#i probably could have started work two weeks ago if it weren't for these random family trips my parents decided we're going on

[verystressedcollegestudent]

god ive just completely wasted the last two months of my life haven't i 🙃

[giowritess]

fortnight [1]

gif by @dameronscopilot

pairing | Benny Miller x female!reader [Grace Stratford]summary | you somehow end up pretending to be Benny's girlfriend for two whole weeks. is your heart going to survive that? probably not. warnings | mentions of sex, alcohol, mentions of cheating by a third character word count | 1.7k author's note | so. happy new year! i deeply apologize for not showing my face here for the last two years lol things have been complicated and i haven't found the time to write. i've recently fell in love again with the miller brothers from triple frontier and this came up completely random, it's gonna be a small series and i'll post as soon as i write them. future smut. no mentions of y/n; grace's name is only mentioned once. english is my second language and this wasn't proofread so i apologize for any mistakes. hope you enjoy it. xx masterlist | main masterlist

fortnight

"Meaning: 14 days; fort·​night ˈfȯrt-ˌnīt : a period of 14 days : two weeks."

Pretending to be Benny Miller's girlfriend for two whole weeks wasn't how you planned to spend your days off, but here you were.

After working so hard for so long, you finally had your well-reserved month off, plus a few days more. You spent a few days with your family and now were all set to enjoy two weeks of summer bliss at a friend's super fancy summer house, along with lots of other friends and others not so much, as you soon found out.

The moment you got there, you could hear the laughter coming from the house—a mansion, one could say—even from your car. The moment Will showed up at the doorway, Maddie, your best friend and his girlfriend, jumped out of the car to run to him and you rolled your eyes. They saw each other yesterday. But then Benny showed up at the door, shirtless, laughing as Will picked Maddie off the ground, and you sighed. 

Yeah, you had it bad, and he was completely oblivious to it.

While you and Maddie made the trip there, she filled you in on a lot of things. The house belonged to Luke's parents, Luke being an Army buddy of the boys and your long time friend since high school. What a small world, right? Besides him and the three in front of you, you couldn't say you were “friends” with that many other people there. At best, “acquaintance” was the most appropriate word, but you didn't mind, you were there to enjoy the summer, the Fourth of July and Luke's birthday. But the thing is, Maddie also told you some other rather interesting things. Benny was pissed for two reasons: one, he was the only single guy there, and two, his ex-girlfriend was there with her new boyfriend. His ex that, according to Maddie, was the one who broke things up and he still had a thing for. His ex that Maddie hated because she was a typical Regina George—nevermind being almost thirty.

The idea started to form in your head the moment Maddie told you all that, but you still weren't so sure of it.

The thing was, your relationship with Benny was weird. Since Maddie was your soul sister and you were always around when you weren't deployed, he was basically a brother-in-law to you. You two had always been friends, got along just fine; there was, however, one alcohol-filled event two years ago that changed the trajectory of your relationship. 

You still remembered it as if it had happened yesterday. You'd just gotten back from deployment, happy to be home at the beginning of summer, your favorite season. Maddie and Will were in the early stage of their romance, lots of longing glances and unsaid words, so you were starting to be around Will and Benny more frequently. The thing was—you had a thing for Benny since, well, ever. You just couldn't help it, guys who knew how to make you laugh were your downfall, and it was only a bonus that he was handsome as fuck and had eyes that made your parties drop. Suffice to say, Benny Miller was your dream guy, but he never made a move on you as seemed interested in you. It wasn't that you weren't brave enough to go for it—you just couldn't bear the possibility of being rejected by him, so you accepted your fate of liking him from afar. 

That night in particular, your first night back, the four of you were at your favorite bar to celebrate your Captain promotion—after four whole years in the Air Force, you finally had a helicopter to call your own. To say you were happy was to say the least; you were estatic. Your little brother would be proud of you. All drinks that night were on Maddie and the boys; you weren't a heavy drinker, but that night you let loose and really enjoyed yourself. And shit, you could swear Benny had never looked as good as he did that day. It didn't help that you hadn't had sex in a million years and he was basically sex on legs, nor did the fact that the trash bag of your ex, who cheated and dumped you through a phone call while you were overseas, had just walked in with his brand new girlfriend, the one who he cheated with. It served only to make you want Benny even more—he was so much more man than your ex, and you'd bet an arm that he was better at sex, too. You were sure of it, even though the only place he'd been recently (every night) was in your dreams. 

You were both drunk, you more than him. Maddie and Will had abandoned you already. You weren't sure how—maybe because of your sex deprived and lust-filled mind—, but the subject turned to sex, asking each other what sort of crazy things you'd already done. The thing in question was 69, which you'd never done, and Benny surprised you when he denied it, too.

And then, maybe it was the alcohol running through your veins, fogging your brain. Or how close he was and how good his perfume smelled. Or maybe you'd just had enough, so you said, taking a sip of your beer:

“I bet you know how to properly eat a girl out.”

You saw the moment his eyes darkened, one of his eyebrows raising up. He slowly placed his beer on the table. You didn’t breathe, feeling as if you were about to die while waiting for his reply. 

“Wanna find out, Captain Stratford?”

You were bracing yourself for a rejection, for him to say he wasn’t interested in you that way, anything but that. You definitely weren’t expecting that. He didn't ask, but you'd never had sex in a car before. Or had three orgasms on the same occasion that weren't self-induced before. But yeah, he was way better than your ex, and your dreams. 

But then it got awkward between you two afterwards. Sure, it was the best sex of your entire life, and sure, you'd love for it to happen again, but you weren't really sure how to treat Benny. So you tried to act as natural as possible and so did he, almost as if pretending that nothing had happened. Except it had, and every time you looked at him, you remembered it. Everytime you looked at his hands, you remembered how well he worked you up with those long fingers. Everytime you looked at his face, you remembered his beard glistening with your juices after he made you come twice with his lips alone. Whenever you saw him holding something, you remembered how good it felt to have those fingers wrapped around your throat while his cook hit every right spot, again and again. Safe to say, you were having a hard time focusing whenever he was around, and it made you wonder if the remembered it, too, when he looked at you, because sometimes you could swear he looked like he did. And sometimes... sometimes he looked at you the same way he did that very same might when he asked you that question. But then it faded as quickly as it came. So you tried to treat him like you used to, but for the past two years it seemed to have an elephant in the room with you, and you just didn't know what to do about it.

Truly, you'd already accepted that nothing would ever happen between you two again. But the moment Maddie told you all that, the gears in your brain started working. It was risky—what if he didn't like it? And honestly, why? It wasn't as if you really wanted him to get back with his ex... yeah, there was no rational motive you could come up with. At least no motives that weren't selfish. But then, still sitting at the driver’s seat in your car, you glimpsed your ex, wrapped around his current girlfriend—a new one, who looked suspiciously like you—by the pool, and that gave you the courage to go ahead with your plan. So that was how you found yourself in your current predicament. Exactly when Benny was awkwardly talking with his ex, still by the door, you called out his name and went to him, the surprise evident in his face. And then you kissed him.

This was the defining moment. You were scared of his reaction—and then he kissed you back, way more fiercely than you expected, his tongue slipping into your mouth, until the girl in front of you cleared her throat.

“And you are?” She asked, and the tone of her voice made you want to strangle her.

Instead, you took the jealousy and anger cursing through you and transformed into confidence, and you gave her your best smile.

“I'm Grace,” you replied, and you felt Benny's eyes on you. “Benny’s girlfriend.”

You didn't know what surprised you more: the giant scowl in her face, or one of his hands going around your body. 

“I'm sorry, what is it again? Pam, Tam?” You asked before she said a thing.

You knew damn well what her name was.

“Sam,” she replied through gritted teeth.

“Oh, that's right. Lovely to meet you.” You turned to him, dismissing her entirely. “Help with the bags?”

He nodded and gave her an apologetic look, before grabbing your hand (another surprise) and following you to your car. The moment you opened the trunk, he let go of your hand and you already missed the contact.

“What's going on?” He asked, confusion clouding his beautiful features.

You glanced around to make sure you were alone and tugged him closer.

“Look,” you whispered, “both our exes are here, and according to Maddie, you still like her. This way, you make her jealous, maybe win her back, and I rub it in his face that I landed someone way better than him.” His lips tugged up in the slightest shadow of a smirk. “What do you say?”

You didn't realize you were holding your breath until he replied.

“Huh. That's really smart,” he said, surprising you once again.

You expected him to say something more, but then he grabbed the bags and walked back towards the house.

And that was how you found yourself pretending to be Benny Miller's girlfriend for two weeks.

Would your heart survive those two weeks? Probably not.

by @reveriesources

➜ part two

[flamingpudding]

DPxDC Family Week June 22 (Day 5)

Prompt: Children | Music

A/N: Super random and I had no idea what to do with the prompts until a couple hours ago.

AO3 Link: DPxDC Family Week Contributions

It was supposed to be a slow and easy day, barely anything big happening. Just a day for them all to chill and relax. Danny really had hoped for that one calm day. He had gotten Jason to come to the Manor to help him with his literature homework. It took a lot of convincing but in the end he managed to convince his second oldest brother to come. Normally he would have asked Jazz or Barbara but the girls were out on a girls night Steph had demanded.

He knows that Dick was also in the Mansion the moment Danny had let it slip a day earlier that he had gotten Jason to agree to help him; the eldest had announced that was going to come visit too. Of course to spend time with the two youngest Damian and Ellie who were busy caring for the animals in Damians Barn. That he got to hang out with Jason, read: force a hangout, was just a bonus.

Bruce was probably in the office and Alfred was in the kitchen baking.

Everything sounds like a nice and calm day doesn't it? Yea, Danny would have thought so too if it weren't for that sudden slip of cold air leaving his lips as well as a certain ghost looking at him through his Textbook.

He blinked, Jason blinked, they blinked.

"Desiree?" Danny carefully started. "What are you doing here?"

She was supposed to be in the Ghost Zone, specifically in Walker's Prison on time out for granting Condiment King of all people a wish and nearly flooding all of Gotham in mustard, ketchup and other things. Lady Gotham hadn't been very amused either, which was why Desiree should be in Walker's Prison.

The ghost in question only smiled brightly at him and he resisted the urge to close the book in her face. He could see Jason digging around in his bag, ever since the ghost had followed him to Gotham he had made sure that all of his siblings had at least something to catch them. "Well hello there Phantom. I just wanted to see if anyone wanted anything."

Before he could answer her she slipped away from them. Danny cursed in a way that would make Jason proud as he jumped off his chair, changed forms and followed the other ghost through the floor, barely remembering to yell at his brother to tell the others to not utter anything that could remotely sound like a good damn wish.

Too bad Danny had not anticipated Desiree going to the Kitchen were Alfreed and Bruce were apparently having a little nostalgic chat. In which Alfred just happens to say that he wished he had more photos of the times all of them had been children.

One wish granting ghosts intermission later…

Alfred blinked at where Bruce had been sitting a couple seconds ago. No, Bruce was still sitting there but he was not the adult he had been talking to but the six years old version.

"Master Bruce?"

The child looked up at him, tilting their head. "Alfred? Why do you look so old? Older than you normally do?"

Well wasn't that a predicament, Alfred mused. "Master Bruce, what is the last thing you remember?"

"Mom and Dad told me they were going on a business trip and I would be alone with you in the Manor for a while."

Okay that was something Alfred could work with. Surely one of the children could tell him what was going on. Maybe Daniel had an idea, this could be something related to the Infinite Realms after all.

"Alfred! Do you know where Father is?" The butler turned to the kitchen entrance only to find Damian and Danielle each holding onto the hands of a young Richard. "Richard suddenly turned into a child and he doesn't appear to remember us."

"I don't remember you because I don't know you." The child between the two frowned at them. "How did I get here? Did you kidnap me?"

"We didn't twerp. You got de-aged." Danielle was clearly fessed up with young Richard and Alfred couldn't help but chuckle.

"Who are you guys and why are you at my home?" Bruce suddenly piped up jumping of his chair and rushing over to the three.

"I live here, who are you brat?" Danielle questioned in return before Damian could say anything, her eyes narrowed at the young Bruce.

"Nu-uh. I live here with Mom and Dad. You're the stranger."

"Hi I am Richard but call me Dick, I got kidnapped."

"We did not kidnap you."

"Hi, I am Bruce and that's Alfred."

"Alfred, this boy… is that father?"

"I am afraid so, Master Damian."

Before anything further could be discussed the screaming of two other children could be heard. Bruce and Dick rushed out of curiosity toward the noise as children were. Damian and Ellie quickly followed behind them. Alfred didn't take long to also follow them.

The five of them did not expect to find more children but these two were brawling. Two similar looking young boys were currently fighting each other biting, hair pulling and even punching while screaming at each other.

"NO JAZZ TOLD ME STEALING IS BAD!"

"SHUT UP YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT!"

"NO! YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT!"

"NO YOU!"

Alfred did recognise one of them as Jason while the other most likely was Daniel. Clearing his throat the butler waited for the two brawling children to notice him before pulling them apart. "Master Jason. Master Daniel. You two shouldn't fight inside the house."

Danny scrunched up his nose side eyeing the Butler and Ellie cooed who would have guessed that her template used to be this cute. "I don't like that. Call me Danny."

Jason on the other hand stuck his tongue out at Danny once the two got separated. "Daniel, Daniel, Daniel."

Danny glared and Ellie could only laugh at the face he was making. "Stop that."

Damian let out a sigh. "It looks like everyone but us got turned into children. What could be the cause of this?"

Danielle shrugged. "Dunno, the only I know that could do that is a ghost but she is in ghost prison."

"I will see if I can conta-"

"Weeeeeeeeeee!"

The two youngest turned oldest looked up in time to see Dick swinging on the foyers chandelier. The young child's hand slipped and suddenly the boy was free falling. Both rushed to catch the child, Ellie taking to the air and catching him while Damian on the ground let out a sigh of relief, before realizing that Jason and Bruce were gone.

Danny thankfully was still with Alfred holding on to the butler hand watching wide eyed and in awe how Ellie was slowly floating down to the ground with Richard in her arms. The boy was loudly yelling "Again" over and over.

"We need to find Father and Todd." Damian declared once Richard safely touched ground. The boy pouted but took Alfred's hand as he was told.

"I believe Master Bruce might have thought out his old room. It would be in the right wing of the second floor. In regards to Master Jason…"

"I will find him." Danielle offered, already speeing off. Damian only huffed in annoyance as the girl did not stay long enough for him to properly plan how to find the two missing children. With another huff he turned around and left to find his child turned father.

Alfred only smiled as the two now oldest children left and led the two whose hands he was holding towards the kitchen. "Master Richard, Master Daniel. How about you two help me bake some cookies?"

"They won't come to live will they?"

The butler chuckled at little Daniel's question but also noted that down as a worrisome statement he would have to inquire later about. "No they won't but they will surely taste better with two little helpers."

The boy let out a sigh in relieve as the other tilted his head slightly. "I love cookies! This is definitely the coolest time I have ever gotten kidnapped for."

"You have gotten kidnapped before? Jazz said getting kidnapped is bad."

"Nope, this is my first time! But how can it be bad if it's fun so far? I wanna swing on that ceiling thing again!"

"I wanna try that too…"

Alfreed only shook his head as he let the two children continue to talk. Whatever was happening the butler would make sure to take as many pictures as he could. This was his one golden opportunity to get these for the family albums. After all Tim had gifted him last month with the latest phone model that supposedly had one of the best cameras integrated.

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

Somewhere else in Gotham…..

When Tim finally got out of the meetings he took a look at his phone. Alfred had been sending pictures all day and he hadn't had the time to take a look at them. He choked on his coffee as pictures of Bruce, Dick, Jason and Danny as children greeted him. The young Co-CEO rubbed his eyes wondering if he was dreaming but then Alfred sent him a video that he instantly saved in his blackmail folder. Whatever was going on he would hold that over his brother's heads for a long time.

Duke leaned back into his chair finally taking a break from his study session. He had ignored his phone so far. Now that he was taking a break he looked at it and spluttered at the cuteness that greeted him. Wait, was that Bruce? And Dick? And Jason? And Danny? What was happening in the Manor? Wasn't today supposed to be a slow day? Hurriedly, the Meta packed up his things from his library table and made his way back home. He did stop shortly at one point to take a look at the video Alfred sent, trying but failing to stop the laugh that bubbled out of him.

The girls all crowded around the screen as Barbara pulled up a live feat from the Manors cameras. They all collectively squalled when they watched the children play. A part of them wondered if they should go to the manor to help Alfred Damian and Ellie but they were having too much fun just watching the chaos unfold on screen.

In the video and live on Barbara's screen four children were currently dancing to the strangest music with Danielle before them instructing them on how to pull off the best moves. All the children's attention was on her as she taught them everything from easy hip hop moves to the funkiest dance move she, herself could think of. Meanwhile Damian was on the sidelines, head in his hand mumbling something but because of the music neither the video Alfred was taking nore the video cams, the girls were watching them from, picked it up.

A couple day's later a blindfolded Constantine finally grazed the Wayne Manor with his presence and a solution to return the four children back to their original age. Once that was done, three out of four were certainly mortified, the fourth trying to take it with Humor all while Alfred was happily working on an additional family photo album.

[dreamerdoesthewritething]

Got a random hit of inspiration for a LSK x Reader thing. I write for me, so with anything I write, the Reader is almost always AFAB, unless specified otherwise.

Hope you like it~! <3 ;3

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

You couldn't believe the news.

It had to be a mistake.

The government wouldn't nuke one of their own cities, no matter what. That's terrorism. That's un-American. That's unspeakable.

Yet that's exactly what the newscasters across all stations were reporting. The government had wiped Raccoon City off the face of the planet, along with anyone still alive within its limits.

You didn't live there, nor did any of your family members or even your friends. The only reason you care is, aside from it being a tragedy, one of your childhood friends works there. In fact, he was supposed to have started only a week ago.

Knowing the kind of man your friend had become, there's no doubt in your mind that he was there. He sought out Raccoon City specifically because of the trouble surrounding it. The bizarre murders in a nearby mountain area. That was where he wanted to be after he graduated from the police academy. You remembered everyone trying to convince him it was better to stay near home than to go somewhere so dangerous. He was too stubborn to listen.

Now, he was--

The tears started falling and wouldn't stop. You collapsed on the floor. Everything stood still, yet it would never be the same again.

The nation mourned, not for the first time and certainly not for the last, and you grieved right along with it. You hadn't grieved this much in your life. It's the first time someone you loved was taken from you. Your family and friends were there for you as much as possible. You didn't want professional help. Maybe you should, though, people said. A loss this heavy...

