#i paid for it! i get first dibs! he is gonna be on it every single weeknight

[soldier-poet-king]

Popped in just for five min before bed and saw a post so irritating and mean spirited and absolutely useless, even if it was more correct than not, and I am SO upset about it?? For what???? Over a post from a mutual of a mutual of a mutual of a mutual etc etc etc who I already know I fundamentally disagree with??? In extremely upsetting ways????

GIRL GO TO BED

[bridgertonbabe]

I can just see the two years of Sophie being at school without Benedict in the Meet me at Midnight AU poor Ember is knackered from sending owls along with Benedict’s constantly and him sending her flowers and treats weekly as she gets through the week and rewards for her amazing marks

Colin trying to point out other guys for Sophie and Mike and Phillip being all “dude… Cavender really? Never gonna work.” And Mike already claiming godfather dibs on their babies and asking to officiate their wedding and Colin just wanting to cry at the talk

And then Benedict turning up on Hogsmede weekends

Colin finally coming to his senses and finally realising that they’re clearly made for one another, but I can see it being something like a freak accident in Potions or something (Colin accidentally putting the entirely wrong ingredient into the potion and it blowing up on Sophie or someone deliberately trying to compromise her NEWT project) and shes rushed to either the hospital wing or it’s so bad she’s took to St Mungos (cause we know I love a bit of angst) and Benedict turning up, having been in the middle of painting completely frantic and heartbroken at it all and Colin finally getting it…

And actually it being Colin who asks Benedict if he wants to come on their interrailling tour because he doesn’t want Sophie to be sad and away from him for too long

Colin had been really looking forward to starting their sixth year of Hogwarts, specifically because with his older brother now graduated he no longer had to endure Sophie and him being besottedly lovey-dovey 24/7 as they had been throughout the second half of fifth year and all summer long. At long last there would be semblance of the Awesome Foursome as they used to be before Sophie and Benedict got together, and Colin hoped thinks would revert to normal.

However Benedict still continued to annoy his brother without being physically present as every single damn morning Sophie would stop listening to whatever Colin was saying as soon as Clement had swooped in or Ember had crash-landed with a letter in tow from her boyfriend. Eagerly she'd open it then and there and turn all heart-eyed as she read through his correspondence, which caused Colin to roll his eyes because what could they possibly have to write about to each other every single bloody day? And it wasn't just letters; Benedict would also send her packages containing treats every Friday as well as photos and small paintings he had done just for her.

As annoying as the couple was, Colin thought he at least had until Christmas before he'd have to suffer the ordeal of playing third-wheel to them back at home; but much to his chagrin on the first Hogsmeade weekend of sixth year he came to an abrupt halt as soon as he laid eyes on Benedict when the gang entered The Three Broomsticks Inn. Sophie had squealed in delight from her boyfriend's unexpected appearance and had jumped into his arms before they grabbed a table and Benedict bought them a round of butterbeer. Colin simply couldn't believe that his brother would go so far as to encroach on their Hogsmeade weekend just to spend time with Sophie, and spent the rest of the day grumbling under his breath in a sulk, which the rest of the group paid no mind to as they enjoyed their trip in the local town. For the rest of the year Benedict met them on every Hogsmeade trip and while he would happily hang out with them as a group, for a couple of hours at least he and Sophie would break off by themselves to spend some time alone, something which Phillip and Michael (like the absolute traitors they were) affably encouraged them to do.

Sophie and Benedict were still going from strength to strength heading into seventh year and while Colin had at this point become accustomed to the fact that they were very much an item, it didn't mean his exasperation caused by their relationship had eased any further. Fortunately for Colin, on the first Hogsmeade weekend of the new school year Benedict was away, and so the friendship group remained in tact without any hangers-on and it felt nice to have Sophie's undivided attention within the group again after so long. However, it didn't go unnoticed by other students that Sophie's boyfriend hadn't made it to their regular Hogsmeade meet up as he had done for the previous year.

"Oi, Bridgerton." Cavender sidled up to Colin just as they had left Charms. "Is it true Sophie and your brother are on the rocks?"

"What?" Colin asked, not having anticipated the line of questioning.

"Well he was a no-show at the weekend, wasn't he? So it's got people talking that they've broken up, and on top of that apparently he's stopped sending her letters; so have they?"

Colin opened his mouth to clarify that the reason behind Benedict's absence was because his brother had gone abroad with Henry and Wetherby to visit several European art galleries, and as a result his correspondence with Sophie had been reduced to every third day compared to their daily back and forth.

"I'm not sure." were the words that ended up leaving Colin's mouth instead. "It's between them." he shrugged and tried to ignore the growing feeling of unease forming in his stomach due to his fibbing. "Why'd you ask?"

"Well if she's been dumped then I'd be the first in line to offer her a shoulder to cry on." Cavender smirked darkly. "So if you're saying there's a chance,"

"Look, I wouldn't know." Colin interjected. "He's my brother and she's my best friend so I just stay out of it."

"No, I get you." Cavender winked at him before giving him a pat on the back and sauntering off.

Colin decided to shake off the gnawing in his stomach that he had just done something wrong, and instead opted to think that the conversation was perfectly harmless and wouldn't lead to any far-reaching consequences further down the line. And everything seemed that way until several days later when during break time in the courtyard where he was hanging out with Phillip and Michael, Sophie stormed up to him with a furrowed look of consternation across her face.

"Why did you tell Cavender that Ben dumped me?" she asked point-blankly in lieu of any greeting.

Phillip and Michael whipped their heads to Colin as disbelief contorted their expressions.

"I didn't tell him that!" Colin spluttered, since those words had never actually left his mouth.

"Well then why did he have that impression after talking to you?"

"I... I don't know." Colin swallowed, even though he knew exactly the reason why.

"Really? So you didn't give him the go ahead to hit on me and offer to show me a good time?!"

"Colin, what the fuck?!" Phillip swore as Michael closed his eyes and shook his head exasperatedly.

"I never fucking said any of that!" Colin argued, frustrated by whatever yarn Cavender had spun to Sophie.

"Well why did you let him think he could?" Sophie exclaimed.

"Look, he was just asking if you were single because he was interested-"

"And did you put him right?" Sophie interrupted. "Did you tell him that I'm in a loving relationship with your brother, or did that slip your mind somehow?"

"Sophie, I didn't encourage him!" Colin insisted - ignoring the fact that he did nothing to discourage his peer either. "But is it so wrong for someone else to show interest in you?"

He wasn't too surprised by the bewildered expression of fury pulling on Sophie's face in response to his question.

"I have a boyfriend!" she stated.

"Exactly, and he's all you've ever known." Colin replied. "All this time you've had tunnel vision for Ben and Ben alone and you've never thought to look around and consider anyone else, that there might be others out there who like you just as much or maybe even more than Ben and you're missing out."

Sophie stared at him like his head had just shrunk to the size of a pygmy puff. She glanced to both Michael and Phillip before staring incredulously at Colin once more.

"I'm in love with your brother, Colin! Why the hell would you want me to be considering anyone else?!"

"Oh so you think Ben's back home holed up in his room pining after you hour after hour? You think he isn't going out with Anthony or his mates and checking out other girls, being tempted by other girls, having fun with other girls as he waits for you to graduate school? Because if you think he isn't then you're far more naive than I thought you were. So excuse me for trying to help you realise that there's plenty of other fish in the sea for when Ben outgrows you and ends things!"

Sophie stared at her best friend, her mouth open ajar and her eyes glistening with upset from what he had just thrown back at her. Colin maintained her gaze, if only to ignore the daggers Phillip and Michael were glaring into him in his periphery. He was expecting a rebuttal, for Sophie to scream something back at him; but instead she shook her head miserably, turned on her feet, and marched off. Phillip glared at him and strode straight after her, catching up to her in seconds as they went back inside.

Colin wasn't shocked when he received a smack around the head a second later.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Michael growled at him. "Why would you say any of that to her?"

"I'm just preparing her-"

"Preparing her for what?! When has your brother shown anything other than utter love and devotion to her?"

"They're too young to be this settled-"

"Oh what, you mean like Anthony and Kate? You mean like your parents were?" Michael retorted. "Face it, this has nothing to do with you looking out for Sophie's best interests! This is just you being a massive fucking prick for no good reason!"

Michael began to storm off too before turning on his heel to face Colin again.

"And Cavender? Really? Of all people to stand back for and let them have a shot with her, that's who you gave the go ahead to? You really are a fucking idiot." Michael swore before kissing his teeth and shooting Colin a dirty glare before stalking off.

For the remainder of the term Colin had to lie in the bed he had made for himself as only Michael maintained his companionship (and Colin was sure that was only reluctantly since they shared a dormitory and sat together in most of their classes). Sophie went out of her way to avoid him at every single turn and Phillip aligned himself with her while making it clear to Colin he wasn't going to forgive him until Sophie had, judging by the stony-face he was always met with from him whenever he looked over in their direction.

Back at Aubrey Hollow for Christmas, Colin had anticipated some sort of showdown, having expected Sophie to tell all to Benedict about their falling out but much to his surprise his brother seemed puzzled by the recent division between the pair. Colin had thought he and Sophie would have to talk eventually since they would share his bedroom like they always had, but instead his parents had allowed Sophie to share Benedict's bed now that she was eighteen. It meant that there was little to no crossover between them over the course of the festive break and even if she wasn't with Benedict, Sophie surrounded herself with the rest of his family to keep Colin at arm's length. It was just as Colin was starting to think their friendship was beyond repair that there was a knock at his bedroom door and in walked Benedict and Sophie hand in hand, though the latter didn't look quite so thrilled to be there.

"Okay look," Benedict started with a sigh, giving Sophie's hand a squeeze as he looked to his brother, "I don't know what on earth has happened between you two since you both refuse to talk about it, but this can't go on. I know how much you mean to each other, you've been best friends all this time and I'd hate to see you fall out over... well, whatever it is you've fallen out over, okay? So, I'm going to leave you to talk things out and I just hope that you can make amends. Really, I hate seeing you both like this and I just don't see what could have gotten between you for this to even happen in the first place."

With one last squeeze of Sophie's hand and giving her a quick peck on the cheek, Benedict gave an imperative nod to his brother before exiting the room and closing the door after him. Silence hung between the two friends, with Colin sat on his bed while Sophie hovered in the middle of his bedroom with her arms crossed, both of them equally uncomfortable as the other.

"You didn't tell him anything?" Colin broke the pained silence.

"As much as I can't bear to be around you, I didn't want to see Ben beat you up or duel you for what you said." she replied.

He nodded, appreciative that in spite of her disdain for him that she still considered him enough to not want to set Benedict on him and upset the relationship between the brothers.

"I know you clearly don't like me and Ben being together, and I know we irritate you... but I never thought you were cruel enough to say the things you did. That you thought I was punching above my weight with Ben-"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Colin jumped to his feet, immediately concerned by Sophie's croaking voice. "Sophie, I never thought for a second you were punching with him, that's not what I think."

"Then why did you say-"

"Because I'm the world's biggest arsehole! Everything I said was just me being hurtful and pathetic for no other reason than... I don't even know why. Sophie, I really am so sorry for upsetting you and saying a bunch of things that had no weight behind them. You're right, I was cruel and I was not just a lousy friend but a lousy brother for painting Ben out to be like that just to be a dick. I don't expect you to forgive me and honestly I wouldn't blame you if you never did, but I miss our friendship so much. Ben's right, you mean so much to me and I hate not being friends with you. I just want to make things right between us again-"

He stopped short when Sophie threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, an embrace he immediately latched onto and hugged her back in equal measure, relieved by the physical show of forgiveness even if he didn't think he quite deserved it.

"I've really missed you too." she told him. "And I'm sorry for upsetting you-"

"Nothing you've ever done has upset me." he assured her. "I'm entirely at fault here, Soph. I'm just... I'm just a stupid piece of shit, really. And don't try to say I'm not."

"Well okay, if you insist." she exhaled with amusement into his shoulder and Colin was just relieved to have his best friend back and to be able to make laugh again.

Once they had returned to Hogwarts the Awesome Foursome were reunited once more, with Michael and Phillip both willing to move past the fallout now that Colin had Sophie's forgiveness, and the reunion arrived just in time as preparation for their NEWTs kicked off. Together they studied and revised and kept each other sane, though Sophie seemed noticeably distressed more than usual ahead of the exams, but that was understandable with the pressure weighing down on them all more than ever to do well.

A welcome break for the gang was Quidditch, with Colin and Michael as Hufflepuff beaters, and Sophie and Phillip as substitute Ravenclaw seeker and keeper respectively. While Colin and Michael helped their house romp to victory in their second game of the school year against Gryffindor, Sophie and Phillip were called up as last minute substitutes ahead of Ravenclaw's match against Slytherin.

When he wasn't playing for Hufflepuff, Colin was one of the student commentators and so his voice was echoing around the Quidditch pitch during the Ravenclaw versus Slytherin game, barely trying to conceal his bias for the former team with two of his best friends playing on it (regardless of his two younger sisters playing for the opposing team). Slytherin were being thrashed by the competition, with little to no chance of ever defying the odds, and their fate was all but sealed as soon as the snitch appeared and Sophie sped off to claim victory for her team. Colin boastfully narrated his friend weaving her way through the stands in her chase of the fluttering golden ball, watching her intently as she reached out to catch the snitch - but then in flew Cavender.

Cavender was one of the Slytherin chasers and yet there was a beater's bat in his hand. It would be understandable if one of his beaters had dropped it and he had managed to catch it for them, or even if he was using it to hit an oncoming bludger headed his way; but there were no bludgers at his end of the pitch. Instead he was soaring towards Sophie armed with a bat, his face red with a demonic grin; and while aiming for her, he swung.

Despite being on the opposite side of the oval pitch, Colin heard the crack as loud and clear as if he was right next to it. Gasps went up all around the pitch and across the stands and everyone watched as Sophie dropped instantly from her broom, falling like a ragdoll towards the earth below her. Someone's yelling was sounding all around, but Colin was too hysterical to realise that it was coming from him crying out into the microphone as he watched his best friend plummeting through the air - until Phillip snatched her up in his arms after making a desperate dive for her.

Colin barely even remembered how he got from the commentator's box to the infirmary, it was all a blur; all he could focus on was his best friend lying unconscious in the hospital wing as he clutched her hand. Phillip, still in his keeper's uniform, was clutching her other hand, and Michael was holding her ankle at the end of the bed; all three of them praying for her to wake up soon. Sitting on a free neighbouring bed also shaken up by the events were Colin's three younger sisters as well as Posy and Penelope as they worriedly held vigil for Sophie's health.

He didn't know how long they had been sat waiting there for any news when suddenly the doors to the hospital wing burst open and Benedict stormed in, followed after by his parents and Kate. As soon as Benedict caught sight of Sophie, Colin could see his blanched face pale even more, and Phillip swiftly moved out of the way to allow a frantic Benedict to take his place in holding her hand.

"What on earth happened?" Violet gasped as Edmund stared in horror at Sophie while Kate brought a hand to her mouth.

"A member of the Slytherin team hit her over the head with a beater's bat." Professor Danbury explained.

"By accident?" Edmund swallowed.

"No." Daphne, dressed in her Slytherin Quidditch robes, shook her head right away. "It wasn't an accident."

"He snatched Eloise's bat from her and just took off after Sophie." Posy said.

"Why would someone do this to her? Who could want to hurt her?" Violet shook her head in shock.

"Unfortunately Mr Cavender has been causing problems for quite some time now." Professor Danbury exhaled, and Colin watched the way Benedict kept his teary-eyed gaze focused on Sophie and gently caressed her face. "He's been reprimanded for several years for harassing some of his female peers, and sadly Sophie's been his most recent target."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

"Since the start of this term Mr Cavender has been reported for verbally abusing Sophie in the hallways, spreading false rumours about her around school, and making sexually inappropriate comments towards her."

Colin's face fell and he cracked his neck towards the headteacher, stunned by the revelation that Cavender had been targeting Sophie behind his back. Though, when he cast a look at his friends, both Phillip and Michael seemed just as taken aback by the news as he was. How on earth had none of them been aware of what was going on with their own best friend?

"What? If that's the case then why weren't we informed?!" Violet demanded to know, frowning at the headteacher for answers.

"It was other teachers and prefects who reported the harassment to me. Mr Cavender was warned and given punishments on several occasions, and I even called Sophie to my office to let her know we were doing everything we could to put an end to the situation. I told her I'd contact you as her guardians to inform you of what was happening but she begged me not to." Danbury explained. "She insisted she didn't want any fuss and that she didn't want to concern anyone undeservedly. I explained that we needed to let you know regardless but she pleaded with me not to and justified that if the situation was put to rest that nobody needed to be informed. She was so desperate for there not to be any trouble that I relented but I asked her if she was at least confiding in her friends about it, that she at least had people to talk about it with, though now I realise she really was trying to keep it all to herself, the poor thing."

Colin felt a pit burrowing in his stomach, an endless abyss of guilt that Sophie for whatever reason didn't feel comfortable or think it worthwhile to let anyone know about her ordeal by the hands of Cavender - a guy who he had essentially stood back to allow to go after her. When he looked to his brother he saw tears trickling down Benedict's face, utterly devastated that his girlfriend had been suffering in silence without telling anyone.

"Is she going to be okay?" Edmund asked despairingly to the matron as she joined them.

"She will be, though she'll be here for at least a week."

"How bad was it?"

"She suffered a fractured skull and swelling to the brain," Colin hung his head, clasping Sophie's limp hand in between his as he processed the severity of her injuries, "but I've already administered Skele-Gro and given her an elixir to ease the swelling. She'll be in quite a bit of pain when she comes round but I'll keep her medicated until she's fully healed and recovered."

As much as everyone who loved and cared about Sophie wanted to stay, the matron restricted the amount of visitors meaning the majority of them had to leave for the time being. With the matron estimating it would be a few hours at least until Sophie came round, Kate was able to encourage Phillip, Daphne, and Eloise - all still dressed in their Quidditch attire - to go change their clothes and she coaxed Posy, Francesca, Penelope, and Michael to get something to eat as well. As she shepherded them out of the hospital wing, Violet and Edmund followed Danbury to her office, wanting to witness for themselves Cavender's repercussions for his horrendous actions. It meant Colin and Benedict stayed by Sophie's bedside, sitting in forlorn companionable silence as they waited for her to wake up.

Colin kept looking from the state of his best friend, the bandages around her head offsetting the seemingly peaceful tranquility of her slumber, to his brother who was clearly suffering from heartache as he rested his face against the hand of hers he was clutching closely, intermittently pressing his lips against her hand as he willed her on to be okay. The guilt was eating Colin up inside, seeing what Cavender had done to his best friend, and all because he had been an immature brat over Sophie's relationship with his brother.

"I'm sorry." he choked out after they had been sitting there for who knows how long.

"What?" Benedict blinked a few seconds later, so fixated on Sophie that he barely registered his brother's voice.

"I'm sorry. For everything." Colin trembled. "This is all my fault."

"Colin?" Benedict frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"It's my fault she's lying here. That she's got a fractured skull and fricking swelling on the brain."

"Col," Benedict reached out and touched his arm, "this isn't your fault. It's that cretin's; he's the one who attacked her and has been harassing her. This isn't on you."

"He asked me if you two had broken up." Colin blurted out. "Back in October when you were away in Europe and didn't go to Hogsmeade, and I should have just shut him down then and there... but I was a prat, I was so stupid and thoughtless and instead of telling him you were still together I just acted like I didn't know. I never encouraged him to actually go after Sophie but I didn't discourage him either... and now he's done this to her and been harassing her all this time and it's all because of me, because I was petty and jaded for no fucking reason and... I'm the reason she's lying here." he sobbed, hating himself inherently for all the pain he had caused Sophie by giving Cavender and inch and thus letting Cavender take it to a mile.

He had never felt low, so pathetic, like the worst friend in the whole world - and then Benedict reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Colin, listen to me; this is not your fault." he intoned.

"It is-"

"No it's not. Cavender is the scum of the earth. He's the one who's inflicted his harassment on her, he's the one who battered her over the head; that is not on you." he insisted. "I remember him when I was still here and he's always treated girls horribly. I'm surprised he hasn't done something on this scale before to get himself expelled. I even remember when Sophie and I started dating, I caught him eyeballing us on several occasions, but now in retrospect he must have been zeroing in on Sophie. As much as it hurts to think about, I reckon he's had her in his sights for quite some time and was waiting for any opportunity to swoop in. He might have thought if we had broken up then she would have been easy for him." he shuddered.

"But if I hadn't told him I didn't know,"

"No, Col. You could have told him to get lost then and there; but does Cavender seem like the type to take no for an answer? It wouldn't have mattered if you had told him no or told him you didn't know; he was going to go after her no matter what. So please; don't you dare blame yourself for this. He's the only person I blame for this." Benedict swallowed as he sadly looked over to Sophie.

Colin nodded, accepting that Cavender was a nasty piece of work and knowing if the roles were reversed he wouldn't let Benedict or anyone else blame themselves for the awful actions of a reprehensible monster.

"But I am sorry for how I've treated you guys." Colin said, needing to make his apology known while he had the chance. "I have been such a dick towards you two when you didn't deserve it."

Benedict stewed on his brother's apology for a beat, rubbing his thumb against the back of Sophie's hand as he watched her pensively.

"Can I ask why you were so rattled by us being together? Do you think we're not going to work out or is it feeling like a third wheel,"

"I don't even know." Colin shook his head. "I was just shell-shocked when I found out you were together. I just never once thought you two might ever get together or considered anything of the sort, so it just threw me through a loop. I didn't know how to process it. Then I guess there was a bit of jealousy that you stole my best friend from me... but I was just being an immature brat, I know that now. I just clung onto that petty resentment even when everyone else was telling me to get a grip and chill out."

"Well, I am sorry for upsetting you." Benedict said sincerely. "If you felt betrayed we didn't tell you first, or even admit to you that we had feelings for each other before we got together. Maybe it might have been better if we had."

"It might have done... but I honestly think I was just... just being a child about it all." Colin admitted with a sigh. "Because when you two got together we came back to school and the dynamic changed. You two were always together, you were always tagging along with us, and then Phillip started going out with Lucy, and then Michael started dating anyone and everyone; and suddenly we were less of a friendship group doing everything together and everyone was doing what they wanted to do... except me."

"But you've dated people too." Benedict noted.

"Yeah but only because everyone else was so I thought I might as well. But all I wanted to do was hang out just the four of us, like it had always been... I think I was basically too scared of growing up and falling behind, and I think I placed that blame on you and Sophie because if you hadn't got together... I don't know, maybe we'd still be the Awesome Foursome and doing everything as a group, but that was unfair of me to view it like that. And besides, changes are going to happen no matter what, that's life I know... I've just got to deal with it better."

"It's okay, you know. To be scared by change. It's perfectly natural." Benedict told him, his tone as kind and brotherly as it had always been whenever he had given him advice. "Just talk it out. Whether that's with mum and dad, or your friends, or me; we're always going to be here for you whenever you get scared. You know that, right?"

Colin nodded and shot him a small smile. "Thank you."

"Any time." Benedict smiled back, relieved that they had at long last talked things out.

For several minutes they silently revelled in the progress they had made in rebuilding their relationship after nearly two years of the unspoken divide that had grown between them, both of them glad that they were united and had someone to lean on as Sophie rested between them.

"Um, did Sophie mention to you that us lot were thinking of travelling after we've graduated?" Colin gingerly asked.

"Yeah, she mentioned it." Benedict nodded.

"Did... did you want to come with us?"

Benedict clearly hadn't been expecting the question as his head snapped towards his brother and his brows sprung up.

"Wait, really?"

"I knew Sophie had been hesitant when we were talking about it, and I know she must have been weighing up her options figuring she couldn't ask if you could come to keep the peace; but it would be stupid of me to want to exclude you."

"I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable-"

"You wouldn't." Colin shook his head. "Truly you wouldn't. I might have been a dickhead and in denial for the longest time; but you make Sophie happy and she makes you happy. You've both been happier than I've ever known you ever since you've been together, and I don't understand why I tried to stand in the way of that - man, I've been such a dick." he huffed with vexed mortification of himself. "I love you both so much and all I want is for you both to be truly loved and utterly happy; and you're the happiest when you're together. So please come with us. It would mean the world to Sophie."

A soft smile broke out on Benedict's face and he nodded. "I'd be honoured - just don't get expect me to pick you up and take care of you when you're getting shit-faced."

"That's fine - but you've got to keep it down in the bedroom; I don't want to hear any of that for the sake of our relationship."

"Deal." Benedict chuckled.

Colin went to make another joke when their attention was stolen by the groaning from the bed - Sophie was stirring.

"Sophie." Benedict gasped and jumped to his feet, clutching her hand closer. "Sophie, are you okay?"

The groaning turned into a pained hiss and Sophie struggled to open her eyes properly.

"It hurts." she whimpered.

Without being asked Colin immediately ran off to grab the matron, leaving Benedict to reassure Sophie, gentle soothing her through the pain that must be affecting her head. When the matron accompanied Colin back to the bed she delicately explained to Sophie her injuries and told her she needed another dose of the potions that had already been administered, but warned her they had horrible tastes and would cause her some unease for a few minutes before the painkillers kicked in. Like a trooper, Sophie endured the medicines but as she settled again she winced in agony as the elixirs worked their magic.

"Squeeze my hand, Soph. As tight are you want." Benedict told her and rested his free hand on her shoulder to let her know he wasn't going anywhere.

"Same here." Colin added.

"Colin?" she wheezed. "You're here too?"

"Course I am. And the matron's gone to get everyone else. We've been so worried about you."

"But I'm going to be okay." she whimpered, half trying to comfort him, half uncertain that she would.

"You're going to make a full recovery, sweetheart. It just might hurt for a while longer." Benedict assured her and rubbed at her shoulder.

"Okay." she swallowed with a timid nod.

"Just think good thoughts, Soph. Look forward to all the chocolate we're going to get you to eat for your stay here." Colin said and smiled as soon as his mental image prompted a smile from her. "And you can also look forward to our interrailing trip. Ben's going to come with us, and we're going to have the best time, I promise you."

"Really?" she looked from him to Benedict. "You're coming too?"

"Colin invited me." Benedict told her encouragingly. "I wouldn't pass it up for the world."

"Oh I'm so glad." Sophie smiled, though winced again from the pain of the Skele-Gro affecting her skull.

"Take it easy, Soph."

"Well then, stop making me smile about what I've got to look forward to." she teased back, though it was then followed up by an involuntary cry as the potions continued burning their way through her system.

"It's okay, Soph. It's okay." Benedict tried assuring her, though Colin could see how awful it was for his brother to watch his girlfriend writhing in agony.

"I hate feeling weak." she croaked out.

"That's the last thing you are." Colin stated. "You're the bravest, strongest person I've ever met. So don't you dare think so lowly of yourself."

"Okay." she whined and when another wave of pain went through her she dropped a hold of Colin's hand and instead gripped Benedict's hand between both of hers. "Oh, Ben..."

"I'm right here, baby. I'm going to stay right by your side, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

Colin looked to his brother and in that moment he saw for himself just how utterly devoted and in love he was with Sophie; and after everything she had endured in life, that's all Colin ever wanted for her, and at long last he fully accepted that she and Benedict were meant for each other and that there could be no one else who could love her better than his brother could.

Knowing Sophie well enough, Colin knew she'd much prefer to not let anyone else see her like this because as much as she hated feeling weak, she hated being viewed as weak even more. He told Sophie he'd preempt the arrival of the others and get them to wait outside the hospital wing until she was ready for visitors, which she was gratefully relieved to hear. He gave her shoulder a reassuring rub and then made his way to the doors of the infirmary, but before he left he took one last look at Benedict comforting Sophie through her affliction, watching for a beat as his brother continued to soothe her as best as he could. Safe in the knowledge that his best friend was being cared after by the person who loved her most, Colin let out a sigh of relief and exited the room.

