#i might have not checked there were a couple of the who were colleagues or coworkers on the last post

[mahikamihan]

🧚🧚🧚pt. 2

[icarryitin]

Candles

spencer reid/gn!reader

happy 26th anniversary of my escape from the womb, as a celebration pls enjoy this lil smth smth while i spend the evening eating a whole cake by myself🧡

series masterlist

word count: 1.3k // warnings: zero just vibes, also glasses reid comes with his own warning🫡

summary: You only just about manage to rein in Penelope for your first birthday at the BAU. Spencer throws a curveball.

It’s been a mission and a half, keeping it all under wraps. Penelope’s been the worst, but you managed to convince her not to put a reminder on everyone’s calendar - a new sparkly unicorn friend for her desk collection was enough to satiate her. For this year, at least.

Birthdays aren’t what they used to be.

They used to be a month long affair, sparkly and exciting. Now it’s just a day. You might get a couple of cards from a couple of family members, you might treat yourself to a takeout so you don’t have to cook, you might watch your favourite movie. It’s nothing special anymore, but you don’t mind that. It’s just a part of growing up.

Which is exactly why you’d expressly forbidden Garcia from organising any kind of celebration when she’d cornered you in the elevator about it last week. You’re still a relatively shiny new toy in the BAU, and being the centre of attention isn’t one of your strong suits anymore. You’re happy to let it pass largely unnoticed by your colleagues. She can do something next year, for sure, when you’re settled in properly. Provided there are no cases that demand attention.

Your back still aches from the flight back yesterday evening, nobody ever said sleeping sitting up is good for you. But, thankfully, it means that everyone’s been too swamped in paperwork today to have noticed Penelope’s extremely subtle efforts to make the day a little easier for you. Her way of celebrating, you were never going to get away that easily. A coffee this morning, a muffin from the café when she came back from her lunch break, she’d even called you into The Lair to present you with a card. Secretly, of course, so as not to arouse suspicion. It’s tucked away in your bag now, safe and sound. Glitter and all.

“Goodnight, my loves.” She appears in your field of vision, blonde head bobbling over the divider between your desk and Morgan’s.

You raise your hand to wave, but the occupant of the desk to your right is far too engrossed in the file to notice. It’s just the three of you left in the office - Penelope, you, and Spencer. Even Hotch has gone, armed with a stack of case files and a furrowed brow.

“See you in the morning, P.” It doesn’t take a lot of effort to return her smile, however tired you might be. That’s the thing about Penelope Garcia, you’ve learned, her energy is kind of infectious. She totters over to your desk with a sly look over at Reid, who still doesn’t appear to be paying any attention.

“Happy Birthday.” She whispers, throwing you an exaggerated wink. Okay, maybe you feel a little bit guilty about depriving her of the celebration she wanted to give you.

And then she’s off, and it’s just you and Reid and the occasional quiet tapping of keyboards, the sifting of papers.

You’ve been absorbed by a file, checking and double checking your additions to the report are accurate, so you don’t really pay Reid any mind when he wanders off towards the kitchen. Your red pen is out, scribbling on an extra copy of the notes. The Unsub on this case had been crafty, but not crafty enough, and your confidence is growing with the handful of takedowns now under your belt. It’s nice to feel like you’re contributing to the team’s success - it’s still your rookie year, but your handcuffs are a little less shiny than they were. You’re about to start typing up your amendments when there’s a noise behind you, like someone clearing their throat. They do it again, a little louder, a little less unsure. It’s unexpected to say the least, the image you’re presented with when you turn in your chair.

Doctor Spencer Reid - adjacent desk mate, awkward stakeout buddy, bespectacled distraction - is holding a small plate out to you, one single cupcake in the centre. There’s a birthday candle stuck in the chocolate swirled icing, just the one, tiny flame wobbling away in the air conditioning. He looks nervous, but there’s a glint in his eye hiding behind his glasses. You wonder what kind of threats Penelope made to get him to do this.

“Garcia said you didn’t want a fuss,” He starts rambling, “So, I figured I would wait until there were less people around and - well, it looks like it’s just us now.”

You’re fumbling for something to say, anything.

“This was - yeah, this was a bad idea, wasn’t it? You didn’t want a fuss and I did this and now you-“

“It’s okay.” You say, finally finding your voice. Matching smiles start to grow, slowly, and the lingering awkwardness evaporates.

It’s hard not to play up the childish wonder of it all - even in the beige and navy confines of the BAU office. Reid still holds the cupcake out towards you as you squeeze your eyes shut, nose wrinkled. Making a wish. You’re not really sure what it is you’re wishing for, maybe it’s that you’ll settle in with the team for the long term, maybe it’s that you’ll catch every bad guy until there’s none left, maybe it’s that a certain teammate will keep looking at you with those big old eyes and a hint of a smile on his face. Whatever it is, it’s good enough, and you open your eyes slowly. Leaning forward, one small puff of breath extinguishes the little candle. Birthday ritual complete. You’re sure Reid has a fun fact about the history of birthday celebrations and the burning of foodstuffs, but you don’t ask just yet. He’s still holding the plate out to you.

“Split it with me?”

His answering grin is contagious, you’ve no choice but to return it as he turns on his heel to hunt down a knife from the kitchen.

“And since it’s just the two of us,” He chatters on his way back from the kitchen, a second plate and butter knife in tow, “I won’t even make you wear the birthday hat.”

There’s a birthday hat, good lord. You’re glad you managed to hold Penelope off for one year, even if it’s the only one she’ll let you have.

“You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“There’s always next year.” Reid is grinning into his half of the cupcake, deliberately not watching you process the fact that you will absolutely be wearing the birthday hat this time next year. But it’s surprisingly heartwarming to hear that he thinks you’ll be with the team for your next birthday. Not that you don’t expect to be, but having confirmation that the others believe it too makes you feel a little fuzzy.

“At least I caught Garcia before she organised a street party, a card and a cupcake do me just fine.” Your words are muffled around the mouthful of cake and icing.

“Oh, she didn’t do this.”

You don’t follow. That much must be clear on your face, because he presses on.

“I made a batch, but then Penelope said you wanted low-key. So I only brought one.”

He made it?

He made it. For you.

If he wasn’t hurtling towards inappropriate crush territory already, he sure is now.

“Thank you, Spencer.”

It doesn’t escape your notice that it’s the first time you use his name. Not Doctor, not Reid, just Spencer. He’s noticed too, if the blush steadily creeping up his cheeks is anything to go by. But you don’t want him to steam up his glasses, and you definitely don’t want to dig yourself in any deeper - so you ask him about birthday candles, an answer he’s more than happy to provide between the last mouthfuls of cupcake and remaining file reports.

Maybe the work birthday thing isn’t so bad, you’ll just have to find that hat before next year.

the canyouniverse is back with a vengeance baybieeee 🧡🧡 i’m love them sm (and you!! for reading!!!)

[amjustagirl]

Chapter 2

pairing: hoshina soshiro x f!reader

genre: romance, angst

wc: 2.7k

summary: you've loved soshiro since you were seven. he will always place his duty above you.

chapt 1 / chapt 2 / chapt 3 / chapt 4 / chapt 5

The first step in your mission to reclaim your heart back from Hoshina Soshiro is to ignore his texts. 

// omg my blade got chipped in a fight //  // daikaiju with a ridiculously hard shell //  // so annoying!! //  // hmph!!! // // fix it for meeeeee //

<kindly send me your request through official channels please, vice captain hoshina>

// !?!?!??!?!// // u still have indigestion???//

You really should’ve foreseen his sheer stubbornness though, considering the mountain of rejection he had to claw through to get to where he is. He springs a surprise visit on you, breaking into your lab without warning. 

“Did you seriously ask me to fill in an official form for upgrades?” he demands, miffed. 

“Record keeping purposes”, you lie through your teeth. “My boss is on my back.” 

“Your boss?!” he repeats incredulously. “Aren’t you the head of your department?” 

A department consisting only of three overworked blade specialists servicing the entirety of Japan’s Defense Force and private security forces, but he has a point. “Well, the auditors might run their checks, and how am I supposed to justify spending budget on reckless improvements that a certain vice captain demands -” 

He slings an arm over your shoulder and a crackle of electricity zips up your spine. “C’mon, don’t be silly -” 

You shrug him off, waiting nothing better than to run for the toilets to fan away the heat spreading up the column of your neck to the apples of your cheek. “Fine”, you acquiesce. “I’ll get to it - just, stop bugging me -” 

He smirks, content at getting his way. “Great, now we can grab lunch. Food here’s so much better than on base -” 

That, you can fend off. “Can’t”, you say. “Lunch with colleagues. And no, you can’t join, Hana-chan wants to cry about her ex, and you’ll make her uncomfortable if you’re there.”

He goggles at you. “Since when do you have friends besides me?” 

“Always, you rude shit”, you say, though really, you’ve just been putting in more effort in being more social at work. “Now, get out.” 

At last, he leaves, so you can reset your heart to its factory settings. You fix his katanas and send it back via courier, when previously you might have delivered it to the base yourself as an excuse to see him again.

The next step is to find something else to preoccupy you. 

You sign up for pottery lessons on Sunday afternoons, which clashes directly with when Soshiro gets the majority of his time off. You aim to slaughter two birds with a single stroke, an excuse to avoid him coupled with a hobby for you that has nothing to do with him. 

It comes naturally to you, since you’re accustomed to using your hands and handling heat to create things, even if it’s usually steel, not soft clay. But it’s different when you do it for fun, for yourself. Blades can be beautiful, but your focus when hammering at them has always been its function, not form, so it’s a welcome change to just create things for its beauty. 

You make cups and bowls for your colleagues (now friends), a set of sake cups for your parents in a rust-red glaze. Your proudest creation is a tea set that you keep for yourself, displayed on the windowsill to remind you of a summer sky when it’s grey. 

Even Yamamoto-san gets a little gift since you now consider him a friend, a stone pot for a plant  he complained of having outgrown its home. He reciprocates next month with a plant for you, who he says needs a home. This you struggle with, not being born with a green thumb. You studiously research plant-rearing tips and plunk the monstera you are gifted with by your prized tea set, but it truly thrives when you bring another potted plant home. Pothos, at first, because they’re too-determined to live. Bird’s fern, for it’s graceful leaves. When you’re more confident, you top it off with azaleas, for colour, hydrangeas to match your tea set.   

(not violets, never violets)

“Huh”, you stare at the jungle on your balcony “Even plants need friends, I guess.” 

It’s still little too soon to put yourself out there on the dating apps and start searching in the radioactive waste pool of the Tokyo dating scene when your heart is still tethered to Hoshina Soshiro. Any willpower you have to stay away is shaken when you hear that Soshiro’s been assigned a numbers weapon, especially after hearing whispers in the lab that testing has been going terribly. You ask permission to be on base to watch one testing session yourself as a weapons technician. The Numbers Weapon 10 has a mind of its own, and it keeps clashing with Soshiro, causing their test results to be abysmally low. 

“Will he be safe?” you question Okonogi-san, the overworked third base operations leader. 

“If he doesn’t get his numbers up with the weapon, I doubt he’ll be allowed to wear it out on the field”, she shrugs. 

You slip away before he’s released from testing grounds. 

// did u srsly come to base //  // and not say hi!?!??! //  // i haven’t seen ur face in forever // 

<super bz, sorry!!> 

It’s the truth. Despite your pledge to carve out more space to live a life that yours, you make an exception, burning hours on a new weapon to match the volatile Numbers weapon that by all reports, only wants to be worn by Soshiro. Anyone who knows anything about Soshiro knows of his preference for twin blades, ‘cos it makes me look cool’, he jokes, so no one will anticipate a single katana as a backup weapon. 

// ty for the katana //  // it’s q cool //  // ok, v v cool //  // wld be cooler if you dropped by to say hi //  // free this weekend? //

You take a train all the way back to Osaka to visit your parents instead, lest he take it upon himself to commit larceny by breaking into your apartment. You don’t put it past him, since he has the combination to your front lock - his birthday, that’s another thing you need to change. 

“How’s Yamamoto-san?” your mother asks, none too subtly. 

You know your parents are proud of both you and your older brother for following the family’s traditions, and you’re lucky they’re progressive enough to encourage it even in you, but they’re of the age where they’re starting to long for grandchildren. Your older brother’s wedding scheduled for next year should distract them for now, but they’ll soon look to replicate their success with you. 

“He’s pretty nice, but I don’t think he’s the one”, you reply.

Your mother’s lips purse. “Are you still hung up on that Hoshino boy?” 

You’re stung into silence, your mother’s directness catching you off-guard. She tsks at you, pouring you tea that’s bitter from being steeped too long. 

“I’m not - that’s not -” 

Her gaze is sharper than any blade you’ve ever made. “Don’t insult me by lying.” 

“Ka-san. It’s hard but I’m trying to get over it- gods, it’s so embarrassing to say this aloud in front of my own mother -”

She sniffs imperiously. “Try harder.”

“Will do”, you reply dryly. “I’ll just walk into the nearest combini and pick up the first guy they have sitting on the shelf, shall I?” 

She raps your knuckles with her chopsticks. “Don’t be insolent”, she clucks. “Hoshina Soshiro -” 

“I know, ‘ka-san”, you interrupt, the wound still raw under its scabbing. “You don’t have to say it.” 

“Hm.” 

It’s too difficult to meet your mother’s eyes, so you’re glad when she bustles off to the kitchen. A plate is shoved under your nose, oranges, painstakingly peeled, apples, perfectly sliced. 

“There’ll be mangoes if you come back next week”, your mother says. 

“That’ll be nice”, you smile. 

The next step is the hardest, the part you fear the most. 

Soshiro insists on seeing you. There’s no excuse he accepts, not after forty two calls and unread messages. Initially you toyed with changing the combination on your front door to keep him out, but you’re certain he’ll stand outside and cause a ruckus until you let him in.

He’s waiting in your apartment when you return from class. “Okairie”, he grounds out, jaw set. “It’s nice to see you again.” 

There’s no point running. He’ll catch up with you within seconds anyway. 

You drop your bag of groceries on the kitchen counter. “It’s nice to see you too”, you reply, skirting around his palpable annoyance. “Are you staying for dinner? I can make curry rice - ”

“I wanna know why you’ve been ignoring me.”

You plaster on a smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”, you hedge. “I mean, I’ve been busy at work, you’ve been busy at work - I’ve been picking up new hobbies -”

“Which I’d know, if you talked to me in the past three months -” 

“I’ve really been too busy, haven’t had the chance -” 

“Nonsense”, he scoffs. “Don’t think I don’t know that you dropped by base without saying hi -” 

“Pretty sure you were too busy tussling with that new combat suit  -” 

“You didn’t even bother to lunch with me the last time I came to your office -” 

“I was busy working on your weapon, which I don’t hear you complaining about -” 

You stop short when he takes you by your shoulders. You smell coffee and steel, a scent that just so Soshiro, that it makes your heart forget to beat. He’s close, far too close that you can see the dying sun-gold illuminating the violet iris of his eyes. You squeak as he tips your chin up, calloused fingers so painfully gentle as he meets your gaze. “Are you sure we’re okay?”, he asks softly. “Did I do something wrong?” 

Other than torturing your heart by being within your vicinity? 

Shaking your head, you take a large step back. “All good”, you splutter, ears on fire. 

He doesn’t give you a chance to hide, shouldering into your space. “Somehow I don’t believe you”, he pinches your cheek. “Spill it. Stop lyin’.” 

The pieces of your heart are stitched together with fragile threads, but his presence makes your heart slam itself against your ribcage over and over again. You are powerless from stopping it from falling apart again. 

“You can eat my entire tub of chestnut ice cream -” 

“Stop tryin’ to distract me.” He leans in, almost nose to nose with you, the curve of his mouth so dangerously close to your lips that your heart chooses this precise moment to combust. “Tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it.” 

Courage has never been your strong suit, but you owe it to Soshrio to be brave enough to be honest that it’s not him, never him that made you run and hide. It’s your traitorous heart at blame. Plus, you figure, when he turns you down, perhaps it’ll finally deprive your heart of any lingering hopes it harbours, so you can finally, finally reclaim ownership of your heart. 

Your lungs claw for air. 

“It’s not anything you did”, you whisper. “I just wanted more than what you probably ever thought to give.” 

His brows pinch together in confusion. 

“It’s just - I know you’re busy doing big things in the Defense Force and you probably never have time in between killing a million kaijus to consider anything outside of work, and I know that you’ve never given any indication that you see me more than just a friend, cos really, I know where I stand -” 

“You’re rambling.” He shakes you. “You’re not making any sense.” 

You close your eyes. 

(plunge a knife into your chest, carve it out whilst it's still beating, still bleeding)

“I like you, Soshiro-kun”, you say. “Not just as a friend, in case that wasn’t clear enough.” 

“Oh.”

It’s a simple word with exactly one syllable, but it does the job. He stares at you, slack jawed. His reaction twists the knife deeper into your belly. You clutch the counter for balance, prevent yourself from doubling over, spilling your guts on your kitchen floor. “I didn’t wanna ruin our friendship so I’ve just been kinda distant. I needed - I needed space. Just to get over it. I’m sorry if I worried you.” 

He still doesn’t respond. 

“Soshiro -” 

He looks up and you read only pity in his gaze. “I’m sorry -”

Your hurt pride will not allow you to let him see you fall apart. “Can we attack that tub of ice cream now”, you interrupt. “We don’t have to talk about it anymore.” 

“Right”, he says after a long pause, face carefully blank. “Ice cream.” 

You spend the rest of the evening eating ice cream and decidedly avoiding his gaze while chattering away about everything and nothing at all, papering over any awkwardness in a desperate attempt to pretend you don’t care that you’ve just killed any chance you’ve had at keeping your friendship intact. He’s almost silent save for some mmhms and grunts to indicate he’s still listening, so unlike his usual talkative replate with a joke in hand. You too, cannot put up with this charade anymore, so you feign tiredness, just to cut this ordeal short. 

“Stay safe”, you remind him. “Don’t get eaten by a kaiju.” 

“Yeah”, he replies. 

He doesn’t say seeya later, as he usually does. You’re unsurprised by that. 

Your phone remains empty of any new messages from him. 

In the initial aftermath, you drown yourself in work to overcompensate for your wandering mind and wishful heart. All tweaks to his weaponry are done purely through official channels, as you previously requested. He doesn’t even text you a thanks when you stay up working on changes to his blades. Not that you’ve ever felt entitled to his gratitude. It’s just your job - one that you’ve decided to take up because your seven year old self lost her heart to him, but really, that’s on you, not him. 

There are no spontaneous lunchtime visits, not even when you make updates to his brother’s tech. He doesn’t drop by your apartment the next time he’s off-duty, nor he does ask you to accompany him to another overpriced dessert cafe, not even when the gingko trees in Tokyo turn yellow, marking the season for every store to have a mont blanc special which you know he’d be weak for. 

This is good, you tell yourself. 

It hurts less than you expected. Of course it splits open your stitched-closed wounds to hear him say in your face what you already knew, that Hoshina Soshiro will never love you, not in this lifetime or the next. You allow yourself a few lonely nights to wallow in self-pity, spend a weekend facedown on your bed, stifling your screams into your pillow.  You might have lost your footing momentarily, slipped down a ravine of despair, but with a few weeks’ grace, you start to claw your way out of the ravine of despair. 

You will find your footing, find a way to get over him, live a life without Hoshina Soshiro by your side. 

You will. You will. 

It will become easier. You find contentment sitting on your balcony by yourself as the evenings grow cooler, leaves catching in the breeze, a meal you cooked for yourself on your lap. You throw yourself headfirst into pottery classes, where all you focus on is the feel of soft clay melting into your hands. Between work, your hobbies and weekend visits home, you don’t give yourself time to think about anything or anyone else anymore. 

Weeks pass. 

You catch a glimpse of him on the office TV as you clock in for work. Though you almost always turn it off right away, lest your heart believe it can find its way back to him, you make an exception today when the TV starts to blare about some daikaiju appearing, one after another across Japan, the third division  deploying to a location not too far away from you. 

 <stay safe>

 <don’t be eaten by a kaiju>

 <eat ‘em for brekkie instead>

The building starts to shake. 