He was your best friend growing up. You were there for him when his family was murdered. Your parents took him in, gave him a place to stay so he wouldn't be alone. When the nightmares would get too rough, you'd crawl into bed with him and fight them off, comforting him by holding him and running your fingers through his hair. He'd loved that, and even though he asked you to stop once you guys weren't little kids anymore, there were nights when he'd be at his own home, struggling to sleep, and would call you up and say nothing but you knew what he needed and you'd come right over to do it again.

People teased, insisting that the two of you were more than friends. Rumors of you sleeping together were constant. Heaven forbid a boy and a girl hang out without there being something going on between you. That's what he used to say. You valued your friendship so much that you never told him there was some truth to it.

Then again, just about everyone who saw him felt some special way about him. That's probably why your peers bullied you so much. They saw you as an obstacle to his affections. Attacking his best friend to try to win his heart never made any sense to you or him. If anything, it made him like them less. He also never cared for those who would suck up to or attempt to use you to get closer to him. He always could see right through those kinds of people.

Why were you thinking about this now?

A month had passed since the Raccoon City incident. How had time gone by so fast? You were staring up at the ceiling in your bed, wearing the same clothes you wore the day before and the day before that. You took a leave of absence from work. You barely ate. Hell, you barely left this bed. Why should you? Your best friend was dead. It was the fault of the Umbrella Corporation who started a viral outbreak. It was the fault of the government who chose to eradicate the city a little too quickly, without giving those still alive enough time to possibly evacuate. It was your fault for not fighting harder for him to find employment in a safer city.

You kept having horrible nightmares of what happened to him. Zombified. Mutilated. Turning to pink mist as the warheads dropped. Screaming. So many times he'd be screaming. Every time. You were constantly being showered in his blood, his remains, his death.

You didn't tell anyone about these dreams. They'd push you even harder to go to a therapist. You didn't want to be on more prescriptions. You're fine. You just needed time.

It's like you were waiting for something. What was it?

Maybe you really did just want to die, too.

What a dark thought. No wonder everyone was worried about you. They should be. But you swore you weren't suicidal, because you knew he'd never want you to kill yourself. How many times had he told you that on your bad nights, the ones where the bullies got to you a little too much and you couldn't stop the thoughts that they were right about you, the ones when you couldn't fight them alone? He'd held you and ran his fingers through your hair and reminded you how much you were loved. How much he loved you. As a friend, of course.

Yeah, you were such close friends that your way of comforting one another was the same, too. The Cuddle-Stroke, as you once called it. Then he told you never to say that again, flustered as you laughed your ass off. Silly teenagers. You considered referring to it by initials, but the number of things CS could stand for if someone heard you might raise some alarm.

But damn, you could really go for some CS right now.

Before you could start crying again, your doorbell rang. Who could it be at this time of night? Not family. Your parents had keys to your home and the others knew better than to show up uninvited, especially nowadays. That last part applied to your friends, too. Criminals don't want to draw attention to themselves, so it couldn't be one of those...Could it?

Better safe than sorry.

You grabbed the bat you kept at your bedside for such moments as these and quietly headed towards your front door. The chime of the bell echoed through the house again. You wished you had a peephole in the door so you could see who was there without opening it. You didn't have that option.

Taking a deep breath, you threw the door open and readied your weapon only to immediately drop it as you, too, dropped.

Had you really lost it?

It couldn't be him. You must be hallucinating.

Either that or you were dreaming.

The hands that touched your shoulders felt real enough. They lifted you back onto your feet, never letting go as you were brought back into your house. They proceeded to close and lock the door before guiding you towards the living room.

The man they belonged to was saying something, but you couldn't hear it. It was like you were under water. Your head was swimming. Your heart was racing. Your stomach hurt. Nothing made sense.

He realized you were lost. He felt lost himself, but less so than you. Before coming here, he discovered just about everyone he knew thought he was dead. That he died with Raccoon City. They weren't completely wrong. His heart still beat. His brain still worked. His body wasn't dead or undead. But a part of him had died that horrible night.

Apparently, a part of you had as well.

There was only one thing he could think to do in a moment like this. It wouldn't undo the month of grief. Nothing ever would. But it was the only way he knew he could get through to his best friend, to snap you out of the shock of seeing him in the flesh.

He sat down on the floor in front of your couch, pulling you down with him into his lap. Your head founds its place on his chest. You practically melted into him. He began stroking your hair, running his fingers through it gently and slowly.

Gently and slowly, you started to become grounded again. You weren't in a dream. You weren't hallucinating. He really was here, alive. Somehow. A miracle, maybe?

What the fuck did it matter? Your best friend lived! He didn't go up in flames in Raccoon City. He came back to you. He really, really made it back home.

Why did it take so long?

You wanted to ask. You wanted to get mad at him for putting you through so much suffering. You wanted so many answers, so many things. He had to know that.

But you thought about what he must've been through, and you held your tongue.

"I missed you, Leon," you said, the first time you spoke in days.

Your voice cracked, you sounded miserable. Oh fuck, you were crying this entire time, weren't you? This was not how you pictured your reunion at all, though to be fair you never thought you'd see him again in this life. You probably smell like shit since you've been in the same clothes for at least three days and haven't showered. What does he think of you, seeing you like this?

"I missed you, too," he said.

Like yours, his voice cracked. You forced yourself to look up at his face. He was crying, too. Not bawling, but tears were falling from his eyes, leaving a trail down his cheeks. He was fighting to keep a neutral expression and failing. The light no longer shone in his beautiful blue eyes like it once had.

Oh god, what had happened to him?

He wanted to apologize for making you wait for him. He wanted to apologize for all the grief, all the tears, all the things that happened since he chose to go to that damned city. He wanted to explain why he was gone for so long, why he didn't contact you as soon as he was able. It wasn't because he didn't want to. He simply couldn't. There was so much he couldn't say or do.

All he could manage now was, "I'm sorry."

You acted without thinking, and suddenly your positions are reversed. His head on your chest, you running your fingers through his hair as you hold him there. He's much tenser than you were. Even this couldn't relax him the way it once did. What did they do to him?!

"It's okay, Leon. It's not your fault," you said. You swallowed the sobs that threatened to erupt during that last sentence. "It's not your fault," you repeated.

Of course he knew that. Didn't make him feel any better.

"You're alive," you said, and for some reason your voice dropped to a whisper. Like it was some kind of secret between the two of you.

"I'm alive," he said, matching your tone.

Words wouldn't come to you. He couldn't say what he wanted. So you just held him. He loosened up a bit and held you again, too. No words needed right now. He was alive. You were with your best friend. That's all that mattered.

That's all that mattered.

[rawk-chikk]

Bro just sent me this. We lost him 10 years ago yesterday. Didn't realise it had been that long, but I'm absolutely terrible with dates. He died in Bro's arms tho, so I think it's permanently etched for him.

For y'all who don't know the story, this is Pushca, the fam's first cat.

It was the year 2000. Mum had been trying to persuade Dad to let us adopt a cat from the local shelter for ages. He was adamant that we were not gonna get a cat. You know how dads are. So mum, and us kids (well, teens and young adults at that time) had resigned ourselves to being catless.

Fast forward about a week. The sibs come home from school and Mum tells them to look in the garden. They go out, then come back in like 'OMG you got a cat!'

She was actually referring to the trees over the back garden fence. One of em fell during a bit of a bluster and destroyed our fence and next door's shed. And the picnic table where my folks sat and had morning coffee when it was nice out. If it'd been nice out that morning we'd probably have been orphaned 😬. Anyway, the trees were inspected and it was decided they should be lopped for safety. I mean these were tall fucking trees. You could see em all the way from Milton Tesco, so you'd always know the way home.

So yeah. The trees were now a lot less tall. And there was a cat in the garden...

Fully grown but still young. And scrawny. Not full-on starved looking, but definitely not in receipt of frequent, substantial meals.

He was just sat on the path quietly, watching as Bro and Sis approached him with a dish of tuna flakes, which he wolfed down.

Then he got up, walked into the house like he'd always lived there, and promptly fell asleep on the recliner we had back then.

Woke up a couple of times for a bit of a fuss and some more grub, then went back to sleep. Went out to do his business, came right back to his spot on the recliner. He was still there when Dad came in from work in the small hours. Rather than throw him out, Dad just opened the kitchen window so he could leave then went to bed.

He was gone the next morning and we thought that was that. A nice flying visit from a random neighbourhood cat. Maybe now Dad could be persuaded to let us adopt one?

Later that day, Mum hears meowing by the back door...

This went on for a few weeks. He came in, had some food, then spent the rest of the day on the recliner. We were in a situationship with this cat. We hadn't talked about making it official or anything coz we weren't sure he wouldn't just pull a Littlest Hobo on us at some point. We just went along with the happy status quo.

Then one day he comes round and my spidey sense for poorly pets starts tingling. As the day goes on it becomes obvious. He's lethargic, withdrawn, not bothered about food etc.

Suddenly we've got a sick cat on our hands. What the hell do we do? I mean he was ours but he wasn't ours, ya dig? Mum phoned the RSPCA for advice.

Let's just say they were less than helpful. Actually they were downright rude, like they suspected us of being shitty pet owners trying to fob off a cat onto em 🙄. Their 'advice' was to leave him under a bush to let nature take it's course (I shit you not!), alternatively they would take him in and treat him, but we wouldn't be getting him back.

Well fuck that noise!!!

That was the point we decided we were going all in on this boy. We got him to a vet, got him treated for an infected bite on his head, got him registered, chipped, booked in for neutering, insured, the works.

Dad didn't want to adopt a cat.

The universe had other ideas. A cat adopted us instead.

In fact we ended up with three. And after they'd all passed we took on three more.

And it all started with him. He helped raise two kittens, and two puppies (one's still with us, tho very much not a puppy anymore 🙁). He put up with a baby (Nephew One), who then became a toddler 😬. He saw me off to, and welcomed me back from, various stints at university. He curled up with me during the worst of my mental health struggles, and the Christmas I was too ill to get out of bed. He was there the day my dad died. He was a solid, dependable presence on the back of the sofa.

That sofa still bore a Pushca sized dent in his spot years after he was gone. Guess you could say he really was part of the furniture 😁.

Miss ya, boyo ❤.

(Absolutely do not miss your nagging tho 😋😆)

[safyresky]

Crystal Springs Chapter 21: Jacqueline's Cat

aka, Two Weeks Later, is up and at em, right here! Give it a read, give it a review, have a blast and a half!

For those who've recently joined the tag, hi! Allow me to introduce to you my The Santa Clause 3-specific fic, Crystal Springs! If you're in the mood for some funky gen fic, featuring our beloved icy blorbo Jack Frost and a redemption arc of sorts, with a cast of absolutely unhinged OCs, I'd highly recommend giving Crystal Springs a chance! Here's a summary for you all to eat up:

"It's been nearly a year since Jack's thaw and things...could be better, admittedly. It seems, that as the year has gone on and he's improved his relationship with Santa and the whole of Elfsburg, his powers have taken a hit. December's just around the corner, and his powers are just short of being gone.

This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact that Jack's powers are the only reason that Elfsburg, the Workshop, and the North Pole are able to exist safely, tucked away under the Dome. With his powers gone, the winter magic that keeps the Dome sturdy and dishing out proper quantities of Christmas magic, is running hot and out of control. It's melting, and the North Pole is getting warm.

Unable to hide his power loss any longer, an intervention is held by the Council and Jack admits that he lacks the Frost. But thankfully, there is a solution: enacting the Legate Law, summoning the sprite next-in-line for the title of Jack Frost.

There's just one problem: Jack's Legate is his younger sister, Jacqueline, who he has not seen or talked to since he nearly killed her dead almost fourteen hundred years ago. Out of options, with no other possible solution in their sights, they do it, bringing Jack and the sister he hurt so many years ago back together once more, in the hopes that together, they can get Jack's powers back and stop the Deliquesce.

Unfortunately, the Frosts have never been very lucky. Soon after her arrival, Jacqueline starts experiencing some unexpected blackouts, with unintended consequences. With Jack's powers hanging in the balance, and Jacqueline on the fritz, the pair decide to head back home to Crystal Springs, bringing Jack face to face with the rest of his family...and an ancient threat waiting for their moment to strike, their carefully laid plans finally coming full circle. Seems like saving Christmas may be a little bit...complicated this year.

This fic is my baby. Originally posted in 2012/13, it was finished in 2014/15, rewritten in 2017, and then again starting in 2020. We're still working through the 2020 version NOW, hence why you see these random updates in the tags, but not on ff.net. (CS is not posted to ao3 as of yet, but I'll get to it one of these days! )

Piqued your interest? SCHWEET! Have some links.

PROLOGUE (skipable tbh, will be better once Frostmas is finished) CHAPTER 1 (good starting point, would recommend)

Not vibing it? Cool cool cool, go ahead and click that J key and head on down your dash to something you do vibe!

All caught up on CS 202X? Then onto the main event!

What's 🆕 In Chapter 21?

AXED the ENTIRE lost journals/here's what we learnt at the Dream Spire bit with the cold front, given that I took those events and spread them about the previous two chapters, Chapter 19: The Man with a Plan, and Chapter 20: Freedom, both of which were updated December 4th! (icymi) :)

Probably should've updated this one along with the other two, but I neglected to read ahead/totally forgot about the cold front preamble while Fino is fighting for his life under the bed lol, so here we are! Hopefully it didn't uh. Cause confusion for readers not on tumblr lmao

PREAMBLE ASIDE, WHAT'S GOING ON THIS CHAPTER?

🆕 Sibling fluff!

🆕 Blinter fluff!

🆕 CS lore!

🆕 Fiera's doing hot girl soot! (literally)

BETTER focus on the fam helping the cold front figure shit out re: blackouts and power shortages!

NEW Scott/Carol banter because Carol deserves to get a few digs at Scott!

WORD COUNT F A C T S: 2014 -> 4,440k 2017 -> 7,866k 2022-> 15,431k :O

I think last week's angst really spurred me on to finish this chapter. Please accept my humble offering of the main timeline where all the frosts are alive and thawed and nobody is dead, I swear. And as usual, if you find yourself enjoying it, do drop me a line! Send a review my way! Throw a reblog out there! I like to hear what people think! I will talk about these blorbos for DAYS.

[wroteonedad]

Is Juergen Teller's W Magazine Shoot Art?

I was lucky enough to get accepted into an arts university 5 years ago. To this day I still couldn't tell you why except for me and the lecturer talking about Kate Bush for a solid 15 minutes. And despite it nearly being two years since I graduated from university, I still haven't done anything much with said degree. I've done one live gig, made two montages and I've only just finally felt inspired enough to perhaps start a new project. Even that is exhausting considering that I have a full time job and most time I spend away from work is me sitting here and writing up whatever content I can come up with for my blog. Back onto my main point though, back in university I got to come across some amazing photographers and artists that my lecturers would tell me would flow with my work perfectly. Sometimes they did, but whoever told me about Juergen Teller,,, I wish they didn't. He's one of those artists that I forgot about for a good couple of years, until I logged onto Twitter three days ago and saw a Tweet of someone reminding me of *that* Juergen Teller shoot for W magazine. As soon as I was reminded of those images I wanted to shut off my phone and never turn it on again. So this week we are going to discuss, if the photoshoot is art or plain lazy.

Let's go back and discuss Juergen Teller pre W Magazine shoot. Teller is a German fine art and fashion photographer. You think of the first celebrity that comes to mind and Teller has probably done a photoshoot with them at some point. He moved from Germany to London all the way back in 1986 and has been actively building his career from that moment. He specialises in 'minimal' images when it comes to his portraits of celebrities and models over the years, many which are. What makes him different to other commercial photographers is that he refuses to tailor his work to the clients wants and needs, because he has his own established style and know what works for him. While many of his works, especially his older works, are mesmerising and captivating, I also feel as though Teller has been stuck in this safe space for years, never crafting anything that steps out of what he knows in case it doesn't get the reaction he wants.

I liked his old work. Hand on heart, I will admit it. I was a big fan of how personal the images looked, kind of like I was going through a family photobook of somebody I don't know. I liked how lowkey the images were, never big studio images. Always homely environments, a bedroom, a garden. Sometimes it felt as if Teller was trying to make the person he was shooting appear on the page as a middle class person. Ordinary folk, like you and me. These images were not airbrushed, the way in which you'd see famous models grace the cover of Vogue magazine. You could see blemishes, bags under the eyes. I respected that because I really think it takes balls for a photographer to not only take images of these in the first place, but then to publish them like that and refuse to edit it the way in which you would like to look.

In more recent years, Teller almost gave up photography. He realised that the world is suddenly 'flooded' with photographs, that it's so easy to take an image. When he first began his career, there weren't so many people making images. It was something that felt like an art and only some people had the ability to capture that. It all stems to the debate of artists and their love hate relationship for platforms such as Instagram. Teller hates phone photography and Instagram so much that it was the concept of social media and people not caring about these images that made him want to stop. Perhaps it can be argued that the photoshoot for W Magazine feels like a mockery, a big fuck you to people who rely on mobile phones to take their own images, or images of other people.

The photoshoot for the magazine feels humbling for all the celebrities who partook. A random street in the middle of Los Angeles, a place that always looks rich and glamorous, especially when we think of the celebrity culture over there. This shoot was a car, a tree and a street with a dream.

The controversy from the public was how baffled they were from how simple this photoshoot was. No special lighting, no post editing, just images that look like something my mum would take. Even Riz Ahmed claimed that his shoot with Teller lasted for 20 seconds. Two images and his work was done. Perhaps it really is in order for us to look at the image of the celebrity and remind ourselves that they're just like us. The images scream anti-celebrity in the way that every image subverts the types of images you usually see of a famous person. Whether they're magazine shoots or even Instagram images, their posts always feel airbrushed and glamorous, a type of beauty standard that most feel as though they could never tend to. Perhaps that is truly what makes this photoshoot so memorable, because most of these famous people look dumb in this silly rundown place with no glamour around then aside from perhaps their outfit (not James Corden though).