[woahajimes]

the batfamily is stupid as hell and they're self isolating because SOMEBODY got covid (steph) and then SOMEBODY (cass-- who also has covid bc uh stephcass) sneezed on tim who drank from jason's cup without knowing it was jason's cup and anyways everyone in the manor got covid so ✨self isolation for 2 weeks✨

ANYHOW they were all bored out of their minds and jason was about to throw damian out the window bc siblings right

SO BASICALLY cass came up with the big brain idea of a competition (prize being complete immunization of sibling interaction UNLESS they ask for it-- eg. "hey can you open this for me")

teams were made (just two people per team-- duke/damian, jason/cass, steph/harper, dick/tim)

there were "rounds" and these consisted of

round 1: person a has to feed person b a whole jar of peanut butter and they could switch places ONCE (team to finish last was disqualified)

round 2: they had to recreate this picture and had ten minutes to do so, at the end every team compared pictures and alfred decided whose was the worst and that team was out

round 3: they had to run five laps around the manor with their team member on their back, first person to get through the finish line (for the fifth time, there was a picture taken each time they crossed it) won.

simple, right?

WELL NO

first round basically went like this:

jason: NO FUCK YOU AND YOUR STUPID PEANUT BUTTER cass: jason: okay okay ill go first

tim went first, harper went first, and duke went first (duke didn't want to go first but he lost to rock paper scissors so)

tim puked in the first two minutes but alfred had forgotten to clarify that if you puke you're out so basically he kept eating

cass and jason were the first ones to switch

dick and tim switched immediately after (they were waiting for someone else to switch)

steph and harper fucking DIED

"im never eating peanut butter after this"

"by GOD EAT FASTER ITS NOT EVEN A SOLID"

"CAN YOU NOT SHOVE THAT SPOON DOWN MY THROAT"

"IM NOT GOING TO LOSE IN THE FIRST ROUND FUCK YOU"

duke and damian finished first and when ppl asked how (they're the youngest ones, people were sure they couldn't handle it) damian was like "i simply moved all my internal organs to the side" and duke was like "tf you literally ate two spoons and a half"

STEPH AND HARPER LOST and tim laughed (his team got to the next round by literally a second) so harper and steph both threw him the containers and spoons

second round:

tim thought he had a big brain for calling dibs on being on the pool mat but nOOO (duke was on the pool mat, damian was the lightest so yeah--- jason was on the pool mat solely because cass called dibs on jumping and crushing him-- imagine all the chaos)

literally they(jason/cass) took 14 pictures total and all of them were fucked up because of jason (his hands weren’t in the right place, both his legs were picked up)

duke and damian couldn’t do it skjdfhskfh they were D Y I N G (every two minutes you heard a really loud scream/groan with a sudden splat and yeah)

steph and harper had never laughed harder

cass was so done with jason she literally shoved him off the pool mat

tim was literally dead they had taken the shot around 20 times and none of them looked good it was horrible (dick didnt even apologize for crushing tim 90934757894 times -- not every shot was decent so they deleted around 40)

when the timer went off, alfred carefully took all the phones (jason’s phone was somehow at the bottom of the pool and jason was tired(tm) so he asked cass to get the phone pls and cass just got in the pool and shoved the pool mat over (and then got out)

after around 20 minutes of alfred going through the pictures, he decided that the best ones were dick and tim’s (how i have zero idea but)

and then the worst ones were duke and damian’s (so jason and cass made it to the third round)

cass asked alfred why theirs weren’t the best, and alfred said “well master jason’s arm looks very off and he looks genuinely scared” and cass was like “GODDAMNIT JASON” and lost her shit 

LAST ROUND: 

so they did think this through and basically cass on jason’s back and tim on dick’s back

jason: HA! YOU’RE NOT FASTER THAN I AM! dick: i don’t need to be??? you’ve got CASS on your back. you know what that means? jason: .... you wouldn’t.. tim, on dick’s back: *snorts* YEAH OKAY

cass: what are they talking about?  jason: NO NOTHING jason: you might want earbuds or something to like... block the sounds... they’re gonna be wanting to distract you cass: yeah well. I’m not distracted easily

the timer goes off, tim on dick’s back, and they’re pretty even for the first two laps, but then tim’s shoe falls off and tim’s like “WAIT MY SHOE” and dick goes “WHAT THE FUCK” 

and tim is like “whoa youre right KEEP RUNNING” 

cass on jason’s back: HEY STEPH CAN YOU PASS ME THE PRETZELS

update: cass does get pretzels and gives jason a few  jason: CASS THATS MY NOSE cass: OH OOPS LOL

dick: tim i think its time to pull out our secret weapon tim: yeah you’re right tim: tim: HEY CASS *starts humming to ‘levitating’ by dua lipa* tim: 🎶 if you wanna run away with me-  🎶

jason: NO  jason: NOOO CASS COVER YOUR EARS DONT LISTEN TO THEM cass:  🎶 IF YOU WANNA RUN AWAY WITH ME I KNOW A GALAXY WHERE I COULD TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE  🎶

(you may ask how this distracts jason but it just DOES)

dick takes this as a head start and runs faster (theyre on their third lap now- both)

tim gets a bit too excited and leans too much and makes them both fall over (they were abt half a lap ahead)

tim: GET UP GET UP dick: THIS IS YOUR FAULT TF YOU MEAN 

cass:  🎶 YOU WANT ME  🎶 jason:  🎶 I WANT YOU BABY  🎶  *runs past them*  dick: HOW jason: JUST DONT FIGHT IT 

karma’s a bitch (and dick paid steph) and jason slipped, causing them to fall almost the exact way that tim and dick fell

dick and tim have now caught up to them, as jason and cass pick themselves up

jason: we should switch cass: yeah alright do you want me to momentarily kill you so we can distract the others and then you wake up and we run jason: ...no cass:  jason: ... maybe

*two seconds later*

cass: HE’S DEAD! MY POOR BROTHER HE’S DEAD! steph: YEAH WE KNOW YOU MOMENTARILY KILLED HIM GET UP cass: ok jason lets go stand up 

they keep going and dick stops for a second (theyre ahead)  dick: hey its your turn now tim:  dick: yeah i know you cant cmon climb on

COMEPLETE HEADCANON jason and cass won anyways thank you for coming to my ted talk

[theyreonlynoodlesmike]

It’s Just a Movie: Part 12 (Poly!Lost Boys x Fem!Reader)

 <- Previous Chapter  Next Chapter ->

Warnings: cursing

Word Count: 1961

It was truly the last thing that you had expected. While Paul and Marko flirted with you often, Dwayne had barely given you a compliment since your first night. It wasn’t that he ignored you, you just thought that he was neutral towards you. He was quiet and kept mostly to himself, though you had seen him come out of his shell a few times when you were at the cave. But a kiss?

Your hands threaded into his hair as he pressed his lips to yours. It was soft at first, as if he was waiting for you to push him away. When you didn’t, he scooted closer and tilted his head. He molded his lips over yours, guiding your lips and taking a gentle lead. You melted at the soft slide of his against yours, and you hadn’t even realized he was guiding your mouth open until you felt the experimental flick of his tongue against yours. You couldn’t help the small sound that escaped your mouth, and the smile against your lips was unmistakable. He did it again, holding your face in his hands as he pushed the kiss slowly further. One of his hands left your face, instead moving to your knee. Time seemed to melt away, and the only thing you could hear was your heartbeat hammering away in your ears. 

It seemed the same for Dwayne, as neither of you paid attention to the oncoming footsteps until the sheet to your room was being ripped to the side. The kiss had been slow and soft, but the ending was abrupt in comparison. Not only did his lips leave yours, but he was quick to snatch away his hand as the two of your heads snapped to the sound of, 

“Is everything- OH-” And you saw that the two blondes had draped themselves in the doorway, replacing where the sheet had been. Marko was quick to laugh, the snicker loud as he reacted to the unexpected find. Paul stared for a moment, having been the one who spoke and stopped himself. It seemed, as his mouth hung loosely open, that he was speechless from the sight. He blinked and shook his head, finally saying, “Dwayne, you dick. You dog- You-” But the shorter of the two blondes was yanking him out of the room, a wide smile still plastered on his face as he shouted, 

“Go back to what you were doing! Pretend we were never here.” He said, as Paul protested next to him. But, just as quickly as they’d come, the blondes left. The two of you could hear Pauls protesting and Markos laughter fade down the hall, and you assumed Dwayne could hear it for far longer than you could. When you looked over at him, he looked just as embarrassed as you were. He ran a hand through his hair, looking away as he mumbled something under his breath. You tried to calm your flushed cheeks, and your even quicker heart. The embarrassment almost overshadowed your excitement from the previous action, and you busied yourself by clearing your throat and becoming suddenly very interested in your nails. You tried to think of something to say, but the only thing your brain could come up with was a lame, 

“Well, that was interesting.” And you cringed just from the absolute awkwardness from the sentence. But, the brunette besides you let out a small laugh. You looked over at him, and seeing the smile on his face made your heart melt. It lit up his face, chasing away any traces of anything that could make him intimidating. 

“Interesting?” He echoed, as if he’d never heard that one before. But, before you could defend your choice of words, he was swooping back in and placing a sweet, and shorter, kiss on your lips. When he pulled away, whatever argument you had quickly died in your throat. Instead, your cheeks flushed and you gave him a small push when he began to chuckle at, what you assumed, was the look on your face. Before he could tease you, you pulled him back in and found that, surprisingly, you seemed to have a similar effect on him.

Dwayne and you were stuck like glue after his confession, trading kisses that got sleepier and sleepier as the sun approached. Dwayne didn’t leave until you could hardly keep your eyes open, and, while you considered asking him to stay, he opted to head back towards his room with the boys. The next night, he was the first to check on you in your room, and you were asking him to take you to the boardwalk before the others were even ready. He accepted, as he seemed to want to get some alone time with you, and you later found out why. 

You and Dwayne had gone to a few stores, similar to how you had every night since you’d landed in their world. Like always, Dwayne was subtle. He continued to offer you gifts, but you couldn’t help but smile every time he did now that you knew what they meant. You mirrored his actions, offering him some gifts of your own. You offered him a bracelet, one that you made sure to buy instead of steal, and a cassette. He was quick to accept them, and even quicker to hide the smile that they made cross his face. You liked to think he’d be blushing as you tied the bracelet to his wrist, though the cassette was simply pocketed. As you wandered through the shops, you found that any touches he gave you seemed to linger. Finally, as he steered you towards the steps to the beach, you reached out and took his hand. His larger one wrapped tightly around yours, and it seemed the two of you were going to end your sudden date on the beach until you heard a yell of both of your names. You turned, and Dwayne sighed as you watched Paul jog to catch up with the pair of you. He seemed to have wanted to ignore the blonde and head towards the beach anyways, and Paul landed a punch on his arm once he was within reach.

“Asshole, I know you heard me. Hey, sugar.” He said, nodding towards you and giving you a smile. When he turned back towards the brunette, Paul said, “You can’t just hog the babe. Plus, I called dibs and-”

“Wait, what?” You interrupted. After spending a few weeks with the boys, you found that their system of keeping the peace outside of David’s direct commands was an ongoing calling of dibs. It solved issues of all kinds, and this was the first you had heard of it being ignored. Paul enthusiastically said, seemingly not connecting who your annoyance was directed at.

“Yeah! I was supposed to take you on a date tonight, until this asshole-” He said, putting extra emphasis on the word. “Decided to wake up before all of us and steal you. Not cool, by the way.” He added, and Dwayne rolled his eyes. You heard him mutter,

“It’s not my fault it takes you an hour to do your hair.” He said, and Paul was ready to fire back before Dwayne continued. “Plus, I didn’t think y/n would appreciate getting called dibs on. Or having to wait for you to get ready.” Dwayne said, and you almost had to hand it to him. It was a pretty good comeback, even if you knew he was just trying to worm himself out of this one. Paul seemed to realize he was trying to do the same, and pointed at him as he said, 

“Hey! Well, whatever, man. It’s my turn with the babe. David said-” And this made you pause. You gave the blonde a look, quickly interrupting his rant with, 

“David said? Oh, what? He controls who I go on dates with now too?” You snapped, and you watched the blonde quickly cringe and try to rephrase his words. He put his hands up, his attention now completely turned to you as he said, 

“No, I- Just since- To avoid any fights, David said that we should take turns-” But he stopped himself. From the look on your face, he seemed to realize that he was only digging himself into a hole every time he mentioned the bleached blondes name. Neither of you had said anything about the night before, let alone apologized to each other. And, while you hadn’t been upset at him the night before, you were now. Especially if he was deciding that his control stemmed over you. First, when you were leaving and now who you were allowed to go on dates with? The first issue you could understand. His own length of life was involved. But the second? You had no idea what made him think he had any say in that. He seemed to totally have an issue with power, and you were starting to become more and more pissed at the bleach haired tyrant. Finally, the blonde sighed and said, “You’re not gonna come on that date with me, are you?” And, while you didn’t want to punish Paul for your anger towards David, you still said, 

“Yeah, not a chance. Tell David that he doesn’t get to say shit about who I go on dates with.” You said, and you grabbed Dwayne’s hand, pulling the boy towards the steps. "Or anything I do, for that matter." You were too heated and annoyed to notice the smug smile he was sending Paul, or the bird that Paul responded with. When the two of you found a spot on the beach, and Dwayne finished building you a bonfire, the two of you sat in the sand. It didn’t take long for him to make a move. He started by brushing your hair away from your face, and then cupping your cheek. Before he could even lean in, you were bridging the gap. It was different from your previous kisses. They had been slow and sleepy, with Dwayne taking the lead. You couldn’t help but blame the change on your current mood. While you tried not to let that interaction ruin your mood, you couldn’t help but let your anger bleed into it. Your anger led the kiss, and even led you into the boys lap. Dwayne followed along, his thumbs brushing your cheeks and trying to make your annoyance melt away. When it wouldn’t, he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against yours with a sigh. You held one of the hands on your face, and he quietly asked,

“Are you okay?” As he leaned away to get a good look at you. All it had taken was a single prod, and you let your frustration fall from your lips.

“It’s just- Paul didn’t even ask me out! Or make a move! And take turns? What the hell does that mean? He just assumed that because David said so that I would accept. It’s- It’s bullshit.” You said, and you tried not to think about how you sounded just a little like Marko. After a moment, Dwayne said, 

“I think he thought he was making it pretty obvious. I mean-” He gave you a suggestive nod, letting it fill up the gap. You sighed. You supposed he did, but he’d never made an actual move. You had thought that he was just like that. You sighed again, before moving to rest your forehead on the boys shoulder. He let you, and reached around to rub your side. After a quiet moment, you finally mumbled into his shoulder, 

“What, next you’re gonna tell me that Marko and David like me.” Your voice was laced with sarcasm, but Dwayne said a soft, 

“Well…”

[angrypomerianian]

it’s bring your sibling to school day and katsuki, monoma, toga, and hawks are siblings. todoroki gets the shovel talk. bakugou and fuyumi are best friends. chaos ensues. (todobaku~)

“alright,“ aizawa slams his papers onto his desk. “tomorrow is bring your sibling to school day. if you don’t have siblings, don’t bring anyone. if you do, then bring your siblings. simple as that.”

the class fell into an excited chatter as they started discussing who they were going to bring. kirishima bounded over to katsuki, “hey, bakubro! i’m going to bring my little sister. i’ve told her all about you, she’s going to love you!”

bakugou flushed at that statement. he could feel todoroki’s jealous stare. they’d been dating for a few months, but decided not to announce it. they didn’t think it was a big deal, so they decided it was nobodies business. “hey, who are you going to bring?“ kirishima asked.

“my siblings.“

kirishima nearly fell out of his chair, “you have siblings!? and you didn’t tell me!?”

mina bounds over, “who has siblings?”

“bakubro! and he didn’t tell us.”

she slams her hands on the desk, “you have siblings!? and you didn’t tell us!?”

“that’s exactly what i said!” 

he rolled his eyes, “you’ll all meet them tomorrow if you wanna see them so badly.” 

________

the next day, he was forced to wake up the birdie by himself. “BIRDBRAIN, GET THE FUCK UP!”

hawks fell out of his bed, squawking, “why do you have to be so damn loud in the morning...”

katsuki crossed his arms, “it’s bring your siblings to school day and everyone else is down in the kitchen.”

“fine...”

hawks and katsuki go down to the kitchen and see monoma chasing toga around the kitchen.

“i said i called dibs on the last bagel, you psycho!” 

toga giggled, “i got to it first! finder’s keepers, loser’s weepers!”

katsuki rolled his eyes, “i picked up more bagels the other day, neito. look in the pantry.”

monoma sped off, mood suddenly lifted and katsuki turned to hawks, “keigo, we’re going to make an entrance at U.A. today. nedzu already knows about us, so you are going to fly us in last minute, neito and toga on your back, and you’ll be carrying me in your arms.”

hawks nodded, too dazed to compute what he just said. katsuki goes to grab toga, neito, and a bagel, and they are off. 

hawks was to busy with work to be able to take them to school by flying, and katsuki missed this feeling. he missed the buzz while slicing through the air, wind tangling his hair even more, and the chilling air whipping at his face. he whoops, way too unhinged in the morning, and neito starts yelling, “katsuki calm the FUCK down! i don’t know how your classmates haven’t found out how unhinged you get in the morning.”

toga giggled, “i can’t wait to see izu-kun! and who’s the boy you’re seeing? shouto todoroki?”

hawks froze, “you like ENDEAVOR’S SON? WHY DON’T I KNOW ABOUT THIS!?” 

katsuki’s face suddenly heated up, “BECAUSE I DON’T WANT YOU TO GIVE HIM A SHITTY SHOVEL TALK!”

before hawks had the time to retort, U.A. was getting closer. katsuki smirked, “alright motherfuckers, i know when homeroom starts so we’re going to enter the building right before we’re late.”

toga looked at him, “why can’t we be late?”

“because i need my perfect attendance.”

neito snorted, “that’s seems like the nerd you are.”

“you shut the fuck up. i’m not the one going on about how ‘class 1-b is more superior’ and all that bullshit.” neito pouts, and the three laugh. 

it was 8:20, time to get this show on the road.  hawks dives down, giving a feather to each kid. they stand on it, like a skateboard, and hawks controls the feathers. katsuki, neito, and toga are next to hawks, skidding across the ground with feathers. they all do flips, tricks, and jumps (like snowboarding) and laugh together.

they can feel people’s stares and hear their whispers, but they don’t care. they’re getting closer to the door, and they hear excited shouts and chatter.

neito glances at katsuki, “you ready for this show?”

katsuki grins “hell yeah.”

hawks zooms them across, and lets them do flips. they burst open the door, startling most people but they don’t care, and start flying through the classroom.

toga giggles, “that was so fun~!” there were yells in the air, but their kids calmed the siblings down. they’d wait for a little, as she didn’t seem like she was attacking anytime soon.

katsuki was still floating in the air, “keigo let me the fuck down!”

keigo crossed his arms, “no! i need to meet this todoroki kid you-”

“THAT’S A SHITTY SECRET, NO ONE KNOWS YET.”

“well everyone’s gonna know now!”

katsuki jumps off his feather, and lunges towards the number 2 pro hero. there are some shrieks, but he ignores them. “keigo- you fucker- shut the fuck- up!”

“where’s this todoroki kid you seeing?”

uraraka jumps up “you and todoroki are dating!?”

katsuki turns red, and todoroki flushes at the sudden attention. fuyumi and natsuo were staring at him with wide eyes, and todoroki shrinks away from their gazes. “this is all your fault, why’d you bring that up!? fuck you, toga! and get the fuck away from the shitty nerd!” 

toga was leaning over izuku’s desk, all in his face. katsuki rolled his eyes, “i’ll call kurogiri if you don’t stop!”

toga squeaked, then pouted, “fine~”

“well, well, well! i hope you all remember that class 1-a is inferior to-”

“NEITO! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST YOU ARE ALL ADULT CHILDREN! WHY CAN’T YOU FUCKING BEHAVE FOR A SHITTY DAY!? I COOK, I CLEAN, I PAY THE FUCKING TAXES. ...shit.”  

the class was silent. katsuki paid his own taxes? what about his parents? 

“you extras weren’t supposed to hear that. ANYWAY! I ASKED Y’ALL TO BEHAVE FOR ONE DAY AND WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU FUCKED IT UP!” katsuki took a deep breath, “so, you’re going to behave, right?” his voice was dangerously quiet. 

neito, toga, and hawks quickly nodded their heads. a quiet katsuki was an angry katsuki. “now, we have to go to neito’s class. come on.” 

katsuki pulled hawks, toga, and neito all onto his shoulder, and walked out the door. “if aizawa-sensei asks, i went to 1-b’s class to drop this piece of shit off.”

kirishima was the first to get out of his shock., “alright, bakubro! hey, aiko, that’s bakugou! the one i told you about!” the little girl nodded, a little shocked.

katsuki slammed the door open, and strolled out. he was carrying them all so easily, like he was used to this. that’s what carrying nitroglycerin filled gauntlets does for you. he stalks to 1-b’s classroom. he could hear vlad king asking where monoma was, and took that as an opportunity to answer his question.

“your kids right here vlad, chill a little bit.” everyone’s eyes widened as katsuki entered the room, a villain, the #2 pro hero, and neito slung over his shoulders. 

he plopped neito onto the floor, and puts his hand on his hips. neito looks up at him, dazed and looking like a lost child. “alright, before i leave, i got some shit to get over with.” he stalks over to kendo, gaze sharp and attentive.

after some silent moments, and throws the two other bodies onto the floor, ignoring their whines and protests, and puts his hands together. “i am so sorry that i had to burden you to keep neito in place. i lose about 100 braincells just talking to him on a daily basis, and i have no idea how you are even alive. i’d like you to pay you for making my life so much easier every fucking day.”

he hands her a 10,000 yen (about 100 dollars in usd) and grabs toga and hawks by the collars. 

kendo starts stuttering, “i-i, you don’t have to give this to me! it’s too much, really!”

katsuki rolled his eyes, “girlie you probably lost about 200,000 fucking braincells, you deserve it. taking care of one monoma neito is like taking care of 20 problem children.”

“b-but! 10,000 yen!? how do you get that money?”

“i work. and aizawa-sensei pays me to take care of class 1-a on a daily basis.”

kendo mutely nodded. “anyway, neito don’t you have something to say to your classmates?”

“wha-! i thought you were kidding when you said that!”

“nope. saying this moment or i’m grounding you and prohibiting you from saying that class 1-b is superior than class 1-a.”

“he has power over that kind of thing...?” awase muttered. 

monoma stands up and walks over to vlad king, “...thank you for being my teacher, vlad king-sensei.”

katsuki nods proudly, ignoring the adult’s spluttering, and picks toga and hawks up by their collars. “say hi to neito’s class.”

“hi~!”

“hello!”

katsuki nods in approval, “alright, neito i’m picking you up after school, you better behave. if i hear from anybody that this poor girl is losing her sanity over karate-chopping your neck today, i’m pouring salt in your water.”

neito nods feverently, goes to sit down, and katsuki leaves the classroom. he strolls back to the class, still holding the two adult-children by the collars, and plops them next to his seats, and stares at them. “what the fuck do you want now?”

“can i have some blood?” the students look at him in alarm, thinking that they were going to get some blood stolen from them, but katsuki takes a baby bottle out of his jacket pocket. it’s filled with... blood. toga starts drinking it, humming with content.

“uh, katsuki?”

“WHAT, birdbrain!?”

hawks is now petrified, “c-c-can i still give the shovel talk to y-your boyfriend?”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT.”

hawks pouts and todoroki breathes a sigh of releif. he does not need to be scolded by his father’s coworker, not today.

“katsuki-kun?”

katsuki looks up “hah?”

fuyumi looked at him, not at all fazed by his demeanor, “here’s the mapo tofu recipe you asked for!”

his expression softened just a bit, “thanks.”

she nodded, “no problem! remember the girl i told you about? sakura?”

“the one who glued the other kid’s hands to the table because he was being mean?”

fuyumi nodded, a smile on her face, “she, uh, she ended up kicking him in the balls and used some... explicit language the other day.”

katsuki starts laughing, “finally! the little fucker got what he deserved then.”

she started giggling as well, “i think some of the language came from you and your last visit.”

katsuki rolled his eyes, “i don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. i’m a fucking delight to be around.”

“you sure are! the kids want you to come back soon.”

todoroki takes this as an opportunity to interrupt, “ah, fuyumi-nii, how do you know katsuki?”

she turns to him, “katsuki-kun comes by my classroom and helps out sometimes!”

he nodded, “oh” he then proceeded to lift katsuki up, sit in his chair, and put him on his lap.

the reaction was immediate. bakugou yelped, “what the FUCK do you think you’re doing!?”

“since everybody knows i thought we could do this in public now.”

“you motherfucker! this is a classroom!”

todoroki pouts. “fine...”

he leaves the chair, and katsuki repeatedly bangs his head onto the desk, muttering about how, ‘stupid extras can’t give me a break for a day.’

aizawa finally enters the room, looks at toga and hawks, and wriggles into his sleeping bag. 

hawks tugs on his shirt. katsuki rolls his eyes for about the 50th time today, “what do you need now, fucker?”

“when can i give the shovel talk to your boyfriend?”

he rolled his eyes, “because i have the feeling that you aren’t going to leave me alone until you say yes, just give him the fucking shovel talk now.”

hawks brightened. “thank you! now... shouto todoroki please come with me!”

he gulped, stood up, and stiffly followed hawks. 

natsuo walks up to him, “hey, uh, shouto’s gonna be ok, right?”

katsuki passively waves his hand, “probably.”

the students’ eyes widen along with natsuo’s who looks towards his sister. she just shrugs her shoulders. 

hawks and todoroki come back. hawks looks happy and bright, while todoroki looks like he’s about to throw up. he trudges over to katsuki, stands next to him, and immediately slumps over him.

“what the fuck did you do to him!?” 

“i talked to him!”

“it surely doesn’t look like it.” 

“what do you mean!? he looks fine!”

todoroki still hadn’t made a sound. he was just hugging katsuki as if his life depended on it. 

“really now.” katsuki wasn’t impressed. 

he patted todoroki on the back, “oi, big baby get the fuck up.”

he said something that sounded like a moan and gurgle.

katsuki pushed him to the ground. 

he started pouting (again) and made grabby hands towards katsuki. he sighed, dragged todoroki’s body to where his siblings were, plopped him down, and went to his seat. 

before hawks could say something stupid, he spoke in a low voice, “if you don’t behave yourself until the end of the school day, i will personally drag your ass to the league of villains and have toga drink your blood.”

toga spoke up, “that sounds nice!”

hawks gulped, sat down, and looked at the ground. the classroom was silent, and kirishima jogged towards katsuki. 

“hey, bakubro! wanna meet my sister?”

“whatever, shitty hair.”

“hey, aiko! come over here!”

the little girl goes over to him. she has black hair and red eyes, just like kirishima without his hair dye. “hi, mister! eiji told me all about you!” her eyes brightened, “can i see your quirk?”

he wore a small smile, “sure.” he gives off small sparks, and no smoke was exerted.

“woah! they look like little firecrackers!”

the rest of the kids huddled around katsuki, and he showed various things he could do without making a big mess. he made a glowing sphere, firecrackers, and used some powder to make explosions of different colors. 

the rest of the students watched in awe, and fuyumi and natsuo were studying him. “i think you chose a nice boy, shouto.”

todoroki was watching him fondly, “i know.”

class ended, and the rest of the classes were filled with chaos. the kids kept asking katsuki to show him his quirk, which he did, and during training they were amazed by the big explosions he could make. 

hawks and toga also behaved themselves, hawks occasionaly getting lost from the amount of students asking for autographs, but toga could navigate without a hitch. students were still wary of her, and shrunk away when she walked near them. 

at the end of the day, the kids asked katsuki for one more demonstration, todoroki hugged him until hawks started glaring at him, and they picked up neito. he, thankfully, didn’t cause any trouble and they all went home.

the four walked home in comfortable silence when hawks spoke up. “y’know, i think that todoroki kid is all right.”

“yeah.” katsuki gave them a smile, “thank you.”

they all split into aw’s and how ‘katsuki was getting soft’, until neito made a stupid joke about class 1-a and b. 

[broadstbroskis]

surprises- pt 8 | mat barzal

oooffff it’s been quite a long journey and thanks for sticking with me through the wait! it’s finally here- the next and last part of surprises! thanks to everyone for reading, thanks for all your lovely feedback and kind words throughout this series, and all the support as i worked through this last part! it’s meant the world to me and i hope you all enjoy this last part!

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7

When you wake up one morning to absolute silence, you get suspicious. No baby cries, no sounds of Mat breathing next to you, nothing.