You put your phone away. Your co-workers surround the screen, yelling about evacuations and contingencies. You start to head down towards the forge, determined to save as much of your handiwork as you can. Soshiro and the rest of the swordsmen in the Defense Force will need whatever you can save. 

a/n: manga spoilers from the next chapt onwards, read at your own risk! also, am off riding in mongolia til the 20th - next chapter out after - pls lmk what you guys think in the meantime ;)

[pfhwrittes]

retail hell reader is being bothered by an uncomfortably friendly customer and tf141 handle it in their own ways.

warnings: female!reader (she/her pronouns) isn’t being overtly harassed but you know when a man is being too interested and too friendly? its that. egregious use of scots as inspired by still game, pet names “love”, “hen” and “bonnie girl” used to refer to f!reader.

word count: 1.5k

pairings: kyle garrick x reader, john mactavish x reader, simon riley x reader, john price x reader.

each reader x named character interaction should be read as a standalone but i stuck them all together as they were too short to post individually in my opinion.

- -

this customer is making you nervous as fuck. you don't think you've been inappropriate with him in any way, just polite and friendly as you sorted out his refund. the problem is that he's massive, easily taller than simon by a couple of inches and he keeps looming over you blaming his difficulty understanding english as to why he keeps getting closer and closer. he's practically mounting the customer service desk to peer down at you (and you have a horrible feeling he's trying to get a look down your polo top).

you're beginning to panic so you do the only thing you think to do (which admittedly is pretty stupid looking back on it) and make your excuses to leave the customer service desk to find one of your friends. or at least find a colleague who will act as a witness if this guy gets any creepier.

gaz handles it like a champ. as soon as he spots the creep following you around he's there. arm around your shoulders and tucking you into his side at the kitchen consultant's desk. his customer service smile is fixed on his face and he refuses to even acknowledge this giant arsehole of a man, just keeps talking to you softly and shows you the kitchen he’s working on. kyle’s beautiful brown eyes only briefly leave your face so he can point out another favourite part of his design, he never once looks over at the creep. it works to soothe you, especially being so close to him. after ten minutes of being blatantly ignored, the creep walks off muttering under his breath. hopefully he’s left the store but unfortunately it’s around that time that kyle has a couple walk up to him asking him if he’s free for a drop in consultation. before he agrees he checks in with a gentle “you alright if i take this appointment, yeah? come straight back if that guy is still hanging around. i’ll deal with him.” he looks so serious you believe him. you reassure him that you’ll be fine and he gives your arm a gentle squeeze before you separate from his warmth already missing the slightly woody scent of his cologne. before you’re completely out of earshot you hear the couple cooing over how cute kyle was with you and his reply of “well, it’s not exactly hard when she’s one of my favourite colleagues…” and the fondness in his voice makes your cheeks heat up. 

-

johnny nearly trips over you as you’re crouched behind the paint desk. “steamin’ jesus, what’re ya daein’ under there hen?” you hush him quickly and silently with a finger raised to your lips. you don’t want to speak because you know the giant is still out there looking for you, you thought you’d given him the slip near the paint brushes but then he’d rounded the end of the aisle so you darted for the relative safety of the paint desk. johnny crouches down next to you and whispers “are we hidin’ from someone? is it simon?” you shake your head and go to answer him but then your blood runs cold as you hear that familiar accented voice. “excuse me? i was wondering if you might help, i’m looking for the fräulein who was helping me?” johnny shoots a look at you and you squish yourself further into the corner of the desk hoping against hope that johnny won’t give you away. thankfully, johnny straightens up from behind the desk with his most charming customer service grin “sorry pal, i’ve no’ seen her. ‘s only me on the desk the day.” the creep sounds nonplussed at johnny’s thick glaswegian accent (you’ve certainly never heard it ramped up like that in all the times you’ve spoken with him) and a little crestfallen when he starts to reply with “oh, perhaps you’d be good enough to -” johnny interrupts him, voice still pitched in a friendly manner but you can hear an undercurrent of tension “naw, sorry pal. i’m busy pitin’ the hems oan the tins. is there anythin’ i can dae fer ye mixin’ wise?” there’s a moment of silence and you watch johnny’s smile slowly slip off his face, his lips thinning into a stern line. “ah, um. no thank you. perhaps she will find me.” the creep sounds a little nervous now if the uncomfortable laugh he lets out is any indication. “aye right. well i’d best be lettin’ you get oan then eh?” johnny shifts on his feet slightly so his calf brushes up against your arm. after another tense moment you hear the lumbering footsteps of the giant move away from the desk. johnny looks down at you with a mischievous grin, “i’ve got to say bonnie girl, you look a right sight down there.” you only feel a little bit bad when you punch him lightly in the leg and he yelps in shock as the blush on your cheeks spreads down your neck. 

-

simon is less than impressed when you duck under the chain across the warehouse doors and flatten yourself against the noticeboard out of view from the shop floor. “you stupid? chains up which means the forklift is out so you need to be too.” he’s pissed off and thinking about how much paperwork he’ll have to fill out now because you didn’t bother to think about the cameras in your dash for safety. he takes a big step towards you before swerving off to the side to block the customer that has just appeared at the chain. “the fuck do you want?” he practically snarls. ‘this isn’t the fucking caff.” simon squares his shoulders and glares at the oversized dickhead that’s wasting his time. “well? can’t you fuckin’ read? staff access only. and you’re not staff so fuck off.” simon barks at the man, not letting him get a word in edgewise to start bitching about stock or whatever it is that he wants. simon couldn’t give a shit, he just wants the customer (and you) to fuck off promptly so he can start moving pallettes around. the customer just blinks and takes several steps back before turning away. you let out a shaky sigh and thank simon quietly. simon hums in acknowledgement and sweeps a critical eye down your lightly trembling form. “he botherin’ ya?” at your nod he hums again before jerking his head towards the back of the warehouse “go put a hi-vis on and sit in the office, i’ll come get you when i’m done on the ‘lift.”. when simon comes back into the office two paper cups of tea in hand thirty minutes later, you offer him a small smile and catch his lips twitch up briefly before he turns away to plunk his cup down on top of a cluttered filing cabinet. 

-

price practically walks into you as you come flying around the end of the plumbing aisle. it’s unusual to see you so far away from the customer service desk and looking so flustered. “alright, love?” his hand is on your elbow as he asks. you crane your neck round to look behind you, too worried about that customer to enjoy his large warm hand on your bare skin. price straightens up and drops his hand away from you when he spots a customer behind you, in his opinion the customer is moving a little too fast to be considered casual. price bristles slightly when he catches the dark look on the gentleman’s face. oh no, he doesn’t like the look of this one at all. especially when you look at price and mouth “help” quickly. price steps forward and puts you at his back, blocking the creep from getting any closer. “can i help you, mate?” his gruff voice is just shy of sounding friendly and you watch his back muscles shift under the black polo top he’s wearing. “no thank you, i wanted to speak with the little woman some more.” god the customer is weird, you shudder a little at being referred to as a “little woman”. price shifts to block the customer’s view of you more fully as he does you notice the back of price’s neck has gone a little red. “not possible. i need her for a job.” price’s words sound like they’re being ground out through gritted teeth in response. “i’m sure simon would be more than willing to help you.” you jolt a little when you spot simon at the customer’s shoulder. a man shouldn’t be able to move so silently in steel toed safety boots. you catch a brief wince flicker across the customer’s face when simon’s hand comes down on his shoulder, slightly too hard to be entirely polite. “ah, um, yes. perhaps that’s for the best.” simon leads the customer away and you step up beside price to thank him. he looks deadly serious when he turns to face you “any time love.” his stern blue stare softens slightly and you’re sure you catch his gaze flicker to your mouth briefly before he clears his throat and turns away “c’mon then. back to the returns desk with you.”. 

- -

AN: i have very much hidden from customers in the warehouse and behind the paint desk at B&Q. don’t be like reader (or me) and hide in the goods-in area, you will get shouted at for it. 

translation for johnny’s scots: “pitin’ the hems oan” = putting the hems on, meaning to put something in order or to restrain something/someone.

[gingiesworld]

Culinary Lessons

MILF Wanda Maximoff GN! Reader

Warnings: Smut. Amab! Reader. Unprotected sex.

18+ MINORS DNI

Taglist: @ginnsbaker

Wanda and Vision seemed to have a happy relationship with two hyperactive twin boys. That was all until a certain person moved in across the street. Y/N Y/L/N was a mystery to Wanda. In the suburbs, almost every residence was occupied by a family. Married couples with children. Y/N moving in was quite out of the ordinary.

So Wanda took it upon herself to welcome them to the neighbourhood, taking over a pot of paprikash, her mother's famous recipe. Knocking on the door with a nervous smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Wanda. I just live across the way." Wanda introduced herself as Y/N opened the door. A soft smile adorned on their face as they ushered her inside. "I would have come over sooner to introduce myself but I wanted to make sure you were settled before."

"That's ok, thank you." They smiled as they led her towards the kitchen. "I'm Y/N Y/L/N."

"I brought over some paprikash." Wanda told them as she jiggled the pot slightly. "I thought you might like a homecooked meal."

"Thank you so much." They beamed as they took it from her, placing the pot on the stove. "I have been wanting to learn how to cook but I never have the time with work and Lila."

"Lila?" Wanda questioned.

"My daughter, her mom and I divorced a few months ago, that is why I relocated here." Y/N told her.

"I have two 10 year old boys." Wanda told them with a smile. "It would be nice for her to have two new friends whenever she is here."

"So far it is just the holidays." They shrugged tearily. "But anyway, I won't keep you too long Wanda."

"That's no problem Y/N." Wanda smiled at them before bidding their goodbyes and leaving their house.

As the weeks went on, Wanda found herself watching them every moment she could through the window. She noticed how every night they had ordered some form of takeout or came home late with a pizza box in their hands.

So she made her way back over to their house one night, leaving Vision and the boys doing their homework. Knocking on the door briefly, only waiting a moment for them to open the door.

"Wanda hey." Y/N greeted her as they opened the door for her to come in. "What can I help you with?"

"I remember that you said you wanted culinary lessons when we first met." Wanda reminded them.

"I still do but my schedule is pretty hectic." They told her as they made some tea.

"What if I could teach you. Completely around your schedule?" Wanda suggested, thanking them for the tea.

"I don't want to put you out of your way Wanda." They told her softly as she shook her head.

"You won't be." She told them. "I don't really have a job and the boys are with Vis in the evening. Besides, it would be nice to have a bit of company outside of the house."

"Ok." They finally agreed. "I do have Lila in a few weeks so it would benefit the two of us if she would have home cooked meals."

"So just tell me when you're free and we will get cooking." Wanda told them with a bright smile before she left, heading home to her husband and sons.

As weeks went on, Y/N and Wanda enjoyed the time they had alone. It was nice for Y/N to spend time with someone who isn't a colleague as Wanda loved being away from the house. But the more time she spent with them, the more she would fall for them.

Her marriage with Vision is extremely vanilla, hell he doesn't even make her cum anymore. He just finishes before her and then turns away, leaving Wanda hanging over the edge but not completely falling.

"How is Vision and the boys?" Y/N asked her as they waited for the food to cook on the stove.

"The twins are at my brothers for the weekend while Vis is on a business trip." Wanda told them. "It's just really lonely at the house right now."

"Whenever you feel like that Wanda, and I am here. You are more than welcome." They told her with a smile, which she just smiled at them as she checked the food on the stove.

"This is done." She smiled as she stirred it, Y/N coming to stand right behind her as they looked over her shoulder.

"It certainly smells amazing." Y/N smiled, remembering the first dish that Wanda had brought over for them. "It's your mother's recipe isn't it?"

"It is." Wanda breathed out as she felt their hands on her hips. She was afraid to move in case her knees failed her.

"Are you?" They whispered as Wanda sighed as she felt Y/N press against her. Completely molding into them as their arm wrapped around her.

"I am." She whispered as she felt their nose in the crook of her neck. She hadn't realised that overtime, Y/N had gained feelings for her, although she is married to another. Neither can deny the obvious attraction towards the other.

"Do you want this Wanda?" They asked her as their hand wandered under her blouse, making her shudder at the contact.

"Yes." She answered confidently. Turning off the stove before turning to face them, pushing them against the door and kissing their lips hard. Y/N squeezed her hips making her gasp, allowing their tongue access as they explored her mouth. Tasting the paprikash on her tongue. Sucking on the muscle, making her moan as they helped her remove her top. Their eyes raking over her toned form before reclaiming her lips as she hurried to unbutton their shirt, pushing it off of their shoulders. Y/N flipped them around so Wanda was now stood with her back against the cold surface of the counter.

Y/N had started to unbutton her jeans, pulling them down as they got on their knees. Helping her slip off her pumps and jeans. Leaving her in just her underwear. Wanda watched them curiously, not knowing what was happening as Y/N pressed their nose against her clothed centre. Inhaling her scent as it pooled within her underwear.

"What are you doing?" She asked them breathlessly as they started to pull her underwear down her milky thick thighs.

"I want to taste you." They husked as they looked in her eyes before Wanda stopped them, becoming nervous all of a sudden.

"Isn't it filthy?" She questioned as they quirked a brow.

"The sounds that come from you will be filthy as you enjoy it." They told her before diving in, sucking on her clit as she held on to the counter to keep herself up.

"Fuck." She moaned as the teased her hole with their tongue, diving right in as their nose applied pressure to her clit. "Oh god." She whimpered as they went faster than before, her climax getting incredibly close quickly. "I'm going." She tried to push them away, which theu fought against her. She came as they lapped up every last drop.

"Are you ok?" Y/N asked her once they were stood before her, cupping her face as she calmed down.

"Yeah." She whispered before she took their lips again, moaning as she tasted herself on her tongue. Moving to undo their trousers, pushing them down as Y/N turned her around to face the counter.

They massaged her ass cheeks before they pushed her legs further apart. Soon running their hardened member through her folds, teasing her before ramming it right inside. Not giving her chance to adjust as they thrust their hips at a steady pace.

Wanda failed to keep herself up as her arms failed her, her chest touching the cold surface beneath as Y/N's hand found her hair. Holding her cheek against the surface as they went harder and faster.

It didn't take longer for Wanda to cum once more as Y/N continued to pound into her. Not giving her chance to calm down so she soon squirted all over the floor as they came inside her. Y/N helped clean her up before letting her lay in their bed before they cleaned the kitchen and the floor.

Neither realising that someone was approaching the house, looking for his wife.

[manipulatedstars]

We'll Be Alright

Genre: fluff, slight angst if you squint, non-idol AU, office romance, coworkers-slash-friends-slash-idiots-to-lovers

Pairing: Mingi x gn!reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Pink Mingi (a valid warning), symptoms of anxiety and panic but nothing serious, mentions of gambling ig, Wooyoung being Wooyoung

Summary: When Mingi overhears some colleagues talking, he realizes he has to finally make his feelings known - easier said than done.

A/N: Can you believe this bitch (me)? Apparently I write now?? This is my first ever finished fic, and I'm eternally grateful to @hobarine for being the greatest beta reader without agreeing to being one in the first place. I love your sexy brain. [clears throat and wipes tears] I'd also like to thank my dear friends who made this possible in the first place - check the end of the fic for what violently inspired me to write this. Feedback and reblogs appreciated! Also - this is not a song fic (well... I suppose it very much is, but not in that way), but I'll Keep You Safe by Sleeping At Last very much set the tone for this, so I highly recommend you check it out.

The first couple times your new coworker had poked his head around the side of your cubicle, it was all business - or at least as much business as it could be considering that new colleague was Song Mingi.

It had all started out with work-related questions when he joined the company and, being one of the company’s top salespeople, you were quickly tasked with showing him around and answering any questions he might have. Your boss had personally offered Mingi the position, so he wanted to make sure the newcomer was going to stay, considering he was a “natural at his job” and would “undoubtedly prove to be a huge asset to the team.” You'd learned not to question your boss's decisions after he'd proven time and time again that he had a gift for picking out new team members, despite his sometimes questionable and unusual methods.

You also didn't question why Mingi, even after he'd grown accustomed to his new work environment, kept sticking around you. He never addressed this but he was shy around other people and you were still the only one he sort-of knew. And you, having grown to enjoy his company despite him being borderline clueless and painfully clumsy at times, weren't gonna complain.

So what started out as, "I'm so so so sorry, could you please explain the printer to me again? I'm so sor-" quickly turned into deeper, more personal questions and conversations. Not in a weird way, of course, he just really enjoyed being around you and wanted to get to know you better. Or so he kept telling himself and others when someone pointed it out. Over time, he had become fairly confident that you two could be considered friends, and he couldn't be happier. So you got used to him just poking his head, adorned with his signature pink hair, around the corner and asking you about movies and books you’d recently enjoyed, your most hated color (because according to him, asking for a favorite everything was overused), and your go-to spots in the area. At times you'd even catch yourself thinking how cute his childlike nature was. The only thing that put a damper on his mood was when one day he was put in a cubicle on the side of the office furthest away from you, for “productivity reasons" - not that it actually kept him from coming over to you just as often. In fact, he claimed to need a rest at your desk from the “extensive workout” they made him do in order to come this way. You never commented on how he was the only one to blame for full-on sprinting through the office space instead of walking like a normal person.

His favorite days are measured by how often, and how loudly, he managed to make you laugh that day. He could get lost in the sound, and knowing he was the reason for it? He wouldn't be able to wipe the smile from his face if he tried.

If only he knew that his visits had started to become the best part of your day, too...

You were thoroughly enjoying each other's presence. Always having lunch together, and taking a little bit too long to walk to your respective cars after work.

It was a regular Tuesday when Mingi made his way to the break room to get his regular drinks - a green tea for you, and a coffee with an obscene amount of sugar for himself - something you’d chided him for, telling him time and time again it would kill him one day.

He didn’t mind waiting for some coworkers to free up the coffee machine. He’d gotten used to it pretty quickly after the second one had broken some time ago. This just meant that the room was less crowded, since the majority of his colleagues had since chosen to head to the cafeteria downstairs instead of having to stand in line like he was now. But in his opinion, they were the ones missing out. He enjoyed getting to know the usual suspects of the breakroom a little better each time they happened to get something to drink when he did - which was the same time every day.

So it would’ve been just a regular coffee run on a regular Tuesday, if it hadn’t been for the conversation happening in front of him. He wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but nothing caught his attention quite like you did. Or, in this case, your name falling from one of the men’s lips. Mingi decided that he didn’t like the way it sounded coming from someone else, someone who probably didn’t even appreciate you in the way you deserved.

The men didn’t seem to notice him standing close by, or simply didn’t care whether they could be overheard or not, because their conversation didn’t seize.

‘’...I mean have you seen them lately?’’

He sure had.

‘’I’d be stupid not to make a move. They’re a catch.’’

NO! Well, yes..but-

’’Isn’t Song head over heels for them though? Kind of a dick move if you ask me…’’

They knew?

’’Come on, we both know he’s too much of a coward to actually go for it.’’

Mingi began to panic. He’d been so enamored with you since the two of you had been introduced that he’d never even entertained the idea of someone else possibly hitting on you. Of course he knew you were pretty. Gorgeous, even - he had eyes after all. He also knew you were the epitome of grace and kindness. Anyone would be lucky to be with you. But he’d been trying slowly and carefully to inch his way into your heart, and now realized that he was so focused that he hadn’t even considered the possibility of anyone else sharing the same end goal.

God he was so stupid-

He knew he had to act. Fast. Despite his insecurities trying to convince him that you’d surely be better off with someone who didn’t stumble over their words, someone who was confident and could sweep you off your feet, he knew he would forever regret it if he didn’t at least try.

Even if the chances may be slim, he couldn’t live with himself if he lost the opportunity to make you his, especially if he lost it to his own mind.

You were just typing up a response to Park Seonghwa from HR, who had once again asked you to consider joining their team, when suddenly, a loud BANG startled you out of your thoughts. You joined some of your other coworkers in getting up from their seats to see what the commotion was about, and you couldn’t help a bright smile from lighting up your face the moment you saw Mingi standing in the doorway. Though your smile dropped just as quickly when you noticed the look of pure distress on his face, his eyes scanning across the room rapidly. The second your eyes met, he started hurriedly making his way over to you, ignoring any of the worried and questioning glances and occasional comments that people were throwing his way.

What was going on?

‘’Mingi, what-’’ your question was cut short when he gripped your shoulders the moment he reached your cubicle. He was panting, eyes blown wide and never leaving yours, as if he was afraid you’d disappear the moment he so much as blinked.