However if you think these images are artistic and out of the box then, well that's your opinion. I can't see why you would take anyone, let alone a celebrity out into a dirty city street and have them sit on discarded fold up chairs on the side of the road or let them sit on the floor next to a pile of someone else's litter. No matter how much I look at this collection of images, I can't view it in any form of art form. Not even anti-art and the whole collection of images do nothing for me. I'm not saying that he's a bad artist because there are many of his older images that I really love, but the flair was not there for this entire magazine shoot. It feels as though it was made to make some headlines and make a name relevant again; whether that is Teller's name or some of the famous people included in this shoot, you decide. And truthfully, I am sick of critiques defending the entire photoshoot. Mark Grobe wrote an entire article about how he thinks if the person doesn't get the W magazine shoot, then it means that Instagram rotted their brain. In his essay he states 'It's a tough pill to swallow but people love the feeling evoked by a Juergen Teller-esque image – until it's shot by Juergen Teller, as evidenced by the meme.' (the following meme is below)

'The informal and "iPhone style" aesthetic is so of the moment that it's tricky to recognize as warranting artistic merit, and it's possible that Teller is a victim of his audience who, growing up on social media, see amateur-style photography as something that needs to be purged from the camera reel, and not published in a fashion magazine.' However I have to disagree, not understanding the photoshoot has nothing to do with social media rotting your brain, or having access to taking a photo wherever you are whenever, it is just the way that people connect with each other of the Internet. I feel like a veteran when I say I've had my Twitter account for 11 years, but the best times I've seen people connect with one another is when they are simply taking the piss out of something, whether it's as insignificant as a photoshoot or the rumours of World War 3 back in 2020. People bond and people love over being able to share silly jokes, it never means the actual meaning of something has gone over anybody's heads and its silly to even make an assumption like that.

Maybe you think these images are amazing, that's fine. Maybe you also hate them and can't see what it is about them that makes them a form of fine art. Anyone who knows anything about the field of fine art will always at some point make a piece of art that doesn't really make sense to anyone except for them. The only memorable part of this photoshoot were the memes that exploded on Twitter after it and I think that's perfectly reasonable too.

This was still the best meme out of all of the ones I saw online though.

[princessdiariies]

manifestation, coincidences or delusion?

hello everyone, i apologize because english is not my first language so i'll probably make some mistakes, but i really need to vent and understand if everything that is happening actually makes sense or i am just a deluded person who watches too many movies.

long story short. a couple of years ago i lost my virginity to a random guy, he wasn't a complete stranger because he was a friend of a friend, but i had never really spoken to him directly before that moment. we were both virgins at the time and wanted to know what it felt like to have sex, so it seemed fun to be each other's first time and it happened - a little awkward, but overall normal, nothing out of the ordinary.

this would be the end of the story if it weren't for the fact that i haven't stopped thinking about him ever since. this guy is literally always on my mind and i haven't slept with anyone after him. i don't think about him in a sexual or romantic way, he's just always in the back of my mind and every time i go out i hope to run into him even though if i did i would probably just say hi BUT i never run into him even though we live in the same neighborhood and went to nearby schools until last year.

for two years i just thought i had a crush, or more realistically an attachment to him since i lost my virginity to him, after that i only saw him once at my friend's birthday, but we didn't talk; anyway i never told anyone about this situation and i always thought it was my problem, a one sided obsession. that was until some time ago.

my friend told me that a few weeks after we had sex he talked about me a lot with her (pretty normal for a teenager who just lost his virginity) and said several times that he wanted to meet up to talk, even though he never asked me directly, but told my friend as if he expected her to act as an intermediary. i only found out about this recently, also because you should know that my friend had a crush on him and they even dated for a while last year - it didn't work out, but they remained on good terms, i think she only told me about this now because she didn't want us to meet at the time she started dating him.

i know he's been asking about me for the past two years, but now i'm starting to think my friend has been hiding a lot of other times he's been asking about me (again, we live in the same neighborhood, go to the same places, but we NEVER run into each other). just last week he told my friend he wanted to meet up with me to chat.

now, i'm starting to think that i'm not the only one who's been thinking about the other constantly for two years, even though it all seems crazy to me because

1. he has a girlfriend,

2. i'm moving abroad for a year in less than a month

3. it can't be that because of a mediocre fuck he and i have formed such a strong bond, right?

and yet i have the feeling that if we met we could find an insane connection, i don't know how i can be sure, it's just a gut feeling. but i can't just ask him to meet up, i feel like i would be doing a disservice to my friend who had a crush on him (i want to clarify that when the guy and i had sex i had no idea she liked him), but if we met by chance it would be different and i wouldn't feel guilty for disrespecting my friend.

i think it's weird that we think about each other as often as i think we do and that even though we go to the same places we never met for two years. am i delusional or do you see a pattern too? tell me what you think.

[violetsystems]

#personal

I swear I read this story years ago about a synth guy who was interviewed about the Berlin Wall when it finally came down. He said he had been in his basement for years just making music. He had complained that society was so bad that he had no choice but to pay bills, hole up and not be seen. Of course, I sometimes wonder if this was from a dream or some random ChatGPT log. I've been too busy to spend the day researching if it were true. I've sent one or two resumes off a day lately. I woke up to another rejection letter from Universal although like L'Oreal they keep your resume on file. I feel like I've been wandering around in the dark trying to leave this walled garden of a basement. And I start feeling it's just a waste of time to worry. I just completed that Dream On quest line in Cyberpunk after a few saves and reloads. You discover a politician and his wife are being rewired when they sleep in their apartment. Secret walls and surveillance. She even forgets the color of the flowers in a picture of their wedding when you talk about it. When V flags down the Maelstrom surveillance van and jacks in, he gets an ominous warning from some artificial intelligence. Don't cross their red lines. It was all a dream as far they were concerned and you weren't to interfere. I don't think the game really lets you go too deep in that quest line if only for a flashback at the end of the game. But it all does take my mind off the constant detective work trying to figure out why people more than just ignore me. I don't think I want to know the real answer to that one. And for all the Columbo work over the years I've done pro bono, I have figured out that I'm a lot like that guy I probably dreamed about. The environment around me is proud and indignant. Everybody assumes we're all in this together but nobody talks to anyone or acknowledges I exist. I've grown used to a special kind of friendship online when it comes to communication. Real hardcore detective work there. But I don't really think anyone reads or looks at my blog other than a few people. The only investigation going on is how my birthday happens in one week or so and nobody really cares.

That could be my fault holing up in this dungeon hiding from people. Or am I being hidden? I don't actively hide from much. Except maybe drunk people trying to get me to drink. I'm a very forward person. So is Columbo and he both amused and annoyed people with his mission. Everything after the first season kind of goes off the rails. But it's always Columbo on his same shit. Same coat. Same wife. I think he wears that coat as a strategic ploy to disguise his body language. Which is a joke because you can read the guy all over when he gets frustrated or nervous. He has no poker face to speak of. But maybe that is his ultimate trick. He is always acting thoughtful and nice. But underneath that coat you can tell that guy always solves a case no matter how easy he is to read. But I do wonder what would have happened if he just stayed in his basement playing acid keyboard to Herbie Hancock live performances on Youtube. He does end up in a jazz club tracking a suspect trumpeter named "Bill Riffkin." Each season of Columbo is a descent into Hollywood acting class hell. Bill has a history of domestic violence in which he accents to Columbo behind a bar by violently shaking his trumpet like a strangler. So much so he gets let go from the orchestra he auditioned for. A hard turn from the Supreme Court's decision to enable gun ownership for domestic abusers. It was s simpler time maybe back then. And as far as nostalgia goes, I never really grew up watching Columbo or anything. It was a little before my time. So it has this ambient nature from the other room of filling up the space with talking more so than NPR talking about war, poverty or things nobody wants an invisible person to change. Just like that synth guy, nobody has visited me other than my parents for a minute. People I thought were my friends were only here to take my money. And once you start understanding that you have finally carved out some peace and quiet for yourself you start to refine it. I pass the time sending out resumes not gossiping about other musicians. I do actually learn how to play jazz keyboard but only session with Bennie Maupin. The universal music group rejection letter was worded pleasantly enough. It said something about thanking me for wanting to share my love of music. But I don't think most people understand what love is when it comes to me as an individual. Not after all these years on this planet. I'm not exactly young. But people don't treat me like I'm old unless it's to make fun of me. In fact, I think most people fear aging so much that they're jealous I haven't gone too far downhill. Columbo looks pretty young for being old. Or at least he carries himself in a charismatic enough way to be seen as lovable. People out here project their insecurities so much, you can't really hide underneath a jacket.

Kolchak hides under a hat. Rather, he's defined by it. Made fun of for it. And constantly not believed for twenty episodes of one season. I remember seeing it on reruns and being obsessed with the voodoo storyline. The coolest thing about Kolchak is that it is a very Chicago show. And if you know about Chicago being founded by a Haitian, it kind of skirts the radical inclusive social justice tight ass perspective in modern times. Kolchak's world isn't very much different from modern Chicago. In fact, I see Chicago regressing into a car wreck of both the fifties, sixties and seventies. That's the only generations that people listen to out here. The rest don't give a fuck about the future or are battling out their insecurities. The night stalker is out there looking for the real dirt. And each episode he finds it in a sort of proto x-files sort of way. All the while, coming in contact with the gritty and corrupt nature of Chicago which is more scary than the supernatural guest stars per show. The effects are hilariously bad but the villains have a dream like quality to them. Are they for real? Is Kolchak just daydreaming his tabloid writing in a flashback or did that shit really happen? Jack the Ripper makes an appearance in the first episode as some weird silent mime jumping over construction sites, dodging police bullets and murdering indiscriminately. Kolchak gleefully and clumsily dodges his way out of everything. And every episode he gets in his quips outside of a writer's union in an office that I've passed a millions times on the elevated train on my way to the loop. He's out there in a very real and sensationalist way. But most people simply write him off as a loon. Every episode starts with him whistling alone in the newsroom. He's so fucking full of himself discovering every mystery nobody wants to admit. He's bathed in the loneliness of that newsroom in the early morning light. Just as the tune picks up on his confidence, the soundtrack kicks in to accompany him with a minor stabs and thrusts. Kolchak and Columbo aren't afraid to confront things. They aren't afraid to ask questions. To look dumb. To put themselves out there and fail. And then there's the guy who is sitting in his basement playing keyboard all day. Knowing it's all just one big meat market. Kolchak and Columbo aren't really solving any problems. Other than murders. Those already happened. At the end of a Columbo episode. Somebody gets caught. At the end of the Kolchak episode, nobody really believes him. But it was a good read. At the end of these blog entries, I'm just letting you know I'm still me. Neither a television character, a good actor, or a person with a resume than anyone is interested in. I'm getting pretty good at playing keyboard with Herbie Hancock though. Also pretty good at realizing there's nothing left for me to do but wait. <3 Tim

[virtual--hug]

BNHA Imagine - How They Are as a Boyfriend [ 2 ]

A/N: I always forget that it takes forever for me to write these and come up with the scenarios even though the only one I had to fully write was Sero's. Also, keep an eye out because I'm going to post stuff about requests soon!

Characters: Denki Kaminari, Eijirou Kirishima, & Hanta Sero x GN Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: Mentions of some unhealthy jealous behaviors in Kaminari's scenario and some generally gross/predatory behavior from a random male character in Kirishima's.

Word Count: 4.5K

Previous

Denki Kaminari

Jealousy - I've definitely given the other characters a bit of maturity here in how they react to jealousy, but I can not say the same for Kaminari. He'd totally be the guy who doesn't want you to be friends with certain people, follow certain people on whatever social media you use, and will get upset if you like another person's pictures. If you want that to change, you've got to talk to him about it. Otherwise, you'll be enduring a lot of stupid arguments. As an adult, he definitely becomes a bit better about those reactions, but the jealousy is still there. 

   It had been a couple of years into your hero career, and you got the chance to work with some work studies students that your agency had taken on. Admittedly, it was a bit weird working with people only a couple years younger than you at the most. But, it was still sweet to see kids with such passion, and they basically worshipped the ground you walked on which was nice as a young (often disrespected) hero. Well, all except one kid.

"Hey hot stuff, are you busy after work today?" The kid in question was, undeniably, a good hero. But, he was annoyingly flirtatious.

"Why? Do you need help crossing the street?" You replied.

"Maybe, I wouldn't mind you holding my hand to walk to the station." You rolled your eyes at the response, "No chance, kid. Get going unless you want me to call Aizawa on you." 

"Please, just once! C'mon you won't regret it!" The kid whined. Before you could go on your long, very irritated, rant to him about why he needed to leave you alone, a new voice entered the conversation.

"Hey, I thought your patrol was done by now!" Your boyfriend, Kaminari Denki, rested his arm across your shoulder.

"Yeah, it is, I was just talking to some of the work study kids." You replied, glancing towards the boy who had since gone silent. Kaminari took a quick glance towards the kid before pressing a kiss to your cheek. 

"Hey, I remember when we did those! You should probably start heading home, kid. There's a curfew in this area." Kaminari turned his attention towards the student. 

"I'll see you tomorrow, ma'am." The boy ran out past you two. 

"Ma'am." You repeated the word in some disbelief. 

"What a brat." Kaminari muttered.

"Hey," You flicked his forehead, "Don't act like you weren't like that in high school." 

Cuddles - He's actually not the biggest fan of cuddling. He feels a constant need to do something, but he doesn't usually see any ways around cuddling that would make it more productive for him. So, most of the time, he'll avoid it. On some occasions, Kaminari will come around to it, and he'll tolerate it for at least a little bit if you enjoy cuddling. The best you can do to keep in one place is to play with his hair for a bit; it calms him and makes him very tired. But the moment you stop, he's gone again. 

  You weren't sure exactly when you had fallen asleep. At one point, you were watching a movie with your boyfriend after a long school week. Now, you were being woken up by the thing you were sleeping on having shifted one too many times for your liking.

"Hey, you're awake!" A voice greeted you.

"Huh?" You tiredly looked up at the person who began speaking: your electric boyfriend.

"You fell asleep a while ago, and you looked too peaceful for me to wake you up. But, uh– I'm kinda' getting bored here. Do you mind if I leave to do stuff for a bit?" Kaminari explained. He continued to shift around as he had before when you'd be woken.

"Seriously?" You rested your head back onto his chest as it had been when you woke up.

"I'm serious! It's boring waiting here, and the movie ended forever ago!" He whined.

"Fine." You rolled off of him.

"Thanks, babe!" He hardly stuck around for long afterwards.  

Kisses - Above all forms of affection, this is it this is the one. He kisses you for almost anything. If you're sad, happy, annoyed, any emotion, he'll kiss you in response. The main motivator is usually his own wandering brain. He'll often look towards your lips, remember that you're his partner, then kiss you. He's not really one to ask beforehand, so, if you need that, you should let him know. Kisses on the lips are his go to, but he'll give you a kiss on the cheek every so often. 

  "Seriously? I heard the final was going to be on conjunctions!" Mina exclaimed. As finals approached, your friends and you already began speculating on what the upcoming exams would be.

"No way, Mic-Sensei is going to do it about verb tenses! He always does the final on the topic we had the most trouble on, and almost everyone did badly on that one." You insisted.

"I don't know, he's been a bit nicer lately. Maybe he'll just make it on more of the easier topics." Kirishima added. Bakugou, next to him, scoffed at the comment.

"That's how he gets you! He acts all nice then springs some mega-hard test on us!" Mina replied. "What do you think, Kami?" 

Kaminari was clearly zoned out when the group turned to look at him. He was staring straight at you as if the world around was completely silent.

"Denki?" You waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention.

Suddenly, the blonde leaned forward and a haste kiss was pressed directly onto your lips. Your eyes widened, and your face heated at the action. Meanwhile, the other teenager went on to answer the question, "I don't know what the test is about, but Aizawa-sensei is definitely behind it if it's hard. I swear I heard them talking about it yesterday!" 

The test quickly moved away from the conversation's focus. 

PDA - All of the previous scenarios have made it pretty clear that Kaminari isn't opposed to PDA… and he isn't. Kaminari doesn't really care where he gives you affection and there's truthfully very little difference between what he'll do in private and public. He holds some modesty around authority figures, though. The last thing he'd want is for a teacher or pro-hero he's working under to catch him with his partner in any way. 

  "Pretty, pretty please, babe!" Kaminari insisted. The teen was definitely seconds from flailing on the ground like a baby.

"Denki, I'll hold your hand," you sighed, "But why do you specifically need me to hold your hand to cross the street?"

"Because." The certainty of the statement made it clear he wasn't going to add anymore.

"We're going to be graduating this year, Kaminari. And, you want me to hold your hand like a toddler across the street." You reiterated his previous requests.

"Well, yeah." At this point, the cross light would turn green at any moment. 

"Fine." With an exasperated sigh, you opened your hand up for him to take it at your side.

"I love you." He declared at that moment, pressing a kiss to your cheek before proceeding across the street. 

Eijirou Kirishima

Jealousy - As much as I hate to further these sorts of stereotypes… I will. Kirishima is mostly oblivious to signs that a person is coming onto you, so he never appears jealous of anyone regarding your relationship. Sometimes that's a blessing, he doesn't care who you hang out with (the bare minimum). But, it can be a bit of an issue if the situation is uncomfortable for you, and he just doesn't notice.

   "Hey, I haven't seen you around here before." A voice spoke up beside you.

Kirishima and you finally found a moment in your busy schedules to meet up. And, the redhead planned the most extravagant outing he could conjure up with his sidekick salary. Naturally, the two of you began by ordering coffees. You had ordered for Kirishima while he ran off to take a call. "It's from Bakugou, it's gotta' be serious!" He said before running out of the store.

"Oh– uh, yeah. I don't come here often, I guess." You looked towards the man who had made his way uncomfortably close to your side.

"Hm– y'know the best drink here is their house roast. The pretty girls in the back make it well." He commented. You inwardly cringed at the comment about the baristas especially considering the person who served you looked no older than a college student and this man was… far past that age. 

"Um– yeah, maybe I'll try it next time." You glanced towards the door and hoped that Kirishima would come back soon. 

"So, what're you doing today?" He continued his questioning.

"Nothing much just…" Luckily, as you spoke, the front door jingled and Kirishima re-entered the shop.

"Hey, (Y/N). Did you already order?" He rested his arm around your waist as he usually did. The man clearly noticed the action and looked a bit upset at the realization that you had a boyfriend.

"Yeah, it should be done soon." You responded.

"Oh, sorry, did I interrupt your conversation?" Your heart dropped at Kirishima's comment. You tried to give him a look that suggested you did not want to continue the "conversation". 

"No, I was just leaving." The man grumbled and walked out of the shop not long after.

"Did he even order anything? Who just stands around a coffee shop!" You thought.

"Did I say something wrong? He left pretty quickly." Kirishima asked.

"That dude was a creep! He probably only left because you got here!" You replied.

"Oh," your boyfriend seemed shocked at your words, "I didn't realize." 

Cuddles - Maybe I just like projecting onto characters, or maybe Kirishima really is just one cuddly boy. He jumps at any opportunity to cuddle you, but that's really not all too special when he jumps at pretty much any form of affection you favor. Kirishima's open to any way you want to cuddle, but he prefers to have his head resting on some part of your body (chest, stomach, your own head, etc..). He does have a habit of literally picking you up and moving you in his sleep if he decides to roll over. 