But when you investigate, you find Mat sprawled out on the couch, holding Maeve against his chest, and they’re both passed out. She’s grown, definitely grown a lot since you brought her home, but his hand still covers most of her body. You reach for your phone, snapping a picture (to add to the many you’ve taken of the two of them over the past month), only to fumble it when you see the instagram notification on the front screen. 

Mat’s tagged you in a post and you sit down on the floor in front of the two of them as you slide to open it. And then, you gasp, immediately reaching to cover your mouth and hide the sound, as you look through the roll of pictures that Mat posted.

One Month with Maeve: You Like: eating, sleeping, anything your mom does You Dislike: tummy time

When you look up, Mat’s watching you, with a hopeful look on his face. “Hi.” He says quietly.

“Hi.” You return, flipping your phone around to him. “I call bullshit.”

He laughs-gently and quietly, so as not to wake Maeve-and then grins. “Oh yeah? On what?”

“That she likes anything I do.” Maeve’s just...so content anytime she’s in Mat’s arms. Anytime he’s just in her proximity. She’s recently started to recognize his voice, turning her head for it anytime she hears it...sometimes even over FaceTime. “You are definitely the favorite.”

Mat kisses the top of Maeve’s head gently; it’s a favorite thing for both of you right now, you’re pretty sure. “Maybe, but we still like anything you do.”

You raise an eyebrow at him. “We?”

“Yeah, both of us.” Mat says, like it’s something he says everyday, totally normal and casual.

Cheeks flushed, you stand up. “I’m going to go make breakfast.”

“We’ll come.” Mat stands, careful not to jostle Maeve too much.

“You don’t have to.” You offer. You know how tired he is all the time now, between Maeve and playoffs. He could use all the rest he can get.

“I want to.” Mat settles himself on one of the chairs by the counter and re-adjusts Maeve. “I feel like I barely get to see you guys right now.”

“Somebody’s gotta pay off that nice, big house.” You chirp, pulling out the eggs to make omelets.

Mat laughs. “Can’t even move into it yet and it’s already costing me money.”

“Don’t think about the price tag until you get paid this summer.”

“Once again. You cannot max out my credit card in the Target Home Section. Even with a bonus this year.”

“I gave you the most perfect human ever and this is how you repay me?’

Mat looks down at Maeve, unable to stop the smile that grows over his face, and in return, you feel one spread across yours as you watch him. “Go crazy.”

-----

Two Months with Maeve: You Like: the new hockey mobile Uncle Tito bought you, when your mom and i talk to you You Dislike: the carseat, more tummy time

When you slip into Maeve’s nursery in the new house (just barely unpacked, but still the most unpacked room in the entire house by far), Mat’s got the same sad look on his face that he’s worn for the last three days, standing in the middle of the room, watching her sleep. You give him a minute, see if he notices your presence, and when he doesn’t acknowledge you, you slide behind him and wrap your arms around his waist, dropping your head between his shoulder blades. “You’re still amazing.”

Mat’s laugh is hollow and you know he’s thinking about how he was held scoreless for the last two games this series, thinking about all the things he could have done differently so that they weren’t eliminated. “You’re biased.”

“Like I’ve ever held back from telling you that you suck before.”

It’s not a smile, but the corner of his lips do turn up. “Fair.”

You smile, hiding the grin in his back. “We’re happy to have you home more.”

“Even though this means we won’t get to put Maeve in the cup?” You can picture his eyebrows raise with the question, even though it’s dark and you’re not even looking at him.

“I mean, she would have looked really cute in it.” You poke his side. “But I’ll get over it. We’ll just have to take cute baby pictures with her somewhere else.”

“You mean, like this new house we just moved into?”

“This new house we just moved into where every room is either filled with boxes or has no furniture?”

You feel Mat hesitate. “Maybe there’s a park nearby.” He says and you laugh. 

“Maybe.” You agree, slipping around to curl into his side, so you can both watch Maeve sleep.

-----

Three Months with Maeve: You Like: that new activity mat, music, afternoon walks You Dislike: pop goes the weasel, noisy birds on the walks

“These came out so good.” Molly enthuses, beaming as she stares at the pictures of Maeve that you and Mat had professionally taken, shortly after your conversation about it, to send out in cards to everyone you know.

“Right?” It had taken a little to decide where you wanted to have the pictures taken, the house still not finished and immediately eliminated. Almost all the parks nearby had been eliminated by your photographer due to lighting and the one that hadn’t, had been nixed by you. You and Mat had both scrunched your nose up at the thought of bringing Maeve to the beach already, as well as a few other suggestions. In the end, though, you can’t imagine anyone will be shocked to see the ice rink in the background of a few of the pictures, and it seemed only fitting. 

As usual, Maeve’s perfectly at ease in Mat’s arms, who’s beaming down at her, in your favorite shot of the afternoon, as you hang onto his arm gently to keep yourself upright, the same wide grin on your own face as you look at the two of them. There are so many other shots from the day- Mat skating while holding Maeve; the two of you laughing while you move easily on the ice; close ups of Maeve sleeping peacefully in Mat’s arms, just happy to be close to him (unless it’s the proximity to the ice- she is definitely his daughter). And then there’s all the candids.

“Some tough choices for the photo wall.” Molly muses.

“Gonna need lots of frames.” You agree, as the back door opens and Tito walks in, bouncing Maeve gently in his arms, closely followed by Mat and Brian. 

“Alright, patio’s done.”

“Perfect!” Molly claps her hands together and you give her a look because she sounds too excited. “Great timing.”

Tito huffs, still bouncing Maeve, who’s smiling away at him and probably going to start giggling at any minute. She’d laughed for the first time last week and it felt like since then, she hadn’t stopped. “We said we’d have it done in time, didn’t we?”

“In time for what?” You press, skeptically.

“Yes, “Molly ignores you completely. “But I honestly didn’t believe you.”

“Rude.” Brian teases. “The lack of faith.”

“Yeah.” Tito adds. “What’d we do to deserve this?”

“What are you three talking about?” Mat huffs, and you feel ten times better already that you’re not the only one left out.

“Oh!” Molly blinks, like it’s only just occurred to her that she hasn’t actually told you what’s going on yet. “Right. You two are going out tonight. We made you a dinner reservation and we’re going to stay here and babysit while you do.”

You hesitate, relieved that when you look over to meet Mat’s eyes, you see the same look. “I don’t know.”

“We’re not going to force you to go.” Brian says, before Molly or Tito can jump in, with what’s certain to be a much less soft comment. “We just thought you could use a couple hours out. Without having to worry.”

It’s not...the worst thought, if you’re honest, and you can see the idea growing on Mat as well. “I mean, we’re probably still going to worry.” He says, even as you can see him start to grin.

“What, now, you don’t trust me with your kid?” Tito says, feigning hurt. “And to think, I almost made godfather.”

“Because YN’s brother almost didn’t show up.” Mat throws back at him.

“Classic Christopher.” You grin at the memory of your brother literally running into the church last month for the baptism only just in time. 

“You two go get moving; we promise to take perfect care of your baby.” Molly says.

“Team Baby.” Tito sticks his free hand, the one not holding Maeve to his chest, into the center of the circle you’ve all formed, and stares at you all expectantly, until each one of you piles a hand on top of his. “Team Baby!” He cheers again, and then he steers Maeve over to her activity mat and lies down on the floor with her.

“Go.” Molly gestures and it doesn’t take much more for you and Mat to turn and start getting dressed because that’s her I mean business face. “Dress nice!” She calls after you. “Suit, tie, dress, heels. The works!”

“Where could they possibly be sending us?” Mat mutters as the two of you climb up the steps toward your room, and you hide your snicker much better than he does.

“Mathew!” Molly calls, warningly.

“First shower.” You call dibs to him, and rush past him for it, laughing at the look on his face.

While Mat showers after you, you fix your hair and makeup, and then step into your closet, already pulling a face at all your dresses before you even look at them. 

You’re starting to feel more like yourself after giving birth, finally, after three months, but you don’t feel completely there. You’re not sure you ever will, that’ll you’ll ever feel that easy and carefree again, or that you’ll ever look the same again, and you’ve talked with Grace and Lauren, and are coming to terms with it. Have come to terms with it, really. The trade-off for Maeve’s smiles made everything worth it.

But.

But you don’t have a single dress that fits the way you like now.

There are four dresses on the floor of your closet and at least five more that you couldn’t even bring yourself to try on before you find a charcoal colored slip dress that’s covered in a pattern of dark sequins. The strappy heels that go along with it are an old comfort; they, at least, still fit you.

Mat’s holding a tie up in the mirror when you come out of the closet, like he’s debating if he actually has to wear it, but the second he sees you through the glass, his eyes go wide and the tie drops from his hand.

“Now those hands aren’t going to earn you that new contract.” You tease, unable to handle the thick silence that’s fallen between you.

“What?” It’s like he didn’t even hear the joke; his eyes are roaming up and down. “Fuck. You want to skip dinner?”

You actually kinda do. You’d seen Mat leaving the old apartment all spring in a suit on his way to the airport or the arena, all the way up until they’d been eliminated, so maybe it was just the context of the evening, but he looked unreal tonight. You nod, but then immediately bite your lip...which just makes Mat groan. “They’re not going to let us just stay here, though.”

Mat grins, reaching for your hand. “Trust me on this.”

“I do.” You smile at him, squeezing gently in return,

And it takes the two of you almost thirty minutes to leave the house after that, despite the heated looks in your bedroom, because neither of you wants to leave Maeve again once you see her, but Molly shoves you out the door with threats about missing your reservation, and once the door’s closed, that’s all it takes for Mat to turn his gaze right back to you.

There is, blessedly, still furniture in his old apartment, still his as he continues to decide whether to sell it or rent it, and you’ve never been so thankful for his unusual moment of indecisiveness as he lies you down into his old bed, pressing kisses onto any spot of skin he can find.

-----

Four Months with Maeve: You Like: playing with your toes, sitting, laughing and babbling You Dislike: when anyone takes a toy from you

Expecting Mat, you’re a little surprised when you turn and see that the form that’s flopped down in the shade beside you and Maeve is actually Tyson. “How’s my best girl?” He coos at her, as entranced with her as anyone else has been since you and Mat had come up to Canada last week to see Mat’s family.

Maeve giggles, babbling some noises back at him, and reaching her hands out for his curls. “Don’t.” You warn him, but he’d learned that lesson already this week, and he intercepts her with his thumb instead, a wide grin on his face. “Sucker.” You tease.

“How can you say no to this face?” He cries and yeah, when she’s laughing and smiling like that, you can see what he means. Especially because it’s Mat’s smile she seems to have inherited, even if it looks like the rest of Maeve’s features might be all you.

“Mmmm, you get used to it.” You tell him anyway, and Tyson grins knowingly, so you close your eyes, relaxing in the sun for a moment, confident that someone is watching your baby and you can get a few minutes of rest.

It doesn’t last long, because shortly after closing your eyes, you feel something heavy and wet plaster itself to you and you open one eye to glare, which is as much as you can be bothered with out by the lake. “Mat!”

He’s already grinning down at you, water from the lake dripping from his face to yours. “You looked a little hot.”

“I was very comfortable.”

Mat lays his head down on your chest. “Well, now I’m very comfortable.”

“You are the most annoying person I’ve ever met.” You say, and you don’t need Tyson to laugh to know that you don’t sound serious at all.

“Liar.” Mat says, and you can feel him grinning against your skin. “You love me.”

You pause for a moment, unintentionally, as you move your hand up to play with his hair, but it’s long enough that you feel the smile start to slip from his face. “Yeah.” You tease. “I guess I do.” 

Mat’s grin returns and he presses the softest kiss to whatever piece of skin he can reach, but before he can say anything else, Maeve starts babbling away. “I know.” Tyson coos at her. “They’re so cute it’s disgusting.”

“Hey!” Mat frowns. “Let go of my baby so I can push you down.”

Tyson laughs. “Well thanks for that get out of jail free card!”

-----

Five Months of Maeve: You Like: hide and seek, bananas, applesauce You Dislike: peas (can’t blame you, kiddo)

“Do we really want to try peas again so soon?” You frown at Mat, holding up one of the other jars of baby food.

He shrugs. “Gonna have to jump back in eventually.”

You pull a face. “Spoken like the man who didn’t get puked on.”

“We get puked on like ten times a day!”

“It was green!”

He laughs. “I’ll do the peas this time.”

You laugh. Sucker. “Deal.”

It’s super gratifying then, to see that Maeve hates the peas this time just as much as she had before. She’s not about Mat’s airplane noises once she realizes what’s on the spoon he’s trying to feed her with and none of his usual tricks are working to try and calm her down once she starts crying. 

But when Mat looks at you for help, you don’t do anything but laugh, continuing to film the entire disastrous event. “Really?” He gives you a look.

“Not so cocky now, huh?” You fire the video off into, like, three different chats- the one with his family, to Team Baby, and the Islanders Moms chat, because he could probably use the ego deflation- and then reach for Maeve, who settles almost instantly against you, her crying quieting as you hold her against your side.

“Sure.” Mat grumbles, dropping the spoon against the high-chair’s table. “All calm now.”

“Oh hush.” You tell him, with a smile, knowing exactly what he’s annoyed about. “You’ll go back to being her favorite in an hour; don’t worry.”

Mat tries to hide his grin by ducking his head to clean the high-chair but you see right through him.

-----

Six Months of Maeve: You Like: bouncing, rolling, wiggling, literally any kind of movement You Dislike: teething (but we dislike you teething too), staying still

“I think she’s going to really start crawling soon.” You remark to Mat, the two of you both seated on the floor, opposite sides of the room, to catch her before she could wriggle into any walls.

She hadn’t quite pushed herself up there yet, but she scooted around pretty well.

“Don’t say that.” Mat groans, reaching out for Maeve and ignoring her cry of protest as he placed her back on the ground, safely away from the wall. She gave him a look, but then went right back to rolling around, rolling onto her back and then over to her stomach again, scooting toward you. “Fuck, imagine when she can walk. Chasing after her.”

“Inability to sit still for sure comes from you.” You try to distract Maeve with a toy, watching as she puts it in her mouth and starts to gnaw on it. Her first tooth had come in the other week, an absolute nightmare, and you were pretty sure another one was following. 

“Can’t prove that.” Mat says, eyes fond as he watches Maeve.

“Wanna bet?” You tease. That’s an easy phone call to make.

“Have I told you how pretty you look today?” Mat beams at you and you burst into laughter because you haven’t showered and you’re covered in baby formula.

“That’s what I thought.” You grin, and then reach out to pull Maeve away from the coffee table.

-----

Seven Months of Maeve: You Like: blocks, knocking down block towers, clapping blocks together, anything blocks You Dislike: noise-cancelling headphones

“These are so cute.” Grace beams, scrolling through the pictures on her phone and simultaneously bouncing a wriggly toddler on her lap. “I’ll send them out as soon as we get upstairs.”

You smile, thanking her already, fixing the earphone covering Maeve’s tiny head. It’s the Islanders’ home opener, Maeve’s first game actually attending, and there’d been a well-documented photo shoot with all the kids prior to the group of you heading down to the glass, to wait for warm ups to start. 

She wasn’t a big fan of the headphones you’d placed on her ears, constantly reaching up to bat them off, but she was looking around, eyes wide as she stared at the crowd around her, even after both teams skated out for warm ups, unable to grasp what exactly was happening.

But she was smiling, beaming the whole time, a grin that only got wider when Mat skated up to the glass in front of you and put his fist up against it. She reaches for it as you bring her closer to the glass, grabbing out for it as he taps it with a grin, and then she babbles a bunch of nonsense when she’s stopped by the glass, retracting her hand immediately.

You and Mat both laugh and he gives one last tap on the glass to you both before skating off to rejoin warm ups.

He absolutely lights it up that night, but the gifs of the the three of you at the glass during warmups cycle through the internet for days.

-----

8 Months of Maeve: You Like: your favorite blankie, Cheerios, cheese You Dislike: i really tried with those peas, kid

You’d do literally anything for some sleep right now, even just a power nap. Mat had been gone on a road trip for a few days now, due back shortly, but Maeve had been so clingy the entire time he was gone, not even wanting to be held by Molly when she’d stopped in to visit, and fussing anytime you’d walked away from her. 

She was playing with a couple of her toys on the floor right now, and it took everything in you to keep your eyes open to watch over her. You contemplated moving her into her bouncer, even as she kept side-eyeing you to make sure you were still close, just in case you accidentally dropped into a nap. 

Suddenly, an arm drops over your shoulders and Mat’s pressing a kiss to your temple. “You look sleepy.”

“I’m exhausted.” You lean against him immediately. “When did you get in?”

“Just now.” He squeezes gently, smiling and waving as Maeve, who’s abandoned her toy the moment she saw him, clapping her hands together and beaming at him, babbling at him happily. “She keeping you up at night?”

“She’s just…” You trail off, not sure how to describe what Maeve is right now. Because on one hand, she’s not normally this clingy, and it’s certainly a change of pace. But it’s not a bad thing to have her so close to you all the time, for her to want to be so close to you- you don’t dislike it at all. “I’m just tired.”

He presses another kiss to your forehead, but before he can say anything, Maeve reaches her arms out for him. “Da!” She’s frowning, probably because Mat’s been ignoring her in favor of you. “Dada!” She reaches out again, and this time Mat’s face lights up, both of yours do, as he sweeps her into his lap.

“Say it again!” Mat prompts, tickling her, which of course doesn’t get her to do anything but giggle.

“Dada.” You try, leaning closer, and she repeats it then, but won’t say it again, for all that Mat tries, struggling out of his arms right after that, to go back to playing.

Mat runs his fingers through his hair, looking absolutely floored, and you still haven’t stopped smiling either. Your baby’s first word! You have to tell everyone! But there’ll be time for that later; Mat’s comfy to lean against right now and he doesn’t look like he wants to go anywhere either, so you press a kiss to his cheek and then lie your head back against his shoulder, content to watch Maeve play with her blocks.

-----

9 Months of Maeve: You Like: walking, giving your mom and I heart attacks while walking You Dislike: sitting still for any length of time (stop laughing at me mom)

“You,” Mat sweeps Maeve off her feet and up into his arms as she toddles past him. “Went from walking to running in like two days! Give your mom and I a rest, kiddo.”

“She gets that from you.” You tell him, tiredly. He’s not wrong though. She’d started pulling herself into standing not long ago, and then shortly after, taken her first steps, and then it felt like the next day, she was off to the races. You spent most of your day chasing her around the house now; she almost never wanted to be picked up anymore.

Even now, she was squirming to get out of Mat’s arms and be back on the ground, already starting to whine about it. Mat obliges, and she takes off- or as well as she can; she hasn’t quite mastered it yet, her feet make that distinct slap noise on the floor that you associate with all babies walking. 

Mat chases and brings her back, but you two quickly have to settle each on one side of the room, eyes watching Maeve and turning her between the two of you. “She needs a friend.” You mutter, steering her back towards Mat, for what seems like the hundredth time in ten minutes.

Mat nods furiously. “Suddenly I understand why people have more than one of these.”

You burst into laughter, loud enough that it stops Maeve for a second. But only a second; she’s right back to toddling over toward you, throwing herself at you, giggling along with you for a moment there. “One of these?” You call Mat out, and he joins you in laughing, as Maeve uses your arm to pull herself back up and starts walking again.

Mat shrugs it off laughingly. “You know what I mean.”

You do. “God, I used to not even imagine being able to have another one of her, but god, if another one meant they could entertain each other; I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

“I’d have five more if it meant we didn’t have to chase her like this.” Mat pulls Maeve back into the room, a small noise of protest coming from her until he puts her back on the floor.

You give him a look. “You can find someone else to have five more with.”

When Mat smiles at you, it’s softer, not his usual bright beam. “Alright.” He says. “We won’t have five more. Two or three more.” You side-eye him, trying to gauge how serious he is, but he must take your silence for agreement, because then he does beam.

-----

10 Months of Maeve: You Like: patty cake, waving, causing chaos You Dislike: bananas, apparently, even though you loved them last month

“Tito!” You gasp excitedly, only just remembering to pick Maeve up and bring her with you, ignoring her fuss in favor of Mat and Tito walking in the door with something much more exciting. “Why didn’t  you tell me you were getting a dog?”

Luckily, she’s easily swayed by the dog, eyeing the wriggling puppy in Tito’s arms. She still doesn’t look like she’s 100% certain about it, but it certainly captures her attention; she stops moving in your arms entirely, blinking at the dog, unmoving.

“Uhhh.” Tito says, in response to you, looking at Mat and then back at you. “Not exactly what happened.”

Mat grins. “So you wanted a dog, right?”

Your jaw drops and the next words are out before you can even think about stopping them. “Shut the fuck up.” And then you immediately wince, because you’ve been on Mat recently about watching his language around Maeve, who’s soaking up words now like an absolute sponge. 

But Mat only laughs, reaching to pull the puppy into his arms, and stepping closer to you and Maeve slowly. “Her name’s Blue, but we can change it.”

“Boo!” Maeve repeats, which really ices the cake on that one, and brings a smile to both of your faces. She’s reaching out for the puppy as Mat steps closer, and you prepare yourself for the worst, but Maeve bursts into happy giggles the second her hand touches the puppy.

Blue sniffs her tiny little hand tentatively, and then licks it happy, and Maeve giggles even harder as she does. “I might cry.” You announce. “This is the greatest day. I thought you’d never cave.”

Tito snickers. “He was worried he’d come home one day and you’d brought a stray home.”

“I considered it.”

“Thought this was better.” Mat agrees. “At least I got to screen for a good one.”

“All dogs are good dogs.” You state firmly. “Let’s put her down and let her explore a little.”

“Come on, Menace.” Mat takes Maeve from your arms, who goes happily, reaching for his hair as she does, but you’ve both caught onto the move by now, so he intercepts her hand with his thumb. “Let’s go follow your new best friend.”

-----

11 Months of Maeve: You Like: baby dolls, baby doll stroller, your fancy new cup, Blue You Dislike: puzzles- you’re not really about toys you sit for anymore

“How soon,” Mat starts one night, when you’re getting ready for bed, both child and dog already asleep in crib and crate from an exhausting evening of playtime. “Is too soon, do you think, to bring Maeve out for a skate?”

You’ve got a mouth full of toothpaste, but you think you still manage to convey what you want with a look. “You’re asking me this question?”

“Good point.” You rinse your mouth out and join Mat in bed. “Maybe we’ll start with mini-sticks and a soft ball.”

You burst into laughter. “You think she’s ready for that?”

“Oh she’s got this walking thing down now.” He brushes that off. “My girl’s an expert.”

You roll your eyes. “Yeah, we knew that was coming.���

Mat grins. “Work on that hand eye coordination now.”

You give him a look, trying to decide how serious he is, and then when deciding that he’s absolutely 100% serious, you press a kiss to his shoulder-the nearest spot of him that you can reach. “Please don’t kill our baby.”

Mat’s already scooting in closer to you, already half asleep because this asshole somehow manages to fall asleep like the second his head hits the pillow basically, and he throws an arm over your waist. “Mmm, kay, promise.”

-----

It was a mistake to sit down, you knew that before you even did it, but you’re exhausted from the day. Between spending your morning getting ready for Maeve’s birthday party, playing hostess throughout the afternoon, and then starting the clean-up process, you honestly think you could fall asleep right here against this wall that you’re leaning against.

Your phone buzzes in your pocket and you slip it out-it’s another message from Molly, probably just more pictures that she took throughout the afternoon-but it’s the instagram tag from Mat that really catches your attention.

The app opens to a picture of the two of you standing on either side of Maeve and her smash cake, both wearing happy parent smiles, as her hand brings another fist of icing to an already-covered face. There’s a picture with the three of you standing with his parents and sister; another with Maeve, Tito, Molly, and Brian; and the last one, just you and Maeve, sitting on the floor and her trying to play with the party hat Molly had put on your head, right after you’d fixed the bow on her headband.

1 Year of Maeve: Happy Birthday to our favorite girl! It’s been an entire year with you already and your mom and I can’t wait to see what comes in the next one

You can’t help but smile at both the caption and the pictures, unable to settle on one and still scrolling through the post when you feel Mat sit down next to you. “Somebody’s getting sleepy.”

The same dopey, fond smile is definitely still on your face as you turn to look at Mat and Maeve, who’s curled in his arms in a way she only does now when she’s absolutely exhausted. But she’s fighting it for sure, eyes fluttering shut and then popping back open again. “Big day.” You agree with him. “And it was a nice day. But I’m happy it’s just us now.”

“Yeah.” Mat says, and it almost sounds like his thoughts are completely in another place for a second as he shifts around on the floor for a second. “It was a great day.” It was; it truly was, and even though there’s still a mess to be cleaned, you’re perfectly content to just sit here for a while longer with Mat and Maeve. When he settles, you lean your head against his shoulder, reaching your hand out to rest it on Maeve’s tiny little wrist. “Hey.” Mat says gently.

“Hmm?”

“Marry me?”

“What?” You laugh, until he brings a hand out to you and opens his fist to show off a diamond ring, and then suddenly you’re not laughing at all. “Oh my god.”

“I just-I want a million more days like this with you,” Mat smiles. “I want forever like that. Marry me.”

“Yes.” You breathe. “Yes, god yes, of course.”

And immediately, Mat’s kissing you, or well, trying to, because you’re smiling and kind of crying, and he’s still holding Maeve in his arms, so you both pull away pretty quickly. “I love you. God, I know I don’t tell you that enough, but I do. So much. It-”

“I love you too.” You cut him off. “I really can’t imagine doing this with anyone else.”

Mat beams at you and you reach your left hand out, biting your lip to avoid giggling as he fumbles a little, one-handedly sliding the ring onto it. But he succeeds, and you admire the ring on your finger, as you lean back against Mat’s shoulder.

The silence that follows is comfortable; the only sound the slight wheeze of Maeve’s breathing. “I think she’s finally out.” Mat says quietly, after a moment. “I’ll take her up?”

“Nah.” You clutch at his arm. “Just-let’s just stay here for a while.”

Mat smiles against the side of your head before he kisses it gently. “Okay.” He kisses it again. “But you know you’re stuck with me forever now, right? Not going anywhere.”

You squeeze his arm. “Not stuck.” Mat beams. “Well, I guess I might feel differently in a month or two.”

“Brat.” Mat says fondly. 

“Yup.” You grin and then throw his own words right back at him. “But you’re stuck with me forever now.”

“Never stuck.” Mat says, and it sounds like such a promise that you can’t help but lean over and try to kiss him again.

[brown-bi-beautiful]

Give Me Some Sugar

Steve Rogers AU

Series Masterlist

Sugardaddy! Steve Rogers x Sugarbaby! Reader.

Summary: When young Y/n gets fired from one of her jobs she struggles to make enough money for college loans and Bills, that’s when she meets Steve. What Steve is looking for isn’t exactly a relationship, he just wants someone to look pretty in his arms and take care of his needs without asking many questions about his job.

Series Warnings: Salty reader, age gap, Sugardaddy, and Sugarbaby relationship and all the chaos that comes with it, SMUT (Obviously. Don’t try to tell me you didn’t see that coming, Karen.), asshole people (Yup that’s a warning.), language more will be added later to the chapters.

Characters (as per the chapter): Y/n (Duh), Steve Rogers (Duh again), Kyle (OMC), Sharon Carter, Wanda Maximoff.

Words: 2.9k

Chapter Warning: Language. That’s pretty much it.

CHAPTER ONE

You were happy. Your life was finally on track. You had two jobs that paid enough for your bills and if you keep working just a few more months and you will be able to pay back all of your college loans with interest. You finally got enough courage to stand up to your asshole boyfriend and broke up with him. And to top it all off it was your 21st birthday. It was the best day of your life right? Wrong. As soon as the words fell from your colleague's mouth that “Ed is calling you to his office.” You knew what it was about. All the smiles drained from your face. He didn’t call you this morning to ask you to take the day shift, he called you to fire you. But you went to his office anyway with that little hope in your heart that maybe, just maybe he was calling you to give you a birthday bonus and not to fire you. But knowing the cheap motherfucker he is, that’s probably not gonna happen.

“Ed, you called?” You asked as you poked your head inside after giving two knocks. You were trying so hard to keep it all together and not to burst out with tears already.

“Y/n.....Hey, first of all, happy birthday.” He said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes

“So, you remember my birthday?” You asked. Maybe he wasn’t actually going to fire you. You told your inner self to not get her hopes up.

