and I know I’m so good for it and I wanna meet the other people who are not like this who are not con artists ! so she is high and she’s like don’t you feel so amazing I didn’t but I pretended yeah for great anyway she doodled all over this night and then she goes he go you can have it as she left to go home. I was like cheers can’t use it for shit now but thanks 🧑‍🎨.

Chapter 1

[wingodex]

I told myself to just chill out and forget about it, but it's been weeks now and I can't get over how angry spy x family made me. Like on the surface, the premise is really funny and interesting. You have a spy, an assassin and a psychic who are all playing family and none of them know about each other's secret identity (except for the psychic kid). Hilarity ensues, whatever. And going into the story, I understood that the driving plot was Twilight's mission so there would be a lot of focus on that. But there are only three main characters, so I naively assumed that Yor and Anya would still have some stuff going on with them outside of the mission plot. Twilight and Yor both have secret identities and secret jobs, so you would think that would create conflict for them, like it's literally the most obvious plot option for the story and somehow that never happens??? There's not even anything about conflict of scheduling, like Twilight has a mission while Yor has an assassination job so they keep trying to get the other to take care of Anya. Or Yor assassinates someone who was really important for a mission Twilight was doing. I even hoped that there might be some side plots about Yor's job, and her needing to hide her family from her secret criminal activity or something, or like someone from Anya's past who was involved with the experiments on her coming back into her life for drama. Like these two characters have really interesting backgrounds going on with them, so one would assume that the story would take advantage of that. AND IT DOES FUCKING NOTHING!!!! Anya plays a really big role in the mission so I can understand maybe not doing as much about her past, but the way Yor gets sidelined literally makes the story bad. Her only role is to occasionally knock out one Twilight's enemies unknowingly and then worry about how she thinks she's a bad wife and mother. And it's just so annoying because I actually do think a story about a woman who never really saw herself getting married and having a child because she kills people for a living, but being forced into it to protect herself and her career from the authorities is really interesting and worth exploring! But we never actually see the assassin side of Yor, we never see her cruelty or the danger a career like that might be to a family. Instead, we only ever see Yor trying to be a good wife and mother, so we have no reason to believe any of the doubts she has about herself.

So I'm more than halfway through season 1, and Yor hasn't really had much focus in the story other than when her brother was introduced (still not really about her but...) and listen, I'm used to this, I've been in the shounen trenches, I know how this goes. I'm patient, I can wait for something good about Yor in the story because it has to be coming, there's no way someone would just waste all the potential of their story like this, right? All the potential is there, this shit can practically write itself. And then this episode starts with Yor coming home late unexpectedly, covered in cuts and in an awful mood, and I was like omg we're finally doing it, this is what I've been waiting for this whole time, she fucked up an assassination attempt and now this is gonna be about her trying to fix the problem. Well, turns out it was a fake out and she was actually secretly trying to learn how to cook because she felt like a bad mother and wife. I wanted to kill someone for real, I was so angry. It's sooo bad too, because it would've been kind of funny if we had been seeing Yor doing assassin stuff up until this point, and then the first time Twilight suspects she's doing something nefarious, she's just taking cooking classes.

And then for the rest of season 1, Yor's main conflict is that she starts thinking that Twilight should get together with his coworker because she's a bad wife and mother, but her reasons have nothing to do with the actual reason she might be a bad mother (she's an assassin)!!! Why did you do this to her!!!!! Like the story is so much more boring and worse because you didn't take advantage of the characters and narrative that you created Endo!! This thing had so much potential and the sexism ruined it so badly that I don't want to keep watching it

Apparently Yor gets some more focus in season 2 so maybe I'll give it a go but season 1 was so awful about her writing that I don't know if I can put myself through that. Whatever. Yor and Silvia, I love you and I could save you, I could write you so well, I know it

[player1064]

kate for someone reason thinking jamie is homophobic not sure why or how but she does (sara has me obsessed with the idea that they can’t stand each other now lol) and then him introducing her to gary and she’s like 🤯 ft. micah in the corner like you didn’t know he never shuts up about him???

god Kate and Jamie literally CANNOT STAND EACH OTHER!!! I'm OBSESSED with that dynamic tbh!!!!!!! As always. this one is much longer than intended...

Also, don't need to have read it but this is technically intended to tie in to my fic Happy wife, happy life (but tldr Jamie regularly calls Gary his wife partly to keep their relationship under wraps but mostly bc. he finds it funny to call Gary his wife.)

---

“Obviously we’re done for the season right before pride month kicks off,” one of the CBS producers is saying, eyes darting over something on an iPad. “And since you four have been pretty popular we were thinking of including you in some of those ad campaigns, so if I could just get some dates off of all of you –”

“No,” Jamie says immediately.

All three of his colleagues snap their heads up to him, but only Kate looks at him coolly and says “no?”

Micah, because he’s Micah, chuckles and slaps Jamie in the shoulder, trying to diffuse some of the new tension in the air. “Not like you to turn down extra cash, Carra.”

Jamie rolls his eyes, pretends not to notice the way Kate’s eyes are burning into him. “Check my contract. Wish I could, honest,” he says to the producer, feeling very very glad that he had a clause added to his contract specifically so that he doesn’t have to take part in things like this, “But it just wouldn’t be do-able. You lot ‘ave fun, though, with yer rainbows and yer glitter.”

Kate just looks at him incredulously. “This is one thing you decide to take a stand on, mister ‘I don’t care about politics’?”

Rainbows just don’t really suit Jamie, is the thing. Nor does the extra scrutiny that comes from wearing rainbows.

Doesn’t really matter to him what Kate thinks of him, though, so he just shrugs and continues packing up his stuff for the day.

*

“Jamie – Jamie, I finally got onto Raya, can you have a look at my profile?”

Jamie looks up at Micah with a frown. “What the fuck is a Raya?”

“It’s a dating app,” Kate says from her end of the desk, in that unimpressed tone of hers that makes Jamie wonder why she’s bothering to insert herself into the conversation at all.

“An exclusive dating app,” Micah corrects, wiggling his phone in front of Jamie.

“Weren’t you already seeing someone?” asks Jamie, but he accepts the phone with a sigh and puts his glasses on. “I don’t – I’ve never used one of these things, what am I meant to be lookin’ at?”

Micah shrugs. “Didn’t work out,” he says breezily. “How have you never used a dating app, you’ve not been married that long. And look at yourself, you can’t tell me you weren’t a player before Mrs Carra came along.”

Jamie had got around a bit, in his playing days. Not much, mind, because he’d had to be careful, but he’d done alright. Unfortunately – and this is not something he’ll ever admit to anyone, even under duress – any thoughts of that had gone out the window the moment he’d walked onto the Sky campus after retiring.

“You’re right,” he says with a wink, “look at me. As if I’d need an app to find myself a bird. Why’d you want me to look at this, I’m not exactly your target audience. ‘less there’s somethin’ you’re not tellin’ us,” he adds, elbowing Micah and waggling his eyebrows.

Kate looks on unimpressed as the two of them double over in laughter. “Not that any of us would have a problem if you were, right Jamie?” she says haughtily.

Jamie catches Micah’s eye and has to fight back another bout of laughter. “Dunno,” he says, “I can think of one or two problems I’d ‘ave if Big Meeks here suddenly tried hittin’ on me.”

Micah bursts out laughing again, his hand clapping to Jamie’s forearm, and Jamie can’t help but join in – it’s infectious, okay?

“God,” Micah says, wiping a tear from his eye, “can you imagine how your missus would react. I’d never be able to work in television again.”

“Nah, she’d prob’ly send you a fruit basket, thank you for taking me off ‘er hands.”

Kate clears her throat and the two of them sober immediately at the sight of her raised eyebrow. “Maybe cool it with the outdated banter,” she says, “or do I need to remind you boys that you’re not in a dressing room anymore?”

She storms off, he heels click-clicking away as Jamie and Micah look at each other and try (and fail) not to start laughing again.  

*

“You didn’t want to bring your wife to the end of season party, then?” Kate asks politely, looking slowly around the room.

“Huh?” Jamie says eloquently, because he’s had a couple of glasses of prosecco and he’s not thinking as quickly as he usually might. “Oh, the missus. Yeah, she’s here but  – I dunno, she’s a bit shy, like. You didn’t invite Malik?”

Kate rolls her eyes, the way she always does when Jamie mentions her boyfriend. “Well, he lives in America. So.”

“Carra,” an annoying voice calls from just behind him, “Carra, come over ‘n meet Schmeichel? I’ve not seen ‘im in years, d’you know, I think I’d forgot how tall he was.”

Jamie puts a hand on the small of Gary’s back to keep him from bouncing around too much (the man is such a lightweight, it’s embarrassing), and says “I’ve already met Peter, you dolt. I work with ‘im, remember?”

Gary squints at him for a second. “You drag me all the way down to London, and then y’can’t even be bothered to –” he finally seems to realise that Jamie had been talking to someone, because he quickly shakes his head around a bit and holds a hand out to Kate with a smile. “You’re Kate, right? I love what you do on the show, honest, I’m always sayin’ people need to be meaner to James here.”

Jamie thinks he sees Kate blush a bit, like she hadn’t realised anyone else had noticed her dislike of Jamie, but she takes Gary’s offered hand anyway. “And of course you’re the famous Gary Neville, I’ve heard a lot about you,” she greets. “But aren't you still with Sky? What brings you to our little operation here?”

“Scopin’ out the competition,” he says with a wink, then turns back to Jamie. “Carra – Peter?”

“I said no! I’ll talk to him later, stop badgerin’ me.”

“Did you two travel down from Manchester together?” asks Kate, “You know, Jamie seems so invested in my relationship but none of us have ever met his wife, do you know where she’s got to?”

“Ah, his fuckin’ wife,” Gary mutters, smirking up at Jamie. Jamie winks in reply and slips his hand down a bit to pinch him on the arse.

Micah comes over, his tuxedo strained against his biceps, and he pulls Gary away from Jamie to throw an arm around his shoulder in a half-hug.

(Gary squirms a bit at the unexpected contact, but he still gives Micah a friendly pat on the chest.)

“Big Nev! It’s been ages, man – Jamie told us you were coming, but he’s promised that before and not delivered.”

“Been pretty busy, up in Manchester,” Gary says with a shrug, carefully extracting himself from under Micah’s arm and returning to Jamie’s side. “But I’m obliged to do the plus one thing at least two –” (“Three,” Jamie corrects,) “—fine, three times a year, and I figure there’re worse places to be.”

“Aw, you love it really,” Micah says. “I’ve always kind of wondered what it’s like to be a WAG.”

Gary rolls his eyes. “It’s a thankless job, to be fair.” He pokes Jamie in the bicep and adds “I’m going back to talk t' Peter, you miserable old twat. Honest, I’m always talkin' to Scousers fer you.”

“I already know –” Jamie starts to protest, but Gary’s already wandered off. “Ugh. Sorry about ‘im. You can’t take Mancs anywhere, can ya?”

The two Mancs he’s talking to look at him, unimpressed.

“He seemed nice,” Kate says carefully.

“He’s not,” Jamie replies.

*

“Good summer?” Micah asks, their first show back after the break.