As if he was only now noticing the stares and whispers directed his way, he glanced around the room timidly. His nerves seemed to catch up with him, because he turned and went to leave as quickly as he’d arrived - if it hadn't been for your quick reflexes and your hand curling around his wrist, stopping him in his motion.

It took you gently calling his name a couple of times for him to finally turn around to face you again - and now you could see the sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

He was also avoiding eye contact.

Now you were really worried. Was he sick? Did something happen?

"Hey, what's wrong?'' No answer. ''You look really pale... are you not feeling well?"

When he stayed silent again, you brought one hand up to his forehead - an instinctive action for you, but definitely not what he’d expected, because his face quickly went from looking sickly pale to flushing a deep scarlet.

Your eyes widened when you noticed how warm his skin was, placing your other hand on one of his cheeks. "Mingi, you're burning up. Do you need to see a doctor?" When again he didn't answer, you turned to grab your things, preparing to carry this man to the nearest hospital if need be, but now it was his hand around your wrist that kept you from moving further.

You glanced from where he was touching you with a gentle yet desperate, clammy hand and back to his face, noting the panic in his eyes that were still refusing to meet your own.

Any stranger passing by would've assumed you were approaching a stray kitten, desperately trying not to scare it off, but you knew how much of a flight risk Mingi could be when things got too much to handle. "Hey, you know you can talk to me, right? I'm only trying to help you," you said with the gentlest voice you could muster despite your racing thoughts.

Yeah, that was the main problem, he thought, you're the only person who makes this job bearable, and I can't lose you by messing this up. You bring both your hands up to cup his cheeks when you notice the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill over.

"Hey, look at me.’’ you dipped your head trying to lure his eyes into meeting yours. ‘’You won't lose me. Why would you?’’ a gentle brush of your thumbs over his pretty cheekbones ‘’How could I make it through one day at this crappy office, with its crappy coffee and the crappy AC that’s broken more often than not, without you?"

Oh shit, his eyes widened even further. Did I say that out loud? Oh god-

He was about to bolt again, mentally calculating how long it would take him to make a detour to a wig store or a hairdresser on his way to the airport, determined to start over in a faraway country, when he involuntarily locked eyes with you. He never understood how you did it, and he was sure there was no possible scientific explanation for the effect you had on him, because the way your eyes, filled with nothing but kindness and understanding, always managed to calm him down instantly was nothing short of magical.

You had to be a heavenly being sent to look out for him - him, this mere human - and him alone. It was in this moment that he remembered what you'd told him time and time again. Realized that he really could say what had been running rampant in his mind for months now. Reminded himself that he could be open and vulnerable with you. You, who had never shown him anything but support and guidance, even when you were having a bad day yourself. Alright. You, who always managed to find a peaceful solution to any argument or tension that arose in the office… He'd be alright. You, who somehow didn't hold grudges even when people had wronged you. You'd both be alright.

You must've noticed the change in his demeanor, because your lips curled up into a small version of one of your beautiful smiles that he loved so much. Shit, he wouldn't be surprised if you could hear his pulse slowing down, his heart rate finally dropping to a point that wouldn't have sent an entire hospital wing into a panic had he been hooked up to a monitor, with news reporters flocking to his bed trying score an interview to find out how the hell he had managed to survive that.

So he closed his eyes, which were now stinging in protest to having been kept open wide for way too long, and took a deep, if shaky, breath.

That was all you, too. Your encouragement to face difficult situations despite every fiber of his being telling him to run. Your influence. You were the one who told him time and time again that things were going to be okay. You showed him that he was in control of his fate and his feelings, and that even when it felt like the whole world was against him, you'd be by his side. No wonder the HR department was desperate to get you to join them…

Mingi couldn't run away now if he tried. He owed you this much. If nothing else, he owed you an explanation, and honesty. He wanted to make you proud.

So with another deep breath, this one a little less shaky (the first one had you worried he might burst into full sobs at any second), he covered your hands in his much larger ones, pulled them from his face and intertwined your fingers with his between your bodies. When he finally opened his eyes again, they were full of determination.

This shift in tone, with him being calmer and more confident than you'd ever seen him, had you thankful for the grasp he had on you, needing his hands around yours in support as your breath hitched when you noticed the raw adoration in his gaze.

His voice, beautifully airy and deeper than you swore you'd ever heard it before, sent shivers down your spine. There was everything yet nothing as you got lost in his gorgeous, warm eyes, and now his voice too. You weren't in your office anymore. You were standing barefoot in a forest, surrounded by majestic trees and vibrant wildlife, a gentle breeze almost calling out your name. You were on a beach, the warm sand comforting between your toes, the waves softly crashing behind you, a pair of strong arms wrapped around your shoulders. You decided then and there that his eyes' gorgeous shade of brown was your new favorite color.

It took his voice calling your name softly to bring you back to the present moment, a bashful smile on his stupidly handsome face. Had he always been this pretty?

"Please tell me you heard what I just said?'' he asked shyly, knowing full well you'd completely spaced out.

"Uh..." You grimaced. At that, he couldn't help but turn his face downward as he murmured to himself, but you were so focused on him now that you had no trouble making out the words. "Oh my god, I can't believe you're making me do this again". He would've buried his face in his hands had they not been occupied with the much more important job of holding the world's greatest treasure.

He hadn't missed the way you'd gotten lost in his eyes, and it only fueled his confidence. He hoped that maybe, just maybe, it was the same way he’d been looking at you more often than not since he'd met you.

He took a deep breath. "I said..." he paused as he brought one of his hands up to your cheek, his other hand easily holding both of yours in their previous position.

You felt yourself blushing. Hard.

Stroking his thumb over your cheek gently, he continued "...that I like you. I like like you. No, scratch that -’’ a gentle shake of his head ‘’-I'm crazy about you.’’ His gaze dropped again as he started rambling. ‘’I hope this doesn't make things weird between us, and I'm so sorry if I read things wrong, and if y-" he started mumbling, nerves catching up to him again, insecurities trying to invade his mind and win back precious land. But you noticed. And you smiled at him in adoration, and squeezed his hand in reassurance. This made him look up at you again. You're going to be alright, you tried to convey with your eyes, we're going to be alright.

Another deep breath, followed by a lighthearted chuckle at his own antics.

"The point is, I really like you, a-and I would love to take you out on a date? O-only if you want to of co-" he couldn't finish the sentence, because you promptly freed your hands and grabbed his face again, pulling him down to you (what they fed him as a kid to get him so tall, you'd really have to ask his parents one day) and pressed your lips to his in a firm and reassuring kiss.

His eyes widened again, cheeks heating back up, but he melted into you as soon as the first shock wore off, arms wrapping around you almost on instinct. As if holding you was their only job, and what they were meant to be doing all his life. He pulled you up to his level seemingly without effort before getting lost in the next kiss. Feeling your fingers running through his hair, he groaned inwardly. Mingi could do this forever, and he would if you let him. He'd figure out a way to survive without oxygen. If not, he decided the team would be fine without him.

You only pulled apart when you noticed the cheers and clapping that had erupted around you, even the occasional wolf-whistle coming from your coworkers, most of who'd gotten up from their seats again, if they’d even settled down after the shock of Mingi’s arrival. You hadn't seen them this lively since the day your boss had ordered a coffee and snack truck to the parking lot in celebration of sealing a deal everybody had worked hard to finally make happen. The majority of them had their headsets still attached, and had you not been so ecstatic you would've felt bad for whoever was getting their ears damaged on the other end of their lines.

"About damn time, Song..."

"TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH!!

"He finally grew a pair!"

These were only some of the lines being thrown at the two of you that had you blushing furiously, and Mingi hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

You could've sworn you saw a few fist bumps and some money being passed around, but you decided not to dwell on it for your own sanity’s sake...

After the noise had mostly died down, Mingi put you back on your feet just so he could press his forehead to yours, both of your breaths mingling. Maybe oxygen wasn't so bad after all if he got to share it with you.

You almost missed the signature fake gagging sound of your most obnoxious co-worker, but before you could chase him off like you usually would when he started to tease you about the way you, in his words, "spent more time staring at Mingi than actually working", the telltale sound of a palm making not-so-gentle contact with the back of someone's head (and the dramatic pained yelp that followed) made you realize that your boss had already taken care of Wooyoung himself. You swore he kept an extra set of eyes on the mischievous man-child just so he wouldn't miss an opportunity to reprimand him.

The same boss who sent you a curt nod and a small smile, before telling “the two lovebirds" to get back to work. Though you knew that he’d want to have a word with Mingi later, seeing as how the force with which he’d slammed open the door must’ve left at least an indent on the wall behind it.

It was safe to say you didn't get much work done the rest of that day, but you also never had to eat lunch alone again, or walk to your car without a strong, loving hand holding your own...or drive to work yourself, really.

Even years later, with your left ring finger now permanently occupied, you loved to remind him how proud of him you were.

✨Lore time✨

Here's how everything started:

Bonus:

(I was, in fact, not almost done)

A loving shoutout to my dear friends for planting this idea in my head. And thank you to everyone who read through it and left valuable feedback - you know who you are 💜

©manipulatedstars 2023 - do not steal, copy, repost, translate or otherwise plagiarize my work. If you do, I'll eat all your cereal and pour milk in your shoes.

[justtwotired]

Whispers of the night - Lloyd Garmadon x F!reader

Part 1 - previous - next

Tag list: @cipheress-to-k-pop @whore-of-many-hot-men @bodieohbo @anyth1ngfor0urmoony @luvlloyd @viannasthings @beef-fajitas @bubblekitts

Help- trough this story I accidentally wrote ‘Millie’ and ‘Amelia’ as two different people, but they’re the same person because Millie is a nickname, so I had to rewrite sum scenes💀😭

also, sadly there isn't much Lloyd in here, mostly just y/n and friends, but no worries, next chapter will be Lloyd only.

I myself really hate this chapter, its badly written, some thing don’t really make sense, its just kinda.. idk I don’t like it but it’s long so I don’t want to rewrite it you know… also its been a while since I fed you guys a new chapter, sorry about that.

Your POV:

I yawned, covering my mouth with my hand as I put the last book I needed in my bag, standing in front of my locker. I took a quick glance in the mirror I had stuck to my locker door to check my hair and combed a quick hand trough it.

“You’re coming this evening too, right?” Amelia appeared by my side and I gave her a confused look, closing my locker.

“What’s this evening?” I asked, looking around at the others.

“Oh, party at Caleb’s house,” Flora informed. “Caleb Smith,” she clarified, before pointing a quick thumb at the boys who were watching a football game on Anthony’s phone. “They’re coming too,”

“Oh, yeah sure, I don’t have anything planned,” I agreed. “Most of the school coming I suppose?” I asked curiously and Flora shrugged.

“Well yes, but you can invite people if you want,” she explained, “I know that Charlie’s bringing one of his Basketball buddies and Arty’s invited a colleague from work,” she told me and I made an ‘o’ shape with my mouth.

“So it’s alright if I bring Lloyd along then?” I asked and she nodded along with Amelia.

“What, you’re bringing your boyfriend?” Charlie looked up. “As long as you two aren’t all over each other the whole time,” he pointed at me and I gave him a sceptical look and glanced down at the arm he had around Flora’s waist and then back at him.

“Right back at you,” I muttered and he quickly retracted the arm.

Flora hit his shoulder and glared at him. “She can bring her boyfriend and do couple stuff if she wants! It’s not like we aren’t,” she pointed out with a scowl and Charlie sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

“Yeah, yeah right,” he stumbled over his words, “whatever, I don’t care,” he looked the other way and Millie laughed at him.

“You over protective little shit,” she giggled and he shot her a glare which she ignored, me and Flora joining in on the giggling.

“What’s going on here?” Luna appeared and Millie jumped into explaining what happened.

“Oh please, like you two weren’t making out on the couch while we where hanging out last week,” she said annoyed and Flora quickly looked the other way while Charles turned bright red.

———

Lloyd picked up almost immediately when I called him, I was walking out of the school with the girls as we where going to get ready together at my house.

“Sweetheart,” he said the moment he picked up. “What is it?” He asked, he sounded a bit out of breath.

“Hi, babe, I was wondering if you could make it to a party me and my friends are going to, it’s mostly just kids from school, might get late,” I jumped right to the point but was disappointed when I heard a sigh in the other side.

“Sorry, love, I have patrol this evening,” he apologised, making me already shake my head to the others and bite my lip in disappointment, just humming in acknowledgment. “I’ll see if I’m able to pop in later in the night, I suppose you’ll be there until late?”

I smiled lightly at the idea of him maybe showing up anyway. “Yeah, I think ill be there until maybe two,” I told him.

“Alright then, maybe I’ll join you. Otherwise I’ll make sure I’ll sleep at yours tonight,” he promised making my smile grow.

“Yes please, see you tonight then,” I said happily and heard him lightly chuckle.

“See you tonight, love you,” he said before hanging up the phone.

“So, he’s coming?” Luna asked and I shook my head.

“Just maybe later in the night,” I told them and Millie gave me a confused look.

“You hung up the phone as if you where sure he was coming though, you said ‘see you tonight’” she frowned a bit and I shrugged.

“He’s sleeping over at mine, so regardless of him being at the party or no, I’ll see him,” I explained, making Mills wiggle her eyebrows at me.

“Oh, he’s sleeping over,” she said suggestively making Luna giggle. “Any plans?” She asked, winking at me.

“Oh leave her alone, Lloyd and N/n should go at their own pace without you guys interfering,” Flora scolded with an amused smile.

“But we want to hear the stories of her getting laid!” Luna cried dramatically. “It’ll be her first time and I want to know, besides, we all know Lloyd is here to stay, so it has to happen sooner or later,” she insisted.

“Oh, please, let the girl have her innocence,” Flora waved it off while I just kept my mouth shut.

“N/n you’ve been awfully quiet,” Amelia pointed out and I just stared at the pavement with bright red cheeks. “Awe, don’t be embarrassed,” she giggled, putting an arm around me, but Luna halted.

“Y/n,” she said with a look of disbelief on her face, I avoided her eyes, pursing my lips. “Is there something you need to tell us?” She asked and I had trouble hiding my smile.

“No, no way!” Millie jumped up and down in excitement while Flora just squealed really loudly.

“I’ll tell you when we are in my room,” I mumbled with bright red cheeks and a smile, making them all cheer in happiness.

———

Flora laid giggling on my bedroom floor while Luna and Millie where watching me with open mouths from my closet, both looking for clothes they could borrow from me.

“I’m going to teach Charlie how to do that,” Flora decided trough her giggles and the next sound was a gagging noice from Amelia.

“Look, I get it, the tongue thing is hot, but to thought about you and Charlie- no, absolutely not,” she closed the closet door and we could hear Luna burst out laughing from behind it. Probably something Amelia had whispered.

“Once Mills gets a girlfriend, she’ll get us,” Flora told me making me chuckle and continue brushing my hair.

“Anyway, what happened next?” She asked making me playfully roll my eyes, but I continued anyway, Luna joining us now wearing one of my dresses.

“You love that dress don’t you?” I asked so the a smirk, having seen her wear it multiple times now.

“It’s just so pretty!” She insisted. It was a black sleeveless dress, it was tight at the top but had a flowy skirt that stopped at the knees. “Also, I love spinning in this thing, look,”

She didn’t quick spin and Flora wolf whistled while Luna giggled and did a quick bow.

“You can have it if you want, I’m pretty sure I don’t fit it anymore,” I turned around in my chair. “It was my favourite at some point, but my boobs got to big. But it looks amazing on you, you should have it,” I said and her eyes lit up immediately.

“N/n, I love you so much!” She squealed and quickly ran over to give me a hug, making me chuckle.

“Think of it as a thank you for buying cans of soda for me everyday,” I winked and she chuckled and hugged me again. It had kind of become a habbit for Luna to buy me soda everyday, because I always asked for it since she walked past the supermarket on her way to school. I paid her back with lunch at a cafe in town and presents such as this.

“Forget the dress, you where about to continue the story,” Flora whined and Lu and I shot her a look.

“Well, after… that, we kind of stopped, he helped me put on his shirt, then he quickly put on his boxers we cleaned up a bit and then we just cuddled until we fell asleep,” I explained. “It was really sweet, I was scared it was going to be awkward but it wasn’t at all,” I smiled down at the ground, playing with my fingers.

The girls awe’d and then Millie came bursting trough the door.

“He didn’t leave in the middle of the night right?” She asked, pointing a finger at me. “If he did I’m going to whoop his ass, he should’ve been there in the morning,” she insisted.

I awkwardly smiled, remembering the poor lad that ended up with a black eye when he had left Luna in the middle of the night. They had eventually talked about, he was just nervous.

Millie didn’t take any of his crap…

“No, he was there,” I reassured. “We talked and joked a bit in the morning and then he made breakfast for the two of us before going home again,”

Flora squealed and squeezed Luna’s hand, who had to pull away because it was starting to hurt.

“Yeah, he better,” Amelia nodded making the others laugh.

“What did you joke about?” Luna asked, walking over to have a quick look in the mirror and apply some makeup.

“Well, I complained about having to cover up the hickeys on my neck, and when he suggested that he wouldn’t do it again, I got flustered and mad and he just giggled and eventually I laughed along,” I explained to them.

“Hickeys on your neck? I don’t see any,” Millie pulled my hair aside and inspected it, making me give her a look and then she smirked in realisation. “Illusion?” She asked and I nodded, allowing for them to see it.

They all stared at me with shit eating grins and continued to tease me for the remaining of the time we got ready.

———

After that, we all finished up our makeup and hair before heading out the door, Malcolm being so kind to drive us to the party.

The girls thanked him when we arrived and I promised him to text him when we were done so he could pick us up and bring us home.

“Be safe!” He called after me and I smiled at him.

“We will!” I said before entering the driveway. My friends were waiting at the door, waiting for me before ringing the doorbell, we were a bit late but it seemed like there weren’t many people yet

“Finally,” Charlie gave us a look after he had opened the door. “Weve been waiting for ages,”

He then pulled Flora towards him, kissing her forehead. “You guys are late,” he gave Millie a pointed look, knowing that it probably was because she had to go to the bathroom last minutes and he was right.

“Sorry,” she grumbled. “When I have to go, I go,” she stated and then stuck out her tongue at Charlie who did it right back.

“Children, children,” Antony appeared. “Come on you guys, we want to start monopoly,” he pulled open the door further and the five of us left the hallway.

“Guys, this is Mathew, my buddy from basketball,” Charlie introduced and pointed at a tall guy, pouring a drink for himself, standing at a high table with bottles on it.

“Sup,” he greeted, we awkwardly said hi back, against populair believe, we were rather socially awkward, at least the music in the background didn’t cause for an awkward silence.

“Oh, and this is Aaron,” Arthur appeared out of the doorway that led to the kitchen, followed by another guy.

“Nice to meet you all,” he greeted, his eyes quickly traveling over us, stopping on me, as a small smirk appeared on his lips. “Very nice,” he said making my eyes shoot to Luna’s, then to Amelia’s and right next to Flora.

“Hi,” I plainly said and turned my back, looking over at Antony. “So, you said we were playing monopoly,” I grinned and he huffed.

“No,” he shook his head, “I just said that so Amelia would get her ass over here, we’ve waited long enough,” he said making the girl give him an offended look.

“You little-” Tony was given no warning when she jumped at him, they stumbled and the others laughed while Amelia tried getting him onto the ground and horribly failing.

“You suck,” James laughed when Amelia laid flat on her back, Anthony still standing.

“Shut the fuck up,” she panted. “I am no Y/n, besides, Ant is a head taller and way stronger, I’m surprised I lasted as long as I did,” she smiled rather proudly.

“Then why did you attack me in the first place,” Antony asked, rubbing his arm when she’d accidentally scratched him with her nails.

“You were bing a dick,” she shrugged making Arthur snort, resorting in him getting hit on the head by his twin.

“Now go on, sit down, grab a drink, be fun,” James dragged me to the floor to sit next to him and I scoffed but sat down on the ground anyway.

“I’ll grab drinks, what do you want?” Luna looked at me and then Millie and Flora.

“Just get me a water to start,” Flora smiled softly.

“Cola mixed with vodka, you know how I like it,” I told her and she nodded and then looked at Millie, who still laid on the ground.

“Just a beer,” she said and Luna nodded before heading to the kitchen. “If we’re not playing monopoly, then what are we doing?” Amelia asked.

“Whatever you want that’s not monopoly,” Charlie said, making her glare at him, causing him to smirk. “We can watch a movie, go outside Caleb’s starting a fire, put on some better music, play any other game, a drinking game, anything,” he named and Amelia sat up.