  Falling asleep on the dorm room couches wasn't a common occurrence especially with Iida being such a stickler for rules in the 1-A dorms. Kirishima seemed especially tired though: increased training, upcoming exams, and (more importantly) the increasing threat of the League. You could see dark circles that had formed under his eyes as the two of you walked back to the dorms after class. So, you hardly stopped him when he fell asleep with you in his arms on the couch. 

"How do you even get all this gel in your hair everyday?" You tried to run a hand through his, now falling, spiked hair. It wasn't very successful as you were stopped by frequent knots and hard parts of gel that just got all mixed together.

The redhead had his arms around your waist and was basically holding you in place for his face to rest on your chest. So, when the boy began to move, it wasn't a surprise you moved with him. You were decently surprised, however, when his movement resulted in you almost dangling off the side of the couch. Your upper body was hardly on the couch anymore but, thankfully, held up by Kirishima while you struggled to keep your legs from hitting the carpet.

"Please don't drop me." You hoped. It wasn't a tremendous drop to the carpeted floor beneath the couch, but it wouldn't be enjoyable.

"That's so manly…" Kirishima vaguely mumbled in his sleep before he shifted his body towards the back of the couch. The action allowed for your whole body to rest on the cushions again. You sighed in relief. 

Kisses - Again, any and all forms of affection for him. He kisses you for a whole host of emotions and any place he had access to really but some patterns eventually become clear: happy kisses are on the cheek, adoration or any especially love-filled kisses are on the lips, apologetic kisses are on the back of the hand, worried kisses are on your forehead or the top of your head, and sad kisses are on your eyelids or over any tear marks if you were crying. The other kisses aren't quite nearly as common for him in comparison to the cheek kisses; you'll probably have an imprint of his lips there with how many times you receive them on a daily basis. For him, he loves it if you kiss him somewhere on the face, preferably close to his lips so he has an excuse to "finish it" as he calls it. But, he'll absolutely melt if you kiss the back of his hand like he's a prince. 

  You didn't want to be as upset as you were over the poor test grade. It was only a C which was far from a failing grade. Although, seeing the low percent and large red letter circled at the top of the paper continued to bring tears to your eyes. You weren't even in the class anymore and it continued to upset you.

"Everything alright?" Kirishima asked from across the table. You two were working on homework together when the paper slipped from your other schoolwork.

"Yeah, just," You took a deep breath to stop your voice from cracking, " a bad test grade. I'll probably need to retake it."

"Hey, I get bad grades on tests all the time! It's nothing to be upset about, especially since you can retake it." Kirishima tried to reassure you.

"Yeah." You remained in an awkward silence for a moment. You weren't quite sure what else to add to the conversation, and Kirishima was aware of it as well.

He stood and sat down on your side of the table before pressing a soft kiss to the corner of your eye, "Do you want to work on something else? There's this pretty great movie that Crimson Riot was in!"

You chuckled at the prospect of one of the many cheesy movies Kirishima knew that included his idol hero, "Yeah, we could watch that." 

PDA - It's mandatory, basically. As you two get further in your relationship, it's basically second nature for him to rest an arm on you in some way (around the waist/hips, over the shoulder, on your head if you're that much shorter) or reach to hold your hand. He won't mind kissing or cuddling you in more public spaces, but if you aren't comfortable with it he'll compromise on that. If you're entirely uncomfortable with PDA or just sudden physical touch, it's going to take him a lot of reminding at first. But, he won't disrespect your boundaries. 

  "Look, I found this picture of us when we visited the beach!" Mina shoved her phone towards you at the discovery of the picture.

The end of your guys' third years was fast approaching, and to some of your (really Kirishima's friends who forcibly adopted you to the friend group) friends, the most pressing matter was compiling all the pictures your group took together.

"Oh yeah! Wow, that had to have been like our second year. That felt so long ago!" You commented. The picture showed Kirishima, Bakugou, Mina, Kaminari, Sero, and you with the beach as a backdrop. Jirou must have taken the picture. 

"I know! Oh, and here's this one with Bakugou!" Mina laughed. The next picture was of Bakugou clearly yelling at someone while Kirishima and you stood to the side. Your expressions were the funniest part. Although, in reality, the blonde was yelling at the guy for attempting to charge him more than the price should have been. Nevertheless, it was a funny moment that you all laughed about later.

"Hey, does Kiri always do that?" Kaminari asked. He was sitting beside you while also looking at the pictures.

"Do what?" Mina and you asked.

"That thing with his arm." Kaminari pointed at the picture. In the current picture, Kirishima had an arm around your waist as you two looked at Bakugou like disappointed parents. And, when he swiped back to the first picture, Kirishima was posed in a similar way next to you. 

"Does he?" Mina asked as she scrolled through her camera roll to find more.

"He's doing it here." Kaminari held up another picture to show last year's Spring Festival. The class threw a different concert for that festival with a bit of a dark theme. The picture showed Jirou and Yaoyorozu, surprisingly, attempting to mimic Bakugou who was yelling in the background. Kirishima and you were in the picture as well, laughing at the scene. But, once again, his arm was around your waist.

"Yeah, he totally does that super often." Mina scrolled through a handful of more pictures that showed the habit.

"Huh, I guess I never noticed." 

Hanta Sero

Jealousy - He's a pretty laid back guy. As I've made clear with some of the others, he doesn't really care who you talk to you, hang out with, or any of those things. None of it is his problem unless it interferes with plans you two already made. But, he's not entirely excluded from jealousy. He still experiences it, even if he doesn't act on it, and does a pretty good job at hiding it from you. Common signs are usually that the amount of affection he shows you increases, although he's always really affectionate, followed by some showing off; he finds some way to use his quirk in these situations. 

You had been talking to Kirishima for the last 30 minutes. Sero couldn't even really stop the harsh, lingering glare he sent the two of you every couple of minutes: not like either of you saw it, though. He knew he couldn't really blame either of you for the continuous conversation. Sero himself had been talking to his friends for a while in the common room before he decided he felt a bit tired and would find you to head off to his room. Before he could even stand, Kirishima had sat beside you and started a conversation.

Sero wasn't one to interrupt, so he waited. And waited. And, much to his annoyance, the conversation continued. Eventually, he got fed up.

"(Y/N)," a voice entered your ears, but the real tell that it was your boyfriend was the weight that gently fell on to you, "How're you doing?" 

"Fine, Kiri and I were just talking about this new show we both like!" You turned to the red head.

"Yeah," he awkwardly laughed, "Well, I should probably go. I have so much homework to do!" 

"See ya' tomorrow!" You waved. All too quickly, Kirishima was off. No doubt, it was due to the fact that Sero was literally all over you now: arms wrapped around your waist, head resting on your chest, and the rest of his body attempting to weave itself with yours in some way. It was awkward but highly effective.

"Did you need something, Hanta?" Your hand ran through his hair. 

"Wanna' head to my dorm?" The action only proved to make him sleepier.

"Sure, if you can still walk on your own." You teased. 

Cuddles - His cuddles are a trap for more than one reason. First of all, he wears a lot of baggy and, usually, warm clothes. But, his body is deceptively cold. Any slightly exposed skin pretty much feels like ice being pressed to your own. Luckily, that can change after just a little bit of being under a warm blanket, and it's rather useful in the summer. The second trap, though, is really only an issue if you wake up before him or in the middle of the night. You could fall asleep on the other side of the bed from him, but you will wake up in some sort of tangled mess of long limbs. And, he won't let you get up. If you move, he's somehow perfectly maneuvered his body to keep you in place and pull you back to his body. You'd have to wake him up if you want any chance of getting up when he's asleep like that. 

   You woke up with the disorienting feeling of being thirsty but being completely unaware of what time it is. "I better have brought water." You thought as you stretched your body towards the edge of the bed to check.

A voice muttered something from behind you before you were slowly pulled away from the edge of the mattress. "Huh?" 

You rolled over, which brought up another small spew of mutters. It was Sero, obviously. You completely forgot you two had fallen asleep together. Although, as you woke up just a little bit more, you could recognize your predicament here. His arm wasn't super securely around you, but his legs? It was a mess of the blanket weaved equally through your legs alongside his own. 

"Hanta," You pushed him lightly. As the heavy sleeper he was, it did nothing to wake him up, "Hanta, I need to get water!" 

"Do you have to?" You almost missed what he said with how muffled and slurred together the words were.

"It'll just be a second." You replied. He mumbled something even less intelligible as he made a point of rolling away from you… with a bit of struggle. 

You rolled your eyes before making it to the side of the bed to spot the water you did in fact leave for yourself. After taking a sip, you moved back over. 

"See," you tapped his shoulder, "Only a second." 

Sero didn't respond, a small, cut-off snore suggesting he returned to sleep. He made a point to tightly hold one of his pillows before he fell asleep too. "Suit yourself." You added before falling back onto the bed yourself and drifting back to sleep.

You woke up the next morning in the exact same position as you'd woken up earlier; pillow long discarded on the floor in favor of your own, much warmer body. 

Kisses - Forehead kisses. That's it, that's the tweet. It doesn't matter what the height difference is; he will kiss your forehead by any means necessary: jumping, crouching, flying in like Tarzan on his tape, breaking his back, etc. There's something about it that just feels very soft to him compared to kissing you on the lips. He does that too, usually followed by muttering some cute compliment or song lyrics, but the forehead kisses far outweigh it. For him, he loves any sort of kiss to his face and the dispenser parts of his elbows. He doesn't really mention the second one as much –actually, he wouldn't even know he enjoys that until you do it. Like many people with quirks that cause some sort of mutation, Sero feels a bit insecure about it. Something about you kissing them kind of makes them feel accepted in a way Sero didn't even really notice before. 

   "Man, I hate when Aizawa-sensei does hero training!" Sero threw himself onto his bed beside you. 

"I thought you liked Aizawa-sensei better?" You asked.

"Yeah, well he can teach better than All Might," Sero explained, "But his training is brutal!" 

He rubbed his elbows to punctuate the statement. As you took one look at them, you could see why.

"Geez, they're really red. And cracked! Do you have stuff to put on it?" You grabbed his arm gently to take a look at the small part of his elbows that dispensed tape. The skin was practically bone dry and it looked much more painful than Sero seemed to be letting on.

"Uh– yeah, but I can do that later. I'm just tired now." He pulled his arm out of your hand while deflecting your comment.

"I can do it then," You insisted, "Where do you keep it?"

"In the bathroom," He didn't continue to protest the suggestion, so you happily went along with your plan, "It's a white tube."

"This one?" You held out for Sero to see. 

"Yeah." 

It was a bit of a weird moment: putting lotion on your boyfriend's elbows. Even if it was quirk-related, the sentence alone felt weird to say.

"There you go," You lifted his arm closer to your face to kiss the side, where you hadn't put the lotion, "All done!"

When you looked back up, his face was beet red.  His usual, wide, grin remained on his face, but he quickly covered it once you let go of his arm again. "Th-thanks." The words were a bit muffled behind his hands, but you heard them loud and clear in the quiet room.

"Anytime." You pressed a second kiss to the back of his hand that was covering his cheek. 

PDA - He has a love-hate relationship with PDA. Sometimes, he really enjoys the feeling of sitting or walking around with his friends with an arm around your waist, hand in hand, or even feeling a kiss pressed to his cheek. Other times, he just feels a need to save it all until the day is over. Once the door closes behind the two of you, he prefers to release all the kisses, gentle touches, and compliments he saved for you the whole day. It's not that he necessarily didn't want to share those things with you; it just didn't feel right in the moment. Sero doesn't quite know how to express it, but you should just know that he will lay all the physical affection he can possibly give at some point in the day. 

   You were minding your own business on your walk back to your class dorms. And, really, it should have stayed that way. You had been a little lost in thought about your school day, homework, and your upcoming break.

"Maybe they'll lift the dorm restrictions for break," You wondered, "as if." 

That distraction was probably why you didn't notice the small pressure form around your waist until you felt a harsh tug. "Harsh" was even an understatement, you flew what felt like halfway across the campus before falling.

"Hey, what were you thinking about?" Looking up, you were in the arms of your boyfriend. The tape that likely pulled you to him slithering back into his arms.

"Sero," You shrieked, "don't do that!" 

"You didn't notice me, though! I just wanted to talk." He replied.

"I thought I was being kidnapped!" You smacked his chest to highlight your anger. 

"Sorry," his smile dropped just a little bit, "Will a kiss make it up?" 

"May–" You didn't get to finish as someone cleared their throat very loudly nearby. Both of you went pale as you noticed the person who had done so: Shouta Aizawa. 

"H-hey Sensei." Sero awkwardly greeted. You weren't quite sure what to do from your position, Sero was still holding you bridal style.

"PDA isn't allowed on campus," Aizawa looked equally uncomfortable being in this position, "Save it until you get to the dorms, atleast." 

"Right." Sero said as you also spoke, "Sorry!" 

The teacher was quick to shuffle away from the interaction without another word as were the two of you. .

[helloalycia]

undercover [five] // yelena belova

summary: after Yelena left for New York, you finally get the peace you wanted, but her letter isn't making it easy for you to enjoy.

warning/s: mentions of brainwashing

author's note: okay, this is the final part! i really hope you guys enjoyed it!! 🥰

one / two / three / four / masterlist / wattpad

Y/N.

The stupid letter was addressed to me. Yelena's handwriting – scrawled, italicised just-about-legible mess of letters that spelt out my name on the front.

I hadn't touched it since she handed it to me a week ago, deciding it was best to try and forget about it – about her – for the betterment of my life. Recovery was my priority right now, that, my dad's legal case and making sure my family were okay.

But that didn't stop my eyes from drifting to the sealed letter on my desk every now and then, wondering what she could have written. Wondering what had actually been real in our relationship versus what she had scripted to play me.

It didn't help that Y/S/N would ask about Yelena constantly, referring to her by her actual name rather than Elena. I figured my parents must have explained the truth to her, but it didn't seem to bother her because she still missed her. Even when I was trying to forget, my family were making it impossible.

It was after a week when I couldn't take it anymore. Both my curiosity and frustration drove me to grabbing the letter off my desk and tearing it open impatiently. It was a few pages long, and as I opened it up, I saw more of Yelena's unkempt handwriting. Did they not teach penmanship as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent or something?

Sighing, I reluctantly started with the first page, knowing the only way I could truly move on was to gain closure. At least, that's what I tried to convince myself.

Dear Y/N,

If you're reading this, that means you're giving me a chance to explain myself. That, or you're curious to the truth, which makes more sense. Either way, thank you for hearing me out.

I know that what I did hurt you, and I just want to make things right. You feel lied to, I'm sure, but I need you to believe me when I say that not all of it was lies. It started off as a way of me trying to find out who in your family was working with Hydra because S.H.I.E.L.D. had their suspicions, but it turned into so much more than that when I got to know you. I tried to be as truthful as I could be whilst following my mission brief, which I know isn't what you want to hear, but it's the truth.

So, here it goes. My name is Yelena Belova and I was a Black Widow, a trained assassin in the Red Room. You probably don't know what that is and I don't blame you. It's a long story, but it's essentially a training programme in Russia that took young women like my sister and I, and trained them to be assassins. I'm not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, I only worked with them for the first time on this mission because I was trying to do things a different way. My sister's way.

Which, by the way, my sister is Natasha Romanoff. You probably know her as the Black Widow from the Avengers. I told you I grew up alone, and that wasn't a lie. I wasn't adopted in Arizona like I said. The earliest parts of my life weren't real. I was raised by two other assassins who 'adopted' Natasha and I and led me to believe I was a regular American kid. Then I was separated from them all and taken to the Red Room–

I stopped reading, putting down the letter with wide eyes. Already, my brain was fried. She hadn't been kidding when she said she'd tell me everything and it definitely wasn't what I expected. An assassin? The Red Room? Sisters with an Avenger?

There was a lot more to Yelena Belova than I'd realised.

———————

The letter explained so much and so little at the same time. I read it all in one sitting, unable to put it down once I was finally gaining an insight to Yelena's life. But it hadn't really sank in until days later, where the words were still floating in my mind at random times.

I've never had someone before. Friend, best friend, girlfriend. I've only ever been by myself until the last year when Natasha saved me. There was never chance for anything more with anyone else because of the brainwashing and the Red Room. You were the first person I had, and I know it was fake at first, but it became real, Y/N. You forced your way in and I didn't mind at all. This isn't me trying to make you feel sorry for me, it's just the truth. An explanation.

You let me be apart of your friendship group, you took me out and we did normal people things like go to the movies or go bowling, and these are things I'd never done before now. That was all true for me, not fake or a lie. You're kind and wonderful, and I know I took advantage of that.

Half of me was angry because I knew she was slowly worming her way back into my heart. I had no doubts that everything she had written was true, but it wasn't fair. She'd lied in the first place. What's to say she wouldn't do it again? Yelena wasn't Elena, not completely.

It might seem like you don't know me, but I was as honest as could be. You know I hate sugar in my coffee, it gets all sweet and gets rid of the bitterness which is my favourite part. But you don't know that I only like the bitterness because I wasn't allowed sweet treats in the Red Room, and the sugar reminds me of that. You know I love the colour green, it's my favourite colour. But you don't know that it's only because somebody once told me as a kid that it made my eyes look beautiful when I wore it, and that was one of the only compliments I ever got that gave me a feeling I can't explain. You know I love macaroni and cheese, especially the packet stuff. But you don't know that's because my mother used to make it me and it's one of the earliest fond memories I have of her.

Okay, her favourite colour was the same, the way she liked her coffee was the same, stuff like that and more that she'd written in her letter... but she was a trained assassin. Very different to a mere master's student at university... right?

It was supposed to be a friendship between us, but it turned into more without either of us realising. If I had known, trust me, I wouldn't have continued. I never wanted to hurt you or your family. You've all only ever been kind to me and let me in with open arms. I couldn't have asked for more.

Only a friendship. Would it have hurt less if she'd played me and no feelings were involved? I wasn't so sure. Even before we'd gotten together, she still had a special place in my heart as a friend. Even thinking about it made my head hurt, and I wasn't so sure what an 'ideal' outcome would have been.

I'm sorry this was so long. I just had to be truthful one more time, so you knew that I was trying so hard not to lie. Every single lie I've told you hurts me because you deserved better. You all did. And you shouldn't settle for anything less, like me.

I don't know exactly what I'm expecting from this. You don't owe me anything. You can throw this out and forget about me, burn it, whatever. I only hope it all makes a little more sense now. As someone who was lied to for a mission as a kid, I know how much it can hurt and I should have known better than to do the same thing.