“Brilliant,” Jamie replies with a grin. “It were my turn to choose the destination, so –”

“Ibiza?”

He nods. “Ibiza. The house was done just in time, too.”

“You know, I can’t really imagine Gary in Ibiza.”

“Oh, he hates it. Complained the whole time, but he does that wherever we go.”

He becomes aware that Kate is watching them from across the desk, not trying to hide that she’s listening to their conversation with curiosity. Jamie nods to her, all polite like. “Hows about you, Kate, good summer?”

“It was fine, I –” she shakes her head. “Sorry, you’re saying you go on holiday with Gary Neville?”

Micah scoffs. “Who else would he go with?” he asks, and Jamie points to him in agreement.

“I dunno, his wife?”

Jamie blinks.

He thought he’d got all this out the way, dragging Gary along to the party a couple of months ago. Apparently not.

“Gary is my wife,” he says, then suddenly feels very stupid saying that to someone who’s not already in on the joke, so he corrects to “my husband, I mean. Obviously he’s not – he’s a man. Obviously.”

Kate’s eyes are wide, unblinking. She looks between Jamie and Micah, lips pressed together while her brain seems to be buffering.

“You’re married to a man?” she says eventually. “But you’re not gay, I mean – you’re –”

Jamie, who last time he checked definitely was gay, raises an eyebrow, amused. “I’m what?”

“You’re a footballer,” she attempts, and oh, this is far too easy.

“Bit ‘omophobic, that, sayin’ footballers can’t be gay,” he replies, holding back a smirk.

“Oh shut up, you know what I – you’re a lad! You’re always with the banter, and the…”

Thierry wanders over, freshly brewed cup of tea in hand. “What have you two done this time?” he asks, looking pointedly at Jamie and Micah.

Jamie raises his hands to protest his innocence.

“Thierry,” Kate asks, reaching a hand out towards him, “did you know Jamie’s married to a man?”

Thierry rolls his eyes. “Ugh, fucking Neville,” he replies, and goes to sit down.

[all-the-things-2020]

Late Night Talking - Chapter Three

Summary: Dieter and Emily go on date number two at Venice Beach.

Rating: PG

Notes: I’m writing exclusively from Emily’s POV but will include little transcripts here and there to show Dieter’s perspective. I gave Dieter a brother named Friedrich. They call each other Freddy and Deet.

[Telephone call between Dieter Bravo and his brother Friedrich]

Friedrich: What happened now?

Dieter: Why do you assume something happened? Maybe I’m just calling to hear your amazing voice.

F: Because it’s one o’clock in the fucking morning, Deet.

D: Shit, sorry. It’s only ten here. But Freddy, I have to talk to you. This is big, bro.

F: Work big or personal big?

D: Personal. I think I just met the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.

F: [sighs] Is this going to be like Jonathan?

D: No. Nothing like Jonathan. That was just … I was stupid then. And horny. But Emily — her name is Emily — she’s amazing, Freddy.

F: I’m sure she is, but don’t get ahead of yourself. You always leap without looking.

D: I know but there’s something … we just clicked, you know? Met her in a bookstore and we went to another one for our first date. Couple of drinks, dinner at a tapas place. Nothing fancy but … I haven’t felt this alive since I stopped using.

F: I’m happy for you, Deet, but be careful. Don’t jump into anything. Promise me.

D: I’m gonna marry her.

F: Give it a year. If you still feel the same way, then go for it.

D: A whole year?

F: A whole year. Promise me, Deet.

D: [sighs] I promise. But mark your calendar. I’ll be calling you a year from now to tell you we’re engaged.

F: If you say so. Look, man, I need to get some sleep.

D: Okay, sorry. I just … I had to tell you.

F: I know. Make good choices. Night.

[Call ends]

****************************************************************************

I texted Dieter as soon as I got home and he replied instantly.

Me: Home safe

Dieter: Same here. Had a great time tonight.

Me: So did I

The typing indicator showed up, then disappeared, then showed up again. When it disappeared for a second time, it stayed off. I was puzzled until my phone rang.

”Hello.”

”Hey, I hope you don’t mind but I figured it’s easier to do this talking than texting. I hate texting, anyway.” He chuckled softly.

”It’s fine,” I said. “So, you had a good time?”

”A great time,” he corrected me. “I … look I’m not really that good at this kind of thing. In my line of business you get people fawning all over you and they always want something … it’s hard to trust, you know? But I didn’t get that from you.”

”I know you’re famous and all that, but you’re still just a guy,” I said. “I had that bubble burst a long time ago when one of my friends introduced me to one of the members of a band their Dad knew. I thought it was going to be magical and he turned out to be boring. Literally spent most of the time talking to her Dad about some kind of woodworking tool he’d bought and how he was trying get his son to make a bird house.”

Dieter laughed. “I’m not that boring, I hope.”

”Not at all. But you’re still just a guy. Who happens to make his living pretending to be other people and gets paid obscene amounts of money to do it.”

”Not that obscene,” he said. “At least, not for a while.” He cleared his throat. “Look, before we go any further, I’ve got to be honest with you. I’m kind of fucked up. I mean, more than the usual ‘everybody’s messed up one way or the other’.

“I’ve been in rehab. I was using a lot of shit to escape reality and … I almost died on the set of Cliff Beasts 6. Like literally OD’d and they had to restart my heart. I swore off the hard stuff after that and checked myself in. No more coke, no more acid, no more mystery pills.

”And I connected with my therapist there. She’s amazing and she gets me. So I have rules now. Alcohol if I’m with other people, never when I’m alone. Nothing stronger except this one brand of edibles that mellow me out when I’m super anxious. And I’m on meds to straighten out my brain chemistry. And I have a session with her every week. So, that’s me …”

“I knew about rehab,” I said carefully. “It was on the Internet and gossip magazines. But I didn’t know you almost died. That must have been really scary.”

“Scared the shit out of me,” he said. “There was this girl who worked at the hotel. She’s the one who found me and helped revive me. She professed her love for me in the ambulance and … it lasted about three weeks. I woke up one day and realized ‘Shit, I’m in my forties, and this girl’s in her twenties. What am I doing with my life?’ And I checked into rehab the next day.

“I had to drop out of a couple of projects, and my career was already heading down the crapper anyway — I mean, Cliff Beasts? — so I’m kind of starting over.”

”That’s okay,” I said. “Like I said, you’re just a guy who happens to be an actor. Your job doesn’t have anything to do with why I enjoyed the evening with you. We would have had fun if you were a CPA or a garbage man or whatever.”

“Yeah, and that’s why … I’d really, really like to see you again. Soon.”

”So would I,” I said. “I’m off work for the summer so my schedule is wide open.”

“How about Sunday? I have some shit to take care of tomorrow for a charity. Wait, that didn’t come out right, it’s a charity, it’s not shit …” He sounded a bit flustered. “Sunday. We can go to the beach. Unless that’s too long a drive for you?”

”Traffic shouldn’t be too bad on a weekend. And I haven’t been to the beach for a while. I’d love to.”

”It’s a date then. I’ll … I’ll text you tomorrow what time to meet and where, if that’s okay?”

”That’s perfect,” I said.

”Well, I should let you get to bed. I’m sure you’re tired after listening to me all night and driving and everything.”

”Yeah, you should get some sleep, too. Got to be fresh for the charity shit, right?”

He laughed. “Yeah. Good night.”

”Good night.”

The call ended and I sat on the couch staring at my phone for a few minutes. Then I texted Sam.

*****************************************

We were on the boardwalk at Venice Beach. It was a hot day, so the place was crowded, perfect for people watching.

“Oh, my God, your dog is so cute!” Dieter fairly ran across the boardwalk to a young couple with a Corgi on a leash. It was wearing a bow tie. “Can I take a picture?”

I followed more slowly, ready to apologize to them for my date’s ridiculous behavior, but they were already making the dog pose and look even more adorable, if that was even possible. Dieter snapped a picture of the dog, then shoved his phone at me before getting down on the ground. “Get a picture of me with the dog,” he said. His goofy grin was irresistible. I snapped a couple of pictures of him and the dog, then we chatted a bit with the couple. The dog was a boy, named Kirby, and while he seemed to enjoy the attention, he was a bit aloof, as Corgis often are, until he very solemnly and daintily licked my hand. His owners gushed over how he doesn’t normally like strangers and I should feel special.

“She is special,” Dieter said, giving me a squeeze.

They awkwardly asked for an autograph and a selfie. Dieter obliged, with me taking the photo for them. We said goodbye, and Dieter wistfully watched them walk away. “Now that made my day,” he said.

I arched an eyebrow at him. “You’re on a date with me and meeting a dog is the highlight of your day?” I teased.

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that,” he blustered.”Like, the dog is the icing on the cake. You’re the cake.”

“Come again?”

He scrunched up his face. “It’s like … okay, icing is nice, icing is great, but by itself it’s kind of gross. Too sweet. You need the cake to give it meaning. The cake is the foundation. The icing is optional but the cake is essential.” He shook his head. “I’m not explaining this right.”

I grabbed his hand. “I think I can see the sentiment behind this rather tortured metaphor,” I said. “Cake is good even by itself; icing enhances it but you don’t really need it.”

“Exactly,” he said, raising our joined hands to his mouth. He kissed the back of my hand. “This would have been a great day even without the dog, but the dog made it even better.”

“I’m only letting this go because it was a Corgi,” I told him. “Any other breed and I’d be insulted, but damn, Corgis are adorable.”

He laughed and put his arms around me, pulling me in for a kiss. A skateboarder zipped past. “Get a room, boomers,” he yelled.

“Hey, we’re Gen X,” Dieter yelled back. “We don’t give a shit!”

“You are such a dork,” I said, laughing into his chest as he flipped the kid off.

“Ah, you love it,” he said.

“I do,” I admitted. “You’re ... adorkable.”

“Now who’s making shit up?”

“Shut up and kiss me again.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

****************************

“Let’s go in the water,” Dieter said, tugging at my hand and leading me off the boardwalk and into the sand.

“We don’t have bathing suits,” I protested. I stopped to take off my flip-flops; it was nearly impossible to walk in sand with them on without tripping over my own feet. Dieter pulled his own shoes off as well, and we continued across the beach, shoes in one hand, holding hands with the other.

“We’ll just get our feet wet,” he promised. “Come on.” He whined like a little kid who wanted candy. “Pleeeease.”

I laughed. How could I resist him when he was such a goofball? “Okay, but not too deep,” I said, realizing I sounded like a mom. “I’m not getting all wet and then having to sit around in soggy shorts the rest of the day.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise,” he said, but there was a wicked gleam in his eye that I didn’t quite trust.

We waded out into the water, letting it lap against our ankles, the occasional wave breaking harder and splashing us up to our knees. “Next time, we’ll wear our swimsuits,” he said. “Bring a boogie board or something.”

“I can’t swim,” I admitted. He stopped dead, staring at me.

“What?!,” he said incredulously. “You grew up in SoCal and never learned to swim? How is this possible?”

I was embarrassed, but decided to tell him the truth. “I have a phobia about water,” I said. “If my face gets in the water, I panic. I failed swimming in high school, the only F I ever got on my report card.”