“Truth or drink it is,” she said, making Charlie groan.

“No,” he whined but she crossed her arms.

“You said anything but monopoly and suggested a drinking game, here you go, truth or drink,” she grinned and he glared at her.

“It’s so lame!” He complained, followed by agreements from most of us, causing Amelia to huff and roll her eyes.

“I don’t mind it,” we looked at the twins as they gave each other a surprised side eye for a second before ignoring the fact they spoke in sink.

“That’s because you don’t care and just say everything,” Charlie pointed at Arthur. “And you can hold your liquor like a champion and just do shots every chance you get,” he looked at Anthony who smirked.

“We’re playing truth or drink?” Luna entered the room aswel and there was a chorus of no’s and yes’.

“Ah, come on, it could be fun,” Mathew, Charlie’s basketball buddy spoke up. “Besides, maybe me and Aaron can get to know you guys then,” he smiled slightly.

It took a few minutes of bribery and begging, but eventually everyone was on board, even Charlie.

“Alright, so we’re just going around the circle?” Flora asked and everyone nodded. The game had already been set up, everyone had their own shot glasses and some liquor bottles stood on the table the group sat around.

“James, truth or drink, who in the group would you kiss without question?” Arthur didn’t waste a second, making James look up offended.

“Why immediately start with me?” He asked, looking around the group for support.

“Oh don’t be a baby,” I teased. “Truth or drink?” I repeated and he groaned. “Also, Art, lame ass question, but that doesn’t matter,”

My last remark was met with a pillow thrown against my head and laughs around the table.

“Chop chop, answer the question,” Luna hurried and James rolled his eyes before looking around the group for a second.

“Y/n, probably, or Lu,” he thought for a bit. “But that’s because I’ve known them for years and I’ve kissed both of them before,” he explained and Anthony gasped, putting a hand against his chest.

“Not me?” He asked ‘hurt’, blinking innocently at James. “How could you?” He said dramatically.

“Oh, any day bro,” James blew him a kiss, causing Anthony to wink at him.

“And they’re still beating the gay allegations,” Amelia shook her head. “I’m so done with you two,” she grumbled, causing the group to chuckle.

“Next,” James stopped Amelia’s complaining. “Luna, was it you that snuck into my house three years ago, stealing all my boxers?” He asked and without hesitation, Luna poured a shot, making me and Amelia giggle.

It did leave Mathew and Aaron with lots of questions, causing James to go into detailed explanation that someone snuck into his house in the middle of the night, stole all his boxers and decorated the school with them.

He never found out who did it, but he had his suspicions…

It had been me and Luna, sneaking into his house while Amelia waited outside for us, standing ‘on guard’ as she’d called it.

We never admitted it and it did leave Jamie rather confused.

The game went on for a while and I did enjoy it, the party got more crowded and two other girls had decided on joining us aswel. I knew them only from history class, but I liked them so I didn’t mind.

Soon enough though, I started to get a bit uncomfortable with this Aaron.

He asked the girls weird questions, except for Flora, probably because Charlie was in the room. He kept glancing at me and one of the other girls, places where he should not be looking.

Luna, Amelia and Flora noticed it too, yet the boys where to blind as always. I’m pretty sure the other two girls saw it to as I noticed their exchange of glances and whispers to each other.

It was Amelia who was the first to speak up.

“Hey, if appreciate it if you stopped staring at N/n’s boobs, thank you,” she interrupted Arthur’s sentence as she stared at Aaron with a scowl.

“Calm down, I’m just looking,” Aaron smirked slightly. “I’m a man, if she has her tits on display like that, I’m going to look,”

My eyes widened and I instinctively looked at James who saw red.

“Dude no,” Arthur, who sat next to him and had been the one to bring him spoke up first. “I will not have you talking to her, or any girl for that matter like that, stop looking at her,” he stated, glaring at the guy next to him.

“Chill, dude, I’m just joking,” Aaron laughed and winked at me.

Amelia didn’t take two seconds to stand up but Anthony was faster and stopped her before she did anything.

“Let’s go outside,” he looked around at the others that belonged to our group. “The lot of us,” he said and took Amelia with him as he left.

James helped me up from the ground and we left too, along with Mathew and the two other girls decided on following aswel.

Arthur stayed behind, I guessed he was going to have a word with Aaron. I exchanged glances with him before going outside and he gave me a small smile.

Outside, the cold air did do me good and it felt good to feel the breeze against my sweaty face.

“What a weirdo,” Luna said when we all stood around one of the fires.

“Yes, I totally agree,” one of the girls spoke up. “I mean, we joined because we saw ya’ll where having fun, but then we noticed how he looked at you,” she nodded at me, “and he looked at Katie,” she gestured to her friend. “And the inappropriate questions he asked us girls,” she gestured around to the girls around the fire.

“That was actually not okay, maybe we should look for Caleb and ask him to kick the dude out or something,” Charlie suggested, wrapping his arms around Flora who was shivering because of the cold.

“Maybe we should just let it be,” I said while looking at the ground, my arms wrapped around myself to get rid of the cold. “It could cause trouble and mess with the vibe hanging around,”

“Yes, but there’s still a creep wandering around a party and almost no one knows him,” James argued causing the other girl to pipe up.

“We’re in Caleb’s friend group, we could inform him of what’s happening and ask him to keep an eye out,” she suggested with a smile.

“We know tons of people, we can just spread the word, maybe it’ll cause him to leave on his own,” the other one nodded in agreement.

“If you don’t mind,” Flora, ever so kind smiled at them. “We don’t want it to ruin your night,”

“Nah, it’s fine, we’ll go look for Caleb, thanks for the fun,” one of them said and they left while waving at us.

“Thank you guys too, bye,” Luna waved before looking at me. “How are you feeling?” She asked, “we can leave if you want,”

“Yeah, maybe that’s better,” Millie agreed, giving me a pittiful look.

“Aye, it’s not that bad, let’s just enjoy the night that remains,” I assured. “Besides, I’m not letting an asshole like him ruin my night,” I huffed making the others chuckle.

“That’s the spirit,” Arthur appeared next to me. “I tolt Aaron off and told him it’d be better if he left, he refused and I can’t exactly kick him out, so I just told him to leave us alone,” he explained.

“Yeah that’s fine,” Amelia nodded. “The girls that were with us are informing Caleb and a few others of the situation,” she explained to him and he nodded along.

“Good,” he stated. “Anyone wanting some drinks? I’ll get them,” he looked around while everyone gave their orders.

“Just a water for me, the shots are getting to me,” I grinned and he huffed a small laugh but agreed anyway.

“I’ll come with you,” Anthony said and then twins walked off to pour the lot of us drinks.

“Is Lloyd coming?” James asked me and I shook my head.

“I don’t think so, he send me a text an hour ago saying he probably wasn’t going to make it,” I told them, a tiny bit upset, but it was fine. “Lucky for Aaron though, I’m not sure his teeth would’ve survived,” I had a small grin on my face.

“What? You’re saying Lloyd would’ve beat him up?” Amelia asked amused and I chuckled.

“Not beat him up per se,” I said with a laugh. “Just punch him or something, he does have quite the temper, but I think it would only happen if he’s in a bad mood already,”

“Damn, I would pay to see your boyfriend beat up a guy for you, it’d be funny as hell,” Luna grinned and I shot her a quick look.

The group fell in easy conversation, Millie telling us a bout the new school gossip.

“Are you alright?” I looked to my side to see James growing ever so slightly. “You seem uncomfortable,” he looked down at my arms that were trying to cover my lower stomach.

“Just a bit,” I answered honestly, “he was staring a lot,” I swallowed thickly and James smiled before taking of his jacket and putting it around my shoulders.

“I expect to get that back,” he warned me and I smiled at him and put my arms trough the jacket.

“I’ll make sure of it,” I promised before retiring my attention to Amelia.

———

After a few minutes the twins returned with the drinks and handed them out. We stood around the fire for an hour and it was quite fun.

At one point someone gave us a bag of marshmallows and some sticks so we could hold them over the fire. We thanked him and it did end up in a bit of a fight.

That translates to, the boys started throwing them and it ended up with James almost landing in the fire.

(Flora told them off, the mother she is)

“Hey, Mills,” Amelia looked up when Anthony called her name and then looked in the direction he had nodded with a wicked grin.

She quickly looked back at us with wide eyes and a red face. Around one of the other fires, her crush was talking with her friends.

“She’s so pretty,” she whispered yelled to us. “Look at her dress,” she bounce up and down and we all laughed.

“Go ask her out,” Luna bumped her own shoulder against Amelia’s.

“What- no! Are you crazy? I barely know her,” she whispered and Anthony rolled his eyes.

“C’mon, I know some of her friends, I’ll get you that date,” he took her arm to start walking towards the others but she backtracked.

“Wow, wow, wow,” she looked at him with wide eyes. “Give me a second,” she said sassily. “How does my hair look?” She turned to me and did a quick spin.

“It looks fine, nothing to worry about,” I assured.

“My makeup?” She asked, bringing her face closer to mine.

“A bit smudged, there’s mascara under your left eye- wait no don’t panick,” I looked at Flora who was already digging in her purse.

“Here,” she handed me some cotton swabs and makeup remover.

Within one minute, Millie was ready to go and she was a nervous wreck.

“Shots for good luck,” James said and took the bottle we had left on the grass and poured a shot for Amelia and Anthony. They clinked their glasses together before throwing back the shot and leaving the group.

“She’s so gonna get laid,” James smirked proudly and then pretended to wipe away a tear making Luna push him lightly.

“Stop it,” she scolded and he grinned at her.

“You know how got laid,” Flora spoke and my eyes widened slightly when she looked at me, my cheeks heating up.

“Shush,” I said with a small smirk and couldn’t say anything else because James squealed loudly.

“You know, I am so proud of you, you are finally growing up,” he said emotionally and hugged me.

“Are you actually crying?” I asked when I felt him sobbing, and I put my arms around him.

“Leave me alone,” he whined and we laughed at him.

“I think the alcohol is getting to you, Jamie,” I said and he pulled away from me, putting me at arms length.

“You think?” He yelled. “I’m never emotional,” he whined and then let himself fall into the grass, which I was pretty sure was wet.

“Get up Jamie, you’re going to get sick,” I took his hand, trying to pull him up but he wouldn’t budge. “Jamie?” I asked but he didn’t answer.

“Is he asleep?” Charlie asked amused and I groaned when I realised he was right.

I was about to wonder aloud how we would wake him, when Luna came with the solution. Without a doubt, she poured her glass of water over James’ face and he shot up, giving her a deadly look.

“Goodmorning,” she greeted with a fake sweetness in her voice.

James pouted at her and she sighed. “Go get this guy a glass of water,” she groaned and Charlie laughed and helped James up.

“Me and Flora are leaving anyway, she’s cold and tired, I’ll take James with me, he can crash at mine,” he suggested and we agreed.

“Are you walking home?” Arthur asked and Charles nodded.

“Yeah, it’s like five minutes,” he shrugged and then looked at James who was drunkenly staring up at the sky. “Maybe ten,” he said in a pained voice making us laugh.

We said our goodbyes, I gave Flora a hug and then the three of them headed inside to get some water and then leave trough the front door.

A few minutes later a notification popped up on our screens and it was Flora who sent her location like we all promised we would do after leaving a party split into groups or alone.

“What’s the time?” I asked Luna who glanced at her phone.

“Almost half past one,” she answered and I pursed my lips.

“Half an hour and then go home?” I suggested and she nodded.

“Fine by me,” she then glanced at Amelia who was seemingly going well with her crush. They where talking and laughing while Anthony observed like a proud dad. “Don’t know about her though,” she said amused.

“Don’t worry about her, you girls go home, me and Tony will make sure Millie gets home safe,” Arthur promised.

“Though, if she’s lucky she’s going home with someone else tonight,” Mathew grinned when he looked back at the girl.

Luna and I giggled while Arthur let out an amused laugh.

We spent the remaining half hour finishing our drinks while tagging along with a group who where watching a football game inside.

Mathew and I had no idea what was going on, but we just decided to cheer whenever Lu and Arthur cheered.

After that, Lu and I said goodbye to the two boys and went to find Amelia. That wasn’t too difficult because she was right where we left her.

“Millie,” I tapped her shoulder and she turned to me. She seemed rather alright, I was pretty sure she didn’t drink any alcohol since leaving our side. “I’ve called Malcolm and he’s coming to get Lu and me, are you joining us or are you going with the twins?” I asked and she contemplated for a bit and looked back at the girl in front of us.

“I think I’ll stay for a bit longer,” she said and I nodded as she gave me a rather excited smile.

“Yeah, that’s fine, just text the group chat when you guys get home and call me if you need anything,” I gave her a quick side hug and waved at the girl she was talking to before both me and Lu left.

When we closed the front door, Malcolm was already pulling up and I sent my location in the group the moment we where safe in the car.

We dropped of Luna at her house before driving home ourselves.

I was gonna hate myself in the morning.

Malcolm, the sweetheart he is, helped me up the stairs to my bedroom and then wished me a goodnight.

I quickly discarded my dress and heels and then just pulled one of Lloyd’s hoodies over my head before dropping into bed and drifting off to sleep.

I sleepily opened my eyes when someone planted a kiss on my forehead and got into bed with me, pulling me into his arms before I drifted off again.

[maybeitsalivescribbles]

VH - Meet the Wife

Vampire Hero was insufferable. All his foes agreed on that.

So, after Supervillain escaped, the first thing he wanted was revenge. It was easy to locate Hero – it was not like this smug bastard was hiding. Currently, Supervillain was watching him by one of the windows of his home.

It was a nice scene, if a tad melodramatic. Hero was sitting by the bed – and yes, he was kneeling – holding the hand of a pretty woman who didn’t react. Supervillain knew that she wouldn’t. He had made an inquiry about her. She was Hero’s wife, and she'd been cursed.

“It’s a sleeping spell, and it’s not curable for now”, he’d heard from one of Hero’s colleagues. “She’s only awake one or two hours, poor guy. He basically turned good for her sake.”

Supervillain’s reasoning was simple. If you couldn’t attack your foe directly, you went for the weak spot. A hero annoys you, you kill his wife, the hero goes mad with grief, that was a classical story. He had a nice view from the window. She really looked like one of these virginal princesses you see in these old fairy tales books. It was not hard to imagine the girl with her hands clasped, pleading for the life of the innocents until her man relented. Yes, it would be fun to rip her into pieces.

After a while, Hero went off. Breaking into the place after that was easy. Supervillain opened the door, checked a couple of rooms, and smiled. He didn’t have to be careful. Even if the wife would wake up, she looked frail even wrapped in blankets. He tilted his head, looked at her, wondered if that was worth gloating when no one could hear him, then shrugged and stabbed his victim.

“Zdiiiiiiiingbonnng”

Supervillain’s eyebrow went up his hairline. He removed the blankets, leaving the body covered with only a silk gown, and tried again. The result was the same. The dress was damaged, but the blade bounced on the skin. Supervillain squinted.

Two purple eyes slowly blinked and stared at him. A skinny hand brushed over the hole in her dress. The wife yawned.

“Are you the delivery man ?” she asked.

Supervillain straightened up.

“I’ve come to deliver a message to your husband”, he answered. “I will not rest until I’m avenged.”

“Avenged ? You didn’t get a tip ?”

“I’m your husband’s mortal foe.”

She laughed.

“No, you’re not. You’re food.”

She opened her mouth, and Supervillain just had time to see a glint of her razor-sharp teeth before she bit his neck. That didn’t last long. After the first sip, she rejected him with disgust. Her thin arms threw him away much farther than the laws of physics should have permitted. He landed in the middle of the room, and not too softly.

“How dare you,” she said with a voice low enough to make the ground shiver. “You’re not even worth eating. A couple of centuries ago, young man, I wouldn’t even have wanted your head in a spike near my castle.”

Supervillain crawled back in the direction of the main door. She stepped towards him with as much enthusiasm as one would throw the trash out, but she stopped. Her eye had caught a note stuck on the fridge. Supervillain squinted. The note said: “Please don’t kill or maim in the house sweetheart ♡ (because of my job)”

The wife clucked her tongue and sighed, but reluctantly stayed still. Supervillain’s pride got the better of him. He stood up, dusting his cape, squared his shoulders and groaned:

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with. You might be strong, but I’ve wiped out cities. Once the country was nearly in my grasp. It takes talent. It takes guts. It takes more than powers that were given to you on a silver plate.”

“Nearly ?”

She gave him a look of absolute contempt and went back to bed:

“Don’t boast about your failures, little man, and leave me be.”

Incredulous, he watched her getting back to sleep, putting on her face something to shield her eyes from the light. It looked like a mask, and not a normal sleep mask, but a huge, heavy thing that glittered. As a vampire, he supposed she didn’t need to breathe, but still, it didn’t look comfortable. He stepped forward to take a better look. It was in metal all right, and it was a grimacing face of a demon.

His blood ran cold. He already saw that mask. It was depicted on a book he had as a teen, about the dark and evil rulers of the ancient times. “The Iron Death”, said the legend. “The gory story of an evil empress who drowned her captives in the blood of their subjects, and sought to be turned into a vampire so she would keep her empire forever.”

He shook his head in disbelief. It was an old tale, a story from at least a couple of centuries ago. And the Iron Death had been vanquished by a vampire hunter who had...oh.

Who had put her to sleep eternally.

He suddenly felt a drop of sweat on his forehead, but he grunted for good measure:

“Right. Like I’m going to believe that. Where’s your consort, Iron Death? Where’s your cruel prince who tortured for his entertainment?”

“The Hero agency offered him money to look after me if he worked for them”, answered the low voice of the lady. “My poor darling didn’t enjoy the scream of his victims as much as before. He’s changed his hobbies. You do that after a while. But I didn’t. Get out.”

Supervillain ran.

*

Vampire Hero is now a recurring character. His job is to troll current villains. (Yes, I know he technically doesn't appear here, but it still counts.) Check the Vampire Hero Masterlist or Tag for more snippets with him.

[berenwrites]

Revelation - Stranger Things - Steddie - G

Rating: G | cw: none | tags: pre-steddie, bisexual steve harrington

Prompt: Love is being terrified but not letting that stop you from taking a leap (@unclewaynemunson)

A/N: Written for @steddielovemonth day 3. Missed day 2 because I was too busy, so I didn’t get it finished, but here it goes for day 3.

Also on AO3 | All my other Stranger Things Fic

Revelation :A Heart-stopping Reality

It was not a day for revelations. It was a day for relaxing in the sun with friends and letting the world go by. Steve was not prepared for anything else.

He had been sitting on a sun lounger watching Nancy dunking Jonathan in the pool while Eddie and Argyle sat on the side talking about something when it had hit him. All he’d been doing was comparing Eddie’s scars to his own in his head, thinking about how they matched in a couple of places. A perfectly innocent thought.

At least it had started that way.

He’d started wondering if Eddie’s scars were as sensitive as his own, what they would feel like under his fingers. What it would feel like to have Eddie touch his.

And now here he was sitting on his bathroom floor trying not to freak out.

“Steve, what’s wrong?”

Robin had to be standing in his bedroom. He’d managed to make it into the house without drawing much attention to himself, but she had been in the kitchen and, of course, she’d clocked him straight away. He’d made a dash for the stairs, but she’d clearly followed him.

“Steve, I don’t like it when you go quiet.”

She really did sound worried.

“You can come in,” he said, even as he mentally flailed.

Robin stepped into the bathroom, took one look at him, and immediately closed the door behind her again. Without a word she crossed the distance between them and sat down right next to him.

“Want to talk about it?” she asked.

It wasn’t demanding, just a question, and he felt something tight release a little in his chest. This was Robin, the person he told everything to. The person who told him everything too. The person he could embarrass by saying the word ‘boobies’, but who asked him to help her pick out her outfit, including underwear, for her first date with Vickie. The only reason Vickie wasn’t at his house today was because she had been dragged on vacation by her parents.

He took a deep breath. It was supposed to be calming, but it didn’t help that much.

“I think,” he started to say and stopped for a few moments. “I think,” he began again, “I might have a thing for Eddie.”

His heart hammered as he said it out loud and for the first time, he really appreciated how brave Robin had been in that bathroom in Starcourt mall. He knew Robin, she was his platonic soulmate, and admitting what he was thinking out loud was terrifying. They had only been work colleagues who had become begrudging friends when she came out to him. How she had had the courage, he couldn’t comprehend.