I'm so sorry, Y/N. Just know, it was all real to me.

— Yelena

The stupid letter. Did she know what she was doing by giving it to me? Did she know how conflicted it was making me? How much harder it was to hate her now?

I wasn't sure. But God, it couldn't leave my mind even if I wanted it to.

————————

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I let out a yawn and naturally reached over to my bedside table to grab my phone. I was still half asleep as I opened one eye to check the time, and that's when I saw I had a notification.

Elena 🧡: I miss you, too

My eyes widened at the message and, out of shock, I dropped my phone and it hit me in the face, making me groan at the impact.

"Fuck," I mumbled, rubbing my head, before struggling to sit up and check my phone properly

Yelena had texted me for some reason, and I hadn't bothered to change her contact since I found out the truth because we hadn't texted since before then. But that was a thought for another time. First... why the hell had she texted me that?

When I opened the messages, I saw she had replied to a message I had sent previously, reading: I miss you.

I furrowed my brows, not remembering sending that at all, but when I checked the time, I'd apparently done so sometime in the middle of the night which was strange. Okay, so I'd been thinking about Yelena more than I should have lately, but I never would have texted her... God, this was embarrassing.

But she'd replied. She missed me, too... was that a good thing? I wasn't sure. Do I reply? Explain that it was an accident? No, that was stupid. But do I reply? What would I even say?

"Oh, God, shut the fuck up, you idiot," I told myself with a shake of my head.

I wasn't even sure why she'd replied. Wouldn't her number have been fake for this whole mission anyway? Why would she still be using a fake phone number?

Convincing myself it didn't matter, I ignored her reply and got out of bed to start my day as normal. Of course, Yelena was beginning to stick around like a bad smell, pissing me off without even realising it. Because a few days passed and all I could think about was her text and how she missed me, too.

I was eating a sandwich in the kitchen when I decided to just text her back without thinking.

Y/N: Y/S/N keeps talking about you

Why that was what I chose to say, I wasn't sure, but it felt better than saying nothing. And whether I cared to admit it or not, I was anticipating her response.

She replied after I'd finished my lunch, and I had never picked up my phone so fast, feeling ashamed at my desperation as soon as I unlocked it.

Yelena: I miss her a lot, I hope she's okay

Pressing my lips together, I leaned on my crutch and sighed through my nose. Why did she have to make this so difficult?

Y/N: Thanks for looking after her and my parents when I couldn't.

Yeah, that made sense. I never did thank her for what she did, though I guess I was too angry to think of anything but her lies.

Yelena: It was the least I could do

It was such an awkward chat and I wasn't sure why I was entertaining it, nor why she was playing along. We both had so much more to say, I knew that, but an awkward chat was much better than anything else I could handle right now.

I looked down to my phone when it vibrated again, realising she'd sent another message.

Yelena: How are you recovering?

Y/N: Slowly, but getting there.

I bit my lip as I saw the three dots in the bubble. It felt like forever when they disappeared and no message came through. Then finally, they appeared again and I felt like an idiot as I waited to see what she'd say.

Yelena: Remember to rest up. Take care of yourself.

Frowning, I locked my phone and didn't know what else to write. But maybe that was enough for now.

————————

Two more days passed when I texted her again. I couldn't help it – between thinking about what she'd written in her letter and who she really was, I couldn't resist. Plus, it was a nice distraction from the fact that my recovery wasn't as easy as I wanted, and my parents were still super stressed.

Y/N: Did you ever celebrate Halloween before this year?

She'd said in her letter that she'd been raised an assassin and was only free as of last year. This Halloween was such a silly one, but she'd been apart of it and I loved it. But I wondered if she'd celebrated before.

I half expected her not to respond, since it was touching on her past, and it was completely out of nowhere. But she did, and all I could think about was how she would have definitely known I'd read her letter now.

Yelena: No, my first one was with you. I didn't know what I was missing out on.

First one was with me... and I'd made her dress up as the Black Widow. Ironic, now that I thought about it.

Y/N: Why don't you live with your fake parents? Alexei and Melina?

It was intrusive, I know, but her letter only left me with more questions. And speaking to Yelena over text was less pressure than talking to her on the phone or in person. This felt easier.

Yelena: They aren't mine to be with. I love them, but it's different now.

Y/N: What about your sister?

Yelena: She moved on from them. But I still have her.

I bit my lip, remembering the chat we'd had about her wishing she had siblings. The whole time, she'd had Natasha. Well, kind of.

Y/N: It must be nice to have someone looking out for you.

Yelena: Yeah, I wish I'd had her all my life.

I cursed inwardly, realising how insensitive that was. She'd literally only got her sister back in the last year.

Y/N: Sorry, I shouldn't have said that.

It wasn't my business, so why was I so interested?

Yelena: No, it's fine. I don't mind talking about it with you, Y/N

Sighing, I leaned back into my chair and looked up with thought. I was interested because I cared. Yelena Belova, whether she was a master's student or trained assassin, still had a place in my heart, and learning about who she was mattered to me a lot more than than I cared to admit.

————————

Sometimes, I'd stare at the top of my staircase in my house, numb to the idea that I could have died there. I wouldn't mean to, but I'd be going about my day and it would cross my mind that I could have died at the hands of Hydra.

Without Yelena's help, I could've died. She'd done wrong, but arguably for the right reasons. However one saw it, the bottom line was that she'd saved my life twice and kept my family as safe as she could. That had to count for something surely. Was I just being stubborn? Everyone else could get past her wrongdoings, so maybe I should, too.

It wasn't easy to forget the pain in my abdomen, where the bullet had gone straight through, or to forget the blood that was everywhere, seeping from the wound. It wasn't easy to forget Yelena, pushing my hands out the way so she could try to stop the bleeding, or to forget the look on her face as she tried to reassure me that I'd be okay.

And sometimes, I'd stare at the top of my staircase in my house and remember all of that, wondering if it would ever go away.

————————

The texting was infrequent and sporadic. I was surprised she kept responding, since it was usually me leaving her on read after I'd built up the courage to ask whatever I wanted to know about her life and she responded.

None of our texts flowed – it was something different every time. No greetings, no goodbyes, just random questions and tidbits that came to mind and she was quick to reply to. With each question I asked, the more I learnt about her and the less she became a stranger, and the less anger I felt towards her.

At one point, within a few weeks of on and off texting, I couldn't stop thinking about what she'd said just before passing out. She'd said she loved me. And as of late, I wondered if it was a heat-of-the-moment thing or not.

Y/N: Did you mean it?

Yelena: Mean what?

Y/N: What you said, when you thought I was dying

Again, those three dots in a bubble haunted me as I impatiently awaited her response. I wasn't sure if it would change anything, but I just had to know.

Yelena: Of course I did. I meant it all.

Closing my eyes briefly, I felt my heart skip a beat at her words, unable to control it. I hated to admit it, but she'd squeezed her way past my annoyances and frustration for her, and set herself right in my heart. I wasn't sure if she'd ever really left, but I was beginning to accept that Yelena Belova – the real her – wasn't so bad.

————————

My dad had a really good case, apparently, so on that front, everything was starting to look up. Y/S/N was at school like normal and my injury wasn't so bad anymore. I was still using crutches, but the wound wasn't so grim to look at now.

It was almost like things were fixing themselves, apart from the fact that I couldn't face going back to university just yet. I'd decided to take the rest of the year off, needing the time to figure out things and focus on my family.

So, all that free time was spent on myself, and obviously texting Yelena whenever I felt like it. And ever since accepting that my feelings for her were growing stronger than I could control, it made texting her a lot harder. Because I hadn't seen her face in over a month, nor heard her voice, and with every message she sent, I began to miss her.

She'd appear in my dream sometimes. Her long golden hair, her sparkling green eyes, her perfect, heartwarming smile. Heck, even her Russian accent that once grated my ears was starting to make an appearance, and I missed it. I missed it all. Being in her arms, cuddling, kissing her, even something as simple as being in the same space as her and being able to admire her freely.

All I wanted was her, and at first, it was annoying because all I kept coming back to was the fact that she'd lied. But then I'd remember everything she'd written in her letter, everything she'd told me openly, and I knew she was trying. Trying so hard to make things right. Entertaining my endless questions, sharing personal things that I knew she wouldn't have told anyone else. And I couldn't fault her for that because it was more than she ever had to do.

And then there was the fact that she loved me, too.

Y/N: Do you like working with your sister? Being in New York?

The conversation had died a few days ago when I left her on read yet again, but I was unable to stop thinking about her and couldn't help but wonder what it was like for her in New York.

Yelena: It's not too bad. Different to what I'm used to though.

Breathing out through my nose, I felt that familiar ache in my chest again. Whenever she wrote, it was like my brain knew what I was missing out on. Who I was missing out on.

Y/N: I wish you were here.

I'd written it without thinking, and though I was worried she'd think it was strange since I was the one who'd told her to leave, I also meant it.

Yelena: All you have to do is say it, and I'll come.

My eyebrows raised with surprise as I read her response, a flicker of hope igniting inside. I wasn't sure if she meant it or if it was just something to say. Hesitating, I constructed a message and hovered my thumb above the send button. I couldn't keep texting her like this, not without it going somewhere. Not without me seeing her again. So, I stopped thinking with my head for once and decided to take the leap, sending my message.

Y/N: Then come.

She'd been replying almost instantly to every message I'd sent just now, so when a minute passed and she still hadn't responded, I worried I'd overstepped. But then the cursed three dots appeared and I held my breath for what felt like forever.

Yelena: Okay.

Okay. Okay? What did that mean? Okay she'll come? Okay she'll think about it? I groaned, locking my phone and shaking my head. This was dumb. Texting without thinking was dumb. Why had I done that?

I wasn't so sure what she was going to do, and I definitely wasn't sure what to reply, so I did what I did best, which was leave her on read. How she had the patience to deal with being left on read all the time was beyond me, but that wasn't my problem, so I left her to it until I undoubtedly found something else to text her about in the next few days.

————————

There was only so much I could do during the day to get my mind off the chaos that was my life. Not being at university meant I had a lot more free time on my hands, and my parents wouldn't let me get involved in my dad's case, so it was either looking after Y/S/N or passing time with books, TV or video games.

So, because Y/S/N was at school and my parents were in my dad's study working, I was watching TV in the living room, though unable to focus because, as usual, there were too many thoughts in my head. Then I heard a knock on the front door and was glad for something to do.

Pushing myself off the couch with the help of my crutch, I went to the door and opened it, forgetting how to breathe when I saw who it was.

"Hey," Yelena said quietly, a small smile lifting on her lips.

Okay had meant okay. She was here because I'd asked her to. She'd actually come back to see me. What?

Her lips pursed nervously as she looked between my eyes. I knew I should have spoken, but I was too busy taking it in that she was actually stood before me. What had it been – over a month since I'd seen her last? And she still looked as beautiful as ever, reigniting a flame I wasn't sure had gone out.

"If you've changed your mind–" she began, but I hadn't, and I knew that, so I cut her off by moving forward to hug her.

Closing my eyes, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders tightly and didn't let go. She was tense at first, but then she relaxed and I felt her arms lacing around my waist comfortably. Oh, how I had missed this. The warmth of her body pressed to mine, the subtle scent of her perfume on her neck, the shivers up my spine at how close her hands were to my back. But most importantly, how easy it was with her.

"I missed you," I breathed out, pulling back slightly so I could see her face.

Dark green eyes met mine and my heart was fluttering in my chest at the attention.

"I missed you, too," she replied slowly, her breath tickling my skin.

Her eyes maintained contact, every gold fleck imprinting in my head forever, before they began to lower to my lips. As quickly as the thought must have crossed her mind, she looked back up to meet my gaze, and I couldn't handle the reluctance on her end. She was being respectful, but all I wanted was her.

Resting my hand on her cheek tenderly, I swallowed hard before leaning forward to kiss her. Her lips were soft and delicate and perfect against mine, and I could have kissed her forever, but she seemed to realise what was happening and gently pulled away. Worried eyes met mine and she moved my hand from her cheek but kept ahold of it.

"Y/N, I'm sorry," she said earnestly. "I should explain–"

"You've explained enough," I assured her, before hugging her again. "Just... just be here."

My heart was thumping in my chest when she didn't reply straight away, but then she nodded in my shoulder and returned the hug just as tightly. I wasn't sure if things could ever be perfect between us again, but maybe perfect was too good to be true.

This was pretty damn close though.

[its-not-a-phase-mom-i-d8-demons]

pairings: Lucifer x Fem!Reader, Mammon x Fem!Reader, Leviathan x Fem!Reader

warnings: tw abandonment (but it turns out okay, I promise), mentions of the act of birthing,

A/N: you came to the right place! as the second oldest of six children, I have some experience when it comes to pregnancy:) I hope you don't mind, nonny, but I'm gonna split this up into a few parts so I can do the dateables as well!

Lucifer

The moment you had shyly produced the positive pregnancy test from the pocket of your hoodie, it felt like Lucifer had entered into a fever dream filled with nursery designs, baby names, the expenses that pile up before the baby even arrives, researching human pregnancy, keeping you out of harm's way and healthy and happy...

So when you first stagger out of bed and rush to his bathroom, hand clamped over your mouth and one shaky hand on your slightly swollen tummy, Lucifer isn't surprised

He is very concerned, however. You had been so nervous to tell him of your pregnancy, you waited until the last moment before your bump was noticeable to tell him

That meant you had been suffering from all of these pregnancy side effects before he'd permanently moved you to sleep in his room

Lucifer hoists himself out of bed and pads into the bathroom, gathering up your hair, if any, into his fist and pulling your hunched form between his legs for support

You hate this feeling with a passion; throbbing stomach and a lump in your throat with little to no vertigo and tears rolling down your face as you try and catch your breath

You tell him it hurts, you ask him if he can take the pain away as your head rests on his chest, lashes fluttering with wooziness

Lightheadedness was unbearably common; you would suddenly grip his sleeve and he could watch the color drain from your face and your knees get shaky, body beginning to sway

He always catches you though, finding a place for you to sit or lie down and gather yourself

Tummy rubs become more common; the feeling of his hands against your bare tummy, spreading their warmth and nullifying the ache, allowing you to relax

He's extremely attentive as well and can tell whenever you need something

Water? Here's a cup sweetheart, remember, you're hydrating and eating for two people!

Craving something? Chocolate? Fried pickles? Chips of some kind? sweets? He's stockpiled anything you could want and locked it away just for you.

I feel like Lucifer would want your baby to be a little girl. A little princess he can carry on his shoulders and spoil with his love and gifts.

Satan ruined him for having another baby boy, but if that's how the cards fall, he certainly wouldn't mind. Unfortunately, he'd be constantly walking on eggshells, afraid he'll make your little boy into another rebellious child

That's the last thing he wants

Lucifer does his best to keep his kid away from Satan and Belphie and out of the 'Formerly Anti-Lucifer League', but sometimes you're taking a nap or out shopping with Asmodeus, and Satan and his brothers manage to coerce the little one into their shenanigans

One thing is for sure though, even if Lucifer didn't want any kids and the creation of one was unplanned, he would never ever turn you away

He's very responsible and does anything in his power to make the pregnancy as easy and happy as possible

On the day you are to give birth, he's a mess

He has already sweat through 3 shirts by the time the IV has been secured to your hand

Everything he says doesn't come without a stutter

He's squeezing your hand and kissing your hair during labor, trying to distract you from the burn between your legs as much as he can

You probably need extra stitches from baby's horns ngl

Definitely cries before the baby is even put in your arms

Refuses to let his brothers come and see you, "They can wait until we go home."

Lucifer is Smitten™

He smooches the tiredness under your eyes and tells you to get some rest

Surprisingly, he enjoys a lot of the names from the human world you discuss and will most likely pick one of those

But if it's a girl, her name is Lilith. I'm sorry MC, your input is invalid at this time

You don't regret 'final day in the devildom sex' at all when you get to witness the Avatar of Pride reduced to tears when the nurse puts the child in his arms

P-P-Pregnant? MC, ya better be jokin'...

Mammon

You weren't, judging by the pregnancy test(s) clutched in your fist

He's not mad at you, he's not upset, (in fact, he's the happiest he's ever been), he just scared

Broken Condom Victim™

He loved you just a bit too hard last week...

but let's be real here, HIS MC, carrying HIS baby?

That's like the highest level of ownership on his lovely human you could get! Levi, Asmo, Beel, Lucifer, everyone would be SOOOO JEALOUS!!!

AND

He gets to have a little one running around again!

You saw how sweet he was to babified Satan in the obey me anime premier! He LOVES little kids and nothing would make him happier than someone to play with (besides MC of course) that wouldn't make fun of him for messing up and being silly!

AND

You're so pretty!!

I mean, ya were always pretty, but somethin' about ya is different and yer even more beautiful than before somehow!

Mammon said, his entire face the shade of a pomegranate

Pregnancy glow is REAL

Asmo agrees, after stealing you away from an extremely overprotective mammon and hiding in the attic to chat without disturbance (mammon)

But as much as YOU know he would be the BEST father, comments from his brothers continue to drag him down and the evenings he cried into your shoulder became more and more frequent as your pregnancy progresses

Mammon, as we all know, is, in fact, a tiddy man

He likes to touch and squeeze them, and just gently hold them while cuddling or even browsing in a store, he'd just come up behind you and touch your boobs

(also, mammon likes all sizes, so if you have next to no tiddy like me, you'll be at his mercy as well. those with the large honkers, however, watch yourself)

Now that there's a miracle growing in your tummy, other parts of your body are preparing for its arrival, including your chest

Swelling, swelling, soreness, growing and darkening of the nipples, and swelling make it so Mammon can no longer touch your pretty tiddies :(((

(grammarly didn't like that word)

On the day mammon snack size was to be born, mammon is silent but extremely fidgety

It was early in the morning when you'd shaken him awake like, "mammoney, I'm going into labor" and he was out of bed and out the door with your luggage before you finished blinking

After grabbing your DDD's and you, he carries you down to the car (what dysfunctional family doesn't have a car? a nice one (Mercedes, Audi, you get the idea) for lucifer and a Volkswagon bus or something for his siblings to share) and drives quickly, but very carefully drives to the hospital, holding your hand the whole way.

He covers your eyes when they put the IV in, just in case you're squeamish, and rubs your arms as the drugs begin to take effect and there's a little fear in your eyes at the thought of pushing an entire human/demon being out of your coochie

He assures you and never lets go of your hand no matter how long you're in labor

When it's all over with and you are resting in your hospital bed waiting for the doctors to finish the Apgar tests and give you your baby

Mammon is speechless as the nurse places the baby in your arms

That's HIS KID!!