“Well,” he said, “we’ll have to fix that. Lucky for you, I have a pool at my place, and I’m a very good teacher.” He slid his arms around my waist. “Do you need to get out of the water right now?”

“No,” I said. “This is fine. This is fun. It’s just when the water gets on or around my face.”

“Okay, then,” he grinned. “Let’s play some more.” He darted off down the beach, splashing water behind him as he ran through the surf. I gave chase, laughing as I tried to catch up. He was a total goofball, but he was my goofball.

*****************************

I was pretty sure I had a sunburn. We’d been good and applied sunblock before we got out of the cars, and reapplied later, but I could still feel the heat on my skin. “Ooh, shave ice!” I cried as we came around a corner. It was a very hot day and nothing is better on a hot day than a shave ice.

We bought two large shave ices, cherry for me, and a multi-hued mixture of flavors for Dieter. “You’re boring,” he said, pointing at my solid red treat with his plastic spoon.

“Not boring,” I said. “Classic.” I took a big bite and savored the sweet, cold ice as it melted on my tongue.

He shook his head and dug into his own ice, as we sat on a bench facing the ocean. The on shore breeze kept the heat from being overwhelming and the shave ice cooled me off quickly.

“Ah, shit, brain freeze!” Dieter said, holding a hand against his forehead.

“Don’t eat it so fast, doofus,” I said, poking him in the side with my elbow.

He stuck his tongue out at me. It was dyed a dark purplish color from the combination of flavors. “Gross,” I said. “See, that’s why I go with the cherry.” I stuck my own tongue out, knowing it would be a bright red.

“Well, you certainly don’t need lipstick,” he said, pulling out his phone and taking a quick photo, which he showed me. My lips were cherry red.

“Ah, you’ve discovered my cunning plot to replace makeup with shave ice syrup,” I said. He leaned in for a kiss.

“Mmm,” he said. “It tastes better than lipstick, I’ll give you that.”

I shoved him away. “You’re so weird,” I said. “Eat your shave ice before it melts.”

“You’re so bossy,” he grumbled, as he shoveled another spoonful of ice into his mouth.

“I work with teenagers,” I reminded him. “I think I can handle your sorry ass.” I took a big bite of my own shave ice, but instantly regretted it. “Ow, ow, brain freeze!”

Dieter nearly fell off the bench laughing, and I joined him, as soon as my head stopped pounding.

***********************************

The sun was low in the sky as we made our way toward the parking lot. “Next time we’ll get here later, rent bikes, and stay to watch the sunset,” Dieter said. His arm was around my waist, his sunglasses sliding down his nose as he gazed down at me.

“That sounds wonderful,” I replied. “But how about our next date, you drive out my way?”

He scratched his chin with his free hand. “I guess I could,” he said. “Is there anything out there to do?”

”I hope you’re being facetious,” I told him. “Because only I can diss where I live.”

He chuckled. “Totally facetious. Besides, as long as I’m with you, who cares where we go?”

”Smooth, Bravo, real smooth.” I tugged his arm, pulling him to a stop. I went on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek, in one of those delectable little bare patches in his beard.

”It worked,didn’t it?” he said smugly.

[ambrosearietes]

We (and by that I mean myself) demand more headcanons cuz they go hard asf😈

i have so many i’m gonna break these up by character. i will only do like the major ones. these are not all my headcanons just my big ones.

ADAM

despite living in slavic countries for most of his life, adam speaks english with a british accent because he learned it from anthony. he can also do a perfect american accent because he played WAAAAAAAYYYYYY too much fallout

adam is autistic (this one actually is canon, i mean come On dude) but also has ADHD and C-PTSD

scrawny because he was malnourished during his time as d-class. very insecure about it.

he and sylvester sloan know each other through anthony. i mentioned that sloan babysat adam occasionally, i was completely serious. he let adam watch star wars and adam literally wanted to BE luke skywalker.

yeah luke was his gender awakening

uses she/her to refer to his younger self from before anthony saved him as a coping mechanism— in reality he’s trying to deny that it even happened to him in the first place.

smokes weed when the team is off. calvin does not approve.

marries harvey in every stardew valley playthrough.

romances halsin in baldur’s gate 3.

cracked at fromsoft games.

CALVIN

bisexual, he just doesn’t realize it.

calvin is a gamer. he had adam build him a setup. they play together. adam beats his fucking ass in everything and makes fun of him for it.

really, really bad habit of bottling his emotions (which is why olivia keeps dumping him)

was ~19 when he got arrested for the stuff hyun-ki mentioned. vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence is considered a felony charge.

grew up in the midwest. talks like a midwestern dad.

his aunt owns a horse ranch. calvin REALLY likes horses as a result.

he once promised adam to take him to meet his horse and teach him to ride after everything. poor guys :(

he and aaron would have had a father-son relationship.

he was a very “difficult” child due to him not being believed about his mother’s death. he had no idea how to cope with it. often got into fights, which is why his aunt ended up sending him to boarding school. she got a lot of calls even when he was there because calvin just. got into a fuckton of fights.

he didn’t go to therapy until the insurgency MADE HIM go to therapy.

legally can’t drive. doesn’t give a fuck.

he would occasionally let adam just lay on top of him like a cat. he thought it was platonic. like just guys being dudes.

would be a good father.

if he saw his dad again he’d shoot the guy without any hesitation.

blames the foundation’s negligence for his mom’s death.

likes planes a lot.

OLIVIA

sees adam as her little brother. they’re extremely close by O5-3’s chapter. she’s rather protective and very quick to defend him.

adam taught her to play dungeons and dragons and gives her book recommendations. she plays a halfling life-domain cleric/college of swords bard (multiclassing)

loves mystery novels.

adam introduced her to stardew valley. she usually marries leah.

bisexual. does not know this.

easily frustrated with calvin because calvin is terrible at communicating his feelings. calvin is trying to work on this. it’s going terribly. despite this, calvin is very affectionate with her and she does how open he is with that.

very relationship-centric person. this is mostly because she didn’t get much characterization in twie.

keeps a sketchbook. mostly doodles flowers.

her and sophia would have gotten along amazingly.

likes to dabble in poetry.

would romance wyll in bg3

huge fan of law and order. adam questions her taste in television shows.

if she had procreate she’d be fucking unstoppable.

i don’t have much on her bc characterization is so lacking :((

would have gladly taken sam (O5-11) with her back to the insurgency. deeply regrets that she didn’t. she thinks about sam a LOT, it genuinely haunts her. like she will try to sleep and she’ll just hear that gunshot and want to throw up.

VINCENT ARIANS / ANTHONY WRIGHT

i don’t remember if i mentioned this in the last post but vincent is a cat person. had a cat named mira. she was a calico.

insomniac.

in his ‘ideal world’ he would have lived with aaron and been able to raise adam.

very, very envious of people with ‘normal lives’.

we don’t know much about what vincent did in the foundation— the dialogue from O5-13 at the end of the children matches up with what he tells aaron in the apartment scene so i assume vincent was felix’s predecessor and felix held another number. as for what he did, we do know he was, like, an ACTUAL engineer who designed bombs at some point (stated in O5-5’s chapter); he could have been in charge of security.

it’s implied he had a second-in-command type position under aaron and likely was on the first delta command before his first ‘disappearance’, unless he wrote the summa modus operandi then just vanished off the face of the fucking earth for a while.

records of vincent are next to impossible to find within the insurgency as he worked so closely with the engineer and they don’t even know who the engineer was.

aaron thought vincent was dead until he received reports of anthony wright working with calvin.

anthony and sloan were good friends and out of all members of delta command during the way it ends, he respected sloan the most. anthony would have considered an actual relationship with him if he wasn’t like “no, i’m probably gonna disappear again or just straight up die soon anyway.” anthony was right, he did in fact die.

sloan knew who vincent arians was, he just had no idea that anthony and vincent were the same person.

genuinely, anthony wanted to die.

adam gave him a reason to live outside of vengeance.

GENUINELY sees adam as his son. he’s a bit harsh on him during TWIE because he never wanted adam in the insurgency at all. he and adam had a conversation at some point where anthony expressed this and told adam he wished the latter just went to a good college and worked in programming or IT.

would not have been able to kill calvin had he made it to the end. would also have not been able to kill aaron.

frederick traumatized this man just as much as he traumatized aaron, vincent just absolutely refuses to acknowledge it.

sophia knew about vincent’s love for aaron and may have even encouraged it.

if his love for aaron was reciprocated, they likely had a relationship while aaron was with the insurgency and tried to be secretive about it but felix carter just “I know what you are.”

he would be very sweet as a lover. very sappy. hopeless romantic. given who he was in love with, are we even surprised?

cigarettes are part of how he started aging again.

the insurgency kind of knows he’s older than he looks, they just say he’s in his fifties because he looks like it, but even TWIE says he’s been around as long as anyone can remember. likely, vincent surfaced as anthony wright around the same time that sylvester sloan joined the insurgency.

his plan in case anyone saw any old photos of vincent and noticed that he looked eerily similar to anthony was to say that he’s vincent arians’ grandson and that his mother was arians’ daughter.

vincent had no children, but he did like being around kids.

during his years with the foundation he’d often lock himself in his lab just to cry. aaron often checked in on him.

frederick repeatedly called him aaron’s dog as a joke that vincent found very not funny. vincent/anthony isn’t really big on dogs because of this.

if anthony saw adam today he’d be immensely proud.

if anthony had made it to the end he would have tried to make aaron tell him why he left. aaron would not have been able to tell him.

anthony was a bit scared of how much like aaron calvin is.

would have liked O5-11 if they met.

AARON SIEGEL / O5-1 “THE MAN WITH THE INFINITY GUN,” “THE FOUNDER”

if you claim to be frederick’s #1 hater and you’re not aaron siegel then you’re fucking lying.

very sappy romantic, similar to vincent, but only with sophia. she thinks it’s adorable. he just really loves his wife a lot.

cannot let go of anything for shit. if he was at the scene of vincent’s death he would have tried to bring him back.

had a very weird father-child relationship with sam.

tolerated most of the other O5s at best, especially rufus (O5-6) and valerie (O5-7).

felix has always been his favorite aside from sophia (and vincent during the insurgency days)

borderline personality disorder

capable of straight up hanging up on frederick. this annoys the absolute fuck out of frederick.

PETTIEST BITCH IN THE WOOOORRRLLLDDD he’s like a fucking crow

sees mortimer (O5-5) as family because he’s the grandfather of alison chao, at least in other realities. mortimer gets along well with aaron.

very easily sent into overstimulation, it’s unknown why. he’s only ever perfectly calm in a sensory deprivation chamber.

extremely pale.

lives at overwatch. often falls asleep at his desk or on the fucking floor.

wreck of a man, but a surprisingly exceptional leader when he actually feels like leading instead of letting valerie handle things.

the other O5s don’t even know much about him.

visits san marco as much as he can.