“Our Eddie?” Robin checked as if she didn’t quite believe what she had heard. “Hyperactive metal head, pariah turned hero of this town. That Eddie?”

He nodded.

“I wondered how his scars feel and what it would feel like if he touched mine and then it hit me that I’ve been thinking things like that a lot lately,” he admitted quietly, “and maybe I want to kiss him too.”

“And how does that make you feel?” Robin asked, reaching out and taking his hand.

“Terrified,” he said as his stomach flip-flopped yet again. “Have I been lying to myself my whole life?”

She squeezed his fingers gently.

“Thank you for telling me,” she said, leaning in close. “You know it’s okay to have a thing for girls and boys, right?”

Little rivulets of cold shock lanced through his chest.

“What?” was the best he could do.

“Remember I told you about Bowie, how he identified as bisexual?” Robin said.

“That time I had the really bad nightmare and you biked over?” he asked, because he vaguely remembered the conversation.

“Yeah,” she said with a nod. “That’s what bisexual means, liking boy and girls. Did I not explain it properly. God I am such a bad queer.”

“You probably did,” he interrupted her, before she could berate herself too much, “but I was running on about two hours sleep in three days. I probably missed it.”

He’d had a bit of a rough patch around Halloween the previous year. Too many memories and too many changes going on around him. It had brought all the nightmares back.

“And I just rambled at you,” Robin said, looking down.

“I love it when you ramble,” he assured her. “Helps get me out of my head. So, bisexual?”

“Yep,” she said, popping the ‘p’.

“But I’ve never…” he started to say. “At least I don’t think I have. Eddie is the first.”

“Bisexuals don’t have to like girls and boys equally,” Robin explained. “Maybe Eddie just pushes your buttons. I mean I’m not saying you have a type, but dark curly hair, big expressive eyes definitely do it for you. There’s Nancy for one, and you’ve only been even vaguely serious about one person since last summer and that was Melanie, who also had dark curls and big brown eyes. Or maybe it’s the whole you carried him out of hell thing that’s woken up that side of you. Just believe me when I say, there’s nothing wrong with what you are feeling.”

Steve took a shuddering breath. He had really needed to hear that.

“So, how do you feel now?” Robin asked after a few moments.

“Still terrified,” he admitted, but managed to give her a small smile, “but maybe a little better.”

“And what do you want to do now?” she asked. “Do you want to freak out a bit more up here? Do you want to go back down? I can kick them all out if you need space.”

He drew in another deep, stuttering breath as he considered her words.

“I think,” he said eventually, “I want to go down there and kiss him senseless until he doesn’t know what hit him.”

Robin blinked at him.

“Actually,” she said after a moment, “that is a very you reaction. Just maybe, ask first, yeah?”

“You think he’ll say yes?” he asked, stomach twisting yet again.

“Given the way he watches your ass, I think you might have a chance,” Robin replied. “I mean on an aesthetic level you do have a great ass, so there’s a small possibility it’s just hypnotising, but I’m more on the he wants a piece of that side of the fence.”

“You’re not joking?” Steve checked.

“About something this important, I would never,” Robin assured him in her most serious tone.

“Do you think he’s bisexual too?” Steve asked.

“Could be gay,” Robin pointed out.

“No, we’ve talked about girls,” he said, “and I don’t think he’d be that great an actor when he’s high.”

“Then could be,” Robin agreed, “but you do remember you have three other people down there, right?”

He did, so he nodded. That actually helped in a bizarre sort of way. Now he needed a plan to get Eddie alone, which gave him something else to think about. There was the gut-wrenching possibility that Eddie would reject him, after all he didn’t have the best track record with relationships even if Eddie did swing that way, but now he had a glimmer of hope. It was enough to cut a small path through the almost overwhelming fear.

It would hurt if Eddie did turn him down because he was all too aware his heart was already in this. It’s what made it quite so frightening. He hadn’t even realised he was falling, but he was self-aware enough to know he was way past a simple crush.

Maybe someone else would have taken the time to think it all through, but Steve wasn’t really a thinker, he was a doer. He knew only too well, if he wasn’t careful, he could think himself into a hole that was very difficult to climb out of, so he tended to act first, over-think later. He’d been terrified for a good percentage of his life since 1983. This was a different kind of fear, but he hadn’t let the first one stop him, so this one wasn’t going to either.

“Thanks, Robs,” he said, doing his best to give her the patented Harrington smile.

He could tell she saw straight through it, but she smiled back anyway.

“Go get ‘im, Tiger,” were her words of wisdom.

All my other Stranger Things Fic

[princessmadafu]

The Scobie Roadshow Slithers on...

There are better writers than I am who have already covered a lot of this week's Scobie Doo-Doo, but there is an area where I am well qualified to comment. I worked for many years as a multilingual researcher and translator. I worked with authors, TV shows, even a couple of movie producers. Oh and I translated medical reports for holiday-makers who'd had emergency treatment in Spain, which sometimes got a bit weird and once involved a bunch of daffodils.

When you're translating, the golden rule is: you are not allowed to change, add or omit anything, ANYTHING, that isn't in the original manuscript. Under pain of being sued for thousands of dollars. Changes, additions and omissions lie solely with the author, his editors and his publishers.

So why isn't Scobie suing his Dutch translators if the doo-doo is all their fault?

Let me think...

Answer: It's not their fault, they translated what they were given. No changes, no additions, no omissions.

Why isn't he suing his editors and publishers? Erm... I think money might come into that one. Massive, and possibly carefully calculated, publicity to enrich the Scobie by spreading the doo-doo.

As a translator, you receive the manuscript. You read it through in its entirety, several times, to get the feel for the author, his style, his grammar, his idio- idiopsycho- idiopsychosyncracies- wait, I'm good at my job - his pet peeves! And you make notes on how to replicate all this and reproduce his doo-doo in a different language. You print off a working draft of the original doo-doo, with additional spacing to allow for your careful thoughts (I'm old-fashioned, I like to do this bit with a pencil; the young ones probably do it all on computer these days) and you translate all the easy stuff you can do off the top of your head. Then you go through it again, filling in the worrying bits, usually with an assistant, editor or other colleague, and working on the style, grammar, punctuation, cliches, idioms and colloquialisms etc etc etc, always aiming to reproduce the author's authentic voice without getting too hung up on what a nasty piece of work you're dealing with.

You type up your final draft and submit it to the publisher. The whole process takes months of careful work, checking and double-checking and triple-checking.

There's no way the two names are there by accident.

On the positive side, Scobie's doo-doo has hit the fan and splattered right back in his face. He may think his face is so plastic and cleanable with a wet-wipe that the doo-doo will just slide off, but I don't see that happening. He's annoyed too many people.

Meanwhile the Montecito Twosome remain as Gruesome as ever. Shall we have a good pray for their well-being? Three, two, one...

OK, so that's a No then!

[lust4life01]

Promise You'll Remember That You're Mine.

Warning- Cheating, forbidden romance, mentions of blood, FUTURE smut!

Pairing: David Loki x f/reader

Summary: You were working your average night shift at the hospital when a dishevelled handsome man came in with a small girl in his arms yelling for help. Turns out he was far more than a patient.

The night was hectic as usual in the emergency room, if it wasn’t drunken assholes who had their faces smashed in by another drunken asshole, it was some ten year old kid who had broken their leg playing ice hockey.

Your shift was almost over for the night when you heard a man crying out for assistance in the lobby of the hospital. You didn’t have anything to attend to at that moment so you rushed over to help. By the time you had gotten there you saw a group of your colleagues rushing to help a young blonde girl who had now been placed on a bed and was in the process of being wheeled down the corridor. After managing to pull your eyes away from the poor girl you noticed your boss who was helping the man sit down in one of the lobby chairs.

He started to check his eyes with a flashlight and you stepped closer to see if he wanted anything done to help at all.

“Sir? Is there anything you need me to do?”

The man in the chair looked up at you after hearing your voice. His head, face and eyes were covered in blood but he somehow looked eerily familiar. The way his eyes lingered on yours for a second, it seemed like he might have felt the same about you. However the gaping wound on his temple seemed to be a more pressing matter at that moment.

Your boss snapped his head around to you promptly.

“Yes actually, if you could see to this gentleman that would be great. I need to get home to my wife and kids.” 

Your boss was a bit of a self obsessed ass who didn’t really care about anyone else so it wasn’t unusual for him to take off at the mere second his shift was over. 

You grabbed a bunch of doctors to help the wounded familiar looking man and went on with your shift. For some odd reason you kept thinking about him, how on earth did you know him? Does he know you? His face, especially his eyes, burned into your head for no apparent reason. You were just trying to bandage up a very tipsy patient's thumb and you found yourself comparing their injuries. Or the other patient who had brought his young daughter and all you could see was him and the blonde girl. It was getting exhausting. 

A couple hours later you got called down to a room to administer care and to place in some stitches instead of consoling a drunken severed thumb woman or an agitated hostile drunken man in the ER. 

“Hello sir, I am (y,n) I’ll be the one who will look at your stitches-“ 

You stopped in your tracks after you peered up from your paper and to the unfamiliar familiar looking man. It was him, the injured man from earlier.

He stared back at you for a moment until you looked back down at your clipboard nervously. He’d been staring since you walked in.

You managed to gather yourself together, reminding yourself that you were a professional. So what he looked familiar he’s probably been here a few times or something, but it also didn’t help that he was very attractive. Attractive not in the way charismatic people are, but quiet and intriguing.

You desperately wanted to know more. One of the fellow nurses had said he was some sort of cop and he saved that little girl, but she was the type of girl to believe that Tupac was still alive and the Queen was a lizard, so you took that piece of information with more than just a pinch of salt.

You walk over to the edge of the bed where he was sitting and dabbed some antiseptic onto a cotton ball. 

“Sorry, this is gonna sting a little.” You spoke quietly, it was involuntary and also slightly embarrassing. Seriously you’d interacted with attractive men before, why on earth was this random man affecting you so much?

He said nothing but looked up at you through his brows with a small smile, which soon turned into a wince once the damp cotton ball touched the bloody mess. 

As you started to clean and stitch up his wound, there was a compulsion to ask how it had happened, to know more about this man. 

Curiosity got the better of you so you deceive to inquire in a friendly joking manner.

“So how’d this happen? You sleep with your best friend's girl or something?”  You ask with a playful smile.

He let out a chuckle whilst shaking his head. His eyes looked you up and down briefly before replying.

“Nope. Definitely not as pleasurable as that.”

Ah he does speak. 

“So how did it happen?” 

A pause followed, shit. 

“Not that you have to disclose anything to me or anything-“

“It’s in the file. I don’t really feel like talking about it right now.”

You didn’t know whether to apologise or if you should say nothing. You had just finished anyway so you decided it was better to keep quiet. 

“Okay um all done. Is there anything you need?” You ask sweetly, feeling slightly guilty for being so intrusive. 

“A coffee would be great, thanks.”

You smile and nod at his request and take his chart from the bedside table so you can mark down that his stitches had been done and all the information that went along with it.

You thought it’d be easier to sign it in the cafeteria while waiting for the coffee due to the slightly awkward atmosphere you’d created. 

As you waited for the coffee to brew you opened the file and a wave of shock washed over you. You double checked the page to make sure you had read the name right. 

David Loki was printed at the top of the page.

You knew you knew him. You couldn’t believe it, he’d changed so much. He was nearly unrecognisable. Shutting the file you paced up to the counter and grabbed the two coffees situated on the top and hurried up to the room.

On your journey a million thoughts flew through your head. Did he remember you? Is that why he was staring. And omg the joke you made. The way he reacted. Jesus, he must have recognised you too. 

You entered the room, a slightly concerned and confused look across your face. The coffee holder in one hand and his file in the other. His blue eyes skimmed your expression and then fixed on the file placed in your slightly shaky hand.

Did he know that you knew? Did he know that you knew he knew? Why wouldn’t he say anything if he did? 

As you placed one of the coffee cups on the nightstand he watched your every move. 

“Thanks Princess.”

Princess. This mother fucker. What a tease. 

Your eyes snapped before him, an amused look spread across your face. 

He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. 

“I’m sorry but I had to call you that for old times sake.” 

You laughed and scoffed,  a face of shock still possessing you.

“You asshole, you knew who I was and didn’t say anything?” 

He now had a shit eating grin plastered across his face, clearly finding this situation very amusing. 

“Hey, you were the one who didn’t recognise me, or remember me at least.”

You pointed at him while smiling “nope I recognised you. Kinda. But why didn’t you say anything?”

“I thought it’d be more entertaining to watch you figure out who I was. You looked great by the way”

You shook your head, still totally taken back by the situation at hand. “Thanks, you don’t look too bad yourself. You look very different actually.”

“Ah I’m surprised you even remember what I looked like,  back then you were always so infatuated with that jackass Adam.”

You grimaced at just that name alone and hid behind your hands giggling, trying to conceal your embarrassment. God that was a name you didn't miss hearing.

“Yeah well that ‘jackass’ was your best friend, and for the record I did see you. I thought you were pretty cute actually.” You looked down at your shoes. “But I'm sure you knew that.”

He didn’t reply with words but his gaze and grin said more than he could have in that moment. 

————————————————————————

You weren’t lying. Back when you were teenagers you did think he was pretty cute but he was your boyfriend's best friend. It was weird. you didn't really speak a lot back then considering you were in a pretty close circle. He wouldn’t really speak to you all that much, truthfully you thought he hated you. Apart from one night, there was a house party with a bunch of drunken teenagers everywhere. You and David were awkwardly sitting on the couch together, both of you pretty tipsy. After it felt like hours of awkward silence and tension had passed you decided enough was enough. You turned your head to David who was sat at the other end of the couch. You moved closer as he turned towards you looking confused.

“Hey David, you wanna smoke?” You produced a half crushed poorly rolled blunt from your pocket. You figured if both of you were out of your minds the tension would be relieved. The blunt was kind of a peace offering in a way. For what, you didn't know though.

He stared silently for a minute, just looking at you. Finally he shrugged his shoulders and sweetly smiled at you. 

“Sure why not.”

The corners of your mouth turned upwards, feeling completely giddy that for one he might not hate you as much as you thought he did, but also that you had someone to smoke with.

You felt around in the back pockets of your jeans trying to find a lighter, which eventually became apparent you did not have. You let out a sigh of defeat after desperately trying to find your lighter.

“Hey it’s fine. I’ve got one.” His voice was calm and he produced a lighter from his back pocket. 

“Ugh my hero” you giggled, the alcohol in your system clearly taking over. 

You placed the joint between your glossed lips and he lit the joint. The closeness of your faces with the small flame lighting up your features killed him. You were his best friend's girl. It was wrong for him to want you so bad, even if he knew his best friend was a complete ass who didn't deserve you. It was something he had kept to himself ever since you and Adam had started dating. There was just something about your energy, the way you were. Plus the fact he thought you were drop dead gorgeous didn't help. As a result he decided it was best to stay away from you as best as he could. 

After time passed and you two had been sharing the blunt, giggling and drinking some more, you had gone to grab the blunt from his lips. However in your stoned and drunken state you tripped and practically fell onto his lap. He caught you before you completely fell into him. Now you were face to face and there was an odd feeling in your stomach. You knew he felt it too. Your eyes were locked tight. The desire to move your lips slightly closer so your lips would be pressed against his was eating you alive. 

But then reality set back in. Snapping you out of whatever lust head rush just consumed you, you stood up and backed out of his grip. You stood awkwardly for a few seconds, feeling completely guilty. 

“Um, I’m gonna go find Adam.”

Before he even had time to reply you had snuck out of the living room and was making your way up the stairs.

You called out for your boyfriend a few times while stumbling around but he didn’t reply. You tried the bathroom and a few bedrooms but he was nowhere to be found. That was until you tried the last bedroom. 

Stumbling into the room you yelled out “Adam, are you in here?”

The first thing your eyes saw was the figures of two naked humans in the bed. The sounds of the headboard slamming against the wall was even louder than the blasting music from downstairs.

In shock you went to leave the room feeling like a perv, that was until the man looked back at the door.  It wasn't just any man though.

Your heart sank. The bastard. How could he?

Your boyfriend wrapped the bedsheet around him and ran towards you, shouting your name.

“(Y,n) Please. It’s not what it looks like! Princess come back!”

You ran out the house with salty tears streaming down your face and that was the last time you ever saw Adam or David.

Until now of course.

————————————————————————

Just as you were about to continue the conversation your pager bleeped, an indication that you were needed elsewhere. 

You sighed to yourself, feeling pretty devastated you couldn't stay and chat some more.

“Well, um that's my cue to leave I guess.” You smiled at him, he could tell you wanted to say something more but you just couldn't.

“It was nice seeing you David.”

He gave back a sweet smile whilst nodding his head in agreement. “You too (Y,n)"

You turned your back and went to exit the room, that was until you heard his footsteps approaching behind you. You felt his soft grip on your wrist. You turned around taking in a deep breath. 

“(Y,n) Can I see you some time? Please?” 

With the way his brows were furrowed and the desperate look in his eyes there was no way you could say no.

“I'd like that alot, David.”

(Part 2 should be up shortly!! I'm sure you will be pleased to know there will be smut, hehe)

[the-barricade]

magazine matchups

vil x reader

you and vil were supposed to just be colleagues, but as your work kept pushing you closer and closer together, you couldn’t help but fall for one another.

a/n: this is another repost of a previously deleted fic I posted. also can’t believe i ever deleted this, this is like the funniest thing I’ve ever written (imho)

—————————————

His absence was something you barely noticed, just as his presence. You weren’t oblivious to it, however. It started out as a coincidence, the two of you ended up modelling for a few projects together, which had the internet going wild. Soon enough, it turned into free advertising, and your managers were intentionally pulling the strings so that you’d be working together. If anything, the nonsensical rumours that came out of it were kind of annoying - other than that, you had no strong opinion about working with him, or his personality.

He wasn’t exactly a constant in your life either, that’s why you almost didn’t notice his unannounced break from the public eye. You remembered him after seeing a now slightly old article about the SDC, ah that’s right, he’d taken a break from almost all of his work to focus on the competition, which had ended a couple of months ago. Despite this, you can’t recall him coming back to the limelight since.

Might as well check his magicam page, you thought. He still posted there, would it be weird to follow him out of nowhere? Eh, who cares- you did it anyways, and then went to bed.

As always, it felt like the sun rose far too early to wake you from your slumber. Your alarm hasn’t gone off yet, or you hoped it hadn’t at least. You checked the time, and you were fine, you didn’t oversleep.

In the meantime you should probably check the texts you got from Neige, your certified best friend who doesn’t usually text you at six in the morning.

“Hey, Y/N! You’re trending on magicam, so is you and Vil’s ship-name, did you know?”

Um, what? That was… strange? Honestly, you really wanted to see what was going on, but you’d be late for school if you let social media get a grip on you right now.

Break time. It felt pretty exciting to hear the bell ring this time around, since you’d been itching to find out what had you on the trending page, it’s not like you did anything either spectacular or offensive recently.

Damn, Neige really wasn’t lying, then again, you couldn’t recall any time he ever has. Your expression died down comically quick, as you kept scrolling through the tagged posts. Your fans were literally insane sometimes, to the point were maybe following someone new on your public account was a bit of a mistake. Basically all of your conjoined fandom was trying to theorise over Vil being added to the list of people you follow, which was otherwise only Neige and your manager. Really, it was a slight disappointment, but it was also kind of funny, at least the internet didn’t decide it was time for a dose of unjust cancel culture just yet.

A few days later, after school had let up, you went to hang out with Neige in town. It was a tradition between you two, a way to keep in contact despite your busy schedules. The two of you often cycled round different attractions or areas in the city, sometimes just opting to walk around and talk. This time, you were headed to the local museum. It was interesting to read about all the history loaded behind what seemed like a simple piece of pottery, or learn about how certain things were used to supplement both the lack of technology and magic of the older world.

It was mostly things you’d seen here before though, but you’d never paid much mind to the modern art section, you realised after thinking about it. “Hey Neige, should we go look over there? Who knows, they might have your portrait framed or something.”

Your joke was received with a light laugh and, “Sure, let’s go take a look!”

This section of the museum felt a lot smaller, but there were even less people willing to marvel at the paintings that adorned the walls. Coincidentally, the one other person that was there happened to be someone both you and Neige recognised. You wondered if he visited the place a lot, people don’t tend to look so blank whilst visiting a museum by themselves.