“Yeah, Chloe reminded me when she saw your friend’s post on Instagram.” He said, making it clear that you were not important enough to remember your birthday. “Look I’m not gonna spin my words and make things complicated, I’m just gonna come straight with this OK? I’m sorry to do this on your birthday but the restaurant is not doing as great as it was a few weeks ago.” You wanted to call on his bullshit, you knew the restaurant was doing just fine, even better you would say, but you decided to stay quiet. “It was a hard decision to make.” Again bullshit, he hated your guts for some reason, if anything he jumped on the opportunity to fire you. “We discussed it for a whole week and decided that we have to let you go. Since you are the one who needs this job the least as you already have another one.” So that was the actual reason. 

You wanted to scream at him and throw your shoe at him and insult him and call him an asshole but then you reminded yourself that you were 21 now, You have to act mature. So you just smiled at him and gave him a nod. You have to say he was pretty surprised at your reaction, he didn’t expect you to act so maturely, after all, you were a little famous for throwing tantrums. 

“We’ll miss you,” Chloe added and you gave her a smile, she actually was a pretty sweet girl, you had no idea how did she put up with this asshole.

“I’ll miss you guys too.” You said and walked back to the locker room. You took off the restaurant’s black and purple hideous t-shirt and put on the shirt you wore this morning. “Did he actually fire you?” A voice said behind you and you turn to look at one of your good friends Kyle. As soon as you looked at him a single tear left your eyes. You nodded your head and he wrapped his arms around you. “It’s my birthday.” You sniffed against his chest. 

“I know. Hey, it's okay. You’ll definitely find a better one I promise.” He said with a comfortable tone and stroked your hair. You nodded with a small smile. “What did you say to him?” He asked.

“Nothing, I don’t wanna act like an immature baby and throw tantrums at him. I took it like a big girl.”

“Huh.. now that’s new. How about you be immature just one more time.”  He said and you gave him a confused look. “He’s a big asshole for firing you, you know? Even bigger for doing it on your birthday, so how about you tell him what big of an asshole he is before you go.” He explained and a smirk made its way on your lips. You took your purse and stormed to the middle of the restaurant.

“Hey, Ed.” You called out and everyone turned to look at you when Ed made his way out of his office you started talking again. “You know you’re an asshole right? You’re a jealous asshole who can’t stand his colleagues when they start earning more than him so he fires them on their birthday, but you know what fuck you and your shitty restaurant and I’m gonna find a better job where the boss is not a dick. And stop sending dick pics to your employees you fucking pervert.” His face turned red as you revealed his dirty little secret in front of the whole restaurant. Kyle winked at you as you throw up both of your middle fingers and walked out of the restaurant.

*******

“You actually said that?” Wanda asked as you continued sobbing and nodded your head. “Did he ever send you any?” She asked.

“No, but he d-did to some of my friends.” You said between sobs and rub your nose in the hanky that Wanda gave you.

“Oh my god, is she still crying?” Sharon said as she walked into the apartment and took off her shoe. “I left an hour ago, y/n, you can’t be still crying.” She said and sat beside you. “I can’t help it.” You said between the sobs again. As soon as you left the restaurant you came to the apartment that the two of your best friends shared. And you started crying as soon as Wanda asked you what happened. Sharon instantly volunteered to go out and bring some of your favorite food to calm you down. “Here, I got your favorite ice cream.” She said pulling out a big tub of mint chocolate chip and you instantly stopped crying and pulled her in a bear hug. You have no idea what would you ever do without these two here. 

After the three of you finished the whole tub of ice cream and Three full movies of twilight it was 6 in the evening. You were in a better mood again. 

“I hate that movie,” Wanda stated as she licked the remaining of her bowl. 

“Yeah, me too.” You said snuggling closer to Sharon.

“Yeah, twilight sucks.......why were we watching it again?” Sharon asked.

“Because we like to say we hate it but we love to hate it.” You said and they nodded their head like you made total sense. 

“Ok, Get up, both of you. Get ready. We need to leave at 11.” Sharon said as she pulled away from the comforter from you and Wanda and gestured for you to get up.

“Where are we going?” You asked with a confused eyebrow.

“It’s your 21st birthday and we are not gonna waste it. We’re going to a club and we are gonna look hot and we are gonna drink a lot of alcohol.” Sharon said firmly.

“Sharon I don’t think so, I mean, I just lost my job and-”

“So? you’re gonna get another one. You can’t just sit here like a fucking sloth till then.” She said and Wanda nodded along as both of them stood in front of you with their hands on their hips. 

“I don’t have anything here.” You said.

“Wear something mine.” Wanda suggested and your eyes lit up “Except for the red dress.” She said when she saw your smirk.

“Come on.”

“You can have my whole closet but that dress.”

“But It's my birthday.” You pouted with puppy dog eyes. No one, no one can resist your puppy dog eyes. So that’s why four and half hours later you were standing in front of Wanda’s trailer giving the final touch to your make-up. The said red dress was hugging your every curve like it was tailored specially for you. The hem landed on your mid-thigh, the plunging neckline was showing more than enough amount of your cleavage, the back was made of four strings. She gave you her black pumps which were a little too higher than your usual shoes. Your hairs were curled perfectly by her. Wanda gleamed at you as she admired her work.

“God, you’re gonna turn some head.” Sharon complimented as she walked in and as always she was looking wonderful. She was wearing a dark blue halter neck dress and Wanda was wearing the same dress as yours but in black. 

The cab was in front of their apartment in fifteen minutes. There was no doubt that clubs in New York were great but they were even greater when your friend’s bouncer friend is on door duty so as soon as the three of you arrived, Wanda smiled at the man standing on the gate and he let you in instantly making the people in the long line behind you groan out in frustration.

Sharon pulled both of you to the floor as soon as you entered the club, the music was so loud that you forgot about your shitty day completely. “Shots?” Wanda asked after a song and you nodded. You kept swaying your hips as you reached the bar. “Kamikaze. three each.” You said to the bartender and he started making your drinks with a smile on his face which you could bet was fake.

He lined up the shots in front of you and the three of you took ‘em within ten seconds. “More,” Sharon yelled and he lined up three more. After drinking five shots each, three of you got back to the floor.

After what felt like hours Wanda tucked on your arm and said.  “Look at those guys, they are hot,” Wanda said pointed at a group of businessmen sitting around a table who looked too rich to be here. They were definitely a lot older than the three of you. Your eyes instantly met with the blond man with the bluest eyes you’ve ever seen. He was already looking at you with an unreadable look on his face. “I called dibs on the blonde, He’s hot,” Sharon said as she looked at the said man who was already looking at you. You felt a slight punch of jealousy in your chest as she eyed him up, or maybe it was just the alcohol. 

“Ok, my legs are gonna give out, I’m gonna take a seat,” Sharon said as she moved to the other corner of the club. “Yeah, me too. You coming?”  Wanda asked you and you shook your head, not taking your eyes off the blond man. 

You don’t know what came over you but you bit your lips and started dancing more sensually than you ever did before, your hands roaming over your own body. He looked like he was enjoying the show way too much, you were pretty sure you could see his boner if it wasn’t so dark. He smirked at you as you swayed your hips.

The little bit of conscience that was left in you was telling you to stop it, that it wasn’t you. You were not like this. But you shut it off and kept dancing. Giving him a show.  

A hand tapped on your shoulder and you came to face with a very familiar face and your eyes lit up. “Kyle.” You exclaimed and jumped into his arm. He hugged you tightly and pulled you up from the ground. “What are you doing here?” You asked.

“Sharon invited me.” He replied. Kyle has a crush on Sharon ever since you have introduced the two of them. He made you promise him that you will never tell her anything about it, you have told him so many times to just ask her out but he keeps saying she’s way out of his league. 

“I didn’t know you would want to hang out with three girls on a Saturday night otherwise I would have asked you to come myself.” You said as you leaned into him due to the loud music, his hands were firmly rested on your waist in a friendly manner but it was enough to make the blond man across the room slightly jealous.

“Well, it wasn’t my plan either, I was gonna do some bowling with my brothers but then Sharon called, and you know I can’t say no to that woman.” He said making you laugh. “I’m gonna go say Hi to her and Wanda and then we’re gonna do some shots OK?” He said loudly over the music and you nodded before pushing him where Sharon and Wanda are sitting. 

You turn around to look for your hot stranger again but much to your dismay he was not sitting there anymore. You frowned as your eyes searched the crowd looking for the blond man who has caught your eyes.

“You looking for someone?” said a husky voice behind you as hot breath ran down your spine. You spun around so quickly that you almost lost your balance but before you could fall your stranger stretched his arm and grabbed you by your waist. “Careful, sweetheart, wouldn’t want that beautiful face to have a scratch on it.” He said as he pulled you close to him and started dancing with you. His grip on your waist was hard, it made you wonder how his strong hands would feel on other parts of your body. You subconsciously started grinding on him and he growled in your ear before grabbing a handful of your ass making you moan out at his sudden action. 

In quick action, he turned you around and pulled you to his chest. His hard member was pressed up against your ass and you ground on it. His hands holding your waist roughly. he leaned down to press his lips against your ear and said “That was a nice show you put up for me, does your boyfriend knows you are dancing for a strange man like that?” he asked.

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” you replied as you pressed your head against his chest. God, he was so strong and manly, so different from all the boys you’ve been with. They were just that, boys, but he was a man and you’ve always craved a man.  

“Good, ‘cause once I like something, I hate to share it with someone else.”  He said making your heart flutter. 

“Do you want to get out of here?” You couldn’t help but ask.

“Next time, Doll.” He said as he leaned down to kiss your neck before walking away from you. You turned to see as he walked away from you, his eyes didn’t leave yours till he disappeared into the crowd. Leaving you there, craving for more. Your heart became heavy with disappointment.

But he had said ‘next time. Did he actually mean something by it or was he just letting you down easy, so that the rejection wouldn’t hurt much? But he also said he liked you. Before your mind could overthink the whole situation your friends walked up to you. 

“Where have you been lost, girl. We’ve been calling for you.” Kyle said and you turned to look at the three of them. “Huh?” was all that left your mouth.

“Let’s do more shots,” Wanda yelled over the crowd making you laugh at her enthusiasm. “I’m good you guys go.” You said.

“Partypooper.“ Sharon said.

“You promised me,” Kyle said.

“But-”

“No buts, let’s go.” Sharon dragged you to the bar. After a few more drinks you guys were ready to go home. You pulled out your card to give it to the bartender to pay for the drinks but he shook his head making you frown.

“Your tab’s been paid for.” the bartender told you.

“What? Who paid for it?” 

“A very generous gentleman. I don’t know his name but he was very blond, said he knew you.” The bartender said and you knew exactly who he was talking about. Why would he reject me and then pay for our drinks? You thought.

“Woah Alex has a secret admirer!” Wanda exclaimed making Sharon and Kyle laugh. A blush made its way on your face but you reminded yourself you have to pay him back. You can’t let a random stranger pay for your shit.

“How much he gave you?” You asked.

“A thousand dollars said it would cover you for the night and the rest was a tip.” He said making your eyes wide like a saucer, not just yours your friends’ too.

A thousand fucking dollars!? that’s more than I have in my account right now. how am I supposed to pay him back?

“Woah, he was generous,” said Sharon.

After that Sharon and Wanda took a cab home and Kyle dropped you at your sister’s house where you were leaving. When you got inside Your sister, her husband and their kids were already sleeping. You went to your room as quietly as you can. You quickly took off your dress, did your night routine, and fell on the bed. You couldn’t stop thinking about the blue-eyed stranger the whole night, even as you slept he was on your mind.

*******

CHAPTER TWO

A/N: This chapter was more like a prologue, the main thing starts from the next one. Like if you like the chapter if there’s something you didn’t like feel free to tell me in the comments or in the asks, If you want to be tagged send me and ask.

Taglist:

@godspeedlover​

@captainchrisstan​

@organisationiskey-posts

@literaturefeen​

[thecandywrites]

Jewel Of The North Part 8

The calm down but a little storm is about to be brewed into a hurricane. 

Again, thanks to @monstersandmaw​ for sharing ice orcs with me. I really appreciate it. Alorna is in the bottom left corner. 

Enjoy. 

Jewel Of The North 

Part 8

“What is wrong with you? You are the only person on the planet that the thought of a millionaire joining the family pisses you off!” John yelled at his wife before he got a call from work. 

“What?” He demanded. 

“Tim called off, is there any way we can get you to come in?” Harald asked him. 

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a bit.” John grumbled before he hung up. 

“You go home and cool off and just think about this and work on a good apology and how we can get into Zara’s good graces. We need her to like us. She’s from a good family and I would bet you twenty bucks that she paid off all her family’s debts, she could do the same for your parents, all of our family’s and hell even Neena’s family’s debts- if she wanted to. She could even donate to the clans. She’s a godsend, literally. You’re always complaining about how I don’t make enough money and how poor we are and our one shot into an easy life in the lap of luxury and you pissed it away on your petty jealousy over what? Because her son is in ballet? Who the fuck cares? He could torture small animals for fun or literally anything else and it shouldn’t make a damn difference! Or was it because she was Anglo? Hell, I’m mostly Anglo and the only time you give a damn is when you can reserve judgement whenever a native marries a non native and you get to sit on top of your high horse and drag everyone else into the mud even though you’re the most guilty of it. Or was the biggest reason you instantly didn’t like her was because she was prettier than you? Gave you some competition for being the most beautiful woman in the family? Was that it? Gods you are so vain! Get over yourself, the world does not revolve around you! She can afford to give Sakura anything she wants and everything she needs and therefore, everything we want and everything we need. She’s the best kind of rich because she wasn’t born with it so her parents didn’t get the chance to tell her to hoard it all, she’s only had it for a couple of years and poor people love to share new wealth! If you had just played nice like your parents asked, we would be on the winning side of this! You knew the family would turn on you if you turned on her. You should have just kept your mouth shut and your judgement to yourself!” John barked as he drove them home before she got out of the car and slammed her door shut and stomped into the house and had a temper tantrum. 

She couldn’t lose like this. Then she got an idea. 

She got in her car and drove to the community center where she knew the remaining elder body would be gathered going over the final details of the festivities the day after tomorrow. But on the way, she saw Doug stumble out of another bar and stagger to his car. 

“What happened to you?” She asked as she pulled up next to him. 

“You don’t want to know.” Doug shook his head. 

“Does it have something to do with Zarasashasabine Kingsley?” She inquired smugly before he looked up at her. 

“Get in and tell me everything.” She invited before he did as she asked and got into her car as she drove to the community center and once there, they stayed and came up with a scheme to get even before Doug seemed to sober up before they went into the center together to address the council. 

“Hey, so there’s been a development…” Alorna insisted to the remaining council of elders that were gathered there. 

Meanwhile-

“Well that was awkward.” You murmured to Noah quietly as he drove over to Taylor’s house to pick up the remainder of your things from her house. 

“That was just Alorna, she always has a blow up at about every family gathering we have. I don’t know if you noticed how everyone else there was way over her bull shit. Literally everyone was mad at her for making a scene. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Noah reassured you before he took your hand from where your arm was wrapped around Sakura and kissed the back of it sweetly. 

“You’re not allowed to feel bad or guilty over the mess Alorna made, it’s Alorna’s mess to clean up. Not yours.” He insisted. “Just give her a wide berth at the summer solstice and you’ll be fine.” He advised. “But it means a lot to me and everyone else that you’ll be coming to it as a priestess. That means the world to the rest of us.” Noah encouraged. 

“You’re welcome, I’ll be happy to do it. Is there anything that needs to be done, like any work on outfits or accessories or anything like that?” You asked. 

“It’s stuff we can work on tomorrow.” He assured you. 

Once you gathered the rest of your things from Taylor’s house and got it all finally put in Noah’s house, he went ahead and took out his ceremonial outfit and laid it out along with Sakura’s as you made sure Sakura would fit hers only to find out that hers was too small. 

“Well lucky for you sweetie, I can sew and first thing tomorrow, we’re gonna go to town and see what we can do to make this work ok?” You reassured Sakura before you all got ready for bed. 

It felt so natural to get into bed with Noah and even though you had a Frozen Tundra sized king bed. You two were cuddled close and you nearly melted when Noah began to scratch your back. 

“Oooh, harder baby,” You moaned which he obliged before you stripped off your night shirt and laid over his chest to provide him all the access to your back you could and before you knew it, scratching turned to stroking turned to massaging and you were in utter bliss. 

“You have an amazing sense of touch. Your pressure is awesome.” You genuinely praised. 

“Thanks.” Noah grinned proudly. Happy that he could please you so well and when you felt his cock poke at your core through the strain of his boxers, it turned you on and before you knew it you had stripped off your underwear and rode him with great enthusiasm because the look of him just staring up at you in awed wonder made you feel like a wonder of the universe. Especially when he would make all these little keens and groans and moans and murmured his praise and love and adoration made you feel like a goddess and the look of him under you was a sight you would happily engrave into your mind forever. He was...perfect. He was handsome, he was built like a blue marble statue of a god and his strong hands that tightly grasped your hips as he guided your movements while also pushing up into you from below were heavenly. 

The next morning you were woken up to the sound of your phone going off and the caller ID told you it was your children. 

“Good morning.” You greeted sleepily from inside Noah’s embrace since he was spooning you. 

“Good morning, are you with Noah?” Skylar asked. 

“Yes I am.” You confirmed. 

“Can we talk to him?” Skylar requested. 

“Sure,” you answered as you gently stroked your foot on his leg which did get him to stir. 

“The kids want to talk to you.” You told him as you handed him your phone from over your shoulder which he lifted his head off his pillow to crack an eye open to see it before he unwrapped his arm which had been wrapped around your waist to reach up and gently take it from you before you turned around in his embrace and cuddled into his warm chest and continue to use his upper arm as your pillow which caused him to bend the arm at the elbow to fold it so he could wrap his forearm around your upper back and shoulders before his fingertips began to delicately stroke your arm. 

“Hello,” he greeted groggily. 

“So, we have been thinking. And if you were up to it...” Skylar began. 

“Put the phone on speaker.” You suggested since you could overhear your daughter before he did as you asked and let the phone rest on the side of your head which made you snort a laugh as his other hand snaked around you and pulled you flush against him as you could feel his morning wood pinned between you which in turn invited you to hike your leg up around his hip. You could still feel all the seed he pumped you full of last night squish between your feminine lips and yet, here you were, hungry for more and Noah’s hand that found your knee and was stroking up your leg to your rear to give it a good squeeze as his hips rolled into yours- it was divine and one of the best ways to wake up. Gods, if you kept this up, your pussy was going to get raw. But at least you were catching up for lost time. 

“Would you be able to take a week off of work so you and Sakura would be able to go on a family cruise with us?” Skylar proposed. 

“Oh no you don’t. No. Nothing too expensive and cruises are nothing but expensive, try again.” You immediately cut in as you picked up the phone to speak into it before you set the phone down on the pillow between Noah’s head and your own. 

“We know, just hear us out before you shoot it down, that’s why we want Noah and Sakura to be our guests on a Disney cruise, to the Frozen Tundra. We originally wanted to go to the Bahamas but Grandpa Gru said that ice orcs can get really sick if they get too hot and we don’t want Sakura especially to get sick. So we figured a Frozen Tundra cruise would be a good in-between. They get to show us a snapshot of the Frozen Tundra and we can show them some Wainwright slash Kingsley hospitality. And we doubt Sakura’s ever been on a cruise and Disney makes the best kids cruises and the kids activities would still give you guys some privacy if you wanted it and we can even get a two bedroom cabin so we can all stay together and Skylar already called dibs on the loft bed and once we can sit down and talk about the possibilities of our two families merging and what that would look like and how that would work and if we figure out it’s not gonna work out, then we got to go on a nice vacation with a nice family and if it does end up working out and we click, the week after the cruise, Noah can fly us home and show us the Frozen Tundra in more detail and we can meet his friends and family and all that jazz.” Xander specified. 

“When would you want to go?” Noah asked. 

“The cruise week would be the third week in July, that way we can have the last week in July up there if everything goes well and that still gives us time to come back home at the beginning of August and have time to get back on our sleep schedule for school.” Xander informed him. 

“What do you think?” Noah asked you. 

“I will admit, I may have been a little too hasty to shoot that down, I apologize for not being respectful in listening to the whole offer before I made a decision. It sounds like a lot of thought and considerations were put into this and all of that sounds fair to me and that gives me enough time to book it and get things mapped out and planned out.” You answered. 

“Then we have a deal.” Noah answered your kids as you heard their cheers which made you and Noah chuckle. 

“Is there anything else that you need to tell me?” You asked as Noah wasted no time in groping your breasts from under your night shirt and you responded by pushing your chest into his touch because you had missed intimate touches like this. 

“Nope, that’s all, we’re looking forward to it.” Your kids chirped charmingly. 

“Well call me if you need me ok?” You invited. 

“Will do, bye.” They bid you before they hung up and right on cue just as Noah finally hiked his hips up into yours and seated himself to the hilt in you, his phone went off. 

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.” Noah groaned as he checked his phone. 

“I am so sorry,” He apologized to you. “Unfortunately I have to answer this.” He said before he answered the phone. 

“Hey Kragan.” He answered. 

“Hey Noah, sorry to bother you but I have a load of supplies that needs to be delivered to Fair Banks for the festival tomorrow and I can’t get a hold of anyone else. Is there any way you can do this load? I can pay…” Kragan began. 

“Yeah, I can do that. Give me a bit, I’m in the middle of something right this second.” Noah said as his hips stroked into yours and you bit your bottom lip to keep from moaning. 

“Thank you so much Noah,” Kragan thanked him before he hung up and with that, he rolled over you and started up in earnest. 

“Don’t you have to get going?” You asked as you clung to him as Noah lavished licks and bites and sucks on your neck, giving you another hickey. 

“I always finish what I start.” Noah murmured in your ear before he picked up speed. 

“Lucky me.” You giggled before you gasped then moaned when he nipped at your ear lobe. 

[almost-jack]

It’s official. I’m a filthy, Jack-simping fuck monster. Chapter 15 is out and it is a smut bucket.

I just posted the smuttiest chapter that I’ve ever written for public consumption. It doesn’t even really require context (other than basic Borderlands 2 knowledge) to read because it is pure FILTH. I’m pretty proud.

Please enjoy and either leave me a comment here or on AO3 (guest comments and kudos welcome) or wash your eyeballs, depending on how you feel about it.

This chapter on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27921886/chapters/69799560

Or read below:

Chapter 15 : More Than He Bargained For          

Summary: Axton willingly puts himself in Jack’s way and gets fucked. Hard. Oof.

Notes:

Forgive me lord, for I have sinned, but so help me god, I'll fucking do it again. And again. And again...

Thinkin' about changing the fic's title to "The Lion's Den". What do you guys think?

*Warning: Uhhhh....Axton might take a bit of a beating with some mild non-con mixed in there. He likes some it, though. *shrug*

The tower was just a short walk from the bar and the pair was entering the massive living room of the VIP suite within minutes. Rei retrieved a bottle of Jack’s fancy champagne and poured three glasses, setting one down on an end table to wait for Jack, then she sat down on an ornate couch with gold upholstery and patted the seat next to her. Axton joined her, staring around at the lavish, ostentatious suite.

“Wow, this place is uh…”

“Excessive? Yeah, I know. Jack’s aesthetic is something along the lines of, “You can’t afford this,” and, “Is there enough black leather in here?”” she said, laughing.

“Well, you can never have enough black leather, darlin’,” said Axton, reaching out and stroking her cheek.

He leaned in and caught her lips with his own, kissing her firmly, yet gently. Without breaking the kiss, he threw a knee up onto the couch and began crawling forward, crowding her back against the armrest until he was straddling her. Rei ran her hands up his chest, feeling something cold and metallic hanging from his neck. She pulled away to look at the rectangular tags in her hand. Dog tags, and for some reason, a wedding ring. Rei knew better than to ask why.

“A soldier, eh? Your battalion isn’t going to be happy about you fraternizing with Handsome Jack and friends, you know.”

“Don’t have a battalion anymore, I was discharged a while back. I’m a mercenary now, honey. A vault hunter, in fact.”

“You’re a…what?” she said, taken aback.

“He’s a vault hunter. Well, he was a vault hunter. For me,” growled a voice from across the room.

Jack was leaning in the doorway of the suite, arms crossed, brows furrowed in a thunderous scowl. He strode over behind the couch, gripping the edge of the headrest with white knuckles, looming over the pair. Then he sighed, screwing his eyes shut and rubbing his temple.

“Kitten…why? Why do you do this shit to me? It’s like you’re trying to get us both killed.”

“Jack…I don’t understand…”

“I hired this joker as a vault hunter and then tried to kill him. Did you forget that part, Axie? The part where I wanted you dead?”

“Nope, I remember. Crazy bus explosion. Lotta fun,” said Axton, sitting up. Rei slid out from under him and began backing away from the couch, feeling the weight of the grave error she had made.

“So why the hell are you here? Do you need to get fucked by Handsome Jack so badly that you’re willing to risk your life for it? I can’t blame you, but…pretty stupid move, kiddo,” snarled Jack.

“What if that’s exactly why I’m here? Is that so hard to believe?” asked Axton, pouting up at him playfully.

Jack grabbed the burly man by the hair and bent his head back at a painful angle. Axton grimaced but remained still. Jack leaned down so his face was mere inches away, staring at the man in his grasp with fire in his eyes. Rei had seen that expression before, and, although she knew this was about to take an unfortunate turn for Axton, she couldn’t help but feel excited for what was to come. When Jack was at his worst, he always fucked her the best.

Rei sauntered over to the armrest next to Jack and sat, looking quizzically down at Axton.

“I don’t think we believe him, do we, J?” she drawled lazily.

“No, I don’t believe we do. So why don’t you tell us why you’re really here, cupcake?” hissed Jack through clenched teeth.

“Fine, fine, I might have been paid to keep an eye on you two. Uh, do you mind?” he grunted, trying to jerk his head out of Jack’s grip. Jack released him, drawing his pistol and pointing it at Axton’s head instead.

“Well that’s not much better…” mumbled the soldier.

“Who are you working for? I want answers, now,” snarled Jack.

“No can do, big guy. I gave you as much of an answer as you’re gonna get. The rest is classified.”

“Maybe you should fuck it out of him, J.” said Rei, examining her shimmery, black nails disinterestedly.

“Kitten, you always have the best ideas!” crowed Jack, his scowl morphing into a wolfish grin. He tossed her his gun. “Watch him for a minute.” He turned and left the room.

“That was pretty dirty trick, soldier boy,” she said in a low, ominous voice, cocking the gun and aiming between Axton’s eyes.

“I wasn’t trying to trick anyone, just saw an opportunity for some fun on the job and I took it,” he said, shrugging out of his jacket and throwing it over the back of the couch.

“Jack is almost certainly going to kill you once he’s done. Why would you risk that?”

“Ah, darlin’, you underestimate me. I wasn’t a commando for all those years because I’m bad surviving dangerous situations. Jack doesn’t scare me. Also… I wanted to spend a little time with Jack’s girl. See what makes you tick. See if you’re a threat. See…what you have on under that dress,” he said with an impish grin, eyes twinkling up at her.

“Well, you might just get some of what you wanted…and a whole lot you didn’t,” she said, smiling sweetly back.

“Ok kiddos, time for some fun!” announced Jack gleefully, returning to the couch and slipping his gun back into its holster. He held a jumble of straps and chains. Jack separated the tangled items in his hands and flipped a black leather gag over to Rei. “You get his mouth, I’ll get his wrists,” he said, giving Axton a hard shove to the back, forcing him face down on the couch.

Jack yanked Axton’s arms behind him, clinking a pair of thick metal handcuffs around his wrists so quickly that the soldier barely had time to react. Rei snickered at them as she undid the buckle on the gag.

“Yeah, I don’t know about the gag, darli-nghhh!” protested Axton as she stuffed the leather strap in his mouth and fastened it around his head.

“You wanted to see what I have on under my dress, right? Be a good boy and I’ll show you.”

“Oh he said that, did he? Cheeky little bastard,” chuckled Jack, unbuckling his belt. “Kitten, why don’t you come over here and get this party started, hmm? You’re in for a real treat, Axie. Getting to watch my kitten blow me is a real privilege.”