FREDERICK WILLIAMS / THE ADMINISTRATOR

obsessed with the string theory, literally discovered it before the idea was even conceived.

had a wife and daughter, both died horribly. his daughter was extremely young and he’s a tad bit obsessed with the idea of bringing her back. driven by grief but also the fact he’s just a Bad Person in General

extremely manipulative (canon), but also just likes to fuck with people.

sometimes he doesn’t even call aaron or calvin he just speaks into their heads.

sometimes he’ll just call them and ask shit like this. aaron would hang up on him but calvin can’t.

can manifest however he wants, he usually chooses the phone.

reality bender (canon) and extremely powerful at it. like it��s lowkey concerning.

god complex.

totally the kind of guy to go “no don’t kill me im just a girl”

adam ivanov as the engineer would beat the shit out of him if given the chance.

what aaron described in the apartment scene was literal psychological torture. aaron was not the only person he subjected, just his favorite punching bag.

aaron, near the end of his life, got him a world’s worst boss mug and kept it next to the phone. calvin got a second one just to drive the point home.

a bit obsessed with antediluvian anomalies (project paragon). talks to calvin about them extensively.

hated vincent for no real reason he was just a bitch.

[sky-the-trans-guy00]

Her PR Guy-Chapter 1

Disclaimer 

I wrote this story with a trans male insert because I, myself, am a trans dude, and there hasn’t been a whole lot of content in this fandom for trans men. Without further ado, this is my debut story. 

Y/N’s POV 

I met Kristie while working in Gotham’s Public Relations Department. I was a recent college graduate with a passion for sports and storytelling, yet I had little to no idea what type of world I was stepping into. My job was to run the social media accounts and help craft stories that would captivate fans and media members alike. What I didn’t realize at the time, is that my story would be worth telling someday, too.  

*** 

It was my first media day working for Gotham, and I was totally freaking out. I mean, this was my dream, one that I had fought tooth and nail for. I had never dared to imagine this possibility, but here I was, and I felt woefully unprepared.  

Get it together (Y/N)! You worked so hard to get here, and we got this. Yael believes in you, and you can conquer anything you set your mind to. You wanted so badly to have a fresh start, so take advantage of it! 

I went over to the players and introduced myself, "Hey everyone, my name's (Y/N), my pronouns are he/him, and I'm your new PR guy." A lot of the players seemed stunned, probably because I'm a guy working for an NWSL team, so I decided to clear some things up. “I’m also a proud trans man who knows that the future is female, especially in sports. I’ll be mainly working with the photographers and videographers to get content for our socials, but I’m here if you need anything.” 

Kristie’s POV

“Did anyone else find him super attractive, or is it just me?” Kristie said.  

“He’s definitely a cutie,” Ali said and Lynn nodded in agreement. 

“He could be just what the doctor ordered, with your recent breakup and everything,” added Midge.   

“He’s easy on the eyes, that’s for sure,” Kristie responded while looking at you as you walked away from the team, ”Let’s just hope he isn’t a fuckboy.” 

*** 

Y/N’s POV 

It’s been over a month since I introduced myself to the players, and I can’t get Kristie Mewis out of my head. She’s been flirting with me since we met, but I can barely function in her presence, not to mention I literally work for the team. Before I can get too in my head about it, I get a call from my buddy Alex.  

 “Hey (Y/N)! How’s the new job going?”  

 “It’s going well,” I replied, “I think I have a crush on one of the players, though…”  

 “I fail to see the problem, bro,” said Alex.   

 “You are a hot, eligible bachelor, and any girl would be lucky to have you. You even told me that two of the players are married, so workplace dating is obviously not a problem.” 

 “Yeah, but I’m not trying to deal with another Karen incident!” I exclaimed.  

 Karen was a close friend of mine in college who really fucked me over. I managed her campaign for Student Body President, and when she found out I had a crush on her, she flipped out and cut me off, but only after I helped her win the election. She ignored me for weeks following her win, and when we finally spoke about what had happened, she told me she thought it was best that we ‘keep it professional.’ To add insult to injury, all of our mutual friends decided I wasn’t worth sticking around for. I tried to take the “high road” and didn’t tell anyone my side of things until it was too late and they had already taken her side.  

 “How long are you going to let Karen control your life? You can’t keep giving other people your power, bro.”  

I knew that he wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t ready to let go of the past.  

 “Yeah, but this girl is so out of my league it’s unbelievable. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure she has a girlfriend!” 

 “You sure about that (Y/N)?” 

“Not entirely, but why would she date a loser like me when she has her pick of almost every queer athlete?” 

 Much to my chagrin, I was not athletic by any means, which was definitely an insecurity of mine. Deep down, I still felt like the sad, closeted, insecure kid with no friends that I was in High School, despite all of my work in therapy.  

“You may not be athletic, but you’re super kind and loyal as fuck. Trust me when I say that what you think you may lack in physical attractiveness pales in comparison to the type of person you are. You’re full of green flags— except for your inability to take a good selfie, which most people find endearing. Face it (Y/N), the only thing that’s standing in your way is you. You control your own destiny, and you my friend are a catch; remember that.” Said Alex

“Thanks for hyping me up, my guy. I’m going to talk to my therapist about this.” I said.

“As you should, (Y/N)! I’m here for you if you need anything, and I’m only one call away. You got this homie.”

I ended the call and reflected upon Alex’s advice. 

Everything you want is in reach and ripe for the taking! You got this (Y/N), I thought to myself. 

[mrhowells]

Smallville 4x14

I love this episode a lot🥹

THAT'S ADORABLE😭😭

"You're gonna be fine. I know you're gonna be fine. Everyone I've ever hit was alright."

Lois -everyone I've ever hit was alright- Lane:

Clark really sleeps on the couch now that Lois lives there? LMAOOOO

the way he immediately smiles when he sees the dog I can't🥹🥹

"You hit him? With your car?" "No, with my fist🙄🙄"

CLARK YOUR FACE-

"Actually, I think it might be fun to have a dog around."

HE'S A MENACE, HE'S A DISGRACE, HE'S A FUCKING CLOWN, I LOVE HIMMMMMMMM

I'm crying

"I don't know. It's just kind of hard to be myself with her around."

that's so ironic though because apart from hiding his powers he is VERY himself around her

I need Tom Welling to stop smiling on my screen please and thank you, I'm not strong enough for this😭

ugh😩

Chloe helping Clark with his excuses, love to see it🥹 He's so bad at them he needs all the help he can get💀

Let me introduce you to my parents who have been married for about 30 years now:

"Let's see. He's annoying, and I can't get within ten feet of him without getting sick. I think we should call him Clarkie."

have I mentioned how much I love them before?

"I spent all morning on these."

they're both so cute🥹🥹

LMAOOOOOO he finds her so annoying

hsajaksjaksj LOOK AT HIS HAND IN THE SECOND IMAGE, HE'S SO DONE I'M SCREAMING

No because if I keep going like this I'll screenshot every single time they say something or even look at each other💀

Lois: You could be Skipper😇

Clark: *fake ass smile* anyway-

STAHP I'M SCREAMING

he's about to throw hands💀

This is so confusing, I thought Jason's mom orchestrated the entire meeting with Lana but now she wants him away from her?

"Paranoia is not a very attractive quality in a woman."

Umm okay, AND? I mean I don't give a shit about Genevieve but this is such a dumb statement, as if she's supposed to give a fuck about what's "attractive" to Lex or others, like what?

Sometimes he sounds like one of those "pick up artists" that the internet makes fun of all the time, I'm sorry💀💀

I. LOVE. THIS.

That's the way someone talks to their own kid, not their guest and I love that because Lois clearly lacks parental love. Martha & Lois will always be so special to me😭😭

"Remember when Clark did that? He was only... three." LMAOOOO

Lex is clearly losing patience with Clark😬

Can I join this family pls look at themmmm

Martha is such a badass actually

I'm glad Lana overheard that whole conversation between Jason and his mother, now I'm just hoping they'll give her more agency instead of making her a passive character and her own storyline.

(edit: so she did NOT hear what they were talking about🤡🤡 At least she saw it)

Clark is such a little shit😭

Still arguing about dog names🤡

"Hold on there Forrest Gump, what are you gonna do, run?" LOL

She's like nuh uh, get in the car dude AND HE LISTENS💀💀💀

How are they acting like they're been married for decades???

NOT AN ACTUAL QUESTION BC I KNOW HOW AND I'LL TELL YOU: they're comfortable around each other even if they don't realize it

🎶and I will go down with this ship🎶 (EXCEPT I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING SAILING, IT WILL NEVER GO DOWNNNNN)

let's move on

"What is this, another one of your famous hunches or are we just on a little scenic route?"

"Okay, stop here."

"Wha- where??"

"HERE. Stop here."

"OKAY."

>>>MARRIED.

they sound like my grandparents💀

LOOK AT MY LIL POOKIES INVESTIGATING STUFF TOGETHER🥺

YEEEEET

I need to know where Clark gets his clothes bc that stuff withstands literally anything💀

AKJASJKAKSL STAHP😭

"He (the dog) saved my life. I'll take my chances on his loyalty." Ooof, is he calling out Lex👀

what is Lionel trying to do?🧐

CUTE.

CUTE.

Clark is happy = I'm happy, it's really that simple

this episode is premium, top tier chef's kiss EXCELLENT

[makerkenzie]

So I read your posts about the Martells and how their plans to team up with the targs are.....faulty to say the least lol and I completely agree. Your posts hit on a lot of the same issues I have had with the Martells and GRRM's handling of this plot point. We are told that the Martells in general are haughty and slow to forgive. We are introduced to Oberyn, he loved Elia more than anything, and like any overprotective brother didn't believe any of her suitors was good enough for his sister. Yet, GRRM does not allow Oberyn, and then later, Doran, to make any comments about Rhaegar's treatment of Elia. Yes, Tywin gave the order and Loch and Clegane executed those orders, but none of that would have happened had it not been for Rhaegar setting the ball in motion. This makes absolutely NO sense and gives the fandom cover to say garbage like, 'well, even the Martells don't blame Rhaegar so Rhaegar was a good guy...' Oberyn? The same man who didn't think anyone was good enough for his sister wouldn't have been enraged at her husband seemingly leaving her for another woman after she just almost died giving him a son? Seriously???

This is just....very bad writing and dropping the ball on Martin's end. On top of that, he has the Martells betroth Arianne to Viserys. Why the FUCK would any family do that after seeing how one targ man already treated their beloved sister in a previous marriage match???? It's baffling.....absolutely insane. But I can't bring myself to blame the Martells, because this is yet another area of illogical carelessness by GRRM when it comes to his handling of Rhaegar and Elia.

Parts of this fandom refuse to acknowledge that Rhaegar is significantly at fault for the rebellion and what happened to Elia and his children and it borders on gaslighting imo. The amount of times I've seen people say 'well, Rhaegar didn't start the way, it was Brandon making a mess in KL and then it was Aerys' fault for demanding Robert and Ned's heads.' Okay......but literally none of that would have occurred had Rhaegar and Lyanna not ran away. Had they not done what they did, Brandon would have had no reason to got to KL to confront the prince.