Neige turned to you, excited to ask if it’d to be alright to approach him. That’s right, you’d somewhat forgotten that those two knew each-other. “Yeah sure, I don’t mind.” As soon as the sound of his name filled the room, his head turned, and his expression looked mildly annoyed. Did he look like that before? God, you’d have to hope the two of you weren’t upsetting him. Your friend however, didn’t appear to notice anything out of the ordinary as he continued to make small talk.

Gradually, said small talk came to close, and Neige had invited him to spend more time with the two of you, though Vil politely declined. He was rather curt, but he didn’t seem like a bad person, if anything your opinion hadn’t changed since you first worked with him.

Before waving goodbye, you rushed to scribble your phone number down on a crumpled piece of paper to give to him. Momentarily, you pondered wether that was a good decision to make, as he almost stayed silent, but soon put on a smile and thanked you. It was an awkward first meet.

Vil turned away after the two of you had left, it was due time to head back to his dorm, despite his visit to the museum serving a different purpose than intended. For Vil, he had hoped to come about some inspiration in preparation for returning to his work but meeting Neige was a frustration in its own right, considering how a large part of his break was dedicated to self improvement after realising his envy was severely holding him back.

Regardless of his efforts, it was disappointing to see Neige thrive under the same conditions as him and yet thwart all the hardships that Vil faced. Whilst his perfection was his pride it robbed him of approachability.

You however, offered him your number despite how out-of-reach he often is to people through your slight uncomfortableness. He thought it was folly of you, but it was a rare boldness that wasn’t unbeffiting of you - having only experienced similar things from Rook, who sometimes took it to an extreme.

Maybe it came from you also being in the industry, but he found himself thinking fondly of it. When Vil arrived at pomefiore once again, he decided to follow you back on magicam, not unaware of you doing so a few days back, although he made no effort to add your contact to his phone. You were still asleep by morning, enjoying the extra time the weekend was granting you. When you did wake up, you checked your phone, a part of your usual morning routine. ‘Oh, he doesn’t hate me’ was what came to mind after seeing that Vil had followed you back.

Not having any plans today you thought to message him on the app, curious as to wether he’d reply. “Hey, how are you doing? Hope we didn’t bother you yesterday.”

After sending that short message you looked through your feed for a bit. Reasonably soon you got an awfully formal response back. Apparently he didn’t mind your presence the other day, which was nice to know. Now however, you were in a position of not knowing wether or not to continue the conversation or what to say. Reaching out to someone over something so minuscule without making an attempt at getting closer with them proved kind of useless, so the two of you briefly discussed your musings about school and work before cutting the conversation.

That was the last time either of you had talked to one another until the two of you inevitably crossed paths again, outside of the internet. This time, the two of you met at a more understandable place, a model’s holy grail, the skincare section.

Another thing to note was that this time, he was not unaccompanied, unlike you. His purple-haired friend was actually who drew your attention away from the ingredient list on the bottle you were looking at. Being a bit louder than intended, he was complaining about this excursion being a waste of time and effort. When you did turn around, you saw Vil glaring daggers into the poor boys soul. Maybe they weren’t friends as you’d initially thought?

Ignoring it would’ve been your best bet but as you heard Vil sigh and mutter something along the lines of ‘I thought we were past this’ you realised he was dragging himself and his possible-friend in your direction. The two of them started looking at the labels of product after product, after Vil had scanned the shelf for a short while. Vil looked quite nonchalant while doing so, but his friend seemed awfully confused when absentmindedly staring at the product. Considering you knew one of them, you thought it might be good to offer up some advice, and recommend a couple brands.

Vil was actually quite thankful for your help, due to him only using products that he’s created himself, he was only aware of what was currently popular rather than beneficial. And this wouldn’t have been the best way to teach Epel how to pick out certain products without any good examples. He thanked you, and invited you to hang out over coffee some time as a thank you.

It was perhaps a little overboard, but neither of you really minded, considering how it was starting to seem that you could become decent friends. And that was how you ended up here, finally settled in to a popular cafe, that at first proved to be a bit of a poor choice, specifically due to its popularity.

When the two of you met up, the people already around the place started to form a crowd around you. It was reasonable, after all people don’t see celebrities everyday, and whilst you were used to it, it could prove to be rather bothersome. Of course, both of you handled the situation well, but there was something so enchanting about how graceful he was with each and every person who approached him, and how he was able to express his appreciation all the while making sure his air of perfectionism never slipped.

When you eventually got a moment of quiet together, you made sure to learn a lot about each other. He wouldn’t say it out-right, but you could surmise that the purple-haired boy from before and a huntsman named Rook were his set of friends. It sounded like an interesting group, but cute nonetheless. You also figured out that a lot of his personal life revolves around his work, or maybe it would be better to say that they happened to coincide.Despite that, he still seemed less daunting now that you’d got to know him a little.

Naturally, you two hung out a lot more after that, and it was fun as you got more comfortable. You even got to do things like convincing him to pose for you to draw him because, “come one, it’ll be extra practice!” He didn’t look amused at all, but he still let you.

Sketching Vil was enjoyable, but he wouldn’t let you notice how he got increasingly anxious as time passed. Vil normally had no reason to feel anxious around anyone, he usually felt confident in himself, but the issue was that his confidence was surprisingly conditional.

It was strange though, the only person to ever make him feel insecure before was Neige, yet you didn’t make him feel threatened. He could only come to one conclusion as to why he was becoming increasingly sensitive to your opinion on him, and being as self aware as he is, the answer didn’t come as a shock to him. But acknowledging that he was in love was a scary revelation to make.

As you finished up your drawings and showed them to him whilst raving about how pretty he was, he calmed down. His appearance was the main factor in his confidence, and reminding himself that he would always have power in that regard soothed his anxiousness, but what really relieved him this time around was the fact that you weren’t judging him.

The next time you were on-set participating in a photo-shoot together, you’d known beforehand. You were both affiliated with the same company, and had managed to put two and two together when discussing your work schedule.

Things felt a lot more light-hearted than all of the other times you’d worked together. Seeing him there as you’d entered the room put a smile on your face.

As you’d taken your last shot together, and everything was getting cleared up, you went to take your arm of Vil’s shoulder, but as you were doing so, he grabbed your hand. You could feel him tense up, and the walls started to feel slightly closer than before. “What’s wrong?” You couldn’t help but be worried. You saw him take a second to compose himself, before he leaned closer to you and whispered a short confession in your ear, “I’ve happened to find myself loving you… Would you be mine?”

That was… unexpected.

But when you said yes, Vil found himself experiencing a joy he hadn’t felt in a long time, and enveloped you in a gentle, heartfelt hug. The two of you stayed there for quite some time, ignoring everyone else around you because they didn’t matter.

[wakebymoonsleepbysun]

Untitled Roxy x Reader fic (hurt/comfort)

EDIT: A more polished version is now up on ao3. If you're re-reading it or sending it to someone, then the ao3 version is preferred, but it's not changed enough that I would necessarily suggest re-reading it again if you weren't already going to. <3

For some reason, last night, I decided that it was imperative I write and release a Roxy x Reader oneshot before Ruin. (ETA: To be clear I mean I wrote this before Ruin released, therefore it contains NO SPOILERS. <3) It's an idea I've had for awhile and was going to do as a comic but decided to expand it and write it out instead. I may post a more polished version to ao3 at a later date.

Fun fact: Roxy was my first FNAF crush, before SB even came out. So Ruin will have many chances to break my heart.

Word count: ~3200

----

When the Pizzaplex burned down, none of your colleagues had seemed particularly interested in returning to the ruins. You could understand…some of the techs arriving for the morning shift had been caught in the blaze, and while there were no casualties, there had been some injuries. Yourself included.

After a few weeks in the hospital, the burn mark across your face was just an angry red scar, and the singed hair you’d had to cut off had regrown enough for you to wear a slightly uneven pixie cut.

The other techs said you were crazy to want to go back. The future of Fazbear Inc was uncertain, and the animatronics themselves were just that. Animatronics. Machines. Not worth putting yourself in danger for.

But you’d come to consider Roxy a friend. Sometimes you thought she considered you one, too. She didn’t seem like she would readily admit such a thing even if it were true.

She had at least liked you as a tech, if not as a person. You were the only one who could do her pre-show checks and weekly maintenance without ruining her hair, at least according to her. According to the other techs, Roxanne’s hair was always fine.

You quickly learned that to Roxy, “fine” was equivalent to a reprehensible failure. A disaster. A complete horrific mess. 

You didn’t think your experience with costuming (specifically wigs) in your college’s theater club would ever be something you used after you graduated, but life is full of surprises.

You wander through the corridors of your ruined, burned out workplace, flashlight in hand. You have a few guesses as to where Roxy might be. You desperately hope she’s okay. The structure is mostly intact, but there are a few collapsed portions and fallen bits of decor. You think as long as Roxy had been able to avoid the worst of the heat, she’d be mostly alright.

You make your way to Rockstar Row, your workboots crunching on the debris as you walk.

As you approach Roxy’s room, you hear something that makes you freeze.

Crying.

For a moment you wonder if another tech, or perhaps some urban explorer or rubbernecker is in here with you. Then you recognize the voice behind the sobs.

Roxanne is crying? You’re more surprised than you probably should be. But you’d seen behind her mask a couple times. Behind the vanity, haughtiness, and borderline entitlement, you had occasionally glimpsed a profound insecurity. Beneath it all, you don’t think Roxy actually likes herself very much.

You swipe your badge on the door, and it actually dings and slides open. Or tries to. Something jams it halfway and you have to wedge yourself into the doorframe and push the door open the rest of the way.

Roxy, who had been sitting at her vanity, head in her hands, perks up. Her ears twitch as she glances around. “Who’s there?” she calls out.

You open your mouth to speak, only to leave it hanging open in surprise as you see how badly she’s damaged. So much of her exoskeleton is missing, exposing the endoskeleton underneath. Her hair is a tangled, singed mess and her tail isn’t much better. But most horrifying, her eyes are completely gone.

“Who’s there?!” Roxy repeats, a growl in her voice as she stands up and starts stalking towards you. You can hear the servos and joints in her body creak in protest as she moves.

“R-Roxy, it’s me!” you say before hastily blurting out your name.

She stops, her ears twitching and her claws grasping at the air. At first you think she’s baring her teeth at you, but you quickly realize her broken faceplate has put one side of her mouth in a permanent snarl.

She huffs, turning away. She skulks back to her vanity, plopping down in her chair and burning her broken face in her shattered hands. “What do you want?” she mutters.

You tense, taken aback. “Wh-What do you think I want, Roxy?” you ask incredulously, slowly moving towards her. “I-I wanted to know you were okay. I wanted to help you. I was…terrified you’d…been destroyed,” you say quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She pulls away with a growl. “I have been destroyed! Just--Just look at me!” The rage in her voice doesn’t fully mask her despair, nor does it completely hide her fear. Fear of what? Of what could have happened? Of how close she came to being permanently deactivated?

Her command was clearly rhetorical, for she lowers her head further, digging her claws into what remains of her scalp.

“Roxy…all this can be fixed…” you say gently.

“No it can’t!” she snaps. “I already checked. Parts and Services is a pile of rubble now.”

“Well…what about the loading docks? Maybe we can at least find some new eyes for you…”

She scoffs. “Oh good. Then I can see myself. Because feeling all this isn’t bad enough,” she sneers, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Roxy--”

“FINE!” she growls, pushing back from her vanity abruptly. If the chair weren’t screwed into the floor she surely would have toppled it over. “Fine. Let’s just go.”

You flinch nervously, nodding. Remembering her blindness, you quickly say, “Okay. Here,” you say gently putting a hand on her arm.

“Don’t touch me!” she snaps, though she sounds somewhat less defensive and a bit…nervous? Embarrassed? With a huff, she adds, “I’ll just follow your footsteps.”

You bite back a sigh. “Alright,” you say patiently.

You lead the way out of her green room towards the long stairway down to the loading docks. You’re not about to risk trying to take the elevator.

“Here, careful on the stairs,” you say, gently taking her arm again. This time she allows it, albeit with some reluctance as she gives you what probably would have been a withering look if her faceplate had been intact.

It’s a long way down and neither of you want to rush. The sound of your softer footfalls and her heavier ones as you both pick your way down the stairs echoes through the stairwell.

Thud. Clunk. Thud. Clunk. Thud. Clunk.

You watch her carefully. She seems too focused on making it down the stairs to be too sulky for the moment. Small blessings, you suppose. Still, the silence is only stretching out your descent.

“It sounds like one of your knees is out of alignment,” you say eventually.

“The left one,” she confirms a bit gruffly. “I can manage.”

“I can see that,” you say gently. “It took me awhile to notice something was even wrong. You carry yourself well,” you say, smiling a bit.

Roxy grunts in acknowledgement, but doesn’t preen even a little at the praise. That’s unusual for her…compliments usually cheer her up.

“Maybe I can find a new hinge while we’re--”

“Why are you doing this?” she cuts you off.

“W-What do you mean?” you ask, stopping in the middle of the flight of stairs.

“Don’t play dumb. You know what I mean,” she says. Before you can speak, she continues, “This whole place is finished. Nobody’s coming back to rebuild. What’s the point of you patching me up?”

“I told you, Roxy…I was worried…” you start as you resume your climb down the stairs.

“Why?”

“Because I care about you!” you say, exasperated as you reach the bottom of the stairs. You keep your hand on her arm as you make your way down the corridor, and she doesn’t protest.

She snorts. “You care about a pile of scrap?”

You wish she could see the glare you give her at that. “You are NOT a pile of scrap! You’re just a little scuffed.”

“More than a little,” she huffs.

You sigh. “Okay, maybe a little more than a little,” you admit. You force a smile. “But hey…I’m the perfect tech, remember? If anyone can get you fixed up, it’s me, isn’t it?”

You weren’t normally any kind of braggart. Roxy had been the only one to ever call you the perfect tech, though you feel like that was almost more a point of pride for herself rather than for you. As if she were praising herself for being deserving of the best tech more than she’s praising you for being the best tech. But you still liked hearing it…and sometimes it really did seem like she was directing the praise at you.

Roxy turns her head towards you, her ears swiveling forward. It’s hard to read her expression with her broken faceplate, but eventually one side of her mouth ticks up into a small smile. “...Yeah…” she admits softly.

You squeeze her arm gently, careful to not touch any of the sharper broken off bits.

Once you get to the loading dock, you guide her to sit down on a crate while you look through some of the recent part shipments.

The fire had somehow spared much of this place, but the collapse of P & S had rippled partially through the area and several patches of ceiling had fallen, knocking over piles of crates and leaving the whole place in disarray.

Eventually you find a crate that has the P & S stamp on the wooden slats, and figure that’s a promising place to start. You grab a crowbar and begin trying to pry it open in any way you can.

Roxy’s ears perk and she turns towards you. “What are you doing?”

“Trying--urg--to get this crate open,” you grunt.

She stands and walks towards you. “Let me,” she says. She reaches towards you, trying to determine your position.

You take her hand, your fingers weaving in hers for a moment before you guide her hand to the crate.

“Thanks,” you say, stepping aside.

“Well…pretty silly to make a human do all the heavy lifting,” she says, digging her claws into one of the planks. The wood splinters and creaks and is readily ripped free.

You smile weakly. “You’re right…these arms would never have a fraction of your strength,” you say. Jokingly, you lift your arm and flex…only to realize Roxy won’t be able to see it.

Probably for the best. It was a dumb joke anyway.

She snorts, actually preening a bit as she pulls another board free. “Even busted…” she agrees softly. Her tone is slightly melancholy…as if she doesn’t fully believe it.

She pulls another board free, and you put a hand on her shoulder. “I think that’s enough for now,” you say, guiding her back to the crate she had been sitting on before.

You begin pulling the smaller boxes from the shipping crate, cutting them open and rummaging through them, looking for anything usable. 

Once again, the silence stretches on.

After finding nothing useful in the first two boxes, you glance back at Roxanne. Her hand is over her face, her middle finger slowly tracing the cracks near where her eyes had been. The quiet isn’t doing her any favors.

You shove the box you were looking through aside and pull out another, cutting it open. “Roxy?” you break the silence.

“Mm?” she grunts, still more focused on her faceplate than you.

“You…d’you um…remember that time we ran out of driver bots and that angry dad yelled at me?”

She pauses briefly, turning her head towards you. “What about it?” she asks before going back to feeling her faceplate.

“You remember what you said to me?”

“I called you an idiot.” Was that a touch of guilt you detect in her tone?

You laugh weakly, nodding. “Yes. But you remember why?”

“For letting a loser like that get under your skin,” she says plainly.

“Right,” you say, smiling. “I think about that a lot, you know.”

Roxy scoffs. “Really? Freddy said I was too rude,” she says. If she had eyes she would have rolled them.

You let out a gentle chuckle. “Well…maybe a bit,” you admit, earning a slightly sulky huff from her. “But there was truth to it, y’know? And I think about it a lot. It uh…it’s…helped me. Deal with people like him.”

She cants her head, one ear flicking curiously. It’s a cute expression even with her broken faceplate. “It…did?”

“Yeah,” you say, pulling out another box and opening it. “I-I mean…you were right. I knew he was a loser but I still told myself his opinion meant something. But it doesn’t, y’know?”

“Yeah,” she agrees quietly.

The conversation lapses again, and you try to resist the urge to slow your search in order to come up with a new topic. Luckily, it is Roxy who picks the next topic.

“You remember that time a birthday party ran long, and I was late getting back to the recharge station?”

You freeze. Oh you do remember. You remember that evening well. The animatronics tend to get a little quirky when their battery dips below five percent. Something about a power save mode cutting power to random systems. Usually mobility, but somehow, their…inhibitions, for lack of a better term, also seemed to go by the wayside. As far as you know nobody ever quite understood why, but it was a little like getting loopy from lack of sleep, or even a bit tipsy.

Roxy smirks, hearing your stunned silence. “You do.”

“Y-Yeah…I…I wasn’t sure if you did, though.”

“I remember the important parts.” Before you can start to wonder what the “important parts” are in her mind, she continues, “You’d finally used that salon voucher I gave you for your birthday. Gotten your hair done. Actually wore it down. I never understand why you hide such long pretty hair up that bun.”

You fluster a bit. “Th-The dress code--”

“Oh, you do it without the dress code,” she scoffs, flicking a hand dismissively.

You clear your throat awkwardly, pausing to rub at your cheeks as if you can wipe the blush away. “W-What’s your battery at, by the way?”

She snorts. “Just an idle wondering?” she smirks. “It’s twenty-two percent.”

So it’s not her low battery talking…

Roxy continues, “You know…if you can find a set of replacement eyes…I wouldn’t mind seeing your hair down again,” she says, actually sounding wistful, of all things. You don’t know if you’ve ever heard her sound wistful.

You sigh softly, running a hand over your chopped off hair. “Y-Yeah…” you say, noncommittally.

She glances at you questioningly, sensing something in your tone. But before she can comment, you cut open another box, and find it has the spare eyes you’ve been looking for.

“Found the eyes!” you say. Some of the happiness in your tone is genuine. You grab two amber ones, going over to her. “They’re just standard optics, so you won’t see as well as you’re used to, but…it’ll do for now,” you say, guiding her to lay on the floor.

Her smile fades slightly and she nods, reality setting back in. Despite your claims that you could repair her, she wasn’t convinced she’d ever be as good as she was before. “Guess it’ll have to,” she mumbles.

You put a flashlight in her hand and position her arm to shine it down on her faceplate, giving you light to work with. Your toolkit is beside you, with some extra lengths of wire and soldering iron to work with. As you cut away the burned wires, murmuring apologies whenever Roxy flinches, your mind drifts back to that evening.

Her power had been at one percent when you finally coaxed her into her recharge station. Before you did, though, she had leaned down and pressed her lips to yours. You think she had been trying to nuzzle your cheek. Even “drunk” you don’t think she wanted to kiss you like that.

Neither of you had ever spoken of that night again, until today. She must not remember the kiss, you decide. She wouldn’t bring up that night at all if she did.

The truth is you’ve carried a small flame for her ever since then. Or perhaps a little longer, if you were more honest with yourself. Nothing you couldn’t ignore most of the time, of course…but something that had occasionally managed to put a bit of warmth in your heart when you allowed it to.

But none of those silly little what-ifs you’d allowed yourself to daydream of would ever come to pass now.