Jack pulled Axton upright by the back of his shirt and plopped down next to him, throwing an arm over his shoulders. He hooked a finger under the chain of the soldier’s dog tags and toyed with it gently, giving him a devilish grin. Rei knelt between Jack’s legs a shoved his pants down, mouthing at the exposed skin of his upper thighs.

“Hmm, I think I have another good idea,” she said softly, pulling a small baggie of purple powder out of her bra.

“Oh you just keep that Eridium concentrate stashed on you at all times, eh, kitten?”

“This stuff is close to my heart. Literally,” she giggled.

She poured a trail of powder down Jack’s thigh and snorted it in one fluid motion. She then tapped a line onto the back of her hand, holding it out to Jack, who sniffed it up appreciatively. He threw back his head and sighed happily, then turned to Axton, positively beaming, and clapped him on the back.

“Holy hell, kiddo. Looks like I’m gonna be fucking you all night long,” he purred in Axton’s ear, pulling himself out of his pants and giving his near instant erection a few assisting strokes.

Rei licked the tip of his cock and Jack’s hand dropped to his side, letting her take over. She sank down on his member, almost to the hilt, making him groan loudly at the hot silkiness of her mouth and her tongue ring gliding over his shaft. She lazily dragged her tongue back up to his cockhead and sucked gently, stroking his slit with the tip of her tongue. Then she picked up her pace and began bobbing her head while pumping his length with a firm grip, getting faster and sloppier with every passing minute. Jack let out another low moan and dug his fingers into Axton’s shoulder with the hand that was still dangling carelessly over it.

“Oh, fuck, kitten. Take it easy, our friend is still waiting for a turn on my dick.”

“I think it’s only fair that I get first dibs, I found him after all. And since I won, shouldn’t I be calling the shots?” she said, sitting back on her heels and wiping her mouth.

Jack raised his eyebrows at her. “Oh yeah, doll? Hey, if that’s what you want…” He shrugged. “That ok with you, buddy?” he said, hooking his arm around Axton’s neck and pulling his head into his chest.

“Mmmph,” came his unintelligible reply. The look on his face was something akin to curiosity with a hint of apprehension, probably at the prospect of being subjected to whatever insane things these two cartoonish villains could think up.

Jack laughed derisively. “Like it even matters what you want at this point, kiddo.”

“Bedroom. Let’s go,” said Rei, snapping her fingers at the two of them.

“You heard that hot little piece of ass, up you get,” said Jack, dragging Axton to his feet and pushing him down the hall.

They followed Rei into the bedroom, Jack hauling Axton onto the bed with him while she waited at the foot, arms crossed. Jack threw an arm over Axton’s shoulders once again, watching her intently. Once she had their full attention, Rei slowly, almost teasingly, unzipped her dress. She let it slide off her body and pool at her feet, revealing black, lacey lingerie with yellow stitching. She bent to remove her silver pumps, but Jack cleared his throat insistently. She stopped and put her hands on her hips, cocking them to one side.

“What?” she said sharply.

“Do me a favor kitten…uhh, boss-kitten…. Leave ‘em on? Please? For daddy?” he pleaded, sticking out his lower lip.

Rei rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a crooked smile. “Fine,” she said climbing up onto the bed and crawling towards them, catlike. She knelt between Axton’s legs and reached behind his head to unfasten the gag.

“The hell are you doing that for? I don’t wanna hear this guy complain all night,” whined Jack.

“He’ll be too busy putting that mouth to work to complain, don’t you worry. Isn’t that right, soldier boy?” she purred, grabbing Axton’s chin and stroking his lower lip with her thumb.

“Mmhmm, whatever you want, darlin’, as long as I get to touch you,” he murmured, his eyes raking over her body hungrily.

Rei smacked his cheek lightly, but firmly. “You don’t get to make demands. The cuffs stay on. Trade places with me.”

Axton awkwardly shifted onto his knees and shuffled out of Rei’s way as she took his spot next to Jack.

“Sit right there, lover boy,” she snapped her fingers at him and pointed between her legs.

He quickly obeyed, keeping his head low to avoid letting the pair see his pleased grin. Rei hooked a leg over his shoulder, pressing into his back with the sharp stiletto of her shoe.

“Down.”

He bent slowly and began kissing a trail up her thigh, nipping at her thong when he reached her pubic bone. He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow questioningly. She gave him a nod and he pulled the garment down with his teeth, tenuously inching it down her legs.

“Lemme help you with that, kiddo,” said Jack lazily, shrugging out of his jacket. He fished around in his pants pocket and produced a switchblade, flipped it open, and hooked it under the waistband of Rei’s panties. Before she could protest, Jack had severed both sides with a flick of his wrist.

“Jack! I liked those!” she hissed in irritation.

“So I’ll buy you another pair,” he murmured, pocketing the knife and kissing his way up her neck before enveloping her mouth. Their lips moved against each other languidly, tongues intertwining, hands tangled in each other’s hair.

Suddenly Rei broke away, moaning wantonly with her eyes screwed shut as she felt Axton’s mouth descend upon the heat between her legs. He lapped at her folds eagerly, dragging his tongue up to swirl around her clit, then back down to dip into her now dripping entrance, kissing and sucking every part of her along the way. After short while, Rei felt the weight of the bed abruptly shift, then heard the creak of a drawer opening. The weight shifted back and Axton cried out, jerking his head up. Rei whined at the loss of contact and sat up on her elbows to see what was the matter.

“Hey, man, are you serious?! You can’t put that on me!” complained Axton, trying to shake off Jack’s grip around his neck.

In the hand that wasn’t clenched around the back of Axton’s neck, Jack held a black leather collar (a plainer version of the one he had given Rei) connected to a chain-link leash. Rei laughed. Jack definitely had an aesthetic, and that was black leather absolutely everywhere. She sat up and folded her legs under her, reaching down to grab Axton’s face and still him.

“Cooperate, or the gag goes back on,” said Rei silkily.

She clenched his jaw in her palm while simultaneously stroking his cheek with her thumb, as though making both a threat and a titillating promise. He huffed in annoyance but slumped down, dropping his head into her lap and allowing Jack to collar him.

“Good boy,” she praised, stroking his hair.

“Thanks, kitten. So can I have a go at him now, or what? Don’t leave me hanging, here,” said Jack impatiently, gesturing towards his ever present, Eridium enhanced erection, still bobbing out of his open fly.

“Aww, you feeling neglected, J? Sure, have at him,” she cooed, crawling over to where Jack knelt behind Axton and sitting up on her knees to nuzzle and nip at his neck.

Jack wound the leash around his hand, curling it into a fist, and when it was short enough, gave it an experimental yank. Axton jerked backward and sputtered, almost losing his balance and toppling back into Jack’s lap. Jack smirked maliciously, the fire still glinting in his eyes.

“Ok, pumpkin. Let’s see what you’re made of,” he said, his voice low and dangerous.

“I, uh… I mean, it’s not my first time at the rodeo, but uh... Don’t go too hard on me, ok?” said Axton, nervously eyeing Jack’s impressively sized cock.

“We’ll see.”

“That means there’s no fuckin’ chance” Rei whispered in Axton’s ear, undoing his belt and pulling down his fly.

She giggled and smacked his ass, urging him up onto his knees while she pulled his pants and boxer briefs down, before unbuttoning his shirt and sliding it down to his elbows. Jack was busily pulling off Axton’s shoes and kicking off his own, then yanking off his vest and shirt without undoing all the buttons. He reached over to the already open drawer beside the bed and pulled out a bottle of lube, slicking up his throbbing erection, and hungrily descending on Axton, forcing his chest down into the bed with a thud. He pressed a hand to his back and held him there while he adjusted Axton’s hips and slid his pants the rest of the way off. Jack began to teasingly press his achingly hard cock between Axton’s cheeks.

“Aw, hey, come on Jack, at least give him a few fingers first,” said Rei sympathetically, although a wicked grin remained fixed across her face.

“Kitten, I don’t think I can wait much longer. I can’t tell if I want to kill something or fuck something, but if one of those two things doesn’t happen soon, I’m definitely going with kill,” Jack said in a strained tone.

“Oh, fuck, come on man…” mumbled Axton into the sheets. He raised his head to glance over his shoulder at Jack, a pleading look in his eyes. “If I survive this night, don’t you want me to at least tell people you’re a good lay? You know they’re gonna ask what Handsome Jack is like in bed …”

Jack shot him one of his signature “if looks could kill” faces and made an exasperated growl deep in his throat in response.

It was clearly taking every ounce of willpower he had to restrain himself from plunging balls deep into the command splayed out before him, but he begrudgingly lubed up a few fingers and got to work. Axton groaned as Jack pumped one large finger into his tight hole, and after a few pumps, another, far too soon for comfort. Jack worked him open quickly, drawing mostly grunts of pain from Axton as he carelessly fucked his fingers into the cuffed man.

“Think you can fucking take me now, cupcake? Or am I still too big for you?” hissed Jack, still pumping his fingers in and out.

“Shut up and do it already, douchebag,” retorted Axton. Jack abruptly yanked his fingers out, making him shudder in pain.

“You reaaally need to remember your manners, or I’m not going to be able to help you, Ax,” Rei said, her voice soft and sickly sweet. She was hovering next to Jack, her arm draped over one of his broad shoulders, her head resting on top of it.

“Oh, sweetheart, nothing can help him now,” growled Jack, lining his cock up with Axton’s quivering hole.

“Maybe he just needs a good dicking. Go on, J, fuck the shit out of him,” urged Rei, her tone absolutely poisonous.

Jack sank into Axton far too quickly, making the commando yelp and writhe underneath him as Jack pressed the weight of his powerful chest into his back. He fell still as Jack gave him a moment to adjust, his breath coming in heavy pants.

“Thaaaaat’s it, deep breaths. Relax, pumpkin, this is nothing. Things haven’t even begun to get bad for you, yet,” crooned Jack as he started to move his hips.

Jack groaned in relief as he slowly thrust his throbbing cock into Axton, the friction easing his frustration. Axton, on the other hand, was struggling not to whimper as the older man began pounding into him, his rhythm going from gentle and controlled to full on jack-hammering in less than a minute.

“So tell me, Axie, did you really think I’d fuck you nicely? That I’d suddenly change my mind about wanting most of you annoying fuckin’ vault hunters dead? You willingly entered the lions’ den, expecting not to get torn to pieces. What the fuck is wrong with you, kiddo?” Jack laughed and punctuated his sentence with a particularly hard thrust, eliciting a satisfying yelp from the man beneath him.

“Guess I’m just a glutton for punishment,” grunted Axton, a hint of amusement in his voice. It seemed as though he was beginning to enjoy himself, and Jack, while pleased that the commando was getting off on being manhandled and tormented by him, wasn’t about to let him enjoy it without consequence.

“Hey, kitten, why don’t you show our friend that little stunt you pulled on Pandora? The one that nearly broke my face?” said Jack, roughly yanking the leash towards himself, forcing Axton to sit up and lean back into his chest. Jack hooked a few fingers under the collar and slowed his thrusts to keep him anchored in place.

Rei, who had been running her nails down Jack’s back and murmuring words of encouragement in his ear, giggled. She reached into Jack’s thigh holster, still bunched around his thighs with his pants, slid out his gun, and turned it on Axton.

“Woah, woah, hold up, at least make it a fair fight if you’re going to try and kill me,” he rasped against the pressure of Jack’s pull on the collar.

“Don’t worry, hun, safety’s on. Doesn’t make it much safer for you, though,” she said with an amused grin, drawing back her arm. She swung the gun down on him, even harder than she had on Jack, decking him across the face, and causing the commando to cry out in pain and surprise. Both Rei and Jack cackled as Axton spat blood onto the bed.

“That all you got, babe?” he said dazedly, giving her a bloodstained grin.

Jack gave the collar a sharp tug.

“We can go harder if you want, kiddo. Just keep running that mouth of yours, see what happens,” he growled. He shoved Axton back down on the mattress and returned to his punishing pace, pumping in and out of him. Axton let out a low moan, his cuffed hands balling into fists behind his back.

Rei watched Jack begin to pant, the muscles in his back tensing. She moved to his side and leaned over Axton to pull Jack into a heated kiss, burying her hands in his hair and digging her nails roughly into his scalp, drawing a soft moan out of the man. All he needed was a little more pain to push him over the edge. She let her lips glide from his mouth, to his jaw, and then down his chest. Rei dragged her tongue over the firm muscles, stopping to lave over his nipple. Suddenly she bit down hard on the tender bud, sending shudders through his body.

“Ah, fuck, kitten, you’re gonna make me cum…” he groaned desperately. “You hear that, Axie? I’m gonna fill your tight little hole and make a huge mess for ya. Let’s see how well you march after being fucked senseless and filled with cum, soldier boy,” he hissed in Axton’s ear.

“Hey, hey, not in-“

Axton tried to protest, but it was too late. Jack was already hunched over his back, one hand buried in Rei’s hair as she continued sinking her teeth into his pectoral, the other between Axton’s shoulders, crushing him into the mattress with all his weight. Jack threw back his head, eyes screwed shut, and gave a final, brutal thrust, sinking his cock all the way to the hilt and letting go. He groaned loudly as he spilled into the man beneath him, his cock twitching and spurting for what felt like ages, pain and pleasure rippling through his body. Finally, he sank forward to lean on his hands, torso still hunched over Axton’s back, head hung low in exhaustion.

“God…damn…that was good. Really fucking good,” he panted, slowly pulling himself out of the commando. A thick stream of cum trickled out of Axton’s abused hole and dribbled down his thighs.

“Fuck you. What the hell,” grumbled Axton, displeased at the wet, tacky feeling of Jack’s cum dripping between his legs.

“HAH! Nope, pretty sure you’re the one who just got fucked here, princess,” said Jack, descending into peels of laughter. “I’ll tell you what, since you got me off so good, I’m gonna let you fuck kitten and get her off that good, too. If she wants. You want that, kitten?”

“About damn time,” she purred, stroking the hair on his chest.

“Well if I’m going to be doing any actual fucking, these cuffs gotta go…”

“Hmm…I do kind of want to see what you’re capable of… Should we trust him, J?”

“Hell, why not. Kid’s earned it. But just to be safe…” Jack pulled his pants back up to his hips, tucking himself away, but leaving the fly open. He removed his gun from its holster and clicked off the safety. “No funny business, ok, kiddo? One wrong move and I’ll blow brains out. And- trust me- it won’t even ruin the mood.”

Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, then went about unlocking the cuffs. Rei slid up the bed to rest her back against the headboard, waiting in eager anticipation.

“Can I go get cleaned up, at least?” asked Axton, sitting up and rubbing his wrists.

“Here,” said Rei, leaning forward and pulling his shirt, still bunched around his elbows, the rest of the way off. She tossed it at him with a derisive laugh.

Axton grumbled but took the shirt and wiped down his legs and ass. He then turned to Rei and slid close enough to nudge her legs apart with his knee, a hand planted on either side of her hips. A devious smile began to play across his lips. He glanced over his shoulder at Jack, checking to see where the gun and leash were in proximity to himself. Jack had given him some slack on the leash to move around, but still had the gun pointed threateningly at his head. The older man moved to kneel beside Axton, also dropping down to lean on his hands, and pressing the gun into his back.

“That good dicking I just gave ya made you a little hard, huh, Axie? You fuckin’ love the abuse, don’t you?” he said, dipping his head to mutter huskily in his ear. Jack licked a hot stripe up Axton’s neck, sending shivers of pleasure down his spine.

Rei reached for Axton’s semi stiff cock and began giving it slow, languid strokes, pleased when he let out a low moan as he hardened beneath her fingers. He leaned in and kissed her, more aggressively and sloppier than he had earlier, and pulled her down underneath him so their hips were flush. He began to grind his now erect length against her pubic bone, enjoying the way her breasts pressed against his chest. He ran a hand down her leg, then suddenly threw it over his shoulder, ignoring the sting as her stiletto dug into his skin. The commando reached between them and began to rub her clit in small circles, making her arch her back as she squirmed underneath him in pleasure.

“Fuck me, soldier boy,” moaned Rei, rolling her hips up to meet his.

“Go on kid, give it to her,” growled Jack, watching the pair lustfully.

Axton positioned himself at Rei’s entrance and sank into her slowly while sucking kisses onto her ankle. He drew himself out almost entirely, just his cockhead teasing her lips, then slowly slid back into her warm, wet heat and repeated the motion.

“Come on soldier, I know you want it rougher than that. We just beat the crap out of you, aren’t you gonna give it right back to us? “ Jack hissed in his ear, as if he was the devil on Axton’s shoulder.

Axton ignored him, opting instead to lean down and suck Rei’s nipple. She moaned and dragged her fingers through his short cropped hair.

“Let’s go kid, if you don’t fuck her proper then I will,” snarled Jack, hooking a finger under his collar and giving it a sharp, warning tug. He was already hard again, waiting, wanting, and aching.

Axton wheezed and glared over at him, but slightly picked up his pace. Rei responded with a pleased little mewl, bringing her hips up to meet his in synchronized rhythm. Axton groaned hotly into her ear, surprised at how close to finishing he already was. He loved danger, and apparently his cock loved it, too.

Suddenly Jack was wrenching him back, sending him toppling to the side.

“Sorry, kid. You had your chance and I’m fuckin’ tired of waiting,” Jack said, shoving his pants off the rest of the way.

Jack pounced upon Rei with a feverish hunger, pulling her legs around his waist and roughly thrusting into her, making her gasp.

“Hang on tight, kitten,” he murmured in her ear, before dropping to his elbows and begging to slam his cock into her at a brutal pace. She gripped his back, her nails digging in deep enough to cause tiny pinpricks of blood to form on the surface of his skin.

Rei was moaning desperately at full volume, unable to control the sounds that Jack was wrenching out of her as he pounded away. Jack himself wasn’t much better, groaning huskily in her ear between heavy breaths, lost in a haze of chemically enhanced arousal.

Rei alternated between moans and whines and whispering filthy things in his ear, egging him on. She dragged her teeth down his neck, biting down hard when she reached the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Jack shuddered in pain and pleasure, feeling a familiar heat pooling in his groin.

“Jack, oh fuck, I’m so close,” she whispered breathily in his ear, eliciting a low, sinful groan from the man.

“Scream my name, baby. You know how I like it. Scream my name while you cum for me, kitten,” he growled.

And in moments, Rei was writhing underneath him, her hips bucking up into his, howling his name in a breathy, high pitched whine. Jack sucked in his breath as her pussy clenched around him, milking his cock, dragging him to the edge. He gave a few more uneven, hitching thrusts and came, slamming his cock into her and spilling inside her with a roar. He continued to press himself as deeply as he could, giving little thrusts, while he rode out the throbbing, twitching spurts of his orgasm, nuzzling her neck and groaning in ecstasy.

After several minutes, Jack raised himself up on his hands, shoulders hunched and panting hard.

“Well,” he said, sounding winded, “that’s how ya do it, kiddo.”

He looked over at Axton, who was leaning against the headboard next to them, one arm behind his head and the other being used to leisurely stroke his very hard cock.

“So, uh… You gonna get out of the way or what?” asked Axton gruffly, his eyes dark with lust.

Jack raised his eyebrows skeptically at him, then sat up and gently maneuvered Rei’s legs to the side. He turned to face Axton.

“Come ‘ere, kid,” Jack ordered, curling a finger at the other man.

Axton shuffled forward obediently, thoughts only focused on getting the relief he so desperately needed.

“Yeah, I’m done sharing,” Jack breathed huskily, “but I’ll tell ya what…” He licked his palm and reached down between them to grab Axton’s cock. The commando grunted and bucked his hips at the contact.

“Ooh, are you gonna help him out, J?” giggled Rei, coming up behind Axton and draping herself over his shoulders.

“I sure am, kitten. I’m just a real nice guy, what can I say?” said Jack cheerfully, beginning to stroke Axton’s leaking cock. He reached up and curled the other hand around Axton’s jaw, holding it firmly.

“Look at me,” he ordered.

Axton kept his eyes shut, not wanting to ruin the sensations coursing through his groin by being eye to eye with the man who once tried to kill him.

“I said look at me,” Jack hissed dangerously.

Axton grudgingly opened his eyes and was met with the manic, fiery glare of one blue eye, one green. Jack’s stare chilled him to the core.

“Don’t forget who’s jerking you off right now, kid. When you’re beating it to this later in whatever shitty, filthy part of the galaxy you came from, just remember that it was Handsome Jack making you cum all over your stupid, pathetic self. Remember that I can kill you just as easily as I can get you off because you’re weak, Axton. You could try to stop me, if you wanted to. But you don’t want to. You’re like putty in my hands. Now cum for me, soldier boy,” said Jack in an unnervingly calm and measured tone, as if he wasn’t jerking off a man he’d just tortured for hours.

Axton screwed his eyes shut again, trying to ignore Jack’s order, willing himself not to give in… But it was all too much. The fast, rough friction of Jack’s hand, Rei’s tongue gliding up his neck and over his jaw, her nails scraping across his chest, and Jack’s words, combined with his dominating presence, his face mere inches from Axton’s own, were all too much. Before he could stop himself, Axton was shooting rope after rope of warm, sticky finish all over his own stomach. He jerked and moaned in Jack’s hand, finally slumping forward, his head hanging low, breath coming in pants. Jack wiped his hand on Axton’s shoulder, grinning maliciously, then went to retrieve his pants and slip them on.

“So now that we’re all squared away here, let’s get down to business. What do we do with you, hmm, Axie? Does he live, or does he die? That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” mused Jack, pulling his gun from its holster and spinning it around his finger.

“Maybe he’s ready to tell us who sent him. That might improve his odds, don’t you think?” said Rei sweetly.

“How about it, kid? You ready to talk, or would you rather take your chances?”

“I’m a gambling man. Love that adrenaline rush. So, in other words… you’re not getting shit out of me, old man,” laughed Axton, tauntingly.

Jack stopped spinning his gun, face suddenly contorted with rage.

“Oooh. Ok. Uh-oh. You just-” Rei began.

Jack drew back his fist and slugged Axton squarely in the gut with all his might, knocking the wind of him. The commando bent double, clutching his stomach and gasping for breath.

“-made things worse for yourself.” she said with a sigh.

“Good…arm..." wheezed Axton.

"Yeah. The age thing is kind of a sore spot for Jack."

"Not as sore as he's about to be," muttered Jack under his breath, quietly fuming.

“Ok, ok. Missteps aside, what are we going to do with him?”

“Well, first of all…”

Jack snatched the abandoned handcuffs from the foot of the bed, and, taking advantage of the soldier’s momentary vulnerability after getting punched by what felt like a wrecking ball, wrenched Axton’s arms behind him and slapped the cuffs back on without much of a struggle.

“And now obviously I’m going to beat the ever-loving shit out of him until he gives me useful information, or he dies. We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the blah-blah-blah, too late, tough shit, you already chose, pal,” sneered Jack.

A sudden chiming came from Axton’s discarded pants on the floor. Jack cocked an eyebrow and slid off the bed to retrieve them, pulling the commando’s Echo from his pocket.

“Well I’ll be damned…” he breathed.

“Don’t answer tha-“ Axton began.

“Lilith! To what do I owe the pleasure? Have a nice nap?” said Jack cheerfully, picking up the call.

“Oh what the hell, why do you have Axton’s Echo, you prick?” said Lilith’s scowling hologram.

“I don’t know; why don’t you ask him? Axie, baby, say hello.” Jack turned the Echo’s camera towards him, still naked, collared, and cuffed on the bed.

“AXTON! NOT. AGAIN,” yelled Lilith in frustration. She pressed her finger tips between her eyes, squeezing them shut momentarily.

He hung his head sheepishly, avoiding the hologram’s fierce glare.

“Sorry, Lil.”

“You had one job. ONE. Kill them. Not fuck them. KILL THEM. You couldn’t even stop them from drugging me and Roland! Is it too much to ask that you keep it in your pants for just one night? JESUS!”

“I mean, come on Lil, we both knew this would probably wind up just being a scouting mission, unless an opportunity presented itself. And it did!”

“And you still fucked it up,” she hissed.

“Woah, woah, woah, can we go back to the part about this little shit stain trying to kill us? You hired sweet cheeks here to be your assassin?” asked Jack incredulously.

“Yeah, what of it, Jack?” grumbled Lilith.

He was silent a moment, staring at the hologram in surprise. Suddenly he burst out laughing, cackling so hard that he bent double and clutched his sides.

“Nice work, cupcake! You really know how to pick ‘em,” he said, wiping a tear of mirth away from his eye. Then his voice dropped about two octaves, the laughter abruptly disappearing from his face. “I think we’ll keep him,” he said, his voice quiet and deadly.

“What? No! You can’t-“

“Eye for an eye, sweetheart. You try to fuck us, we try to fuck you… And then we all just end up fucking poor Axton. Well, mostly just me, actually.”

“No, Jack, wait, we’re willing to negotiate.”

“You got a vault key, princess?”

“No…”

“Well then you’ve got nothing I want. And I suggest you don’t come anywhere near the VIP floor unless you want to tango with fifty Badass Loader Bots, ten turrets, and my main man, Wilhelm. He’s around here somewhere. Who knows, maybe he’s even on his way down to you already! Cia!”

“Wait! What about-“

Jack hung up the call.

“So much for that truce, huh? What a cunt,” he said, turning to Rei.

She had pulled a pack of cigarettes from the bedside table and had one dangling from her mouth, and was now sitting with her back against the headboard, arms crossed, glowering. She pulled a lighter from the pack and lit her cigarette, inhaling deeply, then exhaled a slow, steady stream of swirling smoke.

“That bitch. I made sure you didn’t kill her, or even harm her, just so she could send an assassin after us? Un-fucking-believable.”

“That’s what people do, kiddo. They’ll smile to your face while stabbing you in the back. Although… this guy wasn’t much of an assassin, now, was he?” he said, ruffling Axton’s hair.

“You two gonna kill me, or what?” grunted Axton.

“Honestly? Haven’t decided yet. Make yourself useful, and who knows, maybe there’s a job for you at the Rhysie Pole. You definitely won’t be a free man ever again, though, that’s for sure. Now, as much as I want to stay and play, we should probably put some distance between us and the fire-bitch. Get dressed, kitten.”

“Back to Helios?” she asked, flicking her cigarette.

“Yep. Looks like we’ve got some work to do,” he said, cracking the leash over Axton’s back like a whip and cackling as the commando howled in pain.

[originofjaehyun]

Interlude: No More Drama | Part 4 | Pandora’s Box

Interlude: No More Drama Masterlist

Word count: 3,922

Warnings: Mentions of cigarettes should I put this as warning or you guys don’t mind with it?

Part 4 | Pandora’s Box

“Somewhere I close my eyes to you, love love love.”

Prev • Next

Johnny Hyung      07.07 omw

Johnny Hyung      07.07 meeting took longer than I thought, sorry

You      07.07 No bigge, I just reached

You      07.38 Hyung

You      07.38 Wya?

You      07.51 I’m ordering first, I’m ordering the your usual prime fillet mignon and salmon for me

Johnny Hyung      07.53 yo

Johnny Hyung      07.53 wru?

You      07.53 Our usual seat

Johnny Hyung      07.53 ok

Johnny Hyung      07.53 oh, forgot to tell you I brought a guest with me

“Jaehyun, buddy! Sorry I got caught in traffic!”

Jaehyun clearly didn’t get enough time to process the message, after being immediately interrupted by the sound of the familiar hyung. He saw the sight of another silhouette behind Johnny’s giant figure, realizing that the guest owns a feminine figure instead. He reciprocated the smile you directed to him, making your cheeks blushed in vibrant pink.

“[Y/N]? What are you doing here?” Asked Jaehyun, ignoring Johnny’s now lonely palm that he raised high, longing for Jaehyun’s high-five.

“Wait, you guys know each other? Since when?” Johnny furrows his brow, half-confused but also half-excited cause if you guys do know each other, Johnny has one less thing to do – introducing you guys.

You cleared your throat, “Uhm, well…”

“We just happened to talk at a bar before. She didn’t bring her lighter and I just happen to be around. We talked for quite a bit since we were alone.”

“That’s it?” Johnny opposed, not entirely buying Jaehyun’s statement. “You don’t seem to be the type of person who would introduce yourself to a random stranger, Jaehyun.”

“It’s true. I left my lighter and he just happened to stand right next to me.” You replied, before Johnny starts to doubt Jaehyun even more.