Anyway, a lot of this hits on GRRM's, imo shockingly tone deaf, handling of Rhaegar, Elia, and Lyanna. I have no doubt that back in 1996 he envisioned R and L to be some Romeo and Juliet love story with two sympathetic people that meant well, but ran into a string of bad luck 'love is the death of duty' etc. etc. Except, it's easy to romanticize Romeo and Juliet who were two capricious teens in the blush of first love. Importantly, neither of them had a spouse and two young children they abandoned to go screw their lovers in said spouse's homeland. And then had their spouse and children brutally murdered as a result of the war they started 'for loveeee' lmao. The fandom harps on the age gap between R and L and honestly that doesn't even scratch the surface as to top five worst things about this relationship. I'm not even bother getting into L's hilariously hypocritical views on fidelity and having bastards lmao. I think GRRM inadvertently had the inciting relationship of his series be, not only predatory because of the age gap, but be based on the degradation and humiliation of an innocent wife and mother, and just....like......didn't realize it??? lmao. It's very weird, very very weird. I mean, on the other hand, I do think he....kinda...gets it because if he wanted a uncomplicated romance he simply would not have had Rhaegar be married with two kids.

All that being said, I think Martin is committed to making R a tragic hero and this a tragic love story, that he refuses to allow the people who should realistically hate Rhaegar and the targs the most, the Martells, excoriate him in the text. I had a conversation with another ASOIAF fan about this and she said that one of the good things the show did was allow Oberyn to call out Rhaegar for abandoning his sister, which he doesn't do in the text. I think there's a lot of cognitive dissonance with GRRM not realizing just how bad Rhaegar, and Lyanna imo, come across to readers in the text and, tinfoil time, I think not having to explain this relationship to readers is one of the many reasons he won't finish the series. I think he now realizes just how bad it is and how much 'fixing' of that ship he's going to have to do for both of them not to be absolutely hated by the fandom.

Obviously Martin is keeping very mum on the rebellion because he doesn't want to reveal too much and obfuscates a lot so we really don't have a lot of concrete opinions on Rhaegar from non-targ sycophants.....which is good writing technique.....usually.....but when you're taking 30 plus years to finish a series and are going on year 13 of having the fandom wait on the book that should in theory answer a lot of these questions....it's not great lol.

I don't see a question here, but I'm not above poking the viper's nest when I'm bored, so: okay, I'll bite!

If GRRM is trying to write Rhaegar as a tragic hero and R/L as some epically tragic love story, then, yes, he's doing a piss-poor job of it.

I don't think that's what he's doing.

I think he's intentionally writing a deeply frustrating story around the Martells. Whatever his initial idea of the Targs was in 1996...the story he's writing now is that dragons plant no trees.

He doesn't let the Martells acknowledge the Targs' mistreatment of their family because this is not a story in which they'll be vindicated or victorious. This is a story in which they are screwing themselves over. Which isn't exactly fun to read, but the pieces add up that way. The Targs are not the heroes the Martells need for their fairytale, any more than the Lannisters are the villains they need for that tale.

Especially Rhaegar. Seven Hells, are people actually saying "clearly Rhaegar was a good guy because the Martells don't blame him"? That is really...special. Nah, the Martells' refusal to hold the Targs, and especially Rhaegar, responsible for the injury done to their family is not an argument in favor of the Targs. It's 60% or more of the way the Martells are driving themselves off a cliff.

I don't have any firm opinions on why GRRM is taking so long to finish the Winds of Waiting. It's likely the result of many contributing factors, as the series involves many, many moving parts. But I doubt very much that he intends to write the Targs as the good guys Dany seems to think they are. They're a mix of hero and villain, like many other players in the game. Meanwhile the Martells' investment in the dragon is doubly tragic because where the Targs are actually heroic, they still don't reciprocate the Martells' loyalty. They hardly even see it.

[heartbeatan]

The Art of Revenge (Chapter 11)

Return to Chapter 10.

Return to Table of Contents.

Return to Jungkook Fanfictions.

Return to Table of Contents.

Return to One Nights Series.

Return to Masterlist.

Chapter 11

The birthday party was held at a restaurant that overlooked a wide, open lawn which backed onto the reservoir of the town’s waterfall dam. It had a huge patio covered by pergola-esque beams, which were strung enchantingly with Edison bulb lights and creeping vines of lush ivy. You thought the party would be relatively small, but as it turned out, the whole place had been booked out just to celebrate Hyejin, and the restaurant and patio were packed full of friends and family. Turns out, Jungkook wasn’t going to get his wish of paying for dinner, since everything was already paid for. The food was catered by the restaurant, mostly focused around the barbeques grilling burgers of all types, a long table full of buffet style sides and fixings, and several scattered counters covered in trays of appetizers. There was an area set up outside on the patio where three women and two men - who Jungkook told you were all family - played live music for the night.

It was a lot for just a birthday party - you were lucky some years to even get a cake. You assumed Hyejin was hitting some sort of milestone birth year, and so Abe decided to go all out.

You were a touch tipsy already from the bottle of wine you demolished in the bathtub, but kept a safe high throughout the first part of the evening as the copious amounts of food, socializing, and dancing, kept your body nourished and moving.

It was the perfect atmosphere to be in. You and Jungkook weren’t the center of anyone’s attention - which was something you worried about, expecting a small group of friends would lead to inquiries about “who the hell the new girl was and why was she with Jungkook out of the blue?” You weren’t completely safe, however, when someone Jungkook introduced as his friend Mira, became curious enough to bluntly ask.

“So, what’s the deal with you two?” Mira said as she glanced at Jungkook at the bar, who was grabbing another round of beer. “I’ve literally never heard of you before, no offense. How do you even know each other?”

Mira, you suspected, might’ve been christened in the Church of Town Gossips. She had already given you the dirty details on several people at the party - which essentially was harmless since you had no idea who the hell they were, nonetheless, who they were related to. But Mira was clever. She buttered you up with the friendly, girlfriend banter you had been missing, made you feel safe in her presence, then when the last beer kicked in, she dug for your secrets which you were all too ready to tell. The girl was good.

“Ughh!” you let out a sigh that could be heard over the loud noises of the bar. “We knew each other from a long time ago. But until about…” you looked up to the ceiling as you tried to count how long it had been since the kitchen, “five days ago?... I was engaged to this other guy. He was having an affair with my best friend. So, I ran away and came here,” you confessed, sober enough to know which details of that decision you needed to hide.

“No!” Mira’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she gawked at you. “You’re kidding?”

“I wish I was.”

“I’m so sorry, that’s awful. What did you do when you found out?”

“I just left. I did get my lawyer to send an eviction notice, and everything I could get refunds for from the wedding, I kept myself, so… the bastard’s broke and homeless.”

“Good girl,” Mira stuck up her hand and demanded a high-five. “Where were you when my ex was fucking around on me?”

“Oh, damn, I’m sorry,” it was your turn to be empathetic.

“Yeah, we were married for one month,” she punctuated by pointing up her index finger, “then I found out. He missed his sidepiece while we were away on our honeymoon, apparently.”

“What is up with these guys?” you began to fume. “Like, I never held a gun to this man’s head and forced him to propose to me.”

“Seriously,” she shook her head. “We had been together forever, and I wanted to move forward or move on. I told him, we either take the next step, or we break-up. He proposed. He should have chosen the break-up. But nooo… he didn’t wanna be the bad guy who didn't wanna get married, so he became the real bad guy who cheated constantly.”

“People suck,” you narrowed your eyes as you took another drag of your beer.

“They do,” Mira agreed. “Men suck.”

“Hear-hear,” you stuck up your bottle and the two of you clinked the necks together, then sucked back another gulp.

“What are we celebrating?” Jungkook stepped up to the bar table you two had been slouched over, but instead of being greeted with two set of eyes happy to see him, he saw two predators ready to tear him apart for simply existing as a man, nonetheless, interrupting their girl time.

“We’re bonding over how much men suck, Jungkook,” Mira pointed a finger at him, and the way she slurred her words made you realize she too was a little drunk. “And you’re interrupting.”

Jungkook suppressed a grin, put his hands up in surrender and took a step back. “My bad, Mira.”

“You can have her back in a while,” Mira continued. “I like her.”

“I like her too,” he handed you a fresh bottle, along with a peck on the cheek. “Don’t send her back too angry, Mira, we got plans later,” he winked, you blushed, and she rolled her eyes.

“I make no promises,” she gestured with her hand to shew him off. “Now go away.”

Jungkook backed off, then you both watched him as he strode across the floor and made his way towards some friends. You weren’t quite sure where Mira’s eyes were focused - nor did you much care - but you were definitely eating up all of Jungkook.

“Well,” Mira sighed, “I gotta say you have high standards for your rebounds, Y/N. I’m jealous, Jungkook is so much hotter than mine was.”

“You mean after your divorce or whatever?”

“Yeah. But my rebound was really fucking good at going downtown. Best head of my life, I swear. Better than my current husband,” she then leaned in close and whisper-yelled, “but don’t tell him I said that.”

You laughed loud and long. You were really liking the dynamic with Mira, the girl time, the camaraderie, and the funny and lewd banter. You could easily see yourselves becoming good friends if given the opportunity. But something she said was sticking with you. Rebound.

She wasn’t necessarily wrong. You didn’t really see Jungkook as a rebound relationship… and honestly, you didn’t really believe that relationships could be so easily boxed in and labeled with such terms. But still… the concept wasn’t exactly the stuff of myths. You had jumped quickly into something relationship-adjacent as a result of a failed relationship. You had done so before you were truly over what happened - in fact, you had done so because you weren’t over what happened.

“Mira,” you sighed, “Am I crazy if I kinda started to fall for my rebound?”

“No,” Mira shook her head supportively. “I don’t believe in hard and fast rules like that. But - I will say - surviving infidelity doesn’t just happen in a day.”

“Yeah,” you lamented. “I think I’m figuring that out.”

“Hey, ladies!” you heard the familiar voice of Hyejin as she stepped up to join you at your table. “You look like you’re bonding!”

“We are!” Mira said.

“Hey, Hyejin,” you called her attention. “I wanted to talk to you about something - but I don’t want to overstep.”

“What about?” she looked a touch confused.

“Well… see I’m an accountant, and I used to work with a lot of smaller clients. I work for one stupid conglomerate now, but… one of my clients used to be an art gallery. I thought, if you were interested…” you began to feel awkward now, and wished you were a touch more sober when you decided to approach her. “In short, if you’re looking to try again, I would love to help you. There’s tons of grants and tax breaks out there that people just don’t even know about.”

“Really?” Hyejin’s eyes widened. “You’d do that?”

“Yeah. I really liked working with that other gallery. It was… exciting for an accountant, ha-ha!”

“How much?”

“Oh, no, I’ll do it for free. I can’t legally help others out anyway. It’ll be our secret.”

“I would love that,” she crossed her hands over her heart. “That place was my dream.”

Your heart felt light and warm as you watched tears threaten to well behind her eyes. Moments like that were why you loved your job.

“If I don’t see you before I go home, I’ll leave my contact with Jungkook to give to you.”

“Oh, when are you going home?” Hyejin tilted her head curiously and looked a bit hurt.

You shrugged and shook your head, “I don’t know yet.”

“Well, if there’s anything I can do to convince you to stay, let me know. You and Jungkook seem so cute together.”