You wire in the eyes, then carefully fit them into their sockets. As they come online, the attached eyelids blink shut against the light.

You quickly turn away, keeping your back to her as you pack up your toolkit. “Th-They working okay?” you ask. It’s silly to turn away like this. You can’t possibly delay her seeing your scar for more than a couple minutes. Why even bother trying?

She moves the flashlight out of her eyes and sits up, looking around. “Yes,” she says. She pauses. “...Better than I thought. I forgot the standard optics still have night vision.”

You laugh weakly. “Another thing you have over me, then,” you say in what you had meant to be a good natured tone, but you couldn’t quite keep the melancholy from your voice.

Roxy catches it and glances at you curiously. She stands up, then reaches down a hand to help you up.

Well. No more putting it off.

You bow your head slightly as you turn to take her hand, letting her pull you to your feet. When you stand before her, you finally lift your head to look into her eyes, giving a small, tentative smile that borders on apologetic.

Roxy stares down at you, her mouth opening slightly in surprise. “Wh-What…happened…?”

You sigh, glancing away slightly. “I-I…got to work early, and…I was upstairs when the fire started. It…spread so fast I…had to cut through some pretty bad areas. I-I mean. I guess, something like that…I-I don’t really remember…” you say, your voice starting to shake.

Roxy’s hand is on your cheek, turning your face back towards her as she examines your scar.

You feel your face growing warm. “I-I don’t know how I got the scar, really…The EMTs found me passed out in the employee parking lot.”

Roxy smiles sadly. “You were strong enough to save yourself.”

You blush deeply at the compliment, lowering your gaze. “I-I guess so…”

She runs her thumb over the scar, tracing the ridges of the shiny, discolored skin. “Can it be repaired?” she asks, her tone more gentle than you’ve ever heard from her.

You shake your head, resisting the urge to nuzzle into her palm as you do. “Not…really. My hair will grow back and the scar will probably fade a bit, eventually, but…it’ll…probably be pretty noticeable for the rest of my life…” You feel tears brimming at your eyes and force out a weak laugh. “C-Can’t really…uh…s-switch faceplates on a human…y-y’know?” you say in a wavering tone.

Roxy hums quietly, bringing her other hand up to cup your other cheek. “No need,” she says, lowering her head and gently nosing at your scar.

Your breath stills at her words, your eyes widening in surprise. You’re almost not sure you heard right.

She pulls back, smiling down at you tenderly. “You’re still beautiful,” she murmurs, leaning down and pressing her lips to yours.

[majesticwren]

being in love with MJF headcanons:

✨friends to lovers✨ dynamic - may you be aware of it or completely oblivious just as Max is, this thing would be going on from and for forever. slow burning, pining and bittersweet. you'd possibly be childhood friends. the kind of friends that met by chance, maybe during a class assignment or at a b-day party, and just stuck together. but you might as well have met recently, the bond between the two of you would be the same.

you'd be the kind of friends that finish each other sentences as you speak.

you'd order each other food just because you know exactly each other taste.

one of you would message or call at the same time as the other is checking their phone only because you tend to think about the other, or miss them, at the same time.

no one ever wants to play the mr & mrs game with you because you two are annoyingly unbeatable. and you always team up. like always. even when you are with someone else.

you rock at giving each other the best presents. birthdays, christmas/hanukkah, random events, they are perfect every time. there's no competition. if you had been involved with someone else at the time, this particular event had caused problems in the relationship. no partner likes to be outshined by the person who is supposed to be "just a friend".

on this note, in his private life, Max is absolutely terrible at remembering dates, events or even appointments. unless it involves you. not that he had been involved much, but when he had been, something like this would never be easily forgotten or ignored by his partners.

you spend so much time together. like an impossible amount of time. you are so used to it that you move around each other's houses like it's your own. not only that, in each other house you've got a spare toothbrush, phone charger, some clothes and your favourite pillow - just in case. you've got each other spare key and the freedom to drop unattended.

you are so used to spending time together being apart for more than a few days is painful.

and with Maxwell's job happens often.

but you get invited to follow him as often as possible.

you are his number one supporter, of course, always. and you must enjoy wrestling just as much as Max does. you have to be careful saying you've got other favourite wrestlers though, especially if they are Max's colleagues in AEW because he can be jealous.

he is jealous regardless.

never once he liked one of your partners and every time it wouldn't work out he would arrogantly say "I told you so", offering one of his cocky smiles, never realising no relationship ever worked for either of you because you were basically involved with each other.

see the thing is, Max is completely emotionally unavailable. He is totally terrified of getting attached to people, which makes him a prime example of the avoidant type - which makes him a walking red flag.

he stuck with you though.

your friends don't like him. they know your relationship with the guy isn't healthy but trying to get you away from Max is impossible.

his friends, instead, adore you just cause they can tell what you mean to him. but getting him to realise as well is impossible - he's just dumb and blind.

and it goes without saying you are basically part of each other's families.

it's tradition for you to spend the holidays with Max's family and more often than not, whenever there's a family gathering, you are also invited.

he has definitely brought you as his plus one at more than one wedding or bar mitzvah.

ever since you danced to fallingforyou, by the 1975, that has become your song. you both listen to it thinking about each other. but you're just friends.

everyone knows you are completely and desperately in love with each other, but you got so good at pretending you were only friends you had no ears for any of it. both of you.

you'd be the kind of friends that are actually a couple in everything but the sexual aspect of things.

he is that kind of guy. he likes to fuck around without getting involved. that's the way he likes it. every relationship he had has been brief and without strings.

that's the way he feels safe and in control.

you know well about all of his conquests and are extremely good at hiding how much it hurts that his choice, in the end, is never you. you are only friends after all.

he doesn't consider the possibility of being attracted to you. not because he is totally unaware of the fact that deep down he is, but because getting there with you would possibly mean ruining what you have.

as already noted, he is big, dumb and blind.

he'd never admit what he feels for you because the fear of being rejected petrifies him.

and you wouldn't do anything to change it either because of a similar fear. to lose him would mean to lose your sun.

you are the kind of friends that hold hands and cuddles, even in public. Max often has his arm around your shoulders and you, naturally, have your hand in the back pocket of his pants. in crowded places, where sits run low, you sit on his lap with ease and zero embarrassments.

you are even used to kissing each other on the lips. not so regularly to be something you are used to, but it is not uncommon either.

you had never fully made out though, that falls into sexual stuff.

you don't do it often. it's generally more of a goodbye thing you do when you know you won't see each other for a long time - just in case.

it all started as a bet someone had thrown and both of you were so stubborn to prove to be just friends you did, in fact, kiss.

And then you kept doing it. softly though, like keeping a secret.

deep down you both know it means something. it leaves behind an undertone of guilt and desire that you both can't shake.

but you are just friends.

a/n1: these headcanons are g/n and can suit anyone. it is absolutely compatible with mjfxadam cole if you like. because it's so totally canon you can't tell me otherwise but i've decided to focus on mjfxyou in general.

a/n2: i've dreamed about mjf and this dynamic last night and couldn't take it out my fucking mind all day. had to write it down. I can't afford to fall into another fanfic - even when this could totally be one and I am cheeky and I've left out all the best parts - but I also do not have time to throw myself into another project and I'm notorious for struggling finishing fics :')

a/n3: don't ask me what this brainrot is. I do not know. don't hold me accountable. sorry about the typos. as I said my brain is rotting away. bye ✨

a/n4: i've fallen into another fic - this is now happening, find it here

[kiwiana-writes]

Your top three comfort fics are all so good…but they’re all also pretty popular. What about a top three under 300 kudos👀

I am SO INTO what you're putting down here, anon... except for the fact that I can't fucking sort my bookmarks by kudos 🤣 so this took a little longer than I expected! I've split the RWRB fics into two: ones published this year that might just be low because people haven't had the chance to read yet, and ones from 2023 and earlier that are hidden gems. Also, please check out my Five Under 500 List from the end of October, because a couple of those are still under 300 and they are all ABSOLUTELY WORTH A READ.

Once again in no particular order:

Top 3 under 300: Red White & Royal Blue (published 2024)

Going Stag by @cicigreen03 - SERIOUSLY an underrated gem and I have no idea why, y'all are MISSING OUT. Alex is hosting Liam and Spencer's bachelor party at the lake house, Spencer's douchey colleague Hunter invites himself along... and brings his boyfriend. You'll NEVER guess who the boyfriend is.

you were more than just a short time by @hypnostheory - MIND. THE. TAGS. But this is absolutely, one thousand percent worth the pain.

Paper Chains by @myheartalivewrites - y'all I tried to do the thing where I quote specific lines from this fic to scream about and I could not bring myself to stop reading long enough to do so. It is an INCREDIBLE journey and one you won't regret going on.

Top 3 under 300: Red White & Royal Blue (published 2023 and earlier)

Spoke Love to Soul by @celaestis1 - honestly my eyes glazed past this as I was skimming down my bookmarks list because I just ASSUMED it would have way more kudos but???? I LOVE a mythical retelling as evidenced by the Orpheus and Eurydice WIP in my folder and this one is STUNNING. A true, true treasure.

Sip You Like Cosmic Juice by @sparklepocalypse - okay listen this one's sitting on EXACTLY 300 so I'm squeaking in while it still applies but: RUGBY THIGHS. That is all.

I want to play a game by @hgejfmw-hgejhsf - Listen it's not a secret that my love of Saw (especially the first one) is like half my personality, so this may not be MARKED as a gift for me but in my heart I tell myself it is 🤣

Top 3 under 300: Schitt's Creek

Town Hall Meeting #5,204 by the_hodag - Genuinely incapable. of reading this without laughing hysterically, actually

The Midpoint by @roguebebe - The roguest baby's first fic and fucking HELL it's stunning. Chock full of Patrick and Stevie feelings, my favourite kind.

You Can Ring My Bell by @designatedgrape - A 5+1 from the POV of the bell over the door at Rose Apothecary, which naturally means it's actually extremely tender and sweet

And as a bonus because why the fuck not...

My favourite fic of mine under 300 kudos

For RWRB it is of course Empty your heart of its mortal dream, fae prince Henry my beloved.

For Schitt's Creek there's absolutely no question: Time until the end of time, the afterlife fic I co-wrote with @ships-to-sail aka a 65,000 word treatise on grief, growth, and our effects on the people around us.

[Sleepover Saturday]

[blog-name-idk]

Mold a Pretty Lie | 08

Pairing: professor!Jin x Fem undergrad!Reader

Genre: College!AU, Unhealthy relationships, toxic relationships, virgin reader, eventual yandere, eventual smut

Summary: They say love is like a garden that requires regular care and attention. Kim Seokjin, your kind and handsome professor, is more than happy to cultivate the vines that bind his heart to yours.

Word Count: 6746

Rating: 18+

AN: TY to my beloved @matchy6812 and @madbutgloriouspond (whom this fic is FOR 💜💜💜) for beta-ing and general awesomeness and support. Also I T ' S H A P P E N I N G ! ! !

~~~~~

"This is highly inappropriate," you heard Dr. Kim arguing as you tried to wrap your head around what the concierge had just said. "What about the rooms for my colleague and their student?"

"Unfortunately the university already canceled their reservation," the receptionist replied apologetically after clicking through the computer. "It looks like when their rooms were canceled, they accidentally included a third. We can have a cot put into your room, but otherwise we are completely booked for the conference, along with most of the hotels in the area."

Sharing a room? With your beautiful professor? Who you had kissed and still couldn't stop thinking about despite all common sense telling you to stop? What even was your life right now?

Your chest twisted guiltily as you caught the frown on Dr. Kim's face, killing any of your budding excitement. How could you feel that way when you had already put him in an uncomfortable position? And it would probably look strange or suspect for him if word got out that he shared a room with a female student, no matter how necessary the circumstances.

"Professor," you began, feeling your face warm when he turned to look at you. "I'm fine with whatever you decide. If this is the only option then I promise I'll do my best not to bother you."

Dr. Kim stared at you with an indecipherable expression on his face, his normally friendly gaze so intense you began to twist at your shirt. Did he really despise the idea that much?

"Let me make a few calls first," he finally replied, pulling his phone out and walking a short way away, leaving you standing awkwardly with your carry-on. God, you had really fucked up when you had kissed him. Why did you have to be such an idiot? He obviously didn't believe you wouldn't do something, he was just too kind to tell you to your face.

Feeling morose, you moved out of the way so others could check in, and settled yourself on a couch in view of your professor.

"Can I take your bag, miss?"

You started when a bellboy appeared by your side, a smile on his face as he held his hand out questioningly.

"Oh – thank you, but not quite yet," you answered apologetically, smiling back at him. "We're trying to figure out a mix-up with reservations, we were supposed to have separate rooms."

You meant it as an explanation because you didn't want your professor to look like some opportunistic predator, but for some reason the bellboy's smile brightened.

"It happens sometimes," he agreed, giving you a commiserating look that made you feel a little better about the awkward situation. "Is this your first time in the area?"

"Yeah, me and my professor are here for the conference," you replied, relieved he didn't seem to think anything odd about the situation. He didn't look that much older than you, and you wished the other student was here so you would have had someone else your age to talk to. It really sucked that she had won and couldn't even make it. "There were supposed to be a couple others, but they got sick."

"Well, if you get tired of hanging out with a bunch of old brainiacs I wouldn't mind showing you around."

The offer took you by surprise, and you felt a moment of panic. Was he being friendly or was he hitting on you? Why were you even full of yourself enough to believe he was hitting on you?

"Um, that might be nice," you began cautiously, at a complete loss for what to say. He was kind of cute, and maybe it would be better to spend time away to lower the probability of making an idiot out of yourself again. But he was a total stranger whose name you didn't even know. And what would Dr. Kim think if you left the hotel just to hang out with some random guy after the whole Taehyung thing?

"I believe that couple needs help with their luggage."

You looked up to see that your professor had joined you, and was looking at the bellboy with narrowed eyes and something very near a glare.

"Of course, sir," the bellboy nodded politely before turning back to you. "I'll be working here til four if you end up having time."

With a grin that was now definitely flirtatious, he turned to go back to work, leaving you with your frowning professor. You felt yourself wilting at the disapproval emanating from his form, until he turned to you and his face softened.

"Is everything alright?"

What did that mean? The bellboy hadn't really been bothering you, necessarily. Or was he talking about the rooming situation? Was he concerned that you would neglect the conference to go gallivanting with some stranger? Perhaps he really did just think you were a flighty party girl.

No, he knew you took your work and responsibilities seriously. Hadn't he praised you enough, even offered for you to continue working with him despite all of your embarrassing missteps?

"Um, yes, why wouldn't it be?" you asked tentatively, peeking up to see that Dr. Kim's smile had tightened at your words. Was he annoyed that you might spend time with the nameless bellboy? Or were you just projecting something you wished was the case?

"The keynote speech starts early tomorrow, and the student talks are right after," he finally replied. "I wouldn't suggest staying up too late tonight."

So he did think you might go off with the bellboy. And he wasn't bothered by that, but because he thought it might affect your presentation. Great. Just great.

"Thanks, professor," you said with a sigh, hoping you could somehow change however he saw you to a responsible adult. "I didn't particularly want to spend time with a stranger but I didn't want to be rude."

"Always so considerate," he teased, his face relaxing. To your relief, he smiled at you and held out a hand to help you up. "You're allowed to be selfish too, you know."

You took it, despite not needing the aid. His skin was warm against yours, and he tugged a little harder than you expected, bringing you close. His dark eyes gazed down at you and you stared back, completely bewitched.

"Am I?" you asked a little breathlessly before you could stop yourself, drawn to him as if invisible tendrils were binding your heart onwards. His eyes widened in surprise, and you suddenly came to your senses, letting go and turning to adjust the zipper on your carry-on. "Er, so were you able to figure something out?"

You internally cringed at your obvious behavior and terrible subject change, too embarrassed to look back at Dr. Kim. Why did you keep doing this?

"Unfortunately there aren't any other options," was the unexpected reply. "I hate to ask this of you, but…"

He trailed off and you turned back to look at him in surprise. Dr. Kim was still open to the idea? Even after you had just – whatever you had just done? And he was acting as if it was an imposition on you, letting the two of you pretend you weren't constantly embarrassing yourself. He really was too good to you.

~~~~~

The hotel room was at least decently sized and would fit the promised cot easily, though Seokjin wasn't sure how he would be able to sleep knowing you were right there, so near and yet out of his reach. But the sight of the obnoxious bellboy making eyes at you had him hanging up the phone and striding towards you before anyone even picked up.

And despite your assurances to the contrary, over your shoulder he had seen the bellboy glance your way. He didn't trust the boy not to show up to your room unannounced if he managed to find some alternate accommodation, and well – if sharing meant he'd be able to keep a better eye on you then perhaps that was the best option anyway. Besides, it was already late enough that finding a new place would have taken too long for a decent night's rest.

It would be fine. He was an adult, not some hormonal college kid who couldn't keep it in his pants. He had enough self-control not to take advantage of a student. No matter how captivating you happened to be, or how much you consumed his thoughts.

"Professor, I'm done in the bathroom."

Your quiet voice broke through his inner musings and he looked up, only to wish he hadn't. You were wearing an oversized t-shirt that almost hung off your shoulder, revealing a tempting amount of collarbone. Your bare legs taunted him, and Seokjin wondered whether you were wearing shorts under your shirt.

You had also washed your face, looking so soft and sweet he felt his own ears heating up as he drank you in.

"Thanks, [y/n]. I might shower, so feel free to turn off the lights as long as you keep one of them on so I don't embarrass myself by running into anything."

Seokjin swallowed hard, unable to miss the way your eyes had widened when he said the word shower. Your gaze darted to the bathroom, then back to him with an expression that was slightly hazier than before.

He knew you were still attracted to him. It was obvious in the way your breath quickened when he gave into temptation and let himself touch you with seemingly innocuous gestures, in the way your eyes always sought him out first in a room.

He knew he was to blame. Jin was supposed to know better, to be better, but every time you smiled he found it difficult to care.

Now here the two of you were, alone in a hotel room, protected only by the fraying strands of his self control. He couldn't stop himself from wondering what thoughts were swirling behind those pretty eyes of yours. Were you picturing what it might be like for you to join him?

His pants tightened at the thought of you bare and wet with water rolling down your soft skin, and he suppressed a groan as he tore his eyes away from you and gathered his things. Well fuck, now he really needed a long shower.

Seokjin let himself stand under a blast of cool water, willing himself to calm down and stop thinking of you. Unfortunately his traitorous brain had other plans, tormenting him with the hint of collarbone you had shown, your pretty lips, and the way your eyes had darkened at the thought of him in the shower.

"Fuck," he groaned quietly, wrapping his hand around his hard length as he gave in. Had he locked the door? Did it even matter? What if you came in, clothes already off to slip into the shower with him?

You would probably look uncertain, embarrassed by your boldness, and he would kiss the hesitation off your face until you were soft and yielding in his embrace. You would let out that little sigh he couldn't erase from his mind and wrap your arms around his shoulders while the water ran over the two of you, washing away any evidence of his sins.

What other sounds could he coax out of you? Jin let out a little groan as he pumped harder, haunted by the enticing whimpers and moans he pictured leaving your lips while he explored everything your body had to offer.

And you were such a good girl. You might sink to your knees before him, looking up at him with wide eyes for permission before wrapping your pretty, perfect lips around his cock.

You would struggle with his size, eyes watering as you tried to take him deeper despite gagging on his length. But you would persevere, staring up with him with glassy, determined eyes as you swallowed around him.

"Fuck, fuck," he cursed softly through gritted teeth, feeling his balls begin to tighten. He sped up his pace, hips thrusting into his grip as images of you, perfect and pliant, flooded his mind. "Shit, [y/n]."

As soon as your name left his lips and he came hard, groaning as ropes of thick, white cum swirled down the drain. Along with his pride and dignity. He shuddered in pleasure, panting as he let go of his softening member, and closed his eyes as guilt began to set in.

In the clarity of his release, he let the cool water wash over his burning skin as he stood, dumbfounded and unsure of what to do next. How could he go out there and face you after this? Could he even look you in the eye, knowing that this had really been only the tip of the iceberg of the depraved things he wanted to do to you?

There was a knock on the door and he jumped, heart pounding. You wouldn't… would you? His cock gave a traitorous twitch.

"Professor," you called through the closed door. "I'm going to bed. I'll leave the reading light on for you."

"Okay, good night, [y/n]," he called back, surprised by the steadiness of his voice. At least he wouldn't have to face you until tomorrow morning.