“I just talked to her and kindly lent her my coat. She was wearing a rather revealing top, and she was practically shivering. I just don’t think she would take it unless I introduce myself, so I did.” He further elaborate.

So he didn’t tell Johnny about us, thank heavens.

Unconsciously letting out a sigh of relief, you’re grateful that Jaehyun didn’t tell what happened between you guys. The last thing that you want is for Johnny to know that you fucked with his best friend.

Taking his seat, Johnny hummed, convinced that the story was indeed true. “You should’ve told me that you’re smoking, [Y/N], we could’ve smoked first before coming here.”

You giggled, “And making your dear friend wait even more? Also, I don’t think it’s ethically right for me to tell my client that I’m a smoker. Gotta keep my image, you know?”

Both of them laughed, and after you’re seated, Jaehyun noticed that the only person who’s missing their meal is you.

“Hyung, you should’ve told me that you’re bringing someone!” He protested to his older brother. “I’m terribly sorry, [Y/N], if only I know you’re coming, I could’ve ordered something for you.”

“Oh, please, don’t fret about it. I’m the one who should’ve been sorry since I’m disturbing your quality time.”

“You’re actually saving us, I practically ran out of things I could talk to Johnny about. He’s a loner and he always drags me to dinner every now and then because he said he misses me. Do you want to have a steak or seafood for the night?”

“I’m a loner? Dude, if it weren’t me you wouldn’t go out! You’ve been going straight home, learn to enjoy life for a bit! It’s been what, a month?”

Jaehyun just chuckled at Johnny’s protest, raising his arm so that a waiter could come and take your order. You asked for the prime New York sirloin steak – a.k.a the cheapest menu, when in actual fact not that cheap either. After registering your order, the waiter asked the gentlemen whether it’ll be ok for him to serve their bottle of wine, which Johnny hums in approval. The waiter nods, he then left to take the bottle of wine that you assumed Jaehyun ordered earlier on. 

“1977 Château Latour Magnum for the lady and the gentlemen tonight?” The waiter asked for a confirmation from either one of you, to which Jaehyun replied with a quick ‘yes’.

“You’re drinking, [Y/N]?” Jaehyun asked you before the waiter could pour the red liquid to your glass.

“If you guys don’t mind me sharing the bottle, I’d gladly take the offer.” You smiled cunningly.

“This wine is expensive, but since Johnny’s paying the night, I can order you another bottle if it fits your taste bud.”

“I’m paying for [Y/N]’s share, Jae, but why did you decide by yourself that I’m gonna pay yours? You got paid a lot more than me, what’s the point of having that COO as your title if you're just going to ask me to pay all the time?” The older one objects.

“You’re a COO?” Your eyes widened at the sudden profile information, undoubtedly didn't expect that you’re going to have your dinner with distinguished people.

“At the same company, in fact. He’s been in the company longer than me.”

The rest of dinner filled with you getting to know each other, though it was more of them sharing their friendship history to you. They actually didn’t like each other when they first knew each other. They were in the same basketball team, and Jaehyun thought Johnny was intimidating, being his senior plus his tall figure. Meanwhile, Johnny thought Jaehyun was pretentious. Jaehyun was the team’s point guard. Every time they played, the girls would scream their lungs out at Jaehyun’s slightest movement. 

All of those thoughts changed when Johnny realized that Jaehyun is always putting his hundreds at the things he cares about. It was after a final match between them and their long time rival. Jaehyun received a free-throw during the first few minutes of the last quarter, being pushed from his opponent. Turned out his toenails came off, but Jaehyun held on and took the victory for the team. He immediately took out his shoes when he reached the bench after the match, showing his bloody feet. Johnny, being the tallest of the team carried him to infantry, calling him stupid for holding on. Jaehyun just laughed, telling him that he didn’t even aware of the throbbing pain until he heard the whistle. The friendship bloomed ever since, and next thing they knew, they’ve always got each other’s back.

You paid every single detail to their story, laughed whenever they bicker when the story doesn’t seem to align. Little did you know, Jaehyun constantly steals a glance at you whenever it was Johnny's turn to tell his side of the story.

–

You were so immersed in their story, until the reality snaps back and your body’s telling you that it’s time to go to the bathroom.

“Sorry, can I go to the bathroom for a sec?” You make sure you didn’t cut the story abruptly.

Just as Johnny is about to tell you where the toilet is, Jaehyun cuts him off, “It’s next to the entry, on their left.”

“I’m sorry, I’m going to be quick.”

You resigned yourself, following Jaehyun’s guide.

“So, lover boy,” Johnny raised his glass, “When are you going to tell me that you’ve put your dib to her?” He asked Jaehyun, making sure you’re nowhere out of sight when he did.

“Well… Wait, what? How did you–”

“It’s easy! You reacted to every single thing that she did. And don’t tell me you didn’t look at her because your eyes are practically glued to her. Did you even hear anything from this poor friend of yours?”

Jaehyun scoffed, taking a sip of his wine, “I don’t know, hyung. She’s just… different, I guess? You know the prototypes of girls that I used to hook up with, I bet even you can see the differences.”

“Oh obviously.” Curls appeared on one of the sides of Johnny’s lip, smirking as he trying to unfold the truth. “I’m still waiting until you tell me the truth that happens on the night you guys met.”

“Seriously,” Twirling his glass, now looking at it empty. “I can’t hide anything from you, hyung.”

“Exactly, so please? While she’s still taking her time.”

Jaehyun looks around, making sure you’re not around to eavesdrop.

“I mean, we sort of… connected that night. I barely know anything about her, neither did she. But at least for me, I feel like the connection was real. I can’t really explain it, and I won’t say that I fell for her, I mean she’s cute –beautiful in fact, but…”

“Yet.” Johnny interrupted him. “Come on man, listen to yourself. You stuttered so much I got lost in translation! What’s with the I won’t say that I fell for her bullshit? You’re practically are!”

Jaehyun didn’t want to admit it, but Johnny could see his ears start to turn pink in color, telling Johnny that he’s hiding his embarrassment. 

“Look, Jae,” Pointing his glass to Jaehyun, Johnny made sure his best friend is going to listen to he’s going to say.

“I forgot the last time you talked about a woman like this. I think the last time was during high school in that summer. But man, you’ve grown so much. You’re freaking Jeong Jaehyun and I know you can get any girls in the world if you want to, but you always brush them off. It’ll be easy for you to captivate her heart.”

“Don’t talk about her like that. She’s not that kind of girl, and that makes her sort of special, I guess?” Jaehyun showed his disagreement over Johnny’s statement. Him being overprotective over you just put a smile on his best friend’s face.

He finally put down his glass, now almost empty. “I’m still unsure, hyung. Especially… with my situation.”

Johnny lets out a sigh, “Jaehyun, I know it's going to be difficult, but with all of these uncertainties, why don’t you just give it a try? It is a risk, I know, but what’s life without a little bit of it? You’ve been bottling everything for far too long, brother. And what if it works? It’s going to be so rewarding, don’t you think?”

There’s a pause before Jaehyun is able to reply to Johnny.

“It’s like, I’m a Pandora’s Box,”

“Hm? Pandora’s box? Are we talking about mythologies now?”

Your appearance on the table definitely startled both of them. He immediately tried to change the topic. As confused as you are on why he is so flustered about the subject, you easily ignored it because he probably didn't want to touch into it anymore. It was probably something you shouldn’t meddle.

The three of you continued to talk throughout the dinner and you easily became their friend. Their personality is incredibly likeable, that you are aware. Johnny is a friendly person, that you know ever since your formal meeting, and Jaehyun is nothing but wonderful as he’s very attentive. Not only they are intelligent, judging by the way they speak, you can also feel that they are one of the most down-to-earth high profiles you’ve ever met. Usually people like them are snobbish, looking down at people who they deemed lower than them. You don’t sense that at all from neither of them.

Unknowingly you grinned at them, grateful that your future clients are great people. Jaehyun noticed that, instantly replying to you, showing deep craters on both cheeks.

“Excuse me, dear esteemed guests.”

The short link you had with Jaehyun interrupted hastily by the waiter who has been serving you for the night, and successfully flustered you. “Our store is about to close in 30 minutes. We’re terribly sorry for the inconvenience but would it be ok for me to close the bill?”

Johnny hurriedly rose from his seat, which Jaehyun follows shortly after, telling him that he’s joking when he said that Johnny would pay. However Johnny insisted, responding that he’s the one who’s bringing the guest so it’s only natural for him to pay. Feeling sort of competitive, you dare to convince them that you would pay for your own share, only for them to brush it off saying it would be humiliating for them to let a lady pay when they’re fully capable of settling the bill.

Being the better negotiator, Johnny ended up following the waiter to the cashier to fix the bill. Jaehyun returned to his seat, peeking at his wristwatch.

“It’s already late, you’re not driving right? I’m not allowing you to drive when you just had a good share of that wine.”

Realized you haven’t paid attention to the time, you look up to your phone only to see that it’s already a little bit past 11. 

“Shit, I didn’t realize it was this late. I might call a cab or something. Is it easy to find one here?”

He shook his head, “Where do you live?”

After telling him the location of your apartment, Jaehyun smirked, and you swore your heart almost jumped out of your chest. It will take awhile for you to get used to his signature smile.

“Johnny lives in the opposite direction. Both of us usually call for chauffeur service after we dine here. We handled our alcohol quite well, actually, so I think we actually can drive on our own,” He paused for a moment, “But yeah I guess we just tried to be responsible adults by not practicing drink and drive?”

Placing your hand in front of your mouth, you giggled, “But you drove me last time, and I remember I smell a hint of bourbon from you.”

He pressed his lips together, showing his dimple once more, “That, my lady, because it’s urgent and I have something that I can’t afford to wait any longer.” He subtly hints you to let that one off.

“Hi, we finished everything already, yeah?”

Jaehyun nods, followed by you wiping your mouth just in case you have some sauce on your lips before standing up from your seat.

“Let’s take a smoke downstairs first before we go!” Johnny said, arms now over Jaehyun's shoulder, being overly friendly.

–

“I’ll go off first,” Johnny said while pressing his cigarette butt to a nearby ashtray. “Make sure she’s safe and sound, alright Jae? She’s our important vendor and more so she’s now my valuable friend. You might have bigger power than me but I think I’m winning in terms of brute strength.”

Almost choking on his smoke, Jaehyun grinned, “She’s at least safer with me if you put it that way.”

Johnny then said his goodbye to Jaehyun, doing their personal brofist before Johnny walked to his car with the chauffeur service that he already called.

“Should we go?” He extinguished his cigarette, noticing that you already finished yours for quite a while. You replied with a nod, and before long his chauffeur came and he guided you to his BMW.

–

With the absence of Johnny, the air becomes slightly awkward between you and Jaehyun. At least for you, even after getting chummy with each other during dinner, you just can’t seem to forget that night that you’ve shared with Jaehyun. Remembering it makes you feel sweaty, making you awkwardly playing with your hair, twirling the strands.

“Do you have any song you want to play?” Jaehyun snaps you out of your daydream.

“Yes? Oh, actually I’m good. Let’s just listen to your playlist, see whether you got a good taste.” 

He lets out a soft chuckle, “Well, if you say so.”

The rest of the drive is mostly filled with silence. A comfortable silence. He asked about you, though, several times. What you do, your favorite artists, whether you like cats or dogs better, and things like that, which you also replied by asking him back. 

He never annoys you nor forces the conversation to keep going. He doesn't mind you playing with your phone, as you too don’t mind it when he does. Maybe, just maybe, there’s a comforting air that surrounds Jaehyun that makes you comfortable to share the quietness between you guys.

You move your gaze towards the view outside, admiring the city nightscape, while the music player hums out a tune.

Got the music in you baby, tell me why

Got the music in you baby, tell me why

You've been locked in here forever and you just can't say goodbye.

–

“Oh, you can stop here.” You suddenly halted the car as it almost reached your apartment.

“Here? Where’s your building?” He peeked outside the window, couldn’t find a building that is appropriate enough to be called a living place.

“Uhm, I have to walk a bit. There’s a huge stair that I need to pass in order to reach my building. But it’s super fine, I can go on my own.”

Jaehyun smiled while he sighed, “[Y/N], I admire you for being an independent woman but this time round I hope you can give me a chance to prove myself a gentleman? Sir, please park the car there. I won’t be long.”

You noticed that fighting back won’t get you any result, so you just give up on the thought.

He then walks with you, and the night is particularly quiet. All you can listen to is the sound of the pebbles that move every time you take a step, and the sound of your breaths.

You didn’t talk much and so did he. He probably enjoy the intimate quietness as much as you do. Shortly after, you reached your apartment building.

“Uhm, this is my place.” You said awkwardly. “I guess I’ll see you when I see you?”

Jaehyun only gives you a polite smile, “Sure, rest well, [Y/N].”

You turned your back, taking a few steps to enter your apartment building.

“Can I talk to you about something?” Jaehyun suddenly asks, making you turn your gaze back to him.

“Yes?!” You’re taken aback by the sudden disruption to the stillness, shouting in reflex.

A curve appeared on Jaehyun’s lips, followed by two crescents that formed on his eyes. 

“Remember when you said I would find plenty of women like you?”

You brows furrowed, not sure where this conversation is going. You nod, giving him permission to continue.

“I think about that a lot, whether your judgement is true or not. Then I tried to remember all the women I’ve met before. You see, with my title, what you said makes sense – hey, what are you laughing for?”

“I think it’s a lot more than just your title, Jaehyun. Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?”

He smiled, also tried to hide his embarrassment, but you can clearly see his ears start to turn pink.

“Well, it’s been a month, and I truthfully I thought there’s nothing more between us. I thought it’s just another one night stand, no offense.” He scrubs his head, showing that whatever he’s about to say is certainly unplanned. 

“You left my place with no other information aside from your name. Your name is beautiful, by the way, but how can I find you with just your first name?”

“After you left,” He took a deep breath. “I felt slightly empty, like hearing my own breath and missing yours is quite… unsettling. When I eat my breakfast on my couch, I thought it would be nice if you did take my offer and I can get to know you better while watching Netflix or something.”

You never thought Jaehyun is capable of saying so many things at once. He was mostly a listener during dinner.

“Then for the next couple days every time I close my eyes, I oddly always see you. Your smile's forever in my mind and I think, uhm, I probably like your smile a little bit more than I thought I was.”

“You didn’t… expect anything from me. You’re different. You’re in control of yourself, and I like that. Even during our short dinner, I admire the way your eyes sparkle every time you talk. You pay attention to our stories, remembering the details as you jumped into our conversation. And you didn’t change the way you talk after knowing that I’m a COO.”

You can start to feel the heat on both of your cheeks. You know he feels the same way too, now that his ears are already in a deep shade of red.

Making sure you’re still with him, he continues, “You just… being yourself? Just the way how I know you that night. I don’t know, maybe, I’ve dreamt of meeting someone that could see me as I am, more than just my look, and not just for my title. People fall for each other in mysterious ways, I guess.”

“Well, I thought we had the same dream,” He took another peek at you, realizing now you guys share the same shade of color on your ears. He laughed.

The type of laugh that you wished you can listen to, for a very, very, long time.

“Sure, we might only know each other for less than a day. We might have all the time in the world too, trying to know each other. But what is the first twenty four hours if we’re looking back at the past seventy years?”

“So I thought, I mean, what I’m trying to say is, I don’t want to let this chance slip again. I thought, if I did, I’d never get to talk to you again.”

You finally couldn’t hold your laughter at the way he stutters, “Jaehyun, so are you asking me for a date? Or are you asking me out?”

He finally loosen up, after being tense, “I’ll let you choose whichever you prefer. Though, if I could give you a piece of advice, I think the second option suits you better.”

You took a step closer, “Let’s go out for a date first, yes? I might or might have not thought about you too after that night.”

“But it is certain that I want to know you better too, Jaehyun.”

Sparkles can be seen in Jaehyun’s eyes, drowned in happiness from your answer, “OK. I guess this is another reason why you’re so attractive, [Y/N]. You don’t rush things.”

Laughter now filled the air, replacing the silent night and straying the awkwardness away. He reached for your hair afterwards, gently caressing you.

“I’ll see you soon?” He stares at you lovingly.

“I’ll see you soon,” You then gently stroke his hand that was resting on you. “You should go, the chauffeur is probably wondering why it took you so long.”

“I probably should,” He put his hand back to his coat pocket, not because he’s seeking for warmth but because he don’t know what he should so with his hand, practically burning from embarrassment after asking you for a date, “I’ll text you later.”

He finally said his goodbye, after exchanging number with you. You took your step back to your building, but it is as if you don’t want to say goodbye yet, you called for him again,

“Jaehyun?”

He looked back again, “Yes?”

You let out a smile, “I think you probably quoting Ed Sheeran a little bit too much.”

He smiled back at you, either happy because you know his reference or embarrassed because he just got busted, “Well, [Y/N], wait until you see the rest of my playlist.”

A/N: Whee~ this chapter is by far the hardest!! The pace is quite slow guys I hope you don’t mind T_T 

I promise you’ll enjoy these slower pace chapters cause it’s about to get rough soon hahahahhaa Anyway Jaehyun is definitely quoting on Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud because he’s a big fan of Ed Sheeran lol that’s a bit random but I can’t stop giggling when I watched his vid to Ed lol

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

To Owe A Date

Request fill from AO3 I got carried away with.

@cecie-does-stuff-things I thought maybe you'd like to be tagged since it's DeSleep!

Summary: The new barista at the coffee shop Janus frequents is a shameless tease of a flirt. Janus finds he doesnt really mind.

Warnings: none

Ships: DeSleep, Janus x Remy

WC: 1,499

Rarely was Janus in a worse mood than he was that morning.

It had started off fine, his sons getting along relatively well for the most part. Remus had only stolen one shoe and hidden it the morning and Roman had only gone off on one tirade concerning some musical or another. He loved both of them dearly, chaotic as they were with their typical escapades and he loved listening to their interests and debates on those interests, but they often made for exhausting mornings that made him crave the sweet release of caffeine before he felt ready to face his clients, many of which acted less mature than his seven year olds.

As it was he gently massaged his temples as he kept a fast pace to the nearest coffe shop, which made average drinks at best but was cheap and on his way to the tattoo parlor so he really couldn't complain. Burying himself further in his caplet as he went (yes they were still in style, it was warm and kept his arms free) he stepped hurriedly inside, the small bell tinkling and alerting the worker behind the bar.

Janus' brow furrowed slightly as he took in the new cashier, styled hair swooping low over a dark set of sunglasses and an eclectic assortment of what looked like silly bands adorning his wrists. Sighing quietly he prayed that the newcomer knew how to make coffee already and wasn't a completely new trainee, otherwise this day was going to be a lot more painful than he had anticipated.

"Hey shortcake, what's your poison?"

Janus blinked, the server stood at least a head taller than him, making his comment instantly infuriating. "I have to wait until at least two before consuming alcohol. Unfortunately coffee is classier than wine before noon."

The barista laughed outright. "Ooooh, tired wine mom aesthetic! Don't worry, in this shop we love Karens."

"You won't in about five seconds if I'm still refused service, no ones too tall for a kick to the kneecaps." Janus leaned pointedly against the counter, refusing to acknowledge the others shameless flirting, if that's what it could even be called. The other whistled low and grabbed a small pad and pen, straightening and standing to attention.

"Yes sir." The sultry tone definitely didn't go over Janus head but he merely rolled his eyes and glared point blank. "Alright fine. Geez girl, you are absolutely no fun. Do you know how boring it is in here most days? Can't blame a guy for trying. I'm gonna guess...you're probably a lightweight, so decaf with lots of sugar hun?"

Janus snorted. "Fuck no. A mocha with two extra espresso shots and whipped cream. I'll pay the extra."

Raising his eyebrow the barista jotted down his order and smirked. "Love a man who can hold his espresso. It'll be just a minute...?"

"Karen."

Laughing out loud again, he just nodded and turned away forwards the various machines to go about filling the order. In no time at all it was done, his cup handed over with Karen ♡ carefully written on the side. Paying quickly, Janus turned to leave, only pausing when the man's voice called out to him.

"See ya later babes."

"Depends on how good the coffee is." Janus threw over his shoulder not bothering to look back as he left to actually go to his job. Walking briskly down the sidewalk he idly took a sip of his order while checking his phone for the time.

...well shit.

Concentration fully on his drink he realized that even if that shop wasn't already his regular coffee shop it certainly would be now.

-----

"Dad! Guess what I did today?" Roman jumped up and down excitedly clutching his backpack.

"No, his story's stupid! Guess what I did instead!" Judging from Remus' mud covered jeans Janus could definitely give a guest as to what he did. Sighing in mock exasperation, he shifted the groceries and continued to carefully step up the stairs.

"I suppose it'll be up to whoever can get the groceries over to Mrs. Gibson the fastest can tell their story first." That way too he wouldn't be tripping over them trying to unlock the door with an armload of groceries.

"RACE YOU!!" As soon as they reached the landing Remus took off, leaving a loudly protesting Roman to catch up with him.

"Quieter please, and be-!" A loud crash followed by apples skidding across wood. "-careful. Are you alright?"

His worry dispersed as Remus scrambled up and began picking everything up and shoving them back in the bags, his brother begrudgingly helping him. Smiling and shaking his head he turned to the door and attempted to reach the key while still holding the bags, a feat which he stubbornly refused to believe was impossible now that he had started.

"Do you like, need help or-?" A familiar voice had him glancing up, mouth running dry as he recognized the sunglasses wearing flirt from that morning.

"How am I supposed to be enraptured by my saviors eyes if I can't gaze into them like the star struck lover I am?" Janus drawled, still making a valiant effort to reach his pocket.

"No can do babe, fluorescents are just as bad as sunlight and I enjoy looking at your own eyes too much to risk blindness." So saying he reached over and took the groceries, smugly carrying them all one handed while holding a cup of coffee in the other.

Pretending not to notice his burning face Janus turned to finally get the door open just as the boys were running back down the hall.

"Dad Mrs. Gibson gave us candy-! Oh! Hi mister!" Roman stopped abruptedly in front of the stranger, who smiled and tipped his head.

"Sup kid." Unfortunately, Remus didn't have the luxury of paying attention, too enraptured by the bag of chocolate he had been given to bother slowing down and barreled his way straight into his twin.

Janus saw the dominos fall in slow motion; Roman stumbling forward and reaching out for something to grab, which just so happened to be the baristas arm. Coffee spilled in a waterfall on both of twins' heads and in a desperate attempt to remedy the situation the man jerked his hand up and away, getting a face full of ice and the remaining coffee in the process. For a moment time stood still, but taking in everyone's drenched appearance Janus couldn't help a small small to grow to a grin, a snort breaking the silence as he struggled to contain his laughter, apologizing through it nonetheless.

"I'm so sorry, are you-are you okay?"

Before he could answer he was cut off by Roman. "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to it was an accident-!"

"Hey kid, check this out." The man kneeled, setting the cup down before flipping his glasses up and letting chunks of ice fall from behind them. "No use crying over spilled coffee. It's chill."

Janus stared incredulously before letting loose another peal of laughter. He nudged open the door and ushered the boys inside. "Go clean up before you end up sticky. I don't care if you like it Remus go."

"Boy they took chaos twins to heart didn't they?"

Janus turned around and offered an apologetic smile. "I really am sorry about all of this-"

He waved him off. "It's cool babes. You just owe me coffee now."

Janus smirked and tugged on his groceries, taking them back. "I'd say I just owe you an offer to come in and clean up. Where's the coffee coming from?"

"Oh I might have a place in mind."

----

"This is not what I thought you meant." Janus stood with a deadpan expression as he took in the small cafe that was decidedly not the other's place of work.

"I never eat where I work babes." The man replied, reading Janus' thoughts.

"I thought I was just buying you coffee?" He sputtered following after him.

"Oh you paid me back with that yesterday when I washed my hair in the sink. This is because i owe you a date."

Who the hell- "You are really forward aren't you?"

The other tipped his glasses down slightly to wink. "You haven't told me to fuck off yet so I'm just taking it in stride."

"This is one date, to be clear."

"Sure Karen."

"Janus."

The other stopped and whirled around. "What babes?"

Janus ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "It's Janus."

Smiling, the man stepped forward and leaned slightly to fix his hair, making his face erupt in flames. "Call me Remy, shortstack."

Janus scowled. "I'm not that short!"

"Babes, I'm like a head taller than you. You're kids'll probs be taller than you by the time they're ten."

Bickering all the way to the door Janus couldn't help but smile. Short just meant dibs on being the little spoon, and he had every intention of taking advantage of that.

As always this work is also available on AO3!

[mattygraygubler]

new girl 1 (spencer reid fic)

hi babies. so excited for this new fic. thanks for reading <3 

find my masterlist here, send me an ask to be added to this tag list or to request something, and find my read rec account here

word count: 5.1k 

warnings: smutty smut smut

AN: you can tell pretty easily that im totally projecting what i want my life to be like onto the reader, which i have a tendency to do. anyway here's some smut, and a little introduction to the story, which im super excited for. if ONE PERSON sends me an ask saying they want another chapter ill post it. 

I was the youngest partner at my firm to pass the bar exam at the ripe age of 20 years old. My friends all made fun of me, as back then I wasn’t old enough to go out to celebrate passing the bar.

Working for Henley & Associates was a blessing I loved. Being a criminal defense lawyer was amazing. Defending criminals sounds awful, but Henley & Associates did a massive amount of pro bono work, which is what drew me to the firm. Yes, I had to represent some awful people that were clearly guilty, but I also got to represent people who needed me, who were innocent and needed an amazing defense lawyer in their corner (one they couldn’t afford). But after years with the firm, I was beginning to get tired.

It started when I was 22 and first joined the firm. As a bright newcomer, I was given easy cases others didn’t want. I didn’t care, I was just ecstatic to be working in a world-renounced firm, and getting to do pro bono cases. Getting to help people made up for the times I had to defend people I didn’t think deserved to be defended. The rich ones. The Jeffrey Epsteins and OJs of the world.

And then, after a few years, right when I made partner, things changed. I got the cases that no one wanted. The worst, and richest, criminals. I was told it was because I was the best, that they requested me, but quickly I got tired. I was no longer doing pro bono cases; I was stuck defending awful people who I felt deserved to be in jail.

So at the age of 25, I secretly completed two doctorates, one in psychology, one in criminology, and by the time I was 27, I was ready to leave Henley and Associates.

Erin Strauss was a bitch if I ever met one, but I had tremendous respect for the woman. After just one interview she told me she would be more than happy to explore placing me on any team I wanted.

And I knew exactly which one I wanted: the BAU.

***

“But what if she doesn’t like us??” Penelope whined as she sat on Derek’s desk.

“Baby girl stop freaking out. Hotch says if she’s a bad fit, she doesn’t have to stay.”

“I don’t know about that.” JJ said joining the conversation in the bullpen.

“What do you mean?” Spencer asked.

“They refuse to tell anyone her name, but apparently she’s kind of a big deal. Strauss offered her a position in any department she wanted, and she wants us.” JJ replied.

“So you mean even if she’s horrible and awful and terrible she’s gonna stay on the team?”

“Penelope, she isn’t going to be any of those things.” Derek replied.

“Who is this lady if Strauss is literally giving her free reign over the FBI?” Emily asked.

“I have no idea, like I said, they’ve kept things extremely confidential. Rossi let it slip that all the interviews took place at night in undisclosed locations so her current employers wouldn’t find out she was leaving.” JJ said.

“What, is she some sort of celebrity?” Pen asked.

“What kind of celebrity becomes an FBI profiler?” Spencer asked.

“God, I wish I had something, a description, a name.” Penelope said. “I hate not knowing things, especially about my team.”

“I believe you mean my team, Garcia.” Hotch said as he walked into the bullpen. “Conference room, we’ve got to wrap up the Baltimore strangler case before we leave for the weekend.”

***

“Ok, it’s my big night I am NOT letting myself be privy to this kind of behavior!” I said with a laugh. It was my big night, and me and my closest friends were out at our favorite bar celebrating. It was a Friday night, so it was busy and the smell of alcohol and sweat filled the air.

“You are completely going to let yourself be privy to this behavior.” Jenna said with a push on my shoulder. Our favorite waitress came over with some shots “on the house” she said, thanks to my new job.

Yes, we were in our mid-20s, but that didn’t mean we didn’t still act like kids sometimes.

“Oh my LORD, do you see him?” Isabelle asked. I turned my attention to the door, where a group of people were walking in. The one at the front of the group was tall and bald, with chocolate skin and a dazzling smile.