“It’s annoying, right?” Mira elbowed Hyejin. “They’re so fucking happy.”

“I don’t know, guys,” you laughed. “It’s only been a few days, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Oh,” Hyejin tsked, “Who cares? I have an eye for these things - I just know it’ll work out.”

You caught Mira shaking her head at you, letting you know that - at least in her opinion - Hyejin didn’t have the “eye” she was bragging about.

“Hyejin,” Jungkook called when he returned to the table with Abe and another man - whom by the way he stepped up behind Mira - you assumed was her husband. “You stood in our grocery store and promised me you wouldn’t pester her,” he teased as he stepped up beside you.

“Did I say that?” she quirked her head and pretended to not recall the exchange.

“There were witnesses,” he retorted.

“Well,” she shrugged. “File a complaint with my lawyer, I guess. But before then, we need you and everyone outside. We’ve got a surprise.”

Everyone looked at each other, searching for a face among the table that knew what was going on - aside from Abe and Hyejin. But, if anyone knew something, no one slipped up.

“Sure,” Mira’s husband nodded, then took his wife's hand, and began to lead the group out onto the patio.

When everyone was gathered outside, Abe and Hyejin stood excitedly in front of the microphone which the band had been using when performing. They had huge smiles plastered to their faces and held hands so tight, like they were afraid to lose each other in a violent storm.

“Hey, everyone!” Abe was the one who spoke. “Thank you all for coming. As you know, we brought you here under the guise that we were celebrating Hyejin’s birthday. Some of you know, however, that today is not actually her birthday – it's on Tuesday. The reason why this is important, is because years ago, when we started dating, she told me – I think halfway through our appetizers on the first date – that she wanted to be married before she turned 35.”

The crowd laughed nervously, and you smiled. But you also developed a sinking feeling in your stomach, as you pulled together the pieces of what was happening. Jungkook, who had his hand rested over your shoulder while his thumb caressed the back of your neck, squeezed you lightly – seemingly catching on to what was happening as well.

“She told me this at this very restaurant – and, well, since she’s turning 35 on Tuesday… we actually gathered you all here to... umm,” he looked adoringly down at Hyejin before he mustered the courage to speak the punchline. “To witness our marriage vows.”

“We’re getting married!” Hyejin squealed into the mic, and the crowd erupted with awes and applause. “Right now! This is our wedding! Sorry about the seating, most of you will have to stand but, we promise it’s going to be quick!”

The crowd laughed, then the space became scattered and chaotic as people tried to move tables out of the way, and place chairs in some sort of fashionable order.

You and Jungkook ended up standing to the side, next to the large flower boxes that contained the patio from the lawn. He leaned precariously over the edge of the box and strung his arms around your waist as you leaned against him. It was the nicest spot, in your opinion. You could see the stage perfectly, but were far enough away that you could also catch the cool breeze coming up from the water.

“Are you okay with this?” Jungkook asked his question low, so not to alert anyone standing near you.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “It’s fine.” You weren’t sure if it was fine – but you didn’t want to somehow offend a special moment like two people celebrating their love by needing to duck out and go cry in the bathroom.

Despite how casual and rustic the wedding was… it was so incredibly beautiful. It was personal and intimate, and even though you didn’t know Hyejin and Abe all that well, you knew that somehow this atmosphere suited them perfectly. You felt foolish watching it all, because all you could think about was yourself. You had a huge, beautiful, lace ballgown wedding dress, while she had a cute white-silk two-piece pant and halter crop outfit. Chris was going to wear a tux, Abe had on a teal Hawiian shirt covered in Flamingos. You were supposed to get married in a grand hall, surrounded by roses and lilies. They were getting married surrounded by geraniums and beer bottles.

Your wedding was supposed to be the most lavish display of love and commitment - and yet, here, in the middle of nowhere, on the patio of a restaurant bar… you were witnessing true commitment. That much was evident by their self-written vows which no flower or expensive architecture could capture in terms of beauty. You were brought easily to tears - both happy for them, and sad for yourself. You and Chris were never ones for speeches.

That - what Hyejin and Abe had - was what you wanted. You couldn’t help but wonder if you had been trying to fabricate all that with Chris. Had you really loved him as much as you once thought you did? Or did you only love the thought of him?

You put on a brave and smiling face for everyone. Today wasn’t about you - even though your inner turmoil didn’t know that. Fake smiling eventually convinced you to really smile. You ended up having a lot of fun, and with time, you became better at squashing the returning desire to burst into tears.

But it didn't last...

After all the food was gone, the Edison’s hanging from the pergola were turned off, and replaced with tiny, blue fairy lights that had been discreetly strung through the beams and ivy. Hyejin and Abe had their first dance, then everyone who was paired up was invited to join. You were slow dancing with Jungkook under the new ambience, surrounded by love and good vibes - but, internally you were cursing yourself for not being as present in the moment as you wanted to be. Everything was so fucking romantic, from the lighting to the music, to the way you moved together, and looked at each other. But you felt the dam inside you beginning to crack.

“Do you want to go somewhere?” Jungkook asked, when he noticed your throat bob away a potential sob.

You sucked on your lower lip, and blinked rapidly as you nodded your head. "Just for a minute. I need a break."

“Okay,” he whispered, then he took you by the hand, grabbed the two nearly full beer you had opened before you took to the dance floor, and guided you across the lawn, towards the water, and away from the crowd.

You picked a space on the grass that angled downward towards the water and - as best as you could deduce in the moonlight - wasn’t containing any animal shit. You laid along the grass, resting yourself up over your elbows, and Jungkook laid propped up on his side next to you. You both looked out over the river, letting the peaceful scene relax you as you sipped on your drinks.

“I’m sorry, Y/N, if I had known I would have said something.”

“No, it’s fine. The world doesn't stop turning just because mine did. It was just… fresh, you know?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I wish I could help.”

“You have,” you looked hard towards him, trying to emphasize the depth and genuinity behind what you were saying. “In a lot of ways. You’ve been so… great. Even just seeing how you live up here, it’s given me a lot to think about.” You sighed, then looked out over the water as you thought about where you thought your life should go, and what you now believed you wanted. “It’s making me reconsider what I think I want out of my future.”

“What did you want?”

“I don’t know… success. A big house. A family.”

“And you don’t want that anymore?”

“No, I do want all that. I just think that maybe… there’s a lot of things I thought I needed to achieve in order to have all that. A lot of things that I guess I’m realizing don’t matter. I don’t need the perfect house or the perfect job. I just need… good people around me.”

“Do you like it here?” Jungkook asked.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “It’s quiet, and feels friendly. Safe. It would be a great place to raise a family I think. How lucky would a kid be to have all this wide open space and freedom.”

“I think that’s why I decided to stay up here.”

“Yeah? You wanna get married and have kids and all that?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “One day for sure.”

“What were you doing before?”

“Well… right after school I was living in the city. I had a good time and all. I had an okay job doing web design. I liked it but it was a means to an end. Mostly paid for nights out at the clubs," he laughed to himself, "I wasn’t really great at planning for the future.”

“Well, you and I aren’t similar in that regard. I’m always planning. I think that might be what Chris meant - he was more go-with-the-flow.”

“Ah, fuck him. He’s an idiot. Having an ambitious girlfriend isn’t a burden.”

“So what changed?”

“Luck,” he laughed. “I inherited my house. I wasn’t really sure what I was gonna do with it at first. I thought maybe about selling it and buying a condo, but I had good memories up here. So I decided to hold onto it for a bit – keep it a getaway cabin. Then, one day, I got away and didn’t go back. I quit my job, broke my lease,” he shrugged, “now I’m here.”

“You started over.”

“Yeah. I wasn’t leaving much behind though.”

“Maybe I should do that,” you took a few good chugs of your beer.

“It’s never too late.”

People said that all the time, like it was some sage wisdom - but you always balked at the idea. Starting over was hard and risky, and seemed like something reserved for Hallmark movies. Yet, you were sitting in the presence of someone who had actually done it - so, you supposed it wasn’t such a myth afterall. Granted, he had a real estate advantage - but still.

A soft breeze wafted over the river, and rustled the leaves of the nearby trees. You closed your eyes and embraced the way it cooled your skin which had been damp in the summer night’s humidity.

“I think you should start over,” Jungkook broke you from your trance.

“I don’t know what I’d do.”

“Move here. For real, open up your own firm. I know people would come to you.”

“I don’t know. It’ll be a lot of money to just start up. I need rental space and software and licenses and insurance and so much more. I need to figure out what I can afford after I sell my house. I don’t even know what homes cost up here. Maybe… I could stick it out at my job for a little bit and save up.”

“Orrr… you could just stay with me.”

You loved that idea, and were terrified of it as well.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not? You can use one of the spare rooms as your office. You don’t need any formal storefront around here to make it. The only lawyers in town run their business out of their backyard sheds.”

“And where would I sleep,” you looked down at him with a suggestive curve to your mouth.

“Well,” he rolled forward, and pressed a kiss to your bare shoulder. “I think I’d be willing to let you sleep in my bed. I promise you the rent is reasonable.”

“Mmm,” you hummed. “I don’t like to get into quid pro quo arrangements, but I can’t say I’m not tempted.”

Jungkook leaned in a little closer, and pressed his lips soft and long to your neck. “I can sweeten the offer if you need more convincing.”

His nose traced the skin of your neck, and you bit your lip as your body tried to slouch away from the way it tickled you and threatened to puddle you into a fit of laughter.

“You’re going on tour soon,” you managed to finally push him off. “You really wanna leave me alone in your house?”

“Actually, I was thinking you should just come on tour with me.”

“What? No. I can’t do that. I need to work.”

“Do you?” he raised an eyebrow. “Why can’t you take some time off? You’ll have money from your house. You won’t have any rent to pay. You can come on the road with me, and when we get back in October, you can set up shop then.”

“I don’t know,” you bobbed your head side to side as you agonized over the idea. It sounded fun and all, but you weren’t sure if you had the guts to do it. “What if we get sick of each other and you kick me off the bus halfway across the country. Then I’ll be the one who is homeless and broke.”

“I don’t think that’s something we need to worry about, Y/N. You and I get along pretty great.”

“Trust me, I want to say yes. I’m just… trying to be smart here. The only way I was successful in ending things with Chris so quickly was because I held all the cards. This is all so risky - I’d be putting my life in your hands.”

“It would be a risk,” he nodded. “You’d have to trust me. I know that’s a hard ask after everything. But I promise I won’t just kick you to the curb. And even if we started hating each other's guts… you’d be fine. I'm not sure of a lot of things, but I’m sure of that.”

“I don’t know,” you shook your head. “I need to think about it.”

“And you should. You’ve got a month at least, right? And after that - hell, even if you aren’t ready to move up here for good, like, come on the road with me anyway. You can store your stuff in the barn. You’ll be living for free - everything is already paid for by the label. You can think about what you wanna do for another three months.”

You nodded slowly at the moon’s reflection in the water as you considered it. He was right. You were free now that you no longer had Chris. Jungkook was offering you a chance to capitalize on that freedom.

“I’d have to sell my house before then. I have some money saved, but I can’t afford the mortgage payments for too long without a steady paycheque.”

“We can figure it all out.”