Immediately starts crying

The little horns poking out of the blanket? Those look just like his!!

Judging by the bit of hair on it's head, it looks like the baby will have hair like yours

If it's a baby boy, he thinks it should be named "Mammon II" but you just giggle and remind him of the deal he made with lucifer long ago, that his first born child, no matter the gender, had to have 'Lucifer' somewhere in their name

Human names are dumb, except for yours of course, so he searches for suitable demon names

The last thing he wants is a kid named Lucifer, so that will be the kid's middle name

He really regrets his past decisions now

Leviathan

"Levi?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"I'm pregnant."

*leviathan has been KO'd*

No joke, this man is literally floored and didn't wake up for a while and you were afraid you had just slain the fucking Lord of Shadows

Some Henry you were

You had to call Lucifer in to wake him up because he was still flat on the floor a half and hour later

Mammon is more that happy to tip a bucket of ice water on the face of the son of a bitch that impregnated HIS MC

Levi wakes up and pounces on you, gripping you tightly by the arms

"You're k-kidding r-right?"

Him? A father?

Uhhhhhhh

Unfortunately, Leviathan.exe has stopped working, try again in two thousand years

I hate to say this, but he definitely detaches himself for a while until his brothers, especially Asmodeus, literally beat him into shape

He comes back to you, a little bruised and sobbing, but not from the beating he just received

He's so sorry he neglected you! He's such a horrible demon, undeserving of your welcoming nature

He's gonna be the worst dad, and he's not good enough for you, and his kid will hate him just like everyone else does, he doesn't deserve you, he's so sorry for making you suffer the side effects and feel all alone,

Sir, I-

FALSE

It's your turn to shake some sense into him, reminding him that he would be the. best. dad!!

Not to mention the fact that you were just happy he realized his mistakes and came back to you

He begs you to sleep in his bed tub with him for security, and you have to admit his tail is very comforting

Levi does extensive research on human pregnancy and now at the dinner table, instead of talking about the latest slice of life anime he'd been watching, he's just spouting random pregnancy facts and you're laughing so hard it brings you to tears

When the weird dreams and vivid nightmares happen, Levi is right behind you, rubbing your swollen tummy, and letting you talk about them

A lot of them were about him and about your future child

Most of them were about how they got hurt in some way, either that or YOU got hurt and the baby died

These, more often than not, brought you to tears and stress you out, but Levi is right there, okay? Nothing can hurt you, nor would he let anything happen to you on his watch

Learns how to massage you (safely) to reduce stress

Definitely talks to the baby a lot

Levi begged you to be induced so the birth was safe and not a sudden occasion and you agree

On the day the doctor recommended, you arrived at the hospital and got down to business

Levi didn't really want to be in the room with you, but he knew he had to for your sake and he'd played a few birth simulators from both perspectives and you really needed him

Kinda sits there awkwardly comforting you and encouraging you, holding your hand and caressing your cheeks, a bit flushed from exertion and tears

Listen

If the baby is a boy, his name will be Henry and that's final

If it's a girl, he doesn't really care, as long as you don't name her 'mammonia' or something dumb like that

definitely crashes your hospital bed to snuggle until the baby is ready

cries when the baby wraps its extremely small digits around one of his own

also at the little horns protruding from its head

and the tuft of purple in its head

Also Smitten™

He's so excited to get home and show off his beautiful baby to his brothers and then formulate a plan to raise the kid to live and breathe TSL just like his daddy <3

--

July 9th: VIP MEMBERS, GET YALLS JUICE!!

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[itgirlification]

supermodel | jjk

the last three months have been hell for you, but Jungkook seemed to be living his best life.

pairing: ex-bf!jk x thick!reader

warnings: explicit mentions of body image and insecurities, infidelity, anal sex, oral (male receive), foul language (kinda), etc.

now playing: supermodel by sza

part two part three

Exactly three months ago, your and Jungkook’s 2 years relationship officially ended. Unofficially, it ended about 5 months ago. And for about one month now, Jungkook’s been seeing someone else.

Your heart and mind told you not to do it but you couldn’t help calculating. Three months ago, you were still dating, two months later, he started dating someone else. That must mean he’s known her for a while. Did he cheat on you with her? Well, it’s not like it matters now anyway, does it?

Her name was Yuki, an undeniable Japanese beauty. You were still in college, studying music and she was a famous model who appeared in internationally known magazines. You assumed she met Jungkook during a photoshoot since he was a professional photographer who often worked for companies like Vogue and Playboy. You couldn’t help but compare yourself to her.

It wasn’t the fact that he moved on so quickly that hurt you the most. It was the fact that he knew all about your low self-esteem and how you lack confidence. Especially about your body. And he still went and dated a model, of all professions in the world. He was definitely over you.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he did it on purpose. But thankfully, you knew better, he looked too happy for that to be even considered. He forgot about you.

You’re making yourself sadder by remembering all the times he assured you you were beautiful and your body was nothing to be ashamed of. The times he let his fingertips run over the lines of your stretch marks, whispering in your ear how much he loved them and how they reminded him of Tiger stripes. The times he caressed your jiggly thighs and told you how sexy he thought they were.

Then your mind would drift back to the phone in your hand, the Instagram page of Yuki Sakurai opened, careful not to accidentally like anything and expose yourself. Not that she’d notice anyway, she had 3.7 million followers, while you had a private one with 500 followers and no posts, and she gets around 300 to 700 thousand likes on each post, depending on whether she posts random photos or pretty pictures of herself. Or newly, your ex-boyfriend, Jungkook. Oh, how crazy everybody goes whenever she posts him. People love them together. You couldn’t blame them. Two attractive people? Of course, they’re gonna look great together.

Fucking great.

That the end of your relationship with Jungkook would look like this was semi-predictable from the beginning. He did admit to you that he never thought he’d date someone that looked like you when you first dated. And your heart broke a little. But he also made up for it in those two years, it was a beautiful relationship nonetheless.

While you weren’t exactly his ‘ideal’ type, he was definitely yours. You always heard from other women ‘when in a relationship, the man always has to love the woman more than she loves him. Otherwise, it won’t work.’ You never really got the saying until your breakup with Jungkook happened. It was the fact that you clearly loved Jungkook more than he loved you that lead to this.

“Oh my goodness!”, your roommate, Jane, dramatically exclaimed. “Will you stop feeling bad for yourself and do something? That’s not what hot girls do, sis.”

Jane was a lovely girl with a not so lovely temper. She always means well and you got along perfectly as soon as you met. Which was around 3 and a half years ago.

She looked over your shoulder to see what you were looking at. You obviously didn’t want her to see you snooping around your ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend’s Instagram but it was too late.

“Seriously, yn?”, she took your phone in her hand and threw it on the bed. “Let’s go somewhere, you can’t do this to yourself anymore. I’m not letting you.”

Jane was clearly worried about you at this point. The only thing you did these last few weeks was eating, shower, cry, sleep and miss a whole bunch of classes. This wasn’t good at all.

“Where?”, your question was short.

“To the mall? Or the nail studio? Anything that’ll get you out of this fucking dormitory.”, Jane sighed, pulling the blanket off of you, making you whine a little. “C’mon, go put on some cute outfit and we’ll go.”

You felt bad since she was trying hard to make you feel better. But it didn’t really work.

You nodded, standing up from the bed, nonetheless. You picked out a cute two-piece dress, that brought back blurred memories of the time you went on a date with Jungkook, wearing the same two-piece. Bet Yuki would look cuter in this...

‘Shut your petty ass up, yn. It’s embarrassing, the way you’re stuck on a taken guy who wants nothing to do with you’

You wish you could change the way you think, even if it’s just for an hour or two. You wish you would stop imagining Jungkook judging you when he saw you naked or when you told him that you wished you could cut off some of your fat with a pair of scissors.

You were beyond ashamed of yourself. Why wasn’t it easy for you to just stay by yourself? why were you so desperately in need of Jungkook by your side to the point where you’d lock yourself in your room for a month just because he isn’t there?

You needed Jungkook. You became so attached to him in those two years, because you always saw him as a permanent, a forever. Not just a temporary, not just a distant memory. You already saw him as the father of your children, as the man you’re gonna marry.

You were so blinded by the fact that you had him, that you forgot you could lose him anytime.

“I’m done, let’s go.”, unenthusiastically, you announced to Jane, who was already waiting for you.

“Let’s get the fuck outta here!”, In contrast to your spirit, hers seemed to be all roses and daisies. “Lord knows you need it...”

__________

“Look at this cute ass skirt, girl”, Jane pointed at a chic, wine mini skirt she was holding. “You know, when I saw it back there I wanted to have it, but it’d look so much better on you”

You took a few seconds to admire Jane’s beauty. She was about 3 cm taller than you, had a great posture, and almond, dark brown eyes that suited her dark skin tone perfectly. Her body leaned more towards the slimmer side.

“Shut up! No, it would not”, you let out a small giggle. “It would look gorgeous on you, buy it.”

She smiled a little at your laughs. She was happy to see you at least a little cheerful again. “Yeah, but I think it’d look better on you. I’m entitled to my own opinion, am I not?”

You knew this debate was gonna go back and forth, because of her stubbornness. “Let’s both buy the skirt.”

You ended up doing so, added by a bunch of bags full of clothing. This may’ve turned into your new coping mechanism. Who needed therapy when you can go on a shopping spree?

Two hours were spent in boutiques and clothing stores and Jane decided she was tired, wanting to visit the local spa.

“No, seriously, these Riverdale seasons just keep on getting worse and worse. Netflix needs to step up their game ASAP”, Jane ranted, making you laugh at how serious she takes it. “It’s getting embarrassing. I’m being for real.”

The two of you were sitting in the whirlpool at the spa, relaxing your whole bodies a little.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, I don’t watch these new Netflix shows anyways. Been stuck on the vampire diaries for the last 7 years”, you chuckled, knowing you hated trying new things. “Can you pass me one of those magazines?”

Jane nodded, grabbing a random one from the table next to her and handed it to you, without looking at it.

The cover of it caught your eyes immediately. How could it not, when your ex’s new girl looks absolutely dazzling on the front page of it.

‘Supermodel Yuki Sakurai talks summer fashion tips, struggle with self-love and most importantly, her hot, new boyfriend the media is going crazy over’ was the headline of the Harper’s Bazaar Magazine cover.

You felt your stomach getting sick and your breath getting heavier, but you still flipped the pages until you found the one with her interview. You began reading it, skipping the boring parts.

‘Int: so, we see you have a new boyfriend. Tell us, how did you guys meet?

Yuki: Yeah, he’s an amazing guy. We actually met about six or five months ago at one of my photoshoots, since he’s a photographer and we exchanged numbers and stuff, and then we made it official mid last month.’

About six or five months ago? You were with him back then, but her answer was too unclear to find out if he cheated or not.

“Woah, yn, you okay?”

You entirely forgot about the fact that you were with Jane, let alone somewhere other than your bed.

Before you could react, Jane snatched the magazine out of your hand.

“You really can’t escape them, huh?”, She sighs, taking you in her arm. “It’s gonna be okay, baby. In a few months, you’re gonna look back to this and think wow I really was stuck on a guy who’s scared of microwaves and cried like a bitch when Iron Man died.”

You laughed, punching her arm playfully. “You know, I actually love these things about him. Shows his sensitivity and the way he perceives things.”

Jane looked at you as if she didn’t believe you were actually saying that stuff. “Girl, you’re overanalyzing this. Let’s just throw this shit in the trash, okay?”

She put the magazine aside.

“I just don't know what I did wrong.”, You murmured. “I know we weren't the best, but we didn't even fight that much. We could’ve talked it through.”

Jane pursed her lips and cooed. “You know, relationships are complicated sometimes. The reason why he broke up, to begin with, is probably not your fault.”

“Well, what if it is? I mean what if I was too fat or too ugly for him?”, you asked. “If he wanted a skinny girl so bad, I could’ve lost weight for him, I don’t get it.”

Jane looked at you like you lost your mind entirely. “I can’t believe you just said that! Even if that was the reason, which it wasn’t, you shouldn’t make yourself suffer because of it. That’s his loss. You’re beyond gorgeous and you have an amazing body.”

“You’re just saying that.”, tears slowly started coming up in your eyes. “But the thing is Jungkook knows all about my insecurities. Why would he do that to me? I know he knows that I’m still not over him.”

You usually didn’t like crying in front of other people, but you didn’t really care at the moment, besides that was Jane. You trusted her with your life.

“Girl, men are trash, I can’t believe you’re crying over one right now, seriously.”, she wiped your tears and held your face between her hands. “You know, honestly, I’ve read so many articles about how models actually hate themselves and have like the lowest self-esteem so in conclusion, no matter how miserable you are, his new girl is even more miserable.”

You knew Jane didn’t mean it in a harmful way, but it sounded harsher than needed. “I don’t hate her, she probably doesn’t even know about me. I’m just really insecure. He upgraded from me. He’s dating a whole model now.”

The situation just felt like a deja vu of these last few weeks laying in your bed, even though you were at the spa with your friend. You were supposed to have fun, yet you didn’t feel like having any.

“Why would you feel insecure when all you’ve seen of her are Instagram posts and red carpet pictures? She’s supposed to look beautiful, it’s her job.”

To a certain extent, Jane was right, but that didn’t really help your situation, you still felt bad about yourself. You stayed silent.

“C’mon, this isn’t fun anymore. Let’s leave.”, Jane mumbled.

_______

it’s been two days since the incident at the spa and you felt a little bit better now.

Those days were spent reading the same three book series you’ve read your entire life, overthinking, hot Cheetos, Indian takeout, and Netflix. It really wasn’t as miserable as it sounded.

You were just taking a little rest before term break ends and you have to go back to the shithole college again.

Jane was using the time until college starts again, but in different ways than you were. She was planning on going to some frat party in an hour and forget about the world’ for a minute. Or till 4 in the morning, where she will most likely drunk call you and ask you for a ride back to the dorms, because the friends she went to the party with were shit-faced as well and were in no way capable of driving anywhere without the cops stopping them.

Going out partying on a Friday night was a Jane tradition. In the past, you’d sometimes go with her, but you mostly spent your time out with Jungkook doing something more fun than partying could ever be. Now you can’t do that anymore, but laying in bed is more ideal than a party for you at the moment.

“How do I look?”, Jane twirled around to show off her black cocktail dress. She looked beautiful.

“You look beautiful.”, you responded to her question. “Are you leaving now?”

“Hm”, she said, to which you nodded. “You sure you don’t wanna come with me? It’s gonna be really fun.”

You shook your head no.

“Alright”, she shrugged, making her way out of your bedroom. “But I told you, it’s gonna be fun.”

You chuckled, rolling your eyes. “I’ll stay here, I have shit to do.”

“Yeah, right, like binge-watching the vampire diaries and taking 5-hour naps”, she said in a sarcastic tone. “Anyway, bye-bye, Vic’s already waiting for me in the car.”

Victoria was perhaps one of the most obnoxious people you know, yet she was too much of a nice person for you to talk shit about her. The voice of your intrusive thoughts couldn’t help but to, though.

“Alright, bye, take care and say hi to Vic from me.”

After Jane left, an hour went by like it was just a couple of minutes. You were starting to get real bored and decided to watch some regular tv in hopes to find something you enjoy. You ended up not finding anything fun, but you still watched it, because you didn’t have anything else to do.

A few moments later, the doorbell rang and you were suddenly worried. Either this is a serial killer or Jane forgot something.

But to your surprise, it was neither, but it was none other than

“Jungkook?”, truly, those were the only words you were able to mutter out at your shocked state. “What are you do-“

At the speed of light, you were interrupted by your ex-boyfriend pressing his lips to yours. He didn’t say a word.

You weren’t expecting him. Not knowing how you were supposed to feel at the moment, you just let it happen. You were sure your mental state couldn’t get any worse than that, no matter how this will affect you in the end.

“Is Jane home?”, for the first time in 3 months, you’re hearing his silky voice again.

Jungkook knew Jane always had some type of special hatred for him with her killing stares and her bitter comments. You didn’t notice either though.

He also knew she must hate him even more after your breakup. Or maybe she liked him more now since she was able to get rid of him without killing anyone.

“No”, your answer was short and it made a weight fall from Jungkook’s shoulders before he continued kissing you.

It wasn’t anything you haven’t done before, yet it felt like it’s been ages since it last happened. Your mind drifted to the thought of Jungkook and his model girlfriend. You were asking yourself what their sex life was like, if she was tighter than you or if she had stretch marks and scars.

Jungkook’s lips were moving south, giving your neck wet kisses, while you were wondering why he broke up with his model girlfriend. Or if he even did. You felt selfish for not caring.

Removing your clothes one by one, you were left in your underwear, while Jungkook only had his boxers on.

This body was yours. You knew it inside out. Where he liked to get touched and where he preferred not to. You knew him better than anyone else. You were sure.

You already moved to your bedroom, since Jungkook effortlessly carried you there. You were sat on his lap, facing him and your hands were in his messy hair. His hands were around your waist, he was slightly smiling into the kiss, as you started grinding on him. He loved how easy it was for him to turn you on. You were still his.

Cutting off the kiss, he looked you in the eyes, while his hand was on your cheek. “Say aah.”, he said.

You widened your mouth obediently, which was followed by him collecting as much saliva as he could in his mouth and spitting it into your mouth.

“Swallow.”, demanding, he spit on your face, his eyes become darker with every passing moment. You did as he said.

You looked at him with big eyes. He knew you loved it. You’ve always had a thing for him degrading and humiliating you during sex.

He started grinding on you almost desperately. You knew exactly what he wanted.

Getting out of his grip, you dropped to your knees and freed his hard dick from his drawers. You reached for it and started pumping it, and licking it. Your spit was leaking down his dick as you used it for lubrication. Then you started sucking on it, just the way you used to.

Jungkook’s groans and satisfied sighs were enough to make you even wetter than before. You enjoyed giving more than receiving.

Your mouth was wet and warm around him, giving him a feeling of familiarity. You lick over the tip a few times, then proceed to fully take him into your mouth.

The bulge in your throat could be seen and the way your eyes were tearing up a little wasn’t bothering you at all. You loved giving.

Jungkook started thrusting in and out of your warm, welcoming mouth, his tip hitting the back of your throat multiple times.

“Fuck”, a throaty moan left Jungkook’s mouth, giving you hints that he was about to cum. And he did, releasing in your mouth before you swallowed it. “Shit, baby, that was so good.”

You felt your face heat up and a sheepish smile made its way to your face. Your throat was sore.

The two of you were on the bed again. To you, it felt like it was the times before your breakup again, when you’d purposely start an argument just for the makeup sex because Jungkook wasn’t giving you any anymore. It was like sex was the only thing to look forward to.