“Dibs.” Katie said immediately.

“Hey!” I exclaimed. “If anyone should get dibs on the hottest guy in this bar, it’s me.” “I’ll made you a deal.” Katie said with a mischievous smirk. I knew what that look meant, and I hated it.

“Alright, what’s the deal.” I asked.

“You manage to get the moody nerd he’s with to smile, and I’ll give you my dibs.”

“What moody nerd?” I asked. I was too focused on the gorgeous man we originally saw to notice the rest of his group, which I now scanned. He was accompanied by three attractive women and another man. Actually, man may not be the right word.

“Oh my god, Katie, he doesn’t even look old enough to be in this bar!” I said.

“To be fair, neither do you.” Jenna said with a smirk. She was right, I did look much younger than I am. “C’mon, Y/N/N, he’s such a cutie. You could totally boss him around.” My friends all laughed at Jenna’s quip.

“Okay, deal. I gotta wait for my opportunity, though.” I said. We resumed our drinking and laughing at our high table, but I kept my eyes on the other group across the room. None of them seemed to be aware of the world around them, they were having just as much fun as everyone else in the bar.

Except the moody nerd. He looked like I felt when I was the only woman at the gym: scared, uncomfortable, defensive, and out of my element. How the HELL am I supposed to make this weirdo smile? Finally, after who knows how long (drinking really changes time, doesn’t it?) I saw my opportunity. The tall nerd stood up from the table and starting collecting empty glasses, clearly about to go to the bar for a refill.

“Brb-“ I said suddenly and walked briskly to the bar, hoping to beat him there. We arrived at the same time, and I purposefully stood at the opposite side of the bar so if he looked across he would see me.  

“Y/N, gorgeous, what can I get you?” Hank asked with a charming grin.

“You already know, Hank.” I said and returned the smile. “And whatever the tall guy over there is having.” I replied.

“The one with the curly hair?” I nodded, and Hank replied with a chuckle. “He’s not normally the type of guy you pick up…”

“I’m aware. In order to steal dibs from Katie on the gorgeous man he came with, first I have to make that weirdo smile.” Hank just laughed and shook his head as he walked away to get the drinks.

He brought me mine and I began to move the straw around in a circle. I was aware of everything happening around me, but I pretended to be engrossed in my drink. I felt a man come up behind me and I silently thanked God. This was exactly what I needed.

“Hey sexy, how are you doing tonight?” The man slurred. I turned to him and smiled, leaning in and portraying positive body language that indicated that I was interested in this new suitor. I could feel the other man’s eyes on me, no doubt Hank had just given him the drink I paid for and pointed me out.

Only for this frat man to come up and speak to me. Once I knew the cute nerd was watching me, I changed my body language. This new guy was clearly a retired frat boy who was way too drunk to make any sense. He started to move closer and I didn’t have to pretend I was uncomfortable.

Hank came over and accidentally spilled on the guy, causing him to get angry and huff away. I thanked him, going back to my drink when I felt a new presence beside me.

“Uhm…” The person said and cleared their voice. “Th-thank you for the drink, I really appreciate it.” I looked up at him and smiled.

From afar, he does seem to be a bit of a moody, skinny nerd. But up close, I couldn’t deny how attractive he was. He was at least 6’ tall, and at 5’4” I was immediately turned on by his slightly dominating presence. He was well dressed, had a jawline that could cut me, and hair messy but in a purposeful way. It was curly and framed his face and I felt myself imagine running my fingers through it.

Maybe I had too much to drink.

“I’m Y/N,” I said and smiled.

“Spencer.” He replied with a nod.

“Do you like to dance, Spencer?” I asked. I think I already knew the answer.

“Uhm, actually, I’m not all that--“ I laughed, cutting him off.

“I guess I should’ve phrased that differently.” I said. “Dance with me, Spencer.” I pulled him onto the dance floor and could tell he was mortified. I took his hands in mine and placed them on my hips and I started to move back and forth in time to the music. I saw him look at his feet, but pretty soon he was loosening up and moving more easily.

“So, uhm, what do you do?” He asked, trying to keep the conversation going despite the loud music. I moved my body closer to him, pressing myself against him and leaning up to whisper in his ear, a trick I know turned on nearly every guy on the planet.

“You don’t care what I do, and I don’t care what you do. In fact, I don’t even want to know your last name.” He froze and stopped moving, but I moved my hand to the back of his neck, getting more leverage.

“You wanna know what I do know, Spencer?” I saw him gulp and nod and I moved closer so he could still feel my hot breath on his neck.

“I know that you’ve been trying to hide the fact that I turn you on. I know that the second I pulled you onto this dance floor you noticed I wasn’t wearing panties. And I know the second I walk out of this bar, you’re gonna follow me, and we’re gonna have an unforgettable night.” I pulled away and looked at the stunned look on his face.

I grinned and turned around, walking back to my table, leaving him standing alone on the dance floor, surrounded by sweaty, writhing bodies.

“You can keep your dibs, Katie.” I said when I got back to my table. My friends laughed and whooped as I grabbed my phone and wallet and walked to the door. “See you guys tomorrow!”

***

Spencer quickly dodged and weaved his way through the crowd.

“Uhm, Morgan, can I talk to you?” He asked quickly. Morgan realized something was wrong and stood up as Spencer pulled him to the side. “A beautiful woman asked me to go home with her.” He said. Derek just laughed, realizing that nothing was actually wrong with Spencer.

“Alright, good for you kid!” He said and punched Spencer on the shoulder.

“I think I’m gonna go with her.” Reid responded.

“Good!” Morgan said. Spencer saw Y/N pass their table and was relieved that Garcia, Emily, and JJ didn’t notice her.

“There she goes now.” Spencer said and watched as Y/N approached the door. Derek turned, but was only able to see her hips sway as she walked.

“Damn.” He said. “If her front is at hot as her back, I’ll fight you for her.” He said with a laugh. Spencer just looked terrified. “Reid, I’m kidding. Go get her!”  

***

I began to walk down the DC street when I heard footsteps jog to catch up to me. I knew I must’ve been drunker than I realized, as it was hard to walk in a straight line and I wasn’t cold in the October breeze.

Spencer fell into step and walked next to me.

“I live right up here,” I said, pointing to the apartment building on the corner. It truly was a blessing living a block away from such a great bar. He nodded, and I could tell he was nervous as he kept fidgeting.

We approached my building and it wasn’t long before I was unlocking the door and tossing my keys on the counter.

“Alexa, weekend night lights on please.” Immediately the LED lights that were strung around my apartment turned on, on a low, soft orange color. “Make yourself at home.” I said and walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and two glasses.

I came back to the living room to find Spencer squatting/kneeling next to my record player, picking an old Al Green album and putting it on.

“Good choice,” I replied as I poured the wine. He came over and I handed him a glass. Without my heels, our height difference was even more noticeable.

“Drink up,” I said with a wink. “You are much more sober than I am, and clearly that needs to change.”

“Is that so?” Spencer replied as he took a sip. “And why are you trying to get me drunk?”

“Alcohol raises the levels of GABA, which is a chemical neurotransmitter in our brain. It’s obvious I make you nervous, the more you drink, the more your blood pressure and heart rate come down and dopamine levels go up, physically making you less nervous.” I said.

My eyes widened the second I realized I had just had what my friends referred to as an “Y/N moment”.

“Sorry, I just… Can we forget I didn’t just ruin the mood with some stupid science facts.” I said, my hands shaking a bit. I was used to guys being intimidated by my intelligence, and this guy was cute. I didn’t wanna lose what could be a great night.

Immediately the dynamic between us changed. I was used to being the dominant one, but now that I was embarrassed, I no longer had the upper hand. My rambling seemed to cause a change in Spencer. He seemed to stand up straighter, his hands weren’t shaking, and his jawline was hard and sexy.

“So tell me this then.” Spencer said and took a step closer, lowering the distance between us. “Since you’re drinking too, should I assume that I make you nervous as well?”

This man was completely different than the one I had met in the bar. His voice was lowered and raspy, his eyes staring into mine, not bothering to break eye contact. I was shocked at the difference. Already turned on by him before, this change just made things even hotter.

“Uhm…” I said, putting down my wine glass to avoid looking at or answering him.

He took my chin in his hands, forcing my head up to look at him. “I do make you nervous, don’t I, Y/N?” He asked in that low, sexy voice.

“Uhm-“ “Uhm isn’t an answer.” He said forcefully. “What do you want?” He asked.

“I…”

“Y/N, look at me.” He said, moving his body as close as he could without pressing it against me and putting his large hands on the side of my waist.

He leaned down to whisper in my ear, “What do you want?” I looked up at him, eyes wide.

“You.” I breathed out, barely a whisper. That was all it took. Spencer quickly moved his hands from my waist to behind my thighs, picking me up and slamming my back against the wall. He connected our lips, moving in a quick dance. I felt like I was inhaling him, his scent, the way his mouth tasted, the way his hands moved on my body.

He moved to kiss my neck, sucking and biting and making his way toward my chest as I gasped. “Bedroom,” I said. “Please.” Pleading was apparently a turn on for Spencer, as he continued to pick me up, holding my body against him as he found his way into the bedroom.

He tossed me onto the bed, and I grabbed the remote for the LED lights, turning them onto a dark red. Spencer climbed on top of me, connecting our lips once more. He started to push my dress up and I could tell immediately what he wanted. I tried to pull his shirt off, but couldn’t focus enough to get it off. I whimpered and my head fell back as he ran a hand from my knee up my thigh, stopping right before he got where I wanted him.

“Please,” I breathed, tugged on his shirt. He got up from on top of me to kneel and pulled his shirt off in one quick, sexy motion. He pulled my dress up further over my head and I was acutely aware of the fact that I was completely naked and Spencer was staring at my body.

“Holy fuck,” he said under his breath, staring at me like a starving man stares at a delicious meal. I wanted him to ravish me, and I could tell that’s exactly what he wanted.

“Spencer,” I whined as his hands started to move slowly up and down my thighs. “Please,” I begged. His eyes were dark, and we didn’t break eye contact as he shifted positions so his face was right in front of my dripping pussy. I could feel his hot breath and I squirmed, grabbing at any part of him I could reach, trying to get him to touch me in any way.

“Someone’s eager,” he said. He finally broke eye contact, now staring at my pussy. He moved closer and slowly put his tongue on me, moving slowly up and down my slit, barely touching me. It was enough for me to whine again, and close my eyes instinctively.

I grabbed his hair, trying to pull his face closer to me. I squirmed, but he continued to tease me, barely letting his tongue touch me.

“Please Spencer please,” I begged and pulled his hair harder. He kept his tongue barely touching me, but grabbed my wrists with his strong hands. He placed them on the bed beside me, allowing me to grab onto the sheets beneath us.

He spread my legs and knees so I was fully exposed to him. He was no longer teasing me with his tongue, but staring at my pussy again.

“If you move your hands or your legs, I’m gonna stop and start over. Understood?” He said. I nodded.

“I can’t hear you.” He said.

“Yes, I understand.” I breathed out. He gave me a smirk and didn’t break eye contact as he connected his tongue with my throbbing pussy. Immediately I moaned and couldn’t help but move one of my hands, grabbing out for him.

He pulled away. I whimpered once again.

“What did I tell you?” Spencer growled and put my hand back. “Don’t. Move.” He went back to eating me out, starting slow and focusing on swirling and sucking on my clit. I started breathing heavily, in total bliss. Never did I expect this man to have such an amazing tongue. He started to go faster and my legs started to snap shut.

Spencer stopped again, fixed my legs, and started from the beginning, slowly licking my pussy. I squirmed and bucked my hips, doing anything I could to get more connection from him on me.

He continued this pattern, edging me with just his tongue, starting over every time I moved too much.

“Please, Spencer, please.” I said. “More.” I felt him grin against my pussy.

“What was that?” he asked, pulling away slightly.

“More, Spencer, I need more, please.” He continued to eat me out, faster and faster, my head falling back onto the pillow. I got closer and closer to the edge when I felt him slowly insert one long finger into me, sliding it slowly in and out as he continued to eat me out. I gasped and couldn’t help but reach out for him.

“Uh uh uh,” he said and shook his head. “Do you like being a bad girl? Do you like being teased?” He asked. He was no longer eating me out, but I felt his finger slowly curl inside me, eliciting a moan from my mouth.

“Please Spencer,” I said quietly. “I’m so close to the edge, please, can I please cum?” He gave me another devilish grin. He slid another finger into me, which I guess was his answer.

His tongue was still swirling on my clit as his two fingers began to curl inside me. I tried to keep my legs and arms where he wanted them, but I could feel my entire body shaking from the orgasm I was about to have.

Right as I was about to tumble over the edge, I gasped as Spencer pulled out his fingers and backed his face away. I whimpered once again.

“Baby,” I said and pulled him up to me so I could kiss him. “That’s not fair.” I whined with a smirk.

He was still wearing his pants, and I could see his erection pushing again the fabric. “You like teasing me?” I asked and kissed his neck. He groaned in response, turning me on even more.

“I could’ve made you cum ten times by now,” he growled in my ear.

“Then why didn’t you?” I asked between kisses down his jawline.

“I think you already know the answer.” He said with a smirk, his brown curls falling into his face.

“Spencer,” I whispered in his ear. “Flip us over.”

Spencer obviously didn’t need to be told twice. Immediately his arms were around me and flipped us over so he was on his back and I was lying on top of him.

I knelt on the bed and drunkenly fumbled with the belt buckle on his pants. I could feel his chest shake with quiet laughter as I struggled with his belt.

“You’re not as dominant as you pretend you are,” Spencer commented and grabbed my hands and pulled me up to kiss him. I ran my hands down his chest back to the pants that were now gone. I pulled off his boxers, revealed an erection I was not expecting.

Spencer was hung.

He saw my eyes widen and I felt him chuckle again.

“See something you like?” He asked me. I slowly squinted at him, a playful smirk on my lips.

“Maybe…” I said. I grabbed his dick in one hand, wiping the precum down his shaft and putting just the tip in my mouth. I began to swirl my tongue, not moving my hands.

“Fuck, Y/N,” Spencer said and started to pull my hair. I whimpered and started to suck harder, my hand and mouth moving on their own.

I’ve given head plenty of times before, but watching Spencer’s naked frame get so much pleasure from something I was doing… He looked like a Greek statue, so chiseled and pristine, but powerful. Powerful was not what I thought when I first met him.

I continued to stare at him every chance I got, sucking and moving my tongue trying to find what brought him the most pleasure. A string of cusses left his mouth and his grip on my hair tightened.

“Fuck, Y/N, I’m gonna cum,” he said. I slowed down my movements, eventually ending the way I started, sucking and swirling on the tip, teasing him the way he teased me.

“Did you… Did you just edge me?” Spencer asked, his eyes staring into mine. I smirked, my eyes glinting as I winked at him.

“You pushed me to the edge nearly seven times. I felt like I needed to return the favor.” “Get over here,” he said and sat up, pulling me on him so I was straddling him. “Ride me, baby girl.” I began to kiss his neck as his teased me by rubbing his cock up and down my folds. I bit his neck right as he put his dick all the way in, bucking up his hips to meet me. I gasped, moaning in pleasure.

“Oh fuck Spence,” I said, not even realizing I had called him by a nickname. He played with my nipples in his fingers as he kissed me, my hands looped around his neck to give me leverage as I moved up and down.

Because of the edging, it didn’t take long for us to reach the edge, thankfully together.

“FUCK, Spencer, right there, please, please,” I said as his dick repeatedly hit my g-spot, making me cum. My juices dripped down his cock as he continued to slam into me. My entire body was shaking with pleasure as Spencer fucked me through my orgasm, his occurring almost immediately after as my pussy tightened around him from my orgasm.

He continued to thrust slowly as we came down, eventually collapsing beside one another, out of breath and tingling from the massive orgasms.

It was just a few minutes when I got up from my bed. I wasn’t ashamed of being naked. I found Spencer’s clothes on the floor and tossed them to him. He was sitting on my bed naked, leaning against the headboard with his hands interlaced behind his head, his muscles flexing ever so slightly and accidentally.

I wanted to ride him again, but I knew it was late and I had to be up early on Saturdays.

“I’m going in the shower.” I said curtly, not bothering to look at him as I walked to the bathroom. When I got to the doorway, I turned back to look at him.

“When I get out, you better be gone. Don’t leave any personal contact info, I’ll burn it. Oh, and there are cameras hidden all over the apartment so don’t even try to rob me.” I shut the bathroom door, loud enough to make a point, but not a slam.

***

What kind of person has cameras all over her apartment? Spencer asked himself.

As he pulled on his clothes, he looked around at the bedroom, taking into stock the different possessions, still ever the profiler, even intoxicated. He was finding it hard to focus, he normally barely drank, but somehow this bubbling, impulsive, beautiful girl had not only managed to get him drunk, she managed to get him into bed, which was a massively impressive feat.

Spencer heard the shower turning off, muttered ‘shit’ under his breath and began to walk to the door, making sure he had his wallet, keys, and phone.

The second he got outside, he called an uber (as the metro was no longer operating it was so late). Once he got in the car, he dialed up Derek, knowing that he was probably just finished with a similar night, aka his regular Friday routine.

“Morgan,” Reid said, still out of breath.

“Woah kid, what’d you do, run a marathon?” “Morgan, this girl… She’s amazing.” “Amazing? Damn you really haven’t gotten laid in a while.”

“No, Derek, I’m serious.” Spencer said. “She had a worn out copy of ‘Brave New World’ on her bedside table—”

“Reid, talk slower.” Derek said. “You’re still drunk and I can’t understand you.”

“Sorry,” Spencer said.

“So when are you seeing her again?” Derek asked.

“I’m not.” “You’re NOT?” Derek said, raising his voice.

“She didn’t want to. She didn’t tell me her last name, her age, what she did for a living. All I got was a first name.” “Which is?” Derek asked.

“I kinda wanna keep it a secret. Tonight was amazing and… I don’t want to tamper with the memory by sharing all the details. Does that even make sense?” Spencer asked. Derek laughed, confirming he understood.

“Reid, you’re a profiler. You were in this girls apartment, and in this girl, for hours.” Spencer coughed when he heard the ‘inside this girl’ quip, but Derek just continued. “You must’ve seen something that could help you find her.” “I kinda don’t want to.”

“Why not?”

“Tonight, she just seemed like… The perfect woman. I know that sounds stupid but that’s how it felt. Maybe it’s just me not getting laid in a while, like you said.” “Well, good job on your first one night stand, pretty boy!” “Hey!” Spencer said. “How’d you know it was my first one night stand?” “I’m a profiler, too, kid. I’m going to bed, see you Monday.”

“See you.” Spencer said and hung up the phone right as the uber pulled in front of his apartment building.

He took off his clothes once more, collapsing on his bed in just his boxers. It was rare that the team got a full weekend off, and Spencer wanted to take advantage of it.

He spent all of Saturday in bed, reading, using his eidetic memory of Friday night’s events as he pleasured himself. His thoughts came back to the girl over and over, the way her body felt, her soft skin, the way her hair tickled him as she kissed his neck.

And when he had finished, his memory brought up other tiny details he didn’t think he remembered. Spencer’s unconscious mind had managed to soak up more information than he thought, and he spent Saturday night dreaming not only of the girl’s body, but of everything else he learned about her as well.

Every time he closed his eyes he saw her smiling face from the bar, the first time she smiled at him.

Sunday morning Spencer was sober enough to put together more details. He remembered the bottle of wine they drank, and remembered the movies in her cabinet. One French filmed piqued his interest as he was hurriedly leaving, it was a movie he hadn’t seen before.

He rented it, spending a lazy Sunday alone on his couch, snacking and watching every movie from her shelf that he hadn’t seen.

***

Monday morning came too fast for the team. They had a whole weekend off, of course they took full advantage of it, walking into the conference room like zombies holding coffee.

“She’s coming today,” Garcia said, reminding everyone. Of course they already remembered.

“Baby girl, relax, I’m sure she’s great.” Derek responded, holding her hand comfortingly.

“Look alive, people,” Hotch said as he walked in the room. “We’ve got our new member joining us today, JJ, what’ve we got?” JJ began to explain the new case, and immediately thoughts of the new girl left the minds of the team. Until there was a curt knock on the door.

“Come in,” Hotch said. Strauss opened the door, stepping inside.

“BAU,” Strauss said. “Meet your new member, Y/N Y/L/N.”

[theliterateape]

Why Can't We Just Share the Last Slice of Pizza?

by Don Hall

I had the first TV dinner in possibly forty-years a few weeks ago and it was kind of incredible.

Sure, it was a Hungry Man® chicken and mashed potatoes concoction and had more sodium than a bucket of sea water but it was still oddly delicious and covered in a gravy comprised of nostalgia and gluten. I didn't buy the frozen tray in a cardboard box. No, my wife has, in the pandemic, taken to rebranding her self as a 'resource locator' otherwise known as a 'dumpster diver.'

It sounds odd but I'm convinced that when the Second Great Depression takes hold, I'm married to the most resourceful and extraordinary partner on the planet. She finds brand new shoes, genuine Shriner fez's, and food. Cans of food thrown away. Expired bags of pretzels. And still-frozen TV dinners.

The nostalgia of consuming this marvel of the fifties, the fully-prepared dinner, ready to heat and eat in front of the television comes from my youth. In terms of economic status there were times in my earliest days when we were 'poor'. Now, mom wouldn't let us use that word to describe our situation. She preferred to say we were 'broke'. That distinction was my first lesson in reframing your perspective to fuel optimism.

Whichever it was called it was common practice growing up to eat TV dinners and mom would cut each portion in half (even the weird lava-like brownie or apple-crunch) so we had a meal the next day as well.

When we couldn't afford a Swanson-manufactured meal, she'd make what she called 'Spanish Rice'—Minute rice, a green pepper, tomato sauce, and Tabasco—another rebranding that certainly made this odd and rough cultural appropriation seem both unsavory and about as white as it could be.

Mom worked hard. My recollection was that she was often working several jobs and doing the best she could to keep us in clothing and food with a roof over our heads despite the fact that the minimum wage at the time was $1.60. She also had a way of reframing things so that, at no point, did we feel like we were missing out on much.

On top of that raising me could not have been easy.

We moved around a lot so I was always the new kid in school. Even with teachers and administrators, there is a tribal imperative to put the new members in their place, establishing the rules of behavior and assigning the slot for the newest members. I was never much of a conformist so this dance of going along to get along didn't take. All of which made my struggling mother's life one of battling the powers that be to protect her less than socialized monkey-son.

There are stories. The time I was forbidden to speak in class so I drew pictures of a butt and a butt pooping to silently curse some kids out. The incident of my failing to stay put during classes and finding escape routes during lunch that caused an epic battle as the Vice Principal decided to ban me from the Free Lunch program out of pique and spite. The summer when I was caught beating up Cub Scouts because they wouldn't let me join due to my mother's financial inability to buy me the requisite uniform.

There's an image I have in my head of my tiny mother almost coming to blows with a much larger woman because the woman called us "poor white trash." We were white but my mother wouldn't abide her children embracing the twin ideas of us being poor or being trash.

“No, Donald. You cannot just eat the last piece of pizza. You need to learn to share.”

In Chicago there's a thing called 'dibs.' 

Sometimes it snows big and the streets are plowed but the parking spots are all but obliterated by small mountains of snow. The diligent among residents get their shovels out of the garage and clear out the snow from in front of their homes so that they will then have a place to park. They have done the work, so they feel entitled to the benefits of that labor.

The problem lies with those who do not shoulder in and remove the snow yet still feel entitled to park on public streets that they, after all is said and done, have paid for with their tax dollars.

Thus 'dibs.' The shoveler decides to put a lawn chair or card table or statue of the Virgin Mary in the spot they have labored over so when they come home from work, the spot has been saved for them and them alone.

It all sounds silly until you look at from an economic perspective. There are more cars in Chicago than there are legal places to park. It's a fact. The demand for spaces is greater than the supply. Parking tickets cost drivers thousands of dollars a year and the 'ticket dicks' are as numerous as the homeless. When it snows and the plows come through there are suddenly even less spaces than there were the night before.

Given the city will clear the roads but not the curbs the solution for half the population is to carve out their own space and the other half parks wherever they can. Those who take the spots but do not shovel are capitalizing on the labor of those who do and it pisses them off.

“No, Donald. You cannot just eat the last piece of pizza. You need to learn to share.”

I was thirteen. I was growing. I ate like a fucking locust with the table manners of the Cookie Monster. There it was—the last piece. I wanted it. My sister was small and weak. What was she gonna do?

“Offer your sister the last piece.”

“…do you want the last…”

“YES!” she barked and shoved the whole piece in her mouth.

“That’s NOT FAIR! We coulda split it! That’s not sharing, that’s theft!”

That’s Capitalism. Cut throat. Haves and Have Nots. It is simply not in human nature to share. In all of recorded history there has always been, in every society and civilization, when approached with abundance, a small percentage of those at the top and a much larger percentage at the bottom. Call it what you want—winners and losers, the One Percent and the Ninety-Nine (great name for a prog rock band), Bourgeoisie and Proletariat—it all amounts to the same dynamic.

It occurs to me that in the fight to get people fired from their jobs for tweeting arguably terrible things the double standard in place is exceptionally capitalist. On the ‘cancel culture’ side is the idea that people should be held accountable for their words in the world and, if they cross the line, then employers should fire them. On the other side, these same people will scream that an employer who decides that a kid wearing the costume of his culture or using grammatically incorrect language cannot be fired.

Both are individuals putting themselves and their ability to express themselves at the center of a business that has little to do with the individual. Everyone should have the right to their own specific identity as they see fit but no one should have the right to exert themselves above a business that pays them a salary in order to center things on them.

It’s frustrating. Economic class is the true great divider in the world. Because it is so ingrained in the human experience to live with those who have the cash and many who do not, economic class seems an unassailable unfairness. It’s an immovable and undeniable trait in societies of every stripe. 

The landlord who leverages herself to get loans to buy an apartment building, fix it up to be livable, and rents it out to people has shoveled the snow. The tenant who claims it is unfair to be evicted from that apartment building because they cannot pay the rent is parking wherever there is a spot.

And it pisses everybody off.

No, it is neither race nor gender that is the engine of inequity. It’s almost entirely economic class.

Since the existence of class is so ever-present and unmoving, we focus on other things to change society. The battle to curb billionaires has never really taken hold despite the obvious problems they present. So we focus on race, we focus on gender. We spend our energy ignoring that most of inequity that exists between humans is about economics and find as many differences between those of us on the Have Not side as we can.

Why is it so hard to get rid of billionaires and that pernicious One Percent? Because we all want what they have. We all want the last piece of pizza and the parking space. We all want the luxury of luxurious things. We resent the things we'd have to do to get that luxury so instead we tear at anyone and everyone to gain whatever slice we can.

No one wants to shovel out that goddamned parking space. Trust me. In thirty years of living in Chicago, I shoveled tons and tons of snow to get that coveted spot. I never did the 'dibs' thing but I empathize with the fury at someone taking that spot I've labored over. 

Study after study indicates that it is economic class that holds us back far more than race or gender but the road to power is through a perception of grievance these days and the only evil when presenting poverty as the problem is human nature. Men and women can be demonized. That game has been around for-freaking-ever. African Americans can demonize whites (but not black Americans because African immigrants in America do, on average, far better economically than whites). We can go the People of Color vs White People but, in order to make that case, Asians have to be ignored or made white-adjacent. 

No, it is neither race nor gender that is the engine of inequity. It’s almost entirely economic class. Not that acknowledging that will change anything.

The utopian ideals of Socialism and even Communism sound better than Capitalism. The problem is the humans are built from the DNA to compete. Compete for resources, for sexual partners, for jobs, for shelter. Competition is as instinctual as our desire to procreate and Capitalism is a competitive sport. Throughout history, progress toward learning to truly share that slice of pizza is slow because it goes against our very nature. Not impossible and thus worth the effort but fucking S-L-O-W.

A friend recently posited that maybe I have gained some wisdom in my aging. He then switched and decided that maybe what we think is wisdom is just age plus exhaustion. Whichever it is, I have learned to share. I've also learned that in order to share, I have to assume my offer of the last piece of pie is going to be taken and stuffed into my sister's mouth. I can be wounded by the gesture, I can even be annoyed by it. I have to let it go.