“Okay,” you nodded more firmly now. In your heart, it was an easy choice. But your head wasn’t completely sold on the idea quite yet. But you were committed to at least really considering it. “I'll think about it. Seriously,” you looked at him. “If you’re up for it, I’ll think about it.”

“I am serious.” He then sat up, and you followed by pushing yourself off your elbows to sit with him. He shuffled close, propping his arm over his bent knee resting behind your back - somewhat caging you into him so you could look closely at each other as you spoke.

“I don’t know when the right time is to say anything,” he began slowly. “But… I figure how I feel is pretty obvious at this point. I like you… I wanna see where this goes.”

You felt the return of your butterflies, and you felt sheepish underneath the watchful eyes of the stars and his unguarded and pleading gaze. You supposed you should be thankful for his honesty. You hadn’t had a lot of honesty in your life, apparently. But - amidst the butterflies and the thrilling fantasy of a future together - you couldn’t help but notice something sour and repulsive wrenching inside your gut. You chalked it up to the long and taxing day: from the stress of your legal matters; the confrontation with your ex fiance and your ex best friend; and, the impromptu wedding that only sharpened the blow. You hoped the feeling wouldn’t last. Not when you had someone wonderful like this, touching you so tenderly, looking at you so vulnerably. Not when he made your broken heart feel like it could be whole once again.

“I like you too,” you confessed. It was the truth - even though it felt like it came with a caveat you didn’t quite yet understand. “I kinda think…” you wanted to say more, but you paused as apprehension stiffened your vocal cords. “It’s stupid fast and all, but…,” you winced, “I think I might be falling for you.”

A beautiful smile, that made your heart sing, widened across his face and lit up his eyes.

“Good,” he said with a nod as he tried to wrangle his facial expression. “Because I already have.”

Your lips pulled into a smile, and you wanted to burst into a million particles. But at the same time, your stomach began to twist with guilt - like it didn’t believe you deserved this perfect moment.

“Are you trying to one-up me?” you accused, once again, retaliating against the way he made you feel. You were doing a lot of that too today.

“Nope,” he playfully shook his head. “I would never.”

His hand came down to rest over your knee, his thumb once again making soft passes over your skin. You loved and hated the simple ways that he touched you.

You both looked back up the hill towards the patio, as a deep and thumping bass began to pulse from inside the restaurant - signaling the beginning of the real party.

“Do you wanna go back?” you asked him.

“Do you? We can just go home if you want.”

“Hmm,” you thought about it, then thought about his hand on you and how you maybe wanted it to start creeping a little higher. “I think we should get back up there, have a piece of cake, do a couple shots, and makeout like horny college kids on the dance floor.”

“We can do that,” he agreed with a mischievous grin. “And then we can go home and have sweet, sloppy drunk sex?”

“Yes,” you cheered.

He stood up, brushed himself off, then offered his hand to help you off the grass. “Let’s do this.”

⁂

Morning poured itself through the windows. First with an indigo blue, then in a pale gray, then in pink streaks of sunlight, until finally the room was bathed in the soft yellow of another beautiful, clear sky. You saw all the colors of a new day cast itself over the ceilings of Jungkook’s bedroom, since you had been awake to witness it all.

You had awoken only an hour or two into your sleep, and fought for and hour or two more to fall back without success. You were so restless, yet too tired to move or do anything about it. So, you laid on your back, with Jungkook’s heavy arm loosely strung over your waist, while he snored softly at your side for hours, and you - finally truly alone with yourself for the first time in forever - mauled over everything you had been hiding deep within you.

Last night - instead of stumbling home, knocking into furniture, and collapsing on the bed in a rushed and clumsy attempt to get naked, only to barely fuck for five minutes before the whiskey dick kicked in - you didn’t have the sloppy drunk sex you had been looking forward to. Instead… you made love. It was sweet, tender, and attentive. Instead of pounding into you hard, like your body was made of concrete stone, Jungkook rocked himself into you slowly and methodically, like you were made of glass. Instead of marking his skin with your nails and your teeth, you delicately inspected the ways his muscles moved beneath your soft hands, and tasted his flesh with gentle presses of your lips. Instead of a string of expletives falling from his lips, he told you how beautiful he thought you were, along with a hundred other whispered praises that made you want to melt into the earth.

It was a perfect night… but something felt wrong.

You thought about it all as you looked up to the daylit ceiling, and regretted every way it which your fucked up feelings were sullying the memory of it. You closed your eyes as a tear escaped and rolled down your temple. After the long night, you knew why the droplet had fallen, and you were pretty sure what you needed to do.

You stretched for your phone resting on the nightstand beside you, and noticed a text message which had arrived from Chris.

Chris: I’m out of the house. [3:14 AM]

You weren't sure whether or not you should have been impressed or depressed at how quickly he had untangled himself from your life. Clearly, after he left you, he made the 14 hour trek home and didn’t stop until he was out of the house. You wondered if he had even grieved the loss. A second message had come through, however, and it seemed to answer your question.

Chris: I’m staying at Steph’s apartment. [3:28 AM]

“That fucking prick,” you whispered as you pinched the bridge of your nose, like you were feeling the onset of a migraine. You were sure he had only said that to get back at you, and you hated how much it hurt. Even worse, you felt like you deserved the hurt, despite knowing that you didn’t.

“Surviving infidelity doesn’t happen overnight,” was what Mira had warned you. She was right. You had perhaps staved off the inevitable because of a few blissful days with Jungkook, but today, everything was catching up.

You felt Jungkook begin to stir beside you. You tossed the phone aside and quickly wiped at your cheek, hiding any evidence that even that single tear had fallen.

“Hey,” Jungkook said groggily, as he raised his head to reveal droopy, sleep-filled eyes and a mop of disheveled hair.

“Morning,” you tried your best to sound cheerful.

“You been up for long?” he asked.

You nodded slowly, then confessed, “Yeah, I have.”

Even in his foggy state, he sensed at once that something was off.

“Everything okay?” he asked, concern clear in his throat.

You thought quietly about how to answer his question, but chose not to answer it at all.

“Do you think you could cover my tattoo today?”

He looked at you long and hard, like he was trying to crack the code of a complicated cipher. But the truth was, what you hadn’t said wasn’t all that well hidden.

He swallowed, before he asked the question he dreaded asking. “Are you going home today?”

You nodded, then an intense silence fell between you as you both marinated in the declaration, until you felt you needed to break it. “Chris moved out last night. I need to go pack.”

He nodded tepidly, as he hoped for the best outcome of his next question. “Are you going to come back?”

You looked at him for a long moment while you thought about your answer. Then, mustering all the courage you wish you didn't have, you said, “I don’t know…”

Go to Chapter 12.

[nickcarr-scoutstories]

The Executives. The married couple no longer have a working landline in their Hollywood home, and they are positive it’s because of the dead leaves I put on their front lawn. “Our phones went down right after you put those leaves in our yard last week,” they yell. “You need to fix this situation immediately. This is completely unacceptable.” To clarify, I did not personally place the dead leaves on their lawn. That was done by the set dressers, at numerous homes throughout the area, in the interest of making the neighborhood feel like autumn for the movie we’re shooting. To further clarify, they were not actual dead leaves. Rather, they were artificial leaves attached to a netting for easy removal. However, I was the one who arranged the agreement allowing us to place several piles of fake dead leaves on their front lawn, and thus they consider me to be solely responsible. I agree with the couple that the timing of the landline failure is suspicious, but say that I just can’t conceive of how our brief presence could have possibly caused it. “Don’t give us that bullshit,” they say. “We work in Hollywood too. Do you know who we are?” I do know who they are. They are both top executives at major production companies in Los Angeles. They both make incomes in the tens of millions of dollars. A quick Google search for their names results in an endless stream of publicity pictures from award shows like the Oscars and glitzy red-carpet premieres. For some reason, whenever I call, both husband and wife get on the phone with me. “Here are the facts,” they say. “You set foot on our property. Our landline stopped working. End of story. “So you need to fix it,” they say. “Because that landline connects our home security system to the central company that monitors for any alarms. Without a landline, our house is now unprotected. "And we’re about to take our kids on vacation next week, the first fucking vacation we’ve had time for in three years. Now we have to worry the whole time about whether someone’s breaking into our house? “Don’t call back until you have a solution.” They hang up. And I realize that I don't have a choice. We were on their property when the phone lines died, and as unlikely as it may be, there's still an outside chance we were responsible. At the very least, it merits an investigation. Shortly after, their assistant calls to provide information about their Verizon account, including account numbers and passwords. I call Verizon and explain the situation. “Wait a minute,” says the technician. “Are you not the homeowner?” “No,” I say. “This is a bit unusual, but I’m a location scout who worked on a movie that filmed at their home and potentially damaged their landline.” There is a confused pause. “Well,” she says, “I’m sorry but we can only talk about this account with the homeowner.” I call back the assistant. I explain what happened and suggest that maybe he should call, since he is actually employed as their representative. I assure him that if there are any charges for the repair, he can just bill them to our production company. “Oh no, no,” the assistant says, his voice suddenly shaking. “I’m sorry, but I can’t get in the middle of this. You don’t understand how they get when they’re unhappy. I can’t take on anymore than I’m already dealing with.” I tell him that I'm sympathetic, but I’m not sure how to proceed if the phone company literally won’t discuss the issue with me. “I know. Why don’t you just call back and say you’re him?” the assistant says, referring to the husband. “We give you full permission. Let me give you his social security number and mother’s maiden name in case they ask. Do you have a pen?” He reads me off both the husband’s social security number and mother’s maiden name. I call Verizon back and again explain the problem. “And what is your name?” the technician asks. I introduce myself by the husband's name. “What is your social security number?” I read it off. The situation has begun to take on a surreal aura. “And what is your mother’s maiden name?” I give the name, wondering what my fraudulent mother looks like. “Well, there’s definitely an outage at your home,” says the technician. “I’m sending a signal and not getting any bounce back. Our next available appointment to come out and repair it is in two weeks. Will that work?” I ask if they have anything sooner. “Unfortunately, no,” says the operator. “Well, it’s just that they…” I quickly correct myself. “It’s just that my wife and I are about to go on our first vacation in three years. It’s something we’ve been looking to for months. And now our home security system will be down the entire time we’re away.” “I’m so sorry to hear that,” says the technician. “But that’s the best we can do.” I ask if I can hire a private company to inspect the line. “No, sir,” says the technician. “It’s illegal for anyone but our technicians to service it.” I ask if I can pay for expedited service. “I’m afraid it’s first come, first serve, everyone equal,” the technician says.   And then I realize something. This is the moment where, if I actually were the executive, I would raise my voice and let them know exactly who I was and how important I am. I would demand to jump the line for an immediate repair. I would threaten them with severe ramifications if they didn’t acquiesce. Instead, I say “I understand,” and schedule the service appointment for two weeks from now. -- “Nick, this answer is unacceptable,” the executives say when I tell them the news, voices low and dripping with fury. “It’s clear you have misunderstood this assignment. Did you stress how important a client you are? How this is going to completely fuck up your upcoming vacation?” I tell them I mentioned it. “You let them walk all over you,” they say. “Don’t call back until you have a clear and concise solution.” Ultimately, I do find a solution. It turns out that for $400, their home security system can be changed to run off the home’s WiFi instead of the landline. Though it has still not been determined that we were at fault, it seems a small price to pay to make the problem go away, and potentially buy some good will if we ever return to the neighborhood. The security system is installed. The executives go on their vacation. -- Two weeks later, I receive a call. “This is Verizon repair,” says the voice. “We have an update on your landline. There was a major grid failure two weeks ago that knocked out basically all the lines in your neighborhood. Our apologies, but it’s going to take a bit longer to repair.” “I see,” I say. “Out of curiosity, I had a film crew on my lawn doing a shoot at the time the line went down. Is there any way that could have played any role in what happened?” “No, absolutely not,” says the technician, clearly confused. “No, this was a major technical failure a few blocks from your address. But not to worry. We’ll have you back online soon enough.” -- A few days later, I receive a call from the executives. They have just returned from their vacation, and are upset to find that their landline still isn’t working. “I finally have some news,” I say. “It turns out we didn’t have anything to do with it.” I relay my conversation with the Verizion technician. I tell them I'll let them handle the repair from here, since it would be improper for me to continue. And I say that even though we weren't fault, we still want them to keep their new WiFi security system as a thank you for allowing us to use their property. There is a long pause. “This is unacceptable,” they say. “The phone line hasn’t been fixed.” “I know,” I say. “And I’m sorry about that. But we’ve now officially confirmed it had nothing to do with the production.” “But it went down while you were here,” they say. “I know,” I say, “but if you call Verizon, they can explain that it wasn’t our fault.” “It’s not our job to call Verizon,” they say. “It is your responsibility to provide a solution. Do you know who we are? Do you understand what it means to complete a task?” I hang up the phone. They call back. I let it to go to voicemail. After a few days, the calls stop. -- Sometime later, I happen to be talking with an old friend from my days in New York City film production. I relate the strange story of my run-in with the married executives, and the surreal depths it reached. “Well, here’s the funny thing,” my friend says. “You know the wife. Back when she was a PA in New York. Don’t you remember?” I tell him he must be wrong. “No, for real,” he says. “You probably just didn’t realize it because she now goes by her married name.” He reminds me of her maiden name. And all of sudden, I realize I do know her. Or rather, I knew her, for a brief moment, over fifteen years ago. It was on one of the first film productions I ever worked on, a movie that few people ever saw. We were both recently out of college. I was a PA assigned to the locations department. She was a PA assigned to assist the producers. When I think back to the few months we were on the production, I remember her constantly being hounded by the producers for the most ridiculous of requests, day in, day out, each presented as though it were the most urgent task in the universe. She seemed perpetually on the verge of collapse, her exhausted eyes rarely more than half open. She seemed to subsist on a nonstop diet of coffee and cigarettes. And yet, she plowed through it with a ferocious determination. Every once in a while, she’d notice me listening in as she was given yet another absurd request, and she’d shoot me an eyeroll to acknowledge she understood full well how ridiculous her bosses were acting. She struck me as someone who wanted to play the game without succumbing to it. -- I happen to see her on the last day of our shoot. “I hope everything worked out with your phone line,” I say. “My assistant is handling it,” she says coldly. “You know, we worked on a shoot together once,” I say. “Back in New York. You were a PA then.” “Did we? ” she asks. “That seems so long ago now.” I name the movie, and remind her of the many crazy tasks the producers constantly dropped on her shoulders. How they were rude and demanding and never gave her a moment to breathe. “Oh yeah. That’s right,” she says. “It’s been a while since I’ve thought back to those days. I guess we forget the times that weren’t so great.” But as I walk away, a thought occurs to me. That maybe the world is divided between the people who forget, and the people who don’t. -- This one didn't make the final issue, but you can read many more stories like this one in the just-released "Show Business" issue of Scout Stories, available for $12 at nickcarr.com!