When he finally left the bathroom, already wearing his pajamas, you were nestled under the covers of the cot and fast asleep. He gave a fond, exasperated sigh - the two of you had argued long and hard over who would get the bed, and he assumed he had won. He smiled at your sleeping face, your mouth a little open, almost forgetting his earlier shame in the surge of fondness that filled his chest.

"Sneaky," he murmured appreciatively before moving to the large queen-sized bed and pulling back the covers. He paused, then padded quietly back to your sleeping figure and pulled off your covers gently before his breath hitched. Your shirt had ridden up past your hips, exposing your bellybutton and a mouth-watering expanse of bare skin. You were in fact wearing shorts, not that it made much of a difference considering how tiny they were, and Jin swallowed hard as his eyes roved over your defenseless form. You were so beautiful it hurt, and before he could stop himself he was brushing a stray lock of hair out of your face.

A sleepy little grumble made him freeze, but when you made no other motion or noise he relaxed. As gently as he could, he slid his arms beneath you to pick you up, and you instinctively snuggled into his chest, making his heart jolt.

Your body nestled perfectly against his, and he couldn't resist brushing his nose against your hair to take in the scent of your shampoo. Then he forced himself to deposit you onto the queen bed, resisting the urge to crawl in next to you, and tucked the covers firmly around your sleeping figure.

When he finally burrowed into the sheets of the cramped cot, he stared up at the ceiling, mind racing. The pillow smelled like you, and he breathed in, feeling your scent wrap its sweet tendrils around his heart.

He was so fucked.

~~~~~

You awoke to the sound of two alarms ringing, feeling comfortable. Too comfortable.

Your suspicions were confirmed when you sat up and realized you were in the queen bed. Chagrin warred with embarrassment when you realized he must have carried you into bed, and you felt warmth flood your body at the thought of your professor's arms around you.

Part of you wailed that you had slept through it. Another part of you was relieved, because you weren't sure if your heart could have taken it if you were awake.

You looked over to the cot to see Dr. Kim sprawled out on it, mouth hanging open as his feet almost dangled off the edge, and had to suppress a giggle. He looked almost comical in the cramped space, and he seemed to be wearing a matching pajama set with cute llamas dotting the fabric.

It was disarming to see him looking so silly and casual, a far cry from the polished professor you were used to. You had always seen him as perfect and put together, far out of your league and impossible to reach. But like this he looked so young, and for a moment you let yourself dream.

Still, you weren't going to let him get away with it no matter how cute he looked.

Nodding to yourself, you pushed out of bed and marched over to your professor, reaching forward to gently shake his broad shoulder. He grumbled cutely, a furrow appearing in his brow as he tried to turn away from you.

"Professor," you whisper-shouted, shaking him more insistently as you tried not to laugh. To your surprise, his hand snaked to grab your wrist; he pulled, and you toppled on top of him with a surprised squeak. Strong arms wrapped around you and you instinctively melted into his chest, letting his warmth fill your senses.

Then you realized what you were doing, taking advantage of your professor's sleepy state to get what you wanted, and shame flooded you. You pushed against his chest to get up, but his hold only tightened.

"Professor!" you said more loudly, wondering how the hell you were going to explain this. His eyes began to drift open, and when they met yours his lips curved into a drowsy smile. Your heart hammered in your chest at the thought that he was happy to wake up to you.

But then lucidity crept into his gaze, his eyes widened and his arms loosened. Feeling your stomach sink, you scrambled off of him and took several steps backwards, as if that could somehow erase his memory.

"[Y/n]?" he asked, looking confused and still a little sleepy. Your heart plummeted as you wondered if Dr. Kim had thought you were someone else – someone he wanted to wake up to. Of course he probably had someone.

"I'm so sorry!" you stammered, looking at your feet as shame warred with disappointment. "I was trying to wake you up, and you pulled me in your sleep, and I lost my balance, and…"

You realized you were babbling, and shut up as Dr. Kim stared at you with an unreadable expression. Did he believe you? God, he probably thought you were a perv who couldn't keep from throwing herself at him. And after you had promised him not to do anything, too.

"I've been told I get clingy when I sleep," he finally responded with a chuckle, relaxing. Your relief was marred by the bitter taste of jealousy. You envied the lucky person who had that firsthand experience. Then you forced the thought out of your head, knowing it was none of your business, and remembered what you had meant to do in the first place.

"I can't believe you switched us," you complained, crossing your arms and glaring at him as menacingly as you could. His full lips began to twitch into a smirk that made you forget your annoyance, and possibly your name.

"And I can't believe you disobeyed your professor like that," he teased, eyes twinkling as he pushed back his covers and got up. It was a matching set, and it was unbearably cute that your older, beautiful professor was wearing it. The top couple buttons were undone, and you cast about in your head for any reply while you tried not to ogle the toned chest peeking out at you.

"Well at your age you should think more about your back," you shot back before you could stop yourself. His eyebrows shot up at your snark, and he stepped a little closer to you.

"Calling me an old man?" he asked, tone still amused, though something else you couldn't identify gleamed in his eyes. You wanted to step backwards, but something kept you rooted to the spot, as if vines had sprouted up from the ground and locked you into place.

"U-um, I just meant older," you stuttered meekly, your brief flare of defiance fading with each step he took towards you. You stared at your feet as he came closer, until fingers dipped below your chin to tilt your face up to meet his.

"Hmm, so that should mean I know better, shouldn't it?"

Dr. Kim's voice was still husky from sleep, and something in his eyes sent heat rushing through you as you stared at him like a deer in the headlights. The way he said it made you wonder if he was talking about something else, and you gave an involuntary shiver you hoped he didn't notice.

You licked suddenly dry lips as your pulse quickened, but before your mind could get too carried away, he stepped backwards and walked past you to the bathroom.

"I'm going to take a quick shower," he called over his shoulder. "But I shouldn't be long."

You blinked as the door closed behind him, taking the time to let your racing heart settle to a pace akin to normal. Hadn't he just showered last night? He really liked to be clean, apparently.

You tried not to dwell on the fact that he was naked just a few feet away from you, divided by only a wall and a door. It had been hard enough last night, and now you had that dark glint in his eye filling your head, the underlying croon in his voice, and the memory of his arms wrapped around your body.

A part of you knew that he was perhaps a bit touchier than a professor should be. But the idea that your handsome, brilliant, and kind professor paid you special attention made your chest feel warm. Perhaps nothing could ever happen, but you wished you could somehow bottle up the way he made you feel in moments like these. Maybe then you wouldn't so pathetically hope for more.

With a sigh, you went to the closet to pull out the clothes you hung there the night before. You had already decided on what to wear for the three days of the conference. The pathetic, hopeful part of your brain hoped the professional clothing would make you seem more like a woman to Dr. Kim, someone worthy of his attention. You had agonized over what to bring for an embarrassingly long period of time. It was foolish – selfish – of you to want more when that would be nothing but catastrophic for him, when he had already told you it was impossible, but your heart refused to heed your advice.

You doffed your pajamas and pulled on your well-fitting pants, admiring how perky it made your butt look in the mirror. Remembering your underthings were in your suitcase, you hurried over to grab a bra, sliding your arms through the straps and fiddling it as you walked back to the closet. Your fingers fumbled over the hooks as you struggled to clasp them, and then the bathroom door opened and you froze, staring at a wide eyed, shirtless Dr. Kim.

"I-I forgot to bring in my clothes," he stuttered, sounding like something was strangling him. You couldn't stop yourself from ogling at his gloriously toned chest and abs, or the way his towel was slung low around his hips, revealing hip bones that made your mouth water. Was it normal for academics to be so – so fit?

You were so distracted by his naked chest that you didn't notice the way he was similarly captivated. His own eyes roamed the bare skin of your shoulders, your stomach, and the way your bra was hanging teasingly off of your breasts.

Suddenly you came to your senses and whirled around at the same exact time he did.

"Tell me when I can turn around," you heard him say in that same choked tone, and you wondered if he could hear the way your heart was pounding from across the room. Your fingers didn't want to cooperate, but you were finally able to hook your bra and you almost flew into the blouse you had chosen to wear. Despite your clumsiness you were able to button it up relatively quickly, and finally you turned back around, pulse picking back up as you took a moment to appreciate the way Dr. Kim's broad shoulders tapered into a slim waist. Of course his back was also perfect.

"You're good," you said softly, tearing your gaze away to fiddle with the bottom button of your shirt, too embarrassed to look your professor in the eye. You heard him take quick steps toward the closet where his own clothes were hung up and flushed, belatedly wondering if you should have moved out of the way. You shuffled to the side as you felt warmth and the smell of soap wash over you, and his arm brushed your shoulder as he reached to pluck his own clothes off the hanger.

"Sorry about that," he whispered into your ear, his breath hot against your skin. You let out a squeaky noise of response, eyes fixed on your feet as you tried to ignore how close he was standing. Then his body heat vanished and he retreated to the bathroom, door clicking firmly shut behind him.

Feeling lightheaded, you moved to fall face-first onto the bed with a muffled thump. You were not going to survive this conference.

~~~~~

Three days. Seokjin just needed to hold out for three days, and he could go back to sleeping alone without being blessed and cursed by your constant proximity. He took a deep breath before releasing it in a slow exhale as he did his tie in the bathroom mirror, wondering how exactly you would inadvertently tempt him next.

His morning jerk off session had been in vain, and all he could think of was your bare skin and the little noise you had made when he had leaned in close. You had no idea what you were doing to him, a pretty, innocent little lamb walking willingly into his clutches.

It made him want to protect you, cradle you in his arms against anything that might hurt you. It made him want to bend you over the bed and ruin you for anyone who wasn't him.

"I'm ready, Professor," you called as you stepped out of the bathroom, hair and make up done, blouse tucked into your slacks, wearing heels that drew his eyes to the curve of your backside. You still couldn't meet his eyes, which allowed him to drink you in without fear of being caught. Still, this wouldn't do. As endearing as it was, he didn't want you to be embarrassed forever, or for others at the conference to sense something might be amiss.

"[Y/n]."

At his tone, you forced yourself to look up, and he gave you a reassuring smile even as he admired the way your lipstick emphasized the pout of your lips. You looked so lovely, professional and subtly sexy with an outfit that emphasized your figure without announcing it. If it weren't for your doe-eyes and flushed cheeks, you could have passed as one of his colleagues, albeit with a younger face.

"Come here."

Jin sat on the queen sized bed and patted the spot beside him. You obeyed without hesitation despite your apprehension, and he smiled.

"I-I'm really sorry about earlier," you stammered, eyes fixed on your hands, which were in your lap. "I wasn't trying to - I thought you were going to take longer."

"I should have warned you, too," he replied, hesitating just slightly before he gave in and rested his hand on your shoulder. He knew he shouldn't keep doing this, keep entering your personal space or touching you, but he couldn't help himself. You were like a drug he couldn't get enough of. "Let's just pretend nothing happened, and be more careful in the future, okay?"

Your muscles relaxed at his words and you finally turned your head to peek up with him, a tentative smile touching your lips. "Okay," you agreed, looking so sweet he had to restrain himself from doing something that would make his earlier words useless.

"Good girl," he responded, and the way you shivered at his praise made him wonder just what else you liked to be called. He was playing a dangerous game, but you were impossible to resist. "Now let's get some breakfast. I'm starving."

~~~~~

"In short, phyto and zooplankton populations appear to be in a dangerously fast decline in the world's oceans," you explained, flicking your presentation to its final slide. You cast your gaze over the audience to lock eyes with Dr. Kim, who was grinning with undeniable pride on his face. Your chest fluttered, and you continued your presentation with renewed confidence.

"With their position as the basis of the food chain for marine life everywhere, it will likely lead to even more disastrous results than are already being witnessed. Fishing villages have been reporting worse catches year after year, and fishing trawlers are crossing over international lines to reach their quotas, which will have both economic and political ramifications."

Another handsome man was nodding along with your words, cheeks dimpling into an approving smile, and you felt another surge of delight that your work was being so well-received.

"Unless policies are put into place to protect these fragile ecosystems, these shortages will only grow worse. We need to urge stronger guidelines and restrictions on waste disposal and climate change, otherwise the damage we are causing to these ecosystems may be irrevocable."

You clicked your presentation shut, feeling your cheeks heat up at the applause as the lights in the room turned back on.

"Thank you for such an enlightening report," said the mediator, smiling at you and then looking out at the row of seats. "We will now commence the five-minute Q&A, does anyone have any questions?"

A few hands popped into the air, including that of the handsome, dimpled man. Your chest thumped as you nervously prayed that you would be able to answer everything adequately, and you met Dr. Kim's eyes again for reassurance. He made a goofy face as he gave you a thumbs up, and you felt your nerves settle. The mediator gestured towards Dr. Dimples, and he stood as someone passed him a microphone.

"That was a lovely presentation, Miss [L/n]," he began in a pleasant baritone, eyes crinkling into a warm smile. You felt your face flush despite yourself, and distractedly wondered if you had a thing for older men. "The ocean is vast, and often some findings can be exclusive to a specific area. How has this been accounted for in your research?"

"Great question," you began brightly, relaxing as you realized this was something you could answer quite easily. You smiled at the man as you continued. "You are correct, hard numbers did vary amongst different samples, but…"

You were able to answer every other inquiry just as easily, and you felt your confidence build with each response. What you didn't notice was the way Dr. Kim's smile had faded, and the way his jaw clenched every time you smiled at someone who wasn't him.

~~~~~

"Wonderful job, [y/n]," murmured Dr. Kim quietly when you took your seat next to him.

You felt your body heat up at his praise, and you couldn't help but beam at him. Your cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but you couldn't help it, high off adrenaline and triumph and your professor's approval. He gave a quiet chuckle at the way you were practically vibrating next to him, setting a warm hand on your knee to settle you down before the next presentation.

You tried not to read too much into it, especially since his touch vanished as quickly as it arrived, but it was impossible. Instead of paying attention, you spent the entirety of the next talk hyper-aware of his presence beside you, daydreaming about what it might have felt like if he had kept his hand there.

Would it have stayed innocently in place for the entire presentation? Maybe his fingers would have drawn absent-minded patterns against your stockinged skin as he listened to the lecturer, clueless to the effect he was having on you. Or perhaps he would have dragged those digits teasingly up your thigh, to rest just shy of where you wanted him most.

With a start, you realized the lights had flicked back on and everyone around you was applauding. Holy shit, had you just spent an entire twenty minute presentation daydreaming about your professor's hand not even actually touching you? You shifted in your seat uncomfortably to ease the ache between your legs, realizing your underwear had grown uncomfortably damp.

"Are you alright?"

Hearing Dr. Kim's husky voice, breath hot against your ear, was certainly not helping the state of your body. You squirmed again, too embarrassed to meet his eyes, and thus unable to see the way they flashed darker when he saw your thighs clench.

"J-just a little tired," you mumbled, looking anywhere but at your beautiful, concerned professor. You had literally just promised him earlier that you wouldn't be weird, and here you were fantasizing right next to him. You were the worst.

"It does get a little tiring to sit through talk after talk," he whispered conspiratorially, voice laced with humor. "Did you know that once I fell asleep and woke myself up by snoring during a lecture?"

You giggled in spite of yourself, picturing a cute Dr. Kim with his mouth open, a hint of drool at the corner of those plump lips.

"Are you sure you should be telling me that?" you asked with a grin, finally able to look straight at him and immediately regretting it when his smile pierced your heart. "You're a bad influence, professor."

Something in his eyes shifted at your words, and though his smile didn't change you suddenly felt exposed under his gaze as he responded.

"You have no idea."

~~~~~

Objectively, the conference was going incredibly well. You had absolutely killed your presentation, and Seokjin was currently watching from afar with a glass of wine as you mingled with the other conference-goers. While he had been with you initially, introducing you to a few colleagues here and there, he had backed off to let you handle things on your own. It was important for you to network, and having him hovering over you as if you couldn't speak for yourself would do you no favors.

Even if he absolutely hated it.

He took a long sip of the burgundy liquid, letting it slide down his throat as he watched Namjoon fucking Kim, marine biologist and wunderkind, introduce himself. Seokjin tried not to read into the excited way you answered whatever question he had posed, or the way you flushed when the man aimed his deadly dimples in your direction. He had no right to feel this way, no claim to your smiles or laughter or – why the fuck was he touching you?

"Dr. Kim!"

The surprised cry brought him back to reality, and he realized that his hand was wet with a mixture of wine and blood. There was glass stabbing into his palm and yet he could barely feel it over the rage eating at his chest.

"Oops," he said with a forced chuckle as one of the caterers rushed towards him with a cloth napkin. "I guess I don't know my own strength."

His colleague relaxed slightly at his nonchalance, giving an awkward snort as he took a sip of his own glass.

"I swear, you take absent-minded academic to a whole new level," he teased. Anything further was interrupted when you arrived, somehow beating the caterer.

"Professor!" you exclaimed, looking worried and frantic as you grabbed his hand, uncaring of the glass around your feet. Seokjin glanced at where you had come from, and saw Namjoon Kim staring after you looking more than a little disappointed. Another surge of irritation ran through him. Didn't he know you were way too young for him?

"Do you have a first-aid kit?" you asked the employee who had finally arrived, grabbing the napkin from him without asking and holding it gently beneath Jin's bleeding hand. The roaring in his chest faded to a muted buzz at the tender way you were touching him, careful not to dislodge any of the glass piercing his skin.

"Not here," squeaked the employee, staring wide-eyed at the red dripping to the floor and looking a little green around the edges. "Each room has one though."

"Let's go," you ordered, looking Seokjin straight into the eyes with an adorably determined expression. He couldn't help but humor you, and gave a nod to his colleague before letting you tow him out of the conference hall and into an elevator.

"What happened?" you asked softly, still holding his hand face-up, staring wide-eyed at the lacerations on his skin. What had happened? He had just been watching you, when that man had fucking set his hand on your lower back, and –

"Professor!"

He realized that his hand had tried to clench into a fist and he forced himself to relax.

"I'm not sure," he replied, saved from further questioning when the elevator dinged and the doors swished open.

"You should be more careful," you scolded cutely, pulling him down the hall and fumbling with the keycard for your - our, hissed Jin's brain - hotel room. You dragged him into the bathroom, seating him on the covered toilet as you opened drawers until you found what you were looking for. He watched in amused interest as you pulled a first-aid kit from under the sink, utterly endeared by how you were acting like you were in charge.

You frowned when you opened it, ordered him to stay put as you left the bathroom, then returned with some dainty tweezers.

"Are those for your eyebrows?" he asked in amusement, making you scowl at the clearly lacking first-aid kit.

"Yes," you responded primly before kneeling next to him and taking his bleeding hand in a tender grip that made his heart stutter. "Now be quiet and let me concentrate."

Why did you have to be so fucking cute when you tried to be bossy? You began plucking glass from his palm, attention completely absorbed by your task, and he took the opportunity to drink you in without interruption.

You really were too beautiful for your own good, Jin mused with a mixture of admiration and despair. His eyes trailed over the scrunch of your brow, the slopes of your cheeks, and your pursed lips in a soft caress his hands itched to make a reality. He was only torn away from his silent worship when you clucked your teeth and tugged him to the sink to rinse his hand.

"I think I got everything," you said in a fretful voice that made him want to kiss the worry off your face. "How does it feel?"

"Fine," Jin assured you. He felt better than fine, honestly. The pain in his hand was nothing compared to the euphoria of your skin on his own, or the way your attention was on him and him alone.

"Okay, good," you murmured with a smile, smearing his hand with something that made him hiss. Your expression dropped in an instant, though you wasted no time grabbing a roll of bandages. You wrapped the white cloth around his palm in gentle, almost reverent hands, and peeked up at his face when you were done.

"All set," you said quietly, looking at him tentatively, your hands still holding his in a soft, warm grip. Jin swallowed as he gazed back, completely captivated. You were perfect, a lovely blossom just waiting to be plucked by some uncaring hand. But he couldn't.

Shouldn't.

Then you smiled, and he decided that hell was worth it if it meant that look was reserved for him and him alone, if he could keep you from those who wouldn't treasure you the way you deserved. Especially undeserving predators like Namjoon Kim.

"Not quite," he heard himself say, almost as if he were underwater. You cocked your head at him, confused, and he grinned as the dark vines inside of him cut through the final strands of his self-control. "I hear kisses help speed up the healing process."

~~~~~

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