I'm comfortable with the concept of enough. Meaning, if I have enough to share, I have enough to survive. Even if it's only enough of my mom's Spanish Rice.

There will be those, always those, who are so imbued with the need to compete that there is never enough. There will be those, perpetually those, who have not had enough and are willing to tear it out of the mouths of those who have.

And there will always be those, unendingly those, who are fine parking in the open spot knowing that someone else put in the work and not caring enough about anyone else that they take up the space and benefit from the labor without contributing.

On the best days, I don't run into them.

[saintheartwing]

The Karma Circle: Sister Dearest

Welcome, children. Welcome…to the KARMA CIRCLE.

I take you to a simple town with simple people. McKeesport. A quiet town, filled with quiet people, kindly people. Away from the hustle and bustle of the big city of Pittsburgh, Dibbun Membrane lives with his sister and his father, having been at long last freed from his greatest concern: an annoying alien that finally blew himself and his base up, leaving a VERY helpful and playful robot behind for Dib to play with.

And Dib looks upon this new companion as a true comfort, for his father is never, ever around when he needs him, and his sister is beastly and cruel. Dib ¬simply does not have it in him to fight back against her, for she terrifies him to the very core…

Even more so than the haunted house by Emmett's Pond. He passes it by every day on his way back from school...unaware that that which is dead does not lie still. It lies in wait. Seeking what it lost.

…and it will soon strike. For the Piper is about to be paid.

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

Throughout the town's history, several fires tore through McKeesport. The greatest of all took place on May 21, 1976. Fire had spread from the town's most enormous department store downtown, fourteen buildings going up in a blaze. Striffler's Funeral Home, Kadar's Clothing Store, Oddo's Hobby Shop, the Coney Grill Restaurant…

And the Emmett Family home. It had been especially tragic…a young, sweet child had run out of her burning family home after the flames had spread, rushing away desperately to get help, for there were only two ways to get to town, one by the road, the other by a small lake that led to another road into town. She'd supposedly been trying to get help, for the first path was alit with flames, and had hoped to cross the lake…only to drown in the middle of the lake instead.

The poor little girl had failed her family, and legend had it that she still cannot rest. At sunset, you'll see the smoke drifting through the trees though it's been a CENTURY since she drowned…and if you're wise, you'll RUN! For that's when her ghost rises from the dark lake in which she'd drowned. She searches and searches for her baby brother, her father, her mother, but will never find them…and you had best take care she doesn't find you.

Dib believed in ghosts, of course. He was twelve years old and had seen more than most his age. He'd seen demons and spirits flying through the skies. He'd seen beings from beyond the stretches of Earth. And his new "little brother" of sorts, his best friend and confidant, was a robot with a head full of garbage, paper clips and-

"Ba-doompa-doompa-bubble gum! Ba-doompa-doompa-bubble gum! Ba-doompa-doompa-bubble gum! I'm gonna buy some bubble gum!" GIR the robot sang out, waving his tiny little robot hands in the air, his cyan eyes glittering as he bounced about the kitchen, Dib smiling a bit as he munched on his "Choco-Flakes" cereal.

There was an article in the paper about someone supposedly seeing the "Departed Soul of Emmett Lake". And, of course, it had the famous rhyme that you were meant to sing as you ran by it, the magic charm. "Departed Soul of Emmett Lake, Come not Night for Mercy's Sake! For when the sun hangs in the sky then we shall safely pass you by".

Gaz probably believed in ghosts too, deep down. But she didn't know nor would she have cared about the haunted lake. Gaz didn't care about much that didn't immediately gratify her, like a Poop Cola or "Piggy Hunter May Cry 5". It was, in a way, amazing that Gaz could be so different from their mother even though the two were almost equal in appearance to their respective parents. Dib had his father's scythe-like hair and pale skin, and both had their mother's amber/gold eyes…but Gazlene, unlike Peggy Membrane, had eyes sharp like a hawk, her arms thin and her expression usually bitter, and when she DID smile, it was a grin like stretched elastic.

She only ever really smiled when Professor Membrane was in the house. Then she'd call Dib by his actual name and would calmly smile over at Dib in a faux-friendly fashion. But once their dad had left, the smile would vanish, she'd punch or hit him somehow for taking a soda she felt belonged to her, or would, occasionally, lock Dib in the cellar for taking what she felt was a slice of HER pizza.

Not that Dib and GIR really minded being in the cellar too much. Because Dib had just decided to move a great deal of his stuff downstairs, including a Papier-mâché version of people's heads, toy soldiers…GIR liked to play with the red ones…and a Tallest Red and Purple series of puppets that GIR had made. GIR especially liked to act out the "what happened when the Tallest decided to check that odd speck in the distance out the window". The "odd speck" turning out to be a tiny black hole. Zim, watching it all from his end, had evidently been mortified. Maybe THAT'S why he hadn't been paying attention to the explosive experiment that finally did him in!

"What the hell is that? That's gotta be the weirdest thing I ever seen in my life!"

"Man what the hell IS that?"

"Say Red, think we oughta check that thing out?"

"I dunno, Pur, why not-AAAAA! AAAAAAA! AAAAAAAAAA!" GIR cried out, waving the Red and Purple puppets about in the air as Dib held up the black hole he'd made from Papier-mâché as GIR "tossed" the puppets through it. There came a loud KLOKKA-KLOK and the doorway opened up, Gaz glaring down at them.

"Shut up. You'll make me lose my concentration on Vampire Piggy Hunter X." She snapped, slamming the door shut as Dib glared up at her as she re-locked the cellar door. Good thing he'd snuck down some circus peanuts today.

"I could cut her up into little pieces and feed her to Mr. Tiddles." GIR cheerily offered, Dib frowning a bit.

"For one, Mr. Tiddles has been dead since Gaz sacrificed him to get those gummy bears that feed on human flesh." He sighed. "And TWO, I'd just get sent to prison. Everyone knows I hate her…they'd blame me for sure." He mumbled, taking his glasses off and rubbing some gunk off of the lenses.

"Can'tcha…y'know…just tell your dad she's a meany head, Mary?" GIR asked, scratching his bucket-esque head as Dib shook his head back and forth.

"Dad wouldn't believe me. She always acts reaaaal nice around him and she doesn't leave bruises on me that leave actual marks. Besides, I don't think he WANTS to believe me. He wants to believe his children get on just fine so he can just keep working at the lab." Dib insisted, shaking his head again. "She'll be back in ten minutes. Remember, look SAD." He insisted, GIR taking his lips and turning the smile into a deliberate frown. "Good. If she thinks we're having fun down here, she'll just think of a worse punishment. Probably one that'll hurt."

"Like…goin' down to the lake?" GIR mumbled out, eyes widening slightly in fear.

"Zim told you about it?" Dib asked, raising an eyebrow up in the air…and though GIR was silent…Dib could guess what the answer was.

…

…

…

…then came September, and Professor Membrane had to be called away to a peace conference at the United Nations. Dib, of course, had tried to beg to come with him, but Professor Membrane had just good-naturedly laughed and patted his son on his head, saying Gaz would take good care of him before heading out the door. Gaz had IMMEDIATELY barricaded Dib in his room and he'd been almost without food had he not thought to keep Premium Saltines and peanut butter cups under his bed. Why? So she could eat all the pizza and keep HIM from taking it.

"I'm wise to all your tricks." She told him calmly. "And don't complain. Whiner." She'd added, slamming the door in his face when he'd asked to use the bathroom. Good thing the window could be opened enough.

"I wonder why Memby never notices the rose bushes under your window don't ever bloom." GIR asked as Dib did his business and then closed the window, Dib sighing as he plopped down on the bed and glanced over at the calendar on the wall.

"Oh. Good! Tomorrow's Wednesday!"

Indeed. The next day was Wednesday, and that meant that Gaz was chatting it up with her friend Tak, another Irken alien just like Zim had been who'd been considerably more…calmed down…over the years. With Zim dead, what psychosis she'd had had faded a bit into just occasional coldness and vaguely British snarkiness that always manifested whenever Gaz was compelled to drag Dib along with her to Tak's house down the street to play "Grand Theft Piggy 5: New Pork City" in Co-Op. Tak and Gaz both seemed to be made of the same material…that is, a big block of granite left in the middle of a Minnesota winter.

But hey, GIR and Dib could sneak Reeses Pieces from a small glass cup that Tak kept by the living room cupboard whilst Tak and Gaz played before Tak's big screen TV and they could ignore the nasty comments the two girls would sling their way whilst carjacking little old virtual ladies.

"Honestly, my brother is SUCH a whiner." Gaz muttered. "He keeps insisting I can't take the car. That "I'm too young". I could drive it just fine."

"You ALWAYS walk here?" Tak asked.

Dib paled. Oh crap. Ohhhhhh crap.

For you see, there were two ways to get to school AND to Tak's house, which was right BY the school. One was by the hill, and the other…well…the "shortcut" by the lake. The haunted lake.

"Yeah, it's a long walk up the hill to get to the stupid school-" Gaz mumbled as GIR's mouth hung slightly open, finally processing what Gaz and Tak were about to say, his eyes becoming tiny pinpricks. Oh no. Ohhhhh no!

"Why don't you just take the shortcut through the woods? Y'know, the one that has the lake nearby?" Tak asked.

"Huh?" Gaz blinked, pausing the game and putting the controller down as she scratched the purple hair atop her head, her amber/brown eyes turning to look at GIR and Dib as her tone became quiet and dangerous. "You KNEW about a shortcut?!"

"Everyone in town knows. Lemme guess. You didn't tell her about the shortcut because you're scaaaared of da spooooky ghoooosties!" Tak said, throwing her head back and laughing hysterically, antennae flopping about as GIR clung tightly to Dib, letting out a panicked squeak. "I'm sure your sister will be happy to cure you of such a silly fancy. It's just an urban legend. Supposedly this young girl's family burned to death and SHE drowned in the lake, and should you see smoke rising from the woods, you'd best RUN! It's all so silly." She said, her voice as sweet as honey from a wasp.

"You're a bad, BAD girl! You won't make us go past the lake! Not at sunset!" GIR yelled out.

"A GHOST? Really?! You didn't tell me about this shortcut because some GHOST is supposed to haunt it?!" Gaz snapped. "Gimme a break, like I should be scared of a stupid specter." She muttered, folding her arms across her chest and shaking her head back and forth. "While I'm doing IMPORTANT things you're picking your nose, laughing on how you make me walk three miles every day just to get to school! And all cuz of some dumb urban legend! Lemme guess, a headless lumberjack'll pop outta the woods and cut my head off?!"

"I wish." Dib muttered.

Gaz IMMEDIATELY launched the wireless controller she had in her hand at him and it smacked into his forehead, a bloody cut trickling down it as he flopped to the ground, Dib glaring triumphantly up at her as he picked up his dropped-down glasses. "Now I've got a cut, a scar to show Dad when he comes back." He told her.

"Shut up or you'll get worse than that!" Gaz told him sharply, grabbing him and GIR by the wrists, dragging them out of the house, heading for the woods…heading for the lake…

As sun was beginning to set, crimson rays being cast overhead. She continued dragging them along the path, over dead leaves and fallen sticks, a long shadow being cast behind her smallish frame, the setting sun glowing almost as brightly as her hateful eyes, the dark pond slowly coming into sight off in the distance.

"Maybe she's a witch?" GIR whispered to Dib. "You think she's a witch?"

"Shhh!" Dib hissed back. The charm. The magic charm. "Departed Soul of Emmett Lake, Come not Night for Mercy's Sake! For when the sun hangs in the sky-"

"What're you two whispering about?" Gaz snapped out.

"Nothing!" Dib said quickly, gulping a bit as the wind began to wrap itself around him, digging its claws into him.

It was no good. The charm only worked during the DAY, when the sun was up and now the sun had fallen past the gnarled and now-barren trees, the sky looking like it was lit up with burning flames as…as pale wisps of smoke came curling and creeping under the ground, like blind fingers searching…

"The smoke. The SMOKE!" Dib whispered out, eyes widening in horror. "The smoke from the burning house! It was there!

"Are you kidding me?" Gaz groaned, rolling her eyes. "Seriously? Smoke?!" She muttered, dragging them towards the lake, GIR trying to break free in desperation before Gaz tossed him away, shoving her brother towards the lake, sticking his head down towards it, shaking him a bit. "LOOK!" She yelled out. "There's nothing there at all! It's just mist rising off the water!"

She was looking at Dib when she spoke…and did not see what was rising out of the reeds nearby, making it's way towards her as she glared back at GIR, who was gasping in horror at what drew ever-closer. Something dark and wet and tiny, a figure made of rotted-away flesh and water and reeds. Greenish/brown muck clung to the decayed flesh and slightly-cracked bones, a frog stuck in one eye, calmly breathing and staring back from the empty socket. Its eyes were silver like the scales of a fish, it's mouth turning from a slight smile to a furious, baleful glare as it saw Gaz shake Dib again, threatening to drop him in the lake as she yelled at GIR.

"WELL?! You cowards, I can't believe you're scared of some stupid girly ghost, there's nothing-"

The ghost GRABBED her, Dib breaking free and scrambling back as Gaz and the figure went into the lake an instant later, dark water frothing about as the two figures struggled, snarls and screams filling the air, Gaz and the figure sinking down in a boil of bubbles.

"G-g-g-g-g-GHOST!" GIR screamed out, Dib and GIR immediately racing off down the path, heading for home as fast as their legs could carry them, but GIR's leg had been injured when Gaz had thrown him, and there was a KRAKKA-KRKK sound as he fell to the forest floor, letting out a yelp. Dib quickly knelt down by him, trying to help GIR up as they heard the bushes and bramble being pushed aside, the two rooted to the spot in sheer terror, white nests of toadstools around them as they clung together in fear…

And then Gaz burst through the bushes, looking…oddly nice. She'd evidently run so fast her clothes had dried on her body, and her cheeks now had a bit of a blush to them, her hair now falling around her head almost like a halo as she blinked a bit at the sight of the two.

"Are you alright, guys?" She asked.

…GUYS?!

"That was an awful stumble, huh? Oh and look at you, Dib, you're shivering!"

DIB?! Calling him DIB and not "Hey, you"?

"Lemme give you a piggyback ride, GIR." She offered, helping GIR onto her back and cheerily smiling at Dib. "I think there's some pizza left over I can heat up at home, okay?" She asked Dib as she calmly walked off down the path, whistling.

WHISTLING!

"Who are you and what have you done with Gaz?" Dib muttered a bit, walking alongside her, scratching his head in surprise.

…

…

…

…true to her word, Gaz heated up the leftover pizza in the microwave and poured them all some Poop Cola, breaking out the big, fizzy straws from the cupboard, smiling as she watched them eat, staying silent before heading to her own room, Dib and GIR going back up to Dib's room, the two sitting on Dib's bed as Dib nervously chewed on his lip, glancing over at GIR.

"Did…did that just happen?" GIR asked. "She's all…y'know. Cheery."

"Yeah, it's weird." Dib murmured, scratching his head in confusion. "But…you saw it, right? At the lake?"

"Yes. And she fell in, right?" GIR wanted to know. "I don't get it, why…why's she being so nice? It's weird, Mary. Really weird. She's so different!"

"I thought she'd be dead, but…" Dib trailed off. "…I hope dad comes back soon." He finally sighed. "Hopefully things'll be back to normal soon."

And so the two went to sleep, GIR plopping down in the corner underneath a poster of the X-Files whilst Dib laid back in his bed, listening to Gaz walk about downstairs, slowly and uncertainly, as if she'd lost her way.

Within a few days though, it became clear Gaz had changed since falling into the lake, as if all the unpleasantness had been washed right out of her. The house was now bright and cheerful, Gaz now happily sharing her pizza and soda with the two and never raising her voice. She let Dib play with her Game Slave and even Tak didn't seem to mind this new Gaz as much, because this new one was far more cooperative in co-op. She doodled with Dib during the evening, chatted with him as they looked at old corny B-movies on the TV. And above all, she never ever hit them or yelled at them anymore!

Dib and GIR started calling her "Gazzy", and Dib would stargaze with her on the roof of their house at night, looking up silently at the stars, resting one hand atop hers as they contemplated the majesty beyond.

"Dad's gonna be home tomorrow." Dib said one night. "You remember, right?"

"Yes, Matthew."

"It's just "Dad", really."

"Alright. Dad."

"…how long will you be staying?" Dib wanted to know, tilting his head slightly to the side as Gaz rubbed her chin and raised an eyebrow up.

"However long would you want me here?" She wanted to ask. "If…if you wouldn't mind, could…" She began to say before Dib smiled, patting her on the shoulder.

"I want you to stay with us." Dib insisted. "Okay?"

"…I'd like that." She admitted with a smile, wrapping her arms around her brother and hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Dib." She said, a single tear trickling down her cheek and onto the roof below.

…

…

…

… it was about two years before Dib made his way back to Emmett's Lake, going in broad daylight on a sunny Saturday in June, down the winding forest path to the dark lake where tragedy had struck o'er a century ago. The lake was peaceful now, tiny little tadpoles flittering about as butterflies flew overhead. He calmly sat at the end of the lake, on a tree stump as a water boatman skittered across the lake, leaving behind a small silver wake as Dib waited.

Sure enough, a few bubbles began to rise up to disturb the surface of the quiet water, small fish darting away as a scum of mud and filthy rose up slowly from the bottom of the lake, taking the vague shape of someone all-too-familiar who was scowling angrily.

"Dib, gemme out! She took my body that stupid little bitch! Look, if you bring her down here, I'll give you fifty bucks! I'll bring you chocolate every day to your room for breakfast, I'll-I'll wash your feet and never yell at you again, I promise, I-"

"Goodbye, Gaz." Dib firmly remarked, sitting up and walking away.

And that was the last time Dib ever walked by the lake ever again.

[zanesgirlfriend]

Tip of the Iceberg | Matt King

Requested by anonymous: Matt with a thicc reader? Like he sees her in the club and he's just memorized by the way her ass moves? And like his friends also like her and maybe like Zane tries to walk over to her but he tugs him back and runs over to her?

_____

Sweat accumulated on her forehead, but she couldn't care less. It was her first night out in a while and she was letting it all go. The alcohol flowed through her veins and she swung her heavy hips in time with the music. Usually she's more self-conscious about her weight and appearance, but things were looking up in her life and she simply did not care.

Matt was mesmerized. His tall frame peered over the crowd and his eyes were locked on her. Specifically her ass. He always had a thing for thicker girls, and she was no exception. Everything about her was beautiful. Every curve and contour on her body was moving exactly the way she wanted it to and he took notice.

"Do you see that girl over there? She's hot as fuck." Zane slurred a bit as he pointed at y/n. Matt's mouth hung open gently as he watched her.

"She's beautiful." He corrected his slightly intoxicated friend. "Not just hot, beautiful." He nodded along to his own words, and Zane paid no attention.

"I'm gonna go talk to her." Zane started towards her, but was quickly stopped in his tracks as Matt placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I have dibs." Matt pulled him back before walking up to her himself. She was in her own little world, so Matt slid beside her, doing some stupid yet charming dance. She laughed at him, copying what he was doing.

"Hey!" She called over the music as she swung her hips from side to side. He smiled at her, his large frame towering over her.

"Hey!" He repeated back to her as he moved closer. "I love the way you dance." He smirked, causing her to blush. She realized that he was flirting with her and tugged on her crop top instinctively.

"Thank you, I liked your dance a lot too." She giggled a little, adjusting her clothes some more in attempt to be more appealing.

"I'm Matt." He told her. She cursed at herself for being insecure and decided 'fuck it.'

"Y/n." She said before spinning around, starting to grind on him. He twitched in his pants as her body touched his. His hands found her waist and he moved with her. After a few more minutes of dancing, they decided to take a break and she followed him over towards his friends. Zane fawned all over her, but Matt was the one she was interested in.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" He asked, she nodded. His hand laced with hers as he lead her through the dense crowd of people and out into the open air.

"You're really nice." She smiled at him as they started walking to the small gas station at the end of the street.

"You're really gorgeous." He mimicked her tone of voice as they walked, getting another beautiful smile from her. They talked about a lot. Their jobs, friends, random questions of life, and everything in between. They each got a drink and a small bag of snacks from the gas station and y/n started to walk home.

"I live right up there, wanna come chill?" Her question was innocent, but her mind was not. Matt was thinking the same thing as he agreed and walked her home. Once inside, y/n thought things would be awkward, but Matt was smooth and their conversation flowed effortlessly. She realized how smart he was, and was completely captivated by Matt as a whole.

Soon enough they were kissing. His tongue in her mouth and her fingers tugging on his blond hair. His hands felt the warmth of her skin as they flowed over her curves and onto her ass.

"You have a great ass." He murmured between kisses as he squeezed her ass.

"You have great abs." She murmured back as her hands lifted up his shirt and ran along his torso. Soon he was shirtless, positioned above her body as he sucked on her neck.

It was the best sex she'd had in years. The way his tall frame twisted into different angles made her cum easily. He felt the same, loving every inch of her with a mix of gentle and rough touches. They were both happy and content as they laid in her bed, recovering from what they'd just done.

"I don't want this to be a one night stand." Matt brought up casually. She turned to him and smiled, seeing his true character.

"Me neither, I really like you." She admitted, hoping it wouldn't freak him out.

"I really like you too, and we don't even know anything about each other, but that's okay." He told her.

"We're at the tip of the iceberg. We haven't even scratched the surface yet." She said. He loved her analogy.

"As long as we don't end up like the Titanic." Matt spoke softly, chuckling at the beautiful new girl in his life.

[edda-blattfe]

I fully support Mal x Vil x reader/MC that's top tier. Your universe brain is blessing the fandom with that. Now I'm imagining Vil finding excuses to go to the Diasom dorm to see Mal and MC... I bet it's study sessions between the dorms initially, but Epel and Rook see the way he is with Mal and MC and know exactly what he's doing almost immediately. It's not long before they say stuff like "we understood today's lesson, you go on ahead tho" just so Vil can be more alone with them

~Ehh, thank you love!~

Ooh! I love the way your mind works!!! Mind if I go ahead and share some relationship headcanons for this trio?

Malleus x Vil x MC Pollyship Headcanons:

- A few details on this MC. Both Mal and Vil are strong willed, decisive, manipulative, and dramatic individuals with a horrid tendency to wallow in their negative emotions rather than find proactive ways of dealing with them or seeking help from others. For these reasons, I believe MC would have to be a rather laidback and open minded person. They wouldn’t have to be plain per say, but just not as dramatically flamboyant in comparison to their romantic interests. It would also be a load off of the boys if MC is honest, maybe a little blunt, and genuine; in this case, they wouldn’t feel the need to manipulate MC, being comfortable enough to let their guard down. Since the boys are lacking in emotional intelligence, it would fall to MC to pick up the slack in that department; thus they’re also gonna need to be observant enough to recognize when their boys’ are in a foul mood, be quick to analyze the situation to identify the source of their discomfort, and think of a healthy way to help them deal with those emotions. So, to summarize, this MC is: easygoing, open minded, relatively modest, honest/blunt, genuine, intelligent, observant, analytical, and tactful. Also gonna toss in curious and sharp, just for the he’ll of it. MC is in Diasomnia, because: a) that’s how Des’s scenario fits, and b) Malleus would the most difficult of the two to get close to, so earning his friendship first would be key to beginning this polyship. Moving on now.

- It didn’t take long after the first years’ arrival for Mal to notice MC, as they were already proving to be an excellent student. From what he’d gleaned from Sebek’s retelling of class, MC always paid attention and took notes during lectures, almost always answered every question pertaining to the subject of study (both from the professors and fellow students) in a clear and concise manner, and never shied away from their schoolwork. Malleus observed them from a distance, just to be sure if they were really worth his time, before finally approaching them. He was cautious in his initial introduction, not wanting to terrify the little creature too terribly with his oppressive aura. Much to his surprise, they didn’t seem all that deterred, in fact the exchange and following conversation was rather pleasant; so much so, that Mal continued to visit with them. Gradually their conversations became longer, deeper. It was easy for the draconic fae to relax around MC, since he realized that they weren’t the type to use personal information against others. In time, Malleus came to think of them as a good friend.

- Vil, on the other hand, didn’t give MC much thought for the better half of the semester. Outside of Malleus occasionally mentioning them there had never been an opportunity for them to catch his eye, especially since they didn’t really stand out in a visual sense. That changed during one of the school mock battles. This particular event required every able bodied student to group up into teams of 3-5 students all chosen by a leader. Naturally, Malleus got first dibs and chose Lilia, Vil, and MC for his team. The Pomefiore dorm leader attempted to convince his dear friend that someone a little more experienced than a first year would probably be a better choice, but Mal would hear nothing of it; Vil found out why soon enough. Just as they did in school, MC paid close attention to Mal’s strategy briefing and wasn’t afraid to ask questions or suggest alternative plans if things didn’t work out in their favor; it was impressive, even to Vil. The event went over quite well for them, the four person team overcame their opponents through mutual cooperation and tactical precision; in an odd way, the whole practice was kind of fun actually! Afterwards they went to the cafe to celebrate, there Vil and MC finally got a chance to talk. The two of them got along pretty well, and became fast friends.

- As Des said; Vil began using group study sessions to spend more time with Mal and MC...which Rook and Epel caught onto, then suggested he just go ahead by himself. Malleus was relieved at this news; not that he doesn’t like the other Pomefiore members, but he’d much rather spend time with just MC and Vil...you know, alone.

- At first the three of them mainly hung out during study sessions, which somehow evolved into training sessions, eventually makeovers and trips to Mr. S’s Mystery Shop.

- Let’s say that MC isn’t familiar with doing their hair or makeup. Vil happily designates himself as their cosmetics instructor, Mal occasionally pitching in as his assistant when he can. Despite succeeding in teaching MC their ways, both of the boys still enjoy doing it themselves.

- Mal started growing noticeably possessive of the other two, growling if someone seemed to stand too close or placed a hand on them in an all too familiar way. While Vil began fussing over their appearances, not in a nitpicky way, just fixing their hair or makeup more often; he even lent them his favorite product. None of this raised any flags for MC, who gradually became more comfortable initiating physical contact; leaning against them, laying their head on the others’ shoulders, sometimes even wrapping their arms around them.

- Like In @twistedwonderlandimagines Vil x Malleus headcanons, Mal was the first to realize that he liked the others as far more than just friends. They were in his dorm room, Mal watched as Vil brushed MC’s hair on the bed, adorably content with being there. “I love you,” Mal confessed nonchalantly. It was barely louder than mumble, but it was enough to make the others stop dead in their activity and stare at him questioningly. “Both of you, I mean.” Vil and MC glanced at each other, “Like,” MC spoke slowly, “platonically? Or...” The look on Mal’s face made the answer quite clear. Vil cleared his throat, MC shifted to view both of their companions. “Ok then. Let’s...uh, talk about this.”

- And So, they did. It was a little awkward at first, but in the end, they all agreed to try dating. At first MC and Vil thought they were just supposed to share the dragon. But, soon became very aware of their own feelings for each other, which led to more awkwardness as they attempted to sort out how that fit into the relationship dynamic. Of course, Malleus isn’t blind and, just as he did with the confession, blatantly told them he didn’t mind them dating each other too, maybe even preferred it, if it meant he didn’t have to watch their confusing little game any more. There ya go, crisis averted.

- Turns out that their relationship didn’t change all that much. They still enjoy all of the usual activities, only now there’s some intermittent cuddle sessions and kisses being exchanged. Mal has since decided to move his study time to his room, since there he can sit with both of his darlings. *debates whether or not to describe how they make out* *vetos due to excessive blood rush**maybe with a little peer pressure...*

- It’s an unspoken rule that MC is the designated comforter. Whenever zone of the boys are feeling stressed or under the weather, they’ll just latch on and soak in MC’s affection. If the third person comes in, MC will hold out an arm to welcome them; It’s very rare that this doesn’t end with all of them nodding off in a cozy pile.

- Once they’re all comfortable enough, group baths become a thing. Vil brings in his favorite shampoos and conditioner, along with sweet smelling bath oils and plushy towels. Mal loves it when MC uses their nails to gently scratch his scalp while working the shampoo into his Raven locks, particularly around the base of his horns. They all secretly enjoy pressing their cheeks to the others warm, damp shoulders...It’s just a really sweet past time.

That’s all I have for now. Feel free to add on more headcanons if y’all like!