[3xm-draconic]

Pampered (werebat and Astarion story)

Pampered.

Summary: After a very bloody fight at Moonrise Towers the gang stops by a river to clean up, Cyris decides to pamper his vampire and Astarion does the same...

“Oh gods…” Jaheira shuttered as she covered her nose “we all stink like a butcher shop in summer!” she gagged.

Cyris didn’t mind the smell of hot, fresh blood that clung to his skin nor the actual gore that still remained there, nor did he mind the sight of it on his little vampiric lover, Astarion.

The way the slick glossy crimson clung to his pale skin…

It reminded Cyris of strawberry syrup on fresh whipped cream~...

Shit…he was getting hungry…

“We all need bath!” Allegra grumbled, “oh hells” Roger muttered “I’d rather dip myself in the styx than take a bath”, “well I’d like to get goblin and mind flayer guts out of my hair” Shadowheart mumbled as she flicked away pieces of the foes they had killed out of her hair “seriously Cyris did you have to…obliterate them?”.

Cyris thought back on the brutal fight…

Ketheric Thorm was the crazy bitch who seemed…unkillable…and yet was made mortal after all. 

Crazy, Crazy, Crazy bastard... 

Seemingly killed himself to summon Myrkul, The Lord of Bones, to try and stop them from…well stopping this freaky chick Orin and…well another of Cyris’s exs…Gortash.

Interesting how Cyris was bumping into so many of them…his old flames.

The fight was…scary…

Not because they were LITERALLY fighting a death-god…but…because all his friends were downed…

Say for him…

It was just Cyris and…death…in that moment.

Not his death, Myrkul could keep trying but the enchanted binding tattoos mephistopheles had imbued into Cyris’s flesh would just keep him coming back…but his friend’s deaths…Astarion’s death…

Their mortality…

It was something that…broke him?…in that moment.

No…not broke…

He was already a broken man, no, seeing them…helpless.

It reforged something in him, a will to protect…

In that moment Cyris swore he felt something…in him…burn.

A fire that had once long thought been extinguished, his…desire to help, desire to nurture…

He wanted to see Gale grow from his mistakes, move on from Mystra and show Shadowheart his cat.

He wanted Halsin and Lae’zel to open that animal sanctuary they had been talking about together.

He wanted Roger and Allegra to open their very own bar together.

He wanted Wyll and Karlach to get married like he had heard Wyll talk about.

He…he…

He wanted to introduce Astarion to his mother…to his family…

He felt Yondalla’s strength in him, her shield was at his back in that moment…

He also felt the fury of The Great Guardian Bat, the primal rage, the instinctive nature to defend…

It was not the simple hunger of blood that drove him to defeat a FUCKING GOD…

It was not Rage of repressed issues, stress or simple insanity…

It was…stupid as it sounded…

Love.

He loved them…Astarion mostly…but he loved all of them.

“...I guess I did overdo it, Shads” he chuckled. 

They wandered the surface again, happy to be out of the underdark till they found a nice, slow-moving stream “alright…um…everyone is going to be off to clean up then?” Gale awkwardly mumbled as he rummaged around for soap and a new set of robes in his backpack, “well…I wouldn’t mind you washing my back, Stormcloud~” Shadowheart cood as she sauntered past Gale to a secluded spot near the river.

Everyone paired off (except for Jaheira) and whent to the river to bathe…except for Cyris And Astarion, Cyris had something else planned…

Cyris had found a bag of holding and had crammed a bunch of shit in it, one item inside was a folding collapsible boat. “Cyris, what are you doing?” 

Astarion pondered as he stripped down to his undergarments, “I’am making an makeshift bathtub for for you sugarfangs~” he hummed sweetly, Astarion smiled “how sweet~” he paused “I don’t…I don’t suppose you could make the water warm could you?” he asked curiously.

Cyris Showed Astarion the large metal pot of water he had set aside, “I’ll use heat metal just long enough to warm it up darlin, not too hot for ya” he nuzzled the vampire, “I even squirreled away some things I found in moonrise towers I think you’ll like~”.

Astarion eased himself into the…odd contraption…but the warm water was soothing and helped ease the bruises from the battle “Ahhh~” he sighed contently.

Cyris got out two ornate little bottles “milk and honey or lavender and spice?” He showed the bottles to him, they were bottles of high quality bodywash and shampoo.

“How did you get those?” Astarion pondered, “Duergar like all dwarves have pride in their hair and beards, I bargained for these off the ones we helped kill that drow prick” He got out an ornate chest “I bargained for a few beauty items…”

Astarion loved this.

He loved being absolutely pampered like this…

Soaking in a warm bubbly bath, with a clay mask on his face, Cyris manicuring his nails and his aches and pains just melting away.

“Mmmm~ this is a delight, thanks Cy I definitely needed this after fighting Thorm” Astarion hummed, “I know darlin…” Cyris trailed off.

Astarion sat up “Cyris?”, “...Starry…I just, back there…I could have lost you…” Cyris said his voice full of worry “I could have lost all of you”.

Astarion sighed and cupped Cyris’s face in his hands “I know darling, it frightened me too, I was so scared, not because I was dying but because I saw you so…panicked..so helpless” Asiarion hugged him, they were both naked so there was no worry of getting their clothes (new or old) wet “but we’re ok now” he smiled.

Cyris smiled and hugged him tightly back “and I’am never letting anything hurt you or them like that again” he softly said.

Astarion got out and dried off, he felt fresh and invigorated, As he brushed his hair he saw Cyris dumped the old bath and prepared his own, “Cyris~” Astarion murmured “you pampered me, I think I should pamper you too”, “ah sugarfangs you don’t-”, Astarion kissed him “I insist darling~”.

Astarion helped Cyris wash and brush his long mane of thick black hair “I love your hair, it's just as soft as your werebat fur” Astarion hummed, “well that's what it’s basically is” Cyris laughed, Astarion rolled his eyes “I know, I was just saying that…well..you are soft, I find your fuzz to be…well…comforting”.

After bathing everyone met back to set up camp and cook lunch.

“So…you have a vampire AND a werebat on the team?” Jaheira pondered, scratching her head “and they are not evil?”

“No we are not” Astarion said, annoyed at her comment, “we may not be the best people, but we aren’t the worst of the world” Cyris shrugged.   

“They are good deep down, once you get past all the mudery bits, we trust them so you can too” Gale informed her, “...ah, fine” she grumbled.

It was another full moon that night…

Cyris was forced to be stuck in werebat form for the entirety of the night.

Cyris couldn’t really do anything, he wanted to help around camp but he was too big and only had his sharp clawed thumbs.

….useless…

“Darling~ come here for a moment” Astarion cooed.

Cyris crawled over carefully so he would not bump into anything in camp, he had to be weary of his immense size.

“Darling~ Iam feeling a little…well a little down, could I cuddle with you?” Astarion pleaded with big sparkling ruby eyes.

Cyris chirped and unfolded his wings, he embraced his little vampire in a warm hug and laid down in their tent as best he could.

…mmm~ happy now…

The Astarion was curled up safe and warm in his big werebat boyfriend’s wings, buried in his fluff and gently squishing his face “who’s the most handsome and cutest creature of the night?”, he squeaked happily and nuzzled him, “that's right, you are darling~” Astarion kissed his lover’s big leaf-shaped nose.

“You are my big beautiful bat~” he smiled.