You felt attached to Jungkook to a point where it was dangerous. You weren’t okay when he wasn’t around. He affected every part of your life and God knew it wasn’t always a positive thing. Maybe it was the fact that he took your virginity. Maybe because he was your first boyfriend, the first guy that made you believe you were worthy of love and that someone was actually capable of loving you. One thing you knew was Jungkook had an expansive influence on your life.

While you were practically drowning in your own thoughts, Jungkook was busy taking off your underwear.

“You okay?”, Jungkook calmly asked you, looking at your riddled face.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m okay.”, you sounded distracted, Jungkook wasn’t sure about asking you what it is though. He didn’t feel like getting personal.

So he shrugged it off and started kissing you again, his dick was unsurprisingly hard again as he played with your tits. He drew lines over the stretch marks of your thighs and kissed them.

“Can I fuck your ass?”, Jungkook’s raspy, tired-sounding voice casually asked, to which you quickly nodded, knowing that Jungkook’s favorite position had always been anal. He was massaging and gripping your ass firmly.

“This is gonna hurt at first, but I promise it gets better.”, He warned calmly into your ear, while putting some lube on his dick and just went right into your ass, slowly thrusting so you don’t feel as much pain.

He was right, it did hurt a lot when he first put it in, but the pain just changed into pleasure in a matter of time and his slow-paced thrusts helped with the adjustment.

“Fuck, I missed this ass”, he practically growled into your ear, as he kept on thrusting in and out, steadily gripping your wide hips with his big, veiny hands. “It just doesn’t feel right when I’m inside her ass.”

You knew your confidence shouldn’t rely on Jungkook bringing his girlfriend down, but you couldn’t help but feel good about your body when he said that. It’s been a while since you felt even a tiny spark of confidence. You weren’t so fond of him mentioning her while he was inside of you.

Your soft moans rang through the whole room like sirens, while he watched your ass jiggle against his pelvis, thrusting in and out faster every second. He missed this.

You had always thought you were indecisive, but you knew exactly what you wanted. You just couldn’t have that, so you’d eventually have to settle for less.

Jungkook wasn’t to blame for it, you just couldn’t concede your shortcomings. The movie’s villain wasn’t always the real villain.

Your hands traveled to your pussy to make sure you’d orgasm as well, when you heard Jungkook’s breathing getting heavier and his thrusts getting gentler than before, indicating that he was gonna cum soon. You were certain he could make you cum with just anal, but you wanted to cum with him.

With furrowed eyebrows and drops of sweat dripping down his body, Jungkook looked down at your arched back. The whole scene was sticky, especially when Jungkook presses his upper body to your back, whispering sweet nothings into your ear and kissing the spot.

It was kinda odd, having sex with your ex-boyfriend you were crying over just a day ago. There was a certain intensity to it though. Like your long-lasting nostalgia was finally fulfilled.

You’ve realized you couldn’t imagine yourself being intimate with anybody else. Jungkook already knew your body, how it looked without the material protecting it, the strawberry skin, the slightly sagging breasts you swore you’d surgically remove once you had the chance to but didn’t. He knew where you liked being touched, he was the first one to even touch you in those places.

You were unsure what you’d do with yourself when he leaves.

Jungkook’s thrusts slowly started stopping and you too felt the familiar sensation in your stomach.

Suddenly, you two were nothing but desire, fear, and pleasure. And faster than you could process, you came together.

For minutes after your orgasm, you were just laying on the bed, thoughtless. Maybe a little regretful. Not you, but him.

You weren’t facing each other, but you could hear each other’s breathing. Your stomach was filled with something you’d describe as post-sex melancholia.

All of a sudden, Jungkook stood up from the bed, startling your resting self a little, but you decided to keep quiet, wanting to see what he was going to do.

He made his way to the door to leave what he thought was your sleeping body laying there. You couldn’t keep quiet anymore.

“Where are you going?”, your soft voice suddenly rang in his ears. “Don’t you wanna stay?”

He didn’t know how exactly to tell you. You’ve always been a gullible little girl, you were the type of girl to think fucking equals love. Little did you know that wasn’t the case at all.

“Yn.... you know I can’t”, Jungkook responded, you knew it wasn’t gonna be good when he said your name like that. “I got a girl at home and I don’t wanna mess shit up with her.”

There it was. Your suspicion was corroborated. He was still going out with the model and you were a certified home wrecker. Great.

You physically felt your heart breaking. “Bu- but why are you here then?”

You were incapable of being mad at him at the moment. It was your fault for letting him in, again. After breaking your trust and your heart.

“This was a mistake”, he declared, not looking into your eyes. “I’m sorry, yn...”

He’s moved past your room now, already at the exit of your dormitory. He was about to leave.

“You already ruined shit with her when you came here and fucked me.”, your voice was small, but your words were heard.

Without looking back, he left.

And you went back to your room, standing in the middle of it for a minute in silence before your brain fully processed what had happened and your tears started pouring.

[outerbankies]

begin again — john b routledge

part 2

summary: your co-worker invites you to a party and you immediately hit it off his cute friend.

pairing: john b x reader

warnings: drinking, swearing, weed, mentions of vomiting (lol), mentions of irresponsible drinking (if you squint? just want to warn anyone who needs it)

a/n: cheesy "ex is a douchebag" trope, i know, but couldn't get this idea out of my head! not canon at all in the sense that sarah/any actual obx plot isn't even mentioned. but lmk what ya think :)

my writing

You had not the slightest clue what you were getting yourself into when your co-worker, JJ, had invited you to come to a party tonight.

The bus boy had been inviting you to hang out with him and his friends for months now, pretty much ever since you had started waitressing at the Outer Banks Island Club.

Out of respect for your ex-boyfriend, Nate, it had never seemed appropriate for you to take JJ up on his offer. JJ was nice enough, probably your closest friend at work, and you knew he wasn’t interested in you like that—nor you him.

You guys were just work friends, messing around on your shifts and making fun of all of the kooks you had to wait on. But still, it didn't seem right to you if you were with Nate. He was usually the one taking up all of your free time anyways.

But that didn't matter anymore, seeing as Nate had broken it off with you two weeks ago. He told you that he didn’t think things were working between the two of you for a while now, which really shocked you. You had no idea he had been feeling this way until now.

Nate said he wanted someone who was more open to adventure, someone with a knack for spontaneity. The underlying implication that you weren’t able to be like that for him had hurt you worse than the break up. Your boyfriend of months had essentially grown bored of you, and the whole time you thought he liked having quiet nights in with you. He said you were always working or studying, and if you weren’t, you were too tired to do the fun things he wanted to do. But the truth was, you were never too tired to go out with Nate. You just hated how Nate acted when you guys did go out, and you honestly thought you'd been doing your relationship a favor when you stopped opting to go out, swapping parties for take out and Netflix.

But of course, that hadn't been good enough for him. It was no surprise a few days later that you heard he was out partying with another girl.

So when you clocked in one Friday morning, armed with your first heartbreak and a new determination to prove to yourself that you weren't boring, and JJ immediately struck up his tired routine of convincing you to come out that night, you agreed.

His eyes had widened like saucers.

“You're serious? Finally!” JJ exclaimed, immediately launching into the details of some house party in the Cut. "We can pick you up on the way."

You knew by 'we' JJ meant his core friend group. You didn't know any of them, not really, but you always saw them in passing at school or at the Club when they were coming to pick JJ up from work. You knew of them, or at least had heard stories of all the trouble they'd caused on both the Cut and in Figure Eight.

But you did know that one of them was really cute. You never caught his name, but the freckly brunette would always nod and smile at you whenever you made eye contact in the employee parking lot.

And now you found yourself five minutes before JJ said he'd be pulling up with his friends, finishing the last of the second White Claw you'd swiped from your older sister in order to calm your nerves.

You felt yourself thinking about how you wish Nate could see you now, makeup and outfit a far cry from how you'd normally look, bordering on tipsy, and about to hop in a car with three virtual strangers and go to a random party.

But you pushed Nate out of your mind and chugged the rest of the can, rushing out the front door once JJ texted you.

"There she is!" his voice boomed, gesturing for you to climb into the back of the beat up brown van. "Guys, this is Y/n."

A chorus of 'hello's greeted you as you got into the backseat alongside JJ, if you could call it that. A boy and a girl sat in the driver and passenger seats, turning to introduce themselves.

"I'm Pope, nice to meet you," said the driver.

"I'm Kiara, but they all call me Kie," the girl said. You nodded shyly at both of them as you settled on the bench next to JJ. You hadn't been in a social situation like this in quite some time—Nate really had been commandeering all of your time.

"Hi," a third voice said once you got settled, snapping you out of your reverie. You looked up from where you had been searching for a seatbelt, movements faltering once you made eye contact with the owner of the newest voice.

"H-hi," you basically squeak, quickly trying to cover it up by clearing your throat. "I'm Y/n."

The brown haired boy that you recognized from the Club smiles at you, the skin near his eyes wrinkling as his grin pulls wider. He really is cute, you confirm immediately, appraising his brown eyes and copious freckles. His unruly hair is tucked under a faded baseball cap, placed backwards on his head. Your eyes flicker down and notice that his shirt is partially unbuttoned, the bandana tied around his neck doing little to cover up his exposed chest. You didn't mind.

"I know," he says smoothly. "John B."

"Nice to meet you," you say.

"You too."

"Okay, now that that's out of the way, I would personally like to go get shit-faced," JJ hollers, already working on rolling up a joint.

Kie just groans as Pope pulls away from your house.

"JJ, please don't embarrass us with Y/n here," she chides.

"No promises."

John B raises his eyebrows at you, as if to say 'are you ready for this?'

You don't know what comes over you, maybe the two strawberry White Claws, but you just wink back at him.

You don't miss the blush on his cheeks as he averts his eyes.

JJ had pretty much bolted as soon as the five of you pulled up to the house party, Pope and Kie wandering off too. The group had made you feel right at home as soon as you got into the van; you and Pope discovered that you were up for the same scholarship and Kie just liked having another girl around for once. And you were already comfortable around JJ, but you still felt your nerves flaring up as you watched the group dissolve. John B had taken one look at the nerves showing all over your face and chuckled, slinging an arm around your shoulder.

"C'mon, let's get some drinks."

After that, he had hardly left your side the entire night. Not that you were complaining. John B was pretty much caught up in your orbit; never letting you refill your own beer, leaning in close so you could talk directly into his ear over the roar of the music about stupid kooks you guys both hated because of your jobs, even letting you take him to the living room where everyone was dancing when the new COIN song came on.

You honestly hadn't even thought about Nate since you set your sights on John B in the van. You didn't even find yourself wondering what John B's intentions were. This was a party after all, you were newly single, and you could feel the chemistry between you and John B immediately. You didn't have time to stress about where this was going; you were too busy letting the boy twirl you around while he laughed like a kid, getting lost in his kind smiles and twinkling eyes all night.

"Y'know, I'm really glad you came out with us," he says randomly, leaning in close so he can speak right next to your ear.

He places a confident hand on the small of your back, the bare gap of skin between your shorts and shirt burning at his touch. Combined with his breath on your ear, you have to will your body not to break out in goosebumps all over.

"Me too," you flirt, reaching up to fiddle with his bandana. The song changes in the background, and you're just about to commit it to memory as the song playing the first time you macked on John B Routledge.

"Y/n?"

A familiar voice snaps you out of it, hand falling to John B's chest as you pull away to see who had called out to you.

Standing behind John B is Nate, his face colored in both surprise and amusement.

"It is you. Would've never expect to see you here," he says condescendingly. John B's hand drops from your waist as he turns to look over your shoulder, Nate noticing the movement and cocking his head to the side. "Who's this?"

"Nate, this is John B," you awkwardly introduce. "John B, this is Nate."

You felt all of the confidence that the alcohol and John B's touches and attention had afforded you tonight quickly fade away as you stood under Nate's scrutinizing gaze. He wasn't looking at you jealously like one would expect an ex-boyfriend to after catching his ex-girlfriend about to kiss a new guy. No, Nate's features held the same sense of smugness and pretension that they always did, even while you were dating him.

"Uh, nice to meet you, man," John B says politely, if a bit awkwardly. He reaches out to shake Nate's hand, but Nate ignores it completely to sip his drink and continue interrogating you.

"I seriously can't believe you're here," Nate says, a bit rudely. "Do you know anyone here?"

Your face flushes with embarrassment.

"Um, my friend JJ invited me," you said quietly. Maybe if he didn't hear you, he'd walk away and leave the two of you alone.

"What, that one kid from the Club?" Nate scoffed. "See, I always knew he was trying to get in your pants."

Your eyes widened at Nate's crass words, and you quickly realize that he'd over-served himself for the night. Nate's drunken antics had always been the real reason you'd say no to going to things like this with him; he never knew how to handle himself or respect his limits, always turning into the worst possible version of himself after too many drinks.

"Dude, c'mon," John B said. He didn't know who this guy was, but he can see the growing discomfort on your face and in your posture. You're just thankful he didn't immediately dip like you'd half expected him to.

"JJ's just a friend, Nate. You knew that."

"Whatever you say," Nate concedes. His eyes are flitting up and down your body in a way that once would've made you blush, but now all it did was cause your stomach to churn. You cross your arms over your chest and tuck yourself closer behind John B, hoping Nate will just get the hint and leave you alone at this point. "C'mon Y/n/n, don't you think I should get you home-"

"Y/n!" yet another voice bellows, your back instantly supporting someone's entire bodyweight.

JJ's warm and slightly sweaty where he'd thrown himself up against you, and John B has to steady you so that you don't completely fall forward. JJ's just laughing manically and hugging you around your shoulders, and even with him behind you you can smell the liquor coming off of his breath. "Y/n, I am so happy to see you. Are you having fun?"

"JJ, dude, you good?" John B asks, prying one of his arms from around your shoulders, taking most of JJ's bodyweight off of you and helping you to hold him upright.

"John B? Oh my god," JJ gaps. "I love you guys so much. Who are you?"

You glance from JJ to Nate, who's looking slightly knocked down a peg.

"JJ, how many drinks have you had?" you ask, changing the subject before Nate could answer.

He had been swaying slightly ever since he approached you, but his face was starting to turn pale. His smile had dropped into a grimace and his eyes looked unfocused.

"Like, ten zillion," he says. You look at John B with a helpless expression, but he's already springing into action.

"Let's get him upstairs, one of the guest bathrooms should be free," John B says quickly.

You completely disregard Nate as you help haul JJ from the living room to the staircase, thankful John B is there to support most of the weight. And honestly thankful to JJ's inebriation for saving you from wherever that conversation was going.

"Almost there," John B encourages over JJ's protests. "Y/n, you good?"

"Yeah, I've got him," you say, although slightly out of breath as you make it to the top of the stairs.

"Guys, I'm fine," JJ slurs, apparently having changed his mind. "Let's just go take some shots."

He barely gets the last word out before gagging.

"Picking up the pace," John B says with a practiced eased. You could tell this probably hadn't been the first, or even hundreth, time he's handled a drunk JJ.

John B finally finds the door he's looking for, banging a hand on it firmly before throwing it open.

Thankfully nobody is inside, because JJ all but crashes to his knees before emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet.

"Yep, let it out," John B says, arms crossing over his chest as he leans back into the counter. He looks over at you sheepishly. "I'm gonna text Pope and tell him that we need to leave, you can wait outside if you want."

You almost look up from where you're watching JJ to tell John B you would rather die than go back out there by yourself when you gasp.

"His hair!" You quickly take the hair tie off your wrist and try to gather as much of JJ's blonde bangs as you can into it.

"Nice call," John B praises, smiling over at you. "Never thought of that before."

You shrug, matching his smile as you run a hand down JJ's back. A witty reply is wiped off your lips as Nate's figure crowds the doorway, John B immediately shooting you a questioning look. Had he really followed you up here? Nate assesses the state of JJ with disdain written all over his face.

"Seriously, Y/n? What are you doing with these losers?"

"Why do you care?" you say, patience completely worn out by this point. The toilet flushes in the background and you help JJ lean himself up against the wall.

"What are you even doing here?" Nate says, gesturing between the three of you. "This isn't you."

"Who is this clown?" JJ mutters from his place on the tiled floor. He's quite the sight with a little pony tail tied on top of his head. You see John B stifle a laugh.

"You're seriously going to stay here with these dickheads?" Nate challenges. You can feel the anger coming off of you in waves now.

"They're my friends," you say. He just scoffs.

"You know, maybe if you came to parties like this with me and weren't such a boring bitch-"

"Alright, get the fuck out," John B says suddenly, immediately standing up straight and crowding into Nate's space.

He pushes Nate out of the doorway and promptly slams the door in his face, locking it.

"Sorry," he says to you immediately. JJ starts throwing up again.

"No, thank you," you sigh in relief, letting your head drop into your hands.

Of all things you had tried to prepare yourself for tonight, seeing Nate hadn't been one of them. Now that he was gone and JJ was taken care of, you could focus on the fact that you just saw your ex for the first time since he dumped you.

You had expected to run into him in town or when the school year started, take one look at his face and go find a bathroom to cry in. But now you were in a bathroom with your co-worker and his cute friend and you didn't feel anywhere near crying. If anything, you were more concerned about Nate and JJ ruining the moment between you and John B.

And all you could think about was John B kicking him out when he called you a bitch.

"Are you okay?" John B's question breaks you out of your thoughts. His tough demeanor has evaporated now as he looks at you empathetically and brushes a hand on your shoulder. "Who was that guy?"

You hear the hesitance in his voice, realizing how that probably felt to John B: the two of you about to kiss when another guy who you clearly had a past with shows up.

"My ex," you clarify. You see realization wash over his face.

"Oh..." he trails off, considering his next words. He's silent for a beat. "So he really is a clown."

Your lips quirk up at the implication. His voice is confident, but a blush dusts his cheeks, and you almost want to brush a hand against them and feel the warmth on you finger tips.

"You have no idea."

JJ groans in the background, flushing the toilet again. You had almost forgotten he was there.

"Are you gonna be okay? Pope should be up here soon," John B directs towards JJ, but he's grabbing your hand and already tugging you towards the door. JJ just makes another noise and waves the two of you off, but not before sneaking a glance at where your hands are intertwined and rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

The two of you don't waste another moment before escaping back into the hall, John B tugging on your hand to pull you under his arm once you're downstairs again.

"Confession time," he says suddenly. And then he's gently backing you up against a wall near the bottom of the stairs. The arm around your shoulder moves to rest against the wall, effectively caging you in. "I've been begging JJ to convince you to come out with us ever since I saw you at the Club for the first time."

You blink up at him, heartbeat picking up at his words. You open your mouth to speak, kiss him, do something, but he cuts you off.

"And if the situation with your ex is still messy, believe me, I get it," he stammers. He's looking around nervously, like he's searching for the right words but his brain isn't supplying them. "But I'll just be straight up, I'm into you. And I think you're into me, but if there's anything still going on with that guy, that's fine, I just wanted to let you know—"

You tug John B's bandana down and press your lips against his as soon as your brain registers 'I'm into you.'

If John B's startled, he does a good job at hiding it—immediately pulling you closer by your hips.

"My ex is a dick," you say after pulling away to catch your breath. John B hums in recognition as he presses smiley pecks to your cheek, your jawline, and your neck before connecting with your lips again. "And ancient history, believe me."

"Once again," John B says, leaning back to place a hand on the wall above you once more. "A clown."

You just giggle and tug him back down.

[the-spindly-lady-faith]

My Marvel HC's [When You Tell Them You're Pregnant/You Adopted] Pt 2

Gender Neutral Reader

PT 1, PT 2, PT 3

[YELENA BELOVA]

Considering both of your work lives, children was the thing least thought and talked about. The few times you talked about children, adoption and surrogacy was brought up. You had gone in to the doctors a few weeks ago to see if the surrogacy had successfully gone through and it did! You were a big mix of excited and scared to tell Yelena.

Never once, had you loved anyone the way you loved Yelena. Your relationship with her was definitely a seriously rocky one to start, especially on her part. You drove home after getting her favorite ice cream and water, the result papers in the passenger seat beside you. To your lucky surprise, she was home when you got there so some nerves, were calmed down some.

"Yelena. I have news for you"

It was silent for a moment until you heard her bound down the stairs and approach you with a small smile that made your heart warm. You sat together on the couch, handing her the ice cream before you went dead silent, your eyes locked on the coffee table. You didn't want this feeling to eat you any longer. Yelena noticed the look on your face, setting her hands free as she sat on the ground in-front of you, her hands on your knees.

"I went in to the doctors a bit ago and the surrogacy results came positive. Yelena... I-I'm pregnant. We're pregnant"

Her eyes blew wide as she toyed with her hands. "I-I know this isn't what you want probably but I know its a small-" Her lips crashed onto yours in a sweet, feverish embrace as you slowly eased into the kiss, her hands holding your waist as your hands held her cheeks,

"I want everything with you [Y/N]"

[BRUCE BANNER]

Every time you looked at Bruce, you imagined a whole life with him. The classic two children, two story house with a nice white picket fence and a few dogs. You often spent your time in the lab with Bruce because no one wanted a a break out of Hulk and you were the only one who could efficiently and quickly calm him.

Today, as you let yourself in the lab, you slid over a bowl of clean grapes and his favorite coffee, placing a kiss on his cheek, looking over his shoulder at his work. A sigh slipped through his lips as he turned, pulling you into him as you both seemingly melted into the other.

"You're overworking yourself hun. We don't want the big guy coming out again"

He sighed, pulling you closer to him as he silently nodded. In silent agreement, you grabbed the coffee as he grabbed the grapes and the two of you headed to your shared bedroom. Soon, you both lay in bed together and comfortably, watching TV as you gently rake your fingers through his hair, his head gently on your stomach, this was a good moment to tell him.

"You wanna say hi to the little guy or girl in there?"

He looked up at you, heavily confused for several moments before it finally hit him. "Oh my god! You're pregnant!" In between his words were his sweet, lighthearted laugh. "My baby. Our baby??" You nodded, gently rubbing your slightly flat belly. "Our baby Bruce"

[CLINT BARTON]

Children. He has three, so babies are nothing to worry about for one of the founding Avengers. It was a simple group-get-together day, no missions, parties, or random strangers. Just a day for the team to be together. You and Clint had been together for a good few years now and of course, family was brought up many, many times.

The windows in the main room were open, letting in a nice, cool breeze through the large room as you washed and cut fruits and veggies, of everyone's liking. You, in a way were a very parental figure to everyone, even Tony. Everyone absolutely adored you from the moment Clint decided to introduce you.

Now, you sat on the couch, watching whatever trash TV show was on, your legs resting on Clint's lap as you ate at some raspberries. You were at the mark where gender could be determined but you weren't showing and you hadn't told anyone. "Hey hun?" Clint looked at you, his eyes full of love.

"Hm?" You hesitated, slightly twirling the raspberry you held before let out a deep sigh. "Do you think she would like these?" He looked at you confused, questioning who "she" was. You lightly laughed, eating the aforementioned raspberry, before putting your hands on top of his, one on your stomach. "This 'her', Clint"

He jumped up from the couch, everyone staring as he pulled you, carefully into him, your legs wrapped around his waist. "NUMBER FOUR IS ON THE WAY!!" It was a moment for the team to register before everyone jumped up and started cheering. Happy was an understatement.

[THOR]

This man was still, very much a child and even he could admit it, when he wanted to. You had met Thor by accident mostly as he saved your life, quite literally, when you first met. You had been stuck in an attack of the Chitauri and discovered your own magic/powers in that moment. Thor saw the whole fight with you and a couple Chitauri and was in love already, loving how strong you were despite not knowing you.

It had been a few years and you reciprocated the love for him back. He always made the relationship fun, playing pranks, games, helping you with every little thing. To him, you were the last of a flower breed, the most beautiful/handsome/captivating thing he'd ever seen. He wanted to protect you with every fiber of his being.

It was hard to be sad around him, he knew almost every possible way to make you smile. You were an open book to him and vice versa. One day, you woke up suddenly ill and stumbled into the bathroom, heaving up your guts it felt like. Waves of hot and cold kept slamming through you as Thor entered, rubbing your back, giving you well assurance. "My little midguardian, you haven't been well these few days and I'm starting to suspect it is more then a simple cold."

You shook him off, flushing the toilet as you washed your face with cold water. You realized he was right though. You had been unexplainable sick most days, craving odd foods so you turned to Thor, shock evident in your eyes. "I-I'm pregnant" Thor almost didn't believe you. You watched the wheels in his brain turn as he made various connections to your sickness and everything else before running at you and picking you up.

"Our child shall be a grand victor of Asgard!!"

[LOKI]

He looked at you for a moment before lightly shaking his head with a smile. "Of course. Though I still fear my own past" You nodded, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Well I have some good news for you then" He caught on quickly y ith in him the way you do. Loki was very hesitant of you, he threatened to take your life multiple times but you still stood strong with him.

When you saw Loki, you saw a scared boy who didn't know himself, a boy who never knew love truly. Now, you saw a man who finally knew who he was and loved himself. The child in him was happy again and free, happy that he was free and out again.

You wondered how it would turn out when you had to birth a half jotun child. Jotun's did grow to be very tall creatures. You also wondered, how the hell would you tell Loki? The sun was setting, the two of you were alone in the living room as you stood behind the sitting man on the couch, rubbing the tension off his shoulders as you lean down enough to rest your chin on his shoulder.

"Would you want to be a father, Loki?"

He looked at you for a moment before lightly shaking his head with a smile. "Of course. Though I still fear my own past" You nodded, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Well I have some good news for you then" He caught on quickly, tears quickly taking place in his eyes. He leapt over the couch and embraced you, locking your lips together in a tender kiss.

"How can I ever re-pay you my dearest?"

[casualreader1234]

Reunion

Pairing: Natasha x Reader

An: Part two of the random story idea I had. I think I'm just going to keep the same summary each time because I'm too bad at writing them. I tried to make this gender-neutral, and I don't think I wrote anything that would imply a particular sex, but let me know.

Summary: What if you weren't the hero of the story? What if you were the villain meant to burn the world down?

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Warning: Morally gray protagonist, violence

Word Count: 2k

[Part 1], [Part 2]

This gif is so funny to me.

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When you had first arrived in the U.S, you had been intrigued by tales of the infamous Black Widow, a former Russian assassin turned good, that was enough to catch anyone's attention. To satisfy your curiosity, you had tracked her down, wanting to see her for yourself. Watching her from afar, you understood why she was considered one of the best in her field: her movements always flowed into the next like she was performing a dance.

She easily disposed of her targets, strapping her weapons back onto herself. Seeing the completion of her job, you left the ledge of the building you had been standing of before she could see you. Slipping into the shadow, you had to admit that your interests had been piqued by the assassin.

///

You had always known that your girlfriend had been hiding secrets, but this one was far more exciting than you had thought. Never had it crossed your mind that Natasha might also be involve in the assassin industry. For such a planet, what were the chances of two assassins meeting and starting a relationship without either being the wiser. You weren't sure if that made her exceptionally good at her job, or you exceptionally bad at yours.

Asking around to some of your other contacts, you learned more about the KGB and the Red Room program that had trained Natasha, wanting a glimpse into her childhood. Disgust and rage filled you when you learned about the operation. They had hurt her, so you had made sure they all suffered for their crimes. Then, you returned back to America.

It was the reason you had stayed all these years. She was the reason. Though you've known where she's been all this time, you never revealed yourself. Maybe it was out of fear. Maybe it was out of shame.

It hadn't surprised you that Natasha decided to work for SHIELD. You've also known that she had a good heart, but it did make things more complicated.

She was one of the good guys now. If she ever crossed paths with you, she would be forced to face you as an enemy. So, for both of your sakes, you avoided doing things that would get SHIELD attention, carefully selecting jobs that would run under the radar. You had been careful, erasing most of your tracks, yet here you were, chained down to a table in a SHIELD facility.

Natalia-no-Natasha stared down at you. You unconsciously cringed under her intense gaze.

" How are you darling?" You asked, breaking the thick silence and giving her a small smile. "I must say, you look as stunning as always. Did you do something to your hair? It seems to be shorter."

Natasha didn't reply, instead shaking her head angrily. " What the hell, (Y/n). What are you doing in the U.S?"

Her harsh tone almost made you flinch. “ Here to visit my beautiful girlfriend? I've really missed you.” You tried, feeling a bead of sweat roll down your neck. Natasha may not have any powers but damn was this woman scary when she was mad. Flattery wasn't going to work on Nat though, her face stone cold as she looked down at you.

"That doesn't answer the question, milyy (darling)." She replied with a strained smile.

Tony watched the exchange with a slack jaw, eyes looking like they were going to pop out of his sockets from shock. “ I’m sorry? You know this criminal Nat?”

Your head snapped to the man, jaw clenching. “ Nat?" You sputtered at the intimate nickname. "Who gave you permission to call her Nat?” You swiveled back to look at Natasha. “What is your relationship with him?” You asked accusingly.

Natasha rolled her eyes, turning to Tony. “ Don’t call me Nat, Stark. And this idiot here is (Y/N).”

"Yeah, her [girlfriend/boyfriend] ! " You added helpfully.

The look Natasha gave you was deadly enough to silence you again. She turned her attention back to Tony, " Do you want to fill me on what's happening Stark? I return from a mission and hear from Steve that we had caught a mutant, but I wasn't even aware that we were after one." You frowned at the fact that had she referred to you as a mutant, but chose to ignore it.

Tony shrugged, acting like a bratty overgrown child," No, I don't want to." Natasha's jaw clenched and you decided to lend a helping hand.

Tendrils of black suddenly snaked around Tony, pining him hard against the wall behind him. His eyes widened, shooting to the origin of the magic, seeing you now unbounded and smiling widely at him, the handcuff hanging loosely off the table. Standing up, you rubbed at the red marks on your wrist left by the binds.

"Better answer her, Mr. Stark, I wouldn't want to get on her bad side." You threatened, eyes turning pure black for a split second.

Tony desperately looked at Natasha for help, but she stayed steadfast, unmoved and patiently waiting for him to answer. Realizing that no help was coming, he relented. "Fury got tipped off about some assassin that had been piling up bodies all across the U.S and North America. At first we dismissed them as the work of sporadic killers, not linking the deaths together until we got another tip about them being a mutant. We had Wanda examine a few of the bodies and she confirmed that magic was the cause of death. Since then, we've had our eye set on a contracted killer who went by the alias Reaper. A few weeks ago, we got a hit on their last location, and from there, we planned our trap."

Realization dawned onto you, " You put a bounty over yourself!" You exclaimed with a chuckle, thoroughly impressed by their commitment. It was a good plan, one that you hadn't even considered. Of course, if it had been any other week, the plan would've failed.

Every time you used magic, there was a backlash. The magic was deep inside you, a part of your very being, but it didn't stay that way willingly. The black flames were a dark and ancient form of magic, one that could only be wielded by a select few. Long ago, many groups had tried to master the arts, but most failed. The magic was powerful, more than anyone really knew, and only grew more so as it consumed more energy. Magicians didn't as much wield the magic, as they did subjugate it.

Candidates trained for years in preparation for the infusion, getting their body ready to handle massive amount of energy. When they were deemed ready, they would be exposed to a pure form of the magic. The flames would consume them and their screams could be heard for miles. Most people who entered the last trial end up dead, completely consumed by the magic. A few though, came out stronger. Instead of being consumed by the flames, they had somehow consumed the flames, magic now flowing through their veins.

Even then, the magic inside of wielders fought against their vessels, constantly trying to escape. The ring you wore helped you control the magic inside, absorbing some of the power and trapping the rest of the flames within you, where it couldn't escape and grow any stronger. But every time you took off the ring, you unintentionally let the magic grow, and when it finally returns back to you, the fight inside gets a little tougher.

Normally, it didn't affect you much. You had been trained since childhood to control the magic, so you could go hours with continuous magic use without any major repercussion. But the past month, you had really tested your bounds, toeing the limits of your control. This inevitably degraded your mental state, leaving your mind a little hazy. This meant you were a lot more impulsive and less observant, something that played in favor to SHIELD's trap. You knew you shouldn't have taken the hit on Tony, especially due to your exhaustion, but you had let your excitement of possibly seeing Natasha blind you. Nevertheless, the current situation didn't really worry you anyways, although you made a note to deal with a problem later.

"And why wasn't I informed of this?" Natasha pressed on.

"Don't take it personally. You're area of skills weren't required for the job, so you weren't informed. Simple as that." Tony plainly stated, clearly sensing the Russian's agitation.

You had to stifle your laughter at the irony. If Natasha had been assigned to the case earlier, you probably would've been captured much sooner.

Natasha bit the inside of her cheek, obviously deep in thought as well. " Release him, (Y/N)." She finally said and you happily obliged, but not sliding you ring back on, letting the flames surround you in a hazy aura incase you needed to react to any threats. Tony let out of breathe of relief as your magic retreated, but you could see that he was still a bit shaken up, the effects not fully wearing off.

"Hey are you alright darling?" You asked concernedly, ignoring the wobbling man when you caught Natasha looking a little pale. Walking over to where she was, you reached out a hand to lightly caress her cheek, the flames retreating as it reached her. You hesitated for a split second, unsure of how she would react, but Natasha leaned into your touch. Her eyes met yours. It was the same bright green that you dreamt about, and they looked even more dazzling up close. She smiled up at you and it was like all the years you've spent apart hadn't happened.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She whispered reassuringly and you smiled too in relief. “ What does Fury want with the (Y/N)?” She asked Tony, but her eyes didn't leave you.

“ The same thing we do to all threats. We either eliminate or imprison them .” He answered, voice indifferent.

Natasha turned to him, much to your dismay, “Why can’t we accept them into SHIELD?” she offered instead.

Tony, who had thought your weird relationship with Natasha was the strangest thing that could happen, couldn't believe what he was hearing. “You want to let an assassin into our ranks? Are you crazy?! Did you already get your hands on the vodka shelf?” He stammered.

Natasha gave him a dark look, one that sent a chill of excitement down your spine, “I was an assassin too Tony.”

Tony didn’t seem to know how to respond to that, but he didn’t need to. The door to the room swung opened again, this time a larger blonde man marching in. You recognized him from your intel: Steve Rogers-Captain America. Behind him, you saw several heavily armed agents behind him, their guns trained on you.

Natasha whipped around at the sudden intrusion, surprise flashing across her face. " Steve." She said warningly, noticing the same things you did, but Steve didn't let her finish, already throwing out his shield in attack. The metal was launched at you, cutting through the air faster than the eyes could follow.

You easily caught it, magic stopping it mid-flight.

You sighed at his pathetic attempt, " Mr. Rogers, don't you know it's rude to interrupt? You can't just come in here, guns blazing, and shield flying." You reprimanded, lazily throwing the shield back to the man. Steve tried to catch the shield, but was knocked back by the sheer force of your throw. The men immediately behind him stumbled back in shock as the 6'1 super solider crashed into them. Those who were left standing quickly recovered and upon realizing that their first line of attack had been beaten, prepared to shoot. They found themselves unable to. Fear had crept up on them during the ruckus and now they were unable to move as your magic seeped through them. With a simple wave of your hand, the black flames around you attacked and within seconds, all the agents, including Cap, dropped to the floor.

"What?" Tony gasped in horror, and for the first time, he seemed to truly understand the extent of your power.

"Relax, they're not dead. I just knocked them out for-" You pretended to check your wrist for a watch, " -a while. I don't know, I usually don't wait around for the people I knock out to wake back up."

Natasha was staring in shock at the pile of bodies by the door and you saw something indistinguishable in her eyes. A distinct chime echoed off the walls of the room, drawing your attention to your phone in the corner. You walked over to it, Tony looking like he wanted to stop you but was too terrified to. Picking it up, you read the message silently. Shouting could be heard getting louder, footsteps pounding towards you as alarms blared.

"Looks like that's my cue to leave." You announced to Natasha and Tony. " Sorry to cut our reunion short Talia."

Natasha stepped forward, blinking out of her shock. "(Y/N) wait-!" She began.

"Don't worry, I think I'll be staying a little bit longer in New York. We'll see each other soon my love." You promised, picking up one of the fallen agent's guns and shooting out the lights until you were enveloped in pitch darkness. Then, before the backup agents could arrive, you melted away into the shadows.

///

You emerged from a dark alleyway in some shifty part of the Bronx. Pulling out your phone, you replied to Matt, your associate, declining the new job he had sent over, informing him that you would be taking a vacation for a while.

Seeing Natasha had reminded you of how much you actually missed her, and you didn't want to just leave New York yet, not when you barely had the chance to catch up with your lover.

But first, you had a snitch to catch. Someone had tipped off SHIELD about you. Someone who knew you about your power at that. You couldn't let someone so dangerous live.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Powers of Reader [Will be updated as more information is learned about Reader]

-Ability to set fear in opponents

-Ability to melt into shadows (teleportation like: goes into one shadow, pops up somewhere else)

-Magic flames that kill people(?) and knocks them out(?)

-Major simp for Natasha (special skill)